Vibe Beach Club questions….

[cruisinpips]

We are on the Escape in April, 4 couples with 4 reservations. 3 couples have booked Vibe passes 

already online. The 4th couple booked and Vibe passes show sold out. The NCL rep says they only sell 25% online and upon checking in, you can book passes. Can anyone confirm this, or are they blowing smoke? We all want to be able to hang out together but the 4th couple is worried. Any recent information is appreciated. 

[vacation44]

I believe they do not hold back passes.   However, the fourth couple should check daily as there could be cancellations.    

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, cruisinpips said:

We are on the Escape in April, 4 couples with 4 reservations. 3 couples have booked Vibe passes 

already online. The 4th couple booked and Vibe passes show sold out. The NCL rep says they only sell 25% online and upon checking in, you can book passes. Can anyone confirm this, or are they blowing smoke? We all want to be able to hang out together but the 4th couple is worried. Any recent information is appreciated. 

Smoke. Sold out is sold out. 

[Jim The Lizard]

Just now, BirdTravels said:

Smoke. Sold out is sold out. 

Correct.   

[MCMC100]

1 hour ago, vacation44 said:

I believe they do not hold back passes.   However, the fourth couple should check daily as there could be cancellations.    

I agree. I just got off the Getaway on 2/1/23. I purchased the Vibe in August when I booked, but the lingering question “do they hold availability” was of interest, so I asked. Two Vibe staffers told me the Vibe was sold out before the cruise and nothing was available. 

I have also read comments about staff stating availability is being held for embarkation sales, so confusion reigns. I’m skeptical of them holding availability.  It would seem logical that NCL would sell every spot ASAP if they could. They had over $1,000 of my family’s money (4 in my group) since August. The Vibe is space limited - get every dollar you can as early as you can would be my marketing strategy. Is NCL really going to say “we don’t want your money today because we might be able to sell this at the same price in six months?”  

 

The Vibe was clearly busier on this cruise (12 days NY to E Carib) than I have seen on multiple prior cruises. It appears that the pre-cruise sales have increased volume (in my experience).  
 

What is going to be interesting is the long term impact of pre-cruise sales. I have never sailed without the Vibe. On several cruises I had to arrive at the terminal early to have a low boarding group to obtain the Vibe. Never had a problem. Now, with pre-cruise sales, it’s possible I could be looking at a date for which the Vibe is already sold out. If that’s the case, maybe I can change my date to a “Vibe available” cruise or maybe I ditch the cruise stay in an all inclusive land based resort instead. I’m not fighting for a deck chair at Spice H2O or sharing a hot tub with 10 people and three kids in diapers. The Vibe is a dealbreaker for me. 
 

All that said,  there will be cancellations up to embarkation so check EVERY day.  

[PATRLR]

8 hours ago, cruisinpips said:

The NCL rep says they only sell 25% online and upon checking in, you can book passes. Can anyone confirm this, or are they blowing smoke?

It's not even smoke.  It's ignorance.  NCL call center staff are notoriously ignorant.  Call back and you'll get a different answer.  Call back a few times and you'll probably get a few different answers.

Sorry to say, your friends are out of luck.  And no, you can't sneak them in, the staff knows who has access and they will not allow them to stay.

[vacation44]

6 hours ago, MCMC100 said:

 

 

What is going to be interesting is the long term impact of pre-cruise sales. I have never sailed without the Vibe. On several cruises I had to arrive at the terminal early to have a low boarding group to obtain the Vibe. Never had a problem. Now, with pre-cruise sales, it’s possible I could be looking at a date for which the Vibe is already sold out. If that’s the case, maybe I can change my date to a “Vibe available” cruise or maybe I ditch the cruise stay in an all inclusive land based resort instead. I’m not fighting for a deck chair at Spice H2O or sharing a hot tub with 10 people and three kids in diapers. The Vibe is a dealbreaker for me. 
 

All that said,  there will be cancellations up to embarkation so check EVERY day.  

