seemoreroyals

Second week of December on Prima we had 3700 people crammed on a ship designed for around 3000.  Venues like improv, atrium, buffet, observation lounge, pool area, and pour house were almost always overcrowded during peak times.  The belvedere bar and sometimes the metropolitan bar were the only two bar areas that seemed to have elbow room in them.

With as many kids on board I can understand why pool, buffet, and observation lounge were packed.  We expected the pour house and improv to be packed and they were.  In the improv as others have reported it was literally packed like sardines.  Our thoughts were after a certain point you would think they would quit letting people in.  But people kept coming in.

Our biggest disappointment was the atrium area in the evenings.  We could rarely get a seat to listen to the lounge acts.  There was this oversized couch just off from the main seating area that took up a lot of space that could have otherwise provided additional seating to watch the entertainment.  It was often occupied by one or two families and 5 to 10 kids jumping around and doing what kids do.  

3 minutes ago, detroitlions said:

If this only happened to a few people NCL should of just let them have the passes.

Agree.  Hope we get more info on the rest of the story.  $50 is not enough of those whose vacations were impacted by this.

We have also did all three ships.  Loved the Epic mainly because of itinerary; Italy, Spain, France cruise.  Liked the ship well enough to go on Epic again sometime.  We loved the Breakaway mainly for the ship itself and the entertainment on board.  We also loved the Prima.  Ship was quirky and the time we sailed had way too many kids on it.  Thank God we booked the vibe.  

Looking forward to your thoughts on the Prima as well.  I can see now having sailed on it why there is so many contradictory opinions on it.  We would do it again but definitely not without the vibe.

11 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

If that is actually the case, I wonder what the perimeter was for choosing whose passes to cancel?  

One of the FB posts said that three different people in their group had their vibe passes cancelled.  She said they were disappointed because they wanted to all be in the vibe together.  Leads me to believe that some of her group still made it in.  She never elaborated other than there was a glitch that allowed NCL to sell too many vibe passes on this particular cruise.

That is why I was wondering how long ago OP purchased their vibe passes.   The only fair way to deal with this problem, if there is a fair way, would be to go back and fill vibe to limit in order of signing up for vibe.  The rest of the people that did not make it should be properly compensated as I am sure there are a number of them that probably would not have booked this cruise if they were not able to book the vibe along with it.  In any event IMO they should have been compensated a lot more than the $50 NCL is apparently is offering.

I did some research this morning since it is not clear what actually happened to cause NCL to cancel and refund monies for vibe passes for several people on the 1-14-24 sailing of Encore.  I went to a website that rhymes with basefook and could only find 2 small threads addressing what happened.  One thread showing a brief video of a couple just getting into vibe at 11:30 and enjoying their first drink. 

And another thread about 4 hours later another thread was started similar to what the OP posted here on Saturday, the day before the cruise.  All that was said was that due to a technical glitch the vibe was oversold.  There was no mention in either what exactly happened and how many people it affected.  No indication on whether or nor a large block of people were replaced by a another group that was given special treatment by NCL.

So we really do not know what happened.  We may never know.  Hoping OP or someone else who is on this cruise that knows what happened will come on here and enlighten us.  For now it appears that just a few people were displaced from vibe by this due to technical glitch causing vibe to be oversold.  

9 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

all the unanswered questions have to do with why - and perhaps how - it happened.

 

we know what happened... a number of people, including the OP, had their vibe passes revoked. some seem to have been offered $50 compensation by the folks at guest services. that's what happened!

 

i have no further questions at all about what happened. all my interest lies in uncovering why or how it happened.

Who, what, where, when, why or how.  I would still like to hear back from OP or perhaps another person on this cruise who is directly impacted by NCL's decision to revoke vibe passes from quite a few people that had already paid in full.  

There is still a lot unanswered in regards to the what and the why.  And the $50 offer for being displaced from the vibe.  That is not acceptable. 

OP said they were going to fill us in and so far we have not heard back from them.

Anyone know exactly what happened yet?

4 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

There is no envelope.

I guess the envelope is hit or miss.  Our platinum meal tickets and laundry voucher were together inside an envelope on Prima when we sailed her Dec 15-22 2023. 

As long as people know what they have coming in platinum benefits that is the main thing.  

2 minutes ago, detroitlions said:

I had all my dining res get blown away and had to fix it at the desk. They gave me most of my stuff back and I paid for it. I told the rep that I was not too upset this happened but I explained that I got on the ship real early to try to get Vibe tickets for me and DW and now they are prob all gone. The lady was so nice she chased me down and handed me two passes with bracelet and I was only charged for one pass not 2. 

Are you on the Encore now?

10 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

I'm onboard Encore now.  I was at guest services earlier and saw them  talking to an unhappy guy.  GS  was showing him a lengthy list of those who were cancelled.  I think they were offering him $50 OBC which doesn't seem like enough to me🤨. I feel sorry sorry for those who planned on Vibe.

