Just off the encore - the vibe

[Cookie002]

Good Morning

 

We just disembarked the Encore (feb 16-23) and I thought i would give some pros and cons regarding the vibe in case it may help out any fellow cruisers to make the decision on whether its right or not for you. I will add a couple of tips at the end of this post.

 

First off, we were a party of 6 adults, my husband and I, and four ‘kids’ ( three of our own and one niece) that were all over the age of 21. We were footing the bill, (a very special family trip) so you know that i really thought long and hard about paying for 6 vibe passes for the week.

 

It was an Eastern Caribbean cruise with 2 full sea days, plus you did not get into San Juan until 5 pm on one of the port days. (I think its important to think about this when making a decision.) Also, we did not plan any excursions for this trip, we were just going to figure it out when we got on the ship. Our rooms were just regular basically.

 

Please note that this review is specifically for the ENCORE. I think that you need to realize on this specific ship, so much of the outdoor public area has been eaten up by the go carts, later tag, the haven, and now, the vibe has a lot of real estate. That makes the public lounge area in the sun less than 1/3 of the top of the ship, making 3500 people share that space. Spoiler alert- that is not pleasant, and why maybe the encore gets some pretty negative reviews...

 

PROS

 

1. With so much sea time, we made so much use out of the vibe. You could get lounge chairs whenever you wanted, you had your choice. Even the really comfy padded ones were almost always available on the upper deck.

2. The views from the upper deck were spectacular arriving or leaving port. You could pick your spot, nobody would even be close to you. Looking down onto deck 16, people were stacked up 4 deep trying to get a good look....

3. The staff- Curly, Carlos, and Sam the bartender were amazing. Curly and Carlos would always be checking to see if you needed anything from the bar. They also would bring you pitchers of fresh icy water with glasses whenever you wanted. They also brought around warm cookies in the afternoon. Awesome.

4. Sam the bartender gets a special call out, - we also travelled with some friends, and our one friend kept requesting weird drinks, and Sam would get the recipe and make them. We loved Sam.

5. The hot tubs never really had more than two people in them, but mostly they were empty. So it was easy to WANT to use them. On the main deck, i think they had at least 10 people in them. constantly, kinda like tourist soup. 

6. Peace- no kids running around. Hey, I love kids and raised 3 of them. There is nothing wrong with kids, and kids acting like kids. That’s perfect. But, we wanted a relaxing vacation, and not having kids tearing around the deck, or fighting or crying, (perfectly normal for kids). It was just nice being removed from the little kiddie tornados.

7. Fun atmosphere- although we were removed from the noise of the kiddies, you could hear the music or whatever was going on down below, so it still felt like a party, just a little quieter.

 

CONS

 

1. Cost - hey 209 per week times six adds up. I told my hubby I budgeted that into the cost of the rooms - but he still looked at me like i was crazy when we paid for them on the first day. At sail away, he looked at me impressed, and by day two, he was a believer. When the boat could not tender people for great stirrup bay on the last day of the cruise, I was a hero.

2. No kids - so if you have them, this is probably not an option if you want to max out your time at the vibe.

3. No shade - almost no shade up there. Sure they had tons of umbrellas, but it was almost always too windy to have them open - even on port days!!!!

4. Wind Tunnel - it was very windy up their constantly. The nice thing was you never got too hot, i could stay out there all day, but some days the wind was so great, it was not enjoyable unless you got some of the very sheltered lounges.

 

REVIEW

 

The vibe made our trip outstanding. We loved it, and it was worth every penny to us. But only because this particular ship has an issue with outdoor public loung chairs. I went up to the vibe on a sea day at 7:30 am, and on deck 16 at that time, not one single lounger was available that i could see. (Chairs yes, loungers no) They were all reserved with towels.

Also, the vibe was worth it because of the amount of cruise time at sea. If it was port intensive, and you planned to be off at the port all day, then it would not be worth it to me.

I will do a general review on another thread, but i want to say i have cruised, Disney, Oceania, RCL, and this ship is my favourite. We loved it. But having the vibe really flavoured our experience.

