Most controversial cruise opinion??

[complawyer]

dearmrstocko. if we're ever on the same cruise and i happen to be in a haven suite, i would be delighted to buy you and your husband a drink at  the haven bar and have you join us for dinner at the haven restaurant. it's all on me!

[complawyer]

i'd like to think i was a good comp lawyer, but ive been  retired for about 4 years, and i would never think about bringing business cards along on a cruise (lol)

[complawyer]

drsea, if i were a 30 something, single MD, on a cruise by myself or with a buddy, i too would be dangerous. lmao. have a great time. and believe me, im quite envious!!!!

 

[MrsTocko]

7 minutes ago, complawyer said:

dearmrstocko. if we're ever on the same cruise and i happen to be in a haven suite, i would be delighted to buy you and your husband a drink at  the haven bar and have you join us for dinner at the haven restaurant. it's all on me!

@complawyer

 

HAHA - Thanks.
 

We are both so...hate to ask others for something we can do ourselves... I had a hard time asking our room steward for ice on our last cruise.  But I needed it to ice my black eye.  Me and the "up" escalator at LAX had a difference of opinion 2 days before the start of our last cruise...Thankfully my face broke the fall. Definitely a "trip" of a lifetime...

[tetleytea]

2 minutes ago, MrsTocko said:

@complawyer

 

HAHA - Thanks.
 

We are both so...hate to ask others for something we can do ourselves... I had a hard time asking our room steward for ice on our last cruise.  But I needed it to ice my black eye.  Me and the "up" escalator at LAX had a difference of opinion 2 days before the start of our last cruise...Thankfully my face broke the fall. Definitely a "trip" of a lifetime...

 

You were travelling on business when you tripped.   Right?   Right?

[DrSea]

16 minutes ago, MrsTocko said:

Not poo pooing it BECAUSE I cant afford it.  Though it is a contributing factor.  But I HAVE been in the common areas of the haven amenities, and IMO it is NOT worth the added cost.  So for ME to go to the expense of booking a Haven, when there is a 90% chance I wont be using the Haven facilities, that is not a sound investment. I will at some point indeed try the haven.  Just not in the vacation wallet for now.  The rest of the contributing factors for not booking the Haven is that I have witnessed too many "I'm in the Haven" before a crew member or other guest gets ripped a new one for displeasing the Haven guest.  I want to be as far away as possible from them.  I know that the entitled people are EVERYWHERE...but I choose to not put myself in a situation where the chances of encountering them and the entitles attitude increases exponentially.

 

Make Sense?

  

I would argue that any vacations are not good investments. With that said, I will admit that I have spent silly amounts of money to book the Haven.

 

I would also agree with the previous statements that there are many entitled people on the ship. Most NCL pax are American and Americans in general are entitled and can be rude. I don't let other people's attitudes affect mine (within reason of course...If someone is swinging at me because they had a bad day, then that would obviously affect my attitude). 

 

The Haven experience is more than just the facilities and it's not for everyone. I don't think everyone has to try something to know if they don't like it or not. But it sounds like you need more data points before you come to an accurate conclusion since you are only basing it on some rude people's behavior and taking a tour of part of the Haven during an event. Just saying...

[DrSea]

16 minutes ago, complawyer said:

drsea, if i were a 30 something, single MD, on a cruise by myself or with a buddy, i too would be dangerous. lmao. have a great time. and believe me, im quite envious!!!!

 

Haha. Thanks. 

[MrsTocko]

Just now, tetleytea said:

 

You were travelling on business when you tripped.   Right?   Right?

I wish there was a way I could say yes

 

Relatively uninjured.  Split my lip and knot in above my eye.  which caused the swelling and discoloration.  But no other injuries, except to my pride. So very very lucky.  Could have been much worse.  Tripped on June 30, cruise started on July 3.

 

felt worse for my DH, because people were looking at him like, "do we need to take him down?".  He didnt care, but I did.  So far from who he is.  I am sure that my body language, which showed no fear of him at all, helped to prevent people from saying anything, but we still had a lot of looks.

 

Made for an interesting cruise for sure, and EVERYONE knew who were

[tetleytea]

1 minute ago, MrsTocko said:

I wish there was a way I could say yes

 

Relatively uninjured.  Split my lip and knot in above my eye.  which caused the swelling and discoloration.  But no other injuries, except to my pride. So very very lucky.  Could have been much worse.  Tripped on June 30, cruise started on July 3.

