Would certainly cruise again with NCL, bit disappointed with the design of the ship having loved its sister The Breakaway. The tendering process has put me off ever booking a cruise with tendered ports. The western Caribbean was alright, but this could be the choice of ports which influenced my thoughts. Ports were either building sites or remote. The ship was very clean and the staff were excellent, one final comment our captain’s history lesson at every port was not necessary.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Getting into the Port at NOLA, Julia St, was very poor. That however would be the responsibility of the local authorities, very poor traffic management makes this almost dangerous. However on entering the actual building at the appropriate time, we quickly checked in and were immediately granted access to the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Didn’t have a bad meal. Ate in three speciality dining venues, La Cucina, Cagney’s and Teppanyaki all were excellent value for money. The complimentary restaurants were never too busy that we had long wait times.
Bars could be better staffed, is this an NCL ploy. However cannot complain about service when eventually served. As a British gin drinker, with our current newly found love of gins, could have been a wider choice.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Always something to do....
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The two main shows, Burn the Floor and The Million Dollar Quartet were superb, thoroughly deserved the standing ovation... Epic Eagles were good, not an Eagles fan but enjoyed the show. Having been on Breakaway last year, the variety of entertainment was far superior, a greater variety of headliners and on this cruise no final night variety show which highlights the talented entertainers...
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Would have been excellent, but our room steward was not the friendliest, often no coffee refreshed in cabin, glasses not cleaned... had to ask for body wash top up. Are NCL, not doing towel sculpture... we always looked forward to our nightly guest on previous cruises, nothing this time.
As previously stated bars appeared to be understaffed, not a really big issue, pool bar was the worst, eventually walked away as wait was more than 10minutes...
Restaurant staff throughout the ship were exceptional, could not do enough for us.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Overall this ship was very clean, and appeared to be very well maintained.
However unlike its sister Breakaway, The Vibe takes up far to much space, it was never busy, and it’s position meant you cannot get to the bow of the ship, unless you’ve paid the extra for a Vibe pass. So as a result no expansive views from the front of the ship. Kind of spoils the whole outside space. Suffice to say would rather sail on Breakaway or similar forward facing accessible ship...
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
On embarkation the cabin was spotlessly clean, and although the steward wasn’t personable and missed some small things, he kept the room to the same standard throughout the cruise. We like the large extended balcony two sun beds, two lounge chairs and a table... the table is a bit too large and very heavy.
Plenty of storage and cabin did not feel cramped.
Bathroom ideal big enough for me being 6’2” and not the thinnest.. certainly not now after all that food !!!
Ship tip
Fully explore the ship lots of hidden places to sit and chill, as well as the usual busy popular area.
Seems to be a new purpose built port, bit isolated requires either a pre booked trip or local taxi to get anywhere. The local town certainly didn’t have a great appeal and wouldn’t have felt particularly comfortable walking around.
This port is a building site... and had to tender into it... completely disorganised experience caused by NCL. Ruined our very short stay here... Probably queued longer to get on to the island and get off than actually spent exploring and enjoying. Chaos.. no management of lines... was not advertised as a tendered port, extremely poor.
The only thing that made this a reasonable visit was the lovely locals and West bay and San Simon beach club, highly recommend.
Fun day on the NCL island, lots to do. Take cash, be prepared for expensive drinks and food. Or be prepared to walk back to the ship and use its facilities.
Was meant to be our first port, but itinerary was changed after booking, as a result only had a limited time here. Was planning to visit Mayan ruins, didn’t due to time constraints. Couldn’t do that and experience the local town of Mahahual. Liked the local town, be prepared for persistent street vendors, a firm “ no thank you “ worked for me.
A little disorganised.. NCL staff in the port not completely up to speed as to the pick up locations for onward travel, was sent up and down the same long corridor a few times trying to pass other passengers with there luggage was a bit annoying.
The “drinks ploy “ comment as per Dizney71 perhaps stated. The drinks package is built into the cruise price with gratuities included, and I have also tipped, the general number of bar staff was lower than required in the various bars. I like to experience the whole ship and try not to limit my self to a single area, tipping additionally for drinks should be dependent on service not to ensure you are actually served.... hope this clarifies my thoughts
Well my guess would be that NCL give you
the free drink package as incentive but once your on the ship they don’t have the staff to get you said free drinks! Longer you wait, the less you drink,the less inclined you are to go back up to the bar! The more $ NCL saves. I was a die hard NCL fan until they started doing this and their service went south!
My husband and I tip an extra dollar cash per drink and we always get fast bar service. We always have one favorite bartender that we go to for the whole cruise.
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