Some Epic observations (Haven/CAS/misc)

Hi guys,

I just returned from my third cruise on Epic. Will not do a traditional review, but have some observations/topics that I thought about and wanted to share with you or put up for discussion.

Some background: My 7th NCL cruise (first time as platinum), all within the last 4 years. I have cruised Princess twice years ago, no other cruiselines. In the past we have cruised balconies but did Escape and Breakaway in Haven, this was first time Epic Haven. I have enjoyed all my cruises on NCL including this one and will continue to cruise with them. Please keep this in mind when reading as I may sound overly critical sometimes...

Haven pool area:

Loved the fact, that it is almost an actual pool and not a tiny one like on the newer ships, although it could be deeper than 3 ft. For all those concerned with children in the Haven pool area: yes, it is appearantly a big issue during the summer months. I have a six year old son myself and I know that kids will be kids, but there should be some supervision! Every day kids would scream, splash and jump into the pool (even from the hottub railings into pool) and only once did I ever see NCL staff reprimanding them. Many of those kids (even 4-5 year olds) came and went with no parent to be seen. NCL needs to step up their game and have a crew member present to supervise this area!

Drink service was spotty, but the bar is just steps away. On some days server would come by every 20 minutes to take orders, other days no one for hours. The pool bar closes at 8pm.

By mid-afternoon most loungers where empty, but staff would not bring out fresh towels (you can get them in the changing rooms next to courtyard).

Liked that an actual sauna, steam rooms, spa treatment rooms and small fitness center are included in Haven area!

I wish NCL would use (teak) wood for the Haven balconies and pool/sundeck areas but doubt that will ever happen.

Haven restaurant and grill:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner was great. We had 5 specialties booked and I was sorry i did not get to eat there more often for dinner. Do not like the fact that the full lunch menu is only available in the restaurant while only small menu (burgers, etc.) right outside at the grill/courtyard - there is a sliding door between these two and IMO both areas should serve full lunch.

Breakfast times:

Why is there breakfast until 10:30 one day and they stop serving it at 9 when the ship is docked in Civitavechia? I get that most people will leave the ship for excursions, but why not offer breakfast until 10:30 every day...

Cabin:

We had cabin 16016, a two bedroom suite (H4). Cabin was great overall. Did not notice any noise issues (except for running kids or slamming doors which can happen anywhere). Some wear and tear that I would not expect in a Haven cabin, but nothing major.

Haven staff:

Steward was ok. Only got a total of 4 towel animals which was a disappointment for the kids. Other than that very friendly and quick to resolve issues (toilet in guest bathroom did not flush twice during the week).

Butler was a small disappointment. I called her on the first evening to ask about refills for the nespresso machine. She came to the cabin and introduced herself. I told her we would be low maintenance as we almost never have room service. Did ask to please have the machine stocked. I had to call twice again during the week as we ran out of capsules. Requested to include cookies for the kids with afternoon snack - only got them twice.

Concierge we did not use much. They changed two reservations and provided escort to Cirque. Always friendly and helpfull. Concierge desk was open 8am-8pm.

Somehow I cannot shake the feeling that the Haven staff was prejudiced against non-US passengers as they do not expect them to tip a lot (if at all). They were all friendly, just not as eager as I remember from carribean cruises where most passengers are from the states. For the record: I did tip them all, although butler got the minimum I had allocated for that position. NCL could/should think about including positions like butler/concierge in the suite DSC to avoid them being stiffed (sometimes even unkowingly) by passengers.

Elevators:

NCL should include some basic "elevator education" during muster drill (or at least in freestyle daily) ;)

Amazing how many people do not understand "up" and "down" arrows, or are seemingly unable to take the stairs for even one floor.

Also, there is technology/software available that would provide better algorithms and the elevators would not need to stop on as many decks while actually increasing the capacity (example: if five or more decks already pressed, elevator will not stop on decks in-between as it is most likely full).

With the Haven keycard you can actually avoid this as it can do "priority service" between decks 16/17 and 5/6/7. But for other people already in the elevator it will void their selected deck, so it would be beyond tacky to actually use that perk... Maybe NCL should think about setting aside one elevator to provide this priority service by default.