 

TIPS

 

1. We were at the port by 10 am, and were boarding in group 4. It was no problem getting vibe passes, by the time we got to the spot, we picked up tickets 70-76

2. I don’t think the vibe sold out, so for now I would say, as long as you are there by 11, it should be no problem, until people figure out the value of th vibe on this ship in particular.

3. You pick up your tickets for vibe at “Q”, the restaurant on deck 6 just past guest services. They give you a numbered ticket, and then you can get in line and pay for it. By the time we did this, there were huge lines to do your entertainment schedules at the social, and a longish wait at teppanyaki for dining reservations. If i did it again, I would just grab the ticket and go directly to the social, then dining, then paid for vibe. It would have been far more efficient time wise.

4. Not everyone had to be present in order to pick up those vibe passes, they gave me 6 no problem.

 

Thats it, if you have any questions i would be happy to answer.

Cheers

[Freckles_51]

Thank you for the detailed info. We will be on the Encore in 5 weeks.  I need shade and don't like to be in the wind for too long so while it sounds like an awesome space, those 2 cons are the deal-breakers.

 

[Cookie002]

5 minutes ago, Freckles_51 said:

Thank you for the detailed info. We will be on the Encore in 5 weeks.  I need shade and don't like to be in the wind for too long so while it sounds like an awesome space, those 2 cons are the deal-breakers.

 

Hi There

 

If you like shade and no wind then have i got the spot for you.  Go as if you were going to the vibe, and on deck 17, just before you walk up the staircase to the vibe, there are several lounge chairs that are under a sun screen and completely protected by the wind. Better yet, these ones tended to be unfound so to speak, for much of the cruise, and were available quit a bit.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Cookie002 said:

Thats it, if you have any questions i would be happy to answer.

Cheers

Curious on the number of hours you spent in the Vibe during your 2 3/4 sea days. Did you go up there when you were at St a Thomas, Tortola, or GSC port days?  

Edited February 24, 2020 by BirdTravels

[Cookie002]

We did go up there on port days.  Tortola day was changed by ncl from 8 to 5 to 6am to 2 pm.  We did not get off the ship, instead had a super relaxing day. I get stressed about missing the ship, so i always like to be back a few hours before sail away. And there was no way getting up and off the ship at 7 am in the morning for an excursion would have made anybody happy in our group.

 

Nobody was allowed off the ship at GSC as the water was too rough to tender, so we vibe it that day as well. I was sorry to miss this port of call, would have loved to do the beach here, and why we did not bother to get off at Tortola. But, it was so nice to have the vibe available to us, especially in the afternoon, when the wind died down and the sun was out.

 

We were back on the ship at about 3 pm on the st Thomas day, and watched the sail away from there.

 

We got our moneys worth at the vibe!!!!

 

BTW, thank you for your great posts on the Encore, I read them all, and it was super helpful to me

Edited February 24, 2020 by Cookie002

[Freckles_51]

2 hours ago, Cookie002 said:

Hi There

 

If you like shade and no wind then have i got the spot for you.  Go as if you were going to the vibe, and on deck 17, just before you walk up the staircase to the vibe, there are several lounge chairs that are under a sun screen and completely protected by the wind. Better yet, these ones tended to be unfound so to speak, for much of the cruise, and were available quit a bit.

 

Thank you! I will definitely try that area. 

[Cookie002]

I just wanted to add one more point. We are from canada, and having stress free and easy access to lounge chairs was so important to us. And that is exactly what the vibe offered to us.

 

On the main deck, those lounge chairs on the Encore were side by side by side, crammed together. If you did not know your neighbour, you certainly going to. It reminded me of airplane seating, except you would be laying down and covered in sun screen, elbows touching.....not my idea of fun.

 

i would choose an inside room with the vibe over a balcony room. But that’s just me personally. Everyone has different needs and priorities. Thats why i provided what i considered pros and cons. It may be helpful for others in making a decision on whether the VIBE is right for your party.....

[Putter23]

2 hours ago, Cookie002 said:

TIPS

 

4. Not everyone had to be present in order to pick up those vibe passes, they gave me 6 no problem.

 

 

Hi Cookie002....  thank you so much for all of the info for Vibe on the Encore.  We’re on the ship Jan 2021 and are considering getting passes.  In Tip #4 you state that not everyone has to be present.  Was this for getting the tickets or actually paying for the passes?  Do you need everyone’s key card?

