We've talked about how awful it is what they did on the Getaway, right?

[tjt87]

18 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

So if you're not willing to pay absurd upcharges for access to parts of the ship that had been/should be open to all passengers,  and which by taking off limits substantially reduces the quality of life for most people on the ship in order to benefit a small group, then cruising is a "bad idea"? 

 

No I don't think cruising is a bad idea. I was replying to some one who thought it was a good idea because there would be more vibe passes. I hate the fact that they eating away at all the space up top that was once, and should be available to all.

 

After my next (Paid for) BA cruise I'll be trying another cruise line mega ship. Now if enough people did that with their cruise dollars things may change. If people continue to pay for things that were and should be included we can only expect to see more of the same.

[perditax]

22 minutes ago, StolidCruiser said:

 

It is the second time you have used “quality of life” in reference to an area of a cruise ship closed-off to the general public.

 

You need to re-evaluate what that phrase means in the context of your usage.   

 

 

Quality of life/QoL has become a common piece of business lingo in many industries that has nothing to do with actual life/death issues. I work in the entertainment software industry, and we commonly refer to “QoL” changes in certain patches to our software. 

 

It means making an experience suck less.

Edited June 24, 2019 by perditax

[sverigecruiser]

48 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

Frank Del Rio is already saying that, but lovely of you to join in. 

 

But I do NOT say it.

[sverigecruiser]

52 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

So then you're confirming that's almost literally exactly what you said. 

 

There are some people who save carefully, budget for a cruise, can afford what they budget for, and don't have an extra $200/person to spend on access to a part of the ship that should be open to all passengers.

 

I say that if you can't afford to pay for VIBE you shall probably not cruise. Lots of people have to save carefully to be able to cruise but if an extra $200/person should mean that they couldn't afford to cruise they probably shouldn't cruise.

 

I absolutely understand that people with a very tight budget feel that $200 is too much to spend and then they are not willing to pay for it, which I understand, but that is not what I'm talking about.

 

Which parts of the ships that should be open to all passengers is entierly up to the cruiseline to decide. (With the exception that some areas for security reasons have to be crew only!)

[PortFees45]

2 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I say that if you can't afford to pay for VIBE you shall probably not cruise. 

You sound like FDR's perfect customer. Glad you two found each other. 

[PortFees45]

3 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

Which parts of the ships that should be open to all passengers is entierly up to the cruiseline to decide. (With the exception that some areas for security reasons have to be crew only!)

So why allow passengers outside at all? Lets make Inside cabins TRULY inside cabins. If you want fresh air, there's a $24.99/day surcharge for access to the outside decks...the few that are still accessible without a Vibe pass or being in the Haven. 

 

Contrast this with Anthem of the Seas, the only other "mega ship" near me and one I'd ignored out of loyalty to NCL, but no longer. Anthem has the beautiful "solarium" at the front of the ship. Open to all passengers. It's not THAT much bigger than the -Away ships, but the premium areas don't seem to eat up so much of the ship's space and resources, like a bloodthirsty tumor. 

[MrMike45]

12 hours ago, elwood_98034 said:

We are paying 10x the price of an inside cabin just so that when we walk on deck we don't have 10x people standing there with us. I'm sorry. We four are paying for those forty other people not to be there with us.

 

We have bid on a H2. The DOS. If we get that I doubt that we will even leave the cabin. We probably won't even let the butler in.

Must have been a good sale...few posts prior you claimed 20x as much 

[hallux]

16 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

I say that if you can't afford to pay for VIBE you shall probably not cruise. Lots of people have to save carefully to be able to cruise but if an extra $200/person should mean that they couldn't afford to cruise they probably shouldn't cruise.

So, because I can't afford $200 for a Vibe pass I don't deserve to spend time on a relaxing vacation?  That's what you're saying.  I'm lucky that this year I might be able to cruise twice, but it's otherwise a once a year treat at best.

 

Next thing you know, the entire outside deck space will be set aside for Haven or other paid upgrade access and people that can afford to pay for it will justify it and say that the rest of us just need to deal with it!

Edited June 24, 2019 by hallux

[Lupush]

My brain hurts reading this thread.

[sverigecruiser]

23 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

You sound like FDR's perfect customer. Glad you two found each other. 

 

I'm not FDR's customer. I don't cruise on NCL with the Haven prices they have now. It's up to NCL to decide how much the cruise shall cost and it's up to me to decide if I think that it's worth it. Right now it's not.

[sverigecruiser]

23 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

So why allow passengers outside at all? Lets make Inside cabins TRULY inside cabins. If you want fresh air, there's a $24.99/day surcharge for access to the outside decks...the few that are still accessible without a Vibe pass or being in the Haven. 

