complawyer

without trying to sound like a complete snob, diva, or jerk, there is really nothing of any value for my wife and i to attain diamond status. at the very least i would book the club balcony, but normally try for a suite or the haven, so i really have no incentive to get to diamond status, other than bragging rights. I was very content to be platinum + and am just as content at sapphire> I've already come to the reality that I will never make it to ambassador, or if by a slim chance I do, I'll probably be to old to enjoy it. lol

nferr: I think you missed the point of the original question. it was posed as would it be worth it to book a haven suite if traveling solo. my response was if he could afford it to do so. While everything you've said makes sense and holds true, youre absolutely correct, if you're solo and dont care about the extra amenities, a balcony makes perfect sense. if you want the extra goodies (and apparently you dont) while i am not knocking your decisions, I stand by my original post. if he can afford to upgrade, "GO FOR IT"

no, actually i gave him $75 dollars total for the entire cruise, and it was my cabin steward not the butler. the butler got $150 at the end, and the concierge $100. in the end, i gave the cabin steward back the bottle of champagne as we never got around to drinking it. our loss, but i shows what you can expect staying in a haven complex.

1st off good buddy, it's good to hear from you again. actually, i must have been blessed with great butlers. never once have i been charged for a beer or a soda that they brought my cabin. just lucky i guess. on a prior cruise, i asked the steward if he could replace the sparking wine bottle with a bottle of proseco. 9my wife's favorite) he did with no problem. on my last cruise (this past april) i asked the steward for the same thing, and although he informed me he counldnt do it, he brought us a bottle of moet et chandon instead. and who thinks the haven isnt worth it?

you will definitely not regret booking a haven, especially if your ship has the designated haven pool area, bar and restaurant. i would also like to add, when we 1st meet our butler, (which is usually right after we get into the cabin) i request the following: bring a carafe of coffee, and a carafe of hot water for tea, sweet rolls, pastries and or croissants. but just enough to start the day, and i have him/her bring it at around 7:00 am. this really helps if you need to get off the ship for an early scheduled excursion. if i dont ask for a beer, i'll ask for a can or two of pepsi (i'm addicted). i also have him bring an assortment of meats, cheeses and crackers as an afternoon munchie finally, (and ive posted this many times before) at final disembarkation, everyone is trying to get off the ship. its like trying to check out of a hotel at the same time as a few thousand of your closest friends. the concierge has the ability to get you off the ship, to your luggage and on your way to a cab, within 15-20 minutes. no muss, no fuss, and no bother. all things being equal, to me that alone is worth the price of admission. again, if in any way you can afford the extra $$$ go for it. our last cruise (this past april from athens) we invited an old friend to join us in the 2 bedroom. i told her the 2nd bedroom was small, but would accommodate 1 person comfortably and she would have access to the rest of the cabin and all the haven amenities. she had sailed with ncl before, but never in the haven complex. needless to say, she came off the cruise spoiled as hell, and i dont think she'll ever book a lessor cabin on her own. by the way, she's joining us again in a 2 bedroom suite this sept on the star from southampton. the down side is the star doesnt have a haven, but the suite amenities are the same

just a pilot. even with no sea days, you can call the butler and have him bring you goodies when you get back aboard, you can chill out in the haven pool or jaccuzzi (assuming your ship has one) you can relax in the haven bar without the crowds and the noise, you can have the concierge reserve a seat for you in the show, or a table in the specialty restaurants,. i have asked my butler to bring me an ice cold beer after an exhausting day on an excursion and there's nothing like taking off your shoes, kicking back on your balcony and watching the sea go by. sometimes if the price works out, my wife and i book the 2 bedroom suite. it's the same idea (imho)as getting a haven suite solo. the extra bedroom is not utilized, but we're in the haven complex the questions was" is it worth it to book the haven if youre going solo". you would face the same dilemma in any cabin if the cruise was port intensive with no sea days. again, i believe the answer is simple. if you can afford it, go for it. the only downside with booking a haven, is that it will be difficult, if not impossible to be satisfied with anything less. do you agree sthrngary? ncl's personal haven expert

you received a number of responses, i believe the most simple and direct answer to your question is as follows "if you can afford it do it" you cannot lose with a haven cabin.

ontheweb. while i think your 2nd question was answered (look up your account on the website), in the alternative, if you can remember the cruises you have taken, and the amount of days, it's really simple. you get 1 point per night per cruise (7 night cruise, 7 points) 2 points for suite or haven (club balcony is not a suite for points purposes) 7nights in a suite, 14 points. a few years back, you got an additional point if you booked 9 months or earlier in advance. unfortunately, those days have ridden into the sunset, never to be seen or heard from again.

there is nothing really that i would care to discuss with this imaginary person. your questions, could probably be answered by any number of people on this site

personal experience. we got an offer from cesars entertainment for a free cruise in 2010. we needed to book through casinos at sea. i did this type of booking for about 6 years when i get an unsolicited call from an ncl cruise consultant. since i'd been booking cruises (may i add rather successfully) for 6 years, i asked what the pcc could so for me that i couldnt accomplish for myself. Actually there wasnt much, but i decided to give them a chance. while i concede everything worked well, i looked at the cruise i wanted, the category cabin, then i called up and the only thing pcc had to do was confirm the booking, and take my credit card. only problem is that my wife gets 20% off on a cruise, and my numbers and those of the cruise consultant were always different, and obviously in favor of ncl resulting in a higher price. one day i got particularly frustrated and decided to once again call casinos at sea. i found out that i had a free club balcony suite, and all sorts of coupons and goodies that the cruise consultant never told me about. needless to say i never called them again. I did discover they work on commission which is obviously not going to result in many extra benefits to the traveler my advice (and this is only my opinion) is to go to the ncl website, and book it yourself. or in the alternative, decide what you want, where you want to go and what cabin (price) you want to choose. armed with t his information, then (and only then) contact the pcc. if you still get snubbed, "DEMAND" another one,or ask for a supervisor. as any job that works on commissions, you will find they fall over each other to do a booking. by the way, i found a person who works directly for casinos at sea, and she is a godsend, and saved us a boatload of money (forgive the intentional pun) i would be delighted to give you her name and phone number, but alas and alack, this site forbids such activity.

