esp13

So, continuing on - while we were in the Haven Lounge with Adrian, he indicated that "your suites" were almost ready, but we could drop off any carry ons there now. So here was the only real difference between being in a suite in the actual Haven and being in the aft (or, I assume Forward or Spa) suites. It is obvious that NCL makes a big effort to get the in the Haven suites ready quickly, but the others are located in regular cabin passageways, so they can't be available until the other cabins are ready (usually between one and two). Of course, I didn't think of this until we had schlepped all the way aft. It's totally insignificant, but I thiught I would mention it so that anybody in the same situation would know. You can always leave your carry ons at the concierge desk if needed.

So, after the unnecessary trip aft, we decided to explore a little before heading back to the Haven for lunch. We checked out 678 Ocean place (the 6th, 7th, and 8th decks) where all the restaurants, theaters, many of the bars, casino, shops, and similar stuff is located. I really like this design. It's great having all of these things centrally located and I think it's really well put together. I did notice a stale smell in the casino, but didn't notice it anywhere else. But I am a smoker, so that opinion may not count. However, my mother is a non-smoker and also didn't notice it anywhere else.

While on the subject of smoking. This was my first cruise since the new change in policy and I was interested in how it would be handled. Overall, I thought it was fine. There are 4 smoking areas that I know of. Outside the Sunset Bar on deck 8 starboard, on the starboard side of the bar in the H2O area, on the port side on the main pool deck (15) at the Waves bar and in a somewhat enclosed area adjacent to the bar, and all the way forward on the Haven sun deck (deck 17). There may also be something on the main sundeck (16) but I spent no time there so I don't know one way or another. While I missed the morning coffee and cigarette on the balcony, it wasn't a big deal to go up a couple of decks. And we spent most of our time on the Haven Sundeck anyway. For any non-smokers who are in the Haven and think the forward Sundeck sounds nice, my mom was there all week and was never bothered by cigarette smoke. It was never crowded and it has the best views. Some of that may change week to week, but I wouldn't be afraid to check it out. If it is a problem, there are large numbers of chairs, loungers. And daybeds on other parts of the sundeck that still offer nice ocean views. In any case, while I'm sure there are others who feel differently, I found the smoking areas to be sufficient for my needs and a reasonable compromise.

With that bit out of the way, I'll get back to less controversial topics in the next bit. :)

I debated whether to do a review as I'm not sure I have anything new to add, but I realized that I really appreciated all the reviews before my cruise, so I decided to go ahead and do this.

A little background - I traveled with my mother. I am 43 and she is 64. This was our 6th cruise overall and our 5th with NCL. I booked the cruise in May of 2013, before the Getaway was built and before the Breakaway was in service, so it's been a long wait. But I did get $450 in onboard credit for booking that early ($300 for a suite more than 9 months out, $75 each for latitudes). About a month before the cruise I also cashed in my NCL MasterCard points for an additional $600 in OBC, so we had $1050 in OBC. Booking early also got me the best price, at least that I ever saw. By the time of final payment, the suite was nearly $1500 more per person. So, all in all, I was very happy with my decision.

After waiting 19 months, we finally left for Miami from Boise, Idaho on December 12th. Thankfully, there were no weather issues in Boise or Chicago and we arrived on time about midnight in Miami. We had booked the Holiday Inn Express near the airport for the night, and the shuttle arrived fairly quickly to pick us up. It was a bit humorous because the other two passengers in the shuttle had enought luggage for 6 people, but the driver made it work and we were off to the hotel. Not too much to say about the hotel. It was a decent place and served the purpose of a place to sleep before leaving on the cruise.

The next morning, we got up and got around and had the free breakfast at the hotel. There was a shuttle service available for $15 per person, but having done those in the past, we opted for a cab. We left about the same time (without having to be packed in a van) and quickly arrived at the pier. The cost was $30. So, for the same money, we had a much easier and more comfortable ride. Oh, and we arrived at the pier about 10:30, I think.

