maja651

I would love to know who the current concierge is as well. We sail in 27 days! 🙂

The absolute best cabins in the NCL fleet are the Garden Villas on the Star and Dawn. They are amazing! The Jewel class GVs are nice, but not as nice as the Star and Dawn.
 

 Attached are pics from 2015,  but show how big the top deck is. 

On 3/23/2022 at 2:17 PM, source said:

Rumi is on vacation till April 22nd whe he returns to the Jewel.  YEAH!!!

Is Rumi the concierge? We sail on the Jewel in  September and I’m curious as to who our concierge will be.

On 9/24/2021 at 4:36 PM, FLcruisergrl said:

Do it! We have a garden villa for 4 in 2022. Oink oink!

Ha! We upgraded to the GV a few years back at Christmas and it was only 2 of us! Do I win the piggie award? Lol (note, we were not allowed to add anyone, even if we wanted to because of the capacity of the ship and lifeboats.

Warning! When we booked our first GV, back in 2015 on the Star, we too thought it was a once in a life time trip!  Now, I sit here in 2020 having been in the GV on the Star, Jewel, 2 weeks on the Dawn, and now an Alaskan GV voyage on the Jewel is planned for 2022. The GV is addicting!  The prices vary greatly depending on where and when you go, so we just look for great GV deals and book them!  

Remember me as I told you so! 🙂

14 hours ago, Coral said:

Seward is a great gem! See if you can spend time there. Many just go from ship to train or ship to bus and miss it all together. Maybe spend some time in Alaska after your cruise.

Yes, the plan is to spend at least one night in Seward, and then train to Anchorage, pickup car there, drive to Denali National Park and stay there a few nights. We will most likely rent a house from VRBO as we are traveling late in the season  (our cruise ends on September 26 in Seward). 

Any must sees in Seward, Denali or anywhere in between?

I just want to thank the OP for posting this, as well as all of these helpful response!  Thanks to you all, we have switched our cruise from September 2022 on the Encore to the Jewel One way from Vancouver to Seward.  That way, we will have more time in Alaska.  Thanks to all!

On 7/14/2020 at 1:52 PM, mw4357 said:

I have traveled several times in the Haven, Owners Suite, Spa suite and Aft Penthouse. I have never stayed in a cabin in the Haven Complex itself and I am looking for input from passengers that have done both. Thinking about booking a Haven Courtyard on the Encore. Thanks in advance

We have cruised aft penthouse on the Epic and 2 bedroom in the Haven on the Getaway. While the walk is not that big of a deal, when you’re not in the actual Haven complex you just don’t get the same experience. Our butler was great on the Epic, that wasn’t the issue it’s just that you almost feel like an outsider when entering the Haven area. Hard to explain except that we loved the convience of the Haven sundeck, restaurant, bar, Pool, hot tubs, just outside your cabin.

We did a back to back out of San Juan last year. We stayed on the ship. We met in one of the restaurants and the Customs agents came on and checked us there.  We then were able to roam around, or go back to our room as we did. We also did not have to go to the Muster drill the second week.

On 4/13/2020 at 2:51 AM, Beer Belly said:

We rebooked for April 2021 and used no cash, all FCC thru our agent.

We rebooked for February 2021 through an NCL agent. We used FCC for the deposit,  no credit card needed.

One thing no one has brought up is the  major convenience factor when located in the  Haven for things like escort off the ship for tender ports, for debarkation, for escort to shows with Haven group, etc.  For these types of things, you meet in the Haven complex. It is especially nice on debarkation day if you have a carry on, so you don’t have to lug it to the Haven complex to debark. Plus - you won’t have to fight for an elevator UP to the Haven to go DOWN to debark.

25 minutes ago, outlawd07 said:

 

I bought the PPBP as a surprise for my husband for our upcoming cruise. I did this based off the information Ive learned from Cruise Critic and the PPBP PDF that was found on NCL’s website. Last night I was hunting online for the PPBP PDF and I stumbled across two different versions. One, from 2019 (https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/premium-plus-beverage-package.pdf) that included Veuve and other higher-end wines, and an updated version (https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/premium-plus-beverage-package-2020.pdf) which has removed Veuve and other wines as choices during dinner.

