Sthrngary

As a general rule, if you pay for a flight and don't use it NCL has no cost to them. The only cost is to you for the value of the flight not used. You paid for the flight which includes the transfers however only for the NCL flight schedules so you new flight may or may not be honored or even have availability. You might not have wanted the thread to take a turn to whether to use or not use NCL Air. However, you have made the point that those decisions need to be made with full knowledge of the good, bad and ugly. Being prepared and realistic is the key and I thank you as well a commend you on your attitude. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@ORV I would like to personally thank you for your ongoing review, attitude and efforts. Your cruise was not perfect you always was fair with your comments. You took the time during your vacation to allow all of us to join. You knew we all really needs to feel like we were right there with you. I hope you have a save journey home and remember this cruise with fond memories. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Well it seems as if this thread has taken a turn from expressing the authors opinion on a less then positive cruising experience to brand bashing. Darn shame. If any guest has dissatisfaction with the product or service they have received, do a review, be honest and share your thoughts. It helps the brand do better and guest with varied opinions which is also good. When it becomes brand bashing, it is NOT helpful. It makes it feel like some folks have an axe to grind. I have no skin in this game. All I am looking for is honest evaluations of a brand I have booked for the first time. In my professional career, I studied survey systems, luxury client expectations and how to engage client so they can become brand advocates. When a client only has negative things to say or another client only has positive things to say; you toss those views. You go with the 80% in the middle. Thanks for everyone's feed back, opinions, experiences and comments. It was a interesting read. All points have been made and understood. I hope what ever cruise or other vacations we all go on next, it is something we truly enjoy. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

OK, we ALL have had issues with cruising. it is the Nature of the beast. It is so easy to continue on with our personal situations. Yet when it becomes a stream about how BAD the cruise brand is, it has reached it end for me. If anyone does not like a brand, or an experience, we all have the right to simply state our case openly and not cruise with them any more. Thank everyone for their stories. It really does help to know the good, bad and ugly. Point made. I hope everyone has a better cruise the next time around. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@edgee You are absolutely correct. You have NO control of the stateroom or location. They can put you anywhere from PH3 through PH1 in my case. Understanding the risk and willing to take what ever I get. I have been in some of the best suites and the worst suites on many brands. Some were better then other, but all were acceptable. Everyone has their own tolerance level. I call this realistic expectations and you will hear no complaints from me regardless of where the staterooms. I know the risks. Other have to have the same attitude if you do a Guarantee Stateroom. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@shepherd really, here is my situation. I booked a PH3 Guarantee as part of the Labor day sale. This allowed me to upgrade using the four category upgrade promotion. to the lowest PH category. In this case, my worse case situation is a PH3 which is sold out on this cruise at this time. In my opinion, that would be some what of a nice situation taking the promotion and guarantee together. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@PaulMCO We were old posting friends from Crystal prior to it being sold. If is clear, you are not a fan of Oceania. Please let us know, what is your alternative brand they you prefer? Hope things are well and glad so see your posts. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@GregoryPaul Thank you for the kind words. The reality is, beside my horrible spelling/grammar, I sometimes write my post three times. The first time I get it all out. When I read it I realize I took what I call the "Low Road". I write it again. The second time I see area's I need to change to make the point. The third time I make a decision to post or not to post; that is the question. We all love to cruise. If we did not we would go to an all inclusive and lay by the sea. With the choice of a cruise, on water, in different countries, there is always a risk. Remembering back, some of my funniest memories are situation no one could have fixed on cruises. This unpredictability create dreams and dreams can sometimes be nightmares. The High Road is always the bast approach to approaching things on Social Media. Cruise well and thank you again.

I have been on both decks and also not in Haven Proper when I was in a Haven Spa Suite. I really did not feel anything different with the different suites. The one thing I will say is deck 17 is better for the Haven Two Bedroom Suites because it has an extended balcony. The Haven Spa Suite was nice because we got full access to the Thermal Spa and that made up for not being in the Haven Proper. Please remember, this is social media. Just because this is my opinion and feelings don't make it right. It is personal like our feelings on food in restaurants. Just my two cents. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

