BirdTravels

We used to always book the Spa Haven because of the price point (considering the cost of the Thermal Suite pass). We love the tub!!! Now, we're booking the forward facing Haven rooms for the extra space and price point.

Now we go to Cagney's for lamb chops too.

Le Bistro used to have a lovely lamb chop. Then they went to lamb medallions where the butchers literally cut away the lamb chop bone and meat and threw it into the trash. Now they have the chop/shank combo with a Moroccan spice which we don't like as much.

No. If you decide to sleep in or have a leisurely breakfast and miss your transfer, you will be stuck on your own in Norway. Obviously, if the ship is late and there is noone on the plane, they will not depart. But like pier runners, the plane does not wait for everyone to show up. They leave once the last transfer bus arrives.

We were in the Haven last September and December (and many times before). We have not received any gold tags. Maybe a travel agent thing. Or gold disembarkation sticky tags for the last night of the cruise.

So,,, if they drop a port the day before final payment, would there be any difference???? Even one cancellation??? Probably not. So the distinction is totally irrelevant. Just a lot of hype.

Steak Tartar yummy

130 days prior to departure, you can make restaurant reservations. Anything you pre-book can be cancelled for refund up to 3 days prior to departure. Around 2 days prior to departure, your reservations are transferred to ship control and cancellations become harder.

You can have port personnel put tags on your bags regardless of your cabin class.

We have already established that the Joy has a lot lower passenger count because of the excessive number of suites onboard (originally designed to cater to the Asian market) and the need to add more rooms to get her revenue up. So the Joy only holds 23% more passengers. More like the Escape: 4266 versus Prima 3099 Or Encore 3998 versus Prima 3099 Or Bliss 4002 Or Epic 4100 Or Getaway 3963 Or Breakaway 3963 But you constantly see "this is smaller on the Prima" or "that is smaller on the Viva". Ah,,, Yeah,,, the ship is smaller.

Moderno: Meal Teppanyaki: Selection of entree/meal Sushi: 4 items per person off menu La Cucina, Cagney's Steakhouse, Le Bistro: 1 appetizer, 1 soup/salad/appetizer, 1 entree, 1 dessert.

NCL excursions pick up at Ward Cove dock. Just like NCL excursions pick up at the AJ dock in Juneau (which is not the main cruise ship dock).

The point was that rather than discussing your personal experience (e.g., You don't eat seafood and the Haven menu has a lot of seafood items), you made a statement that "you read on the internet that people don't like fixed menus". So now it is unclear how a rotating menu would fix the fact that Haven menu has seafood and that you only tolerate what is on the non-seafood menu. Haven Entrees Seafood Pan-Seared Steelhead Trout Crab Cakes Surf (Lobster Tail) and Turf Non-Seafood surf and Turf (Filet Mignon) Double-Cut Pork Chop Herb-Crusted Rotisserie Chicken Roasted Prime Rib au Jus (Cagney's Prime Rib brought up to the Haven) Grilled New York Strip Steak Pork Loin Scallopini Pancetta Wrapped Lamb Chops Spinach and Egg Yolk Raviolo

We use GoPort because they use full size motor coaches. They used to be really cheap, but greatly increased their prices after the pandemic.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Thank you for the posts. We'll be on the encore in a few months and this is wonderful! Looking forward to your continued posts! Pro Tip: On the NCL App, at the top of the home screen on the right, you can pull up the Freestyle Dailies online (icon kinda looks like a book). You can SEND those PDF files as an email to yourself, or just screen capture each page. Save you a little time from taking a photo and editing.

Balcony and above: 3 dinners Studio, Inside, Ocean View: 2 dinners Ocean Blue, Le Bistro, Q, Cagney's, La Cucina: 1 appetizer, 1 soup/salad, 1 entree, 1 dessert Teppanyaki: One meal Food Republic: 4 items for each person off menu Example from Cagney's you asked about. So, yes, it zeros out all charges for meals. At some restaurants, there are specific menu items with additional charges (mostly those that include lobster).

It totally depends on your situation. If you are on an NCL shore excursion, you must follow the directions on your shore ex ticket. If shore NCL shore excursion meeting point is on the ship, you must meet on the ship. And you must travel with your tour group to a tender. If your NCL shore excursion meeting point is on shore then you have to find your way ashore. Tender "tickets" only allow you to join the back [long] line at a specific time. A shore ex ticket allows you to join the back of the [long] line at any time. If CruiseNext is not providing escorted tendering, then your platinum status allows you to join the back of the [long] line at any time. Your "priority" is that you don't have to pull a tender ticket. If CruiseNext is providing escorted tendering for platinum members, they will tell you where and when to be escorted to a tender line. It is a one-and-done escort. Leave on their schedule or join the back of the [long] line when if better fits your schedule.

It is the same experience because the menus are nearly identical to the Haven menu. (I compare it with smaller RCCL ships with out a CK and you eat in their steakhouse. The menus at the "suites restaurant" on RCCL is worse the MDR).

How many nights have you eaten in the Haven Restaurant?

We always book the forward facing 2BR. Last time we were in 17003. Some people like/dislike the solarium balcony, but the forward facing views (from the balcony and the bathroom) can't be beat. For us, we enjoy the "air conditioned sunshine" with a separate thermostat for the the balcony.

Ruby players now get a free premium beverage package. Elites get a premium plus package. The discontinuation of free dri ks for sapphire and below was widely discussed when the program changed on 4/1.

Have you had Covid or Covid symptoms in the last 10 days

NCL also prohibits fresh flowers. Some Ag inspector probably nailed them for bugs traced to flowers,,, so they are now prohibited. Can’t bring them onboard. Can’t buy them for delivery to a stateroom. They even stopped having fresh flowers arrangements in their suites.

Same menu every night. But when you mix in specialty dining that comes with the cruise (and we get more because of our Latitudes tier) it is never a problem. In the link above, we tried and enjoyed most of the things on the menu.

You know that over half the posts here are just that. Parrots squawking about something they read on the internet with no factual basis. No personal, first hand experience. I cruise 5-7 times a year across different cruise lines. And I am very opinionated based on my first hand, current experience (not something for 5-10 years ago). I was just over on the MSC board reading a comparison between the Yacht Club and the Haven. A few bullets in, I realized that the poster had been on one YC cruise and was parroting what they had read on the internet about the Haven. Pretty negatively spun internet fake news about the Haven. We treat ourselves to a suite from time to time. Haven last December, a RCCL Grand Suite coming up, and a MSC Yacht Club Deluxe Grand Suite after that. NCL and MSC are comparable. RCCL... lags far far behind.