Niffernay

1 hour ago, DublinFC said:

Who gets the prepaid gratuities in the Haven?  I do not want to feel we are stiffing the waiter in the Haven restaurant.

 I have to be honest, I have no idea; I tip regardless.  There are PLENTY of people on here who will be happy to answer that for you.    😁

On 5/16/2020 at 8:31 PM, dmdiver said:

So, of course we order our new favorite drink, the butt melon. 

I am so ordering a Butt Melon!!

On 5/16/2020 at 6:09 PM, BirdTravels said:

On busy port days, a breakfast spread served on a white tablecloth in the morning and a spread of snacks to greet us in the afternoon (and bowls of M&Ms, gummy bears, and bar mix). 
 

Did you order breakfast in the morning or the night before? 

20 hours ago, DublinFC said:

 I am asking all of this because I upgraded our sailing to the Haven as a surprise for my wife.  I am hoping she does not find out until we walk into the cruise terminal.

I was able to hide our upgrade from my husband until I had to put on our luggage tags and he noticed they said "Priority".  He was pleased.  It was the start to our "once you go Haven, you never go back" cruising.  

PS - we always tip our Haven waiter/server, but then we pretty much tip everyone, which is our choice 🙂

Ship -Breakaway

Deck -15

Stateroom # -15120

Stateroom Category – H5 (Haven)

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Quiet for the most part; there were some kids running in the hallway a couple times.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? – No.

Balcony View – Good view; no obstructions

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? – I believe the balcony was  normal for the class; good size; two chairs and a table with room to maneuver

Was wind a problem? – No.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? – Not an aft cabin.

Any specific problems with this cabin? -No specific problems

Any other comments? – This was a beautiful Haven room. Of our 5 cruises, it was my husband’s favorite.  Good size with flatscreen television, king-sized bed, small table and two chairs (could dine at if desired) and a medium-sized couch (which I believe would pull out to a twin sized bed, but we forgot to try).  Really liked that there was a small “hallway” between the main room and the bathroom with hanging closet space on both sides and shelving for storage (only on the right side).  There were two small drawers in this little hallway that didn’t hold much but were useful for small things.  This hallway also had a curtain that could be closed which was nice for changing.  There was a good-sized counter with a couple large and a couple smaller drawers in the main room as well as a “hidden” storage area behind the mirror to the left of the television.  There’s a large round area on the mirror that you push and it opens to reveal storage (I used it for makeup etc. as it wasn’t very deep).  Each side of the bed also had a nightstand with a shelf and drawer.  Only the left side (as you face the bed) of the bed had an outlet on the nightstand.  There was a separate counter (over the fridge) where the Nespresso machine and ice bucket sat; above this counter was a glass cabinet that held the coffee cups and wine/champagne glasses and wine opener and other bar tools.  There were a couple of open shelves adjacent to this area that could hold smaller items.  The bathroom itself was very roomy with a double sink area, large mirror, tub/shower and toilet which technically had its own door, but it was glass so it wasn’t very “private”.  There were a couple of cubbies under the sink and one small drawer.  One item of note: the doors/drawers in the main room are the kind that you push to open and push to close (be careful not to accidentally shut a cord in them because they become very hard to open); the doors/drawers in the bathroom are the pull open kind and tended to slam shut.  Not an issue, it just scared the heck out of me every time.

All in all, great room.  We have the same one booked for our next cruise.

On 1/9/2020 at 12:30 PM, GeorgiaGirl14 said:

Loving this thread for the added info. before our March 8 cruise.  Wish someone would post Freestyle Dailies.  

We just got off the Breakaway and I have all the dailies; I will upload them as soon as I get them scanned.  😀

53 minutes ago, cliffd64 said:

Yes Leo is still there

 

Awesome. Thank you so much!!!  Can't wait to stalk him again.  🤣

5 hours ago, cliffd64 said:

 

Just off Breakaway...  Any chance you know if Leo (solo entertainer) is still on the Breakaway?  We're going in January and really hoping he's still there.  Thanks.

37 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

I am embarrassed to tell you, we forgot them.  I knew I would for get something.  We are going on the Encore in May.  I will figure something out for that.  I did tip a lot though.  My bad for forgetting.

Bummer!  I think I'm going to take the individually wrapped Life Savers or something like that this time.  I don't want them to think they're getting left-over candy canes. 🤣

12 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

Haven and Children:    Their parent let them be rude, scream, play with the lounge chairs that are in the pool like slides, splash water on the adults in the Hot Tub.  You hit the nail on the head: kids wouldn't be as much of a problem if the parents were more attentive and cared about how their children's behavior affected others.  

 

The Elephant in the Room: "Is the Haven Worth The Premium?"  Huge YES!!!