At the pier, a porter quickly took our bags, and we headed in to the terminal. It took just a few minutes to get through security and we went straight to the priority boarding room. Check in was very quick and we were escorted upstairs to the suite waiting area before 11. We only waited maybe 15 minutes and we were escorted onto the ship. It think we were some of the very first on, but I'm not totally sure about that. In any case, as soon as we were onboard, we were taken up to the Haven. I'm sure we were there by 11:30 at the latest. Very quick, very easy, very wonderful.

In the Haven, we met the concierge, Adrian, who was wonderful all week. He gave a brief introduction and then we were on our own to go explore. Sliders and fries were being served and bar was open, so it was a great start.

That's all the time I have right now, but will be back with more if people are interested.

The 2 hours refers to embarkation day (i.e. the first day of the cruise). On port days, the ship will post the time that passengers should be back on board (usually 30 minutes before sailing time). And, invariably, there are passengers sprinting for the ship just minutes/seconds before the ship is supposed to leave.

So, if you are back on the ship an hour before the sailing time, you'll be just fine.

I was just checking on the prices on my cruise (12/13/14, Getaway) and saw that they had increased fairly significantly. In fact, my cabin price has increased from $1500 pp from when I booked about 16 months ago. Now, I don't think that increase is related to the sale, because the price for an H6 has been increasing fairly steadily for several months. I only mention that as a reminder that the price does not always drop.

But, I also noticed that the fares were up for pretty much all cabins, including the inside cabins that usually start dropping after the 90 day final payment date. Seems like they are up about $50-$100 pp since last month. I figured the cruise must be selling better than most, but after hearing about the upcoming sale, I think the mystery is solved.

I know some will likely disagree with this statement, but I kind of have to give NCL props for some creative marketing with the 10% OBC offer. They get customers to feel like they are getting a deal, sell more cabins, and don't lose any money. The inner business geek in me has to respect that.

I'd love to be able to wait to book airline tickets, but since our cruises are usually the week before Christmas (meaning we are returning the weekend before Christmas), we have no choice but to book early. That means we generally end up not getting the very best deal, but we have piece of mind and that's worth a lot these days.

The way you have brought up is very relevant as to whether you want a butler looking after you. If you lived in the days of Downton Abbey and owned a mansion, then a butler would be common-place. I cannot see how going to a show or a football match is relevant. I find my own seat and certainly do not require anybody helping me. On a plane, nobody serves me. It is just alien to me to have a butler looking after me and mollycoddling me when I can do things for myself.

Actually, it's not relevant at all. I wasn't raised in Downton Abbey nor did my family own a mansion of any sort. In fact, my mother and I were quite poor when I was growing up. A butler was anything but commonplace and remains anything but commonplace in my daily life.

I've only cruised in a suite once, but I can't say I had a butler looking after me or mollycoddling me. When requested, the butler brought breakfast, just as room service did when I was in a non-suite. He also brought a few drinks during the week, just as room service did when I was in a non-suite. I never thought of it as someone looking after me or taking care of me. I looked at it as someone providing a service for which I had paid.

Obviously, the idea really bothers you and that's fine. Enjoy your cruise without any contact with the butler or concierge. But don't assume that those of us that use a service for which we paid were raised with servants and money. Because I can assure you that is not the case.

I've been around these parts for awhile, but I still never understand these complaints about price drops. It's simply a choice. If you want to try and make sure you get the lowest price, then book late. Sure, you might end up locked out of a cabin/category you want and it's always possible the price would go up (but unlikely these days), but if that's what is most important then don't book early. As someone mentioned above, you can always book your air, hotels, and make other arrangements for the week you want to cruise at any time. When you get the price you want, book it, and go and enjoy your cruise.

If, on the other hand, a particular cabin/category/location is more important, then book early, hope to catch price drops before final payment, and after final payment be happy that you got your preferred cabin at a rate you found acceptable. Chuckle and shake your head with a wry smile at the lucky people who got a cheaper rate but know in your heart that the extra money was worth it to you to get that cabin. Then go and enjoy your cruise.