Thank you for your help and info!!

[Cookie002]

16 minutes ago, Putter23 said:

Hi Cookie002....  thank you so much for all of the info for Vibe on the Encore.  We’re on the ship Jan 2021 and are considering getting passes.  In Tip #4 you state that not everyone has to be present.  Was this for getting the tickets or actually paying for the passes?  Do you need everyone’s key card?

Thank you for your help and info!!

 I made everyone come to the Q because I was worried we would need everyone in order to get and pay for the passes. But, there is a staff member waiting at the Q with the tickets. He gave us 8 without even checking on our party size, and told us one person could pay for it. My hubby paid for six, and my friends husband paid for their two. 

 

We did not need everyone’s key card. Unless this procedure changes, just send one person to the Q, and divide and conquer any other administrative stuff you have to do.

 

After picking up the numbers,  we sent our hubbies further in to the Q to pay for the vibe passes and sprang the kids so they could explore the ship. Then me and my BFF went to the social to fix some entertainment stuff, and then fixed the dining ressies.

 

Hope this helps!

 

edited to add: Putter, is it the panama cruise you are doing on the encore???

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Cookie002

[Putter23]

Yes we sail Jan 16 for 12 days, partial transit of the canal.  We’ve got 4 sea days and then at least 1 other port day that we’re not getting off ship.  
Your info is very helpful!!! Thank you!

[Cookie002]

We loved this ship so much, today i was researching, and i am almost positive we will do the panama on this ship in feb!!!!!  I imagine vibe passes will be more expensive as its a twelve day cruise though. I don’t know what the cost factor will be.

 

You will have an amazing time. The food was outstanding, the entertainment across the board from the 5 piece band in Q, to the jellybeans at the monitor bar, to the choir of man, to th Beatles.... amazing! We were traveling with a musician, and he was so impressed....

[Putter23]

We are looking forward to it.  We booked this cruise last summer after sailing Bliss to Alaska. It’s been a lonnng wait (and still is!). We loved the Bliss and are happy that a lot of Encore should be familiar to us.

i read a post somewhere that Vibe passes for 12 day was $259.  But of course that can change quickly!  Still, I don’t want to be packed in on those lounge chairs so close together by the pool.

[gmbhardy]

Great review. As a fellow Canadian, I just find it hard to justify the cost of purchasing Vibe Passes. Factoring in a 34% exchange rate that $209 becomes &280 Canadian. That’s a fair chunk of change. We cruise a lot but we’re not rich so we have to watch our nickels and dimes and would rather save up for a Haven Suite once in a while. As I get older I’m getting more and more sensitive to the sun so I really have to limit my sun exposure. For those reasons Vibe is not an attractive option for us, but I fully understand why many people find value in the experience. We tried it once and loved it, but the price at the time was only $129 (that I can justify).

Edited February 24, 2020 by gmbhardy
Grammar

[soflacrzr]

Excellent review!! Thank you for such detail. And, I agree with everything you said. We sailed on her in one of the Inaugural sailings and truly enjoyed the immense space.

[Cookie002]

1 minute ago, gmbhardy said:

Great review. As a fellow Canadian, I just find it hard to justify the cost of purchasing Vibe Passes. Factoring in a 34% exchange rate that $209 becomes &280 Canadian. That’s a fair chunk of change. We cruise a lot but we’re not rich so we have to watch our nickels and dimes and would rather save up for a Haven Suite once in a while. As I get older I’m getting more and sensitive to the sun so I really have to limit my sun exposure. For those reasons Vibe is not an attractive option for us, but I fully understand why many people find value in the experience. We tried it once and loved it, but the price at the time was only $129 (that I can justify).

 

I hear you on the conversion factor from American to Canadian. I really considered hard when deciding to go with the vibe pass. Haven is just too darn much for us, but it sounds wonderful. I kinda considered the vibe as ‘the haven ultra light” because the service was so outstanding.  But the lack of shade is a real issue up there. But, there were always a few spots, and it was not to difficult to get at least one lounge chair in the shade for the hubby.