Cirque show:

No longer a dinner show. Now it is a very rushed dinner (three courses in 40 minutes) followed by a show! Had I known that I would have asked to join for the show only and eat where you can actually choose your courses and take your time! Honestly, does anybody prefer this to the old format (eating while watching the show)?

Specialties:

Great service at all venues. We did Cagney's twice, La Cucina and Teppanyaki. No dinner took longer than 90 minutes total. One thing I still miss is the bread they used to serve at La Cucina which was paired with 3-4 different olive oils for dipping. Switching from a fixed $15 upcharge to á la carte pricing and removing this at the same time still leaves a sour taste in my mouth!

Internet:

Still slow, but seemed faster than last year. Maybe they did install the new internet NCL promised in spring.

Good news is you can now upgrade your 250 min free at sea perk to unlimited for a charge of $85 which means they actually credit the full value of the perk ($125) towards the regular charge for unlimited. Not so good news is that if you only learn of this on the second day, they will not adjust that upcharge for the missed day :')

Casino/CAS:

This and most previous cruises were comped by Casinos at Sea (CAS). I am not that much of a highroller that they actually comp the Haven cabin, but they usually offer inside/OV and I pay the upcharge for Haven. Still manage to save 25-50% off regular fare this way and consider that a very good deal as I would most likely gamble anyway during the cruises.

Very different from the carribean cruises as the casino was only open 30 min after leaving port until 2 am due to very strict regulations in Europe while in the carribean they usually stay open until docking and reopen the moment the ship leaves the port.

The only casino game I play is blackjack. I used to play the $25 or $50 tables, but it appears some months ago the rules changed and the dealer now hits a soft 17 on these tables, so I had to move up to the $100 (which also offers 6 decks instead of 8). In case you have no idea what I am talking about: the house edge in blackjack is about 0.4%, meaning for every $100 bet I would loose 40 cents on average. If the dealer hits a soft 17 that house edge changes to 0.6% which does not sound like much but actually increases their chances against me by 50%

Higher bets unfortunately equals higher variance and I was hit hard by it on this cruise loosing almost $10k. Hope now they will offer the Haven cabin for free next cruise :')

Casino host was very nice and came by to introduce herself during the first night. in the end she took care of $700+ onboard charges for me. Unfortunately that meant I had $300+ unrefundable OBC left which I only saw on the last morning (account statement on the iconcierge app disappeared around 11pm on the last night). I thought unrefundable OBC could be used for casino withdrawals, but appearantly that was wrong. Managed to spent it on some photos and could use the OBC to tip concierge/butler so in the end all was well.

Thanks for reading!

I have a six year old son myself and I know that kids will be kids, but there should be some supervision!

That supervision should come from the parent, not the NCL staff because...

Many of those kids (even 4-5 year olds) came and went with no parent to be seen. NCL needs to step up their game and have a crew member present to supervise this area!

...if NCL made it clear that a staff member was supervising the area, the vapor trail from even more inattentive parents leaving the area would be impressive.

Amazing how many people do not understand "up" and "down" arrows, or are seemingly unable to take the stairs for even one floor.

Laziness cannot be untaught.

With the Haven keycard you can actually avoid this as it can do "priority service" between decks 16/17 and 5/6/7. But for other people already in the elevator it will void their selected deck, so it would be beyond tacky to actually use that perk

MSC does this with the Yacht Club...when it works, that is....

Maybe NCL should think about setting aside one elevator to provide this priority service by default.

Non-Haven guests would still hitch a ride thus defeating the purpose.

What did you do in order to upgrade wifi? Make a call or go see someone?

Also, did you use in room dining for any meals? Kind of curious how that's worked out in the haven. Hoping to have breakfast in our room each morning while we are getting ready since our tours start pretty early.

Also, did you use in room dining for any meals? Kind of curious how that's worked out in the haven.

You aren't limited to the standard breakfast room service menu. Anything being served on the ship at the time can be delivered...even Haven breakfast items.

Lunch and dinner are the same. If it is a specialty restaurant meal, it is "paid" the same way as if you dine in the restaurant (SDP, a la carte, upcharge, etc.)

I'm happy to hear the wifi promo can be upgraded to unlimited! I didn't know that's available. I'm on the Epic in about a month and I always have to watch my minutes. I use it to keep in touch with my kids since I travel solo and they want to hear from me every day to make sure I'm okay and I want to talk to to them for the same. It'll be nice to not be concerned about how many minutes I have left.

