Review of March 18th to 25th Cruise Aboard the Getaway (Haven)

[Traveling Fools]

The itinerary for this cruise was Miami, Day at Sea, Roatan, Honduras, Harvest Caye, Belize, Costa Maya, Mexico, Cozumel, Mexico, Day at Sea, Miami.

 

Our party consisted of 4-people; me, DW, our 8 year old granddaughter, and 5-year old grandson. Both of whom are veteran cruisers. DW and I are experienced cruisers and world travelers. I have spent 4 1/2 years overseas as either an army brat or in the military. DW is European by birth. We have also lived and worked overseas for 6 years.

 

We arrived dockside in our car at about 11:30. Quickly left our bags with a Porter and drove to the parking garage. Couldn't find a parking space until we reached Deck 5. Seems the garage is also used by employees who take up a lot of the parking spaces.

 

We embarked using the aft processing area. I'm not sure if they used a forward processing area, but if they do future Haven passengers should use the Forward processing station. The expedited embarkation/disembarkation service afforded to Haven passengers makes getting on and off the ship a breeze. The only thing about this boarding we didn't like was having to walk the full length of the ship to the Haven with our carry on luggage and then having to make the same trip back to our aft suite.

 

We had an aft penthouse suite, with large balcony (10912). The suite has 2-rooms; a bedroom with large bathroom and a living/dinning room and small toilet and small shower. The couch serves as a second bed. Because are grandkids sleep with their Oma, the living room couch was my bed. I can tell you it was exceptionally comfortable! The dinning table is small and got very cluttered when breakfast was delivered. We never felt cramped while in the suite. The balcony is very spacious! It is covered, has a table the size of the dinning table with 4-chairs and 4-lounge chairs and ample room to walk around. On this cruise about the only time we spent in the suite was pre-sleep and sleep time, pre-breakfast and breakfast time, and late afternoon dinner dressing time. The rest of the time we spent pool side in the Haven or ashore on excursions.

 

The departure from the Port of Miami is really neat. From Deck 17, on the port (left) side of the ship, you can see some fabulous mansions. AND, if you are as lucky as we were maybe a seaplane with take off or land on the water next to the ship.

 

After leaving Miami, the grandkids headed to the water slides and rock climbing wall. They only went down the slide and climbed the rock wall one time. They are both fearless and experienced rock climbers and love water slides. On our last cruise 90% of their on-board time was spent at the rock wall or on the slides, so DW and I were surprised about their lack of interest in those activities. Instead, they wanted to spend the majority of on-board time in the Haven's courtyard pool and hot tubs. They met several kids their ages and quickly bonded with them. The synergy between the children was remarkable!

 

Now, to our butler and steward.

 

Soon after boarding we were told our suite was ready for us. It has been our experience on past cruises with NCL that either when we reached our suite or very soon thereafter we were met by our butler and steward. The butler generally greets you and explains how things like the coffee maker works, etc. That did not happen on this cruise. When we enter the suite, the sparkling wine was in the ice bucket, but alas it was void of ice. I approached a steward in the hallway and asked her for ice. She arranged for our steward to come to the suite and that is how we met him. He assured us he would bring us ice and then left. We unpacked and went topside, still no contact with the butler. We remained topside until it was time to get ready for dinner. Got to the suite, no ice. Made a call to the steward requesting ice. Received an apology and assurance we would get our ice. Went to dinner and returned to the suite just after 7. Still no ice. Made another call and when that proved to be useless made another call. It was close to 9 when our butler appeared with ice and introduced himself. The only other contact we had with him was when delivered breakfast. Yes, he brought afternoon snack to the suite, but we were never there. The last time we saw him was at disembarkation. We met in the Haven and after breakfast asked the assistant concierge if I could leave the butler's tip envelope with him. The Assistant told us he would call the butler to the Haven and that the butler would escort us off the ship. Our butler showed up, we gave him the tip envelop and followed in into the stairwell containing the Haven's service elevators. Rather than go to the elevators, he descended down the stairs never to be see again and left us standing in the stairwell. I went out and asked the Assistant to escort us off the ship. He was as surprised and stunned as us that the butler did not escort us. Needless to say his tip reflected his poor service.

 

Regarding our steward. He was friendly and engaging, but failed to pay attention to detail and we rated his overall performance as just barley satisfactory. We had to leave the cabinet door/drawer supporting the bathroom trash containers open or else he wouldn't empty them. It was day-3 before he emptied the overflowing trash bin in the secondary bathroom. Removal of dirty plates was also an issue. And, much to the grandkids disappointment, he only made towel animals at bedtime twice. There were other small nit picking things he should have attended to and didn't.

