justhappy

4 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@justhappy You are way over thinking this situation. Get to the ship and board first.  Go directly to the Haven Concierge Desk.  If there is a wait, there will be, wait.  It goes fast.  Explain what you want to do and that you were put on waitlist.  I give you a 95% chance of getting your reservation for that first night.  They always hold back reservations and if you are in the Haven, you will have priority.  

 

I am about to be controversial.  That means I am about to give a very personal opinion.  With that said, here it is.  The butler will serve you from Ocean Blue in courses.  Let him/her do their job.  Second, skip that.  It is NEVER as good having the food brought to your room, ever.  Go to the restaurant.  Have your first night at the Haven Restaurant and look for another night at Ocean Blue if the that night is not available.  Just my humble opinion. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Thanks Gary,

I do think my odds are good, and having dinner in the Haven restaurant the first night was my back up plan, if I felt that what I was asking was too much.

Finding another night at Ocean Blue may be a problem though since we have to switch other specialty dinner reservations around. Between Amex, Sapphire status and FAS we have 4 specialty dinners already booked. It’s a spring break cruise so the ship is probably sailing 100+ %.

So first world problems I know, I’m not going to starve for sure. 

I have an upcoming cruise in early March on the Breakaway. I forgot to make dinner reservations for Ocean Blue and when I called the pre Concierge line all they could do was add me to the waitlist.

And its for the first night of the cruise. If they can’t get us in, would it be too much to ask that the butler serve us a meal from Ocean Blue in our stateroom? Knowing it’s a long and busy turnaround day I don’t want to ask too much. I’d hope I would know upon boarding if they were able to get us a reservation, and if no be able to make the request early enough to give our butler a heads up. I would definitely just ask for all the courses at once and not expect them to serve course by course.

Do you think that’s asking too much?

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

That should work quite well.

BTW, use the airfryer to cook frozen biscuits.  

390 for 15 minutes, turn over, another 8 minutes.

Thanks! I’ll definitely try that.

32 minutes ago, olemissreb said:

Not sure how much time you'd have as a layover in Seward, but you could look at doing a Kenai Fjords tour with Major Marine.  We did it the day before our cruise and saw all kinds of wildlife. We even got so close to a glacier we could hear it calving and the crew pulled in a piece of that glacier and made "glacier margaritas"!.

 

The day of the cruise, we went to the Alaska SeaLife Center and did a behind the scenes tour...we got kisses from a sea lion!

 

I love another posters idea of a side-by-side. If you can arrive in Seward in a Saturday and then leave again on Sunday, you'd have plenty of time to do both of the things I mentioned (and probably many others).

I’ve also done both of these in Seward and can also highly recommend them both.

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Let's see where this goes...

 

So, I don't talk about it a lot, because it was not a very pleasant experience, but my first cruise was in 2009 on Carnival Triumph. It's been re-named after the poop-cruise saga. My grandmother and I shared a spa balcony cabin and my three college friends shared an inside room somewhere near the waterline. I went to the main dining room a couple of times with my friends as I wanted to be with them, but Carnival insisted on putting us with a couple and their daughter.

 

My friends loved it! I hated it. Before the cruise I told them I'd be skipping out on formal night as I did not want to dress up (see, even in 2009 I was smart enough not to put a penguin suit on, except for work purposes). I remember the couple with their daughter didn't fancy me as I was...well, I basically ignored them while my friends talked with them. The couple times I ate in the main dining room, the food was good.

 

Other times I went to the buffet, burger place, and pizza place. This is before the advent of Carnival's Guys and whatever names they have now. I don't know if the ship had any not included in the fare food. The food everywhere onboard was nasty, except the main dining room. Room service sucked. Pizza was disgusting and the burgers were gross.

 

From 2009 to 2022 I didn't cruise. My experience on Carnival was lackluster. I was one of those that claimed "petri" dishes and all that other bogus crap were real, because of my terrible experience. Will I ever cruise Carnival again? Eh, maybe, but they don't have a suites area like the Haven.

