HHIturtlelady

I would love to see your Copenhagen information - jayme_34474@yahoo.com

We have booked a forward facing 2 bedroom in the Haven. This is our first time on the Epic and forward facing. There are other 2 bedroom Haven rooms available. It the forward facing better than one of the side cabins? 

We were in the Haven on the Jade just recently when it had mechanical issues so we only got 3 days. The Epic is so much bigger and offers so much more. Any advice on how to maximize the Haven on this large ship would be great.

Also we have never ever used the pool areas on any cruise. Is the pool area with slides, etc. worth taking our kids? They will be 16 and basically 13 during this cruise. I wasn't sure if there would be lines or how it would work.

Is the Haven restaurant worth going to every day or should we go to the main dining? We will have 3 specialty but other nights?

Also on the Haven sun deck, will they let the kids on the upper deck? I heard it was no kids allowed but mine are older so I wasn't sure if 18 was the age.

Thanks!!

I am gluten free and have travel twice now with NCL this year. The first one was literally a nightmare. I let them know ahead of time. I talked to the restaurant manager when I got on the boat. I ordered meals in advance. They lost my orders. They gave me the wrong food. The argued with me over what I could and could not have. I was not treated nicely like other guests. They avoided me and didn't want to do anything extra for me. I am hoping that was just a one time bad thing and no one else has to go through that.

I just got off the Jade (prematurely) and was in the Haven. Completely different experience. They took great care of me and made sure I could order anything I wanted. Room service was great, the butler made sure I got what I needed. Gluten free sandwiches and pizza! It is the main dining rooms where I have the most trouble.

So we had a 2 bedroom suite with all 5 perks. We bid on and were successful in getting a 2 bedroom Haven. I know we keep all the perks and get the Haven amenities but there is one big difference. On the Jade you get unlimited open bar in the Haven versus the ultimate beverage package. Any chance we will get that too?

We signed up for 11:30-12pm and got on before that. I am not sure they even looked at what time we signed up for. They just gave you a group number after you checked in.

As for Havana we had a private tour guide from 10am until midnight. We did a driving tour in an old convertible for 3 hours, had lunch at a great local place, did a couple hour walking tour, went back to the ship for dinner and to change clothes, went to an old fort for a canon firing, and to a caberet show. Great day!

Things to look out for: public restrooms will not have toilet paper and may not even have toilet seats, restrooms in restaurants are better, most places do not have a/c and if they do it is not great, most private shops prices are negotiable, government run shops and restaurants are not as good as private, watch out for tour drivers asking you for a tour (most speak limited English), there are 2 different currencies (CUC and CUP), you need CUC for most things and it is much more valuable than CUP, CUC has monuments on it, CUP has people on it, there will be a couple pushy vendors in the square near the terminal so be on your toes, people were very nice, city was dirty and smelly in places, and most of remember where you are and appreciate where you came from.

Have a great time! We did.

What ship? Where?

Jade going to Southern Caribbean

They said the ship always docks port side. I would love the view but am really concerned about being under the fitness center.

We just upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite. We had a choice of the one remaining on the port side or three on the starboard. We took the port one because we were told it was better. Wanted to get pros and cons on this. It is under the fitness center too, any worries with that?

Thanks for all your responses!

We will be doing a 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise in November. We are in the Eastern Time Zone and will have daylight savings by that point. I have just found out that while our destinations are currently in the same time zone as us they do not participate in daylight savings. All our destinations will be an hour ahead when we sail.

So my question is are the arrival and departure times on the NCL website island time or eastern time? I am trying to schedule excursions and want to be sure we are on time.

I just took a NCL cruise with a gluten allergy. It was terrible!! I let them special dietary need desk know well in advance, I talked to the restaurant manager, and I let every wait staff know. They still got it wrong and treated me like crap!

I asked for a hamburger with no bun. He brought me just the bun! Most of the wait staff had no idea what gluten was and did not bother to ask. They had special desserts on board for me that I was never told about so I got to eat ice cream the whole cruise.

I even put my order in 24 hours in advance so the kitchen would know what I needed. They lost my order or took 20 minutes to find it.

I watched as my staff had wonderful interactions with the people around me but wouldn't even look at me when they spoke to me or try to have a conversation. I was not mean or disrespectful in any way. I just let them know I had an allergy and boy that just changed their tune.

Getting ready for a 10 day Southern Carribean in November. Fingers crossed it goes better this time!

We are currently booked in a forward facing Penthouse with Large Balcony (cabin 10000) on the Jade for a 10 day Southern Caribbean in November.

Looking for recommendations as to whether we will be able to use the balcony at sea. I have heard that we can't or it would be too windy to use it. Pros and cons?

We are weighing our options to keep this or upgrade to a 2 bedroom suite. I wanted a larger balcony buy all the 2 bedrooms are mid-ship.

The is our first trip to the Southern Caribbean. A

We have cruised a couple times but we have gone with the penthouse with large balcony for the first time. Looking for info on perks for suites and what to plan for.

This is our first trip on the Jade but not NCL. Any info on the restaurants would be helpful. I am gluten free and had some issues on my last NCL trip.

Would love to hear from anyone joining us on our cruise! Can't wait, counting the days!!

We just got back from Cuba. When you get off the boat they will check your passport. They did not check our bags coming off the boat. They did check our bags coming back to the ship. It was a pretty quick process.

We just got back from Cuba. We had to pay NCL $75 for our Visa and it was given to us when we got on the boat. The travel certification may not apply to us. I am from the US so we have to have a travel certification for that we went on a group tour for educational purposes. check with the cruise line.

We just got back from Cuba and did a private tour. We went with FerTours. Fernando is great and replies quickly via email. You have several options for the tour. We did the premium tour. We had an English speaking guide from 10am until midnight. We did a walking tour, a driving tour, lunch, canon firing, and show at the Parisien.

There will be lots of old convertibles driving around picking people up for tours. Beware most of the drivers do not speak English. Also in the square where you meet private guides there are several people trying to sell things that can be a little aggressive.

Buy water when you are getting off the boat. Do not drink the water in Cuba. There will be limited cell service and no internet. Very few places have air conditioning. Public restrooms will not have toilet paper and we even had one with no toilet seats so be prepared!

Hope this helps!