Sthrngary

@ChiefMateJRK Thank you, I had no idea. Love reading everyone's posts. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Cruise5life The last four cruises we used Allianz Global Assistance. They give you several choices with options. Pick and choose which suits you best. On the last four cruise, I had a claim on two of the three. Worth every penny. Hope that hapes. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@ashkay16 I am so happy you took the time to ask this question. If you would have asked the question 5 years ago I would have answered it differently than today. I look at buying Cruise Travel Insurance in the same category as whether to buy the cruise lines airfare and excursions. In all three cases there are Pro's and Con's. I will keep my answer to the topic of cruise insurance. I never purchased cruise insurance until three years ago. I would say, "I am just going to toss the dice." Then for what ever reason, I purchased cruise insurance from an online insurance company. That cruise I used it to the toon of $4,000.00. My wife got covid 8 days before the cruise and we had to cancel the cruise. Am I glad I purchased this coverage. The communication with the Travel Insurance Company and added coverage with my American Express Platinum card was seamless. Now, I am sure my recommendation to always buy travel insurance is confirmed. On to should we buy it from NCL or a Cruise Brand or from an Insurance Company. I check the prices and they are similar for the same coverages. Then I read reviews which indicated it was much easer to put in a claim when you went directly with the insurance company then ANY cruise brand which sends you to the Insurance Company anyway. My real issue was the details. I found the answers to my questions much more clear with the Insurance Companies than the cruise brands. My conclusion was, cruse brands are the best at cruises. Not Airfare, not excursions, and not at travel insurance. Book our own flight, look at the best rated excursions companies that guarantee you back on the ship on time, and book your travel insurance directly with a travel insurance company. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Amen Brother. Cruse well and enjoy every moment.

My experience was not seeing any classes on the SS Norway. Now Cunard or Queen Mary maybe but those were to rich for my bleed at the time. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Allow me to answer this. Not at all. What I am saying is most folks attempt to use the NCL Bid program to upgrade their stateroom from INSIDE to Balcony. If the space is available, it usually is a total bargain. Studio's have a different policy because it is usually for solo travelers. I in no way am suggesting that an inside cabin is bad. I have had many over the years. I am suggesting lots of folks end up with a balcony. Hope that makes sense and sorry for any misrepresentation. Not my intent. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@PATRLR I understand your comment. For my wife and I, it depends on the brand, level of suite chosen (VIP Area's) and amenities. I call what you are referring to as "Personalized Service". Making me feel like a rock star. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@ORV You are killing me. Excellent food and Eggs Benedict for breakfast. I am having dry toast with a black coffee trying to lose enough weight to go on my cruise, LOL. Embrace being treated like a rock star. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Cruzinnana47 Funny story, I could not afford a proper honeymoon so we waited a year. I booked the SS Norway and did not tell my new wife. I wait until the Tuesday before the cruise. She knew we were vacationing but not where. I did not tell her because she would have said NO! I would have heard "I have no Clothes", "I need to loose weight", and of course "We can't afford it." So I did it with out discussing it. She was really upset. She cried for four days and did not talk to me. The first words out of her mouth was on the bus ride from the Miami Airport to the Port when she saw the ship. As you remember, the SS Norway was the largest Cruise Ship sailing at the time. The first words I heard was, "Wow, that is a big ship." That first night, at the Late Seating, we meet 10 new friends at our huge round table for dinner. They were Texas Oil Millionaires. One guy put so much pepper on his food it changed colors. I have not thought of him for decades. That evening, my new bride and I danced on the deck. She whispered in my ear, "This is the best vacation of my life." I said back to her, "Honey, this is the only vacation either one of us had in our lives." We went on the the Norway four more times, had over 26 cruise over 44 years of marriage. Our last family cruise was with our adult children on the NCL Joy, H2 Haven Deluxe Owners Suite and it was fabulous. Boy have things changed over the years and yes I do miss some of the formality in the past. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@vacation44 LOL, I thought I was the only one. Love it. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@vacation44 I could not agree more. I think the term is Haven Lite and it is just great. One more thing about the Joy. It has the best Vibe Beach Club of any NCL ship I have ever been on. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Jordan61 I am an early riser as well. My routine was, get up quietly, go the Haven Horizon Observation Lounge, make myself a Cappuccino, get one of the pastries for me to sneak. Then make a plate and bring two coffee's back to the suite with more pastries. Please don't tell my wife, she gets made when I have to many sweet things. I could not help myself, LOL. Funny story, when I cruise the NCL Joy the second time because I love the ship, I did it solo because I got a deal, $800.00 for a Club Balcony Suite. One of my Haven friend felt bad for me. He was doing the Haven because of the article I wrote and had pity on me. He brought me two every day and he was an early riser as well. Life changing. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Azulann Thank you for taking the time and posting. I have considered Viking as well. Your comments make it in the top five for my next cruise opportunity. Thank you again for taking the time to help us all. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Thank you @Two Wheels Only for reposting this op-ed. @ajtraveler66 I am the op-ed for the article. In addition and to your question, I was in the NCL Joy Haven with my family of five in November and December of 2021. I also cruise the Joy again, in March 2022 as a first time solo cruiser. As @Two Wheels Only said, this is the revised article on the Haven updated in 2022 per the members of Cruise Critic request. The op-ed answers most of your question about the Haven to an obsessed amount. The specific question about the Haven on the NCL Joy I can shed some light on. You can ask me anything. However I will say, I purposely did my cruise on a week that was not a holiday. To be exact, the week after thanksgiving. I did this because there was less families onboard with very young children. NCL is a real deal of sort with there special of 3 & 4 person free. This brings lots of families on days like holidays. I knew, my family mainly of adults would like it better with less young kids. Not no kids, just less kids. That was my reasoning and it worked out nicely. Again, ask me anything and I will be completely transparent. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@PirateShark Please take what I am about to say with a grain of salt. I am new to Oceania and I am on a Oceania Riviera Cruise on November 9, 2023. I also was very interest in the two types of dining options. I go onto my account by logging in. Going to Manage Your Booking. Under the Dining Tab I have three options. Specialty Restaurants La Reserve Privee Under La Reserve I can book three options: Odyssey Menu La Cuisine Bourgeoise Dom Perignon Experience I attempted to book one as a test. On all three there is one night each is available when you click the person in your group wants to attend, it then puts the dollar amount in your cart. I have not done final payment as of yet, FYI. I don't know if that helps you but thought I would share. I did book some cooking classes already so I know the cart will work. Again, I am in no way an expert. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Good point. My first cruise was on the SS Norway. It had a fire and stop sailing. True story. It also was the largest cruise ship on the sea at the time. The cost was $500.00 per person. Same as you, no air, no drink package, internet did not exist, you gave your gratuities on the last day in cash and it was so grand. The Baked Alaska was kind of average and I always felt bad for our waiters. The always seem to roll their eyes. Still a great memory. Cruise well and enjoy every moment/memory.

@Jordan61 Thank you for asking. It is one of my favorite topics for the Haven. First they are on the bigger ships with a full Haven Restaurant. I noticed them in two places. First, in the Haven Restaurant on the side buffet where the fruit and smoked salmon is located. Love that about the Haven Breakfast. The second place is the Haven Horizon Observation Lounge which was one of my number 1 places to go for early breakfast. The Coffee machine their is also the bomb especially for specialty coffees. Hope that helps. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

You are so right. Later on when the Internet was beginning and cruise ship got it. It was charged by the minute and if we think it is slow now, it was turtle slow then, LOL. What, this must have been a great memory to have growing up. So happy you shared it. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Enjoy your cruise and tell us about it. Also, I am from Huntington, NY also know as Melville. Cruise well and enjoy every moment. PS: Please try the Almond Croissant in the Haven usually in the morning. SO GOOD.

