Sthrngary

@McGarrett5oh This is why I keep saying butlers are hit or miss. You did everything you could do to control the situation. I hate you get a less then great butler. For $500.00 he should have been over the top. Next time, I will cruise with you and be your butler, just kidding but not about the $500.00. My answer to your question, "NO". You paid more then enough and maybe to much. Reading is the letter would have told the butler you needs, times and asks. Again, I hope the rest of the trip has been pleasing. Cruise well and enjoy every moment. .

@shepherd really My wife is afraid to drive the M Class. She claims she will watch. I am simply not buy it. If it is not your car, floor it. Cruise well and stay in the speed limit MAYBE!

Way to go CruiseCritic.com board. But until I taste them, daily, for 10 days straight, I reserve the right to challenge this comment. I trust NO ONE with my cookies. PERIOD. Cruise well and at least we have Cookies.

@jonthomas I believe if I remember correctly, your guarantee was because that is what was left for the cruise you wanted. You got what some would consider an upgrade with a ocean view. I fully understand you will not do a guarantee again. However, if any of us had a choose, it would be an assigned stateroom unless it was not available. Cost the same because Oceania does not discount to do a guarantee. I am quite sure you will have a grand time. You previous post clearly show you love cruising. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@dock Thank you. 42 days away and counting. Our only challenge now is to keep the weight we lost off and maybe even lose an extra pound or two. However, Murphy's Law is against us. My wife and I are going to a Three Day Driving Event at the S.C. BMW Driving School on Sunday. They have a restaurant dine-a-round, buffet breakfast/lunch. CHEAT. My friends 70th birthday party is right after. CHEAT and dare I say it, Halloween candy. CHEAT, CHEAT, CHEAT. Wish us luck. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Thank you to everyone on the kind feedback on this post. I always attempt to be balanced and fair with my posts. Give the good, acknowledge the not so good from a personal perspective. Blogs like this one tend to point out the bad parts of cruising, a brand, a ship or some aspect of the industry. Human nature when a guest is upset/frustrated with some aspect of their very expensive vacation. I remember communicating with a NCL supervisor to gain permission to upgrade my wife and my Drink package without doing the same for my two adult children. It was confirmed, it showed online, when I got on the NCL Joy in the Haven, we went to lunch at the "American Diner". My kids ordered a drink. When I got back to my Suite, I check and sure enough, they were charged. I went to the Haven Desk and was told they did not have the standard drink program. I took out the email, documentation and handed it to them. I was "UPSET". I did my due diligence, saved my documentation and still the cruise line could not get it right. It was about to really negatively effect my entire cruise, THEN!!!! My wife said, "Gary, they will handle the issue if you just give them some time. Be upset if they don't handle it. Right now, you are on a vacation that took 3 years to sail. Don't mess it up on day one." 15 minutes later, it was all fixed. I have a wise wife. Being straight up with opinions and comments is so very important. Some guest feel, sharing only bad stuff or only good stuff is the way to go. This approach is helpful to a point by giving future guest a heads up on what to avoid or diffuse. To be truly helpful, the same comments have to have happened on other streams unsolicited, with lots of people to make it a true concern. One person with a complaint does not make a cruise brand. One person with glowing reviews does not make a cruise brand. Lots of guests showing a trend towards a cruise topic whether positive or negatives is much more credible. Just my two cents, and I am sticking with it. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@LSuzQ I grew up on Long Island, NY. As a child, I remember a neighbors around the corner had a "RED" Stingray. It was the bomb. I asked my mother for one of those little metal stingray cars that used be be sold by a UK company. This little toy car was my favorite toy until my mom got me the Aston Martin DB from James Bond. So "Stingray" sounds good to me. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@WildWanderers Thank you for your kind words. I believe that every cruise brand had their pros/cons. They attempt to complicate things to make it look better then it might seem. It is clear, Oceania is no different. Much of the issues for all cruise brands is the leadership do not empower the team member to make guest friendly decisions. Instead, the guest feel in many ways disappointed. They might get the issue resolved but it took way to much time, aggravation and effort to do so. My M.O. is to learn how many folks like you, who are brand loyal, get disappointed on some aspects of the brand. Then I attempt to avoid it like the plague. That is why I don't do excursions with cruise brands. Why I did the full fare Prestige Drink Package pre-cruise is instead of upgrading on the ship. Why I did my own air fare and my own hotel bookings. Because of that, I controlled what I could control and it reduced my stress and disappointment level. In my own and very personal experience, every time I did something thinking if I did this quantify, I would get a % off, I got disappointed. So I stop. I am not good when I am angry, not good at all. I am