Seas2mountains

We so miss the hashbrowns at breakfast we learned to love as part of the NCL experience.

As mentioned, we love listening to Prelude Duo. We are also big fans of the other lounge/bar entertainment such as Antonio and the band Zennhitt.

On Day 3, we decided to take advantage of Tepanyaki being open for lunch as we didn’t want to miss dinners in the Haven when using the specialty dining package. We arrived at Teppanyaki at 1pm and were seated to find that we were the only ones in the whole restaurant. The staff insisted on serving us when we felt bad that they were there just for us. We asked the chef to skip the show part of cooking as we have seen plenty of their cooking stunts, skills and humor in many past cruises. The chef and waitress made this a wonderful experience. As usual, it was too much food for us to think about any dessert.

On Day 2, we enjoyed a much needed day to relax and had a wonderful breakfast in the Haven. The almond croissants are delicious but we do like and missed those little round hashbrowns known on NCL ships. Lunch and dinner did also not disappoint as service in the Haven restaurant and bar is top notch as other reviewers have reported. The thermal spa was quite busy on that first day and the chair hogs were abundant with us noticing that many of those heated lounge chairs were reserved as we watched that many were loaded with towels and personal items but not used the entire time we were there. I guess these people don’t read the signs asking them limit use to 30 minutes and to avoid reserving them if not using them. We watched one guy reserve two of those heated lounge chairs with his personal items while he didn’t use it. Fortunately, two opened up when we wanted to use them.

We are at about the halfway point of the cruise but it has been amazing so far! We are in a 2 bedroom Haven suite for this cruise. We are somehow surviving with no hashbrowns as occurred with the sailing before ours and also on the Joy. We arrived a day early and stayed at the Hilton Midway in NYC and enjoyed a great lunch at PizzArte which was about a two block walk and is highly recommended! There were plenty of other restaurants in the area and convenience stores. Due to rain, we stayed at the hotel lounge/bar for dinner. When we asked for the check, the waiter told us a woman in the restaurant paid for our dinner (which was not cheap!) as she liked how my husband and I sat close together on the same side of the table at dinner. That was so unexpected and kind. We did meet her and thanked her. She asked us to give the waiter a generous tip as she had stayed at the hotel for several days. We did of course do what she requested and tipped very well. The next day, we left for the cruise port at 10:00am and arrived shortly after. The processing through the Haven line was very quick. While we were told that boarding may begin at 12 Noon, we were surprised when it was announced shortly after that we could board. We were on the ship and in the Haven just after 10:45am. I think this was the fastest time ever from the hotel to the ship! After enjoying some time in the hot tub and Haven lounge, we were allowed to go to our rooms. The two bedroom suite is quite amazing and we love the windows in the bathroom. We do miss the windows that we would normally have in a club balcony that we could view the ocean while in bed. We were encouraged to eat lunch in the American Dinner. We did enjoy the lobster and shrimp rolls as appetizers but they could be their own meal. I had the spinach salad with grilled shrimp and my husband really loved the Mahi Mahi Rueben. We shared an amazing carrot cake for dessert. We realized our room steward was the same room steward we had on the Encore on February 2000 before everything shut down due to Covid. We also were excited to learn that Prelude Duo - a very talented music du this shio was on this ship. We enjoyed listening to them in the Sugarcane lounge. Will add more photos and the dailies. We have been told there are 1029 passengers on this sailing and the next one leaving on Sept. 22nd will have 4000 or more guests. While we can see that the ship is definitely not full, we have been surprised that the atrium and other venues have been full as the passengers have been getting out to enjoy the music options. We have not gone to any theater events but hear there are plenty of seats and there is no need to use the Haven concierge to get premium seating.

Thank you so much, @cruiseny4life for your wonderful live review. We appreciate you for taking the time to share so many details, photos and the dailies. We are in NYC and ready to board the beautiful Getaway in the morning. We will also be in the Haven. I guess if there are no hash browns, we will make do with the almond croissants in the Haven as a carb offset. We can’t wait to hear one of our favorite NCL duos, Prelude Duo. We hope you have safe travels home. Do you have your next cruise booked?

I think your Miami stop is coordinated to get hash browns. @Sailing12Away is on the Joy that also left from NY and is also reporting on a Live review that there are no hash browns. Must be a hash brown supply chain issue? Thank you for the updates. Hope you are having a great cruise!

@cruiseny4life We did just receive a modified itinerary for the cruise departing on 09/12. It now says we will leave NY at 7pm instead of 4pm. Have you been notified that you will be arriving late? We are assuming your arrival is delayed but there could be another reason for the late departure. We are also skipping VA Beach (Norfolk) and getting another sea day.

Thank you for the update! I know that’s a bummer but at least you won’t be on Earl’s path. I expect our cruise leaving on Sept. 12th may need to have a modified itinerary, too.

Thank you for taking the time to post the photos and dailies. Hoping our cruise right after yours also has the lower passenger count.

Thank you for another great live review, @YVRteacher! Sounds like you had a great cruise with Bartender Extraordinaire. Do you have your next cruise planned?

Thank you so much for posting these @lisabdh1! We appreciate it so much as we will soon be on the Getaway! I hope your hubby and son had a great cruise.

@BirdTravels thank you!!! Loved the pics, too. We are in the Haven in less than two weeks. Love that you can add lobster to any meal. @cruiseny4life thank you for the great suggestion to order the off-menu shrimp cocktail. The Shrimp Louie with thousand island dressing all over the shrimp does not look appealing at all.

We are in the Haven, too, but on deck 16. We also love the thermal spa, too. Hoping our sailing is also not too full. I do think there could be a chance that either of our cruises may be dodging hurricanes since this is the time of the year when they peak. We'd rather be somewhere warm but know the prices for cruises that go to the Bahamas and Bermuda are inexpensive not only due to schools starting but many people know to avoid cruises in this area in September. But we are in the Haven and have Thermal Spa passes so where we go doesn't really matter does it? 😉 I hope the next few days go by fast for you. I am looking forward to reading your review!

Thank you so much @cruiseny4life for offering to post the dailies. We are getting on the Getaway on the cruise departing on Sept. 12th. Have a wonderful cruise! I look forward to your review. Will you be in the Haven again?

I just saw your live review this weekend. Will you be doing another live review this cruise? I love reading your very entertaining reviews as you are an amazing writer. Have a great time! We loved our Alaska cruise on the Encore in August 2021. It was fitting to return to the Encore as it was the last cruise we did in Feb 20 before Covid.