psac

A little over a year ago you were a lifesaver on the back to back Breakaway cruises to Bermuda with the new requirements, and we were on the second of your two sailings learning from everything you did on the first week. A much easier sailing this time around, I’m sure!!! Once we were on board, everything was great for us, and I hope it’s the same for you this year as well! Enjoy your cruise!!

Way off topic, apologies, but that’s interesting info. We have a trip on the Anthem of the Seas booked in a Grand Suite, and if one of the Sky Lofts opened up, we were going to upgrade if it was reasonable, but that would definitely be a reason not to. We loved the Crown Loft Suite on the Oasis, but location was a big plus with that one as well, and it’s very different from the Anthem location. (And for others, no, the Royal Caribbean suite perks are still nowhere as close as the Haven, though it will be interesting to see how the new Grove on that Icon monstrosity compares.)

Yeah we have the Prima booked for the spring in the Haven and also recently booked the Joy Haven a few weeks later as a backup, and we’ll drop one before Final. But we’ll probably end up keeping the Joy (unless we really hate it when we sail the first time on that one in a few weeks). The Prima looks beautiful, but we like shade and the indoor sundeck areas in the Breakaway/+ ships, and the Prima just doesn’t have any of that. 🤷‍♂️

Last October (a year ago) on the Breakaway in Bermuda at least once in the afternoon they opened the roof for a while in port. Maybe even another day there as well, hard to remember. But I don’t think they ever sail with it open anymore.

For a 7-night cruise in the Haven, it’s two specialty meals (each) for the first two adults in the cabin. So for the two of you, you would pick two different restaurants for the week. If you had a third person in your cabin, they would have to pay out of pocket. If you only had one person sailing solo, they would just get the two meals for themself. Enjoy!!

Good thing you said she was married or this story could’ve gotten weird. 😜😁

Do the aft penthouses now have access to the Haven courtyard on those ships? We sailed in those before they used the Haven name, and we had the breakfast/lunch in Cagneys and the butler/concierge, but no access to the courtyard itself. Has that changed? Just wondering!

I’m not trying to talk you out of your decision, we’ve sailed a lot on both cruise lines, and like them both. Regarding the closed in feeling, for the Breakaway and above ships on NCL, they have the Waterfront, which is an outdoor wraparound deck, usually around deck 5 or 6, which puts you close to the water if you like outdoor dining, just walking around, etc. We haven’t been on the Joy yet (we will be soon.). But our last cruise was on the Oasis, and we would definitely go back on that as well.

Good information in the thread, we’re on the fence about the Key, so this was helpful to us as well.

Thanks! Yeah from those choices I would probably either go for the Riesling or the Sauvignon Blanc, so I, curious how it is! Usually I just go for a Pinot Grigio, so I’m not too picky. 😁

Did you try any of these? Not a very large list, might be best to just stick with the usual included wine from the drink package…?

We’ve thought that as well. We have a Prima Haven cabin booked, and the question is to keep it or switch to the Joy two weeks later, or maybe to the Oasis, and then maybe do the Prima some other time not in the Haven (and buy the Vibe passes) as you said. We’ll be on the Joy for the first time before final payment on the Prima cruise, so that will help our decision...

Our last Breakaway cruise last October we ran into someone in the elevator running back to their cabin to change because he couldn’t get into Ocean Blue with shorts. So they do enforce it there, at least sometimes! They also will let you sit outdoors there with shorts, so that might lead to the non-enforcement stories. Agreed on the Haven dress code. I usually wear jeans and a polo shirt for dinner, and that’s generally right in the middle for dress code. Some people dressier, some more casual. No worries either way!

Very much appreciate the ST:TNG reference there, along with the rest of the fantastic review. Still on the fence regarding the ship, so detailed reviews like these help us plan how to use our travel $ properly. The ship looks BEAUTIFUL, but we usually sail in the Haven, and the entertainment priority arguments aside, it seems like this Haven might not be for us. My wife burns easily, so after an hour or two outdoors in the morning, we love the indoor options of the Breakaway/+ Havens. The upstairs indoor sundeck, plus the seating in the courtyard (for those that have it), and then soon we’ll be on the Joy with the Horizon observation deck, which he haven’t been on a ship with yet, but looks amazing. The Prima has none of those, just the indoor lounge, which looks like just the big bar plus a few cordoned off areas. And from the walkthroughs we’ve seen, very little shade on the Haven sundeck, not to mention if it rains. So if we would spend most of our time in our cabin or in the non-Haven areas to get some indoors or shade, it’s not worth spending the Haven prices!

Yes, but there’s a big difference between my normal everyday interactions and being stuffed in a boat with 3-5000 of my close friends, being in crowded elevators (at work maybe 1 extra person on the elevator at most), going to shows (haven’t done except when on a ship since covid), and eating indoors in crowded rooms with lots of people almost every meal for the week instead of once a week, give or take. It’s just different, much more spreading opportunities. Testing afterwards is just a smart and considerate thing to do.

Not the OP, but we were on the Oasis in early Sept, and we also tested right when we got home and again a few days later. A LOT of people from our cruise group on FB tested positive after, one was hospitalized. Both my mother and my wife’s mother are recovering from cancer, where covid could be fatal, so we wanted to make sure we weren’t positive to not spread it. Even if you don’t personally know anyone in that situation, testing after the cruise and staying home if you are positive can still make a difference. We will do the same after our Joy trip coming up.

@CDR Benson Another thanks for your post (and for your service!). We’ll be on the Joy in November, and really looking forward to it. We were on the Breakaway last year, and the Haven bar/sundeck service was insanely good, but the Haven restaurant service was… meh. At best. Sub-par for sure compared to the Escape pre-covid, but we gave them a pass since they were still early in the restart process. Glad to hear that your Joy service was back on the positive side of things!!

Yeah back last October they already had tables and no loungers down in the pool area in the Breakaway. I think it’s because they don’t have the outdoor seating that they added in the Escape and later ships. Back on that cruise we saw people eating lunch on those tables all the time, and we ate breakfast out there ourselves almost every day, it just felt nice and bright and airy to eat out there instead of inside the restaurant.

Sorry, haven’t been on in a few days, she said there was no code, it was just a discount that could be applied. She doesn’t know if it’s available to all agents or if it’s something for her agency since they do book a lot of NCL. But she said to just ask your TA to look for it to apply. Good luck! 👍👍👍

Both — existing bookings and we booked a new trip because of this. When she looks for pricing she checks without our specific accounts, so it was a price available to anyone.

My TA (who is also my wife 😁) was able to apply a 10% off code to our next three bookings this year and next. It wasn’t a coupon in our account, but it was a code that had to be explicitly applied. She saw it when she was just checking our bookings for any price drops.

That’s still a good number! Happy sailing!

last week we were at ~5800 with 800 kids, and that seemed like a low-ish amount. 200 kids is like a rounding error!

Prima has the standard Haven menu, people have been posting from the preview sailing this week.

Does your Passport have BirdTravels listed as one name, like Madonna, or is it two separate names? 😜👍 We’re sailing in a Sky Suite on the Oasis soon, and (I know you know) that level doesn’t come with butler service, so we packed our own bag of M&Ms to make up for not getting the bowl like do in the Haven. The horror! 😁 The is the one standard request we always make with the butler.