Haven Dinner Question

[mjkacmom]

16 hours ago, david_sobe said:

This thread reminds me of one a few years ago when the poster wanted to get Margaritaville nachos delivered to the Haven restaurant on embarkation day.  With all the hustle and bustle of embarkation day, I think the cheese would be cold and hard by the time they got there.

I think there is sometimes a misunderstanding here on the board.  No one is saying it cant be done or impossible to get done.  Its the logistics that make it unfair to the staff which is why there is reluctance.  Just because you are in the Haven, it does not give anyone the right for absurd requests for the staff. If I wanted nachos, I would much prefer to eat them hot and melted as they came out of the kitchen rather than them sitting for 8 minutes until a butler came to pick them up and deliever them 6 more decks.  But that is just me 🙄

I don’t want to brag, but I think I have some insight into this having Bing watched a lot of Below Deck this summer. Just because they honor crazy requests from guests doesn’t mean they are happy about it. I assume the cruise ship crew has a ton of work to do in a limited amount of time. Personally I’ve never been so wow’d by any appetizer in the MDR that I’d want to ask an overworked crew member to go get it for me.

[rbxlady]

20 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I can wear my flippie floppies wherever I want

 

 

You're on a boat!

 

[rbxlady]

1 hour ago, The Shrike said:

This is why it's a good idea to make such arrangements in advance.  That way no one is being put out.  

 

Agreed, and I guess my point was more to read the room, so to speak. If someone looks uncomfortable that you are asking for something, or they give you pushback, take a second and consider that what you're asking might be unreasonable, either in general, for this particular ship/sailing, or for this particular crew member. If someone looks like they're champing at the bit for a diversion, then ask away. (Also, tips are nice.)

 

"I'm all set, but thank you for asking" is going to come out of my mouth a lot during our stay in the Haven in October, but I will have to get used to being waited on more than I'm used to and accept that I am paying a premium for this service.

[cruiseny4life]

16 minutes ago, rbxlady said:

 

 

You're on a boat!

 

I'm on a boat!! Such a perfect song hahaha...and yes, I'm on a boat - I'll wear those flippie floppies all day long. 

[The Shrike]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Sure is. Folks need to understand that this is NCL and not Cunard. When we are in Grill Class over on Cunard, at breakfast, we are presented the dinner menu and asked if it acceptable. If not, we order, in the morning, whatever we want for dinner. Once, we asked for a Steak Diane and that evening, the Maitre d came and cooked it for us tableside. The Maitre d is also the one that controls the keys to the caviar locker… so they don’t like us for depleting their supply.  He got a handsome tip that cruise. And the Maitre d, Allan, on NCL also got a handsome tip from us last week for going out of his way to ensure a memorable cruise. 

None of that has anything to do with the topic.  And I see you're still avoiding answering that earlier question regarding your specious claim.

Edited August 23, 2022 by The Shrike

[The Shrike]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

So, uhhh, yes, I'm going to go ahead and order that chicken cordon bleu from the MDR to have served in the Haven. I'll pre-order so the staff know, and give them an approximate time I'll be there to eat....and I'm not going to let another critic tell me otherwise. 

I hope you can look the withered corpses of your fellow Haven guests in the eye, as your mundane request will cause them to starve to death due to everyone in the restaurant catering to your Joan Crawford-esque demands!  

🤪

[The Shrike]

What's funny is that I don't make these types of requests.  I'm fine with what's on the Haven menu.  If I see something in the MDR I want to eat, I eat there.

But now, if I find out that any of the doomsayers in this thread happen to be on the same sailing as me and are in the Haven, I'll probably make special requests just to twist that blade a bit.  

Sure, petty vindictiveness is the hallmark of an AH...but I never claimed to be otherwise.  😈 😜

[ColeThornton]

Okay,   this is starting to kind of ridiculous.  Not everyone needs to agree or get the last word.   Let's move along.

 

Drinks are on me and no, I'm not sending the server to another bar.   lol

 

 

[rbxlady]

1 minute ago, The Shrike said:

What's funny is that I don't make these types of requests.  I'm fine with what's on the Haven menu.  If I see something in the MDR I want to eat, I eat there.

But now, if I find out that any of the doomsayers in this thread happen to be on the same sailing as me and are in the Haven, I'll probably make special requests just to twist that blade a bit.  

Sure, petty vindictiveness is the hallmark of an AH...but I never claimed to be otherwise.  😈 😜

 

I would sit in the Haven restaurant at breakfast, order something from the MDR, then ask that they deliver it to your cabin while softly neighing and nuzzling your face to wake you up.

 

(Sorry, I will always associate you with that comment.)

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, The Shrike said:

None of that has anything to do with the topic.  And I see you're still avoiding answering that earlier question regarding your specious claim.

