mconthehighseas

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

@aubreyc1988I would like to complement you for an incredibly well done review of your recent NCL Joy Haven Cruise. You have been honest, transparent and fair. I truly hope the executives with NCL read what you have written and especially the comments which are point on. 

 

I have written about the Haven for a few years now.  It provided my family and I with an enhanced cruising experience.  As many of you know, my next cruise is back on the Joy in a Non-Haven Club Suite with Balcony beginning this Saturday.  I am a Solo traveler this time as well.  With all of your help, I am doing what a friend has called Haven Lite.  I will report back on that during my cruise, next week. 

 

Now I want to address the notion of an enhanced cruising experience. What we are all really looking for is something I call, "Personalized Service".  We don't want to be treated like a number.  We want to be treated like a "Rock Star". If only for one week a year. 

 

I had the honor and privilege to cruise on Crystal Cruises prior to its financial issues.  I had to feel what people were saying about the difference between a Mainstream Brand and a Luxury Brand.  Even if some say Crystal was Luxury Lite.  I want to share the differences in this Haven Thread because it is very important to set realistic expectations.  

 

When you do a Luxury Cruise, the ships are smaller.  They don't feel smaller because there are also less guests.  Most brands attempt to be as all inclusive as possible. The entertainment is not as spectacular and pool games are in most cases replaced with extremely interesting speakers.  The average age of the guest are higher and I think that is in large part due to the premium investment to cruise in a Luxury segment. This makes all the aspects of this cruising experience much more reserved. And quite frankly very different. 

 

What stands out to me was what many have said recently about their issues with the NCL Haven.  I want you to hear this from me so you know, I am always transparent.  My goal with the Haven was to make it as much a luxury all inclusive experience as possible.  It took lots of work to get there.  Letters written to the Butler and Haven Concierge. Pre-purchasing excursions and the Premium Plus Drink Package.  Knowing all the in/outs of specialty restaurant reservations timing and using the pre-cruise Haven desk.  I never minded all the work because I loved the result.  That said, I spent hours to make my cruise right and wrote about it to help all of you.

 

When I went on Crystal Cruises, all that work was not needed.  Let's start with the Butler:

 

My Crystal Butler: He was waiting for me in my suite.  I had a butler letter with the gratuities waiting for him just like in the Haven.  Nothing changed with my approach.  What changes was the professionalism of the butler.  He saw I was a bit tense and forced, yes forced me to sit down and relax.  He then did the most fantastic overview of the suite, his services and how to use the suites technology.  He had a note book which he took notes on what my wife and my wants and needs were. The presentation took 20 minutes and it was NOT rushed.  Every single request was handled within 15 minutes of him leaving the suite after our meeting.  Every single day, he would return to our suite at 04:00 PM.  He would make my wife and I a drink out on our veranda. He would bring in the afternoon snacks.  Those snacks were super high quality plus anything we asked for in my opening letter.  For example, I love smoked salmon.  Every day he would bring a small plate of smoked salmon just for me.  I had to let him know to stop bringing the snacks because it was effecting our dinner.  He complied but was still in our suite at 4:00 PM to personally fix us our drinks. If you wanted M&M, he would bring in a wheel barrel full. Nothing was off the table. That my friends, is personalized service. 

 

The Suites and Adult Beverages: Each suite had water, soda, mixers, wine and a bottle of spirits of your choice.  Never once did you have to say, "Please remove the for-sale items".  Why, everything was complementary. 

 

The Main Dining Room: The food here was better then the best specialty restaurants on most Mainstream Cruise lines. Every guest had a few Specialty Restaurants they received regardless of the stateroom they had.  The Penthouses has unlimited specialty restaurants including in suite service. Those specialty restaurants were some of the best food land or sea I have ever had. 

 

Drink Packages: Everyone had the same drink package.  No upgrade to a Premium Plus.  Everyone got specialty coffee's, imported waters, and soda's. No upsell at all.