 

 

Ask NCL. It's up to them to decide if the inside passengers shall stay inside.

[sverigecruiser]

16 minutes ago, hallux said:

So, because I can't afford $200 for a Vibe pass I don't deserve to spend time on a relaxing vacation?  That's what you're saying.  I'm lucky that this year I might be able to cruise twice, but it's otherwise a once a year treat at best.

 

Next thing you know, the entire outside deck space will be set aside for Haven or other paid upgrade access and people that can afford to pay for it will justify it and say that the rest of us just need to deal with it!

 

I'm sure that you deserve a relaxing vacation and it's up to you if you want to spend your last money on a cruise, I shouldn't do it. I should defenitely not consider two cruises the same year if I couldn't afford $200 extra.

 

I doubt that NCL are planning to close the outside decks for most of their customers but if they do it's up to them.

 

 

[Greenpea2]

Well, it would be nice to have a discussion without calling people names and saying unpleasant things, but I guess not gonna happen. 

 

Im a realist. A cruise line is gonna do what it does to attract whatever customers they want to attract. NCL used to be going for a vast majority of everyday people with a small (ratio wise) number of suites with extra amenities. Then the hunkered down building up the suite experience but still seeming to aim for non suite majority. I’m one of the people that does both suite and non suite. Once the big ships started coming (for me it was the Epic) the main pool area was ridiculous. Tiny. Crowded. Unrelentingly loud and packed. 

 

Now they are continuing to expand the suite/Haven areas along with other spaces that can only be used and enjoyed with a hefty upcharge. Whether you think $200 per person fir Vibe is a lot or a little, the fact is it is now $200 per person to have a less crowded sun deck experience. 

 

My solution is this: when I want suite, I cruise NCL. But when I don’t want to spend that much I no longer cruise NCL. I can’t stand the main pool area and there is very little other open relatively calm areas. So then I cruise RCI for the solarium. Everyone has a choice. If the unhappy cruisers not in suites just stopped booking, then NCL would either fix what is broken for non Haven people or they will have gotten what they are going for. 

[sverigecruiser]

 

How many VIBE threads have you seen?

 

Lots of people ask how to get a VIBE-pass. When they shall arrive at the terminal and where to run when they board.An expanded VIBE may not solve the problem but they will be able to sell more VIBE-passes without overcrowding VIBE so more people will get them.

 

I think that's a good thing. Is it worth to loose other outside space? Not up to me to decide. NCL must decide that.

[gatour]

1 hour ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I'm sure that you deserve a relaxing vacation and it's up to you if you want to spend your last money on a cruise, I shouldn't do it. I should defenitely not consider two cruises the same year if I couldn't afford $200 extra.

 

I doubt that NCL are planning to close the outside decks for most of their customers but if they do it's up to them.

 

 

I am not following you logic that you if can't afford an extra $200 for a pass, you shouldn't cruise.  For many people, money is a finite resource.  They have to take care of daily living expenses (mortgage/rent, food, fuel, water, electric, saving for retirement etc).  So they may be able to afford to spend $2000 on a cruise but not $2200.  Back in the day, I could not afford a balcony cabin but could afford an inside cabin.  Using you logic I should not have cruised.

 

Ditto in regards to doing two cruises.  If someone can afford to do two 7 day cruises in one year for $4000 but not afford $4400.  The options would be do two cruises.  Or doing one cruise and spend the other week at home.  I know which choice I would make.

 

An analogy would be going out to a restaurant.  People can afford the food, a drink, and tip.  However they can't afford the $75 bottle of wine.  Should they not go to the restaurant?

Edited June 24, 2019 by gatour

[MrMike45]

Actually have a legit question, if someone knows the answer to it:

 

On the Breakaway and Escape (only 2 other ships with Vibe I have been on), the Vibe passes are now $200+ and I want to say are limited to ~100 passes per cruise.

 

On the Getaway, with the expanded Vibe...how much are they going for, and how many passes are there?  Does anyone know? 

[Greenpea2]

15 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

How many VIBE threads have you seen?

 

Lots of people ask how to get a VIBE-pass. When they shall arrive at the terminal and where to run when they board.An expanded VIBE may not solve the problem but they will be able to sell more VIBE-passes without overcrowding VIBE so more people will get them.

 

I think that's a good thing. Is it worth to loose other outside space? Not up to me to decide. NCL must decide that.

Not sure if your question is directed at me, but I have seen many Vibe threads. Probably as many as are out there. I agree that NCL will decide. But their customers will also decide and that is what will drive NCL’s decision.