It just doesn't seem that complicated to me. But then I'm clearly missing something.

I picked NCL primarily for the freestyle concept. My first cruise was on Carnival and even though it was just a 4 day cruise, I didn't love the assigned dining process. When looking for another cruise, I found out about NCL and loved the freestyle - no assigned time and, even better, no formal nights.

I have enjoyed each of my four cruises with NCL and have found no reason to switch lines. I don't doubt that the other lines are wonderful as well, but I haven't found a cruise where I can get the value I can get on NCL. Money isn't the only consideration but it is a fairly big one for me and I really do love the suite life. But, I'm open to trying another line if I find a better value for me, it just hasn't happened yet.

What the heck is wrong with you???? Is there some reason why you cannot be pleasant? You should be absolutely sure that you are never wrong before you take that tone in a forum!

A mini suite is a suite...it has the name suite as part of the description. It is however not a Haven suite and not included for Haven Perks. A Haven Spa Suite gives access to both the Spa and the Haven Perks. Only cabins with an H prefix have Haven access and Haven Perks. an M9 does not have access to the Haven or any Haven Perks ( or on some smaller ships - suite Perks).

 

At this point, I will check out of this thread as this is the first and only time since joining c.c that another poster has responded in a nasty manner to one of my posts. Totally not necessary.

 

My apologies to anyone I might have confused by trying to give feedback to a question. It may be a while before I make that mistake again.

I apologize if you thought I was being nasty, but your posts were confusing people. As the poster above said, the term mini-suite has caused a lot of confusion over the years and talking about it as a suite only adds to the confusion. It is, under NCL's classifications, not a category of suite.

The problem with you stating that only Haven suites get perks is that it is untrue in the smaller, older ships. On Epic, Breakaway, and Getaway, all suites have Haven access and all suite amenities regardless of where they are located. On smaller ships such as Jewel, Pearl, Gem, Star, Jade, etc, there are two types of suites. Haven (formerly courtyard) suites have access to the private Haven area as well as all suite amenities. Other suites (categories starting with S) have suite amenities such as priority embarkation, breakfast and lunch at Cagneys, and butler and concierge service. So, there are suites on ships without Haven access which do have all other suite amenities.

To make it as simple as possible. If the room category starts with H, there is Haven access. If it starts with S, it has suite amenities but not Haven access. And if it is a Spa suite, it has Spa access as well as suite amenities.

Thank you...that is what I thought, I just wanted to clarify as I was confused by post #5 that states ALL suites get extra amenities.

Right. The key is that a mini-suite is NOT a suite under NCL's categories.

Correct. As your suite is not Haven you do not get priority boarding or any of the Haven perks!

You need to stop confusing things. A mini-suite is NOT a suite. Furthermore, on the older ships, there are numerous suites that do not have Haven access, but do have amenities including priority boarding, access to Cagneys for breakfast and lunch, and butler and concierge service.

Lol...this thread has me even more confused now. We are on the Getaway in October, we are in a Spa Mini Suite (Category M9). We were told that we get access to the Spa (obviously), but NO priority boarding, debarkation or anything else....please help me sort this out!!!

What you were told is correct. A mini-suite does not have suite amenities. A Spa mini-suite includes access to the Spa (hence the name).

I just looked at the Epic stateroom. There is no "regular" Spa suite. There are Spa balconies, Spa mini-suites, and the Haven Spa suite. If you book the Spa suite (not the mini-suite) you get access to the Haven.

Thank you for the above information. I knew I was not reading it wrong and hearing wrong. There are Spa Suites and there are Haven Suites and they are not the same and both are not Haven. I have a feeling it is the wording that NCL chooses to use, because frankly, the Spa Suites are not really suites.

 

Thank you again for providing the correct info, as reading through this, I was more confused then ever.