 

felt worse for my DH, because people were looking at him like, "do we need to take him down?".  He didnt care, but I did.  So far from who he is.  I am sure that my body language, which showed no fear of him at all, helped to prevent people from saying anything, but we still had a lot of looks.

 

Made for an interesting cruise for sure, and EVERYONE knew who were

 

When I was in Gothenburg Sweden, I got viciously attacked by an aggressive signpost while I was checking my cell phone for directions.  I had to wear that gash on my face to the main dining room that night.   But, as I always say, you should see what I did to the other guy.

[MrsTocko]

11 minutes ago, tetleytea said:

 

When I was in Gothenburg Sweden, I got viciously attacked by an aggressive signpost while I was checking my cell phone for directions.  I had to wear that gash on my face to the main dining room that night.   But, as I always say, you should see what I did to the other guy.

I hear ya - the final little patch of under eye discoloration has finally dwindled down to a shadow under my eye and a beauty mark.  if you dont know then you would never know.

[aubreyc1988]

2 hours ago, hernando52 said:

I have enjoyed the last several posts immensely.  We have nothing against the Haven and the Haven guests and maybe someday we'll win a bid to get to experience it personally.  Years ago we had to make a choice....take a couple of cruises in the Haven (or an a luxury cruise line), or take several cruises in a NCL(or RCCL) non-Haven stateroom.  Because we only have a certain amount of money in the retirement account for play, we decided that we wanted to see a lot of destinations and we could be quite happy in a regular room.  Once in a while we have gotten upgraded to a mini-suite and that was wonderful!  Heck, while our house was being built in FL many years ago, we lived in our RV camper with two large dogs.  It was cramped, but life was good because we finally were retired!!  But, we simply cannot afford the Haven! 

We have run into the boors out in the general public on the ships...."Steerage" or "Haven"...we don't know...We have heard reference to steerage more than once.  We have witnessed the verbal abuse of the crew...the entitled seem to be everywhere, land or sea.  We just try to focus on us and enjoying cruising.  We feel pampered...no cooking, cleaning, making beds or reusing towels!!  We wake up in a new destination when we get up in the morning...for us, it is a dream come true.  We can eat, drink, and be entertained to our hearts' content.  Could it be better...of course it could....but it also could get a lot worse!!  Cross your fingers for us that maybe we'll win a bid some time!!

 

My first time in the Haven was in March on the Joy, a belated 10 year anniversary splurge. Normally on NCL, I encounter some of the nicest, down to earth people. And there was some of those people in the Haven...but man oh man where there were some absolute PILLS in the Haven too.  I know that it exists outside of the Haven but maybe because of the small ship within a ship concept it seemed SO much more noticeable. Every-time I sat at the Haven bar, I literally had to leave because of the audacity and rudeness of some of guests, to me and the staff.  And whenever I would talk to anyone by the pool or by the bar, at first I would be like thinking to myself "See, this person is normal" and then they would ruin it by trash talking people who book inside staterooms or complaining quite loudly about waiting 3 minutes for a drink. 

 

We still had a great time and would sail in the Haven again, but only for very special occasions and at a discount price, because we have a fabulous time even in inside staterooms.

 

Next thing I want to experience is the Vibe 🙂

Edited August 3, 2022 by aubreyc1988

[aubreyc1988]

On 7/27/2022 at 5:34 PM, Elsammo46 said:

What do you love to do that everyone else doesn’t? What can you not stand that everyone else raves about? 
 

Give me your most controversial cruise opinions! 
 

Mine is that I NEVER sleep in on a cruise; I feel like you’re wasting precious vacation time sleeping in. I set my alarm for between 5:00-5:30 and start my day lol 

 

What do you love to do that everyone else doesn’t? I love to go to the slot tournament area a few minutes before it starts, have a few few and root on random strangers 😛 

 

 

What can you not stand that everyone else raves about? That show that was in the Illusionarium on the Getaway a few years ago. I paid money for VIP seats which ended up being worse than the cheapo seats and I just wasn't that impressed overall. But everyone else raved. 

 

 

 

[tetleytea]

I know the most important perk I want is that NCL crew walking with me at embarkation holding that big sign above everybody that says, "Haven".   And everybody looks at me and goes, "Ooooh.    Aaaaaah."

 

[aubreyc1988]

5 minutes ago, tetleytea said:

I know the most important perk I want is that NCL crew walking with me at embarkation holding that big sign above everybody that says, "Haven".   And everybody looks at me and goes, "Ooooh.    Aaaaaah."

