A Homebody Went to Haven: Final Thoughts.

[Maya1234]

As those that have followed my live postings from the Bliss this week know I am a reluctant traveler. Now sitting at the Seattle Airport I leave you with my final thoughts on the Bliss and Alaska.

 

1) The Haven really is pretty much everything that it’s billed to be. Incredible service where they cater to your every request. I woukd not even consider going on an NCL ship without being in the Haven. I also wouldn’t consider a very high end cruise line that didn’t have the fabulous level of entertainment that a big ship like the Bliss has.

 

2) The Haven restaurant is wonderful both in terms of food and service. I did wish for more variety in the menu. They will try to make you things not on the menu or get them for you from elsewhere on the ship but at some point ( and for me that’s pretty much right away) you start to feel like you’re acting like you’re Meghan Markle her first week of being a royal and also that Meghan Markle is beginning to seem more down to earth than you , so you feel like a jerk if you ask for too many special requests.

 

3) The only two areas where I wasn’t a fan of the food were

A) The steaks ( we have great steak places where we live and these steaks while ok just weren’t great. As I said in a prior thread they reminded me of steaks at high end Kosher restaurants in their consistency. In Kosher restaurants that comes from the salting process. Don’t know why they are like this here.

B) the chocolate deserts. Only the one at Cagneys was really very good. The others were too dry.

 

4) Teppenyakis food was surprisingly excellent. We’ve eaten at many Hibachi places. This was hands down the best.

 

5) The Haven OL slanted window/carpet combo is a big problem. The view is often marred by the carpet reflecting in the windows. They should really try to fix this.

 

6) Often The Haven sundeck (which is absolutely wonderful)was completely deserted. It was so weird. We had 2 days with warm and not too windy weather. It was perfect up there. But if you ever want to feel like you are on a private yacht you may have a good chance to experience that on the Haven sundeck.

 

7) I can’t recommend highly enough having great weather on you cruise. Ok ok...you might not be able to arrange that. But it definitely helps with crowding and puts everyone in a better mood.

 

8) There were two midday Beatlemania shows in the main theater. ..one on a sea day. This was a great move on NCL’s part and the shows are excellent.

 

9) The Skagway White Pass VIP railroad was worth every penny. An absolutely fabulous experience.

 

10) I’m looking forward to getting home. I would consider an NCL cruise again but probably only on the Bliss or another ship where there is an enclosed smoking casino. We were told by many people how much better the smoke situation was on the Bliss than on many of the NCL ships they’ve been on. Oh and it will be a good two years before I want to go anywhere again, which is why we can afford the Haven pricing. The perks of being a homebody!

Edited July 7, 2018 by Maya1234

[Two Wheels Only]

I'm glad that you had a good time.

 

 

Don't be afraid of asking for too much from the staff. You paid for their services. Obviously, outrageous requests would be going too far but making an arrangement for a meal to be delivered to the suite or to the Haven restaurant isn't outrageous at all.

 

 

 

As for the smoking issue, you'll probably be limited to Bliss and to ships built after Bliss such as Encore and the upcoming Project Leonardo ships.

[omarchs]

Glad you had a great trip. Hope to experience it once it heads to NYC.

 

Just curious with the Haven sundeck. I know you said it was empty, but we they offering cabanas for a fee? Pictures make it look like one side of the sundeck have more elaborate cabanas than seen on the other ships due to the expanded space. Just assume they would charge extra for them.

 

Thanks!

[Maya1234]

Glad you had a great trip. Hope to experience it once it heads to NYC.

 

Just curious with the Haven sundeck. I know you said it was empty, but we they offering cabanas for a fee? Pictures make it look like one side of the sundeck have more elaborate cabanas than seen on the other ships due to the expanded space. Just assume they would charge extra for them.

 

Thanks!

 

Nope. No extra charge for the Cabanas. And they were always available when I wanted one. I literally was the only person using them for a long period yesterday and it was 75 degrees. Sunny. Little wind.

[LdyMags]

Nope. No extra charge for the Cabanas. And they were always available when I wanted one. I literally was the only person using them for a long period yesterday and it was 75 degrees. Sunny. Little wind.

 

 

 

I was up there right before sailing and lounged for 2 hours. They even brought me a blanket. Best views from the ship!!

 

 

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[erdoran]

Maya pls tell me more about white pass rr vip pkg. how far does the ride go? What makes it worth about double? Considering vs the scenic highway to caribou crossing and emerald lake. Thanks

[Maya1234]

Maya pls tell me more about white pass rr vip pkg. how far does the ride go? What makes it worth about double? Considering vs the scenic highway to caribou crossing and emerald lake. Thanks

 

1) Our train went up to Fraser in Canada and then looped back.

 

2) Because you each have your own chair that swivels you can easily look out windows on both sides both ways unlike in the other cars where you are on benches and really only see one side can and many said it was always difficult to look out if you are in the outside seat.

 

3) most importantly you are the end car and thus have beautiful views on the platform not just the side views with a car in front or back of you but rather the entire panorama from the back. This allows many more people to enjoy the platform. I spent a great deal of the tour sitting on a branch on the back platform. Plus with only 12 people in the car (vs 24 in the others) the platform was never crowded. I literally was able to feel the water splashing from the beautiful waterfalls.