I don't think saying something at the safety drill would have any impact. Keep in mind that if someone uses the elevator to go one floor they may have a reason other than laziness. There are issues others can't see.

It's a shame parents think vacation means taking a vacation from parenting. I've always traveled with my kids and I never took a break from being a parent. Sigh.

I'm glad you had a good time. I can't wait to be back on the Epic!!

That supervision should come from the parent, not the NCL staff because...

 

 

 

 

 

...if NCL made it clear that a staff member was supervising the area, the vapor trail from even more inattentive parents leaving the area would be impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

Laziness cannot be untaught.

 

 

 

 

 

MSC does this with the Yacht Club...when it works, that is....

 

 

 

 

 

Non-Haven guests would still hitch a ride thus defeating the purpose.

After knee surgery, I can walk miles and miles on flat ground but stairs are painful and the impact is not good. I am active. Looks can be deceiving.

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After knee surgery, I can walk miles and miles on flat ground but stairs are painful and the impact is not good. I am active. Looks can be deceiving.

An injury/condition isn't the same as lazy.

There's a difference between "can't" and "won't".

The majority of people going one flight up or down are in the "won't" category.

What did you do in order to upgrade wifi? Make a call or go see someone?

You have to see internet manager, hours are posted in freestyle daily.

Great review. Thanks for taking the time. Sorry about the casino losses!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

After knee surgery, I can walk miles and miles on flat ground but stairs are painful and the impact is not good. I am active. Looks can be deceiving.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

i too resent the implication of the lazy label because I do use stairs even for 1 flight .I have very bad knees and stairs are a real killer ..I avoid them as much as I can ...the pain is atrocious yes even for 1 flight ...so pleaserefrain from negative judgments ......but thank God I can still walk..on flat surfaces

I am new to NCL and CAS. I didn't even know about the OBC during my last cruise. I hate to think what I left behind because, like you we play $50.00 BJ. Where can you see your OBC and how much it is? Can you use it for DSC gratuities and the gift shop?

great info..

would you recommend the ship excursions

or wait and join the local excursions

Hi guys,

 

I just returned from my third cruise on Epic. Will not do a traditional review, but have some observations/topics that I thought about and wanted to share with you or put up for discussion.

 

Some background: My 7th NCL cruise (first time as platinum), all within the last 4 years. I have cruised Princess twice years ago, no other cruiselines. In the past we have cruised balconies but did Escape and Breakaway in Haven, this was first time Epic Haven. I have enjoyed all my cruises on NCL including this one and will continue to cruise with them. Please keep this in mind when reading as I may sound overly critical sometimes...

 

Haven pool area:

Loved the fact, that it is almost an actual pool and not a tiny one like on the newer ships, although it could be deeper than 3 ft. For all those concerned with children in the Haven pool area: yes, it is appearantly a big issue during the summer months. I have a six year old son myself and I know that kids will be kids, but there should be some supervision! Every day kids would scream, splash and jump into the pool (even from the hottub railings into pool) and only once did I ever see NCL staff reprimanding them. Many of those kids (even 4-5 year olds) came and went with no parent to be seen. NCL needs to step up their game and have a crew member present to supervise this area!

Drink service was spotty, but the bar is just steps away. On some days server would come by every 20 minutes to take orders, other days no one for hours. The pool bar closes at 8pm.

By mid-afternoon most loungers where empty, but staff would not bring out fresh towels (you can get them in the changing rooms next to courtyard).

Liked that an actual sauna, steam rooms, spa treatment rooms and small fitness center are included in Haven area!

I wish NCL would use (teak) wood for the Haven balconies and pool/sundeck areas but doubt that will ever happen.

 

Haven restaurant and grill:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner was great. We had 5 specialties booked and I was sorry i did not get to eat there more often for dinner. Do not like the fact that the full lunch menu is only available in the restaurant while only small menu (burgers, etc.) right outside at the grill/courtyard - there is a sliding door between these two and IMO both areas should serve full lunch.

 

Breakfast times:

Why is there breakfast until 10:30 one day and they stop serving it at 9 when the ship is docked in Civitavechia? I get that most people will leave the ship for excursions, but why not offer breakfast until 10:30 every day...