 

 

Lol! So funny! It always surprised me whenever I was at a bar like Sugarcane or Atrium bar and someone would see my Haven keycard and go "oh la la" 😛

[ChiefMateJRK]

20 minutes ago, tetleytea said:

I know the most important perk I want is that NCL crew walking with me at embarkation holding that big sign above everybody that says, "Haven".   And everybody looks at me and goes, "Ooooh.    Aaaaaah."

 

That's funny.  When I sail inside (as is often the case), about 90% of the folks on the ship paid for more expensive accommodations than I did.  😎

[cruiseny4life]

57 minutes ago, tetleytea said:

I know the most important perk I want is that NCL crew walking with me at embarkation holding that big sign above everybody that says, "Haven".   And everybody looks at me and goes, "Ooooh.    Aaaaaah."

 

 

First, please tell me this isn't true. I'd be so freaking embarrassed! We did not have this in NYC when I embarked in April.

 

51 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

 

Lol! So funny! It always surprised me whenever I was at a bar like Sugarcane or Atrium bar and someone would see my Haven keycard and go "oh la la" 😛

 

Oh sweet lord...I wish I thought you were kidding. I made sure to hide my key card and not put it out as I didn't want the extra attention that seemed to come when others realized someone was in the Haven.

[JGmf]

59 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

...the audacity and rudeness of some of guests, to me and the staff [in the Haven].

 

Agree totally.  Have seen it WAY more in the Haven public areas than elsewhere on ships, regardless of itinerary, ship, or time of year.

 

How to mitigate?

 

Plan A: We've found that staying out of "Haven proper" in the forward or aft sections gives us relief from bumping into a lot of the perpetually rude types.  We still enjoy the other Haven perks, esp the Haven restaurant.

 

Plan B: Skip Haven altogether, still have fun, saves a lot of money...that can be plowed into the casino.

 

 

 

 

[tetleytea]

19 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

First, please tell me this isn't true. I'd be so freaking embarrassed! We did not have this in NYC when I embarked in April.

It happened.   I think it's only for Owner's Suite guests and maybe one category down (Penthouse?).  While I can appreciate being escorted directly to your cabin, walking right through security and stuff, and immediately getting to set down your carry-ons...and maybe a quick guided tour of your suite...I thought the crew member holding up a big "Haven" sign was a bit silly.

[scooter6139]

Dislikes that others like:  The top decks of the big Breakaway and Plus class ships are a waste on us.  Don't like the sun.  Hide from it a lot, like a vampire. Don't swim and don't like public hot tubs (overchlorinated cesspools of human fluids).  Arcade is a waste of $$ as is the gimmick of the go-cart track.  Laser Tag?  It's not the 80's people.  

Edited August 3, 2022 by scooter6139

[YVRteacher]

There a lot of discussion on here about the Haven.

Here is one of my dad’s meals served last week in the Haven on the Encore:

 

[YVRteacher]

It was awful!

[2 Fun Guys]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

There a lot of discussion on here about the Haven.

Here is one of my dad’s meals served last week in the Haven on the Encore:

 

Is that chicken fried steak? Except for the bumpy plate, I got the same thing - right down to the splash of gravy and parsley - at O'Sheehan's. And yes, it was awful.

[YVRteacher]

28 minutes ago, 2 Fun Guys said:

Is that chicken fried steak? Except for the bumpy plate, I got the same thing - right down to the splash of gravy and parsley - at O'Sheehan's. And yes, it was awful.

Nope!  It’s veal scallopini.

[juju2454]

7 hours ago, midgetcoach said:

NO, not talking about anything like that at all.  A trend in a casino would be the direction a game is going. At times the re could be a downward trend, a upward trend and you may refer to when a game is going back and forth as choppy. Its knowing how to read these trends. Being able to stay in the game and take advantage of the upward ones. 

Also true for craps tables it run hot and cold.  cold table walk away.  We play slots, we take X amount of money when we do go,  if we lose that we walk away, If we win more yeah for us.  we take the original money out and play and the rest (winnings) goes back to the room.  Slot machines will pay out then start taking it back if it happens after day 5  spins I am on to a new machine.  I generally win off slots more than I lose for that reason.  😉 

[juju2454]

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

respectfully, this is a straw man argument.

that is opinion respectfully.

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

does anybody enjoy crowds and what they perceive to be substandard service or food that may be of lesser quality? those things, while part of the cruise ship experience for most people, are not the reasons most people cruise. also, more to the point... the fact is that there are cruise lines and "ship within a ship" products - such as the haven - that address these specific issues.

