Vibe questions

[CruisingSince1982]

In your opinion, which ship has the best Vibe area? Are they all pretty similar?

[JGmf]

@CruisingSince1982 Do a quick search of the NCL boards.  There are lot of entries and opinions of different Vibes on various ships.  Here are two.

 

Me? I liked the Prima's Vibe due to the large size (enter width of deck) and upscaled bar area.  I also like the one on the Joy due to the two hot tubs on either side of the deck.

 

 

 

[macewank]

Prima/Viva are the nicest ones for sure.  I liked the Encore as well. Escape is too small.

[Sthrngary]

To answer your question.  I like the NCL Joy vibe because it is both sides of the ship.  I usually stay in the Haven and to take the Vibe as an option.  Then I did my first and ONLY Solo cruise and had a Club Suite.  I took the Vibe for that cruise.  

 

The Vibe like many topics have those that love it and those that don't.  I LOVE the Vibe.  They have a bar, they treat everyone like rock stars and love the frozen fruit. I also stayed in a Cabana on the Breakaway in the Vibe.  Nice but not close to as nice as the Joy.  My opinion ONLY.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[JandC_Cruising]

• The Escape is the smallest as it is only on the Starboard side of the ship, but still nice.  The small size does mean a smaller crowd.  Given the growing popularity, I'd expect them to expand it sooner rather than later by moving the entry to the port side to double capacity.   
• The Joy not only now has both sides, but has the added upper deck since the refurbishing last month. 
• The Encore is essentially the same as the Joy, but with one major flaw (IMHO).  It doesn't have fully cushioned loungers.  They went cheap and did canvas loungers with affixed head pillows.  These are not nearly as comfortable.
• The Getaway and Breakaway are on both sides, but only have a double raised hot-tub on the starboard side.  That said, the tubs have a high canopy cover to offer shade while in the them.
• The Prima and Viva look beautiful and are now in the Aft.  We cannot wait to try them (we have future cruises booked on each) 

 

I really wish the Encore had the nicer loungers.  If it did, it would be our favorite as it has all the other attributes. Both sides, two hot-tubs, and plenty of seating.  The Joy vibe wins over the Encore (even though we like the Encore as a ship more than the Joy).

 

 

[CruisingSince1982]

3 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

To answer your question.  I like the NCL Joy vibe because it is both sides of the ship.  I usually stay in the Haven and to take the Vibe as an option.  Then I did my first and ONLY Solo cruise and had a Club Suite.  I took the Vibe for that cruise.  

 

The Vibe like many topics have those that love it and those that don't.  I LOVE the Vibe.  They have a bar, they treat everyone like rock stars and love the frozen fruit. I also stayed in a Cabana on the Breakaway in the Vibe.  Nice but not close to as nice as the Joy.  My opinion ONLY.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

We are actually thinking of taking your suggestion for our next caribbean cruise and doing "Haven Lite" 🙂 

[Sthrngary]

14 hours ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

We are actually thinking of taking your suggestion for our next caribbean cruise and doing "Haven Lite" 🙂 

@CruisingSince1982 A couple of additions to Haven Lite.  First, if you can gain a Cabana in the Vibe Beach Club, consider it.  Second, always bid for a Haven Suite.  Do your due diligence to make sure it is a bargain upgrade.  You might get lucky.  As the Haven has gotten more expensive, let folks grab them upfront.  Who knows, the new Haven Lite by be the actual Haven.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[vacation44]

What @JandC_Cruisingsaid.....................

[Jim The Lizard]

I've been on Vibe on Escape, Bliss, Encore, Getaway, and Prima.   Love the small Escape Vibe.  But I have to go with Prima as my favorite.  The aft location really cuts down on the wind, love the circular bar, the accessible buffet and pergola shaded tables are awesome, larger hot tubs and the lack of cabanas give it an open feel with loungers and day beds readily available.   I miss the cookies (skewers of grapes now!), I remember the $99 pass days, just paid $269 for my next cruise!   Worth if!!!

[JGmf]

7 hours ago, Jim The Lizard said:

The aft location really cuts down on the wind, love the circular bar, the accessible buffet and pergola shaded tables are awesome, larger hot tubs and the lack of cabanas give it an open feel with loungers and day beds readily available.

