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NCL Breakaway Vibe vs Haven Review – Lots of Pictures

brian99

By brian99,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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brian99

brian99

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I just learned in the last week or so that Vibe has these private cabanas. Are they an additional cost above the weekly cost, or is it first come first serve? They allow smoking in them? Would a non smoker find it unbearable if next to a heavy smoker?

 

The cabanas are $339 for two people and include access to vibe and a $100 OBC. There are 5 of them and you need to book one as soon as you get on the ship at guest services.

 

They're far enough apart and somewhat enclosed, I doubt you would notice if anyone was smoking next to you.

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MMMD

MMMD

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This is a great tip about the Vibe.

 

I was on the Breakaway in early October & the Haven was awful. Not the area, but the fellow Haven passengers with kids.

 

Never saw so many running screaming kids in one place. No place to sit quietly for a drink or read, running, yelling & splashing in the pool & hot tubs while parents sat oblivious.

 

Even after complaining nothing changed, as I'm sure the standard line is 'I paid for the Haven'.

Well, I paid for the Haven too & couldn't use it comfortably.

 

When we got off the ship I said to my husband that unless there were some sailings where the Haven was adults only -I'd never pay those prices again for something we couldn't enjoy.

 

But you have given a great alternative. You had me with- no kids allowed.

 

Thanks.

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Sunshine427

Sunshine427

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Brian - I too was on your cruise and met you and your wife in Vibe. I was one of the large group who spent the bulk of their cruise in Vibe. I was impressed with everything there - the bartenders were wonderful - the loungers were comfortable and the hot tubs perfect.

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perditax

perditax

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This is a great tip about the Vibe.

 

I was on the Breakaway in early October & the Haven was awful. Not the area, but the fellow Haven passengers with kids.

 

Never saw so many running screaming kids in one place. No place to sit quietly for a drink or read, running, yelling & splashing in the pool & hot tubs while parents sat oblivious.

 

Even after complaining nothing changed, as I'm sure the standard line is 'I paid for the Haven'.

Well, I paid for the Haven too & couldn't use it comfortably.

 

When we got off the ship I said to my husband that unless there were some sailings where the Haven was adults only -I'd never pay those prices again for something we couldn't enjoy.

 

But you have given a great alternative. You had me with- no kids allowed.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Thanks for reporting your experience. I've seen many other similar reports and I'm grateful for them, because they've saved me the Haven money without finding out the hard way.

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TSUmom

TSUmom

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I have been considering changing my 2017 booking from the Haven because of the things I have read about kids. Don't get me wrong, I love kids and have 6 grand ones all under the age of 6. When I pay all of that money for the Haven I want it to be a "Haven". We were in a PH on the Epic in May and the few children staying in the Haven were well behaved and the parents kept them under control, but it was a Med cruise and had very few children onboard. Our upcoming cruise will be another PH in the Caribbean and we will decide after that if we will keep our Haven for 2017 or not.

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brian99

brian99

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I have been considering changing my 2017 booking from the Haven because of the things I have read about kids. Don't get me wrong, I love kids and have 6 grand ones all under the age of 6. When I pay all of that money for the Haven I want it to be a "Haven". We were in a PH on the Epic in May and the few children staying in the Haven were well behaved and the parents kept them under control, but it was a Med cruise and had very few children onboard. Our upcoming cruise will be another PH in the Caribbean and we will decide after that if we will keep our Haven for 2017 or not.

 

Don't get me wrong, the haven is wonderful and if money is not an issue I highly recommend it. There were usually kids in the haven when we were there last year but they were well behaved, it's probably more of an issue on summer cruises. There's also a lot of other perks that make the haven worth it, if you use them.

 

Personally I prefer Vibe, and saving $4000 is nice as well. The main downside I see with planning on Vibe is you can't book it ahead of time. You may get on the ship and it's sold out, now you're stuck without either.

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jlocole

jlocole

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Where do I RUN to get a Vibe pass when I board? I had a cruise booked on Carnival Magic that has a Vibe like place for free that I was looking forward to enjoying. But yesterday I booked NCL Getaway (same price as Magic but includes UBP)

Still wondering if I made a mistake: Carnival Magic looks like a great ship.

 

Please share some good stuff about other areas of Breakaway to keep me happy with my change.

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brian99

brian99

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Where do I RUN to get a Vibe pass when I board? I had a cruise booked on Carnival Magic that has a Vibe like place for free that I was looking forward to enjoying. But yesterday I booked NCL Getaway (same price as Magic but includes UBP)

Still wondering if I made a mistake: Carnival Magic looks like a great ship.

 

Please share some good stuff about other areas of Breakaway to keep me happy with my change.

 

There's no such thing as a vibe like place for free. The reason vibe is so nice is because only 70 people can use it, not all 4000 people on board. To get vibe passes, go to guest services (deck 6) once you board.

 

I can't compare NCL to Carnival because I've only done NCL but I had a great time on all three of my NCL cruises and wouldn't hesitate to go on another.