I actually don't mind crowds, and I guess I haven't been fed such elite foods to think others are sub par.   I don't go for the food,  I go for the places to see, and the no dishes, no bed making, no per drink charge,  no cooking,  part.  We eat simple.  Dh would live on Mashed potatoes and gravy all day long.  , so more  to the point food is subjective.  

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

it's no different than staying in land-based resort...

I have stayed a resort, nothing was better than the regular rooms I have stayed in, but then they weren't all inclusive.

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

you can book a more affordable B&B style accommodation four blocks from the beach or you can book a luxury five star hotel and stay in a suite with a balcony overlooking the ocean.

W were in a 5 star on the ocean(hawaii),  and we have been in a 5 blocks from the beach( again hawaii),  a room is a room.  We spend little time in them .

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

 

even within the same hotel, you can book an "ordinary" room or a suite with private lounge access.

 

you can fly in coach class or you can fly in business class with a reclining seat, better food and enjoy a pre-departure beverage and a hot towel. 

I won't fly first class for the same reasons.   and a hot towel to do what pat your face?   My seat in coach reclined, and  my food was delish.

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

if somebody can cruise by purchasing a product that they believe provides a greater degree of comfort and more appealing amenities, that is their choice.

No one said they can't did they? the said it was the elite attitude that is off putting I believe. you know steerage, those people, the commoners. Milk man....

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

 

and it's a valid choice... for them. other than understandable backlash from the legitimate reports of "steerage" comments, i simply don't understand the class warfare on this issue.

It is about the exact things you mentions steerage,  and those people,  that creates a class warfare,  I also am in several other place about cruises,  where people just die to get to tell you they are haven.  Lots. 

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

if anything, from reading thousands of posts on cruise critic, it seems like these comments and accusations most often come the other way! the people outside the haven are making value judgments about the haven and the people who choose the haven based largely on not ever having been in the haven...

so this has caused you to become defensive?   Lots of people have stayed in the havens, lots brag about it and do indeed make it like the rest are getto . in fact beyond the steerage I was also called getto-ish for hanging my suit on a hanger near my AC vent to dry in my inside room instead of getting a balcony for that maybe that could be why.   I don't think not having been in the haven would change that attitude .  But I digress.

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

 

or based on the fact that they don't think it is necessary or affordable for them, personally.

 

 

We can afford it, but why would we spend 3 times the money for a room we would not be in is the point.  and I think many feel that too. But to say they cannot afford it reeks of elite.  just sayin'... 

 

 

 

i've been in sales and customer service in some capacity or another for most of my adult life.

I've been in pharmacy for over 25 years and medical for 15-20 so to give you a perspective of sales and short selling oneself.  I also own a business which involves sales. Preaching to the choir comes to mind  😉 

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

and one of the most important things we teach sales reps is not to sell out of their own pocket. in other words, just because you don't see value in the product or service... or because you can't personally justify the cost for yourself... that doesn't mean that others won't find value in the product and be willing to purchase it. and spend money on amenities and features you find repulsive, distasteful or of little value.

I don't talk anyone into anything they don't want, but they have a selection to choose from.

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

 

i play mostly video poker, with some slot machines here and there, no table games. i've written other posts in other threads about what it takes to get a comped cabin through the NCL's casino at sea program or  a discounted fare. there are a lot of misunderstandings about this... it reminds me a lot of the haven discussion here. those that don't gamble insist that somebody must be losing THOUSANDS of dollars in order to get a "free" cruise, but that's not the way it works.

I know exactly how it works we have a dear friend that play at a casino, bets high,  some times wins sometimes loses, gets comped all over the place.  But a frequent flyer.  No not all lose thousands to get comped, but the comp is to get your to play more, that is fact.  I am sure he has over he years lost thousands and won thousands,  I have seen him play on the craps table He lay out $50 and $100 chips like they are $5 and $10's.   Good on him!  He love the game,  he get lots of perks for it.  

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

 

yes, but he'd be doing exactly the same thing in cagney's, at the go-karts, in american diner or while playing "deal or no deal." entitled jerks are entitled jerks everywhere they go.

I can't say I would disagree, but in the over all perspective from what I have read in the 5 groups( on the thing that shall not be named here ) and here ,  over all more than not Haven peeps are how would it be said, "snoshy" many times. A word I picked up from Crazy Rich Asians. lol.    

9 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

it's about the person, not the haven.

 

It's about both.  Like it or not,  even in this thread it has been shown to be a fact.  Sadly.