When the ships started to sail again after the height of Covid, my wife and I went on a Crystal Cruise. It was going to be what I call, a "Luxury Cruise Test Drive". I am sharing this story because I think it is relevant to this topic for several reasons. First, I was new to Crystal having only gone Main Stream Brands with an emphasis on the VIP areas; Second, because we miss lots of ports. When you are new to a brand as I will be to Oceania in November 2023, you don't really know what to expect. You hope, there will be a positive enhancement to your cruise vacation experience. The Personalized Service was everything I ever thought it would be. The Butler set a standard that I really don't think will ever be matched. The food was so good, we talk about it all the time. When the ports were cancelled, we were immediately given our excursion funds back and slight compensation for port charges. We did NOT enjoy the cruise. Crystal did everything they could to make up for the lost ports. We were still very disappointed. We knew it was not their fault, it was an act of god. We were still disappointed. We were happy we got our money back for lost excursion and a bit of compensation. We were still disappointed. Did this effect our willingness to cruise Crystal again, even though we knew it was not their fault. The answer even thought it is unfair is, YES. I know, Crystal went out of business and now has been purchased by another company. Do I feel my emotions are fair knowing what I know about weather and cruising, NO. Does it change the way I feel, NO. As a newbie to Oceania, I look forward to my upcoming cruise on the Riviera in November. I would be lying to say, streams like this one don't make me a little uneasy. Not fair, different itinerary, different situation, but human emotions are not always logical. I am sorry to the author of this stream for their disappointment. I know they get it was bad timing more than anything. Yet, the disappointment is still their. Like with my situation, it was the luck of the draw. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I remember going on another cruise brand hoping to enhance my cruising experience. They were supposed to be a Premium Category. The cruise was horrible. I decided to try the NCL Haven our of New Orleans the next year. My wife did not want to go, she was still disappointed in the last cruise. We went and I am glad we did. Now this stream is about Then and Now. It is not about better so much as it is about different. In the Haven, because it was small, we got to create those relationships with the crew that we had done decades ago. I truly missed that. The food and personalized service was much better. The crew was better trained. It seems like the Cruise Brands see what has been missing and know how to bring it back. The issue is the premium only allows a small portion of guest to feel it because it is for most folks a serious budget issue. Many of the Then and Now items are just subjective and everyone has their own take on them. Remember, it is not better or worse. It is just different. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@westcoastmom I am happy you found this thread. Since this is the first time you have gone in the Haven, please also look up my thread called, "The Secrets of the NCL Haven VIP Experience." It should be on the first two pages of the CruiseCritic.com blog for NCL. The Pre-Cruise Concierge is a lovely amenity. I am not sure when your cruise is so here are some other hints. Specialty Restaurants: You can book your specialty restaurants 130 days ahead of departure. Smart to do so because the fill up very quickly. Online Registration: You should consider doing the online registration as soon as it is available to do so. Two approaches when offered port check in. First which I do is as early as possible. I want to be on the ship as soon as I can. The other is Later usually because of flights. The Haven Benefit is you can do it anytime you want however I have found booking it early seems to help the process be seamless. There are lots of ways to leverage your Haven experience. The kind folks on this and other Haven Threads will help you. Feel free to ask anything you want or need. I will do my personal best to assist as well. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@mearsfansinboise GREAT post and thank you. Ask and ye shall receive. Here is my position. I also have gotten special treatment that others have said they did not get. My M.O. on this thread is and always has been to set realistic expectations. Your attitude on if some of the amenities were not provided in the future shows class and understanding. My hopes are that more guest approach things like you have. Going on a cruise is a two way street. We all are guest looking for a great vacation. The crew are doing their jobs and want to be happy in their work. Both parties have an obligation to work together and enjoy each others company. A smile, thank you and complement gets almost anything we want especially in the Haven. Thanks again for the post. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@LloydJr My son, on the NCL Joy in November 2021, was on the Jolly Roger Snorkeling Excursion. He was having a hard time breathing and was taken off the boat excursion, taken back to the ship and spent one hour in the ships hospital. The total of services and Covid test was $595.00. I made a claim and it was paid in 15 business days. Does that help? Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@DinaS You are doing everyone on this stream a GREAT SERVICE, truly. What is funny is many folks have no idea about the importance of looking at all the ways of protecting ourselves until we get a post that NCL charged them an arm and a leg for 30 minutes in the ship hospital. Then it is all NCL fault and they want the world to know. This stream is saying, know the coverage you have. Take the 30 minutes to do all of our due diligence. Everything you have said supports that. I personally ALWAYS have a cruise travel insurance policy for health and accident. I will leverage my AMX Platinum when ever I can. It makes me and you feel better just knowing we planned for any situation. Thank you an everyone else for their feed back. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Amen my brother. Every time I bring up tipping I get my head cut off on social media. We folks in Alabama know how to tip correctly, treat folks like superstars. Because of that, we tend to get treated like "Rock Stars". Hard to explain that small but important fact to everyone. Cruise well, and enjoy every moment.