 

The Staterooms: They were older and in many cases not as big as Mainstream staterooms.  The were all in good repair however you could see the wear and tear.  

 

The Entertainment: Compared to a NCL ship, the entertainment was average to below average in my opinion.  More guests create a much higher entertainment budget.  The pool was so quiet it was uncomfortable. One day we were beside a Royal Ship with a Live Band Playing by their pool.  My wife said to me, "Don't you wish were were over there?" I agreed. 

 

The Personalized Service Provided:  The entire ship, regardless of stateroom type was the NCL Haven on Steroid.  By day two every crew member would call me by my name.  When a bar tenders saw me, he was making my drink before I even sat down.  Personalized Service is so hard to describe until you feel it for yourself. Nothing like it and it makes you feel special for sure.

 

So why give you this long winded description of another cruise brand and segment.  Simple, as much as I loved the attention to detail, the superior food and service.  The feeling that I was truly a "Rock Star" for that week.  I was missing something.  Something that this fine brand could not provide. I wanted the Large Ship Experience.  

 

I wanted water slides, Broadway Shows, Mr. Sexy Leggs Contests, Go Cart Tracks.  Wasn't the personalized service enough.  The answer for me, not you, for me was "No".  I wanted both but that was not really possible.

 

 At the end of that Luxury Cruise week, I came to a conclusion.  Whether it was the NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat, or MSC Yacht Club; I would deal with less personalized service to get the other benefits I loved from the large ship experience. Yet for my 45th wedding anniversary, I would book a Luxury Brand like Regent Seven Seas Cruises, pay the huge premium and do a 10-14 day cruise in Europe that was port intensive. Both types of cruise approaches were valid just for different expectations. 

 

Folks, my goal has always been to set realistic expectations.  As prices go up, we all have to weigh what we receive for our vacation dollar. We have to be clear on the difference between Mainstream and Luxury experiences.  We have to weigh what is most important to each of us.  We just need folks to shoot us straight like @aubreyc1988 and other have done. This is why CruiseCritic.com is such a fantastic tool for those whom love to cruise. 

 

Cruise well everyone and enjoy every minute. 

Have you tried Royal Caribbean's Royal Suite class with a Genie?    The Genies are only on their largest ships and only in their largest suites.  While not a butler,  that experience might be the compromise you are looking for - complete attention to your needs, and the entertainment that you only find on a Mainstream line.
 

On 3/13/2022 at 7:30 AM, Sea42 said:

Yes, I was asking about the bus to Sunnmore, but all information is appreciated!

I just went to google maps, and it shows that it would take about 12 min by car from the Aksla viewpoint to the Sunnmore museum.  

I've seen cruise excursions that are shuttles that go into Brugge.  Does anyone know where they drop you off in the city?

 

@Sadric What a horrible way to start what should have been a special cruise.  I had 4 great cruises with HAL, but I totally get why you are returning to NCL.  As far as the weather goes,  you might want to ask this question on the Florida ports part of CruiseCritic.  January tends to be more tempermental in Florida, but you want to talk with people who regularly cruise out of there.

@RocketMan  I recommend you send your message to the NCL home office, since the concierges probably have no control over what happens in NOLA.

I pulled this info off the finance page at Yahoo:

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

1 hour ago, pamps2801 said:

Are you referring to" Deck Umbrellas or Rain Umbrellas"?

Rain umbrellas.
I am new to NCL and wondered if I need to pack umbrellas. Suites on HAL have umbrellas, but I don't think we had them on Royal, even in the genie class suites.

Thank you for the new info!
Here is the update:

Bliss - Meyer Hanno as of 10/24/21 (Hanno may be in Germany now)

Breakaway - Virginia  Brotheron thru June 5, 2022

Dawn - Patrick thru May or June

Encore - Bica

Escape -  David Newball           Butler -  Maria (Found on other thread)

Getaway  - Omar                        Butler - Renalto

Joy - Efren                                   Butler - Teresa

Hoping to get info on the ships not listed here right now
I am new to NCL.  If there is  ship that does not have concierge or butler, let me know so I can note that here too.

