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Returning to NCL after 30 years - tell me about suite amenities etc.

mconthehighseas

By mconthehighseas,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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mconthehighseas

mconthehighseas

Posted
Posted

Years ago I cruised on NCL, and it was a different cruiseline!
Next year I'll be going with my family, and we are excited about our suite, but I'd like to know more about what to expect.

 

I know there will be a concierge, but where would I find her or him?  Other cruiselines have suite lounge, but I have not found one on the deck plan.

Does the concierge have a office on board?

 

I know there will be a butler, which will be a totally new experience for us.  How many suites does a butler normally have to take care of?

 

Beyond the larger room and the extra staff, what other amenities are suite entitled to?

 

(I know that COVID could change things, so my question is based what things were pre-COVID, as a starting point.)

 

 

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NW Pacific

NW Pacific

Posted
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Depends on which Ship you are sailing on.  If a Ship with the Haven, the concierge desk will be in the Haven area.  Non Haven ships usually, the Concierge will have an area outside of the Specialty dining venue that you will be entitled to for breakfast and Lunch.  You will have "special area" for shows, though sometimes selecting on your own is better.  You will have priority disembarking at Ports (of course pre covid).  And have a "special" area for boarding the Ship, with snacks, coffee, water, etc. and your Butler will escort you to your cabin.  Sure I forgot something, but hopefully others will fill in in.

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MNcruisingcouple

MNcruisingcouple

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I agree that it really depends which ship you are on.  We were on the Pride of America in Dec 2019 in a suite.  No Haven on that ship.  Our concierge met us in the private check in area and escorted us on to the ship.  We always saw him at Cagney's during breakfast/lunch.  He would check in on us to see if we needed anything or could make recommendations.  He also handled a incorrect charge on our account for us.  We didn't see our butler as much but he did a great job with the few requests we had.  Our favorite parts of the suite experience were Cagney's breakfast, the in suite coffee maker and priority disembarkation.  

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milolii

milolii

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Posted

I certainly hope NCL cruises again, but things are shaky right now.  We were on the STAR last year.   Anyway, on the STAR, the concierge will be outside between Cagney’s and Modernos at times during the day.  There is an extension/cell to call.  She always picked up.  
 

She met us for escort onto the ship to Cagney’s for lunch the  first day.   We were escorted off ship at the ports after meeting outside of Gatsbys  This included a tender port with priority boarding.  

 

We also attend a meeting about disembarkation.  Funny, I don’t remember what was said but it was helpful, and we followed that advice. LOL  This  did help us make an earlier flight home. Disembarkation was at Bliss.  
 

We attended several shows and she was around for most of them. I think we just showed our room key to access the reserved section.  
 

I think there were 2 butlers on board. Not sure how many suites now.  We used him for room service a few times.  
 

Hope this helps. Enjoy. 

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Linda the Book Lover

Linda the Book Lover

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We enjoyed the Star in an aft suite. Breakfast and lunch was great in Cagney's and we had great service the entire trip. We enjoy the "smaller" ships sometimes because for us it was just cozy. The Concierge always came by during breakfast and there was a desk set up and a number to call for any special requests. Even aft we found room service not to be an issue and we used it a few times. We had a great time! 

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ggTexasGal

ggTexasGal

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48 minutes ago, ggTexasGal said:

Go to the main source, NCL.com

These might help...

https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/cruise-accommodations//the-haven

and

https://www.ncl.com/travel-blog/top-tools-planning-cruise-vacation-norwegian

Added note...

Using the above links will allow you to scroll about and find information about "other Suites", Amenities, etc!!!

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Linda the Book Lover

Linda the Book Lover

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1 minute ago, ggTexasGal said:

Added note...

Using the above links will allow you to scroll about and find information about "other Suites", Amenities, etc!!!

I am sorry I certainly did not mean to offend you. No need for the bold and exclamation points. The article showed many photos of the Haven, and I did not want the poster asking the questions to be disappointed when they arrived on the Star and the Haven was not waiting.   

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Sailing12Away "Live from...." Rare

Sailing12Away

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We've done Haven on the Jade and Epic, and are booked in a 2br suite (non-Haven) on the Pearl for next October.

 

Jade has Haven, but not a full 'real' Haven experience. It has the private courtyard and pool area, but no separate restaurant or bar. One of the specialty restaurants is reserved for Haven guests for breakfast, and another for lunch, but it's not quite the same. 

 

Epic was a full blown Haven experience with every single amenity. Quite a difference in experiences all around. Not to say the one on the Jade was bad per se (outside of our horrible butler), but we keep that in mind when justifying the cost of upgrading to Haven. Full Haven we're willing to splurge a bit more for than 'mini' Haven on the smaller ships, vs ships with no Haven at all.

 

For the Pearl, there will be 3 of us in a 2 br suite. To upgrade to the Haven would have cost an additional $3K. On the smaller ship without a full Haven experience (primarily the bar), we couldn't justify that. The only thing we would get by having a Haven suite as opposed to our regular suite is access to the courtyard/pool area. Not worth it for us at that price point. If it was a full Haven ship - then maybe. 

 

Looking forward to potentially sailing this coming April on the Bliss in Haven to experience that Horizon Lounge.

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Linda the Book Lover

Linda the Book Lover

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1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

We've done Haven on the Jade and Epic, and are booked in a 2br suite (non-Haven) on the Pearl for next October.

 

Jade has Haven, but not a full 'real' Haven experience. It has the private courtyard and pool area, but no separate restaurant or bar. One of the specialty restaurants is reserved for Haven guests for breakfast, and another for lunch, but it's not quite the same. 

 

Epic was a full blown Haven experience with every single amenity. Quite a difference in experiences all around. Not to say the one on the Jade was bad per se (outside of our horrible butler), but we keep that in mind when justifying the cost of upgrading to Haven. Full Haven we're willing to splurge a bit more for than 'mini' Haven on the smaller ships, vs ships with no Haven at all.

 

For the Pearl, there will be 3 of us in a 2 br suite. To upgrade to the Haven would have cost an additional $3K. On the smaller ship without a full Haven experience (primarily the bar), we couldn't justify that. The only thing we would get by having a Haven suite as opposed to our regular suite is access to the courtyard/pool area. Not worth it for us at that price point. If it was a full Haven ship - then maybe. 

 

Looking forward to potentially sailing this coming April on the Bliss in Haven to experience that Horizon Lounge.

I agree like you it is hard to want to spend the extra money for less than the full Haven experience. The DD and I booked a balcony on POA for the same reason as you chose, there was no incentive to book a suite, and it was fine as we spent much of our time enjoying my DGD in ports. We booked an aft balcony on POA in 2022. I still love the smaller ships even without the full Haven experience or in mind no Haven at all.

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All-ready2cruise Holiday Sharing Rare

All-ready2cruise

Posted
Posted

OP, thanks for posting this thread.   I've cruised in a couple of suites, PH on  the Pearl and 2BR (Topaz) on the Star, however, never having booked a Haven stateroom,  I've booked an HI on the BA for May '22.  It's a combo cruise as far as importance goes ... my late DH's BD in April and my significant BD a couple of months later.

 

I'm sure I'll enjoy my Haven experience and appreciate all the great info here.  

 

Thanks,

Cheers 🥂

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