 

We spent the morning of the first day on the deck overlooking a swimming pool and hot tub. At noon we migrated into the haven for lunch and from then on, while on-board, we spent all but sleep and change of clothes time in the Haven. Oh by the way, all the kids consumed copious quantities of virgin mudslides. Virginia Brotherton was the Concierge. It was the second time for us to sail with her. She, her staff, and the Haven's restaurant staff did an exceptional job and helped to make the cruise memorable. The grandkids insisted on eating only in the Haven. Our 5-year old GS discovered he like squid, mussels, and lamb chops and our GD found she likes lamb as well. They liked it so much it was what they wanted each night for dinner. We worked out a system with Maitre d where we call her before leaving our suite and she would have the chefs begin cooking the kid's meals. They would get their meals when our starters were served. Had to do it that way, because GS generally fell asleep at the table. Clue: We found the best way to transport a sound asleep 44 lb boy from the dinning room to our suite is via a ship's wheel chair.

 

DW did have lunch one afternoon at the buffet and rated it very good. The only specialty restaurant we went to was the Cirque Dreams and Steam. The meal was good as was the show. If you are traveling with children, I highly recommend you book this venue.

 

Our first stop was Roatan. The kids wanted to go zip lining. GS was too young to go on a ship sponsored zip line excursion, so I booked one for ages 3 and older (Roatan Zip line Adventure). The venue's office was a short walk from the ship. My initial impression was that it was going to be a grab you money and run type of experience. I am happy to say I was wrong. It was 45 minutes of pure fun! After zip lining we visited the venue's monkey and bird area where we all handled a monkey. Rather than do anything else in Roatan, we opted to return to the ship, have lunch and lounge around.

 

Our next stop was Harvest Caye, Belize. For those who don't know Harvest Caye is a man made venue built by NCL. We didn't spend any time on the Caye so I can't tell anything about what you can do there. I booked a non-ship sponsored river rafting excursion (Harvest Caye Rio Grande River Rafting Excursion). Word of advice, it is a fairly long walk from the ship to the marina where you buy your round trip ferry ticket to the mainland. If you are taking a non-ship sponsored you need to hustle to the marina to buy tickets for the 8 or 9 O'clock ferry. Otherwise you risk missing your excursion. I got to the marina at 8:30 and just missed being able to buy tickets for the 9 O'clock departure and had to wait for the 10 O'clock boat. One of the guides waited for us while the rest of our group left for the river. It was about a 50 minute drive to the river and we got there just as the rest of the group was about to enter the river. While the guides were excellent and the trip scenic, I can't recommend this excursion. Most adults were given single person rafts and one paddle. There was no bench or seat in the raft, so passengers are sitting on the deck of the raft legs extended. I'm 6'00" and found it very difficult and uncomfortable to paddle. DW, who is shorter than me, also experienced difficulty in maneuvering the raft. We tried kneeling and paddling, but that was just as awkward. I spoke with several shipmates who took the private island excursion and loved it.

 

The third stop was Costa Maya. I had booked a non-ship sponsored private tour of the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins. The 4 of us traveled in a very comfortable, air conditioned 12 person van. Our English speaking guide was excellent both on the way to, at the ruins and on the return trip. I highly recommend an excursion to these ruins. Note: the complex on the pier that you enter after disembarking is designed to funnel you through all the shops until you can find a well marked exit. Future cruisers, after entering the complex walk to the back wall and exit through the first "Emergency" exit you can find. It will save you some time and frustration.

 

Our last stop was Cozumel. This cruise marked our (DW & I) 3 visit to Cozumel. The first was in Sept 1984. The cruise industry was in a resurging state and Cozumel was an Island village with a couple of well known bars and restaurants. On the other side of the Island were a couple of hotels that catered to scuba divers. We were young and had a blast. The next visit was on New Years day 2003. Almost everything was closed. We walked around a bit and returned to the ship. I was very impressed with this visit. Cozumel's infrastructure has immensely improved in a very favorable way. I booked non-ship sponsored dolphin excursions at Chankanaab Marine National Park. One was a dolphin encounter for 5-YO GS and a dolphin swim for 8-YO GD. When I made the booking, only two times were available 10 O'Clock for one and 1 O'Clock for the other. GS was first to go and GD decided to remain on-board with DW until I returned to get her. Again, it is a long walk from where you disembark to the taxi stand. Passenger tricycles are available to transport you ship side to the end of the pier or vise versa. And, like Costa Maya you get funneled through a shopping area before reaching the taxi stand. Cab fare from the dock to the venue was $12 one way. It is far enough away from the ship that you won't want to walk. I had to go into the water with GS for the Dolphin encounter. It was windy and the surge was moderate to high, but not heavy. The water was cold. We enjoyed the activity, but between the surging, cold water GS attention span snapped. He got cold enough to want to get out of the water before all the dolphin behaviors had been demonstrated. Two other groups also exited early. On the return trip with my GD, I opted not to go into the water with her and her group. They all had a great time interacting and swimming with the dolphins. GD's group was the last one into the water and the last one out. When they got out of the water, instead of escorting them to exit one of the venue's photographers escorted them to another pen. I thought for sure it was gimmicky attempt to take and sale more photos. I was dead wrong GD's group received an extra, unexpected bonus; a manatee encounter. They were permitted to feed and pet the manatee. How neat was that ?!?! In addition to dolphin and manatee encounters the Park has other things to do and see. It is a well thought out and fun place. I highly recommend these excursions.

