Getaway Haven 14-21 June (Couples Review)

For the last few years I have been using the reviews and boards to plan our cruises and decided it's time I become a contributing member.

A little about my wife and I. I am a 50 yr old retired soldier (23 years) and for the last 9 years have been teaching High School JROTC at a public school. My dw is a 32 yr old who works at the headquarters of a local women's fashion company. We have cruised on Royal, Celebrity, Carnival, and NCL prior to this cruise. We really don't have a favorite company and think each line has their strengths and weaknesses. We both like fine dining, shows, piano bars, meeting the crew and fellow passengers, and being out and active while on shore.

We also have some differences. I like planning and researching, while my wife refused to look at a review, the boards, or pictures before the cruise. I like getting up early and going on a run. My wife likes to sleep in and reading in a shady lounger.

We have been on at least 14 cruises and have had a blast on every single one. We will never let little things dictate whether we enjoy our vacation. I had norovirus on one cruise and that sucked, but at least I got to watch the Muppet Movie for 24 hours straight in 5 minute increments while confined to my inside cabin! So short of serious medical emergencies or some crime I don't see little things ever impacting our vacation.

We booked a Haven Courtyard Penthouse, paid for UBP, UDP, and prepaid gratuities. Based on a lot of questions on the boards on if it's worth it to pay for Haven, UDP, and UBP I will go into some detail on our experience with each. I also will offer up some tips and insights I wish I had known before the cruise especially in relation to those areas. Also, I want to review other issues I've read about in relation to Getaway namely unruly kids, smoking, limited pool space, ropes course, slides, and the buffets. I'll also talk about our experience with the extra services in the Haven (butler, concierge, courtyard, restaurant).

I have all the dailies if I can figure out how to post them. We also saw both pay shows Wine Lovers and Illusionarium. I am no Gambee (the best reviewer out there imo), but I did take some pictures I'll try to post. If you have any questions I'll attempt to answer them or give my opinion. I'll try to get everything posted in the next week or so.

Excited for your review. :) One question, was anyone talking about the mosquito virus in the Caribbean, especially St. Marteen?

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Anxiously awaiting your review!! My husband & I are going in September for our 10 year anniversary & have the haven courtyard penthouse also. What cabin # were you in?

Looking forward to hearing more!

Thanks for the report!

Looking forward to your details! ;)

Anxiously awaiting your review!! My husband & I are going in September for our 10 year anniversary & have the haven courtyard penthouse also. What cabin # were you in?

We were in cabin 15120. You will absolutely love celebrating your anniversary in the Haven!

We are in cabin #15126. Was it easy getting to the pool area, etc being on floor 15 instead of 16?

We were in cabin 15120. You will absolutely love celebrating your anniversary in the Haven!

FACT!!

We celebrated our 30th on the Epic Haven - our first NCL cruise - and there has been no turning back!! ;) :D

We are in cabin #15126. Was it easy getting to the pool area, etc being on floor 15 instead of 16?

You don't even have to leave the Haven to get to the pool from your cabin. There is a door that is open almost across from your cabin that leads right to the stairs for the Haven Courtyard. It will take you about a minute.

FACT!!

We celebrated our 30th on the Epic Haven - our first NCL cruise - and there has been no turning back!! ;) :D

I'm talking bride on her first cruise in the haven room 15114 in September... I might be screwing myself for future cruises by setting the bar high!!

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I'm talking bride on her first cruise in the haven room 15114 in September... I might be screwing myself for future cruises by setting the bar high!!

 

 

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Excellent choice!

Looking forward to more of your review.

Thanks and looking forward to hearing more.

Keith

We decided we wanted to go on a cruise for our summer break after hitting Vegas for Christmas and Spring break. We loved Epic when we sailed the maiden voyage out of Miami and so we were looking for that new ship experience again. After some research about what would work we selected NCL Getaway.

Pluses:

It leaves out of Miami a 2 hr drive for us

It leaves on a Saturday giving my wife a day before heading back to work

It's new

Freestyle (I planned on not taking a suit or tux)

Good casinos on NCL

I decided to call the casino host for NCL since I had been comped rooms before just to see if they could do anything. In all honesty I wasn't expecting anything. I hadn't been on NCL in almost 2 years and typically comps don't go beyond a year. The rep for NCL immediately told me that their comps go to 18 months and since my play was good on my last cruise (3 day on Pearl) they would give me an inside cabin for just port fees. I will tell you this was much more generous than any of past dealings with casino programs on any of the other lines.

This is where the Frasier episode Door Jam comes in. It's the one where Frasier and Niles have to get into an exclusive invitation only day spa. My wife immediately started to make the comparison. The casino host played the part of Cam Winston, Frasier's neighbor, and I just received his invitation by accident. This was enough to get us on the ship or as we called it the silver door.

My wife played the part of Roz who knew once we got inside the silver door we would want to know what the gold door had available. She told mean we should get a bigger cabin since it's so affordable with the comp. So on March 10 we paid for a $1429.84 upgrade to a mini suite with large balcony on deck 8.

Then doing my research I realized there was this platinum door known as "The Haven." Of course, I had to call and see how much that would be. Keep in mind we are usually very happy with a balcony or inside cabin. The NCL rep told me the upgrade to a Haven Courtyard Penthouse would be $2179 when I called on the morning of April 3rd. When I got home that night and discussed in with Erin she said go for it, now she was playing the part of Niles. I called back and the upgrade price had dropped to $1879, so we booked it.