Enjoy your weekend, fellow travellers!

1 minute ago, bookbabe said:

I did see an umbrella in a past Haven cabin, so I didn’t even ask about that.  And I didn’t think of asking about blankets, sorry.

No problem!  I have plenty of time before I cruise to find out

This is what I have so far:

Bliss - Meyer Hanno as of 10/24/21

Breakaway - Virginia  Brotheron thru June 5, 2022

Dawn - Patrick thru May or June

Encore - Bica

Escape -  ?       Butler -  Jennifer as of 9/13/21

Getaway  - Omar

Joy - Efren        Butler - Teresa

This is what I was able to glean from this thread and a few other recent threads.  

If anyone wants to add to this,  or put it in a better  format,  feel free to do that.
I am happy to keep this updated  for now, at least thru our sailaway in July 2023.

28 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

FYI for those who had heard about the possibility, the pre-concierge says no NCL ships have binoculars in the suites (or anywhere else) anymore.

 

Do you know if there are umbrellas or special blankets for the deck chairs on the balconies?

27 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

There is a good chance, based on previous experience, that we will see the menus in August when the first people get onboard.

You read my mind.  I was about to ask the people on the Inaugural cruise to post the menus. 
 

I want to thank everyone who added to this thread this week.  I am so happy to see the new restaurant announcements!
We were originally supposed to cruise this year, and we opted to move our cruise to 2023, when the nearly same itinerary would be on Pr1ma.  I had been looking forward to the Brazilian restaurant that had been on our previously booked ship, but the Indian place on Pr1ma looks great.  Can't wait!

This is such a valuable thread.  I am bumping it to get more people to add to it, and some time in the next week,  I will put together a chart that people can update with all then ships and names

We sailed with our son before Covid, and were impressed with the children's programming, especially at night time.   Also, there was a designated area just for kids, away from the casino, bars, shopping, etc. It did cost extra, but we were glad to pay it.  We would have paid for a babysitter at home, so it was almost equivalent.

I have been on Carnival ships, and while I have heard nice things about their program, I did NOT like that most of the ships just use an empty conference room right next to casino and adult dance area.  I have no idea where they take care of infants and toddlers, but it's very hard to find a quiet place for napping on their ships, except for your cabin.

No one has mentioned Disney, and probably for the cost.  We never tried them because there is no casino, but their staff's attention revolves your children.  

There is no one answer that covers all children and all families.  Sometimes you don't have that many opportunities, and you just have to jump when one comes up.

Our son's first cruise was when he was 16 months old, and it was easier in some ways than when he was 3 years old.  

The most important thing we did was gear excursions to him.  That sometimes took a bit of research, but it made the cruise much more memorable.

I live about halfway between Galveston and Downtown Houston, and I would recommend trying to stay in Galveston, even though your little one will be tired. Traffic gets crazy on Sundays with cruise traffic to Galveston, so being there when you wake up saves you the headache of worrying about that.  Also, once you wake up and figure out what you need to get that you forgot to pack,  you will have time to run to the WalMart or supermarket to fill in what you need.

There are several car services/ airport shuttles  that go to Galveston, including Galveston Limo. You will need to get in touch with which ever service you use to find out if they have car seats.

If you would prefer a car rental, check out Enterprise.  In the past, they would provide transportation to the pier when you would drop the car off at their office in Galveston.   And RC does have a transportation option back to the airport, but you need it to be after noon or 1 pm. (I think)

When our son was that age,  he was too big to sit in our lap, so he sat in  a car seat in the plane cabin.  If that's not an option for you, the airline will gate check a car seat and a stroller for free.
 

Sthrngary, I can't disagree with you - untended children can be a menace!
I can picture my son wanting to build a fort with lounge chairs - and me going apoplectic!

I'm so glad that idea never occurred to him - probably because we are always nearby.