 

Cabin:

We had cabin 16016, a two bedroom suite (H4). Cabin was great overall. Did not notice any noise issues (except for running kids or slamming doors which can happen anywhere). Some wear and tear that I would not expect in a Haven cabin, but nothing major.

 

Haven staff:

Steward was ok. Only got a total of 4 towel animals which was a disappointment for the kids. Other than that very friendly and quick to resolve issues (toilet in guest bathroom did not flush twice during the week).

Butler was a small disappointment. I called her on the first evening to ask about refills for the nespresso machine. She came to the cabin and introduced herself. I told her we would be low maintenance as we almost never have room service. Did ask to please have the machine stocked. I had to call twice again during the week as we ran out of capsules. Requested to include cookies for the kids with afternoon snack - only got them twice.

Concierge we did not use much. They changed two reservations and provided escort to Cirque. Always friendly and helpfull. Concierge desk was open 8am-8pm.

 

Somehow I cannot shake the feeling that the Haven staff was prejudiced against non-US passengers as they do not expect them to tip a lot (if at all). They were all friendly, just not as eager as I remember from carribean cruises where most passengers are from the states. For the record: I did tip them all, although butler got the minimum I had allocated for that position. NCL could/should think about including positions like butler/concierge in the suite DSC to avoid them being stiffed (sometimes even unkowingly) by passengers.

 

 

Elevators:

NCL should include some basic "elevator education" during muster drill (or at least in freestyle daily) ;)

Amazing how many people do not understand "up" and "down" arrows, or are seemingly unable to take the stairs for even one floor.

Also, there is technology/software available that would provide better algorithms and the elevators would not need to stop on as many decks while actually increasing the capacity (example: if five or more decks already pressed, elevator will not stop on decks in-between as it is most likely full).

 

With the Haven keycard you can actually avoid this as it can do "priority service" between decks 16/17 and 5/6/7. But for other people already in the elevator it will void their selected deck, so it would be beyond tacky to actually use that perk... Maybe NCL should think about setting aside one elevator to provide this priority service by default.

 

Cirque show:

No longer a dinner show. Now it is a very rushed dinner (three courses in 40 minutes) followed by a show! Had I known that I would have asked to join for the show only and eat where you can actually choose your courses and take your time! Honestly, does anybody prefer this to the old format (eating while watching the show)?

 

Specialties:

Great service at all venues. We did Cagney's twice, La Cucina and Teppanyaki. No dinner took longer than 90 minutes total. One thing I still miss is the bread they used to serve at La Cucina which was paired with 3-4 different olive oils for dipping. Switching from a fixed $15 upcharge to á la carte pricing and removing this at the same time still leaves a sour taste in my mouth!

 

Internet:

Still slow, but seemed faster than last year. Maybe they did install the new internet NCL promised in spring.

Good news is you can now upgrade your 250 min free at sea perk to unlimited for a charge of $85 which means they actually credit the full value of the perk ($125) towards the regular charge for unlimited. Not so good news is that if you only learn of this on the second day, they will not adjust that upcharge for the missed day :')

 

Casino/CAS:

This and most previous cruises were comped by Casinos at Sea (CAS). I am not that much of a highroller that they actually comp the Haven cabin, but they usually offer inside/OV and I pay the upcharge for Haven. Still manage to save 25-50% off regular fare this way and consider that a very good deal as I would most likely gamble anyway during the cruises.

Very different from the carribean cruises as the casino was only open 30 min after leaving port until 2 am due to very strict regulations in Europe while in the carribean they usually stay open until docking and reopen the moment the ship leaves the port.

The only casino game I play is blackjack. I used to play the $25 or $50 tables, but it appears some months ago the rules changed and the dealer now hits a soft 17 on these tables, so I had to move up to the $100 (which also offers 6 decks instead of 8). In case you have no idea what I am talking about: the house edge in blackjack is about 0.4%, meaning for every $100 bet I would loose 40 cents on average. If the dealer hits a soft 17 that house edge changes to 0.6% which does not sound like much but actually increases their chances against me by 50%

Higher bets unfortunately equals higher variance and I was hit hard by it on this cruise loosing almost $10k. Hope now they will offer the Haven cabin for free next cruise :')

Casino host was very nice and came by to introduce herself during the first night. in the end she took care of $700+ onboard charges for me. Unfortunately that meant I had $300+ unrefundable OBC left which I only saw on the last morning (account statement on the iconcierge app disappeared around 11pm on the last night). I thought unrefundable OBC could be used for casino withdrawals, but appearantly that was wrong. Managed to spent it on some photos and could use the OBC to tip concierge/butler so in the end all was well.

