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LrgPizza

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About Me

  • Location
    Everywhere
  • Interests
    Cruising, Las Vegas, Tacos, Musical Theater
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    NCL, DCL, RCI
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Caribbean

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  1. There was a boy in the Haven Restaurant, old enough to know better, who would take off running, screaming, from the table every night. He would then go hide under a table in another area of the restaurant. Everyone would stare while the dad tried to reason with the child. I said a little too loud, "Dad needs to get down there, haul that kid out, and get him out of here." The server heard me, rolled her eyes, and said, "That boy does that every single meal. They never take him out." If my husband had let me, I'd have gone over there and done it myself. The little *****.
  2. It's been quite a while since I've cruised with you, Keith. I'd imagine us sitting at the Haven bar, ordering beer, and being frowned upon by the bartenders trying to push us into ordering something more fancy and classy. It went something like this: "No thanks. I'm good with the beer. And you can keep your glass."
  3. You are sure reading a lot into my post that wasn't there, but that's okay! My attitude was great. With this being our first Haven experience, I really didn't know what to expect, so when we didn't get things we asked for, we certainly didn't let it impact our cruise. At the time my son asked for pretzels, we had not yet been in the lounges to see that they were there. Once we found them, perfect! And once we found out that they would not bring them to the restaurant during dinner, no big deal. He simply was going to have them as a side dish, but he certainly lived and didn't care when denied. He's a 20 year old picky eater, and he has learned to live with himself. haha I don't consider being pleasant a novel suggestion. I consider it a given. All staff with whom we dealt were extremely friendly, professional, and pleasant, and not just because we were the same to them, but because they are just so well trained.
  4. We did the same - he got a large tip. He was the best steward I've ever had. Since we were not in the Haven, he was also servicing all the standard cabins around us, so he was not a "Haven steward". We loved the guy.
  5. Since many, like myself, are fans of Clarense Bennett Sauceda, aka The Chocolate Cowboy, I thought I'd share. He boarded the NCJ Joy on 5/28, and will be in the Sugarcane Bar for 6 short weeks before disembarking to go open the Viva. He said he is working just 3 more years, then retiring to Honduras. For those who are lucky enough to sail with him, like me, congratulations. He truly is an NCL legend.
  6. I didn't put my Username in the title, but I did refer to myself in 3rd person, so you know this is important stuff right here... I have always been a never-Haven cruiser, and I just spent a week of Haven on the NCL Joy. Here are my thoughts on the whole “once you go Haven, you’ll never go back” movement. We originally booked a standard balcony cabin. To my surprise, my husband placed a bid on a Haven Forward-Facing Penthouse with Balcony. The bid was barely into the “Fair” category, which is orange on the little pie chart bid thing. The very next day, he was notified it was accepted. Our cabin was a two-room front corner thing, with a balcony off the living room area and a forward-facing porthole off the bedroom. We were on Deck 10, so not in the actual Haven space. Our cabin was fantastic. We loved everything about it. There was so much storage space that I could have brought every article of clothing, purse, shoes etc. that I own. There was way more storage just in the bathroom alone than in my own bathroom at home. I think we used about 1/10 of the storage space in this cabin. The bed was comfortable, the shower was spacious, there was a tub we never used, and a separate mirrored, seated vanity area. (Sorry, I didn’t take any pictures of the cabin. We aren’t really picture people. There are lots of pictures out there already. We met our butler, Xolani, on the very first day. I never saw him again the entire cruise, which was fine, because I really didn’t need anything from him. I called him once because the hair dryer was broken. After 2 days, I mentioned it to my outstanding cabin steward, Cleward, who immediately got me a new one, and had an electrical person install it. (Which I call “plugging it in.”) I had often read about requesting specific snacks to have in the cabin. We really aren’t snackers, and don’t spend much time in the cabin, but that first day Xolani asked us if we wanted any special snacks. My husband asked for chocolate chip cookies, and my son asked for pretzel rolls. I couldn’t think of anything, so I passed. This was on Sunday. On Tuesday, a plate appeared with white chocolate macadamia and oatmeal raisin cookies. We never saw a chocolate chip cookie. No big deal, because if my husband wanted some, there were plenty to be found on board. On Wednesday, my son was brought some pretzel rolls. That was the only time. This wasn’t what we had expected to happen with the stories we had read here, but again, we aren’t really snackers, and if we were, there are plenty to be found around the ship, in the Haven’s Horizon lounge or the regular observation lounge. We were also brought some little sandwich things that looked gross. They always had potato chips with them which were soggy from having been enclosed with the sandwiches. I think someone named Patrick was the concierge. He greeted us in the waiting area of the terminal before boarding. After that, I don’t think we saw him until disembarking. There was a man named Mr. X who was always behind the concierge desk, who was handy if we had any questions, or when we needed to move a reservation. It really was no different than going to the box office, but I can see how it would be convenient if you have lots of changes and things to coordinate between dining and shows. The Haven restaurant is often described as the best part of the Haven, and we agree, even after it got off to a bad service start. The food was spectacular. I ate dinner there 3 times, lunch 6 times, and breakfast 3 times. When we arrived for our first meal there (dinner on embarkation day), they were trying very hard to divert people to