 

Fast forward to 2022, my husband and I decided on a NCL cruise in the Haven during my spring break (I was a school director back in the day). We went. We loved it. We've gone back. So, I may not be the one to give a good comparison to cruising then and now. Plus, I only cruise Haven, so I can't tell you how everything in the other areas of the ship are, though we do frequent the specialty restaurants, main dining room, and thanks to @UKstages insistence, I try the buffet every cruise. I claimed I hated it. He told me it might have been a one-off. It wasn't. I have had a couple of tolerable dishes in the buffet, but generally the very small portion of food I do get stays on my plate after one bite. I do hate the waste, but I'm not one to take a giant amount of food. Especially since I haven't had good luck with the food.

 

So, buffet = not good...but try it out. Maybe you'll find something decent. Everyone suggests the Indian food. I find it to be good and actually have gone back for seconds. The sausage gravy is good (biscuits, not so much). Sometimes the pizza is decent, though on Pr1ma it was inedible. Both kinds - the focaccia and the regular thin crust.

 

As for the main dining room - I have stopped by the main dining room when the menu has something that excites me. For lunch, try out the chicken flautas and Italian Wedding Soup. Yum! I enjoy the chicken cordon bleu for dinner (though it's not traditional and is served with German Potato Salad). I enjoyed the chicken parmesan and the best appetizer on the entire ship is the Mini Ranchero Beef Tostadas. Order two or three portions as they come, literally three tortilla chips to a serving.

 

Specialty dining - I haven't had anything that I've found stunning. NCL wants you to think the specialty dining restaurants are upscale. None of them are (maybe Le Bistro is, but French ain't my thang). Whatever you do, do not pay a la carte prices. Nothing is better than you'd find on land and everything is priced more than a similar restaurant. Some folks, will be quick to say they spend over $100 for a steak at a similar restaurant. I don't know what kind of food they get on NCL, but it sure isn't what I eat as the quality is...well it's just normal every day food. I get beat up every now and then for this but here's how I equate specialty dining onboard:

 

La Cucina - a bit better than Olive Garden, but only by a slight margin. I have had mixed results with the lasagna. Once it was really good (OG quality), once it was a dry bed of sad beef and noodles with virtually no cheese or sauce. The shrimp diavolo is excellent! Filet with bleu cheese ravioli is excellent! I wasn't a huge fan of the ravioli, but I kind of thought it might be too much. It was better than I expected, though I won't order it again. The steak was cooked a perfect medium.

 

Moderno - definitely about the same as land-based Texas de Brazil. Desserts aren't as good though. At least they have "sushi" on the salad bar which is a nice touch. Stick with flank steak, filet, and sausage. The chicken and pork are overcooked and dry. They try to mask this with parmesan (as does Texas de Brazil). It doesn't help it.

 

Cagney's - upscale atmosphere. Garbage panda food. Cagney's was a once and done for us (maybe a bad snapshot in time). Potatoes au gratin were...well they were disgusting. Just no way around it. One steak ordered medium was underdone, then it was burnt crispy, then it was given up on. Mine was ordered medium, came out medium rare. I just ate it, because I don't mind. My husband...medium rare is a no-go. Onion rings were blah. Texas Roadhouse does a better job than Cagney's.

 

Food Republic - stick with sushi and you'll be happy. Most of the other options were not great. I was super excited about pad thai and pho. Both were bad. Peruvian Chicken is soggy. The Firecracker Shrimp is actually very good too. Just far too expensive for what you get (we order through Free at Sea so no charge). The Spicy Korean Fried Chicken is also good.

 

Teppanyaki - it's teppanyaki. If you've been to one. You've been to them all. This is an always place for us. Skip the NY Strip - it sucks. The calamari is rubbery and gross. Get scallops, shrimp, and/or chicken. Don't be afraid to ask for more garlic or soy as the chef's seem to cook for the lowest common denominator (those with crappy taste buds). Once we have them actually enhance our food with some spice, it's great. The chefs do their best to be entertaining. We (especially my husband) enjoy our time here.