@estvil30 You just supported one of the Secrets of the Haven. If we show the staff some respect and appreciation. If we give them a heads up and ask vs. demand. They are likely to do almost anything we want. I was in the Haven Dining room one evening. A group of six were demanding food cooked special that was not included on the menu. The treated the staff with a huge level of disrespect. My nature is to go over to the table, introduce myself and share how the program works. I fight that part of my personality because nothing ever good comes from it especially on vacation. On this situation, I did have a plan. I waited to see the father who was at the table at the Haven Bar one night. I strategically sat next to him. I engaged him and ordered one of the Famous Haven Bar "Smoking Manhattans". He loved the show and asked me how I knew they could and would do that. There was my opening. I told him I studied the Haven, what they do and don't do, how to get somethings special from time to time. He did what I thought he would do, he started to complain about his issue with the Haven Restaurant. I corrected him, he accepted the correction because he brought it up, not me. The next day he waved me over to his table and thanked me. That took a lot of work on my part. I call it taking the high road. I would do it again in a heart beat. I thought you would like that story. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@mearsfansinboise "Hoity-toity", LOL. The Haven menu never changes. For some, that is an issue. It is nice you can order, with advanced notice, items from the Main Dining Room Menu or have your butler bring it. I want to add. in 2019 the small, round chocolate cake served in the Haven was different. Back then, I was obsessed over it. In November 2021, I had the opportunity to have it again. It was NOT the same. I was disappointed. UNTIL, I went back on the Joy three months later, when to Cagney's for dinner and had the slice of Chocolate Cake. There it was, the taste I missed. Just looked different. I TRIED to get a slice from Cagney's to bring back to my room, more than willing to pay for it, on a recent trip on the NCL Breakaway. They said NO. I was again disappointed. I had a craving for more CAKE. I am so bad. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Hello my Precious. Daddy has missed you at breakfast. We will meet again very soon. LOL.

@gmbhardy Thank you for asking. First know, I was on the Joy with my family November 2021 in the H2 Deluxe Owners Suite. I followed this up in March 2022, solo in the Club Balcony Suite. The Club Balcony was when I had the Vibe. I also just did the NCL Breakaway, in a Club Balcony Suite and had a Vibe Cabana. Your question is why did I like the Vibe on the Joy. The Joy was originally designed to be for Asian clients. That did not work out for NCL and they did a Drydock to make it more for the tastes of American's. This makes the Joy different from other NCL ship her sized like the Breakaway. The Joy Vibe Beach Club was both sides with hot tubs on both sides. It was double the size of the Breakaway Vibe. The bar on the joy, both sides were only for the Vibe. The Bar on the Breakaway had one side for the Vibe and the other side for other guest not in the Vibe. I liked the Joy Vibe better because of having double the space. I cannot control the uncontrollable like weather or Camaraderie. My opinion is simply the size and attributes. The Vibe on the Joy, in my humble opinion was much better than the Haven Sundeck which was always crowded. Hope all that makes sense. Cruise well and enjoy Have Lite.

Most good credit cards have travel insurance. Like the example given, it is limited. When dealing with insurance it is a personal risk tolerance that matters. Credit cards help us pay with plastic, not insurance experts. Cruise lines help us with cruises, not insurance experts. Insurance companies can book a cruise for us, however the can be the experts we need in travel insurance. Remember it is personal, based on your needs and risks. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

The Confusion in selecting Cruise Travel Insurance. Like any insurance purchase, the more the premium, the more coverage you receive. When I go online to purchase my coverage, I think what my priorities will be. For Example: Medicare Participants: I have Medicare Advantage. This health insurance does not cover me when out of the United States. I absolutely need Health Coverage. Cancel At Any Time: This coverage seems to be the highest of premiums like collision coverage on a car. There are restictions and at best, it USUALLY only covers 50% of my coverage amount. Example, If i say the cruise and other travel will cost me $12,000.00. That is what my premium is based on. So, if I have to cancel, I can get back REAL LOSES of up to $6,000.00 on the fares. This was one of my two actual claims in the past two years. Levels or Amounts of Coverage: Things like lost bags, transportation if your flight misses ship, transportation for if you are sick and need airlift. All are spelled out and the higher the amount provided, the higher the premium. I find it easy to look at the policies side by side and determine what my risk vs. premium tolerance is. The first time I purchased Travel Insurance, I did it through American Express Travel. The reason was I wanted to talk to a real human being. Each time after, I just did it online. There are benefits of booking this Insurance at time of deposit. It eliminates "Pre-Existing Conditions" where these may, the key word is may, cause an issue at purchasing at final payment. I however purchase at Final Payment if, and again the word is if, I may cancel the sailing. Once you purchase the Travel Insurance, you have 30 days to cancel it for full refund. After that, you usually own it even if you cancel your cruise. NOTE: This may differ from policy to policy. This is referencing cancel of the Insurance policy not the cruise. Remember, no loss, no payment of claim. I hope my experience as a consumer helps understanding cruise Travel Insurance Better. My advice is read the fine print, avoid purchasing from the Cruise Line because they are not as clear as an actual insurance company in their explanations, and if the premium is really low, Double check you are getting all the coverage you need. Cruise well and enjoy every moment

Have a GREAT time. Both are truly lovely. I am booked in November for 10 days in the Mediterranean on another brand. I truly hope we cruise together. Would be fun. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@RocketMan275 A night of drinking on me, on our next cruise together. Cruise well and friends help friends have sweet things.

@SGCruiser2013 Have a wonderful time. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.