NOT saying I am right. What I am saying is I know what has detracted from my past cruise experience and I do my best to avoid it in the future. To highlight my point, if I were on the NCL Encore, in the Haven VIP suites, I could NOT order a drink to my suite without paying for it in full even though I had the upgraded Premium PLUS Drink Package. I hated that but I knew the rules so I never had to see that fee on my stateroom accounting. One of the first things I asked over a year ago on this blog was, "If I had the Prestige Drink Package, could I order drink to my suite at no charge?" That answer was YES. For me based my my past experience, that was a value. Not to everyone, but to me. On my upcoming Oceania Cruise, something WILL go wrong. I have no clue what that will be and it most likely won't be in my control. Maybe it will be: A port or more will be cancelled The Oceania cookies will be tasteless or bad They won't have a Bulgari Gift Set In My suite The Oceania Beach Bag will not be provided The meat at the polo grill will be over cooked, under cooked so god forbid, to small or large I will not be able to get more sandwiches' from the rolling cart, during the afternoon tea The lobster will be to chewy, over cooked of stringy No one will be refilling our drinks in a timely manner Room service will not provide a folk to me My spoons for ice cream will be dirty My Hot Tub on my Balcony will not work The exercise equipment in the wasted exercise room in my suite will be broken The list of third world problems will go on and on. It will happen and I will be disappointed just like everyone else. With all the planning, research hours, days, weeks and months of planning I have done; something will go wrong, it always does. All I hope with all my heart is less will go wrong then has gone wrong for me in the past. That would be an enhancement to my cruise vacation experience. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I fully agree. Thank you

I rate luxury on a vacation as ANY enhancement to what I felt or received on previous experiences. So far, pre-cruise, Oceania is doing pretty well. My wife asked me to do the grocery shopping a common accordance post retirement and when I came home, I had a large envelope waiting from Oceania Cruises. In it was the "Oceania Cruise Vacation Guide." Most unexpected based on my past experiences even in the VIP sections of Mainstream cruise brands. I had heard something about this document but it was not clear if they were still being sent out. In it is a Cover Letter that is somewhat generic, luggage tags, and a large booklet customized with my wife and my name. All of this was a nice touch if only to build excitement for my upcoming vacation. I have gotten luggage tags in the past from cruise brands but usually about 15 days before my cruise. My approach is to print my own luggage tags, put them into heavy duty luggage tag plastic holders and put these fancy tags on the luggage at the port side. I have had these kinds of luggage tag ripped off during transport and almost lost my luggage due to that on more then one occasion. All that said, nice touch if not a bit generic, on Oceania's part with the packet of information. On to other impressions. Specialty Restaurant Online Reservations: This was a much easier process then I expected. When I made my reservations, I included my friend booking number so they were in the same table, day, time and Restaurant. My wife and I upgraded ourselves to a "Vista Suite" so we have an additional pre-cruise reservation for each of the specialty restaurants. I am hoping to add our friends joining us to our additional reservations once on the ship. The point is, the online experience was simple and seamless on this topic. Booking Cooking Classes: This is a new activity for my wife and me on a cruise ship. I knew from past experiences, the spa always sold out on sea days. I figured the cooking class on the Sea Day would sell out as well. I was right. Two days after I booked it for the only sea day, it was waitlisted. The online booking process was again, seamless and easy. I would book another class if I knew which of the ports was going to be cancelled in advance. Sorry, I am being a little sarcastic. Pre-Cruise Communication: I booked with a cruise travel agent, therefore NOT directly with Oceania. Yet, to my surprise and delight, I received a phone call from a Riviera Ship Pre-Cruise Concierge. The general questions were on food allergies or requirements so the ship could be stocked if we had special needs before our cruise. This call was a surprise especially when it happened so far in advance of the cruise. I have come to find out, this is NOT normal and I have no idea why it was done for me. Not complaining, just impressed. I would got a letter from other brands 30 days out with a phone number or email address. Never a call. Issue Resolution: I had an issue which does not have to be rehashed now. When my travel agent could not resolve the issue, I wrote a letter and was contacted no later than 48 hours after the correspondence was received. My issue was resolved to my satisfaction within a day from it being acknowledged. Mistakes happen. When they do, it is how the mistake is handled. If done, quickly to the guest satisfaction, the guest rates the brand better then if an issue never happened. If it is drawn out, the guest increasable loses faith in the brands value proposition. Pre-Cruise/Post Cruise Hotel and Airfare: I had Oceania initially do my Pre-Cruise Hotel and airfare. Within a month, I booked both directly with the Hotel and Airline respectively. Taking it off my