 

I message our Concierge over this and he confirmed that NCL has indeed removed Veuve and other expensive wines off the selection menu but stated that I would still receive a 40% discount off those missing bottles of wine if we still wanted them. He also wanted me to keep in mind that all is subject to change based on NCL’s discretion.

 

This all has kind of left a bad taste in my mouth but I am still going to have a great time on my cruise in April. I Just wanted to share this newly learned information with you all.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Is it too late to cancel the upgrade and get your money back? That is what I would do.

20 hours ago, detwings said:

Going on the Encore March 1, 2020.  Doesa nyone know who the Haven Concierge, Asst Concierge is?  Thanks

 

Any idea where Bowen Pereira is now? We had him twice on the Breakaway and he was FANTASTIC.. loved him

I just spoke to the Pre-concierge and she said Bowen would be the concierge for the Breakaway in April.

6 hours ago, beachbabybingo said:

I'm curious how the tender tickets are handled. First come, first serve or is more organized with getting tickets (earlier in the week) for a particular time? Will passengers with a "Priority" status get any priority treatment?

I’d like to know this as well.

We were in the GV on the Dawn last March for 14 days. We have also been in the GV on the Star as well as the Jewel.  I can tell you with personal experience, you will get the absolute BEST SERVICE you could even imagine when in the GV.  Last March, we ate 95% of our meals ,when on the ship, in the villa.  We also ordered from just about every restaurant on the ship, sometimes multiple restaurants for one meal. We paid for the specialty meals as required, but everything else was included. Jane, our butler, did ask us when we ordered from different restaurants if it was ok to deliver in separate phases, so the food would be warm. We had no issues with that and the food was always perfect.   

Note  - you will have menus from all of the restaurants in the villa, and you can ask your butler to bring you the main dining rooms menu for each day so you know the daily specials.  Take advantage of that!  Also, you can ask your butler to bring certain things daily - for example, we had Jane bring a plate of pastries, fruit and coffee every morning to have waiting for us when we woke up. (The nice thing about the villa is that huge living and dining area, so she could easily come in, drop off the food, and leave without waking anyone.)We would order the hot breakfast after we woke up (if we wanted it, we just called her).  Usually she came up to take every order in person. We didn’t ask for that, she just did that. 

Enjoy the villa! In my opinion, the best GVs on the Star and Dawn are the absolute BEST ROOMS of any NCL ship. The outdoor space alone makes them simply magnificent!

oh - and please don’t forget to tip the butler, room steward and concierge well. They really do go above and beyond for the villas. 
 

‘Have fun!

14 hours ago, david_sobe said:

OMG 😲  I cant believe you did that because of me.  I hope it was not more money.  If you plan on using the Haven sundeck and restaurant its definitely worth being in the Haven.  If you forget one simple thing, its quite the walk all the way back.  We just felt like we were visitors in the Haven.  But then again you save money.  Gosh if you end up with a bad cruise you will come looking for me 😲

We spent a little more, but not much, no worries. 🙂 I trust your judgment, and we really discussed the differences and decided location would make a big difference in many of the perks of the Haven, so it was worth it.

13 hours ago, david_sobe said:

BTW, did you stay in an aft penthouse on Epic and loved it?

Yes, we loved the Epic, but hated the distance from our cabin to the Haven. Your post actually reminded us of that so it was good! Thanks!

On 2/1/2020 at 12:36 PM, david_sobe said:

I had a forward penthouse on Getaway.  The room was beautiful and separate living room/bedroom.  Just be prepared to walk everywhere being that forward.  We had Adrian so the level of service was excellent but staying outside the Haven was definitely missed.  We almost felt like outsiders.  However just remind yourself the price reflects what you get.  For a lower price you get a great room with a taste of the Haven.  I think we also agree that the Breakaway class ships are our least favorites when it comes to the Haven.  The Epic is bigger and better.  I am on Encore in 3 weeks so I am curious to try this new ship out.

Well David, your post got us thinking, and we upgraded to the H5 courtyard penthouse. Although only deck 15 was available, it is still much close than the forward deck 10 forward facing penthouse. Plus, I believe there is a staircase within the Haven area on deck 15, so we won’t have to go all of the way mid ship to get to the Haven. Thanks for you input!