Q the smokehouse to dine for free. We declined and were seated immediately. The place was about 2/3 full. We waited over 20 minutes for someone to stop by and say anything to us. After we had finished our appetizers and had plates cleared, it was over an hour before our entrees arrived, or before anyone even stopped by to check on us. By the time we finished our entrees, we had already been there nearly 2.5 hours, so we skipped out before being offered dessert. It was our first night at sea, and we had other things to do. That first night, I had the surf & turf, and my meal was delicious. My son had the pork loin scallopini. It comes with spaetzle, a mushroom sauce, and some veggies. He asked them to hold the veggies. They held absolutely everything except the tiny dry portion of pork. We had a chuckle at this. He just headed to the buffet for more food later, so no big deal. He didn’t want to risk waiting another hour for them to fix it. Interestingly, this was the only time our service was bad in the Haven restaurant, and we never saw that waiter again the entire cruise. While we quickly learned that special requests often would not be granted, we learned to adjust. Some examples: The mini buffet has all the fixings for lox & bagel except the bagels, so I made mine on plain bread the first day. The next day, I asked if I could get a bagel, but it never arrived, so I think the answer was no? It was not a big deal, because I would get lox and bagels in the regular Garden Café buffet. Further, my son asked for apple juice for lunch, since he does not drink soda or alcohol. He was told no, they can only get it at breakfast, so he just drank water every meal. One dinner he asked for pretzel rolls. He was told no, because “those are only in the lounge.” He apologized for asking. I asked for broccolini (a listed side on the menu) instead of spinach with my surf and turf. It didn’t happen, so I just ignored the spinach… Anyway, while it was certainly a learning experience for us regarding special requests, we really enjoyed all the food that we did eat. On the very last day, my son asked for 2 lobster tails instead of the steak part of surf and turf. They did indeed accommodate him, so I was happy he was brave enough to make another request. The other thing we liked about the Haven was having a place to chill out away from the crowds. It rained quite a bit on the cruise, and when we could not find space outside on the deck 8 Waterfront, we could always find space in the upper level lounge chairs around the pool area. This is not an area we would typically spend any time, because there is no view of the ocean from the Haven Courtyard, and we like to see the ocean when we cruise, but it was great when no outside space could be found on rainy days. We never used the Haven pool. It was packed with kids the entire trip. We were not bothered by this in the slightest, but we heard many others complaining. I found a hidden plastic duck near a stair rail and I tossed it to the kids in the Haven pool. They loved it. The Horizon lounge (the observation lounge for Haven guests) was cozy, but there is no bar. The same with the sun deck. There is such a tiny bar for the entire Haven area, and it just cannot keep up. While servers would generally come around the various areas, it was usually half an hour to get a drink. Since we were not actually staying in the Haven, we would stop and grab drinks elsewhere before heading there. We found there to be lots of demanding and entitled people in the Haven. While there are demanding and entitled people everywhere, I always imagined it would be more highly concentrated in the Haven, and my expectations were certainly met. I called these people “letter-writers”, because these seemed like people that would send those lengthy letters prior to boarding requesting the sun and the moon be delivered to them, and don’t forget the white gloves. I found myself sitting at bars and places with the key card upside down because I didn’t want anyone to know. We had priority boarding on the ferry from the ship to St. Georges. As we were paraded past the giant line of other cruisers, I felt embarrassed. I would love to call out so many people specifically, and maybe I will later, but I am sure that many will recognize themselves here, so for now I will refrain. It just made me uncomfortable. There were also lots of normal, fun people in the Haven, but you had to really look for them. We made some great new friends. My overall impressions of the Haven are mixed. I can take it or leave it. I loved the cabin. I loved the restaurant. We will probably place a bid in the “fair” category again in the future, but I cannot imagine ever booking it directly. We had an absolutely fabulous cruise, and can't wait to sail again. This one was a blast, but it had nothing really to do with the Haven.
  7. I have a question for all you Haven folks… I’ve heard people say you can drop bags off as soon as you board in your Haven suite. What if the suite is not located in the Haven proper?
  8. I’m sorry you missed Six. It is still playing on Broadway, and it is fabulous! Personally, I can’t imagine being bored on a cruise - or relaxing on one, for that matter. For us, the ship is the destination, and we never have enough time to do all we want to do. It’s pretty much go, go, go the entire trip. That said, cruising isn’t for everyone, and we enjoy land trips just as well. Sorry your trip was a bust.
  9. I found it. Thank you! This app is new to me. I’m familiar with NCL’s app, so I’m not used to one having this much useful information. Haha
  10. Is this a thing? I’m not seeing a barbershop. If he gets a cut in the regular salon, is the price the same as a woman getting the works? He just needs a trim. Desperately.
  11. My son wouldn’t drink if he could. That wasn’t the reason for my post. I get what you are saying though.
  12. My son grew up on NCL, and he had an okay time last year at 19. But this is why I say it’s an awkward time, because activities were limited. Although over 18 can drink on NCL with parent permission, he had no interest. This will be his first time on RCI, so he isn’t sure what to expect. I think he will simply have fun exploring a totally different ship, eating pizza, and karaoke.
  13. So we need to keep an eye out for “Hyperlink”? Will do.
  14. Outstanding! I did not know you could do that in the app. This is crazy helpful!
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