seemoreroyals

Sorry had a senior moment. Actually going on Escape in December. Waiting patiently for a good live trip report to come along featuring the Escape. Still cheers to you to having a great trip.

We will be on the Encore for the first time in December and are also looking forward to your review of the ship. Hope you have great time.

When we dined there this past December we were underwhelmed with both the quality of service and our food choices. Two of us got the Dover Sole and my wife got the Sea Bass. Seafood was bland. The only one of our group that enjoyed their meal ordered a steak. Good to hear things are looking up there.

Vibe passes not available by the day. Only for the duration of the cruise.

I asked the waitstaff there. It was never crowded. Most of the time less than 30 people there. As compared to the pool area and the infinity pool area on deck 8 both of which were packed like sardines on sea days. How about it @BirdTravels? Where did you come up with the 300 vibe passes sold for the Prima vibe? Inquiring minds want to know?

Only about 80 passes are available not 300. How did you and the bird come up with 300?

Having Paid for the Vibe passes aboard Prima I can assure you it is worth every penny. We actually paid more than that but ours was a 7 day cruise. We used it every day. Private bar with outstanding service both at the bar and at the lounger or day bed of your choice. Generally once we arrived one of the service personnel would assist us in getting set up.They returned shortly with our drinks and a carafe of icewater which we thought was a nice touch. The vibe is on deck 17 adjacent to the Surfside Grill portion of the buffet. Around 12 we would take a break and grab something to eat from the nearby grill/buffet. The vibe had a nice separate area with chairs and tables where we ate lunch each sea day. The Prima vibe has two infinity hot tubs. One on each side of the ship. It was never crowded the whole time we were there and we used it every day even on days where we had port stops. Bathrooms were clean. Service was outstanding. I would get the vibe passes while you still can. Contrary to what the bird says they only sell about 80 vibe passes not 300, so they go fast. If you wait too long you have to check every day hoping some will come available if someone cancels. There are a lot of good utube videos up that go into a lot of details that we looked at before purchasing the vibe passes for the first time. As long as the $229 does not put you into a bind financially I would say go for it. It is a small price to pay for peace and quiet and a sanctuary to get away from a lot of the noise and traffic that you often run into on a cruise.

Last two cruises we booked about a year out. Immediately went to cruise summary on website and booked vibe passes under entertainment section. I don't think it is ever too early to book vibe passes. But once they are sold out it will show not available and if you try to call and talk to someone they will tell you it is still too early to book. If you can't get in on the initial allotment of vibe passes it is best to keep checking as others have suggested. Some people will cancel and therein lies your chance to get a vibe pass. Got to keep checking both before you get on ship and once aboard hoping that some come available. That is how I think the system currently works.

Your experience is very similar to the one and only time we did the thermal spa a few years back on Breakaway. We were wanting a quiet area to relax and read but instead it was like an echo chamber in there. Also found it a little too humid and clammy. Since then we have discovered the vibe and find it much more our cup of tea. Plus they have a bar, fresh air, and outstanding waitstaff.

Our group of four ate at Palomar on Prima this past December. My wife and our friends wife both had the sea bass. I had red snapper or some other type of fish dish I cannot recall exactly. All three of us were in agreement that there was no flavor. It was really bland. Our waitress seemed put upon when I asked for some salt. It's a seafood place. They should have great seafood. In our case it was not. I hope they find a way to make it better. On a related note the best seafood I may have ever had on a cruise ship was at Los Lobos on the same cruise a couple of days later. It was full of flavor. So, if you decide to give Palomar a whirl proceed with caution.

Another vote for Los Lobos on Prima. One of the best meals we have ever had on any NCL ship and we have eaten at just about every specialty diner they have over the years. The quac and queso we got as appetizers were outstanding. Chips and hot sauce were abundant and tasty. The service and the entire meal exceeded expectations from beginning to end. For a second specialty dinner I would go with either Cagneys, Onda, or the Japanese habachi place. I agree with Bird on Palomar. We ate there and were severely underwhelmed.

Yep. That is the only type of service we have ever received at the buffet. Everything else AFAIK is self service.

Nope. I can vouch that some people consider a carp sandwich a delicacy. Eating a fish sandwich with bones in it is not my thing. Give it a try if you ever make it to Omaha.

The worst fish I have eaten anywhere was of all places in Omaha. We had a gambling buddy of ours talk us into driving over to a well known eatery in Omaha to try a carp sandwich. To my wife's credit she would not even try it. I did and I can tell you that it was very bony and IMO not much taste. My buddy chomped away on his, bones and all, finishing and still maintaining how great it was.

Somewhat related, while MDR's do not have theme nights they do sometimes have specials. I recall the MDR had prime rib special on the Bliss a couple of years ago. In our case it took forever to get our food as seemingly everyone was ordering prime rib. That is the closest thing I have seen to a theme whereas the buffet will have mexican food night one night and seafood night the next.

Haven't been on Aqua but have been on Prima. On our cruise out of Galveston this past December it was sold out and then some. Overly energetic kids running everywhere. So thankful we had the vibe passes to escape this madness at least during the day. Money well spent IMO.

Hope you all get a chance to meet up.

So far nothing to get rant about. Except for the bad weather.

That is strange. We booked the vibe on Prima for last years cruise almost a year out and we booked the vibe on Escape for our cruise later this year almost a year out. Good luck. Hope it works out for you. Maybe someone who has booked the vibe on Viva before can chime in. Must be a different policy depending on the ship. ETA - Maybe go with the cabana rental. Access to vibe comes with it I think for not much more than the cost of 2 vibe passes.

Meh on the free water. The only way I will drink it is out of the box over a glass of ice. Otherwise it does not taste very good. Prima does not have cabanas in Vibe or at least they did not when we last sailed in December. They did keep a carafe of fresh iced water next to us at all times. Thought that was a nice touch. Prefer over the boxed water.

As soon as you book your cruise, if the TA or CAS or NCL agent working with you will not do it for you, go to the entertainment section on your reservation on NCL's website and see if Vibe is available to be booked. Our past two cruises I was able to do this on the Prima in Feb 2023 for Dec 2023 cruise and on the Escape in Feb 2024 for our Dec 2024 cruise. In both cases I was able to book the Vibe on the same day our cruise was booked. Don't rely on others. In some cases they may be up to date on Vibe booking policy but in our case working with CAS the agent said we could not book vibe until closer to cruise date. Both cases they were wrong. If you book far enough ahead you should be able to get the Vibe with no problem. If you book closer to sail date I would check every day for availability in the event somebody cancels. I would not wait until on board or rely on others for help.

Thank you for pointing this out. I have always in the past called CAS and waited on hold to get something like this done. Just checked my account to verify the $250 had been deducted and for the first time noticed the payment button. Upon hitting that I realized that my remaining CNC's along with their cert number are listed there. Next time I am going to do it myself instead of waiting on hold for CAS.

Thanks everyone for bringing up the March 22 triple up cruise next certificate offer. Just got off phone with CAS and switched our upcoming cruise from 2 cruise next certificates to 3 cruise next certificates. Depending on how you look at it we saved either $125 or $250. They also told me that this offer is good through the end of this month. If you have extra CNC's on hand it's free money there for the taking.

Do you have to use a specialty dinner or pay an extra fee to dine at Supper Club on Escape?

That's a bargain on a 14 day cruise. Don't have regrets. Book the vibe if you still can before it sells out.