 

 

Thanks for reading!

The point being made was that just because you cannot see a reason someone is riding one floor does not mean that a reason does not exist.

Exactly. Saying the majority are in the "won't" category doesn't make sense since you can't tell by looking at someone whether they can't or just won't.

Exactly. Saying the majority are in the "won't" category doesn't make sense since you can't tell by looking at someone whether they can't or just won't.

Sure, there are folks that have bad knees, legs, hearts, lungs, etc. And it is often far from obvious. Agreed. But when you see the number of people that "appear" to be fully able bodied, you have to assume they can not all be dealing with issues.

Sorry... without any facts, I will still say the majority are in the "won't" category. Or maybe, 90% of the ship are folks that are suffering from all sorts of issues. Thinking not.

Exactly. Saying the majority are in the "won't" category doesn't make sense since you can't tell by looking at someone whether they can't or just won't.

If anyone in the "can't" or "can't without pain" category was offended, I apologize.

HOWEVER, those who can't should be even more perturbed than I am towards the "won't" people since the "won't" people unnecessarily cause the long delays, crowded elevators, etc.

Sure, there are folks that have bad knees, legs, hearts, lungs, etc. And it is often far from obvious. Agreed. But when you see the number of people that "appear" to be fully able bodied, you have to assume they can not all be dealing with issues.

 

Sorry... without any facts, I will still say the majority are in the "won't" category. Or maybe, 90% of the ship are folks that are suffering from all sorts of issues. Thinking not.

If it wasn't clear, the "lazy" comments were directed towards those in the "won't" category and NOT towards those in the "can't" category.

 

If anyone in the "can't" or "can't without pain" category was offended, I apologize.

 

HOWEVER, those who can't should be even more perturbed than I am towards the "won't" people since the "won't" people unnecessarily cause the long delays, crowded elevators, etc.

I understand what you're both saying and I agree that there are more people in the "won't" category than "can't." I feel like you're missing the point that some of us are trying to make...we're simply saying you can't tell by looking at someone whether they have a disability. If I joined you in the elevator and pressed the button for the next floor, you wold likely think I'm in the "won't" category. I don't limp. I don't have any visible disability. Yet, my doctor and my state say that I should have an accessible parking permit for that disability others can't see.

To say people "won't" without any knowledge of their situation means I can only surmise that you're making your judgment based on your observation, which is faulty at best. Garycarla, you're saying "sorry,,,without facts" and then going on to state something that is without facts. Again, you're probably right. I just don't like the idea of categorizing people who ride the elevator one floor as being lazy rather than being open to the possibility that they may not be able to navigate one flight of stairs without it causing them discomfort.

I would also say that whether someone wants to use the elevator to ride one floor even if they're able-bodied is most certainly not my concern and I don't believe it's my place to judge and I don't consider them lazy. I'm not the least perturbed at people who use the elevator to go up or down one floor, because the elevator is there for all of us to use and not just those of us who have bad knees.

If it wasn't clear, the "lazy" comments were directed towards those in the "won't" category and NOT towards those in the "can't" category.

 

If anyone in the "can't" or "can't without pain" category was offended, I apologize.

 

HOWEVER, those who can't should be even more perturbed than I am towards the "won't" people since the "won't" people unnecessarily cause the long delays, crowded elevators, etc.

BTW, I didn't think for a moment that you were calling lazy those who can't. It was quite clear to me you were referring to the won't category.

I wasn't specifically addressing a particular person. My point was that those who know that they are just being lazy (possibly inconsiderate) should realise that their actions negatively impact others.

Using the HC parking example, I have no problem with those who need....but when Johnny borrows grandma's car to hang out with his friends and uses a HC parking spot...it bothers me. Not because of jealousy or because I need that spot (I don't) but because someone who actually needs that spot can't get it because Johnny and his friends are lazy.

