NCL Haven Concierge perk

[NayRN]

17 hours ago, Cruiseguy14 said:

By and large are haven customers so wealthy that they are use to not doing regular things for themselves and are ok paying a couple of hundred dollars for minor conviences ? That’s not really my families status 

I’m a hard working RN and not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination! I cruise in the Haven so I can get Grade A treatment while I’m utilizing some very valuable down-time. I hardly ever use the services of the Concierge with the exception of priority embarkation/debarkation and printing my boarding pass from my flight home (which saves time when getting to the airport and having to stand on line at a kiosk to print my own.) I book my own reservations for dinners and excursions because I want, no need to have control of my schedule.

 

Trust me when I tell you, I CAN do everything by myself, but for one week a year, I want to feel like I’m a wealthy, stay at home, have someone wait on me woman!

[Dcoy]

Last year on the Getaway, we had two issues with our aft Haven cabin. The door between our balcony and the next cabin was open and kept slamming as we sailed. I can’t remember the second issue but I mentioned them to our Concierge at breakfast and both were fixed before we got back to the cabin. 

[Cruiseguy14]

19 hours ago, complawyer said:

cruiseguy14.

 

maybe i didnt explain it properly. i was talking about the last day of the cruise, and if we're planning to stay in that particular city. the concierge calls ahead for a cab, and the cabbie drives us directly to our designated hotel. we usually discuss this with him/her the day prior to disembarkation.

 

so yes you can probably do it yourself,( but that involves trying to find a cab when most of the other passengers are trying to do the same).  but it's not necessary at every port, merely the last one if you're staying for a few days. 

now dont you think that's something worthwhile, and removes some pressure on the last day of the cruise?

yes it defiantly sounds like a perk I will use. My response to you was ackwardly worded but I just wanted to know if I could do it at every port when I am on the cruise. Traveling with a 3 year old makes it hard to do all these things port to port. Thanks 

[Cruiseguy14]

1 hour ago, Dcoy said:

Last year on the Getaway, we had two issues with our aft Haven cabin. The door between our balcony and the next cabin was open and kept slamming as we sailed. I can’t remember the second issue but I mentioned them to our Concierge at breakfast and both were fixed before we got back to the cabin. 

11908? That’s where I am staying on the getaway. 

[complawyer]

usually, there are a number of cabs at each port. we usually get off the ship,( with a copy of the daily excursions) show it to the driver and negotiate a price. i just use the concierge on the the lst day to expedite our trip to the hotel.

[Yesimapirate]

20 hours ago, Cruiseguy14 said:

By and large are haven customers so wealthy that they are use to not doing regular things for themselves and are ok paying a couple of hundred dollars for minor conviences ? That’s not really my families status 

I can carry food from a kitchen to a dining room but when I'm at a restaurant I let someone else do it.  It's part of the experience.

 

Not sure why every thread about the Haven requires some one to criticize people who choose to pay for the experience.   There's plenty of options at different price points.   Use what fits your situation best.  It's pretty obnoxious and petty to attack how someone you know nothing about spends their money. 

 

I've never (and hope to never) see someone post on here "you're in an inside cabin,  you must be so poor".  It's just not necessary.

[cruiseny4life]

21 hours ago, complawyer said:

cruiseguy14.

 

maybe i didnt explain it properly. i was talking about the last day of the cruise, and if we're planning to stay in that particular city. the concierge calls ahead for a cab, and the cabbie drives us directly to our designated hotel. we usually discuss this with him/her the day prior to disembarkation.

 

so yes you can probably do it yourself,( but that involves trying to find a cab when most of the other passengers are trying to do the same).  but it's not necessary at every port, merely the last one if you're staying for a few days. 

now dont you think that's something worthwhile, and removes some pressure on the last day of the cruise?

I've never thought to ask the concierge to do this. All our cruises either had a shuttle pre-arranged or our car within walking distance of the port. If we ever disembark in not NYC or Miami, I just might do this. It would be a valuable benefit to me, so that I don't have to spend valuable vacation time finagling a ride....btw, anyone want to pick us up on Dec. 1st in Manhattan and drive us home? It's only four hours. 🙂 

[gingersvp]

22 hours ago, Cruiseguy14 said:

By and large are haven customers so wealthy that they are use to not doing regular things for themselves and are ok paying a couple of hundred dollars for minor conviences ? That’s not really my families status 

 

I work a stressful job that is filled with solving problems for people. I do all the logistics at home. The real value of the concierge, for me, is taking a break from all the thinking and planning and doing. I can talk to the concierge, and voila, all the things happen. For one week, someone else takes care of me. If that's not valuable to you, don't use the concierge and don't tip. For me, it's the reason why I book Haven and I will tip well for people who take the burden of thinking off of me for that lovely time I'm on the ship. 

