Vibe to become available for pre-booking...

[Shidah]

For me it has nothing to do with exclusivity.  It is 100% no kids, the staff, and the other guests that make it worth it.  I have never used Spice.  The few times I glanced in there it was packed like sardines. People on top of people.   The one time I stopped there to get a drink since we were staying aft it was three deep at the bar and no personalization at all.  And smoking, although some Vibes allowed smoking too (Breakaway, not sure if they still do).  By day two, the Vibe staff knows what I like and what I don’t.  And they are asking me if I am ready for another before I get the chance to.  Priceless.

 

But it I agree with the one poster, everyone has their own opinions and likes and dislikes.  I would never buy a watch, jewelry, art or anything like that on board, but lots of people do.  I think bingo and Deal or no deal are the biggest ripoffs too, but lots of people love it.  That’s why I love cruising, there is something for everyone.

 

 

[Shidah]

2 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I'm glad that it wasn't you but you still thought that it was so muchfun!

 

 

Yes I did, not sure if that makes me a bad person or nor, but I did.  I have a video of Vibe from that cruise that says it all about how fun it was but I won’t put videos on here of others without their permission.  So you will have to trust me on this one.

[sverigecruiser]

20 minutes ago, Shidah said:

Yes I did, not sure if that makes me a bad person or nor, but I did.  I have a video of Vibe from that cruise that says it all about how fun it was but I won’t put videos on here of others without their permission.  So you will have to trust me on this one.

 

It doesn't make you a bad person, just a different person than me!

 

If clothes aren't allowed in the hot tub, which I assume is the case, they would have stopped it if it happened on my cruise!  

[OceanBlueWaters]

I am a fan of Spice and there is no Spice on Encore.  I LOVED Spice on the Escape and never found it to be crowded with people. If someone brought their kids in, the crew immediately told them the rules and they left (on Escape and my experience).

 

NCL:  $209 (VIBE Pass) x 300 pass holders x 52 weeks = $3.2M/year for NCL (just Encore).  This is assuming all passes are sold/every week and is a rough estimate.

 

That is a hefty profit of $3M/year (minus alcohol/incidentals) just on Encore.  I guess taking away public space and adding up-charge venues is truly in the best interest of NCL.  I would never pay for VIBE, but that is just me.

 

I do hope they don't mess with the Escape in drydock...

 

JMO 🙂

 

 

[PortFees45]

1 minute ago, OceanBlueWaters said:

I am a fan of Spice and there is no Spice on Encore.  I LOVED Spice on the Escape and never found it to be crowded with people. If someone brought their kids in, the crew immediately told them the rules and they left (on Escape and my experience).

 

NCL:  $209 (VIBE Pass) x 300 pass holders x 52 weeks = $3.2M/year for NCL (just Encore).  This is assuming all passes are sold/every week and is a rough estimate.

 

That is a hefty profit of $3M/year (minus alcohol/incidentals) just on Encore.  I guess taking away public space and adding up-charge venues is truly in the best interest of NCL.  I would never pay for VIBE, but that is just me.

 

I do hope they don't mess with the Escape in drydock...

 

JMO 🙂

 

 

Only problem with Spice on the Escape is it's right near a big exhaust fan, so it's never really that quiet. 

 

Aside from that, and the disgusting people over at the smoker's bar, it's a lovely space. Best Spice H20 in the fleet. Escape is NCL's "last good ship." Lets see if that's still the case after drydock. 

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, PortFees45 said:

Only problem with Spice on the Escape is it's right near a big exhaust fan, so it's never really that quiet. 

 

Aside from that, and the disgusting people over at the smoker's bar, it's a lovely space. Best Spice H20 in the fleet. Escape is NCL's "last good ship." Lets see if that's still the case after drydock. 

 

I don't see Spice H2O changing on Escape unless the plan to add a kart track is approved. 

 

If VIBE gets wider (both sides of the ship), I do wonder what will happen to the port side front-facing sundeck. Will it go to VIBE or will it be given to the Haven?

[beerman2]

8 hours ago, FtLauderdaleMitch said:

Speaking of Vibe, I see Shot O Clock is on the Encore, anyone know who’s on Escape?

Rommel (Shot O'Clock) pretty much goes to NCL newest ships. We saw him on the Bliss last.

[megansdad1]

The thing I like about the current Vibe purchase process is that the person has to be there in person to buy their pass.  Going to an online format seems like it would open it up to people buying passes for other people. 

[ziggyuk]

The question is, with Vibe now pre bookable and limited spaces, how long until they open up bidding and issue the passes to the highest 300 bids?

[beerman2]

1 hour ago, megansdad1 said:

The thing I like about the current Vibe purchase process is that the person has to be there in person to buy their pass.  Going to an online format seems like it would open it up to people buying passes for other people. 

They could limit that to the number of pax in 1 cabin .  I don't think many would try to buy 10@ $209.00 per and try to sell them. 

 

That would be a huge $$$$$ risk.