Sorry to derail the thread but at least it isn't being derailed by "...kids shouldn't be in the Haven..."

Hi guys,

 

 

 

I just returned from my third cruise on Epic. Will not do a traditional review, but have some observations/topics that I thought about and wanted to share with you or put up for discussion.

 

 

 

Some background: My 7th NCL cruise (first time as platinum), all within the last 4 years. I have cruised Princess twice years ago, no other cruiselines. In the past we have cruised balconies but did Escape and Breakaway in Haven, this was first time Epic Haven. I have enjoyed all my cruises on NCL including this one and will continue to cruise with them. Please keep this in mind when reading as I may sound overly critical sometimes...

 

 

 

Haven pool area:

 

Loved the fact, that it is almost an actual pool and not a tiny one like on the newer ships, although it could be deeper than 3 ft. For all those concerned with children in the Haven pool area: yes, it is appearantly a big issue during the summer months. I have a six year old son myself and I know that kids will be kids, but there should be some supervision! Every day kids would scream, splash and jump into the pool (even from the hottub railings into pool) and only once did I ever see NCL staff reprimanding them. Many of those kids (even 4-5 year olds) came and went with no parent to be seen. NCL needs to step up their game and have a crew member present to supervise this area!

 

Drink service was spotty, but the bar is just steps away. On some days server would come by every 20 minutes to take orders, other days no one for hours. The pool bar closes at 8pm.

 

By mid-afternoon most loungers where empty, but staff would not bring out fresh towels (you can get them in the changing rooms next to courtyard).

 

Liked that an actual sauna, steam rooms, spa treatment rooms and small fitness center are included in Haven area!

 

I wish NCL would use (teak) wood for the Haven balconies and pool/sundeck areas but doubt that will ever happen.

 

 

 

Haven restaurant and grill:

 

Breakfast, lunch and dinner was great. We had 5 specialties booked and I was sorry i did not get to eat there more often for dinner. Do not like the fact that the full lunch menu is only available in the restaurant while only small menu (burgers, etc.) right outside at the grill/courtyard - there is a sliding door between these two and IMO both areas should serve full lunch.

 

 

 

Breakfast times:

 

Why is there breakfast until 10:30 one day and they stop serving it at 9 when the ship is docked in Civitavechia? I get that most people will leave the ship for excursions, but why not offer breakfast until 10:30 every day...

 

 

 

Cabin:

 

We had cabin 16016, a two bedroom suite (H4). Cabin was great overall. Did not notice any noise issues (except for running kids or slamming doors which can happen anywhere). Some wear and tear that I would not expect in a Haven cabin, but nothing major.

 

 

 

Haven staff:

 

Steward was ok. Only got a total of 4 towel animals which was a disappointment for the kids. Other than that very friendly and quick to resolve issues (toilet in guest bathroom did not flush twice during the week).

 

Butler was a small disappointment. I called her on the first evening to ask about refills for the nespresso machine. She came to the cabin and introduced herself. I told her we would be low maintenance as we almost never have room service. Did ask to please have the machine stocked. I had to call twice again during the week as we ran out of capsules. Requested to include cookies for the kids with afternoon snack - only got them twice.

 

Concierge we did not use much. They changed two reservations and provided escort to Cirque. Always friendly and helpfull. Concierge desk was open 8am-8pm.

 

 

 

Somehow I cannot shake the feeling that the Haven staff was prejudiced against non-US passengers as they do not expect them to tip a lot (if at all). They were all friendly, just not as eager as I remember from carribean cruises where most passengers are from the states. For the record: I did tip them all, although butler got the minimum I had allocated for that position. NCL could/should think about including positions like butler/concierge in the suite DSC to avoid them being stiffed (sometimes even unkowingly) by passengers.

 

 

 

 

 

Elevators:

 

NCL should include some basic "elevator education" during muster drill (or at least in freestyle daily) ;)

 

Amazing how many people do not understand "up" and "down" arrows, or are seemingly unable to take the stairs for even one floor.

 

Also, there is technology/software available that would provide better algorithms and the elevators would not need to stop on as many decks while actually increasing the capacity (example: if five or more decks already pressed, elevator will not stop on decks in-between as it is most likely full).