 

4) You have your own tour guide who tailors the tour to your question and interests. Ours was fantastic. In addition to explanations about what we were seeing and stories of the gold rush she told us a lot about life in Skagway. The conductor of the next train also hung out with us and answered lots of questions.

 

5) For us this was a once in a lifetime experience and the extra expense was so worth it.

[Aprille]

Hi, Maya. I have enjoyed your pre-cruise thoughts, live cruise review and now your final thoughts.

 

Can you tell me if deck 18 Haven Lounge has snacks like the food spread on deck 17? Thanks.

[LdyMags]

Hi, Maya. I have enjoyed your pre-cruise thoughts, live cruise review and now your final thoughts.

 

 

 

Can you tell me if deck 18 Haven Lounge has snacks like the food spread on deck 17? Thanks.

 

 

 

Deck 18 is just a small overlook onto the main deck 17 lounge. Just go down some stairs for snacks

 

 

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[Aprille]

Deck 18 is just a small overlook onto the main deck 17 lounge. Just go down some stairs for snacks

 

Thanks. That's what I figured. Are the nearest elevators down by the Haven Restaurant? I typically use a walker but can handle one set of stairs with handrails, if need be. We're staying in the DOS so we're right outside the upper level observation deck.

[erdoran]

Maya thanks for all the wonderful info! Another question. Do we need to hustle to book comedy reservations ASAP after boarding or can the concierge get us into these shows whenever? Thanks

[LdyMags]

Thanks. That's what I figured. Are the nearest elevators down by the Haven Restaurant? I typically use a walker but can handle one set of stairs with handrails, if need be. We're staying in the DOS so we're right outside the upper level observation deck.

 

 

 

No, they are a bit farther back. Closer to the concierge desk, but not a far walk. For port disembarkations, the concierge will take you by private elevator to the disembarkation location. Just a note, the Bliss seems to dock furthest away at all ports

 

 

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[Maya1234]

Maya thanks for all the wonderful info! Another question. Do we need to hustle to book comedy reservations ASAP after boarding or can the concierge get us into these shows whenever? Thanks

 

The concierge was able to get us into shows easily. They give you a piece of paper on the first day with show times and you can return it any time that day to book comedy reservations.

[Shellbelle28]

1) Our train went up to Fraser in Canada and then looped back.

 

2) Because you each have your own chair that swivels you can easily look out windows on both sides both ways unlike in the other cars where you are on benches and really only see one side can and many said it was always difficult to look out if you are in the outside seat.

 

3) most importantly you are the end car and thus have beautiful views on the platform not just the side views with a car in front or back of you but rather the entire panorama from the back. This allows many more people to enjoy the platform. I spent a great deal of the tour sitting on a branch on the back platform. Plus with only 12 people in the car (vs 24 in the others) the platform was never crowded. I literally was able to feel the water splashing from the beautiful waterfalls.

 

4) You have your own tour guide who tailors the tour to your question and interests. Ours was fantastic. In addition to explanations about what we were seeing and stories of the gold rush she told us a lot about life in Skagway. The conductor of the next train also hung out with us and answered lots of questions.

 

5) For us this was a once in a lifetime experience and the extra expense was so worth it.

I just took a look at that excursion option. What were the beverages/snacks like?

 

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[Maya1234]

I just took a look at that excursion option. What were the beverages/snacks like?

 

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There was a large selection of beverages beer and wine plus Coke(!) products. The snacks were fruit, croissants, mini quiches, coffee cake, smoked salmon toast points . Pretty simple stuff.

[Shellbelle28]

There was a large selection of beverages beer and wine plus Coke(!) products. The snacks were fruit, croissants, mini quiches, coffee cake, smoked salmon toast points . Pretty simple stuff.

Thank you.

 

Ohhh, Coke! Isn't it sad how a Pepsi only ship makes you crave Coke? Though nobody ever has my favorite Coke Zero caffeine free.

 

Did you do any other excursions? I can't make up my mind if I just want to relax and not do any excursions (though that $50 per port excursion credit is doing exactly what NCL intends, making me feel like I'd be throwing money away not to LOL).

 

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[erdoran]

For those that have done the tours to Caribou Crossing/Emerald Lake, or the one where the train goes even further into the Yukon (I forget the name of the lake/town) - if I only went as far as Fraser would I be missing a lot?

[BEACHBARB]

I'm glad that you had a good time.

 

 

Don't be afraid of asking for too much from the staff. You paid for their services. Obviously, outrageous requests would be going too far but making an arrangement for a meal to be delivered to the suite or to the Haven restaurant isn't outrageous at all.

 

 

 

As for the smoking issue, you'll probably be limited to Bliss and to ships built after Bliss such as Encore and the upcoming Project Leonardo ships.

 

I agree about not being afraid of asking. One night at dinner with quite a few regular Haven cruisers, they had no problem asking for and receiving a dinner special from a few days previous and a desert someone for lunch one day - they served that also. We've done Haven twice now and there is nothing that compares. We can't go back. Ever.

[GeezerCouple]

I agree about not being afraid of asking. One night at dinner with quite a few regular Haven cruisers, they had no problem asking for and receiving a dinner special from a few days previous and a desert someone for lunch one day - they served that also. We've done Haven twice now and there is nothing that compares. We can't go back. Ever.

 

I assume you are referring to a ship with a Haven *restaurant*?

Or was that from the regular restaurant.

(Specialties have the same menu throughout anyway.)

 

Thanks.

 

GC