Happy cruising. You need a break. 

Edited August 23, 2022 by BirdTravels

[The Shrike]

13 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Shrek: The answer is that you like to tell people that they are wrong. Without any substantiation. Everyone else on the thread are telling you that you are wrong. Sorry you don’t understand that. 

"Everyone else on the thread" is not telling me I'm wrong.  Yet another specious claim.  I'm sensing a disturbing trend here.  You seemed to have been a poster of some integrity.  Perhaps I was wrong.

 

Either way, until you actually support your claims, I'm done with you.  I'm off to hunt down Cole Thornton and claim my free drink.

[UKstages]

5 hours ago, rbxlady said:

If someone looks like they're champing at the bit for a diversion, then ask away. (Also, tips are nice.)

 

while i have enthusiastically debated many things on CC, i will not enter into the "is it OK to have MDR food delivered to the haven restaurant" debate, despite having a strong opinion about this.

 

i just wanted to stop by to compliment you for correctly saying "champing."

 

so many people say "chomping" because they don't understand the derivation of the term.

 

it's refreshing to see it used properly in your post!

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, The Shrike said:

Either way, until you actually support your claims, I'm done with you.  I'm off to hunt down Cole Thornton and claim my free drink.

Happy cruising. You need a break. 

[rbxlady]

2 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

while i have enthusiastically debated many things on CC, i will not enter into the "is it OK to have MDR food delivered to the haven restaurant" debate, despite having a strong opinion about this.

 

i just wanted to stop by to compliment you for correctly saying "champing."

 

so many people say "chomping" because they don't understand the derivation of the term.

 

it's refreshing to see it used properly in your post!

Thank you! I aim to please and refresh 🙂

[david_sobe]

Let me bring this plane down for a landing.  If you get food from other restaurants delivered to the Haven restaurant, good for you.  Some of us think of logistics and such and may not ask.  Some of us have asked and have been told no.   That's ok too. But imagine its your job to run a restaurant.  You have to keep the customers coming and going in a timely matter.  You strive to give great service.  Suddenly a table has a butler bring nachos from The Local at the Haven table.  No big deal.  Suddenly the table next to them says "wow, those nachos look really good, can we get some."  Now the staff is running from restaurant to restaurant with special requests.  Service grinds to a halt because staff is leaving the restaurant.  Can you see why Haven managers frown or dont encourage such things.  Fine, you ask your butler to fetch your sunglasses from your cabin.  Some will do it.  But is the butler a personal servant?  I will never forget about 10 years ago the family that had no problem posting photos of a butler cutting their children's meat at the Haven restaurant.  The children were old enough to feed themselves.  Just because a butler entertains the idea of personally feeding your family, should you do it?    Some of us are not ok with this.  And guess what, that is the reason why the others get away with it because if we all asked for such requests the service in the Haven would grind to a halt and everyone would be told no.  How could you successfully run a restaurant with everyone ordering from menus from other restaurants?  

That's all.😉

Edited August 24, 2022 by david_sobe

[pcakes122]

I see no issue with fully utilizing amenities and "extra" attention when I'm paying for a luxury level of service. 

 

My take is that a lot of folks here underestimate NCL's restaurant management as well as the employees that work in the Haven.

 

To @david_sobe's point,  If I were a restaurant manager in a luxury restaurant I would EXPECT "special requests" to be a regular thing and would be sure sure to staff adequately. (NCL doesn't do this you say?? Is that an NCL problem or a customer problem?  They certainly charge enough for the Haven to provide adequate staff to serve Haven guests.) 

 

As far as the employees that work in the Haven, I have been told multiple times by  crew members that working in the Haven is a "status" job on the ship and those positions are highly-desired (perhaps because they see it as an opportunity for better tips?)  So nobody is really forced to work in the Haven against their will, and special requests are, again, to be expected in the Haven.

 

As far as the Below Deck crews,  they also walk into those jobs clearly knowing they are going to have to deal with demanding and frequently difficult clients.  Again, those jobs are a choice they made.

 

If serving guests and and going out of your way for people is not your thing that's perfectly fine, but then the hospitality industry is not the career path for you.

 

I don't think anyone should treat anybody with disrespect. But asking for something special you enjoy on vacation is not cruel, disrespectful or disruptive.  And NCL crew members are not poor, indentured servants who need protection and pity.  They are intelligent men and women who chose the jobs they are in because it benefits them.  So I have no guilt in ordering mushroom soup from a different restaurant and tipping accordingly. I see it as a win-win. 👍🏻

[The Shrike]

2 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Let me bring this plane down for a landing.  If you get food from other restaurants delivered to the Haven restaurant, good for you.  Some of us think of logistics and such and may not ask.  Some of us have asked and have been told no.   That's ok too. But imagine its your job to run a restaurant.  You have to keep the customers coming and going in a timely matter.  You strive to give great service.  Suddenly a table has a butler bring nachos from The Local at the Haven table.  No big deal.  Suddenly the table next to them says "wow, those nachos look really good, can we get some."  Now the staff is running from restaurant to restaurant with special requests.  Service grinds to a halt because staff is leaving the restaurant. 