Thanks for your recap.  How did the candy canes go over?? 

58 minutes ago, dporter said:

@Niffernay  I love your turtle photo, is that a box turtle hatchling?

Thanks!! Not sure what kind it it; I just love turtles. 😍 

On 11/23/2019 at 8:19 AM, Sthrngary said:

Candy Canes for all staff because a lovely lady said the staff loves that (Candy Cane Lady)

They will love it! I promise.  I actually had a waitress come over to me and ask if I had any candy canes left 🤣 I was happy to oblige.  - the Candy Cane Lady (aka Jen)

@Sthrngary Thank you so much for your insight. I for one, appreciated it greatly (and picked up a couple of tips!).   

We are now "Haven or Bust"' as once we experienced it, we will never go back to "gen pop".  We have sailed Haven twice (Epic and Getaway), with our third trip coming up in January (Breakaway). To us, it's worth the extra money for all that we get. Plus we go on one vacation a year (damn jobs) so we want it to be fantastic.   We have loved our experiences, from the bar (best service by far) to the food to the priority embarkation to the reserved seating at shows to the butler and concierge and all the rest. 

I too tip all the way through the cruise and at the end.  That is my choice.  I save my $5 bills throughout the year so I have plenty to use; I also give them mini candy canes (all our other cruises were before Christmas so I may have to re-think my candy choice) and they LOVE it; last year I was the Candy Cane Lady.  I usually get a bigger response from the candy than the $$.  And whether it's the money or the candy or my sparkling personality, they know my name and what I drink (and when it comes to the Haven bartenders, what I drink depending on the time of the day - I can't say enough about them).  As has been said so many times - ad nausuem  - tipping is personal preference; if you don't want to do it, don't, if you do, go for it!  It makes me happy to make other people happy - even if I have to pay for it.   

We have been lucky in our experience and not had issues with unruly children.  I don't have a lot of patience with said unruly children (or unruly adults for that matter) so if we had, we might have a different outlook on the issue.  I can say however, that no amount of unruliness would spoil a cruise for me.  If I am bothered by something, I will get a drink and move on.  Life is too short (and the cruise too short) to allow things such as this to dictate your experiences.  There's always the casino!!

Thanks again for your insight.  - Jen

PS - did I mention how much we have loved the Haven bartenders? 🤣

On 10/13/2019 at 11:36 AM, Sthrngary said:

Watch out though, this deletes the other floors, other guests might have checked prior to your arrival in the elevator.

Oh the looks we got when we did this. 🤣  The first time it was unintentional. 

14 hours ago, david_sobe said:

 No one likes tomato soup and grilled cheese more than me.  

My husband may fight you on this 🤣  He will be so excited if this is true.

On 11/7/2019 at 8:34 AM, SouthLyonCruiser said:

Some would say, 'but I don't ever spill my drink'. But, yes, some do, and NCL would probably have to drain the tub, clean and refill it if someone was seen spilling a drink in the water. 

You would think this would be the case, but we were on the Dawn a few years back in the pool and there was a man who did a "farmer blow" (held one nostril and blew out, then the other) directly into the water. 🤮  We got out and said something to one of the NCL employees and they did nothing.  It was outright disgusting.  Needless to say, we stayed out of that pool for rest of the day. Ick.  

PS - I see you're from South Lyon; we are from Waterford.  😀

On 10/24/2019 at 2:26 PM, PelicanBill said:

I always want to see a good band poolside playing island music and reggae. The band last year was amazing. And this year, it was a different band, but with the same lead singer!  He’s awesome. I think his name is Leo.

 

Was this him?  If so, this is Leo and he is awesome!  If it is him, I hope he is still there in January. We stalked him on our cruise in 2016.  

 

Last year on the Getaway I bought several Diet Cokes in the port terminal from a vending machine and brought them onboard.  

Thank you!  Can't wait to try some out in January!!

Enjoying your review. Thanks!

17 hours ago, Cherry1235 said:

I'm doing the Cozumel Bar Hop and have to meet Senor Frogs downtown.

Thanks for your help

 

We love the Bar Hop. Going for our third time in January.  Just cross over the road and head left/north.  You can miss Senor Frogs. It's just outside of the "mall" area.  Enjoy!!!

On 9/12/2019 at 2:57 PM, Shoppie124 said:

That is Christian!   He works at Waves during the day and Maltings in the evening 

That is awesome!  I hope he's still there in January (no clue how long their contracts run)!  He was a wonderful bartender and nice guy. 

On 9/7/2019 at 5:19 PM, Shoppie124 said:

 

Is This Christian??? He was our Haven bartender last December on the Getaway.  He was awesome!!

 

 

I'm in!! 

Ours did (14128). Our friends were next to us. Our room steward just asked that we close it when we left the room.