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Great photos - and I looked at both ships. We are new to MSC and learning.

One question - since I always like to preview menus to decide where to eat - why don't you include menus for the dining spots you visit?

You are right about a LOT of information - thanks so much.

We will be on the Seaside in July and I am considering specialty dining. I have found a pdf of the menu at almost every specialty restaurant (Butcher's Cut, Ocean Cay, Yamaguchi's Asian) but just cannot seem to find a menu for La Bohème Bistro.

Can a CruiseCritic help? Thanks.

I'm remembering being unhappy with the coarse sand on Harvest Caye in Belize and wishing I had water shoes ... but I still haven't bought any.

Now we're heading to Hawaii in a week, staying before our cruise at the far end of Waikiki Beach, in the Ilikai Inn and Suites.

Silly question, but will I be able to walk barefoot on the sand of Waikiki Beach and into the ocean?

Thanks, all. Your perspectives are appreciated.

We are sailing on the Pride of America in March.

Our last two cruises were both Haven, and we will probably book Haven every time there is a chance. Haven is a wonderful oasis within a wonderful cruise. I, however, didn’t see the benefit to a suite on POA, so we are currently in a balcony room.

As I thought about it, I considered how port-intensive this cruise is - we’ll be off the ship almost all day, every day. The suites on POA don’t have a dedicated “space” like the Haven does - no bar, no restaurant. We can’t run to “our” bar for a quick drink in the morning or a quiet drink on returning to the ship. As I understand it, there is no reserved seating for shows or other activities and minimal assistance getting on or off the ship (priority lines). There is no in-room dining. With so little time on ship, we don’t need much space.

BUT I just got that email with a chance to bid for an upgrade ... and now I’m second-guessing myself.

What is the benefit you have seen with a suite on the Pride of America?

I often jump in on this topic because I think sometimes those of us who lean toward ship's tours don't explain our preferences as often and well as those who lean toward independent travel. It really is a matter of preference - how much work do you like to do, and how much does the savings make up for that work?

That said, the first few cruise we took we too ALL ships tours. There was enough to understand without trying to add foreign travel and navigation in foreign ports to the list. I felt safe, comfortable, well guided, and like the cost I paid was worth the product received.

Since then, we have done self-guided walking tours, we have arranged for independent guides/taxi drivers who are recommended on these boards to pick us up at port, we have used professional tour operators, we have rented cars in ports, and we have taken ships tours. I still prefer ships tours:

1. I don't have to sweat the details - others are managing it for me.

2. I get what I paid for - and don't get left at the dock or handed off to a tour operator's "friend" - both have happened to me with independent arrangements.

3. I learn a lot and can't really get lost. Nice to have someone explaining things and pointing us in the right way.

I understand many love the challenge of putting together independent tour operators, and they save money by doing so - I respect that but I invest our money in my relaxation by having most of our tours handled by the ship.

Is the Cadillac Diner open for lunch on embarkation day?

A search of this forum will provide you will many different answers to that question. The practice of first booking with the PCC, then transferring to the travel agent was one I first heard of reading this forum - and one I'm continuing the think about.

I've been combing through the threads that share information about booking using a NCL PCC to start, then to transfer the booking to a travel agent for additional perks (like OBC).

The one question I did not find asked/answered is "How does this impact the PCC's benefits?"

I am thinking of doing this, but am not sure it feels right to have someone do work for me and then not get any benefit from it.

Can those of you with experience doing this tell me how this works at that end? I imagine once you have booked with a PCC then transferred to a TA, they know that is your MO when you call the next time - so they may have shared what it means to them.

Thanks.

Started dreaming today - and am dreaming of a Hawaii trip in February or March of 2018.

I know NCL used to do a three day pre-cruise cruise-tour ... but there is nothing on their website after December 2017.

Have they discontinued this add-on?

Thank you for doing this, will definitely use your post next time booking a haven spa suite on the getaway.

 

We just got off the breakaway last week and this layout does not apply for this ship.