We feel exactly the same way.  We have never sailed NCL without the Vibe except once when we stayed in a Haven cabin and we regretted not getting the passes that week.   We have passes for our February 2024 and June 2024 sailings already.  If they were not available, we would switch to another alternative as we have no interest in fighting for deck space with 4000 plus passengers.   

 

@cruisinpipsAgain, I would check everyday for cancellations.

[Laszlo]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Smoke. Sold out is sold out. 

Sold out is sold out until someone in the Haven wants vibe passes. Vibe was sold out long before our 1-8 cruise. I know of three couples who went to the concierge asking for vibe passes. I know because I was standing at the desk. He said I believe it's sold out but let me make a call, 30 seconds later they had vibe passes.

[SeaShark]

58 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Sold out is sold out until someone in the Haven wants vibe passes. Vibe was sold out long before our 1-8 cruise. I know of three couples who went to the concierge asking for vibe passes. I know because I was standing at the desk. He said I believe it's sold out but let me make a call, 30 seconds later they had vibe passes.

 

Last time I checked "I believe it's sold out" and "It's sold out" are not the same.

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

Sold out is sold out until someone in the Haven wants vibe passes. Vibe was sold out long before our 1-8 cruise. I know of three couples who went to the concierge asking for vibe passes. I know because I was standing at the desk. He said I believe it's sold out but let me make a call, 30 seconds later they had vibe passes.

 

It could have all been an act. The concierge could have had passes all along but made it seem like he "did the impossible" to get passes for the Haven couples. 😉

[Laszlo]

27 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

Last time I checked "I believe it's sold out" and "It's sold out" are not the same.

I'm pretty sure it was sold out, two couples we were sailing with (Non Haven) tried to get vibe passes long before our sailing date and were told it was sold out. They both went to guest services as soon as they boarded (group 1) and were told it was sold out. Maybe they had 6 cancellations?

Edited February 7, 2023 by Laszlo

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

It could have all been an act. The concierge could have had passes all along but made it seem like he "did the impossible" to get passes for the Haven couples. 😉

 

4 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Sold out is sold out until someone in the Haven wants vibe passes. Vibe was sold out long before our 1-8 cruise. I know of three couples who went to the concierge asking for vibe passes. I know because I was standing at the desk. He said I believe it's sold out but let me make a call, 30 seconds later they had vibe passes.

 

That's the benefit of sailing in the Haven. When a restaurant is "sold out", the concierge has the ability to oversell a restaurant. And the Vibe can also be "oversold". So, while there are 80 passes for small Vibes, the concierge will be able to oversell by a few. But every restaurant and the Vibe have a "full" level after which even the concierge can't get you a table/lounger. 

 

Airlines routinely oversell their flights based on a statistical analysis of the number of last minute cancellations and no-shows to expect. When there is bad weather, like last week, all of the flights for the next few days are "sold out"... but if you have top tier status, you can sometimes get the airlines to oversell more. Airplanes are harder... you can't just have people wait longer for a seat like a restaurant, if everyone shows up, someone is going to get left behind... and it won't be the top tier flyer. I have done this to make a cruise... status has its privileges... like in the Haven. 

[Laszlo]

35 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

That's the benefit of sailing in the Haven. When a restaurant is "sold out", the concierge has the ability to oversell a restaurant. And the Vibe can also be "oversold". So, while there are 80 passes for small Vibes, the concierge will be able to oversell by a few. But every restaurant and the Vibe have a "full" level after which even the concierge can't get you a table/lounger. 

 

Airlines routinely oversell their flights based on a statistical analysis of the number of last minute cancellations and no-shows to expect. When there is bad weather, like last week, all of the flights for the next few days are "sold out"... but if you have top tier status, you can sometimes get the airlines to oversell more. Airplanes are harder... you can't just have people wait longer for a seat like a restaurant, if everyone shows up, someone is going to get left behind... and it won't be the top tier flyer. I have done this to make a cruise... status has its privileges... like in the Haven. 

I bet the oversell at 150%. We have had Vibe passes many times, I can't remember when I saw it more than 50% occupied

[BirdTravels]

Kinda the point.

 

You see a lot of posts that say "Everyone Gets One.. .You need to get one". When the truth is that there are only a few passes (by percentage of the all passengers onboard) that actually part with the money. 

