PATRLR

<duplicate> (I wish we had the ability to delete a post during that short time frame we can edit a post)

Great story and it succinctly explains one of the benefits I enjoy most about Vibe! Thanks for sharing.

I agree that the OL is intended to be full service with staff picking up plates. However, I believe @cruiser2015 is referring to the area that you see starting around 1:05. While definitely not intended for piling of dishes, it seems like a reasonable place to put them if you wanted to clean up after yourself and not a clean sanitized food distribution area.

@MR_BUTCHIE Assuming a warm weather itinerary, we believe it's worth every cent and won't sail NCL if we can't get it. We like that we are guaranteed a lounger any time of day, no need to get up early. We like the lack of crowds, lack of kids, lack of noise. We like that the bartenders and servers get to know you and what you like and they provide some of the best service on the ship. We like the atmosphere and sense of community that develops, especially around the bar (can you say "it's shot-o-clock time!")

Interesting. It's one the biggest in the fleet, spanning both sides of the ship. I liked it because of the size and easier to find shade when we wanted it. I liked that it had the water feature upstairs. What didn't you like about it?

Of course, yes, that's the right place. Thank you. 😉

I don't recall there being a Starbucks or Starbucks station in an OL. Which ship was that?

Oh - so will they be increasing the hours of the buffet now to make up for this? I'll betcha a beverage if we ever share a cruise together the answer is "no". I suppose for some people it was an early morning breakfast option, but as someone who spent quite a few very early mornings in the OLs, most of what I saw was people drinking coffee and having a pastry or muffin.

Back where you got it? That would be wrong, you got it from the clean plate pile which was right near the unserved food. I don't think used plates go there and I don't recall a station or some other location to return dirty dishes. Staff took care of the dirty dishes.

Exactly. The OL and in particular the early morning just as you describe is one of those significant "plusses" that NCL had going for it, IMO. Now there is one less.

Who says the staff is only there to remove drinking glasses and not half eaten plates? The OL serves food, who was supposed to pick up those plates? And who said that passengers MUST eat everything on their plates (i.e. don't leave "half eaten plates"). If you could point me to the rules for the OL that explains this, that would be most helpful (or point me to whatever documenation you have to support your claims). Unfair? Not unfair at all, especialyl considering NCL's well established track record for cost cutting. You may not agree with my statement, you may have your own opinion as to why this cut was implemented, but that doesn't make my statement, my opinion, "unfair".

So hire extra staff to pick up plates and such. But they didn't do that, they chose to cut the food out entirely. Why? Cost savings. Don't kid yourself, this is just one more example of NCL nickel and diming (this one being on the cost side of the ledger).

Exactly. I've made similar statements in the past. NCL simply doesn't consider quality communication to it's guests to be a priority. It's something in their culture.

Try to follow along. I'm not the one that said this specific issue was cost cutting, someone else suggested it might be. And you then replied that everything isn't cost cutting. That statement of yours is what I responded to.

Sure seems that way to me. I can't think of any significant change that wasn't done in the name of cost cutting (despite their ever present claims that changes are made for our "convenience").

We did RCCL last summer (their MDR and buffet were about the same, their specialty dining was head and shoulders above NCL's) and we're trying Princess this summer.

Agreed. Viva in December the food in general was awful. It's really the only word for it.

What would you say to the people on the Dec 15 2023 Viva cruise who's bags were left out in the rain, to the point where all of their clothes were being laundered by NCL on the first evening, if the tampons (or any other necessities) they packed "for emergency" were ruined from that rain? The NCL apologists on this board continue to amaze me. There is no reason for NCL not to stock and have accessible basic human necessities, yet out they come to make it the passengers problem.

According to the @BirdTravels, the cookies were supposed to go in the trash. I can't believe you actually ate them. smh. 😉 (We also got them in our CBS on Viva and also in Vibe and I agree they were very good)

A little over 48 hours after dropping this "review", it's still OPs first and only post. I wonder how many other places s/he dropped this bomb? I'm not going to bother with any further responses because I suspect OP will never see them.

You absolutely answered my question. Thank you.

You say Prima so I didn't vote. If you'd said Prima or Viva, my vote would be yes, but, it would have to be for the right itinerary (warm weather only).

@MNcruisingcouple thanks for posting. We agree with you on NCL's slipping quality so have been trying other lines lately (while still sailing NCL too). RCCL last summer, Princess this summer. Can you speak to the overall "vibe" and clientele of your VV cruise compared to what you typically experience on Norwegian?

Carnival has the best molten chocolate lava cakes. We're going on our first Princess cruise this summer and I was hoping Princess might have the same version (seeing as they are owned by the same parent company).