 

I can't speak to the other places as we've never visited. To be clear all my experiences have been on ships other than Escape as I have not sailed that ship yet. Someday!

 

You asked about portions. Portions, in almost every regard, are far smaller than you'd find in a land-based restaurant unless you're partaking in a tasting menu. Now, when you add up the appetizer/salad/entree/dessert, you do get a good-sized meal that is filling. But, if going a la carte, nothing onboard is worth paying for the price NCL charges. Nothing.

 

It used to be that we would have an order of mozzarella sticks mid cruise from American Diner. Well, those are gone. Also gone are hash browns. Those are the primary items that we are saddened about. Having said that, we cruised Pr1ma in November and I still haven't eaten a hash brown. I'm not paying nearly $3 for a hash brown at McDonald's and we don't eat out for breakfast when home. The mozzarella sticks were a nice tradition we had and I'll admit they did cost $5 - $7 (depending on the trip). We just love oooey goooey cheeeese fried. Now, we just buy the big pack from Costco and have mozzarella sticks whenever we want.

 

Again, I don't know what cruising NCL was like back in the day (like pre-2020). It's not a value to me. Why? I only cruise Haven. The restaurant in the Haven is the best onboard. And the quality is generally better than most land-based mom and pop/chain restaurants. With little exception, it doesn't hold a yardstick to the land-based restaurants I've been that cost NCL prices (in their specialty restaurants, not Haven).

 

As for the general cruise experience. You've done yourself a favor by booking Vibe and the thermal suite. You'll be able to separate yourself from the mass of humanity that scares the living hell out of me when I wander out on the pool deck. We often walk the decks, but sometimes it's just overwhelming seeing so many humans in one place. It reminds me of ants scurrying around their mound. This is why we book the Haven (yes, I know, I'm an entitled mofo). So, when the crowds get to you, escape to your oasis. Hint: thermal suite is best before 9 AM and after 6 PM. Otherwise, it's quite crowded!

 

Based on my comments above you probably wonder why I've cruised five times since April 2022. Well, I enjoy the experience, but I do have the nitpicks. Nothing above is terrible and I'm sure I would have similar nits if I cruised any of the other mainstream lines or went to an all-inclusive. Having said that, there is a reason my husband and I backpacked the Grand Canyon this past fall before our Pr1ma sailing. And that was to get away from people. But, we sure enjoyed getting into the Haven and exploring the ship. I will never, ever shy away from providing feedback. Every business needs it and I hope this was somewhat helpful for you as you are about to get to your best life onboard Escape!

 

We do not cruise for the food. We cruise to relax, hang out in the thermal suite, see foreign lands, and just be with other. That's the value. NCL allows us to do that and I think you'll find yourself having a great time if you go into it with the right mindset. Don't look for the cuts. You'll see some, sure, but have an attitude that you're on vacation with your family. Be in the moment, spend time with family, and you're going to have a really wonderful vacation!

 

Spot on advice in your last paragraph.

I too miss those hash browns, I usually never have them at home and they were my vacation ‘treat’. 
I’ve been buying these and cooking them in an air fryer for 10-11 minutes at 390 degrees. A dash of salt and I’m transported (almost) back to vacation mode.😋

Looking forward to your semi live as my husband and I will be boarding the ship when you are departing it.
We too are road warriors who spend several days and at times weeks driving across country and enjoy it. Granted it’s nicer now that we have a small class B rv (Ford transit chassis) so we have a bathroom, bed and kitchen, and we can fit in a regular parking space.

For us though New Orleans is a short two and a half hour drive.

Wishing you safe travels and sunny weather!

I hope your Mom continues to have good pain meds and that she can continue on with her vacation.

As with any law or rule people usually don’t care what you do as long as it doesn’t affect them.

 Speed limit is 65, you can drive 85. It’s when your speed causes an accident that causes a road shut down or worse than that, an injury. Then your speeding affects others.