yes, she can you the excursion, you get a voucher and show it to the person on the tour bus. ncl doesnt care. and if there are 2 excursions am and pm. if they are different you can get the $50 discount on both. my wife gets the discount, but i usually do the shore excursion bookings, and the tickets are always in my name

with all the people massing in disneyworld, it would probably take at least an hour to get to the front of even one ride, forget about trying for 2. also, you need to make a reservation to enter the park, and my sister told me, that the trams dont go to any specific park anymore. so you need to park and it takes at least 15-20 minutes to get from the parking lot to the gate. this is a very ill-planned idea. additionally, with transportation, entrance fees, food/drinks, and depending an the amount of people in this persons party that want to go, this could be a $1,000 day visit. ironically, its actually cheaper take a 10 day cruise then to spend a week in disneyworld (depending of course on cabin choice). we live in los angeles, and for a while we were actually yearly passholders for disneyworld. airfaresvwerevcheap, hotel rates were low for passholders, you could park hop with no problems. unfortunately, these days, it aint happening

graphic guy: collared shirts are only required in le bistro. consequently i avoid this restaurant at all costs., i also think its a bit pretentious

generally this is a mucho "BAD" idea unless port canaveral is the last port on the cruise. my sister lives in orlando, and says its a pain to go there, and they're season pass holders.

if its just/only to get an item, a simple excuse me, can i just get the whatever youre looking for to the person closest to the item and most people will be accommodating . it's where y ou jump in the line to get the same things that others are waiting for that will get you thrown overboard

no, but you can also pre-order the water. go to ncl .com. log on to your account and where it says beverage packages, you can order water. if you get to know the bartender at the casaino, he may also give you a coupe if bottles each night. if he does this for you, i'd slip him a few bucks,

traveling man. for many years, i have always valued your input/insight. what category cabin were you in, what was the approximate sq footage of your cabin? and where was the departure point I believe these criteria are more important than decor or ambiance . and that compares apples to apples! ive tried to book a celebrity cruise many times in the past, but the costs were way, way higher than ncl. i certainly realize you get what you pay for, i just think you can get more bang for your buck with ncl. while i have been chastised before about booking mainly in haven or "suites" im not looking for ambiance or decor. ive never had a problem with service (in fact on our last cruise april 2022) the concierge and butler went out of their way to be helpful, cuisine, is of course subjective, you cant knock cagney's or teppanyaki. never having been on a celebrity vessel, i concede that they may indeed be nicer with a better esthetic as a whole. for what i get with ncl, i'm perfectly satisfied. if at any time i can find a better deal with any other cruise line, count me in. i have in past posts indicated i am not by any means an ncl cheerleader, and certainly not a happy -go-lucky pollyanna. personally, i'll stick with ncl until i find something better, or similar pricewise. my main criteria has/is price, cabin,and itinerary. having said all that, have a great cruise!

the rooms are practically identical. the perks (except for the pool) are the same. with either haven or suite, you can still eat breakfast and/or lunch in the specialty designated restaurants. while i love the haven, it's not worth the extra $2,000 just to be able to get into their pool.at least not to me. the extra 2k can be well spent on shore excursions, or other goodies.

personally, i'd feel much more comfortable keeping "ALL" my luggage with me until i got to the ship

ive looked at celebrity cruises, theyre really expensive. ncl may not be the best, but so far im sticking with them. they offer me the places i want to go and see, at a cost that i can handle comfortably. what more can i ask for?

not, not for a while. shame though, it was amazing

leave ncl out of your equation, and try and contact the local australia and new zealand consulates in you city( or the closest ones to you) and see if they can help get you a visa

we were on the jade out of athens april 8th. the 1st day was a sea day, and my wife won $4000 on the slot machine. so yes, there are occasionally large payouts. by the way, the sun hadnt even set yet that being said, i wouldnt bet the rent money on it. we frequent las vegas, and i'm always amazed with people who have a "system". i try and point out that the many hotels along the las vegas strip were built because people thought they had a system. in the end, the house ALWAYS wins!!!!

club balconies are supposed to be a little larger than regular balconies. on our 1st ncl cruise we booked a mid-ship mini suite (now called club balconies, but alas a rose by any other name etc) my sister-in-law and her husband booked a balcony on a different deck. their cabin was smaller, and ours have the couch that could be converted into another bed. the regular balcony did not have the couch. t his was on the pearl, and was 10 years ago. if its just 2 of you, and you (1) dont require the extra space (2) dont plan to spend a lot of time in the cabin, it's probably not worth it. then again, in's only another $200 so what the h**l!

honolulu blue. imagine the problems if most of the passengers wanted to exchange their currency for the local currency. how would you anticipate ncl (or any cruise line) to bring enough foreign currency, in which denominations, to accommodate the passengers. it takes just a little while to use a local currency exchange service in your city, if you give your bank sufficient notice they can do it for you, and since you acknowledge that the exchange rate would be between "bad an terrible" why would you want to do it on a ship, when most international airports can do it for you before you board the plane finally, imagine the headache if you are sailing with tourists from other foreign countries and they want to exchange their currency. if you are traveling to european ports, most take euros. in the long run, it's better, easier, and certainly more convenient, to do your currency exchange before you travel