First cruise, 44 years ago for my wedding anniversary. I am about to go on my 26 cruise. My favorite cruise brand has consistently been NCL so I posted this here on the NCL Blog. So much has changed and so much has stayed the same. Here are some things I remember compared to today. Like dining, my memories and experience are personal to me and your opinion may differ. Stateroom: Inside cabin, no windows or veranda and bunk beds. Only rich folks had balconies. Your room steward did towel sculptures every day and you could not wait to see them. Dining: No specialty restaurants to speak of. The main dining room felt and tasted like a nice restaurant in your town. There were fixed times for dinner (Early and Late). You sat at the same dinner table with all strangers who were your friends by weekend. The words, “I will have a double cut of prime rib” was echoed in the Main Dining Room. The Prime Rib night was GREAT. The last evening dinner has the entire dining crew do a show in the Main Dining Room with Baked Alaska. Mid-night Buffets with carved ice and watermelon was a big thing. Room service was complementary, awful but complementary. You could get Steak and Eggs for breakfast in the Main Dining Room at no charge. Drink Packages: Drink packages were non-existent. You could have a choose of wine packages by the bottle. Everyone purchased that expensive sail-away glass with the horrible drink. Excursions: Limited inexpensive excursions were considered but budget was always a huge issue. Inexpensive Beach Cabana’s were a thing. Food on the Private Islands were complementary. Gratuities/Tips: Gratuities were in cash the last full day of the cruise. We created a relationship with the crew members because of our consistent contact with them back then. We would all take single dollar bill for pool side or bar tips throughout the week. Dress Code: You had to dress up for dinner and one night a week was formal, including some nice portraits to take home. Internet Access: Never complementary. Paid by the minute. Always horrible Activities: Bingo had nice cash prices and you never felt ripped off. Metal drums were like a doorbell telling you that your vacation was about to begin. Winning $100.00 in the casino make you feel like the luckiest person on the ship. Most casino had opening cigarette smoking. To engage everyone, the cruise direct would have a contest for free cruise. You had to ask everyone you saw if they were Mr. or Ms. Cruise. That was my memory. Entertainment often had nationally known entertainers or bands. Guest Issues: Pool Chair Hogs were alive and well. Members of big groups saved entire rows in the main theatre and get embarrassed because their group never showed up. Folks on the buffet line would touch food and put it back on the buffet line. Someone was always so drunk their family had to carry them back to the stateroom. Folks had loud conversations in the halls and never let folks pass. Guest Relations Desk was always the busiest place on the ship. Your stateroom portfolio was always SCARY with items you can’t remember purchasing. My list might not be completely accurate however at my age, I can’t remember what I ate yesterday. Cruising today is not better or worse, just different. Today. Stateroom: Most folks have a balcony or the ability to upgrade to a balcony. The notions of a VIP exclusive area called a “Ship within a Ship” is very popular. Room stewards no longer do towel sculptures. Your stateroom is only serviced once a day vs. twice in days gone by. Dining: Main Dining Room Food quality has taken a hit. Special Restaurants are all the rage and have an extra cost. Fixed dining times are OUT and eat when you want is in. You rarely sit with strangers or get to know other based on mealtimes. Prime Rib night is still a thing however it tends to not be the best cut of meat. The last evening dinner show in the main dining room is gone. Mid-night Buffets are gone and in its place is a 24-hour restaurant. Room service has a service charge for most stateroom. Drink Packages: Drink packages are usually included in the cruise fare price. It is extremely hard to get a drink due to everyone having a drink package. Everyone still purchased that expensive sail-away glass with the horrible drink and find out later it was not included in their drink package. The perk drink package has an upgraded drink package for premium brands. Tax is charged on drinks when in ports especially in the U.S. Excursions: Excursions are more expensive and not well organized. The Beach Cabanas now cost as much as the cruise. Private Islands have theme restaurants that are not complementary. Drink packages rarely work on the private islands. Gratuities/Tips: Gratuities can now be pre-paid. Recommended gratuities have gone up three times in two years. Spa gratuities are always included in the price however you get the impression you are still supposed to tip. Relationships with waiters are gone because you only see them once. Butlers if you are so fortunate to have one, are rarely included in the pre-paid gratuities program yet the suite prices are often triple normal staterooms. We now take $5.00 with us instead of $1.00 to even be recognized for a drink by the pool. Dress