 Disregard rules on drink packages to save some money, I’m guessing most people would not be bothered.
But when so many people start doing it that a cruise line has to raise prices or remove certain beverages that were formerly available (Vueve, anyone?) then that affects others.
The problem is so many people only care about themselves and not how their actions impact others even if it’s not directly.

 I think it gets worse when folks have the anonymity of being in a place where most of the people don’t know you, and you’ll be gone in a week or two.

Thats why cruises tend to have chair hogs, elevator hogs, bar hogs and theater seat savers, just to name a few “It’s all about me” people.

1 minute ago, graphicguy said:

Port to IAH in about 75 minutes….clear all the way!  NCL’s bus is a good option and the cheapest transport I found to the airport!

Safe travels home and thanks again for a great review

31 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

And.  not sure who sent it or why I got this at Cagney’s, but appreciate it….Thanks!

All of us at home reading your adventures requested this be sent to you as a thank you. 😉

You ARE the best after all for letting us follow you on this cruise!

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Going to bore y’all with a whine….blocked my header with my hand.  It’s been sore, but is now turning colors….

Ouch! I’m no doctor but I think it warrants holding a cold frosty beverage of your choice to ease the pain and reduce the bruising😉

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

Adrian--- Oceania

That’s enough to make me want to cruise Oceania!

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

A little side note about our Concierge, Lyster!  One thing NCL does is hire the best Concierges in the industry.

 

Just as an example, he called earlier this a.m. wondering how I was feeling.  He knew about my mishap last night.  Even though breakfast was no longer being served, he offered to have my Butler put some pastries together and bring them to my cabin!  

 

Side note, Adrian Bica (sp?) is generally considered the best Concierge at sea!  Lyster was trained by him, and it shows!

 

Adrian left NCL but last I heard he’s either with Windstar or Oceania..can’t remember which!

 

Lyster has been with NCL for 17 years. 

Having been lucky enough to have Adrian as our concierge several times, that’s high praise indeed for Lyster.

Thanks for a great live review.

You have lots of wonderful photos. Looking forward to your final thoughts.

18 minutes ago, luckyoldsun said:

Will be on the Encore later this month Feb 18th-25th.  I do not see this excursion listed Jost Van Dyke (unless sold out)  Can someone let me know the name of this excursion?

When I booked it it was called Escape to Jost Van Dyke

https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/TOV_50/Escape-to-Jost-Van-Dyke

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Oh no! I'm thinking of you and your wonderful pup! 

Thank you❤️

I know you love your fur babies as family too.

Thankfully she’s getting better, the meds every two hours around the clock after 8 days  are now down to every 4 hours.

Since shes 14 years old we know our days with her may be sooner than later and her health trumps any trip.

it was just painful calling our good friends who we have cruised with in January for the last 11 years we weren’t able to go.

Hopefully they understand.

10 minutes ago, KarenRB said:

This question is specific to NCL.  I checked the trip insurance forum for an answer.

 

I'm past final payment and am going to get trip insurance. I don't want to insure things that are refundable if I have to cancel prior to embarkation.  I purchased upgrades for dining and the internet.  Are these extras refundable right up to embarkation?  Wasn't sure where to look on NCL's website.

 

Thanks for any info

 

 

I just had to cancel 8 days out from my cruise due to a sick dog.

 I was refunded the port fees and taxes, the gratuities on the FAS dining package and drink package, as well as the OBC I had pre purchased.

 Not sure how close to embarkation it will be refunded.

29 minutes ago, KSSS2013 said:

 Normally we go to the port early and just wait. We decided to hold back a little and came at 11. We could hear them call boarding group 3 as we walked in. 
  Time from security to walking on the ship was about 10 minutes. Since we are Sapphire we could skip the boarding groups and walk on. 
   Went to Taste for lunch. Ordered the wedge salad and the pork chop for lunch. The salad was fine, but the pork chop was really overcooked and didn’t have any chimichurri sauce. Dessert was the orange chocolate mousse. 
 

 

I’m glad that waiting till 11am resulted in a short wait for you. Enjoy your cruise!