 

 

We were in #14142: no pole (like getaway) but had table & 2 chairs

Now that you mention it, I'll take a guess that the two ships are in mirror layout - so on Breakaway it's Starboard that has the table/chairs and Port that has the sofa/chaise. We were in 14728 on the Breakaway last year and it had a sofa/chaise. But I can't know for sure, because I didn't think about gathering this information last year, so I only share what I know about the Getaway.

When I was trying to decide which Haven Spa cabin to select last year on the Breakaway, I realized they are not all the same. There are two minordifferences between the “Away” class Haven Spa cabins:

Some “Away” class Haven Spa cabins have a brown support polein front of the whirlpool tub. You can look through other posts and find apicture of “the pole”. It doesn’t obstruct your view out the balcony door, butsome people prefer a cabin without a support pole.

In addition, some “Away” class Haven Spa cabins have a smalltable and two chairs on the wall beside the balcony door (as pictured on the NCLwebpage). Others have a low sofa/chaise lounge against that wall. In the cabinswith the sofa/chaise lounge, there IS a table set against the whirlpool tub,but the sofa/chaise lounge is too low to use as a chair if you want to dine inthe cabin and think to pull it over. When we had this sofa/chaise lounge on theBreakaway, we asked our butler to bring us two chairs for the room. (Made theroom crowded, but worked.) I’m sure it works for others – we like the table/twochairs.

It was a bit frustrating as I researched cabins that there wasn’ta report on every cabin about whether it had “the pole”, and very few peoplecommented on whether a cabin had the table/two chairs versus the sofa/chaiselounge.

All of that explanation is a preamble to the request I madeof my room steward this year when we were on the Getaway a few weeks ago: Please note forme which Getaway Haven Spa cabins have “the pole”, and which have thetable/chairs versus the sofa/chaise. And he did!

I had a little chart I’d put together in advance, and hetook it the first day and got it back to me several days later after he had theopportunity to check out all the cabins to be sure. (I gave him aspecial tip for doing this.)

He explained that all port side Getaway Haven Spa cabinshave the sofa/chaise; all starboard side Getaway Haven Spa cabins have thetable and two chairs. I also found out there are four cabins with the pole oneach side, and four without.

Here is the list:

Getaway 14128 – No pole – Has a sofa/chaise

Getaway 14130 – Has a pole – Has a sofa/chaise

Getaway 14132 – Has a pole – Has a sofa/chaise

Getaway 14134 – No pole – Has a sofa/chaise

Getaway 14136 – No pole – Has a sofa/chaise

Getaway 14138 – Has a pole – Has a sofa/chaise

Getaway 14140 – Has a pole – Has a sofa/chaise

Getaway 14142 – No pole – Has a sofa/chaise

Getaway 14728 – No pole – Has a table and two chairs

Getaway 14730 – Has a pole – Has a table and two chairs

Getaway 14732 – Has a pole – Has a table and two chairs

Getaway 14734 – No pole – Has a table and two chairs

Getaway 14736 – No pole – Has a table and two chairs

Getaway 14738 – Has a pole – Has a table and two chairs

Getaway 14740 – Has a pole – Has a table and two chairs

Getaway 14742 – No pole – Has a table and two chairs

My guess is that this would apply equally to the Breakaway,since they are mirror ships, but I can’t guarantee that.

I hope this list will be worthwhile to future cruisers whosearch for advice on which Getaway Haven Spa cabin to select and want to knowwhich ones have “the pole” or “the sofa/chaise”. I have gained some wonderful information and guidance from the people on Cruise Critic, I thoughtthis would be my way of contributing to the knowledge on the Board ... and saying thank you.

These will MORE than do. I knew I could count on CC.

Thanks so much.

Can someone point me to a copy of the breakfast menu for the main dining room?

Have just finished searching for about 30 minutes, and read lots of wonderful reviews and post, but didn't come up with it. Did see that some Cruise Critic members seem to know just where to find these things!

Thank you for your reassurances. Made my day!

So I procrastinated in making dinner reservations for my cruise on the Getaway in two weeks - and there are almost no dining times available for us at the specialty restaurants (Cagneys, Ocean Blue. Le Bistro, La Cucina). By "no" I mean no tables for 2 at all at any restaurant other than La Cucina. There are tables for 1 and tables for 4 or 6 ... but even those are either every early or very late. The times for La Cucina are the very early or very late times. Nothing between 7 PM and 9 PM.