Code: Nonexistent with people coming to dinner in bathing suits, wet tea shirts and beach flip flops. Social media debates dress code daily with a 50%/50% split on opinions. Formal photographs happen very rarely, and we tend to point out those dressed nicely for dinner. Internet Access: Often provided for several minutes a perk. Upgradeable for unlimited. Upgradable again to unlimited streaming. Usually only one device which is inconvenient when both guests want access at the same time. Always horrible even NOW!!!! Activities: Bingo had much lower cash prices, crowds are bigger and other games like “Deal or No Deal” feel like ripped off. Metal drums seems to be gone as does the frequency of live music at the pool. Odds in the casino are known to be horrible compared to Las Vegas however many brands have private smoking areas. Cruise directors seem to show up only at the big shows to make announcement or on the loudspeaker promoting bingo. The entertainment is Broadway style shows except on smaller ship with less budget. Guest Issues: Pool Chair Hogs are still alive and well. Members of big groups are still saved entire rows in the main theatre and get embarrassed because their group never showed up. Folks on the buffet line are much more careful and rarely touch food which is a marked improvement. Someone was always so drunk which has cause highly publicized fights on ships. This has caused an increase in ship security and guest being tossed off ships. Folks still have loud conversations in the halls and never let folks pass. Guest Relations Desk are rarely crowded except the last day of the cruise. End of the cruise portfolios are emailed instead of putting under your door. The biggest difference for me is Social Media. It seems sites like Reddit and CruiseCritic.com seem to provide clearer and more accurate information than the cruise lines. Yet, social media has also created an abundance of Trolls and Haters that simply want to make guests angry. What ever you do, don’t bring up the NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat or MSC Yacht Club on any other social media site other than CruiseCritic.com unless you want to be criticized. Like my list of before and now; social media is both good, and bad. The one thing that is true for ME is cruising, if one can stay flexible on those occasional issues, is still one of the best vacation experience available at all price levels. “Cruise well everyone and enjoy every moment.”

In retirement I started to have a lot more time on my hands. My life work had me spend lots of time away from home. Hotels and air flights were my way for decades. I always loved cruising and my cruising experience started on my Honeymoon 44 years ago. It was very humble however still a lovely memory. Since then, my life and career improved as most do and I wanted to improve my cruising experience. For what every reason, I always wanted to have a top tier experience. The best way to put it is a high lever of personalized service. It is not that crew members did not treat my wife and I nicely. I believe that treatment on a cruise ship is in direct proportion to the guest treatment of the crew. Kindness brings out kindness in people. Still something was missing. Over decades I realized the issue was unrealistic expectations on my part. This is a luxury cruise blog. If their is one thing that is constant is luxury is not very clearly defined. Like dining, it is subjective. The issue with Luxury Clients is everyone has a different need or want. The ability of the crew members to obtain what those are is an art form. Most recently it became clear that a ship that had just gone through huge renovations and looked fabulous, get bad reviews because of human interaction. Yet another ship that showed its age was given very high levels of satisfaction. After all these years one more aspect of cruising especially when your venture out for higher end brands is the that brands previous and loyal guest. I hope a lot of those folks read this post. The DNA of a Luxury Client is to want more every time they cruise. It has been my experience both in my professional life with the study of luxury client; to my personal life as a luxury client to notice this attribute of "What will you do for me better today." What ends up happening is the Luxury Client instead of looking for what is good in the situation, they make an enormous deal on what is different. One stream that for me highlights this is a brand where it had a debate on how horrible it was that the Logo paper the lined the bottom of the suites trash can was not being used anymore. These same folks really did not help their favorite brand with their petty complaints. When someone new, who was not super wealthy so the fare was serious to them, wanted to consider the brand. Those new client which would sustain the brand in the future were run off. I know, I was one of them. The guest attitude during the cruise was so rude and pointless it created an environment of dissatisfaction. The moral of this post is the brand, crew, corporate office and guest all have a part on making a luxury brand work. Part of that is realizing, nothing about a luxury cruise can be planned perfectly. That is the nature of the cruising industry. Be kind, thoughtful and understanding. Don't let simple stuff make your experience horrible. Take the high road yet you deserve a value for your luxury dollar. Do your best to be positive and not sweat the small stuff. If not for your self, for the other guest onboard. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@nmuller328 I am so excited for you. My first Haven Suite was on the Getaway. I really loved that ship. Allow me to make some suggestions for you. When You Board: You will be taken up to the Haven Lounge. Usually they give you and hello talk. Feel free to drop off your carry-on in your suite even though if you get on early, it might not be ready. Lunch When You Board: You can eat in the Haven Restaurant or the American Dinner. Everyone has a different preference. For me, the best cheese burgers on the ship is at the Haven Restaurant. Remember, food in general is subjective. Butler: Sometimes the butlers are really busy the first day and they miss you. If you have special requests or need the butler, ask at the Haven Lounge for them to make short visit to your suite. Haven Bar: My favorite bar on the ship. Please during the week ask for a "Smoking Drink". It is a show and everyone at the bar enjoys watching it being made. Haven Restaurant: Regardless of meal, it takes a little longer to eat at the Haven Restaurant. The service and food is usually excellent. If you like Prime Rib and Lobster Tails, this is the place for you. My favorite items is the Almond Croissants only available in the Haven. Specialty Coffee and juices are complementary in the Haven Restaurant. Room Service: This is provided by your butler and there is no service fee. Tell your Butler on day one that you want the room service food from the Haven Restaurant as long as it is open. Remember, the Haven Restaurant menu at each meal never changes which is why NCL gives you a few specialty restaurants during your cruise. Shows: The main shows are not to be missed. If the Beatles show is on board, get to the Cavern Club early to see them all. There is so much more to share but sometimes it is just nice to learn as you go. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Funny Story: Most you know me as the author of this revised thread and the original one done in 2018. When I took my family on the NCL Joy it was the first time for my adult children to stay in the Haven. It was my wife an my 43 wedding anniversary and my daughters 31 birthday on the cruise. No one in my family reads CruiseCritic.com. They all make fun of me for doing so much prep and due diligence. My daughter thought it was not necessary to have a Haven Suite. All she could talk about was how her bed would be uncomfortable because it was a pull down bed. The only thing they don't make fun of me for is paying for everything. When we got on the ship, I said, "Let's go drop off our carry-on luggage in our Haven Suite!" It was not a question, it was a statement. Now all of us on this thread know that dropping off your carry on even before your suite is ready is a benefit of the Haven. However, when I made the statement each of my family members said, "No dad, that is against the rules. Why do you always go against the rules?" They all actually got mad at me. As Rodney Dangerfield used to say, "Respect, no respect at all!" The vacation was one of the best family experience we have had in a long time. The ship was only 50% filled, We all had a adult drink package, my wife and I were able to upgrade to the Premium Plus Drink Package, the ship had two bottles of Tequila 1942, everyone had four nights of specialty restaurants, my wife won the slot tournament, I rented the Beach Villa on the private Island, and we were in the Haven Suite or all Suites the Deluxe Owners Suite. It simply does not get any better than that. For all those planners and organizers out there. Don't stop. But remember, nobody gets credit for a well organized vacation. They just get heat when something goes wrong. Cruise well everyone and enjoy every moment.

Interesting video. Something tells me it was not that bad when you went in the water. Something else tells me even when it got close to this, you would have gotten out. I really believe the reason for your video was the crazy waves. That was my take anyway. I have experience this on other ships. My wife and I was on the deck above, with a drink watching the water. Not something you see every day for sure. Stay safe and this is an event I am sure you will share in the future. Cruise provide those unusual situations. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I wrote a comment on staffing, read it and deleted it. The author is take their time to give real time information on a cruise they are on. A ship that many of us either have gone on or in my case will go on. There observations and other who are cruising are the gold in this thread. So far, the improvements in staterooms and public area's are lovely. A itinerary change is at the discretion of the brand and always seems to have a reason that is mostly valid. Again, thanks to the author for taking the time out of their vacation to indulge all of us. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.