 

Edited August 24, 2022 by The Shrike

[david_sobe]

1 hour ago, pcakes122 said:

I see no issue with fully utilizing amenities and "extra" attention when I'm paying for a luxury level of service. 

 

My take is that a lot of folks here underestimate NCL's restaurant management as well as the employees that work in the Haven.

 

To @david_sobe's point,  If I were a restaurant manager in a luxury restaurant I would EXPECT "special requests" to be a regular thing and would be sure sure to staff adequately. (NCL doesn't do this you say?? Is that an NCL problem or a customer problem?  They certainly charge enough for the Haven to provide adequate staff to serve Haven guests.) 

 

As far as the employees that work in the Haven, I have been told multiple times by  crew members that working in the Haven is a "status" job on the ship and those positions are highly-desired (perhaps because they see it as an opportunity for better tips?)  So nobody is really forced to work in the Haven against their will, and special requests are, again, to be expected in the Haven.

 

As far as the Below Deck crews,  they also walk into those jobs clearly knowing they are going to have to deal with demanding and frequently difficult clients.  Again, those jobs are a choice they made.

 

If serving guests and and going out of your way for people is not your thing that's perfectly fine, but then the hospitality industry is not the career path for you.

 

I don't think anyone should treat anybody with disrespect. But asking for something special you enjoy on vacation is not cruel, disrespectful or disruptive.  And NCL crew members are not poor, indentured servants who need protection and pity.  They are intelligent men and women who chose the jobs they are in because it benefits them.  So I have no guilt in ordering mushroom soup from a different restaurant and tipping accordingly. I see it as a win-win. 👍🏻

You make my point even stronger.  A true 5 star luxury resort or restaurant would NEVER allow food from anther restaurant to be brought in.   Try ordering food from another restaurant down the street (even if its owned by the same owner) in a 5 star resort.  They would never allow it.  Its allowed or permitted on NCL because the Haven is not a 5 star luxury line.  There is a restaurant around the Daytona area that we go to every other year.  Its a true luxury 5 star restaurant with dress code, etc.  The food is prepared by a husband and wife chef team.  Its hard to get reservations.  The restaurant has a 4.8 star on google and yelp.  The only bad reviews the restaurant gets is not about the food or service but about the denial of special requests.  One family was celebrating a birthday and they spent a fortune on everyone at dinner.  They posted a negative review because the restaurant would not permit them to bring a birthday cake in.  It was their own store bought cake that was not from another restaurant.  The restaurant has their rules and you dont go there if you dont follow the rules.  While some may seem it to be "harsh" its a fairly standard practice at true 5 star luxury restaurants.  If you are at Applebees or Outback Steakhouse its permitted no problem. I think some of us want to pretend the Haven is a luxury line and would never dare ask for a request such as this.

Edited August 24, 2022 by david_sobe

[cruiseny4life]

5 minutes ago, The Shrike said:

Yet no one can prove that this has ever, EVER happened.  You and a couple of other people are doing nothing more than engaging in hypotheticals.  But I'm an empiricist:  show me.  Show me when service ground to a halt, or was even significantly delayed.

In post #26 I provided an example when the hostess (on her own, without any request from us) took herself off the floor and engaged one of the kitchen staff in doing something special for us.  That's two of the restaurant staff taken away from their duties for about eight minutes.  It was on the Escape, sailed 6 May 2018, NY-Bermuda. 

Why would she have willingly done this - again, she was just going above and beyond entirely by her choice - if she knew this would negatively impact the other guests?  I'll go ahead and answer:  because it wouldn't.

Here's another one (I think I mentioned it above):

 

Our server wondered why we weren't eating the bread placed on the table. We told him we didn't like it. Without us asking, he told us he'd be back shortly. Five minutes later, he was back with those yummy little pretzel rolls. We ate all of those. He asked if we would want them for the rest of the voyage, which we said yes to. 

 

These were not a regular item and we know (he told us) he had to go get them from another location on the ship. Now, these aren't quite as difficult to get as an appetizer or meal from another restaurant, but it was an offered service. There was no request.

 

Every night, without warning, my husband requested an off-menu item (GASP). He asked for shrimp cocktail. Not 3 shrimp pieces like the one in Cagney's, but 9! Of course they have shrimp in back as they serve Shrimp Louie, so not a big deal. 