 

It's not that I am not used to doing regular things myself, it's that I value getting a break from doing everything for everyone.

[complawyer]

cruiseny4life

hey buddy! for the past few years (post covid) we've been sailing from european ports. we've ended in rome, copenhagen, stockholm, athens, etc. my philosophy is if im sailing from europe,i may as well stay for a few days and see the sites, and believe me the sites  lare well worth seeing. last year we did b2b from venice(trieste) to copehagen. this past summer, we did 19 days from southampton to stockholm.  rather then hassle with trying to find transportation to the hotels, since everyone is disembarking and heading to other places, i just simplifies our getting from the ship to the hotel, if the concierge arranges it for us ahead of time.in 2024 we're planning 12 days from mauritius to capetown, and we're certainly staying a few days in both ports.

 

next october we're booked on a b2b from venice to athens, and out again athens to tel aviv.

 

venice is amazing, and i want to spend a few days in jerusalem, and see it there are any tours to jordan.but the bottom line, is i want the concierge  to arrange transportation from the ship to my final destination.

 

maybe someday the 4 of us can hook up on a cruise

 

(assuming the fighting is over by then.

 

by the way ($20 handshake for this service doesnt hurt) 

[complawyer]

i also forgot to mention that people booking a suite also have access to stateside concierge services, a phone call to miami, and you can arrange most anything you want thru them

[ggTexasGal]

With the Pre-cruise Concierge, you may request things .  Requesting them does not necessarily guarantee that you will receive everything you requested.

However, repeating your wants, once onboard, will more likely present best results.

 

[cruisinginmay]

We have been in a suite/Haven suite 5 times. Sometimes, we rarely see or use the concierge. But on our Iceland cruise, the concierge made himself visible every day at breakfast. Got us quick debarkation at the ports. But the best was when Iceland immigration came on board the ship and all passengers had to have their passports checked. Passengers were called by suites, then by decks. We were off the ship on an excursion when the suites were called so we called our concierge when we were back on the ship and met him at the venue. He literally walked us past more than 100 passengers waiting in line right to the front.  That alone made being in a suite worthwhile!

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

i also forgot to mention that people booking a suite also have access to stateside concierge services, a phone call to miami, and you can arrange most anything you want thru them

 

1 hour ago, ggTexasGal said:

With the Pre-cruise Concierge, you may request things .  Requesting them does not necessarily guarantee that you will receive everything you requested.

However, repeating your wants, once onboard, will more likely present best results.

 

Pre-cruise concierge contact info.

855-625-4283
norwegianconciergedesk@ncl.com
All you need is  your booking number.

 

They've always come through for me.

BTW, the wait time for a phone call is usually less than a minute.

I do recommend calling them rather than emailing them since they may have more to offer than you think.
 

[complawyer]

so, in the end to all you nay-sayers, the concierge is a definite perk to be used and enjoyed.

 

if you feel differently, by all means dont use his services. same with the butler.

 

whenever i am lucky enough t be able to book a suite i utilize these people to the fullest.

1st thing i tell the butler when we meet in our cabin, is that every morning at 7:00, please bring a pot of coffee, pot of decaf, a pot of hot water, tea bags and assorted sweet rolls, pastries and croissants.

 

like clockwork it's in our cabin every morning.

 

also, since suites/haven have a separate check in area, the concierge is always there to greet us and have someone escort us to either cagneys, or if an actual haven are to the designated restaurant, where we can leisurely have a drink, lunch, and wait for our cabin to be ready 

[Treasure Hunter]

The concierge printed the New York Times crossword for my husband every morning. 

[david_sobe]

Everyone's experiences will vary ship to ship and concierge to concierge.  Even if I stay in the Haven, I always still book shows and restaurants online.  However if you need a change I use them for that. On small ships the concierge really provides personal service.  On Sky she would personally visit you in the morning at breakfast and then in the evening.  She comped us a bottle of wine at dinner.  Another time on Epic we had an emergency dental emergency with someone in our party. The concierge let us use the ship phone at sea to make a dental apt. in St Maarten before we even got to port.  Another time we were running late for an excursion and he took us down the service elevator.