 

Wind was also an issue.  I would not want to be up there on a transatlantic, that’s for sure.  But on the eastern Caribbean it was mostly good. I think on the panama cruise it will be excellent —-  

[Freckles_51]

2 hours ago, Cookie002 said:

We loved this ship so much, today i was researching, and i am almost positive we will do the panama on this ship in feb!!!!!  I imagine vibe passes will be more expensive as its a twelve day cruise though. I don’t know what the cost factor will be.

 

You will have an amazing time. The food was outstanding, the entertainment across the board from the 5 piece band in Q, to the jellybeans at the monitor bar, to the choir of man, to th Beatles.... amazing! We were traveling with a musician, and he was so impressed....

 

Hi again

A little off topic but since you mentioned Beatles, we cannot pre-book this show, is it bookable onboard or is it just first come?  How much time should we be at the venue before show starts in order to get a seat? Do they play in the main theatre or only in the Cavern Club?

Thanks

[HowardK]

THanks- I am going to Bermuda on it and will likely purchase it just for me the first time. Seems I will get use of it other than Wednesday/Thursday when I will leave ship in port. I'll probably cut down on the race tracek etc..

[megansdad1]

14 hours ago, Freckles_51 said:

 

Hi again

A little off topic but since you mentioned Beatles, we cannot pre-book this show, is it bookable onboard or is it just first come?  How much time should we be at the venue before show starts in order to get a seat? Do they play in the main theatre or only in the Cavern Club?

Thanks

The beetles are played in the Cavern Club.   You cannot book, first come, first serve.  I would personally arrive 45-60 minutes beforehand.  The venue is small. 

[Farts]

Great review. 

 

Have you stayed in the Haven? How would it compare to that. 

 

I personally am not a fan of the pay for access. With that being said, I've been in the Haven. Lol. 

[Freckles_51]

2 hours ago, megansdad1 said:

The beetles are played in the Cavern Club.   You cannot book, first come, first serve.  I would personally arrive 45-60 minutes beforehand.  The venue is small. 

Thanks for the info. Do they play every night in the Cavern Club?

[megansdad1]

18 minutes ago, Freckles_51 said:

Thanks for the info. Do they play every night in the Cavern Club?

No.  From what I have seen, they play 4 times, Day 2,3,5 and 6

[Cookie002]

18 hours ago, Freckles_51 said:

 

Hi again

A little off topic but since you mentioned Beatles, we cannot pre-book this show, is it bookable onboard or is it just first come?  How much time should we be at the venue before show starts in order to get a seat? Do they play in the main theatre or only in the Cavern Club?

Thanks

The Beatles were amazing.  You will love it. They had several shows during the week. Mostly they play at the cavern club, two shows, one at 7 or 7:30, one at 9 or 9:30.

They also play on the last night at the big theatre, one show, 7:30 to 8:15

 

You do not need tickets for any of these shows. On the Wed night (I think) we tried to do the Beatles at the cavern club for the 9 pm show. We arrived at 8:40, and there was zero seating, only standing room. So we skipped it and did the final show in the big theatre on the Saturday night. AMAZING

 

It would have been cool to see them in the cavern club - this is such an amazing and cool space. I think if you want to catch them here, you should arrive  before 8:30 to get seating. Probably the earlier shows in the week might be easier to get into at a later time.

 

No problem getting into the theatre for the last show. My musician friend got in line at 6:45 for the 7:30 show because he wanted to sit in the front row. (And he did). Costumes amazing. Wow when they played SRGT Pepper.....

[Cookie002]

2 hours ago, Farts said:

Great review. 

 

Have you stayed in the Haven? How would it compare to that. 

 

I personally am not a fan of the pay for access. With that being said, I've been in the Haven. Lol. 

 

We have never done the haven. No way we could do it with 6 people! Maybe one day......

 

I think the problem about the concept of many things now in the cruise industry, is that it is no longer an all inclusive vacation. So it irritates people when they see that the bakery is a cost extra, or the chocolate shop is extra, or the Starbucks is extra. When traditionally, everything was included but alcohol. 