 

 

 

With the Haven keycard you can actually avoid this as it can do "priority service" between decks 16/17 and 5/6/7. But for other people already in the elevator it will void their selected deck, so it would be beyond tacky to actually use that perk... Maybe NCL should think about setting aside one elevator to provide this priority service by default.

 

 

 

Cirque show:

 

No longer a dinner show. Now it is a very rushed dinner (three courses in 40 minutes) followed by a show! Had I known that I would have asked to join for the show only and eat where you can actually choose your courses and take your time! Honestly, does anybody prefer this to the old format (eating while watching the show)?

 

 

 

Specialties:

 

Great service at all venues. We did Cagney's twice, La Cucina and Teppanyaki. No dinner took longer than 90 minutes total. One thing I still miss is the bread they used to serve at La Cucina which was paired with 3-4 different olive oils for dipping. Switching from a fixed $15 upcharge to á la carte pricing and removing this at the same time still leaves a sour taste in my mouth!

 

 

 

Internet:

 

Still slow, but seemed faster than last year. Maybe they did install the new internet NCL promised in spring.

 

Good news is you can now upgrade your 250 min free at sea perk to unlimited for a charge of $85 which means they actually credit the full value of the perk ($125) towards the regular charge for unlimited. Not so good news is that if you only learn of this on the second day, they will not adjust that upcharge for the missed day :')

 

 

 

Casino/CAS:

 

This and most previous cruises were comped by Casinos at Sea (CAS). I am not that much of a highroller that they actually comp the Haven cabin, but they usually offer inside/OV and I pay the upcharge for Haven. Still manage to save 25-50% off regular fare this way and consider that a very good deal as I would most likely gamble anyway during the cruises.

 

Very different from the carribean cruises as the casino was only open 30 min after leaving port until 2 am due to very strict regulations in Europe while in the carribean they usually stay open until docking and reopen the moment the ship leaves the port.

 

The only casino game I play is blackjack. I used to play the $25 or $50 tables, but it appears some months ago the rules changed and the dealer now hits a soft 17 on these tables, so I had to move up to the $100 (which also offers 6 decks instead of 8). In case you have no idea what I am talking about: the house edge in blackjack is about 0.4%, meaning for every $100 bet I would loose 40 cents on average. If the dealer hits a soft 17 that house edge changes to 0.6% which does not sound like much but actually increases their chances against me by 50%

 

Higher bets unfortunately equals higher variance and I was hit hard by it on this cruise loosing almost $10k. Hope now they will offer the Haven cabin for free next cruise :')

 

Casino host was very nice and came by to introduce herself during the first night. in the end she took care of $700+ onboard charges for me. Unfortunately that meant I had $300+ unrefundable OBC left which I only saw on the last morning (account statement on the iconcierge app disappeared around 11pm on the last night). I thought unrefundable OBC could be used for casino withdrawals, but appearantly that was wrong. Managed to spent it on some photos and could use the OBC to tip concierge/butler so in the end all was well.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Wow! What a great review... we just got back from the breakaway / haven cabin 14130 and I also have some thoughts.

First and foremost I want to reiterate what you said about kids in the haven pool area. It was crazy that there was zero supervision from staff in that area. I understand that it's ultimately the parents responsibility, but I feel like there should be a staff member who monitors for unattended kids... the noise from these unsupervised kids drove us out of the area several times. I love kids, but 40 straight minutes of 8-12 year olds shouting Marco Polo is more than even I can take.

Also, several times we were not able to go in the hot tubs in the haven area because they were filled with Teenagers for hours... most of whom were not Haven, but were brought in by other kids.

I feel very let down because I spent 5000 for a cruise in the haven and the pool area was not relaxing at all. It shouldn't be that way.

Secondly, the food in the Haven was good, but the menu was the same every day, I wish they could have switched it up a little. Like your experience there was a limited menu in the pool area, not sure why because the food comes from the same kitchen.

Smoking... for some reason there was a smoking area right next to the haven sun deck... it was gross! There are so many other places to smoke on the ship... more than any other ships I have ever been on so why they need one in haven I don't know!

Bathroom.... there was only one bathroom on the sun deck area of the haven and it was a single stall shared by both genders... they need at least 2 bathrooms!

Concierge desk was amazing and helped with everything we needed.

Our butler was great and I love the snacks that they leave in the room in the afternoon.