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brian99

brian99

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GREAT STIRRUP CAY:

This was the one day I regretted not being in a haven suite, mainly due to poor planning on my part. Last year our concierge escorted us to the beginning the line for tenders, I think were on the second one. This time I completely forgot we needed a tender ticket until Wednesday morning and by the time I used the TV to reserve one, we got “H”. They started the tender process at 10am, by 11am they had only called for tenders A, B and C, by 12pm they had called D, E and F. We couldn’t wait any longer and got on line. We waited on line for about 20 minutes before entering the theater where we sat for another 20 minutes. I heard them call for tenders G and H while we were in the theater. We finally got to the island at 1:05pm.

 

Once on the island we took the tram to the lagoon, knowing it was less crowded. Every food and drink place we saw had 20+ people waiting in line, a downside to offering UBP to everyone. We arrived at the lagoon after a 5-10 minute tram ride and were happy to see no line for food or drinks. The food was decent and the drinks were strong so we were quite happy. When I went up to get our third round of drinks around 2:20 I saw they had closed the drink station, luckily the bartender from Vibe was there and recognized me so we got another round of drinks.

 

We started walking back to the ship around 3:30, stopping along the way to take more pictures. When we got back to the tender area we were greeted with a long line, it took about an hour to get back to the ship.

 

Something needs to be done to speed the tendering, I think they need to board tenders from both sides of the ship. Or at least get to GSC at 8 or 9, it’s a short trip from Port Canaveral, there’s no reason to get there at 10.

 

I’m not sure how soon you can reserve the tender ticket though your TV, if it’s available on the first day, I recommend making a note to do so. Another option would be booking a cheap excursion for one person, even if you don’t go on the excursion it’s money well spent for a priority tender ticket.

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brian99

brian99

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FOOD:

Most of the food we had was very good. Last year we tried all the specialty restaurants, this time we stuck with our favorites. We ate at La Cucina twice and Le Bistro twice as well as Teppanyaki once. The service was excellent every time, it was usually about an hour total for dinner with the exception of Teppanyaki which took almost two hours. Once at Le Bistro my wife didn’t want an entrée and ordered four appetizers instead. They brought one of her appetizers at the same time as mine, then brought the second when they served my entrée and within two minutes of her finishing that appetizer they brought the third, then fourth; absolutely amazing service.

 

 

When we wanted a quick bite for lunch we went to O’Sheehan’s or Uptown Grill. Both were great but I preferred Uptown Grill for lunch, the burgers were perfect and there was a nice salad bar.

 

 

The only food I was disappointed with was room service. There are no pancakes, waffles or French toast available, if you wanted hot food it was basically eggs and breakfast meats. The first morning we requested 8-8:30 delivery, they came at 7:45 and my poached eggs were more like hard boiled. The second day we again requested 8-8:30 delivery and they showed up at 7:20 while we were still sleeping and the food again was mediocre.

 

 

For the rest of the trip we went to Uptown Grill for breakfast which was great. They had all types of eggs and breakfast sandwiches plus bagels and lox. There were also no pancakes or waffles but it was enough variety that we were happy and didn’t want to go to the buffet.

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Rosethorn40

Rosethorn40

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Where do I RUN to get a Vibe pass when I board? I had a cruise booked on Carnival Magic that has a Vibe like place for free that I was looking forward to enjoying. But yesterday I booked NCL Getaway (same price as Magic but includes UBP)

Still wondering if I made a mistake: Carnival Magic looks like a great ship.

 

Please share some good stuff about other areas of Breakaway to keep me happy with my change.

 

The Magic is a great ship, but don't waste too much time agonizing if you made the right choice. The Getaway looks good too. However, if you are Coke drinker be forewarned-NCL serves Pepsi (Yuk!).

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loving2cruise

loving2cruise

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I have read some negative things about the tendering for Great Stirrip Cay...and looking at your pic of the long lines there, do you think it was worth the time to get off the ship?

 

I am contemplating if I should even get off the ship that day.

 

Would love to hear your opinion on that. Thanks.

Edited by loving2cruise
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brian99

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What type camera did you use? Your pics are perfect.

I have read some negative things about the tendering for Great Stirrip Cay...and looking at your pic of the long lines there, do you think it was worth the time to get off the ship?

 

I am contemplating if I should even get off the ship that day.

 

Would love to hear your opinion on that. Thanks.

 

My main camera is an older DSLR, Canon T2i, I also use a Canon S95 (point and shoot) and an Olympus TG-4 (waterproof). Most pictures don't look great right out of the camera, shooting in a RAW format and adjusting the levels with a program like Lightroom is key.

 

I love GSC, it's my favorite stop. To avoid the lines, try to get on one of the first tenders either by booking an excursion or reserving your tender ticket as soon as possible. If you leave the island by around 3 you shouldn't have much of a line getting back to the ship.

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brian99

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NASSAU:

 

 

We decided to go to the Melia resort in Nassau. It’s a $20 taxi ride (or $2pp jitney) and $35pp for a day pass. Melia is a beautiful resort with a wide beach and your day pass includes all non-motorized beach equipment. There are also a few pools, one with a swim up bar but it was expensive at $11+ a drink. The main reasons we choose Melia instead of a local beach was the availability of shaded lounge chairs and safety. We were comfortable leaving our camera, money, etc. on our lounger while in the water without worrying it would be stolen. Also, the resort isn’t very crowded, we basically had the beach to ourselves, the pool was a little more crowded.

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