On 10/13/2019 at 11:32 AM, salty dingo said:

Appreciated the review. I think the solution to the issue of parents bringing the whole family and kids running amok in the Haven is to steer the parents to Disney. Not really something NCL wants to do though but they have a great experience for kids and parents on that line, from what I have been told by relatives.

 

Another option is to book during the seasons when most kids are in school.

I'm going to have to disagree,  but only because I think bringing kids on a cruise is OK, as long as the kids don't run amok.

Uncontrolled kids would be an issue for me on any cruise.
We bring our young son on our trips, and while he drives me crazy,  he charms everyone else he meets.

Someone suggested sending families with kids to Disney.  We have stayed away from that line because they don't have a casino!

Royal Caribbean has a great kids program.  Carnival has a good program on paper, but there is no kids area, so kids see lots of activities that they should be sheltered from.

Kids make messes.  They are as much work as an adult for the cabin crew, and sometimes the dining crew.  
That said,  the crew usually goes out of their way to make children happy!
We started cruising with our son when he was a toddler.  It wasn't always easy, but I think it was a good experience for him, and we did have fun.

I want to thank you all for your info and insights.

I knew that Star didn't have a Haven, but we picked the cruise for its itinerary.

The more I hear about the Haven, the more I want to cruise on a ship with one!!

I am so glad I found this thread!
I love planning vacations, and planning for cruises is heaven for me.  Lots of places to learn about, plus the ship and deciding how to manage pre- and post - cruise arrangements.

I rarely use a spreadsheet, because the squares are too small for most of my planning.  But I did use one years ago when I did a Mediterranean cruise, so I would have the words for yes, no, please, thank you, Hello, good bye, excuse me, mens, womens, where is the bathroom?,  and Help in all the languages we would encounter.  I did cruise with a woman who used a spreadsheet to plan her outfits for each day.  I was envious!

For packing lists, I start with lists that are already online, and make adjustments that fit me and my family better.

CruiseDiva  is one that I use when going to the Caribbean.  

But I love multipocket folders! I have a pocket for each of our flights, each of our hotels, and each of our ports, as well as one for our ship.

My husband used to complain that I planned too much, until I explained that when we have 7-8 hours in a  busy port, you want to make sure you don't wait until the last minute to decide what you want to do there, and find out that all the tours are booked. To compensate, I always make sure we have a couple of days off during a cruise, even if it means staying on the ship while we are in port if the itinerary is very busy.

Looking forward to more tips and ideas!

Children left in day care or camp while parents are ashore is certainly allowed.

If you would leave your child with a babysitter or at day care while you go to dinner or work at home, this is the same thing.

Parents are expected to make it back to the ship on time. If they can't, they call the ship's agent on land, and arrangements are made.

 If any extra charges are incurred,  I'm guessing those are covered by the family.

Thank you for posting these!

I really appreciate all the info on this thread!
I know it's been months, but in case anyone is still around, I was wondering if any of you had used your travel agent to do the advance bookings.  My TA has offered to do that,  and I wondered how NCL treated those requests.

I was intrigued by all the snacks that Bird Travels mentioned! Is there a list anywhere of which ones are available on board?

I want to thank all of you.  

We will be on Norwegian Star, with no Haven.

MNCruisingCouple mentioned the incabin coffee maker.  Do you remember what kind of machine it was?   If it's a single serve machine, I'd like to bring some of favorite coffee with us.

Years ago I cruised on NCL, and it was a different cruiseline!
Next year I'll be going with my family, and we are excited about our suite, but I'd like to know more about what to expect.

I know there will be a concierge, but where would I find her or him?  Other cruiselines have suite lounge, but I have not found one on the deck plan.

Does the concierge have a office on board?

I know there will be a butler, which will be a totally new experience for us.  How many suites does a butler normally have to take care of?

Beyond the larger room and the extra staff, what other amenities are suite entitled to?

(I know that COVID could change things, so my question is based what things were pre-COVID, as a starting point.)