Then there are times the concierge does not even know your name while others will call you by your name every morning.  Some will not be proactive and only minimally deal with your requests.   I used to hear good things about Adrian Baca and thought what's the big deal, its just the concierge.  Once I sailed with him I completely understood why everyone loved him.  He truly was the best. Total VIP treatment.  He also was made famous for booting those 2 moochers out of the Haven restaurant on embarkation day because they thought they were entitled to because they had a cruise vlog 😆

Edited October 18, 2023 by david_sobe

[chill6x6]

29 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Everyone's experiences will vary ship to ship and concierge to concierge.  Even if I stay in the Haven, I always still book shows and restaurants online.  However if you need a change I use them for that. On small ships the concierge really provides personal service.  On Sky she would personally visit you in the morning at breakfast and then in the evening.  She comped us a bottle of wine at dinner.  Another time on Epic we had an emergency dental emergency with someone in our party. The concierge let us use the ship phone at sea to make a dental apt. in St Maarten before we even got to port.  Another time we were running late for an excursion and he took us down the service elevator.

Then there are times the concierge does not even know your name while others will call you by your name every morning.  Some will not be proactive and only minimally deal with your requests.   I used to hear good things about Adrian Baca and thought what's the big deal, its just the concierge.  Once I sailed with him I completely understood why everyone loved him.  He truly was the best. Total VIP treatment.  He also was made famous for booting those 2 moochers out of the Haven restaurant on embarkation day because they thought they were entitled to because they had a cruise vlog 😆

Absolutely!  

 

We had one of those that didn't know we were even there on Getaway. It actually reflected in the concierges whole staff.  Then we had Dillip and the difference was night and day.  And their gratuity was night and day.

[scamper]

On 10/16/2023 at 1:52 AM, complawyer said:

i concede that most of the services provided by a concierge can easily be managed by oneself, 

Nail head, meet hammer.  However...

 

The whole purpose of "service" is so you DON'T have to do it yourself.  To me, one of the best parts of having a concierge and/or butler is having someone do "it" for me so I can spend my time relaxing and enjoying myself.

 

If a person doesn't utilize the services of the concierge, then they shouldn't tip them.  I can't tell you how many hotels I have stayed in that offered a concierge that I did not utilize, or, for that matter, lay eyes on.  Didn't bother me not to tip them.

[Traveling Fools]

On 10/17/2023 at 7:52 AM, Cruiseguy14 said:

yes it defiantly sounds like a perk I will use. My response to you was ackwardly worded but I just wanted to know if I could do it at every port when I am on the cruise. Traveling with a 3 year old makes it hard to do all these things port to port. Thanks 

 

YES!  That is defiantly one of the great Haven perks!  The evening before check with the concierge to find out when you should meet them at their desk.  Either they, or a member of the staff, will personally escort you.  You will board an elevator in the Haven and go to the disembarkation deck, they will cut through the mass of passengers to get you to the security desk.  You are certain to hear some snarky comments from some of the passengers you are cutting ahead of, BUT remember YOU have paid for that privilege and they could have too!

 

There is no sitting in the theater waiting for your number to be called, only to be taken to the end of a long line.

[gingersvp]

6 hours ago, chill6x6 said:

Absolutely!  

 

We had one of those that didn't know we were even there on Getaway. It actually reflected in the concierges whole staff.  Then we had Dillip and the difference was night and day.  And their gratuity was night and day.

 

Dillip ❤️ I wanted to package him up and take him home and just let him run my life. 

[Traveling Fools]

Let me share a personal experience with you.

 

In Sept 2014, we booked an Owner's Suite aboard the Star for a Scandinavian/ St. Petersburg (9-day Baltic Capitals from Copenhagen) cruise to celebrate our 40th anniversary. This was pre-Haven.

 

I sent an Email to the pre-cruise concierge introducing ourselves, identified the booze we wanted in the room, requested reservations for the Chef's table, advised them this was an anniversary cruise, and asked that they share my letter with the on board concierge.

 

DW and I both have wedding rings that are easy to break and in fact had been broken for a couple of years.  Pre-cruise I had then repaired paying cash for the repairs so DW wouldn't know.

 

We had 2-bottles of Veuve in our suitcases that were found, but permitted to go on board without us having to pay a corkage fee.  As we were seated in the suite area waiting to board, the concierge came ashore and introduced himself and informed us that our request for reservations at the Chef's table had been made and that it was scheduled for our anniversary evening.  He then escorted us aboard and to our suite.  I had a moment alone with him and gave him our wedding rings and asked that he hold them until the Chef's dinner and asked if he could arrange for them to be hidden some bread or something similar so that discovery of them by my wife would be a complete surprise.

 

He introduced us to our butler and was sure to explain how best to utilize his services.  Both he an the butler would frequently approach us throughout the cruise to make sure every thing was hunky dory.

 

The night of the chef's dinner DW was indeed very surprised to discover her wedding ring wrapped up on the after dinner fruit plate.  Could not have done this with out the concierge!

 

 

 

Edited October 18, 2023 by Traveling Fools