12 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

I had a forward penthouse on Getaway.  The room was beautiful and separate living room/bedroom.  Just be prepared to walk everywhere being that forward.  We had Adrian so the level of service was excellent but staying outside the Haven was definitely missed.  We almost felt like outsiders.  However just remind yourself the price reflects what you get.  For a lower price you get a great room with a taste of the Haven.  I think we also agree that the Breakaway class ships are our least favorites when it comes to the Haven.  The Epic is bigger and better.  I am on Encore in 3 weeks so I am curious to try this new ship out.

Thanks David. I kind of expect this ‘outsider’ feeling, so I’m glad we booked 10th deck forward penthouse. I figured it would be nicer to be closer to the action of decks 6-8 then the Haven.  And yes, we agree the Epic has a much better Haven then Breakaway class.  I did like the Haven sundeck area on deck 17 of the Getaway, so we may end up going up there in sea days. For dining, with the dining package and platinum benefits, plus the Velvet show, I doubt we will ever eat in the Haven. We like breakfast in the room, and lunch is not a big deal to us. 
I can’t wait to hear about your Encore experience!  Those front observation areas look amazing! Are you in a Haven suite for that cruise?

1 hour ago, Suite Heart said:

 

I did get Patrick a couple of years ago and LOVED him! Haven't met Adrian or Roel, though.

 

Martina was fab! We started a running joke about being evil-twin sisters 'cause we are both gingers. 

 

She got me to shows early, booked a couple of last-minute  dining rezs, and was always available for consultation. Personality for days!!

Thank you for your feedback! I’m looking forward to meeting her!  We’re you actually in the Haven or in a suite ‘off site’. We are in a forward facing suite outside of the Haven and I wonder if that will impact our level of service.

7 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Bruno will be the concierge on Breakaway in April 2020

 

 

 

 

 

(April Fools!  3 months early)

BTW how was the b2b in the Garden Villa

Lol! OMG you are too funny! I first read that and thought, oh noooooooo! Lol

GV BTb was amazing! Roel was over the top amazing for that cruise.  I mean he escorted us off the ship EVERY TIME we left the ship. He met us up in the villa, held the elevator and we just left the ship with him. He also escorted us to dinner when we went, he came up to the room a lot to chat (he has such a fabulous guy!) and just in general was super personable. Jane was our butler  and she too was over the top amazing!  We have always had great butlers, but Jane was definitely one of the best. Our room steward was great too, he even had cushions made for the villa outdoor chairs when we asked for more comfy chairs outside. Overall, just an over the top, once in a lifetime trip. Oh- and I almost forgot. The last day of the cruise they put together a party in our room with lots of champs and food, for the HD, Food and Bev D and another officer to come socialize with us. We didn’t ask for this, they asked if they could. Apparently, it is very rare to have someone book the GV BTb and they wanted to thank us. It was just crazy how great everything was!

6 hours ago, Suite Heart said:

Current list for Breakaway Jan 31, 2020

Captain Matko Candrlic

Gen Mgr Joao Gigante

Asst Gen Mgr Plamenko

Cruise Director Paquito

Food & Bev Director Mihaela

Guest Services Mgr Denny

Executive Housekeeper Carmencita

Executive Chef Menino

Restaurant Mgr Herman

Beverage Mgr Adele

Concierge Haven Martina

Asst Concierge Cherisa

Haven Restaurant Christina, Seychelle

Haven Bar Kelvin, Gede, Tyron

 

There are some other people in the Haven, whose names I, sadly, forget.

 

If you go to Le Bistro, you'll meet Alen and Love. (Yep, real names.)

 

 

What was your experience with Martina? Is she a good concierge? For reference, my all time favorite concierge is Roel, close second Adrian, and close third, Patrick.

Last year on the Dawn out of Puerto Rico we did not have to go to the Muster drill two times.

32 minutes ago, BostonGal35 said:

yes and it was awesome!!!  total separate entrance to get to it and everything.

Fabulous!

4 hours ago, daggct said:

When we boarded the Breakaway in December there was  VIP/Haven/Handicapped in the same line. It was much shorter than the regular line. 

Thank you!

Does anyone know if there is a Haven security line at Port Canaveral?