 

Totally agree with this synopsis.  As mentioned in my earlier post, I think the Vibe on Prima is maybe the best.  However, just be warned about the soot from the exhaust stack.  It's not a deal-breaker.  Just use a towel to sit on when you use bar stools or loungers.  You'll see the stains on the upholstery.  My khaki-colored shorts got smudged-up.

[sjacobs11]

On 4/2/2024 at 4:26 PM, CruisingSince1982 said:

We are actually thinking of taking your suggestion for our next caribbean cruise and doing "Haven Lite" 🙂 

We did "Haven Lite" by booking a suite vs. Haven and had almost all of the same perks as Haven (Cagney's vs. Haven restaurant for breakfast and lunch) and we booked Vibe. Wish they offered same on the Breakaway Plus class of ships. Will definitely do again next time on a Prima class ship.

[D_And_K_gocruising]

We've only done the Escape.. Loved it.. Small, you really got to know the people that were there..  We were looking at another ship and probably would have still gotten it, but was afraid it would be too big, and therefore kinda lose the whole idea behind the vibe.. 

[JGmf]

2 hours ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

We've only done the Escape.. Loved it.. Small, you really got to know the people that were there..  We were looking at another ship and probably would have still gotten it, but was afraid it would be too big, and therefore kinda lose the whole idea behind the vibe

 

@D_And_K_gocruising I'd offer my experience that even in the larger Vibes, you still have a smaller community feel as a subset of people would tend to hang-out in the same spots, one side or the other, with a hot tub focus, lounger focus, or bar focus.

[rbxlady]

We are doing "Haven lite" in late 2025 for a 7-day on the Joy (Haven prices were insane!) and possibly getting my sister and her family to join us for their first ever cruise, unless they hop aboard another ship in the interim. ("Haven lite" will include a Silver Cove villa at GSC, and yay for "extra lite" if she books so we can split the cost!)

 

Anyway, we're not big into sunning ourselves, but is a Vibe pass worth it if we want to stay in the shade and have a quiet place to relax, chat quietly, and/or read? My husband and I have purchased thermal spa passes twice before and didn't use them enough to justify the cost, so we don't intend to use that as a relaxing space. Our kids will all be old/independent enough to occupy themselves on the ship without causing trouble, so we could arguably spend a good bit of time there. However, if the space isn't great for shade-lovers, I'm not sure it'll be worth the investment.

 

Thanks in advance!

[JGmf]

Regarding shade, the Vibe encompasses the full width of the ship, so you can follow the shade to your liking.

 

Regarding "quiet place to relax", um, yes, the Vibe can be a library sometimes 😝, but during peak hours, it can get boisterous at and around the bar and hot tubs (thankfully).  That said, you could likely find solace in some other corner of the Vibe. 

 

Also, the Waterfront has tons of (free) comfortable seating in shaded areas than could become your home base for reading and chatting.

 

 

[PartyPlannerLady]

On 4/2/2024 at 2:46 PM, CruisingSince1982 said:

In your opinion, which ship has the best Vibe area? Are they all pretty similar?

 

My cruise partner and I purchased the vibe cabana a long time ago when it was a reasonable price, but even at that price it was more hype than anything else.  Now that they have jacked the price up since then it is not even close to worth the price.  WAAAY over hyped and priced way past what it is worth,

[Sthrngary]

I hesitated to kick in but after reading some of the comments, I figured I would. I kind of authored that notion of "Haven Lite".  As part of my plan in that thread, I had the Vibe Beach Club.  So a true Haven Lite needs the Vibe.  Here is my reasoning.  

 

My focus for so many years on the Haven was to eliminate some of the Mega Cruise Ship blues from excessive crowding at the pool, chair hogs, difficulty in getting a drink, kids controlling all the general population hot tubs.  The Haven fixed those issue for me.  Then came the constant price increases.  When the price exceeds the value by one penny the client might not buy.  

 

This created the notion of Haven Lite.  The Vibe portion is for nice lounge chairs both in and out of the sun.  Access to a bar.  Access to one or more hot tubs that are adult only.  The staff in the Vibe always treated me like a super star which is always nice.  It is NOT like the Thermal Spa at all.  It is a private place that much less crowded with folks that if you treat them well, they treat you really well.  

 

You can still do Haven Lite without the Vibe.  Works fine.  Just give me that little bit of quiet I missed in the Haven.  I hope that all makes sense.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.