Delayed Breakaway mini review 12/11-12/18

[WeehawkenCruiser]

I have been meaning to share my experience on this cruise for weeks but with the holiday haven't had the time. Overall this was a wonderful cruise. It was my 1st time in the Haven and my 1st time traveling with an infant (DH and I, my daughter who was 15 months, and my elderly father).

 

Check-in was great only because we were in the Haven. Lines for others was INSANE and lots of people on board were complaining about it all week.

 

Haven was well worth almost 2x the cost as the weather was cold both going and coming and it was nice to still be able to use the pool. Butler and Concierge were wonderful and they made all of us very happy. Food in the Haven was amazing (seafood Benedict especially). 2Br family suite was a great size and we really enjoyed the free movies, coffee maker and snacks.

 

No reviews on entertainment as we didn't see any shows.

 

Taste (main dining room) was good and service was timely. Moderno was by far our favorite speciality restaurant (both Le Bistro and Cagneys were good too) and you MUST try the noodle bar. It's free and amazing!!! Just be prepared to wait for a seat as it is tiny.

 

Shopping on board was not great as I have been on ships 1/2 the size that had a better selection. Sold out of lots of liquor the 2nd day of the cruise and staff was not nice.

 

We got some great photos taken of our daughter both on GSC and all over the ship and ended up buying the 10 picture package. Made great presents!!

 

Ship was clean, elevators were tiny and usually packed.

 

If you smoke there is a little "smokers pen" by the pool which is just awful. They are cramped in a little box and the wind just blows the smoke over the glass into the pool area anyway.

 

Only real complaint was the pool. Whoever designed this was asleep or dumb or just didn't care. One main pool with 4 hot tubs for 4000 people!?!? Not enough chairs or space for chairs and they kept kids (even 12 and 13 year olds who wanted to swim laps of just put their feet in) out of the pool and made them go to the kiddie pool. We didn't take our daughter there because it was even more crowded than the elevators!

 

Would be happy to answer any questions and working on a detailed review which I will link to the his post.

[craiginoregon]

Always nice to see a review. Thanks

[mjkacmom]

The family pool isn't a kiddie pool (and there are no pools or splash areas for diapered kids on any NCL ship).

[WeehawkenCruiser]

The family pool isn't a kiddie pool (and there are no pools or splash areas for diapered kids on any NCL ship).

 

There were hundreds of infants/toddlers as well as older kids in the kids pool on our sailing.

[lovedestiny]

On my last cruise I noticed certain Haven perks hopefully one day I can afford it, lol.

But do you get priority at Taste/Savor/Manhattan Room as far as seating or do you join the lines like everyone else? And also is the Haven pool indoors?

[mjkacmom]

There were hundreds of infants/toddlers as well as older kids in the kids pool on our sailing.

 

NCL really needs to step up and enforce the rule, people can get very sick. Only DCL and RCCL have filters in their splash areas that makes it safe, and zero pools are capable of being safe.

[mjkacmom]

Copied from the CDC website:

 

Why are children who are not toilet trained forbidden from swimming in pools on cruise ships?

Children who wear any type of swimming diaper or who are diaper-aged are not allowed to swim because fecal matter may contaminate the water. This can expose other swimmers to fecal matter that is potentially infectious.

[luckyinpa]

i was on this cruise and it did suck monday having to be inside. but coudlnt do the haven with the crew i was with this time. but i have to say if you can afford it, it would be worth it.

 

did the kids pool 2 other days and didnt find it super crowded. at least not the area next to the marketplace. the toddler pool did seem to be crowded. i was wondering why there was a 14ish year old girl in the kids pool but i guess they cannot go in the adult pool so they have to deal with the preteens. water slides were not crowded when we went out.

 

i agree with the above about the smokers pen. it's really kind of silly where it is. boxes up the smell so you must smell the concentrated version when you walk by the opening.

[easyboy]

Glad that you found the cruise wonderful overall. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report.