booking was quick and easy. I read to many things online that gave me the feeling I was better off doing it myself. The hotels especially were much more affordable when I booked them on my own. Drink Package Selection: Please remember, I booked this cruise over a year ago. At the time, there was no "SimplyMore" program. The program then was choose one of three perks. I choose the onboard Credit Offered at the time for $600.00. Learning about the ins/outs of the Oceania Beverage Packages was NOT the easiest thing I did. With the help of the members here on CruiseCritic.com on the Oceania Board, I learned. My decision was to purchase the Prestige Drink Package for both my wife and myself. I applied the $600.00 of On-Board-Credit and paid upfront another $600.00 to fully pay for the package. For me and my previous experiences, this was not an outrageous amount. When I upgraded my drink package with NCL to the Premium Plus Drink Package, just the upgrade would by $300 for a seven day cruise. So, $600.00 per guest for a 10 day cruise was in my opinion fair. Free would have been better but as we have all found out, free does not exist, your fare goes up. Mobile App: There seems not to be one. That is a bit disappointing however even when I had one in the past, it was never very stable so not a deal breaker. Still, this needs to be on the Oceania Things-To-Do-List. Just please do it right wo don't do it at all. Gaining Detailed Information On ALL Amenities: This was not the easiest thing in my planning. I like to know what all the rules are to the game. Brand marketing department deal in broad stokes that seem more important then they really are. I hate that and wanted the real scope. This took the longest time to gather and sometime the information was very inconsistant. I wish cruise brands would learn we the guest want to know the rules to the game and so make them easy to find out. Also, marketing department need to learn to "Under promise and over deliver" in order to create guest delight. It is my intension to take all I learned, verify it while on the cruise, and post it after I return. My way of saying thank you to every one on this great CruiseCritic.com board. Those are some impressions and observations based on my decades of cruising over 30 + cruises on many brands. No company is perfect, I was not expecting an Ultra-Luxury Experience because I did not book a n Ultra-Luxury brand. What I did receive so far has exceeded my expectations. On to the the cruise which is the real test. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Brad1185 Thank you for responding. I have a lot on the line as well. I also have totally read every single post on this and other boards about Oceania. The truth is, if what I wanted was a close to perfect as possible, I would have booked the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection or Regent Seven Seas Cruises. It would have cost me three times as much. Yet I studied those brands also. The brand boards are less then complementary at times, just like this board. Instead of focusing on hearsay from those posting, take their comments under advisement. Control what you can control just like what you would have done with Viking. My wife also said, if this cruise does not go well, that is it for cruises. So I feel your pain. I am confident that what will go wrong, will indeed go wrong. Roll with the punches and stay flexibly. It is a cruise, in a floating hotel, on the water, with weather as a constant issue, things will go wrong. All brands. My unsolicited advice is, go on Friday looking for the positive instead of the negatives, report back here so we can all learn from you. I am a betting man. I BET you will be pleasantly surprise if you go into it as a new adventurer. PS: I have cruise most brands. NCL is no better or worse for me than any other. I tend to go in the NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat and MSC Yacht Club to manage my expectations. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Brad1185 Not that I am an expert or anything on Oceania, I am NOT!! I would like to know why you think you might have made a mistake? My gut tells me you are reading posts by folks that have 98% things that are wrong, and 2% things that are right. Unless this is your first cruise, which I doubt, this Oceania Blog is no different then NCL, Celebrity, MSC, or any other brand. Some folks talk about how everything is perfect. Other talk about who everything is a issue of one thing or another. Both groups of people in my humble opinion are being sincere. Yet they are the top and bottom 10%. It is the 80% in the middle that I focus on. The more you read, the more you learn to manage your expectations. My experience comes from other brands. The more I read, the more I could approach things that might be less then perfect in a way that it did not negatively impact my vacation. An example for flying internationally as only an example is, the seats and area around the seat have been less then clean. I bring disposable cleaning clothes now just in case. Usually I don't have to use them which exceeds my expectations. On cruises, (NOT Oceania, YET), my first day I notices my bathroom cleanliness was not to my liking. I use the same disposable cleaning clothes for the cruise as for the flight. The alternative was to get upset every time and it started my vacation out on the wrong foot. As it relates to the cruisecritic.com Oceania Board, the folks here seem to be much more realistic about managing their expectations and having realistic expectations. For me a great example is a trend of Oceania missing ports. Since I have not cruised Oceania yet, my expectation is in my upcoming cruise, I might miss a port (or two). I have educated my wife and guests of the possibility to manage their expectations. If it happens, we will be disappointed but not shocked. If it does not, it will exceed our expectations. Back to my original question? Why do you think like you made a mistake? Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@SaltyPawz NCL is consistently, inconsistant. The letter comes sometimes and not other times. If you have some items you want to ask for, tag me back and I will give you an email address. The things I ask for are rather basic. Often, many are not done when I get onboard and I simply ask my butler and Bingo, done. So, really not that important. What I would consider important are Specialty restaurant reservations and changes. If I did not get those done on 130 days prior to cruise, I handle them pre-cruise with the Haven Desk. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

As someone that is NEW to Oceania, knowing the good, bad and ugly helps us. We can set expectations. On the other hand, I rate improvement in my cruise experience as better than what I have had before. For me, improvement is my definition of luxury. To someone that has done Premium-Plus, Luxury and Ultra Luxury cruise, they rate on their experience. The cleanliness is simply sloppy. Missing utensils are lack of detail. I personally would have expected better. On those items, yours was the first I have ever heard of these items. On the food being good but not great, with hit or misses, that seems to be the trend and consensus. What part of your cruise have you enjoy the most and why? Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

So my flight leaves early in the morning on November 7, 2023. I am a five million mile Delta Airlines life time Platinum Elite member. That is a lot of miles. What do I do differently then some? Cleaning Clothes: I bring prepackaged cleaning clothes for my seat and area around me. I used to see the seat was not clean and just shake my head. Then I started bring my own cloth. On the cruise, I do the same thing especially for the bathroom. Same reason. Now I am usually in a suite, penthouse or above. It does not matter. I manage my expectation and simply expect to do some cleaning. Sometimes, I am pleasantly surprises. Candy Man: I purchase several boxes of See's Candy. The good stuff. I give it to the check-in Agents, and flight attendants in both cabins on each flight. Many people bring mini milkyways then ask for an upgrade. I give the box, I am already in first class or business class. The flight attendant seem to be taken back that I ask for nothing. Why, I need nothing. However, they cater to me and my wife the entire trip. Our glasses never go empty. Pre-Order Meals: When you are in first class or business class international, the airlines give you the opportunity to order meals not on the menu. When you are in coach, you can order special meals that are much better food then what is normally serviced. Make a not of that. Night Cap: When traveling international, I learned to have a Night Cap. I define that as a Vodka and 1/2 of an Ambien. Got to have a plan. I also tell the flight attendant to wake me when it is time for breakfast. Noise Reduction Head Phones: If they are not provided, I bring mine which are Bose over the ear headphones. Some times you need a special adapter for airlines so have them handy. After a while, the noise from the engine used to get to me. Water and Walk: On long flights force yourself to drink water and stay hydrated. Drinking I know does not help that so have more water. Walk up and down the isles often to stretch your legs. You will thank me for this advice. Charger Cables: Most seats now have USB plugs to charge your devices. You need your own cables. Bring them. Preparation H: Sorry but you want the truth. Long flight can create, well, you know. Be "Prepared" not a pun. Also have Tumms, Tylenol and gum. This is kind of basic however you would be surprise how much of this is missed by so many. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Gray Eagle02 I very carefully worded my comment on luxury and Ultra-Luxury. It depends on so much. But when I did a comparison of Haven, Retreat, Yacht Club, Regent, Oceania, Viking, Silver Seas, Crystal and Seabourn; the Haven/Retreat were more then some and less then other. The comparison was hard because each brand offers different amenities. Now on the DOS, I stayed in one for a 7-Day Caribbean Cruise with my family and it was lovely. We were on the NCL Joy, Haven. What a great trip. The DOS is one of the few Haven Suites where the soda's/mixers and three bottles of spirits are provided. I did a YouTube Video on this and I will put the link below. You can ask my anything you want but I will assure you, you will have a great time. I completely agree with you on Regent pricing. Hard to justify but like Haven, some folk prefer it. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@X-elite I have never seen that Bulgari Gift Set for Penthouses in my past research. See picture below: I have seen it offered the the upper leave suites like Oceania, Vista and Owners Suite. See picture below. Seems the Marketing department has happened again. One day, marketing departments will focus on Under promise and over deliver. Cruise brands seem to have a hard time with this one. I am sure you are disappointed so may I suggest you share this with the Oceania Corporate Office. On the other items of missing folk and dirty spoon's. Unacceptable however, there should be some set ups in your cabinet if I am not mistaken. Still kind of gross so sorry that happened. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