43 minutes ago, KSSS2013 said:

 

  I'm going to do my best to do a live review but live and margheritas may get in the way.

 

  We booked this cruise (Wife and myself) over a year ago, for us it was a steal, inside room (boo), Free at Sea including BOGO airfare. With the military discount it came out to $2100 which I think is a great value. The travel agent also tossed in $50 OBC and paid the DSC. Just like our Epic cruise last year this will be over our anniversary.

 

   Now we all worry about our "free" flights that NCL booked but we are two for two on great flights. We did a 2 day deviation going in and we have direct flights through Delta for both. I looked up the flight cost after we got confirmation and they would have cost us $1100.00 per person to book on our own for the same flights. Not bad for the $278.00 that NCL charged us. I also was able to do a low cost upgrade to First Class for the leg out a few weeks ago so we'll be riding in style for at least the flight down.

  

    Back to the cruise details, it's the typical Western Caribbean Cruise which includes a stop at Harvest Caye. We've been to all the other ports several times, but it will be our first visit to Harvest Caye.

 

 

 

 

 All the ports have nice long days, Costa Maya did get cut short but we'll survive. Since this trip is also to celebrate our anniversary I went a little nicer for some of our excursions. The Beach Day Casitas at Mr. Sanchos are pretty new so I didn't see a lot of information on them yet, but they seem like they'll be a lot quieter than hanging out with the masses on the beach.

 I really struggled with the $$ for the Luxury Beach Villa on Harvest Caye, especially since no food is included, but that day is our anniversary so I wanted it to be nice.

 

Cozumel 8-5 – Mr. Sanchos Beach Day Casita

Roatan 8-5 – Victor Bodden transport, day at Infinity Bay Resort

Harvest Caye 8-4:30 – Luxury Beach Villa

Costa Maya – 7-3 – Jamie’s at Blue Reef

 

 Now down to the travel details, we'll be staying in Bloomington MN tonight so we're close to the airport for our flight tomorrow AM. We live about 90 minutes from the Cities so it's our tradition to go down the night before to enjoy hanging out at the MOA and having a relaxing evening. 

 

  Plans for Friday are to catch our flight to New Orleans and enjoy a nice lunch at 30,000+ feet. I snagged a great deal using points at the Waldorf Astoria in New Orleans and they were nice enough to arrange a driver to meet us at the airport for a price. I'm looking forward to my wife being surprised when the driver meets us at luggage claim. It looks like a rainy couple of days in New Orleans so we have alternate plans for things to see Friday and Saturday.

 

   Sunday we will probably head to the ship early, it's our normal tradition to try and get onboard right away and have a nice quiet lunch in the MDR. I've heard the port at New Orleans can be crowded so we may make an exception and hold off until 1 or so, I would think the crowds would die down by then, but we haven't decided.

 

    Onboard the only entertainment able to be reserved was Burn the Floor. Six has it's last show on the cruise that's going on now, it looks like Wheel of Fortune will probably be replacing it (for our convenience). We're trying out an inside room on Deck 8 this cruise. I've only done an inside room on the Dawn with NCL and hated it. I like to be able to chill our on the balcony or on a couch in the morning when my wife gets ready and wind down in the evening. NCL's inside rooms don't allow this, so I'm hoping I can just walk down the hall and find a seat out on deck or in one of the bars that's close by.

 

     Food-wise we have our 2 Sapphire dinners and 1 Free at Sea. I also purchased the 2 dining upgrade, so we have a total of 5 specialties this trip. This is what's reserved so far:

 

   

Day 1 – Ocean Blue

Day 2 – Cagney’s

Day 5 – Cagney’s (Anniversary Dinner)

Day 6 – Le Bistro

Day 7 – La Cucina or Moderno

 

   That's all I have for now, the rest of the posts won't be as verbose since I'll be on my phone, but we're excited to have another amazing cruise!

 

 

 

 

Looking forward to your review as I’ll be on the Breakaway in March.