 

And you see posts "It's the best thing since sliced bread"... but only a few of the people that buy the pass really use the pass. Yeah... some go out for an hour here and there,,, but you could do that on a public sun deck. 

[janetz]

I never saw it offered on my NCL app for our sailing a week from this Saturday 

so I wonder if it will be onboard

Is it even worth the money? 

[MCMC100]

18 minutes ago, janetz said:

I never saw it offered on my NCL app for our sailing a week from this Saturday 

so I wonder if it will be onboard

Is it even worth the money? 

The question of “is it really worth it” is too subjective. The question should be “is it worth it to you?”  
I’ve been on many NCL cruises and have never eaten at Le Bistro….one of the most popular restaurants aboard. I don’t find the food or atmosphere particularly appealing to what I am looking for on a cruise. To many people, Le Bistro is a “must do” onboard. Neither of us are wrong. Same with the Vibe. 
Many people, myself included, view the Vibe a must do. To others, it’s not worth the cost for what they want to do onboard. Some people visit every day for hours, some people visit every day for an hour or two, some visit occasionally, some people visit almost never. It’s a personal choice. 
The Vibe value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. 

[raejc]

Great thread - quick question. Have any of you sailed in December on the Bliss on the pacific itinerary with vibe passes?

 

We are trying to determine if the $500USD is worth it, as it may be too cold to use other than on port days...

 

Thanks a bunch! 

[Juncti]

Good luck, we used to do the relay to get tickets right when we got on board. Now with the pre-sell. We call NCL to book once we've narrowed down some dates that work, and we don't book until they confirm vibe availability. Then we book both at the same time with the agent.

 

We take the same cruise because it's a 15 minute drive from the pier to our house, the same ports, same boat. So a lot of the time we just stay in the vibe instead of ports. We get a lot of use out of it. 

 

Usually meet some cool people too. 

[donnyo1997]

Cruisinpips

I had the same issue regarding the Vibe on the Escape. Here are the facts for us regarding the Vibe.

We were on the Escape for the recent Jan 21-28 sailing. We have sailed numerous NCL cruises and always got the Vibe. We booked the Jan 21 sailing the last minute, 3 weeks from the sail date. We were told by NCL sales reps pre Vibe tickets were sold out and that the ship holds Vibe passes for sail on the first day at Guests Service desk. I called every day to check on Vibe tickets and got the same answer.
 

Before we sailed found out the ship was sold out. Posted here on Cruise Critic and was told that Vibe is sold out, we would not get any tickets, and no one knew where we could by them on the ship. Cousin was on the Escape the week before told me and told me to go to Guest Services and try.

 

So we got the 9:00-9:30 checkin for the day of the cruise. Figured we would have to do the old run for the Vibe which we did in the past. Got at the port and was third in line at the terminal. Doors did not open till 1015 and we quickly checked in and got Boarding Pass Number 18 which was the first group to be called. At 1045 they called Haven and they then called our group. We got to Guest Service desk and we were the first ones there. They then told us Vibe sold out. I asked to be put on waiting list and figured this will be our first NCL cruise with no Vibe. Started to use our drink package and made due.

 

At 1030 that night got got call from Guest Service that they had 2 Vibe passes for us and we can pick them up. I immediately ran down, signed and paid for them but had to wait 50 min due to line for Guest Services.

 

Note staff at the Vibe said they only have 80 passes. We did have a great time and met a lot of nice people at the Vibe.

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by donnyo1997

[Tpzatx]

18 hours ago, vacation44 said:

We feel exactly the same way.  We have never sailed NCL without the Vibe except once when we stayed in a Haven cabin and we regretted not getting the passes that week.   We have passes for our February 2024 and June 2024 sailings already.  If they were not available, we would switch to another alternative as we have no interest in fighting for deck space with 4000 plus passengers.   

 

@cruisinpipsAgain, I would check everyday for cancellations.

Well. Now you have me thinking. Have always had Vibe for past cruises BUT for this cruise we are finally doing Haven for the first time. Figured we didn’t need Vibe but maybe I’m wrong?

why did you regret not having Vibe while in Haven?

