PATRLR

They had it on Viva in December 2023.

Agreed. We were on Oasis last summer, first time on RCCL in five(?) years. It was an eye opener and when combined with the cuts were hearing and seeing in NCL entertainment, NCL no longer has that upper hand they used to in our minds.

We do Caribbean cruises as true rest and relaxation events - in other words we aren't doing them for the ports and the ports almost don't matter. The ship's entertainment (including but not limited to the shows) is part of our criteria for choosing a line. NCL used to have the upper hand, not so much anymore.

Agree 100%! Well said.

Right! Great summation. Some people on this board should stick to posting marketing pictures and leave the socio-economic analysis of various generations to the professionals. IMO.

Yes, we were on the first run from San Juan. Ship was full.

Then there was the group that occupied an outside table for most of the day playing some sort of board game. For multiple days. They were there through the lunch periods, not sure if they were there for dinner.

My dad was a WWII vet (Marine). He felt that way. He never understood all the fuss people were making over the "greatest generation" and thanking him for his service. His opinion was that they had no choice in doing what they did.

Dec 2023, Viva, unable to get into Syds (because I refuse to waste an hour+ of my vacation waiting in lines).

Did you look carefully at the times in port for these itineraries? Seems like I've heard some complaints about limited port times for some of the NCL itineraries. The other thing I would look into is if there are any issues early season getting up to Dawes glacier. I don't know if that is an issue or not, just something I'd look into. If you do the Bliss, I strongly recommend the "TRACY ARM FJORD & GLACIER EXPLORER" excursion. You leave the Bliss and get on an Allen Marine boat with 150 or so others and get up much closer to the glacier than the Bliss gets.

The trick I've used to find out if it's available is to join the roll call thread for the cruise in question and ask if someone on that thread (who is already booked) would check on Vibe availability. Could do something similar on the other social media sites. I don't believe a TA can book it along with your cruise.

RCCL has that or something very similar. I would think this is a very realistic suggestion (not that all the others in this thread weren't realistic 🙄😉)

Whoa!!!!! I too have had that complaint for years (I think we've discussed it in the past). Well, I just realized that on Viva this past December, I didn't have that problem. And because of the limited hours of the buffet, and the location of Surfside Grill just outside Vibe, we ate many burgers from Surfside Grill. Not one bun fell apart, they definitely had different buns! Maybe the provisions from San Juan are different? Maybe the problem is fixed on all the ships? When were you last on an NCL ship?

@Fischmom My suggestion is you spend some time over in the "Northern Europe & Baltic Sea" ports of call forum. Much of the information you are seeking is there. For Norway, this thread in particular has great information (there are 20 pages of replies, but, I'm telling you there is some excellent, excellent information if Norway is of interest). Unfortunately, NCL doesn't have good Norway itineraries. We're doing it this summer and likely going to end up on Princess or RCCL.

I already said you won, was the victory lecture really necessary?

Really? Are you sure about that. Let's see... You seem to be saying right there you were making a serious point about the inane phrase. But lets' go back to the original text I was commenting on: Hmmm... Most definitely talking abou tthe inane phrase there. So, why is it that you can make a pithy comment but when I express my opinion about that comment, you feel the need to lecture me and insist I am not able to comprehend what you were saying? Is it possible that you simply don't like someone offering an opinion on something you wrote? I'll assume that is the case. Don't worry, it won't happen again. You were right, I was wrong, you win.

I'm not sure why it's OK for you to make pithy comments, but not me. Whatever. You win.

Yes, thanks for the reminder, I too have some catching up to do. Now, who was that poster that is obsessed with hash browns... 😉 🙂

I get all that and I agree 100% Exactly. And that's what I was commenting on. Trying to make a serious point about an otherwise inane phrase gives that phrase too much credence.

I think you are giving the "contemporary cruiser" term way too much credit, as if it was actually intended to represent something real. It's a marketing term intended to deflect from the real issue of cost cutting. Just like "for your convenience" was meaningless (no one at NCL was doing anything for our convenience), so is "contemporary cruiser" meaningless.

Viva in December, we ate dinner at Indulge once and walked right in. Walked through there another time at dinner and not that crowded. Lunch however was a different story - always crowded but not as crowded as the buffet. Breakfast one time we went we found a table easily, but it was kinda busy.

I'm sure there is a cost, but I would think the production shows with all of their cast members are way, way more expensive to put on than a game show that uses cruise staff. I agree. What I object to is NCL and their representatives on this board portraying it as anything other than cost cutting.

Bull! Our Encore cruise in November 22 we couldn't get into 1 of the showings. We ended up at the later showing on the second night in seats way at the back. And if Kinky Boots really wasn't drawing crowds, why not replace it with a full production show that does? I'll answer it for you: cost. It's way cheaper to put a game show in their than a full production show.

Nonsense. It's just another cost cutting move. But, I get it, you need to promote that company line. Well said. I find the "contemporary cruiser" line to be not much different than the "for your convenience" line.

That was an Excursion so yes you could use it. Your excursion happed to end at the airport. What you did was much different than the "airport transfers" that take you direct from the ship to the airport.