[newmexicoNita]

7 minutes ago, gatour said:

I am not following you logic that you if can't afford an extra $200 for a pass, you shouldn't cruise.  For many people, money is a finite resource.  They have to take care of daily living expenses (mortgage/rent, food, fuel, water, electric, etc).  So they may be able to afford to spend $2000 on a cruise but not $2200.  Back in the day, I could not afford a balcony cabin but could afford an inside cabin.  Using you logic I should not have cruised.

 

Ditto in regards to doing two cruises.  If someone can afford to do two 7 day cruises in one year for $4000 but not afford $4400.  The options would be do two cruises.  Or doing one cruise and spend the other week at home.  I know which choice I would make.

 

An analogy would be going out to a restaurant.  People can afford the food, a drink, and tip.  However they can't afford the $75 bottle of wine.  Should they not go to the restaurant?

I totally agree: that is why they have so many different types of cabins, have Haven and offer vibe passes to those who want to spend the money. Comments like we shouldn't cruise if we can't afford a Vibe is like saying we should not go to an upscale steak or sea food restaurant if we can't afford the most expensive thing on the menu or we shouldn't eat in Ocean Blue if we can't afford to pay the up charge for Lobster.

[NLH Arizona]

3 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

No, I really don't. Quality of life is a perfectly appropriate term for describing the quality of shipboard life on a cruise. That experience is substantially reduced when a huge portion of the upper decks that had been open to all passengers since Getaway was launched is now off limits...while passengers who previously would have enjoyed it are sardined into a remaining space that is overcrowded as it is. A massive diversion of resources to benefit the "1 percent" passengers who make up a tiny minority of the ship, while the rest of the passengers suffer. Perfect metaphor for the 2019 American economy. 

Yes, they make up a tiny majority of the passengers, but probably make up a large majority of the revenue.

[Steff79]

46 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

How many VIBE threads have you seen?

 

Lots of people ask how to get a VIBE-pass. When they shall arrive at the terminal and where to run when they board.An expanded VIBE may not solve the problem but they will be able to sell more VIBE-passes without overcrowding VIBE so more people will get them.

 

I think that's a good thing. Is it worth to loose other outside space? Not up to me to decide. NCL must decide that.

how many threads have you seen were peple wrote about the packed overcrowded pool deck? for all that don´t buy a pass the space is now fewer then before.

the  sundeck plans for Encore are horrible. but NCL can be glad as long they have customers what love to pay for things that should be included ( or was in the past ). I have no problem with a little nickel and dime like the restaurant ( but wish there were a included option more at the newer ships like the shanghai´s ). But that is too much.

Can´t write here what i thought about the NCL Management when we sailed into Gairanger with the closed door to the front of the ship. they would ban me for life.

[hallux]

The point I'm trying to make is if there are only 100 vibe passes (or maybe now 150 if they expanded the Vibe section) that accounts for 100 passengers out of nearly 4,000 on the ship.  Are you saying that those other 3500 (assuming not everyone tried to get one) shouldn't have even bothered buying the cruise if they weren't going to budget and try for the Vibe?

 

I'll be honest - I never tried getting into the area on the Bliss that is equivalent to what has been converted to Vibe, but that's partially because the cruise i was on wasn't very conducive to outdoor activities.

 

I can't fault a company for trying to maximize profits, but this is starting to turn into maximizing profits at the expense of those who either can't afford to buy the upgrade or don't have the opportunity because it's such a limited opportunity to grab.

[tropicallie]

We've sailed on eleven NCL cruises.  Six have been in Haven by winning bids, not directly booked into Haven.  We have never even laid a towel on a lounger in the Haven sundeck.  It's a great place for quiet time but we're in our 60's and get enough quiet time at home.  On the away class ships our favorite place to be outside is the Spice H2O.  Free,  adults only, a bar and food buffet.  Far more on offer there than on the Haven sundeck.  And we can always find a seat in the shade or under an umbrella.  As far as we're concerned, they can expand all they want as long as they leave the Spice H2O the way it is.  It's the one place we miss when sailing on other class ships.

[JUSRN]

3 hours ago, Lupush said:

My brain hurts reading this thread.

 

Mine too! LOL

[sverigecruiser]

2 minutes ago, Greenpea2 said:

Not sure if your question is directed at me, but I have seen many Vibe threads. Probably as many as are out there. I agree that NCL will decide. But their customers will also decide and that is what will drive NCL’s decision.

 

It wasn't directed to anyone special. After reading all the VIBE threads my conclusion is that many of their customers want an expanded VIBE. 

[losumi]

I agree with gardengirl2011, why not travel on a luxury cruise line for the amount of money that you pay for the Haven.