[vacation44]

6 hours ago, Tpzatx said:

Well. Now you have me thinking. Have always had Vibe for past cruises BUT for this cruise we are finally doing Haven for the first time. Figured we didn’t need Vibe but maybe I’m wrong?

why did you regret not having Vibe while in Haven?

Let me start with saying this was our experience and our opinion is based on our previous experiences with the Vibe.   We are a family that does utilize the Vibe for around three hours in the morning, then around four hours in the afternoon on sea days, then we always head right to the Vibe for a few more hours after we get back on board the ship on port days.    Also, I do not know how the Haven sundeck compares on other ships as our experience is with the Joy. 

 

We sailed on the Joy in the Haven last February.  Even though the ship was at a very low capacity, the Haven was fully booked due to upgrades which is the new norm.   We found that there really was not a lot of good lounge chairs as about one third of them are the uncomfortable ones and those were the ones near the railing which is usually where we like to set up.   Unlike the Vibe, it was always crowded and sometimes it was hard to get loungers in the afternoons which is something we never experienced in the Vibe.   The bar service was extremely slow and sometimes non-existent.     My husband would end up going down (one deck below) to get our drinks.  Seven months later we went on the Joy again in a non-Haven Suite and had put in upgrade offers for the Haven.  Then when the online purchases of the Vibe tickets started, we immediately purchased our tickets and cancelled our Haven upgrade bids.    

[baflagg]

We just booked a last minute cruise to go in July and would only make sure we picked a date where Vibe passes were still available to us.  We've sailed in the Haven 3 times and for us personally if we're able to get Vibe passes we would not choose the Haven.   As much as we love the Haven, to us it's not worth the high price if we can easily get a Vibe pass.  When we sailed last August we pretty  much spent all day every day in the Vibe and plan to do the same in July, not sure we are even going to get off the ship in Bermuda. We have a second family cruise in August also on the Joy, the adults have Vibe passes as the teens will pretty much be doing their own thing and since most in the group have never been on a cruise or to Bermuda we'll be doing all the touristy things then.  

[Mr_Steve_&_Me]

Our first experience with the Vibe was Christmas week on the Prima. I decided to pay the extra because I knew the ship would be filled with families, lots of kids and teens, and I understood the swimming pool area was small. So glad we booked the vibe! The pool area was so crowded and loud, I was glad for the peace and quiet in the vibe, great service and great fellow guests. 

[detroitlions]

They sell Vibe online when its not available its sold out.

The folks on the phone will not give you a straight answer on most things they don't want you to cancel your trip or not book.

I had a few of these gotcha moments on a recent cruise. 1 was they all say you can get the beer and wine package for folks 18 and older with consent the first 2 days of the trip. The fact is they canceled that program a while ago you can only pay as you go with parental consent. 

I know they defiantly are losing money on this decision. 

[DaisyGoldberg]

On 2/7/2023 at 12:11 AM, MCMC100 said:

I agree. I just got off the Getaway on 2/1/23. I purchased the Vibe in August when I booked, but the lingering question “do they hold availability” was of interest, so I asked. Two Vibe staffers told me the Vibe was sold out before the cruise and nothing was available. 

SNIP

 

The Vibe was clearly busier on this cruise (12 days NY to E Carib) than I have seen on multiple prior cruises. It appears that the pre-cruise sales have increased volume (in my experience).  

That is so bizarre, because we went through the Vibe en route to the second floor of the Haven (mom is in a wheelchair and that's the only way up there for someone in a wheelchair) nearly every day on that cruise and only once did we spot any appreciable number of people in the Vibe. At least 3 times there literally were NO people up there at all!  

 

Generally we went mid-day to mid afternoon, but I remember thinking that it seemed like a total bust and nobody was buying it. Maybe it was a total success and people bought it and simply didn't use it? Or we just happened to go through at the precise times nobody was up there?

 

If people are paying for it and not showing up it seems like NCL could get away with selling day passes once they got a glimpse of the number of empty lounges.