 

Our last day at sea was one of relaxation. We had really good dinner with 2 other families we met aboard. And yes, 3 of the 6 kids ordered and ate the lamb.

 

As Haven guests, disembarkation was the easiest we have ever experienced. After leaving our suite we went to the Haven for breakfast. After breakfast we were escort, via service elevator in the Haven directly to the point of disembarkation. The only problem we had was locating our luggage. It was scattered everywhere. I use brightly colored cable ties to the suitcases zipper handles to secure the contents, to help ID our bags, and let me know if someone has opened them. Our large suitcase was missing its cable tie and we didn't find one of our smaller suitcases. Did not realize this until after we got home and have put into motion what it takes to find it.

 

I have Florida Disabled Veteran license plates and am given the courtesy to park free at Miami's cruise terminal. This process doesn't occur until you depart the parking garage. When you reach the pay booth inform the cashier you have disabled veteran plates and they will fill out the paperwork necessary for your free parking.

 

Final Comments:

 

1. Whereas we spent the vast majority of on-board time in the Haven, we really didn't experience any discomfort from those on spring break. However, the last two nights of the cruise several teenager groups had gathered the courage to run up and down the stairs or hitch elevator making all kinds of noise. One or more of them toss hot dogs on the floors of elevators making a mess out of them.

 

2. Travelling with young grandkids puts the kibosh on adult night time activities. GS was almost always asleep by 7 and GD not soon after. We purchased a UBP and, after retiring to our suite, I would make elevator runs directly up to deck 16 and Spice H2O, order our drinks and then take them back to our suite. Easy peasy. OBTW, the quantity of mudslides consumed by our grandkids went a long way towards making UBP pay for itself.

 

3. I was disappointed in how often I observed empty classes, beverage containers, plates, etc left in hallways,common areas and elevators that remained in place for hours and even over-night. I witnessed house making staff walk past some of these items and fail to make an effort to pick them up.

 

4. Upgrade Bid. FWIT: I placed a $1k ($2k total) bid on an upgrade to a DOS. I didn't get it. Talking with one of my shipmates, he placed a $2k ($4k total) bid on and didn't get it either.

[MizDemeanor]

Thank you for your review and insight.

[BirdTravels]

Thanks for the detailed review. Much appreciated!

 

We had similar experiences with butlers on embarkation. We actually found one of our butler doing escort duties getting people from the terminal to the Haven lounge. We did our introductions riding up/down in the elevator with him for a round trip. He said that he was assigned to escort until muster, then had muster duties. But would be by around sailaway. We went from muster to the Haven sundeck for sailaway and kept missing our butler until later on the evening of embarkation.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the detailed feedback.

[Traveling Fools]

Just read my post again and found several typos. Sorry about that, but I'm sure you get the drift.

 

Here is an illustration of how small this world is: I was at H2O getting drinks and there was a young lady rapping up her order. We all walked out of the area together to the elevators. I had a shirt on with Amelia Island printed on it. She asked if I lived on the Island and I told her I did. She responded that her parents lived there too. I asked where and the street she named was my street. I my eyes popped and my jaw dropped. I asked who they were....they live across the street from us. How weird is that?1?

 

Her Mom and I chuckled about that today.

[MizDemeanor]

Just read my post again and found several typos. Sorry about that, but I'm sure you get the drift.

 

Here is an illustration of how small this world is: I was at H2O getting drinks and there was a young lady rapping up her order. We all walked out of the area together to the elevators. I had a shirt on with Amelia Island printed on it. She asked if I lived on the Island and I told her I did. She responded that her parents lived there too. I asked where and the street she named was my street. I my eyes popped and my jaw dropped. I asked who they were....they live across the street from us. How weird is that?1?

 

Her Mom and I chuckled about that today.

 

Small World.

[Keith1010]

Terrific review.

 

Keith

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[AF-1]

Thanks for your review. I read it and really didn't notice any typo's.

[JerseyMom]

Do you remember what times the Haven restaurant was open for breakfast and lunch?

[Traveling Fools]

Do you remember what times the Haven restaurant was open for breakfast and lunch?

 

Can't help you with breakfast because we had it delivered to our room every morning except disembarkation day. Not sure when they begin lunch, but they stop serving in the restaurant at 3 P.M. and in the courtyard an hours or so later.

[JerseyMom]

Can't help you with breakfast because we had it delivered to our room every morning except disembarkation day. Not sure when they begin lunch, but they stop serving in the restaurant at 3 P.M. and in the courtyard an hours or so later.

 

Thanks! Sounds as if it is different from the Jewel class ships where they don't have the Haven restaurant - they serve breakfast from 7:30 until 9:30 in Moderno and lunch was 12 til 1:30. Good to know that in the Haven restaurant the hours are a little more flexible.

 

I really enjoyed your review, BTW!