Hold on. If you are looking at the Epic, all suites have access to the Haven, including Spa suites. However, if you are looking at a Spa MINI-SUITE, that has no suite amenities and is not really a suite at all.

Because the approximately $400 that the insurance costs is a far smaller hit to my budget and bottom line if not used than the $5000+ that will be lost if something happens and I have to cancel my cruise (which almost happened when a judge decided to reschedule a trial right into the middle of my vacation).

Also, having seen what happens when people don't have insurance to cover unexpected medical needs, I'd much rather "waste" that $400 every couple of years then face the alternative bankruptcy and financial ruin.

Well, I wished they would have waited until after my December cruise to institute the new policy, but oh well.

As a smoker, I'm beyond used to being banned in many places so this is just another one. I will miss my quiet morning on the balcony, but schlepping up or down flights of stairs to a designated smoking area is certainly nothing I haven't had to do before. So, I'll see how the December cruise goes. If the designated smoking areas are reasonable, I would imagine it will not impact my willingness to cruise again. If it's a giant pain, then I'll probably be looking at different alternatives for future vacations. Not that I imagine that NCL really cares about my decision one way or another.

I do hope that now that the new policy has been announced we can stop having stupid smoking debates every week. But somehow I think that is unlikely.

Thanks for the review. Personally, I think the mini-fridge issue is probably something to give the steward a little slack on, given the craziness of embarkation day. But you were right to be upset about the bed - particularly the failure to fix the problem promptly when notified.

If you liked the rest of your cruise, I would encourage you to try NCL again. Even the very best can have an off day. However, if you do encounter any similar types of issues (particularly the lack of response and/dishonesty about correcting it) you should contact the hotel director. If you attend the CC meet and greet, you will get a list of main officers (for the hotel part) and their numbers. They have repeatedly said they would much rather hear about an issue on board and have a chance to fix it, then read about it later here.

So, give NCL another chance. We've had excellent service on all of our cruises and have been able to get any minor problems dealt with quickly. I don't think my experience is out of the norm, even though there are certainly occasional service issues on every ship. Hopefully, and in all likelihood, things will be much smoother next time. I just hate to see somebody give up on a cruise line after admittedly enjoying the cruise except for a couple of issues. And I would say the same about any cruise line. Everybody deserves a second chance.

We had Monica on the Pearl in December of 2013 in an AFT PH suite. She was awesome the whole way through. I never felt like we got less attention that passengers in the Haven, but then I guess I don't know what kind of attention they got. :)

NCL has a $15 corkage fee for all wine brought on board. Once that fee is paid, you can drink your wine wherever you choose on the ship, including bringing the bottle to dinner.

You can order bottles of alcohol and bar setups through NCL prior to your cruise.

For other general information, check out the FAQ page on the NCL website.

I've been on 4 NCL cruises on 3 different ships and I guess I must be a cheerleader and have absolutely no taste buds because I've never had a meal I wasn't happy with in those 4 cruises. Some things were fantastic, some things were just good, but I've never had a bad meal in the specialty or main dining rooms. I love the sushi bar and my mom things the noodle bar is fantastic. The buffet is a buffet and I've never had a problem with it either.

We haven't always had perfect service, but it's always been at least adequate. We've never been late for a show because of slow service, but we generally schedule dinner 1.5 to 2 hours before the show so that there is no rush.

Clearly, some people don't like the food on NCL ship and/or have food as a definite priority in their vacation. That's fine and NCL may not be the right line for those people. But, it is fine for many others and I don't think that makes all of us cheerleaders or mean that we all lack taste in our dining choices.

I've often said that I've yet to see an NCL suite perk that interests me, but those RCCL perks do, and I love the Voyager class ships. Too bad your daughter went the other way!

 

 

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I'm curious as to which perk RCCL offers that interests you that NCL doesn't? The only difference that I can see in what was listed was the cocktail hour and suite guests not having to make show reservations. Everything else that was offered is also offered by NCL, unless I missed something which is always possible.

