The NCL Haven Luxury VIP Experience "Secrets" REVISED for 2022

[Sailing12Away]

3 hours ago, pezgirlroy77 said:

Quick question on Port Arrival and Check In Time. So I should know this but you all are so knowledgeable.  We will be on the Breakaway at the end of February. Two parties. Myself and family in a Deluxe Owners Suite and my parents in an adjoining Haven room. I checked in yesterday and the earliest available time was 11.  As Haven can we arrive earlier than that or is that our time? Thank you so much all. 

You'll get conflicting stories and experiences on this one. It honestly depends on the port that you're embarking from, how crowded it is at the time you want to 'just show up', and any other extenuating circumstances.

There are folks who are adamant that if you're in Haven you can just show up whenever you want. I have never had that experience. Sailing out of Seattle for an Alaska trip we weren't even allowed inside the terminal building until we were within 15 mins of our printed time on the edocs. This was shortly after the Covid reopening though, so maybe it's lessened up since then.

 

But then we had the embarkation nightmare from hell when we did our PC trip out of LA last year. Massive flooding from unprecedented rain storms, with thousands of folks standing in the rain for hours trying to get inside the terminal building. So it didn't matter that we were Haven guests, we had to wait for hours on line outside in the rain to get into the building and begin check in.

 

Once you're actually inside, past security, and checked in - as soon as the ship is cleared to take on new passengers you will be the first ones allowed on board. But it's that whole process before then which is the big unknown. 

[Treasure Hunter]

You can come as early as you want. You will be in the Haven boarding area with snacks and drinks. You probably won’t board until 11:00. Lunch starts at 11:30 in the Haven restaurant so go straight there unless you want your free meal in American Diner.

[pezgirlroy77]

Thank you so much. So last question (for now :)) should we have received luggage tags in the mail? The ones I printed off are printing weird. Thanks. 

[SaltyPawz]

32 minutes ago, pezgirlroy77 said:

Thank you so much. So last question (for now :)) should we have received luggage tags in the mail? The ones I printed off are printing weird. Thanks. 

For our November/December 2023 trip, we received the luggage tags 34 days prior to the cruise. 

[Treasure Hunter]

Give the Haven a call. Have you heard from the shore side concierge?they usually  email you a month before your trip. We are leaving in two weeks and my son called from Atlanta that he got my beautiful Haven sticky luggage tags. He hasn’t gone on an NCL cruise with us in two years! Bizarre. I called  ( the regular number and they transferred me) . They corrected the address but they only mail on Fridays. My son sent them to me priority mail. But don’t worry, you can get them at the pier from the porters. 

[Daniel A]

12 hours ago, pezgirlroy77 said:

Quick question on Port Arrival and Check In Time. So I should know this but you all are so knowledgeable.  We will be on the Breakaway at the end of February. Two parties. Myself and family in a Deluxe Owners Suite and my parents in an adjoining Haven room. I checked in yesterday and the earliest available time was 11.  As Haven can we arrive earlier than that or is that our time? Thank you so much all. 

I do agree that it mostly depends on the port.  In Barcelona, when we arrived at the pier, there was a separate entrance for Haven guests with our own private security lane and we were immediately whisked to a Haven lounge while a concierge checked us in at the main desk.  In Seattle, there was no separate entrance to the terminal, and we were put into the same line as everybody else.  I had to go to a NCL rep to complain about the lack of priority boarding as there was a separate priority terminal door with nobody manning the desk.  NCL said it was a failing on the part of Seattle Port personnel and he got someone over there after I had to seek out somebody to rectify the shortcoming.  In Rome this year, the terminal doors remained locked to everybody and there was no separate security or baggage check lane for Haven.  It wasn't until you got your luggage dropped and through security with everyone else that there was any direction to the Haven lounge/waiting area.

 

My best advice is don't plan on arriving early as they may not be ready for you.  Pick a time closer to noon and you will most likely have a much smoother embarkation experience.  JMHO.

[Treasure Hunter]

I have never had these horror stories with boarding but have only boarded NCL from New York, Miami and Seattle. Everything always went smoothly and we were treated special from the get go. Hope you have the same great experience. Especially in New York and I think also in Miami. There is a separate security line Haven only  and once past security you are ushered into the Haven waiting room. You meet the Haven concierge and are first to board.

[DMH15]

I tip $10 per person per day for B and C and up that for any extraordinary requests.  
 

We tend to use the Concierge a lot and have had great ones.  Karen and Hanno especially.  We enjoyed our interactions so much.  
 