What a slap in the face.  Wonder who they kicked people out of the vibe for?

3 minutes ago, MCMC100 said:

Yes. Instead of beach towels the Vibe is supplied with large deep blue blankets with the NCL logo on them. Wrap up and relax…..

Thank you so much for your response.  We are planning an Alaska cruise next year and were not planning on vibe due to cold weather.  Blankets make it a game changer.  May have to reconsider.

9 minutes ago, JoeTec said:

On our roll call there are lots of people saying theirs was cancelled also 

I didn't book vibe so didn't get the notice

Interesting to say the least.  NCL has a lot of splaining to do.

If what probably happened, booking to a group and then after the fact kicking out the people who have already paid in full, that is not fair in any way shape or form.  If so I hope they are compensated above and beyond what is customary.

10 minutes ago, UKstages said:

the vibe is about more than the hot tubs and the loungers and the kid free and smoke free oasis. 

 

on an alaskan itinerary, it is also about the views. and, depending on the ship, the vibe is offering, arguably, the best unobstructed views on the ship, in some cases, wrap-around views.

 

in cold climates, such as a departure from new york, it is quite common to see people in parkas or hoodies and scarves enjoying drinks and the view. and once they take their outer garments off, the hot tubs, too.

On these cold weather cruises, do they provide blankets for passengers in the vibe?  

@phillygwm We were surprised that we got free balcony cabin on Prima cruise from CAS.  Wife is 7 star CET player but we rarely gamble in casino.  When I say free we still had to pay fees, tips, etc and vibe passes but it was an unexpected bargain.  Still I am surprised we were able to get this in what at the time was their newest ship.

1 hour ago, jojo99 said:

I appreciate the comments everyone, we are embarking in a few hours. Will let you know how it goes.

Have a great cruise.  At the very least they owe you some OBC.  Can't imagine what would have happened to cause the removal of your prepaid vibe passes.   How long ahead of time did you purchase your vibe passes?

15 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I watched Vibe price rise.  Fact is, NCL kept raising the price, and it still sold out.  It still sells out, at current Vibe prices.

 

Once the Vibe gets to the price point where they don’t sell out, prices will drop!

 

Not sure I would get a dozen shrimp from room service.  There are better venues and cheaper options for a dozen shrimp!

Even at its current price vibe is still worth it IMO. I just can't say enough how great the experience is while in the vibe.  My fear with the vibe is not the price going up further but increasing occupancy.  As it is now it is never crowded.  Almost seems kind of empty at times.  Great place to relax or read a book.

18 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

This is a bit sideways from a reviews, but it does have cruise implications for any cruise line (and general good health).

 

I know some buy or bring bottled water on board.  I’m not one of those.  I have seen NCL’s filtration systems.  I think their water is probably more pristine than what you get in any bottled water.  

 

NCL sells “boxed” water if you still want to buy water.

 

This information has been hitting the news outlets….FYI!

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/bottled-water-nanoplastics-up-to-100-times-more-plastic-pnas/

Drinking water out of the sink over ice in a glass tastes better than the "boxed" water tbh.  

I don't consider myself cheap either but I am glad they are throwing us a bone and giving us the American Diner for free now.

8 minutes ago, zqvol said:

The vibe is not worth the cost under any circumstance. 

Based on what?

The vibe is worth every penny.  Unless the ports you are visiting you have never been to before or otherwise planning all day excursions at each port.  With a few sea days it makes it even better.  

Not sure but I think doors are metal.  There were lots of doors with stuff on them on Prima cruise we were on last month.

@bcolli Good luck to you and I hope you are able to get vibe tickets.  We booked ours a year in advance for our Escape cruise this coming December.  If you are able to get in,  there is an elevator to get to deck 19 where the vibe is located that is not on the deck plans for some reason.  

As more people find out about the vibe,  the price is going to continue to go up but it is worth every penny.  In regards to your port time of 10:30 you should be okay as they normally don't start letting people on until about 11.  I disagree with @BirdTravels regarding the mad rush to get vibe passes.  There might not be literally a mad dash but there will be others that will be wanting to get vibe passes.

You might want to continue to check your reservation daily between now and then as some people may have cancelled resulting in some availability. Keep us posted.  Hope you get in.

Pay the DSC and the prepaid gratuities on drink package and specialty dinner and you are good to go.  Beyond that to each his own.  You are not required or expected to pay more.  

41 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

We love the self serve on the Prima. We have sailed on the Prima twice and had soft serve every day. We were just on the Viva and they have added an ice cream machine outside on Ocean Blvd. 

It was too icy for us.  Void of flavor.  Glad  to hear you liked the ice cream machine in Prima.  The only one we know of there is in the buffet.  It was one and done for us.