We just booked a suite with royal caribbean for a cruise next year. Their perks are similar, better even (for us). Instead of the Haven, you have your own reserved seating at the pool (up one level, which I prefer), prime reserved seating for shows - and suite guests do not need to make reservations, full dining room menu room service, snacks delivered daily by your suite attendant, etc., etc., etc. The main and better perk is the free cocktail hour (or hours) every day. From 5 - 8:30pm, every day, in the suite concierge lounge, you get free cocktails (mixed drinks, frozen drinks, wine, beer, champagne - your choice) plus hot and cold hors d'oeuvres. Why on earth doesn't NCL do this?? I realize Royal is more expensive than NCL, but wow ... what a difference. Also, their adult only area is free. I wish NCL would step it up some. I really don't like sailing another line, and would rather stay with NCL, but for this particular cruise, they are offering exactly what I was looking for.

I bolded the part that pretty much answers your own question. Royal Caribbean is more expensive so I would hope that the fair included a few things that NCL's doesn't. Otherwise, I can't see any reason to pay more for the same thing. Personally, I don't drink enough in 3.5 hours each day to make up the difference in the price of the cruise. So, I'd rather pay less for my suite and pay for my own alcohol.

The rest is really just a matter of preference. I'd rather have the Haven than a reserved pool deck and the "adults only" part of it isn't a big deal to me. If the Haven gets too rowdy, I have this really huge balcony that overlooks the wake. :)

But, if RCCL meets all of your needs at the price that works for you, that's great. I just don't think NCL needs to change to be like RCCL anymore than RCCL should change to be like NCL. Having choices is a really good thing.

My impression has been that there are so many more posts regarding suites because people who have chosen to pay the extra money, especially when it's not pocket change to them, want to be sure they're really going to get full value. So they really get into the details of what is included, what is possible, etc. Which makes sense.

 

When this question has come up before, there was also the good point made about people who only have the time to vacation every couple of years or even less frequently, so then it does make sense to pay more per trip. You're not getting a second cruise out the of the deal regardless.

 

I also know cruisers where one family member has mobility issues, so the extra service is important and also just having a nicer cabin with more space because they pretty much don't leave it.

That second point is the one that gets missed a lot, I think. If your circumstances, like mine, don't allow you to cruise multiple times per year or even every year, then saving money on an inside or OV cabin doesn't really matter. And since I do get to cruise more rarely, I really want it to be a special experience. I've cruised in almost every category and enjoyed every one of the, but the suite life was worth the price. I don't have to have a suite to have a good cruise, but as long as I can make it work financially, it's worth it to me.

I honestly can't imagine going back to a regular balcony with my current situation, but I also know that if I had the ability to cruise multiple times per year, I'd trade the suite life for multiple cruises in a heartbeat.

Right now, when I get to cruise I want a very relaxing and yes, pampered, experience. My vacations are few and far between and I want to make the most of them (for me, that's the relaxation and pampering part). But, if I were retired or otherwise able to cruise far more often, then I think it wouldn't seem like quite such a unique/special experience and the amenities of a suite would be less important to me. I'd still want a balcony no matter what, but as long as I had that I'd be fine.

In the end, it's really all about what is important to the particular person. Somebody who chooses a suite isn't necessarily richer, snobbier, or more pretentious than somebody who elects an inside. By the same token, somebody who chooses an inside isn't cheaper or less refined than the person in the suite. It's just that each person has found the manner of travel that fits best for their priorities, needs, and circumstances. The great thing is that when it comes to cruising we can all find our niche and still cruise together. :)

On every ship but the Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, and upcoming constructions:

The PH amenities include a butler, concierge, breakfast and lunch at Cagney's (or the equivalent), a bottle of sparkling wine, and various other things listed on the website (Lavazza machines, special bathroom products, etc.).

On the Epic, Breakaway, Getaway and (presumably) future constructions:

The PH amenities include access to the private Haven area (including the restaurant) as well as the other items listed above (except for Cagney's as that is replaced by the restaurant in the Haven area).