 

Cruising is no longer like this.  But i think the thing that really makes some people mad about this particular ship is that they took away the adult only pool area that was free, and used it to make the vibe bigger (I think)

 

I like to research, and did my homework on this ship. I built in the cost of the vibe the way someone would budget for the haven, my perspective is that it was part of the cost of our cruise, so it could be the cruise we wanted to do.

 

I loved being able to wander up to the vibe, and get 6 lounge chairs together whenever I wanted, zero stress. It was heavenly. I am certain I would love the haven even more, but its not in the cards right now!

 

This ship itself is absolutely gorgeous. The staff bend over backwards for you, whether its in the main dining room, or at the Bar, or your room steward. They are so friendly and helpful and want to say yes.

 

The spaces on the ship are wonderful. I loved the social, the cavern, the mojito bar, they are all like little nooks and crannies there for you to explore. You never felt you were sailing with 4000 other people, you could always walk up to any bar, or space, and find a seat (unless you were late for a specific show)

 

Well - the one exception was the buffet. Then you felt it. We avoided it as much as possible, and because it was on deck 16 (beside the main pool deck) it was pretty chaotic, especially on sea days.

 

One weird note about the buffet. The food was overall good. But, they must have an excellent Indian chef aboard because the Indian/ middle eastern food in the buffet was OUTSTANDING. I mean, we discovered it on day 5, and I would sneak in during off hours and get myself a little plate of whatever they had going on. My BFF from Atlanta said it was as good as anything she had ever had at home. I’d completely agree , but living in small town Ontario, cant say we have any great Indian restaurants around....

 

hmmm, totally off topic, aren’t I?

 

 

[Farts]

30 minutes ago, Cookie002 said:

 

We have never done the haven. No way we could do it with 6 people! Maybe one day......

 

I think the problem about the concept of many things now in the cruise industry, is that it is no longer an all inclusive vacation. So it irritates people when they see that the bakery is a cost extra, or the chocolate shop is extra, or the Starbucks is extra. When traditionally, everything was included but alcohol. 

 

Cruising is no longer like this.  But i think the thing that really makes some people mad about this particular ship is that they took away the adult only pool area that was free, and used it to make the vibe bigger (I think)

 

I like to research, and did my homework on this ship. I built in the cost of the vibe the way someone would budget for the haven, my perspective is that it was part of the cost of our cruise, so it could be the cruise we wanted to do.

 

I loved being able to wander up to the vibe, and get 6 lounge chairs together whenever I wanted, zero stress. It was heavenly. I am certain I would love the haven even more, but its not in the cards right now!

 

This ship itself is absolutely gorgeous. The staff bend over backwards for you, whether its in the main dining room, or at the Bar, or your room steward. They are so friendly and helpful and want to say yes.

 

The spaces on the ship are wonderful. I loved the social, the cavern, the mojito bar, they are all like little nooks and crannies there for you to explore. You never felt you were sailing with 4000 other people, you could always walk up to any bar, or space, and find a seat (unless you were late for a specific show)

 

Well - the one exception was the buffet. Then you felt it. We avoided it as much as possible, and because it was on deck 16 (beside the main pool deck) it was pretty chaotic, especially on sea days.

 

One weird note about the buffet. The food was overall good. But, they must have an excellent Indian chef aboard because the Indian/ middle eastern food in the buffet was OUTSTANDING. I mean, we discovered it on day 5, and I would sneak in during off hours and get myself a little plate of whatever they had going on. My BFF from Atlanta said it was as good as anything she had ever had at home. I’d completely agree , but living in small town Ontario, cant say we have any great Indian restaurants around....

 

hmmm, totally off topic, aren’t I?

 

 

Off topic? Yes

 

Interesting? Most definitely!

 

It was a good read. And I LOVE the Indian food on NCL. It is something that I look forward to each and every time I cruise with NCL. It's probably something that I look forward to more so than the steak.  Some of my Indian friends tell me that it is pretty authentic too. 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Farts

[Freckles_51]

Thanks Cookie and megansdad for the Beatles show info.