hsommer@ncl.com Feel free to ask. He is the CEO of all NCL Entities now that Frank D senior has retired. A little history, if you email is positive, he will return with a sentence of two. If it is negative, he will pass it along and you will gain a basic response form email in 2-4 weeks from someone at the bottom of the food chain. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Treasure Hunter You tell them all Hunter. My daughter destroyed her carpet when we purchased our home many years ago. When I got a bonus check, I bought brand new expensive carpet in her room. I created the rule, "No liquid, food, markers, pens or anything else that can leave a stain or burn the carpet." My lovely bride said, "NO". She can have water, that does not stain. I said, "NO". Water becomes soda, soda becomes, Kool-Aid, Kool-Aid becomes RED Kool-Aid. I put my foot down, "NO ACCEPTION". One week later, my wife was in my daughters room and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Gary, come up here!!" There was a red Kool-Aid stain one foot by another foot on the new expensive carpet. I bring this up because many streams have parents that say, "My child is well mannered." "My child looks 16 and will full the rules." These parents are probably correct about their kids. HOWEVER, Water transitions to Kool-Aid if the rules are not followed. This is simply just one example. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@kasimir Well written and thought out. The point is being missed but that is what happens ever time this subject comes up. Usually, at this point, I just let it peter out. However, I am compelled to comment. Everything I research, write, post or comment on is designed to enhance my cruising experience. In turn, I share it so other can consider enhancing their experience. Part of that is to understand the aspects of an itinerary, ship, cabin level or brand. It is clear and has been well documented that NCL is at fault for not consistently managing this or any situation that is an area of dissatisfaction to their guests. "If you make a rule, enforce the rule or have NO rules." CHECK!! Now go along with me on this one. I go on line to let's say, CruiseCritic.com. I go to the NCL blog on the Haven. The topic of unruly children that are not supervised by their parents controlling the Haven Pool, Hot tub and Courtyard is the topic with a lively debate going on. Enough folks talk about it and are upset with it, it becomes a real thing. Now I have to make a decision, how to I control this situation to make my vacation all it can be. NCL is clearly at fault by allowing it to happen and that is not going to change until it changes. I on the other hand will be cruising in 30 days on that ship. I knew the issue before I booked it so there is an possibility it might happen. Again, the question I have to ask myself is, "How can I manage the situation to still create and enhanced situation for my vacation?" That is the purpose of my posts. Know the possibilities and manage your expectations. If you never even knew it was a possibility, do more research next time. I had more then one situation and I quite frankly did not like it. So to fix my issue and enhance my vacation here are some of the things I did. When To Book: I choose dates where most smaller children and teens are in school. Example, I used to book Thanksgiving week every year. Now I book the week after Thanksgiving. Problem solved and less money. Brand To Book: If I really want to solve this issue because it is that important to me, I go on Virgin, Luxury or Ultra-Luxury brands which surprisingly cost about the same as the Haven. In most cases they provide more as part of their initial fare. Deal Directly with The Manager: If I did all I could do to control the possibility and it comes up anyway, I go directly to the Manager of the department. My approach is calm, professional, specific and direct. I explain NCL's policies, how they are being broken and how it makes me and others around me feel. So many times, complaints on this and other topics never are communicated directly with the leadership and instead they are shouted on Social Media which rarely handles the problem or vacation one is on. Manage Expectations: Since I know this and other issue have a likely hood of happening, I have a discussion with my family or friends joining me. If this happens, we do "THIS". Usually that is going to the Haven Sundeck where the only ships I will cruise have two hot tubs up there and an age limit of 16 or above. I have NEVER had an issue in the Haven Sundeck, ever. This strategy of Manage Expectations is a theme for my vacations. Outside of children, another topic I manage expectations on is cruise ports. In 44 days, I will my wife and best friends will be cruising on a Luxury Brand to 7 ports in the Mediterranean. This brand is known to cancel ports for the smallest reason. I know this and fully expect it. I have educated my guest on that fact. If if happens, we will all be a bit disappointed but not shocked. If it does not happen our expectations will be exceeded. This attitude of what I can and can not control allows me to stay positive most of the time. If I have learned anything about cruising it is, nothing ever truly goes exactly as planned. So know the potential trigger points, do you best to plan around them, have a back up plan, be positive and flexibly. If you don't, you very expensive vacation will be very disappointing. The only thing I can control is my attitude and preparation. