mvanzandt

On 6/15/2019 at 3:59 PM, emory2001 said:

On the 3 lines I've cruised, Royal does have the best buffet.

 

That's good to know about no included solarium on NCL, which I guess is the one "exclusive" area I might care a little bit about. Can anyone pay for the private pool area on NCL or is that only with the exclusive suites?

There is no private pool area on NCL ships unless you are staying in the Haven.  You can buy a pass to the Vibe Club (I don't think this exists on all ships) which is adults only, and very limited.  It has nice loungers, its own hot tub, its own bar.  There are usually very few people in there at one time and you get personalized one on one service from the bartenders and waiters.  They bring you fruit infused water, cookies, and fruit skewers during the day.  In my opinion well worth the price.

To us it is well worth the price, even with the increase.  No crowds, a bartender that pays close personal attention to each person, and better loungers...I will do it every time if I can.  I always choose the earliest embarkation time possible in order to get in line to buy this amenity.

We sailed on the Bliss last year at Halloween and I had the same concerns because I read the posts from some its earlier sailings.  Our cruise was about 5 months after its maiden voyage and we had no issues with any of the staff.  We did have an issue on embarkation day.  We chose the earliest embarkation time possible and were 2nd and 3rd in line to buy passes to The Vibe Beach Club.  The line never opened and a crew member came up and told everyone in the line that the Vibe was sold out to people that have booked back to back cruises.  Everyone in line was pretty irritated and then we ran into some ladies that we had met prior to embarking and they told us that they had bought Vibe passes at guest services.  We went to guest services that day and asked if we could buy passes there and we were told that they did not sell them at guest services, which was an outright lie.  Needless to say we got even angrier.  However, we did ask to be put on a wait list for the passes (a lot of people buy passes and never use them) and we were called and given a small discount on the passes on the second day of the cruise.  We weren't going to let this issue ruin our good time, but we felt justifiably lied to and that the process was somehow broken.

4 hours ago, sagrs said:

I came up with some more questions. ---- Someone on facebook just posted you need reservations for the water slides. Is this the case? Also what is the weight limit for the drop slide? I have seen 2 different values posted.  Also, with go Kart reservations- we are traveling with a group and everyone is getting on at different times. Can someone make reservations for the whole group or do we all need to be present? I am so sorry for all the questions. Thanks again for any help you can provide and once again have an awesome cruise. 

We were on the Bliss last Halloween and did not need reservations for the waterslides at that time.  We made go-Kart reservations the morning that we boarded and were able to get everyone in our group together.

Spend the extra money and get a pass to Vibe Beach club for the week. The personalized service and extra deck space is well worth the money. We made some great friends during that week.