Funny, when we were in the DOS on Epic the Concierges interaction was minimal.  But oh Maxi our Butler was incredible and we added to his tip.  

 

We have also found our room stewards when in a suite is probably an escalated situation.   They seem to be senior stewards.  We always feel they deserve extra over the auto-gratuity. 

[Yesimapirate]

On 1/31/2024 at 10:46 AM, BornPisces said:

Almond Croissants! @Sthrngary
 

Just got off the Breakaway. I was looking forward to the almond croissants I’ve read so much about here.  So at my first Haven breakfast last week, as I had just grasped an almond croissant in the tongs, Wayan the Assistant Maitre’d stopped me and told me the croissants contained eggs. They were already aware of my egg allergy from embarkation lunch the day before. As I set the croissant down I thanked him and told him I’d heard so much about them. 
 

Lo and behold the next breakfast and every breakfast to the last day, I was served FIVE delicious eggless croissants at breakfast and whatever we didn’t eat was brought to our room by our butler. It’s the little things that make the big things. We were blessed to have quite a few “Heroes” that really help make our cruise special. Also the information here help elevate our expectations and make the most of our vacation that went way too fast. 

You're 100% correct,  it's the little things.   I'm glad you got to experience something positive that made such a big impact. 

 

Sadly, that service is inconsistent.   We've been lucky enough to experience it as well.   Conversely, on 2 separate Haven trips when we asked for a sugar free dessert, we were told that we could find them at the buffet. 

 

Service can ne excellent but it can also be close to non-existent at times.   Set your expectations accordingly. 

 

For me personally,  I'd really appreciate consistency even if it means fewer of those amazing moments like the croissants. 

[hero78]

On 2/5/2024 at 10:28 AM, pezgirlroy77 said:

Thank you so much. So last question (for now :)) should we have received luggage tags in the mail? The ones I printed off are printing weird. Thanks. 

I can't remember the last time we received physical luggage tags in the mail. But we're in Canada, so maybe that makes a difference? We've started doing just carry on so it doesn't really matter for us.

They will have tags at the terminal to attach for you as well if you prefer to wait til you get there.

[vinotinto]

This may or not be a Haven question, we booked last minute (as we usually do), and the excursion pickings are pretty slim. Do they have additional availability for excursions once we are on the ship, the same way that they have additional availability for specialty dining, either through the Shore Excursion desk or the Concierge? Thanks!

[cruiseny4life]

44 minutes ago, vinotinto said:

This may or not be a Haven question, we booked last minute (as we usually do), and the excursion pickings are pretty slim. Do they have additional availability for excursions once we are on the ship, the same way that they have additional availability for specialty dining, either through the Shore Excursion desk or the Concierge? Thanks!

No. We have had luck 50% of the time with the concierge getting us on the wait list for excursions that are sold out precruise. You should absolutely talk with the concierge, not with shore excursions. They'll do everything they can to get you in if a space opens up.

[vinotinto]

11 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

No. We have had luck 50% of the time with the concierge getting us on the wait list for excursions that are sold out precruise. You should absolutely talk with the concierge, not with shore excursions. They'll do everything they can to get you in if a space opens up.

Thank you, we’ll reach out to Concierge about the waiting list. We have a solid Plan B in case that doesn’t pan out.

[Daniel A]

56 minutes ago, vinotinto said:

This may or not be a Haven question, we booked last minute (as we usually do), and the excursion pickings are pretty slim. Do they have additional availability for excursions once we are on the ship, the same way that they have additional availability for specialty dining, either through the Shore Excursion desk or the Concierge? Thanks!

A good concierge can move Heaven and Earth for you.  We had an excursion booked through NCL that was supposed to run for three hours and because of the weather,  the tourguide skipped a stop and the tour ended 45 minutes early.   I just happened to mention that we returned early and our concierge arranged for a 1/2 refund that we didn't even request. 

[lorenbevevino]

Good Day Everyone,

My wife and I are cruising this April from NYC on Joy to Bermuda. I've perused this thread for suggestions of requests to ask of our butler. I believe I saw a detailed list on here but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone know of such a post? Thank you all in advance for your help. 

[graphicguy]

43 minutes ago, lorenbevevino said:

Good Day Everyone,

My wife and I are cruising this April from NYC on Joy to Bermuda. I've perused this thread for suggestions of requests to ask of our butler. I believe I saw a detailed list on here but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone know of such a post? Thank you all in advance for your help. 