I believe I read somewhere that the ships don't fill all reservations through the online pre-cruise system. Can someone confirm this?

If I go to make reservations as the first thing when I get on board, will I be able to get in?

I'm sorry but you were not there; on the penultimate day his attitude and demeanour was very similar to a street beggar. As I also said he hadn't "taken care" of us for a week; he had done the job he was being paid to do and very little else. I do tip, "When in Rome" etc; but I do find the system an abomination.

 

As has been inferred I am not from a country where it is normal for service people to be well underpaid and to have to expect others to take pity on them. We pay those in the service industry a reasonable wage which we pay for up front in the cost of the service.

I agree with you. The whole "discretionary tipping" ... but it's really required ... and also if you undertip you're being mean and stingy and not paying the person's salary to the level that they should be earning ... aaargh!

These discussions of tipping really are all the same.

We allow ourselves $20 a day. Like someone said, it's our pay-for-play entertainment. I enjoy it much more than bingo.

Slots have become very confusing over the years - these days there are machines where I can't even be excited to watch a spin because I can't figure out what makes a win! Just too smart slots for this dummy, I guess ... but I usually find one or two to entertain me.

Used to be called "upsells" ... and those who knew to call (or those who got the phone number from someone here) took part. It was a buyer's initiative.

Now NCL is taking the initiative. I believe it casts a wider net.

I also believe it will minimize price drops. Why advertise that you aren't selling your cabins at the preferred price (by dropping the price) when you can sell it through private bid? And they have ALL the emails ... they can just keep reaching out until they make the sales they are looking for.

The old best advice still stands: buy the cabin you want for the price you are comfortable paying. That way you don't get upset if you don't get an upsell (or your bid accepted) ... and you don't drive yourself crazy thinking the people next to you paid far less than you did for the same cabin.

Is it correct if you bid and change to a Haven cabin/suite you lose your current perks and don't receive the perks that typically come with a Haven cabin (which is everything that is offered), or any for that matter?

We're in a balcony on a future cruise, and are getting UBP and free daily service charge. IF we receive the invitation, and IF it was accepted, does that mean we would no longer get UBP and need to pay the daily service charge (at the higher Haven rate)? ... even though a person booking a Haven cabin/suite on the website would get every perk offered on that day ( no matter how close to sailing).

Would REALLY like to hear from one of you who have sailed in a Haven cabin/suite after changing through the bid process, if possible, rather than just a reference to the fine print. We all know what happens in real life on ship can be different that what "it" (whatever "it"is) says.

You can all get off together - you don't HAVE to get off using your Haven priority. You can stay with your friends and get off with your friends when they get off the ship.

This is what we did on our trip on the Breakaway with people who were not in the Haven but with whom we were sharing an excursion. Worked great. We got to the meeting point (it was the theater that day) and got off with the first group.

NCL understands people who have arranged their own excursions. We checked with Guest Services, explaining our plans, and received direction on where/how early to report to disembark with the first possible non-NCL group. You might be able to the your concierge to get the answer to that question so you don't have to stand in line for that. (Why didn't that occur to me at the time?)

We use the SDP specifically for the a la carte locations (Cagneys, Le Bistro, La Cucina) because the a la carte can really add up.

Then, if we want to enjoy dining in one of the other speciality restaurants (Moderno, Teppanayaki, the Illusionarium) do so knowing exactly what it will cost because its a set charge.

We were on the Getaway in 14740 and had a table and chairs

 

 

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Thanks! Maybe it's a Getaway vs. Breakaway thing - or port versus starboard. We will be in 14736, so I will be hopeful.

You should insist that anything represented in any photo on the company website of on board amenities and activities be provided to you exactly as depicted.

 

I do the same when I dont find the young attractive people cavorting by the pool whenever I cruise. I force them to be flown in and visible to me because thats what I saw in a picture on the website. Clearly a misrepresentation.

Sigh. I'm not sure if this comment was meant to make me feel naive for providing a comparison to a picture on the website or just stupid for asking.