Ladypeartree

The insurance is quite pricey but I do take it.  Case in point we cancelled our March 1 cruise three days prior due to a medical reason concerning my daughter.  Although I have not heard back yet from the insurance I know that I will receive back the full amount or at the very least 90%.  We were booked in the Haven therefore several thousands of dollars would have been lost without insurance.  For me taking the insurance makes sense.

Thank you 🙂

Would any of you know if the largest Haven aft balconies are found on deck 9?  Thank you

I kept meaning to ask the room attendant on our recent Escape cruise why the mini fridges in our connecting rooms were locked. We did not have UBP. Was this an over sight?

Hi mumfob-my kids never ate off the kids menu but I think, from reading on these boards that the kids menus are offered in the restaurants. I am not sure though. Anyone else know?

My husband and I are 45 years old and we sailed with our kids who are 10 and 14. We had connecting rooms forward on deck 11. This was our 9th cruise in 21 years.

 

The food was a wonderful surprise as we found it delicious. We dined in The Manhattan Room the first night and were seated close to the singer and musician. As we were so close it was impossible to carry on a conversation so decided to try Savor the following night. Savor became our dining room of choice as is felt more cozy to us.

 

We had dinner in Food Republic 3 nights and all I can say is "to die for". We loved this venue and so did my kids.

 

Breakfast and lunch were in the Garden Café and we enjoyed this as well as there were many healthy options if you are not into French fries and pizza. They had a different panini sandwich each day as well as nice salad options for lunch.

 

We did not have the dining package and I am glad we did not as the food was excellent in the complimentary venues and Food Republic was extremely affordable!

 

We did not have the UBP either and I am glad too that we did not have this "free" perk. I think NCL should do away with it. We found on several occasions the barmen seemed over worked and grumpy...maybe because people go nuts with the "all you can drink". Also I miss the days when the bar server would go around the pool area asking if you would like a beverage. I only saw one server once on the pool deck during our cruise. Why would NCL try to deliberately make it easy to drink? After all the less alcohol they serve out to people with UBP, the more profit in their pockets.

 

One thing too that was odd regarding bar service....we always left more tip on top of the 18% automatically charged and often our extra tip never got charged to our account. I think this extra tip somehow had to be keyed in manually by staff and I think many assumed no extra tip was included. Needless to say the servers lost out on the extra tip we were paying on the drinks and bottles of wine we purchased.

 

The sea days were a "Gong Show"....note to self....never book a cruise again with two consecutive sea days. It is just too close for comfort on the pool deck. We enjoyed the slides and pool on one of the port days when most passengers had vacated the ship.

 

The public restrooms were very unkept and dirty. I had never seen this kind of sloppiness in all the times we have cruised. Clean up your act NCL! The restroom on the plane was a pleasure to visit compared to those on the Escape.

 

Our room steward made no attempt to connect with us early on during our cruise. This was quite strange as we have always introduced ourselves to our room steward and would see them every day during past cruises. Is this something new NCL is trying out? The incognito room steward.....

 

Overall the shows we saw were entertaining. We enjoyed the arcade, slides ropes course and mini golf.

 

The ship is bland and lacks a "wow" factor. The shops are boring and do not inspire spending (could be a good thing). We have never sailed twice on any ship but I have recommended many to others and I would not recommend this ship since I think there are nicer ones on the market. I would sail NCL again though as the food as I said was fantastic.

Your review is amazing, it is like curling up with a good book. I look forward to it everyday.

Following

Thanks for the review, I am very much encouraged for our upcoming Escape cruise.

 

We also have booked with Aristocat and was thrilled to read all your good comments except for the shark part! When I booked this excursion my 10 years old asked if there were sharks, yikes....maybe we'll stay out of the water and just go along for the ride :)

Following

Same here, shows cancelled and no shows showing at all to book online.

The price we paid for 4 people two years ago was $5800, the following year $7000, next year $9500 (have not booked). These prices are for the same week year over year. Their pricing is way out in left field now as they are trying to charge Oceania prices on a main stream cruise line.

 

I have enjoyed the Haven but will not give my money away when I feel I am being taken advantage of. I mentioned the drastic increase in price to an NCL PCC and she told me it was because of inflation-this made me laugh.

You have reassured me with your review. We are going in July. We choose to not purchase any drink or dining packages so I am glad to hear the dining room food was good.

We booked a Canada at Par cruise and the fare portion is at par but the taxes are in USD at a rate of about 1.46.

Many years ago we cruised to Bermuda on Pride of America and then again on Nordic Empress. We encountered rocky seas and felt quite sick both times. What is the consensus on motion aboard the Breakaway to Bermuda? Obviously the ships we sailed on to Bermuda were smaller and less advanced than the Breakaway. Should we try again; this time with our kids?

Thanks

Excited to read more!

Thank you for your responses.

 

As I am Canadian and current exchange rates to purchase USD are around 46% it is advantageous to purchase OBC before the cruise at the rate of 11% which NCL had given me when I booked the cruise.

 

So I will definitely do this precruise to so as to not miss a good opportunity:)

To the point review, following!

Hi,

 

What is the deadline to being able to purchase OBC or internet package online before the sail date?

 

Thank you.

I thought Cozumel was Eastern Standard Time. When I search it comes up as such. I am now confused.

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We will be sailing on the Getaway to the Western Caribbean in a few months. Would anyone venture to guess which days the shows will be and times. As well, could we make dinner reservations for 5:30 in the restaurants? Thank you.


Sun Miami, Florida
Mon At Sea
Tue Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Wed George Town, Grand Cayman
Thu Cozumel, Mexico
Fri At Sea
Sat Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas
Sun Miami, Florida

Enjoying your review, can't wait to hear about restaurants.

Following your review!