Anything in the cabin…

 

-they’ll bring snacks everyday.  ask your butler for the choices you have to choose from

-s/he’ll replenish your coffee maker every day.  It’s a Nespresso so a good one.  Request

regular or decaf.

-s/he can set up a meal in your cabin.  Just give him/her a heads up.

 

 Anything outside the cabin like reservations for restaurants and shows, billing issues,etc will be done by the concierge 

 

Your cabin steward will handle cleaning your cabin!

 

Those are the main points!

[cruiseny4life]

50 minutes ago, lorenbevevino said:

Good Day Everyone,

My wife and I are cruising this April from NYC on Joy to Bermuda. I've perused this thread for suggestions of requests to ask of our butler. I believe I saw a detailed list on here but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone know of such a post? Thank you all in advance for your help. 

I did a search and couldn't find one specific post with a list. There are posts that outline a few of the benefits/requests that different passengers have had. If you want a really thorough reading, just click the link below. It's a search for the word "butler" in this thread. You'll find lots of cool things butlers have done that may not be the normal requests. Be warned there are 12 full pages with the term "butler" so plan to spend a bit of time reviewing.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?&q=butler&type=forums_topic&page=1&quick=1&item=2830623&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy

 

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, lorenbevevino said:

Good Day Everyone,

My wife and I are cruising this April from NYC on Joy to Bermuda. I've perused this thread for suggestions of requests to ask of our butler. I believe I saw a detailed list on here but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone know of such a post? Thank you all in advance for your help. 

 

On 2/4/2024 at 4:48 PM, Sthrngary said:

My approach is to develop a letter called a "butler Letter" giving the butler a heads up on my needs.  In the letter I put the full gratuities upfront.  WHY, I had some bad experience with NCL Butlers.  I started to engage with them and found out many guest, were unaware of the gratuities for Butlers.  More than half left and never tipped the butler.  This changed my tipping to upfront from the last night.  Since them I have had much better attention from my butlers.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. Butler_NCL_Cruises_Template.docx

Click on the link at the end of @Sthrngary 's above post.

[graphicguy]

A lot of the Butler requests can be done pre-cruise by calling the pre-cruise Concierge.

 

(855) 625-4283

[lorenbevevino]

3 hours ago, graphicguy said:

A lot of the Butler requests can be done pre-cruise by calling the pre-cruise Concierge.

 

(855) 625-4283

Thank you. 

[lorenbevevino]

3 hours ago, Daniel A said:

 

Click on the link at the end of @Sthrngary 's above post.

Thank you.

 

[lorenbevevino]

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I did a search and couldn't find one specific post with a list. There are posts that outline a few of the benefits/requests that different passengers have had. If you want a really thorough reading, just click the link below. It's a search for the word "butler" in this thread. You'll find lots of cool things butlers have done that may not be the normal requests. Be warned there are 12 full pages with the term "butler" so plan to spend a bit of time reviewing.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?&q=butler&type=forums_topic&page=1&quick=1&item=2830623&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy

 

Thank you. 

[lorenbevevino]

4 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Anything in the cabin…

 

-they’ll bring snacks everyday.  ask your butler for the choices you have to choose from

-s/he’ll replenish your coffee maker every day.  It’s a Nespresso so a good one.  Request

regular or decaf.

-s/he can set up a meal in your cabin.  Just give him/her a heads up.

 

 Anything outside the cabin like reservations for restaurants and shows, billing issues,etc will be done by the concierge 

 

Your cabin steward will handle cleaning your cabin!

 

Those are the main points!

Thank you. 

[vinotinto]

We have a very odd port day in Tortola, where we are in port 6am - 2pm. I believe all aboard will be at 1:30pm.

 

We are planning on either going to a beach for a couple of hours or take a short tour. We're not staying in the ship. My question is, it doesn't look likely that there will be much open for food in the local beaches early enough, and the excursions also don't include any food. By the time we get back on the ship and get refreshened up, lunch service will have concluded. Have any of you ordered any snacks / room service to take with you out of the ship? If so, did they package it for you, or did you bring stuff to package it. I've sailed many times and always prefer to sample local restaurants and beach bars on my port days, but the timing of this day is super odd and I don't want to find ourselves in a hangry situation. 😉

[bgouveia]

We are cruising transatlantic on the Epic in April, and it will be our first time in the Haven.  We have a Deluxe Owners Suite, so we are really excited.  Any tips or hints beyond the usual that people may have discovered and found handy?  Hoping to meet some great folks and have a blast!  But more specifically, I'm interested to know how you have found the Haven Restaurant on the Epic to be?