 

 

[NLH Arizona]

On 11/17/2019 at 12:37 PM, DZcreature said:

I never understood the mad rush for Vibe passes, and always wondered why you would want to pay extra for what you could get for free elsewhere on the ship. People's desire for exclusivity, and feeling special because they scored Vibe passes, are what caused the rest of us to lose the included Spice H2O area on Encore, and the forward free space on ships like Getaway.  I hope people think twice about what they are willing to pay extra for.

 

I am sure NCL was excited to see people making a mad dash to pay more money for something that should be included in your cruise fare!!

I don't think it has anything to do with people feeling special, it is just that some people want to one, make sure they have a comfortable place to relax and two, maybe they don't like crowds. 

 

 

[NLH Arizona]

5 hours ago, megansdad1 said:

The thing I like about the current Vibe purchase process is that the person has to be there in person to buy their pass.  Going to an online format seems like it would open it up to people buying passes for other people. 

Hopefully, they will limit it to the number of passengers in the cabin.

[Melody7]

I'm going to chime in as a past Vibe client who will roll with whatever system is used and hope for the best! 

 

Has there been any factual confirmation that the change is being made to a "pre-booking" system? I know that the original article was posted by a Cruise Critic editor, but I find some of her wording odd, and therefore I find myself being very skeptical. She says, "one of the biggest changes on Norwegian Encore is the conversion of the Spice H20 adults-only sundeck into a larger Vibe sundeck." Spice H2O was not converted into a larger Vibe. The space where Spice H20 was on other Breakaway ships was converted into a laser tag area. Public sundeck was converted into the Vibe (before you say that it's just different wording that means the same thing, I will retort that wording in a "professionally" published article is essential and inaccuracies are a sign of poor research and reporting). Also, she also says that passengers will be able to book in advance, but there has been no one scheduled for a soon-to-sail Encore trip that has mentioned anything about this option.  Are we making too much out of something that hasn't even been confirmed yet?

Edited November 19, 2019 by Melody7

[lgdesign]

2 minutes ago, Melody7 said:

Has there been any factual confirmation that the change is being made to a "pre-booking" system?

 

That's what I'd like to know... is it really happening... and, if so, when?

[maryivo]

On 11/16/2019 at 11:51 AM, gmbhardy said:

Not a big Vibe fan (love the concept, not the price) but in the case of Encore I don’t think you have much choice. Interested in the advance booking aspect of the article. Hopefully more info will be forthcoming.

Any roundabout idea of a price range for passes?

[NoobCroozer]

14 minutes ago, maryivo said:

Any roundabout idea of a price range for passes?

Believe they are $209 pp pw

[maryivo]

44 minutes ago, NoobCroozer said:

Believe they are $209 pp pw

Thank you.  Also, can you explain the difference between H2O Spice and Vibe.  I haven't cruised in 10 years.

[DaCruiseBug]

This would actually be a good move by NCL. I don't think i'd ever pay for the Vibe pass but it seemed so archaic to have to run on-board and buy those passes. It creates chaos and also disappointment.

 

What NCL should do is make it available for pre-booking online the second you book your cruise and make the Vibe pass non-refundable so you don't have people putting deposits on 10 cruises and buying 10 vibe passes. This is an incentive to book your cruise early and after all the Vibe passes are gone they could do a waiting list in the event someone cancels their cruise (and NCL still keeps their Vibe pass money).

 

If they still want to keep some for Haven guests they could sell 90% before and save 10% for Haven guests to purchase up to lets say 10 days out and then award the unused passes to those on the waiting list.

 

Norwegian are you listening?

[travelgals]

I called ncl yesterday and asked about whether one could purchase a vibe pass in advance , on line or otherwise and was told no. When I pressed and mentioned I’ve been reading about this on cruise critic and facebook, and was sailing on Encore in 2020, I was told there may have been discussion, but there is 

no decision yet.
Now, I can’t read anything into what this nice gentleman told me, or the exact words he used, given I was pushing for any information at all and he wanted me gone...The only thing I do believe is it is not available now (or at least as of yesterday afternoon).

 

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, maryivo said:

Thank you.  Also, can you explain the difference between H2O Spice and Vibe.  I haven't cruised in 10 years.

 

Spice H2O is an adult-only sundeck area that is open to all adults.

 

VIBE is a limited in number, pay to enter, adult-only area.

 

Both areas have loungers, a bar, hot-tub, etc. but since VIBE is limited in number, it isn't crowded and a lounger is guaranteed. Spice H2O can get crowded since all adults on the ship can enter that area and loungers are not guaranteed.

 

The big issue now is that Encore doesn't have Spice H2O and VIBE is over 3x larger on that ship. With the price of VIBE more than double what it used to be, more than double the number of passes being sold, and no Spice H2O on Encore, people worry that VIBE will get larger (like it did on Getaway) across the fleet.

 

There is also a possibility of Spice H2O being eliminated during Escape's drydock. If VIBE gets expanded on Escape at the same time, some people will be very upset.

[GA Dave]

This will become like Fast Passes at WDW.  People will be sitting in their PJs at their computers at 5:00 in the morning, waiting to start clicking.  And, if it is like WDW, the ability to do so will be dictated by what "class" you are booked in, etc.  People staying at luxury resorts at WDW can book before the economy resorts, and offsite guests get whatever scraps are left at 30 days out.