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Hello all: Well that has been fun. Every 4 months the topic is about kids in the Haven again. We all share stories of horrible children unsupervised and then the topic shift back to how to gain an enhanced cruising experience in the Haven. In my original post, 5 years ago, I wrote a book on how to leverage the Haven. Pages and Pages. Two lines in ALL that text has to do with children in the Haven courtyard, pool and hot tub. That was the first time this topic was hashed and rehashed about kids in the Haven. Parents criticized my two sentence comment like it was the foundation of the op-ed. Another parent sent me a picture of her daughter studying for a test while sitting at a table in the Haven Courtyard. The reality of the situation is this issue is NOT allows an issue. The real issue is NOT the kids it is the parents. NCL is designed with their fares to provide 3 & 4 passenger in the suite free so kids in Haven Suites are a thing. NCL crew member have to have very high review scores to be in the Haven, they are paid more and if they ask a child's parents to handle a situations; that parent gives that crew member a bad review which takes them out of the Haven and they lose money. I have been a cheer leader for the Haven for a very long time. However if the possibility of kids in the courtyard, Haven Pool and Hot tub that are not supervised is a problem, we need to simply choose another brand. NCL like other big companies have created a system when posted rules, if enforced cause issue for their employees. There are many brands/ships that are adult only, or very limited children because there is no kids program. The success of a cruise is to know the "Rules to the Game" and make decisions based on those rules. My hope is NCL will read all the comments and take action. However I have little hope of that. So please make your future booking decisions accordingly. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@bluestar1 You and your family will be treated like “Rock Stars”. The children issue is 5-10 year olds, who’s parents think the Haven crew are their baby sitters. The issue is the parents not the children.

@kasimir I might sound like a broken record here but my heart is in the right place. The Haven Sundeck is 16 years old or above. When I choose NCL ships with the Haven in mind, I choose the ships that have a retractable roof over the Haven pool/courtyard, a Haven Sundeck with Hot tubs, and a Haven Horizon's Observation Lounge. My favorites are Bliss, Encore and especially the Joy. The YouTube personalities were on the Viva which is a completely different layout and without the Horizon's Lounge, they lost the spectacular specialty coffee machine which had the greatest coffee. Choices and planning is everything with NCL. Especially when choosing the Haven. I hope this post helps. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@JoieNsk I am the author of this thread. You will have a fantastic time. I will be in the Mediterranean first week of November on another brand and ship. However, here is some information that might help you or at least manage your expectations. I was on the Epic Sister ship the Joy. We had an H2 Haven Deluxe Owners Suite with Large balcony. The Balcony was half the front of the ship so I know front facing balconies. My upcoming port intensive 10-day Mediterranean Cruise will again be a Front Facing Balcony. Front facing balconies are usually big, and have the same view as the captain does. The challenge is when the ship is moving, it is very windy and sometimes unusable. The water condition don't effect the balcony very much. That is why I only get one with a "Port Intensive" itinerary. You did the same thing so you should be good to go. Just remember what happens when you are moving. That will allow managing your expectations. The shower has a privacy screen which if you were in port, and the port was outside your shower window, you could close it. I can attest the view is nice. I think you asked about a lap pool in a later posting. To my knowledge, the Epic does not have a lap pool. As it relates to the Haven Pool and Hot tubs regarding children taking them over. Yes this can happen however at this time of year, and in Europe, not likely. You should be fine. Most NCL ships hold 4000 guest with 200 or so in the Haven. Once you get through the security which is "Same size fits all", look for the signs that say Haven Guest. They can be hard to find but that is where you want to go. It takes you to the Haven Check in. Less congested, quicker and you are put in the Haven Port Lounge until boarding. Haven guest are the first to board, you can go directly to your suite even if it is not completely cleaned yet to drop off your carry on luggage. You can save some time onboard by utilizing the Haven Conciergerie. The secret to that is when you initially enter the Haven Area which is where you are escorted once you get onboard, get in the line for the Haven Conciergerie. It goes quick but is never ending. Have someone get you a drink at the Haven Bar as you wait in line. If what you want or need is not yet apparent. You can use your butler or the conciergerie both have different responsibilities. The secret to the Haven is it is not perfect. Things happen. Just share it if it does and always stay professional. Most things are resolved in minutes. I hope this helps you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@babysteps Great story. Love the effort. Been there and done that. Fun stuff. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.