Having cruised on the Breakaway and the Getaway out of New Orleans several times I think the slightly later arrival time works better. The problem with earlier times being you are fighting through the departing crowds to enter the building. Long lines through security to get to check in. The waiting area is not large and fills quickly. The time we arrived around 11am we didn’t have to deal with any of those issues and pretty much walked right on the ship after checking in.

17 minutes ago, hallux said:

These types of threads are helpful if the title includes the ship name.  I thought at first that the trip I'm on was changed (since I also sail on the 27th but on a different ship)...

Sorry if I had you worried! It’s the Escape from Port Canaveral.

I will add I much prefer my last day to be a sea day, I hate feeling like I have to leave the beach early to go pack.

And I actually like the idea of GSC on the first full day.

I actually prefer the new itinerary but I don’t have any excursions to worry about.

 I do feel for those that are having to scramble for new ones though.

37 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

My thoughts are a bit different than other posters. Perhaps, because I'm in the lower middle end of my wage earning years. I still have another 30 years until I hit retirement. My husband and I are DINKs (at least currently - we're thinking about adoption), so don't need to worry about providing an inheritance to anyone but the creatures on our "gentlemen's" farm. 

 

We only cruise Haven for a few reasons (none of which I'll get into here as they're controversial). You read about how much we love the Haven earlier, but we don't just book a Haven room to book a Haven room. Thankfully we both have flexibility in our vacations, so can cruise when and where we want. Four of our five Haven cruises were purchased after final payment and all of our cruises (except our first) were purchased at almost the lowest price offered. I know others do, but I do not subscribe to the buy early, save money. I subscribe to the find the cruise that has availability after final payment date and save some cash. 

 

Why am I going on and on? Well, one I'm at work, it's Monday morning, and I'm bored catching up on Cruise Critic. But also, because I think you might have an opportunity cash in on a really great bargain! In my experience, which is much like the stock market (past performance doesn't guarantee future positive returns), 110'ish days is when Haven fares will drop for the next two to three weeks. By roughly 90 days from your cruise, if any Haven rooms are still available, the price will re-inflate. This is exactly what occurred on three of our five cruises over the last two years. 

 

Keep an eye on those rooms and if the price hits a point you're comfortable booking, then do it! Don't delay as the price may go up. Quick example. Last year, at 112 days out we booked a Haven room on Pr1ma's Transatlantic (Nov. 23) at what we thought would be the lowest price. Alas, it went down a further $600 per person at roughly day 108/109, because the NCL BOGO Airfare deal went away. We had the airfare, so weren't too upset as air for two, to Barcelona was only $600. 

 

But, if air isn't a consideration (lots of varied opinion on the whole BOGO Air - we're flexible, don't need to sit next to each other, and don't mind rushing to catch a connection), then I'd suggest booking in the 100 - 105 day window. At 90 - 100 days, on all three of those cruises, we noticed the Haven prices started to spike again. Good luck!! And enjoy your cruise. I hope you come back to tell us all about it. Haven or not! 

I agree with you that if your schedule is flexible and you watch for prices just under the 120 day window you can get a good deal.

 Was watching for prices on the Breakaway out of New Orleans for my birthday in March when I saw the price on Haven cabins drop, then saw that my favorite- the aft Haven popped up at a lower price than a forward facing Haven cabin. Needless to say I had my TA grab it. I’m like you, but I prefer to call myself an extroverted introvert. I can chat and make small talk but it wears me out and I’d rather be chilling by myself on my own big aft balcony!

I agree that in general everything costs more than 3 years ago. 
I remind myself vacations are wants not needs and I’m blessed to be able to travel. If that means I have to adjust my accommodations or trip length so be it. I know lots of people are struggling to make ends meet now and would love to be in my shoes.

6 hours ago, benel204 said:

I meant no opportunity for "bid  to upgrade" as our TA does not participate

As someone who cruises in a club balcony suite when not in a Haven suite, 

and in aft balcony suites at that, I would go for the Haven even if you plan to be off the ship at most ports.

If you can well afford it and are celebrating a big milestone as you state then pamper yourself is my motto!