 

Another time: I observed a couple select dragonfruit from the breakfast buffet. They put it on their table. A server came over, asked if they would like it cut up. They said yes. He took it back to the kitchen, peeled it, and plated it. No issue.

 

Special requests is what the Haven offers - it's a luxurious experience. It's apparent many of you haven't experienced a luxury experience. Everything mentioned in this topic have been simple requests. I haven't seen anyone request something outlandish yet. 

[Fifi1910]

I don’t wish to inflame this topic anymore than it already has been but I have personally experienced slow/ no service because numerous guests were requesting items from other restaurants. On the Epic in July this year two separate groups of guests had staff running around getting food from all over the ship, their butlers bringing stuff from lord knows where. Restaurant managers trying to calm them all down when it wasn’t done fast enough or it wasn’t quite what they wanted. Small children at 9.30 at night needing blankets as they were cold and wanted to sleep, the poor staff explaining that they don’t have blankets but offering them tablecloth’s. They were served multiple glasses of wine from other bars and still left it all untouched on the table. At one point there were 6 members of staff at one table. Luckily we’re chilled so didn’t make a fuss about our meal taking a bit longer but you could see the staff’s frustration, when they apologised to us you could see they were waiting for us to start complaining. I’m sure there would have been guests complaining. This happened every time we dined in the Haven and at breakfast. 

[pcakes122]

14 minutes ago, Fifi1910 said:

I don’t wish to inflame this topic anymore than it already has been but I have personally experienced slow/ no service because numerous guests were requesting items from other restaurants. On the Epic in July this year two separate groups of guests had staff running around getting food from all over the ship, their butlers bringing stuff from lord knows where. Restaurant managers trying to calm them all down when it wasn’t done fast enough or it wasn’t quite what they wanted. Small children at 9.30 at night needing blankets as they were cold and wanted to sleep, the poor staff explaining that they don’t have blankets but offering them tablecloth’s. They were served multiple glasses of wine from other bars and still left it all untouched on the table. At one point there were 6 members of staff at one table. Luckily we’re chilled so didn’t make a fuss about our meal taking a bit longer but you could see the staff’s frustration, when they apologised to us you could see they were waiting for us to start complaining. I’m sure there would have been guests complaining. This happened every time we dined in the Haven and at breakfast. 

Again, this seems like an NCL staffing issue.

 

I have posted my thoughts on this many times before. NCL has conditioned their customers to expect and ask for less (people concerned about the "poor crew members") which ONLY serves to increase NCL profits. If NCL felt the heat of customers expecting and insisting upon their marketed product (especially Haven), they would HAVE to hire more people (which TRULY helps the crew!)

[graphicguy]

To sum up....don't be one of "THOSE GUESTS".

 

If you want something from the MDR, go there and get it.  The service will be better given no one has to run to another restaurant, on a different deck, to get what you ordered.

 

You want good service?  Go to the place that's likely to offer it to you.

 

There's a reason the Haven has its own menus and don't offer MRD menus.

 

The Haven can better control service and food quality by offering their own.

 

I just don't understand this need or want to order something from a restaurant in a different part of the ship and eat it in the Haven?  How does this make the dining experience better than going to the MDR to get what you want?

 

 

[Fifi1910]

48 minutes ago, pcakes122 said:

Again, this seems like an NCL staffing issue.

 

I have posted my thoughts on this many times before. NCL has conditioned their customers to expect and ask for less (people concerned about the "poor crew members") which ONLY serves to increase NCL profits. If NCL felt the heat of customers expecting and insisting upon their marketed product (especially Haven), they would HAVE to hire more people (which TRULY helps the crew!)

I’m not sure it’s a staffing issue. How could they foresee a guest needing to be served by 6 people. I’ve certainly not been conditioned into expecting less, I make use of what I’ve paid for but not at the expense of others. Yes I feel sorry for the poor staff being treated like a piece of s*** there’s no excuse for that however much you’ve spent on your holiday. I think NCL feels plenty of heat from certain guests demanding what they expect, I’ve stood behind them at the concierge desk while they make their feelings known. As I think someone else mentioned if you go to a 5* restaurant you certainly wouldn’t be allowed to act that way. We often dine at Gordon Ramseys in The Savoy London and wouldn’t dream of asking them if we could have food from somewhere else, I can just hear Gordon’s answer to that one 🤣😂🤣

[PTC DAWG]

23 hours ago, rbxlady said:

 

 

You're on a boat!

 

A MF’n boat. 🙂

Edited August 24, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[Laszlo]

It can be done but sometimes it takes a while. I once wanted a BLT in the Haven restaurant for lunch. It was not on the menu so I asked our server for it. She said no problem. Little did I know it would take 30 Lol minutes since it needed to be made in a different restaurant. I could have walked to the Buffet, made myself one and been back in 10 minutes