Candy Apple 12

On the Escape this past February I was told by the cashier’s desk officer that all gambling is excluded from being paid for by non-refundable OBC (shareholder OBC is non-refundable). He said this included bingo, Deal or No Deal, Wheel of Fortune, and the casino, of course. I found this out after blowing $50 on Wheel of Fortune because it was towards the end of the cruise and hadn’t spent any of my SH OBC yet. My account showed that I still had my $100 non refundable credit and that I owed $50. I was able to transfer my OBC to my mom’s and sister’s accounts because they both had made some purchases.

On our Bliss Panama Canal cruise, we tipped the night butler separately because he delivered hot tea every morning at 5:30 AM. My husband is at work by 6 AM every day and wakes up early, even on vacation! We asked the concierge and the day butler does not have to “tip out” to the night butler.

One of my favorite butlers was Fanny on the Bliss.

I agree with @Guindalf that it’s a money grab. In addition, it is considered gambling so you cannot use your NCLH non-refundable stockholder OBC to purchase the “cards” which is done through a website on your phone. If you do plan to go, make sure your phone is charged. You do not have to use your internet minutes to play.

Just for your sailing? Did they say why?

Laat week on the Escape the concierge told everyone who wanted an early tender to meet in the Haven lounge at 9:30. Our port time was expected to be 10 AM. As soon as the tenders were cleared, the concierge used the Haven crew elevators to bring us down to deck four to get in line for the tender. We were on the tender by 10:10.AM. We were on the second tender to leave. There were two tenders filling at the same time. After guests were loaded onto the tender crew loaded additional items onto the tender such as signage for the island and many coolers. This may have been why we were the second tender to leave. We did arrive in plenty of time to get loungers in the first row at Infinity Beach, which is the beach closest to the tenders. Remember to bring your beach towels from your suite. For the return trip, look for a crew member holding a Haven sign so you can bypass the line. This started at 2 PM for us. Last tender was scheduled for 3:30.

Thanks for the photos. Definitely a kiddie pool on sea days! I like the table idea for the concierge. Bliss and Escape have counters to lean on.

Can you get M&M’s from the butler since there are no courtyard snacks? How deep is the infinity pool when it is half drained? Is the concierge desk in the Haven lounge like on the Bliss and Escape?

According to our butler on the Escape last week, we couldn’t get Haven breakfast before the Haven restaurant opened. We had a 6:30 AM excursion, and he said the night butler could bring us anything that was on the continental breakfast on the hang tag. Based on this, I’d venture to guess that if the Haven restaurant is closed, you are limited to the regular room service menu. I’d love to hear what others have experienced.

What’s the room to butler ratio on the Prima? I just got off the Escape, and the butler said there were 95 Haven rooms and 10 butlers. I didn’t think to ask if he was including the night butler in his count or not, but either way roughly 10 rooms per butler. We had excellent service from the butler. .

What happened when you tried? At lunch one day last week on the Escape I saw many orders leave the Haven kitchen destined for the pool area, so I don’t see why you couldn’t request it in the restaurant.

I was on the Escape last week, and the Haven restaurant was not open early for our Tortola port of call. My butler said the night butler could bring anything to the room which was on the continental breakfast menu, but none of the hot foods from the Haven restaurant because it wasn’t open. I eat gluten free, so there’s not much on the continental breakfast menu that I can eat. I had picked up a few boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios from the regular (not Haven) breakfast buffet a few days earlier when my traveling companions wanted to try it out, so I asked for a few cartons of milk to keep in the fridge. My traveling companions ate some almond croissants left over from the day before. The butler brought 6-8 every morning—way too many for the two of them to eat! With all aboard time of 1:30, there was plenty of time to be seated in the Haven restaurant before they closed at 2. Closing time was not changed. If you need extra time to freshen up after a beach day, ask your butler to bring you whatever type of sandwiches you might like to eat as your afternoon snack. Last week the butler brought BLT’s, PB&J, ham and cheese, and chicken salad on different days. He also brought a cheese platter a few times. Don’t worry. Your butler’s job is to ensure that you don’t go hangry!

What makes the Epic Haven the best in the fleet? I’ve been on the Bliss in the Haven three times and loved it, especially the Horizon lounge. I just got off the Escape and while I missed the Horizon lounge, I still enjoyed the Haven.

I was specifically told by the concierge, assistant concierge, and on board account crew member that additional gratuities cannot be paid for with non-refundable OBC. I did add gratuities to my account. The assistant concierge gave me a guest copy of the receipts and envelopes in which to place the receipts to give them to each respective crew member. I’ve redacted some information, but the receipt clearly shows the crew member who is to receive the gratuity along with their ID number and crew cabin number. If the crew member doesn’t receive it on their account, they have the receipt.

You cannot use the non-refundable OBC for any gaming purchases. I was on the Escape last week, and the crew member at the On board credit desk said gaming includes casino, bingo, Deal or No Deal, and Wheel of Fortune. He also confirmed that it cannot be used for daily service charge or additional gratuities.

Thank you!

How long did the passport line take? Or did you go through the BC line with your passport since you said “30 seconds later we were outside”? We are taking passports next month, but after the fiasco disembarking in LA last month (in laws got off before us and waited 90 minutes in the regular line, and we waited about 40 minutes in the porter line), I’ll bring BC’s along with passports if it’ll shorten the time in the terminal after disembarkation.

Looking forward to reading more as I’m in the Haven on this itinerary in a few weeks. Is there any charge (other than drinks and food) in Puerto Plata?

As soon as the ship is ready. Unfortunately for me, this has never been before noon. I’ve been unlucky on the Bliss for three sailings. The first time was out of Seattle when the previous cruise had a norovirus outbreak, and they did a deep clean before letting the new passengers on. The second was out of LA on Easter Sunday when the Coast Guard decided to do their inspection. The third was out of Miami this past December. The incoming cruise was an eastbound Panama Canal and customs took a lot of time processing the disembarking passengers. This cruise was also a Panama Canal cruise and customs was also painfully slow (my in-laws disembarked around 8 AM and waited in the regular line for 90 minutes; we disembarked just after 9 AM and paid a porter to go through the faster line which took about 30 minutes once we entered that line), so I’m sure embarkation was delayed for those incoming passengers. I’m hoping for better luck next month on the Escape out of Port Canaveral.

We tried it on the Bliss last month. All five of us agreed that we’d never go there again. The ribs were dry. The pulled pork was mostly the burnt ends. I like some burnt ends, but I also want to enjoy moist pulled pork. The regular corn bread was dry. I eat gluten-free and the GF corn bread was actually moist and not too bad. The banana pudding was a very weird texture—almost too thick. The bread pudding was the strangest we’ve ever seen; it looked like a mashup of bread pudding and flan. The person who got it said it was terrible. The music was fine, but once it started it was too loud for any conversation at the table.

Thanks! I hope they offer La Cucina for my cruise which I think is sold out because it’s no longer showing on NCL’s website.

Did the concierge mention it to you? I’ve been in the Haven three times and no one onboard ever mentioned that the American Diner was free. I learned that here on Cruise Critic and did partake of it on our most recent cruise.

I’m going on the Escape soon. La Cucina sounds great for lunch. How did you learn of this option?

Great explanation! Do you know how to find out which terminal you’re sailing from? I’m on the Escape out of Oort Canaveral next month.

Which ship? If you have sewer smells from the bathroom drain, pour water into the drain.