Was the haven worth it??? It's hard for me to admit this... but no! It wasn't... I would have been better off in a mini suite with balcony and paying for the Vibe and the Spa package... I hate that I spent an extra 3000+ and still had to deal with screaming kids and fight for hot tub space....

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I wasn't specifically addressing a particular person. My point was that those who know that they are just being lazy (possibly inconsiderate) should realise that their actions negatively impact others.

 

Using the HC parking example, I have no problem with those who need....but when Johnny borrows grandma's car to hang out with his friends and uses a HC parking spot...it bothers me. Not because of jealousy or because I need that spot (I don't) but because someone who actually needs that spot can't get it because Johnny and his friends are lazy.

 

Sorry to derail the thread but at least it isn't being derailed by "...kids shouldn't be in the Haven..."

I agree. I have a coworker who bragged to me the other day that they borrowed her MIL's placard to drop their son off at college because it's so difficult to find parking to unload. I have to work with this person everyday so I bit my tongue, but I thought it was a thoughtless and selfish thing to do.

....and then going on to state something that is without facts. Again, you're probably right. I just don't like the idea of categorizing people who ride the elevator one floor as being lazy rather than being open to the possibility that they may not be able to navigate one flight of stairs without it causing them discomfort....

None of us know if an individual is riding the elevator because they are lazy, have health issues, or just do not want to walk up the stairs. I assume most are riding because they prefer to. And many ride because of health reasons. I have no idea which ones are which and therefore do not categorize that person standing next to me when I do ride after drinking or eating too much -LOL!

None of us know if an individual is riding the elevator because they are lazy, have health issues, or just do not want to walk up the stairs. I assume most are riding because they prefer to. And many ride because of health reasons. I have no idea which ones are which and therefore do not categorize that person standing next to me when I do ride after drinking or eating too much -LOL!

I'd say at that point you have a disability! LOL. Whether it's hidden or not depends on how well you hold your booze. :D

Wow! What a great review... we just got back from the breakaway / haven cabin 14130 and I also have some thoughts.

 

First and foremost I want to reiterate what you said about kids in the haven pool area. It was crazy that there was zero supervision from staff in that area. I understand that it's ultimately the parents responsibility, but I feel like there should be a staff member who monitors for unattended kids... the noise from these unsupervised kids drove us out of the area several times. I love kids, but 40 straight minutes of 8-12 year olds shouting Marco Polo is more than even I can take.

 

Also, several times we were not able to go in the hot tubs in the haven area because they were filled with Teenagers for hours... most of whom were not Haven, but were brought in by other kids.

 

I feel very let down because I spent 5000 for a cruise in the haven and the pool area was not relaxing at all. It shouldn't be that way.

 

Secondly, the food in the Haven was good, but the menu was the same every day, I wish they could have switched it up a little. Like your experience there was a limited menu in the pool area, not sure why because the food comes from the same kitchen.

 

Smoking... for some reason there was a smoking area right next to the haven sun deck... it was gross! There are so many other places to smoke on the ship... more than any other ships I have ever been on so why they need one in haven I don't know!

 

Bathroom.... there was only one bathroom on the sun deck area of the haven and it was a single stall shared by both genders... they need at least 2 bathrooms!

 

Concierge desk was amazing and helped with everything we needed.

 

Our butler was great and I love the snacks that they leave in the room in the afternoon.

 

Was the haven worth it??? It's hard for me to admit this... but no! It wasn't... I would have been better off in a mini suite with balcony and paying for the Vibe and the Spa package... I hate that I spent an extra 3000+ and still had to deal with screaming kids and fight for hot tub space....

 

 

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Out of curiosity, did you complain to the concierge regarding the kids who were not Haven guests in the area? I learned last trip in the Haven when guests were not following rules (not all in the group were Haven guests) that the bartender told another bartender in front of me to let it go unless someone complained. If someone complained, then they would address the group. Just wondering if you brought it to someone's attention and if they did anything about it.

Hi, Yes we actually did say something about the noise level of the kids and the non haven guests and we were told that haven has families which means kids are allowed in the area regardless of noise. I pushed the issue and asked that they go out and check to see if there were parents present and they said they would check, but we were on the way out so I didn't see if they did or not.

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...depends on how well you hold your booze. :D

One in each hand? :p