Keeping up with the Frasier theme of having to see what was behind the next door we proceeded to book the UDP and then on May 8th booked the UBP. We booked the UBP within days of the price going up and got really lucky there.

We would typically never spend close to $3500 on a cruise for just the two of us, but we decided it would be a great experiment to see if the additional amenities could really make that huge of a difference in the experience. Plus if you really think about it with the free inside $950, saving $300 on the Haven, and hitting the UBP for $140 less we weren't spending $3500. The way my wife did the math we were saving $1500. My whole justification in choosing the Haven was the only thing I distain about the whole cruising experience is the feeling of being herded.

.....keep the sections coming!

:D

wasiii

We sailed on the Epic in the Haven and am now curious to read Haven experiences on other ships. Looking forward to your review!

Well, OP- any cruiser who uses a Frasier reference will have my rapt attention and my devotion.

Since I won't be on the Getaway in the Haven for another 26 days.. "Be my eyes"

I just hope that your story doesn't end with a platinum door..and bees...

Dr Nora

One question, was anyone talking about the mosquito virus in the Caribbean, especially St. Marteen?

 

 

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I would like to know this too, please.

Enjoying your review. Thanks for sharing.:)

Well, OP- any cruiser who uses a Frasier reference will have my rapt attention and my devotion.

 

Since I won't be on the Getaway in the Haven for another 26 days.. "Be my eyes"

 

 

I just hope that your story doesn't end with a platinum door..and bees...

 

 

Dr Nora

Dr Nora! Too funny a true fan.

Dr Nora! Too funny a true fan.

You are probably the only person who recognizes the signature! I think I know what she means!!

Hm, I need to try some of that math on DH. This next cruise on the Getaway will be the first time we haven't had a suite and I'm not sure I can stand it. Can't wait to see if you thought it all was worth it.

We learned a valuable lesson over the years as it relates to planning meals in specialty restaurants and entertainment on the newer cruise ships. If you don't reserve ahead of time prepare to be patient and disappointed or lower your expectations. We did not want to have a hard time getting tickets to "Tales of the Mariner" like the Frasier episode. I also knew I would write a review this time and didn't want to talk about things I hand't experienced. I saw what trouble that got Niles and Frasier into.

Being in the Haven we were allowed to book our shows and dinners 55 days out instead of the 45 allowed for all other cruises. Now the policy has changed to 90 days out, but I'm not sure if that is the same for Haven guests or if they get additional time. If you know please chime in.

We booked Cagney's for the first day and an additional day. We also booked Teppanyaki, Moderno, and La Cucina each for one day. We booked each of the shows Illusionarium, Wine Lovers the Musical, Legally Blonde, Burn the Floor, and Levity Comedy Group. I believe those were the only shows available for prebooking.

On board we were able to see the Grammy Experience, Howl at the Moon, and fireworks very easily without reservations.

We also emailed NCL's pre concierge about 3 weeks ahead of time because we had not received the concierge letter. The letter gave us choices for pillows, allergy concerns, or any other special requests we may have. Everything we put in the letter was met to the tee.

We are very low maintenance. The problem is we probably didn't get the most out of the Haven experience being that way. I would suggest that no matter where you are on the ship, but especially the Haven ask for what you want and don't settle for anything. The staff were excellent at taking care of any concerns that we saw anyone voice. Here is my first suggestion if you are staying in the Haven. You don't have to request just what is on the letter. Just as an example, we asked for chocolate covered strawberries and they were waiting on us. We also wanted the mini fridge emptied and it was.

The last thing we decided was to drive over the night before and stay in a hotel. Originally we wanted to stay in the Coconut Grove area because Erin hasn't seen it before and wanted to do some shopping. However, when she checked her schedule the earliest we could be in Miami was about 8:30. So we decided to stay closer to the Port of Miami. We chose the Marriott Biscayne Bay because we had stayed there for our wedding cruise aboard Liberty of the Seas and they have a great military rate.

The plan aboard ship is in place. What's left? Yeah shore excursions! Rarely do we book through the ship and Erin gave me free reign to choose. The first island we would be going was St. Maarten. I use to be an airborne ranger in a past life. The only reason I say this is knowing that people are surprised that I get extremely motion sick. I can't even ride as a passenger in a car most of the time. So I naturally chose Soualiga Destinations power boat trip with Cpt. Bob for St. Maarten. Erin almost overruled but conceded because of the motion sickness. For St. Thomas I chose Active Island Tours 5k run. St. Thomas is very hilly, traffic and driving are brutal, and Erin hadn't started running yet (although she had talked about running). And finally Bahamas, we chose Atlantis and arranged a casino rate of $85 versus over $150 each the ship was charging.

I'll go into detail on all of the entertainment, meals, and excursions. This was just what we planned ahead of time.

I'm talking bride on her first cruise in the haven room 15114 in September... I might be screwing myself for future cruises by setting the bar high!!

 

 

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You better get use to Erin math in the future. Congratulations you will be amazed!

You better get use to Erin math in the future. Congratulations you will be amazed!

Sounds like I should get use to working lots of overtime then!

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