CruisingSince1982

On 3/5/2024 at 10:15 AM, Two Wheels Only said:

 

 

As far as I know, they are basically identical. The entrance door to the courtyard splits the area between those 2 staterooms but the door is closer to 17712. The door doesn't slam so that shouldn't be an issue. 

Thank you, I appreciate it! 

Is there any real difference between these 2 cabins? I know one is by the entrance to the lounge, and the other a little more forward. Any preference between the 2? I'm assuming the balcony sizes are the same? Thanks!

What time doe the Haven restaurant open in the morning on a Mediterranean cruise? Some of these ports have arrivals times of 6am! Thank you 🙂 

On 2/14/2024 at 2:51 PM, Candy Apple 12 said:

 

I was on the Escape last week, and the Haven restaurant was not open early for our Tortola port of call. My butler said the night butler could bring anything to the room which was on the continental breakfast menu, but none of the hot foods from the Haven restaurant because it wasn’t open. I eat gluten free, so there’s not much on the continental breakfast menu that I can eat. I had picked up a few boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios from the regular (not Haven) breakfast buffet a few days earlier when my traveling companions wanted to try it out, so I asked for a few cartons of milk to keep in the fridge. My traveling companions ate some almond croissants left over from the day before. The butler brought 6-8 every morning—way too many for the two of them to eat!

 

You should have been able to get a hot breakfast with room service, whether the haven restaurant was open or not. If a regular cabin can get that, I would never expect not to have the same in the Haven. 

30 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

I didn't do the NCL, but seems Viking offered similar.  Even on the boat the  excursion desk had little clue to the exact schedule.  Upon badgering 🙂  the produced a hypothetical they would show us for the eventual Excursion we did take in Florence.    Than when we got on it we discovered they were doing it in reverse!.

 

I don't have a good recommendation for how to balance a ship excursion with pre-bought tickets to a museum or other.      I do know there are a bunch of second hand resellers.  We used that for the Academia on one day.  Was a small premium but they had limited tickets and their agent was standing right outside the entrance and each allotted time hour had what looked like between 5-10 customers.    Sadly for the Ufizzi we didn't have that option and had to wait about 30' in the no preserved line.   

 

Good luck

They took you to wine tasting in the morning?! Our excursion leaves at 7am. I hope they don't do that to us. They do specifically say we are going to Florence first. I guess time will tell! 

18 hours ago, complawyer said:

hopefully this will adequately answer your question(s) 1 neither haven/ nor suite guests get comped dinners in specialty restaurants. Only those dinners included in your initial booking, those included in you specific latitudes award program, it  has been our experience, that if you are a haven guest and the ship has a designated haven complex  you will be taken to the exclusive haven restaurant. if there is no designated haven complex, or you have booked a suite category cabin (not club balcony suite) you will be taken to cagneys for lunch.  haven and or suite guests on ncl ships without the designated haven complex, are offered breakfast every morning in moderno, and lunch in cagney's 

 

dinner for all sailing is "catch as catch can"

Not necessarily true. There have been instances where Haven guests were comped on night one in a specialty, but it usually is a low demand restaurant. Such as Q. It all depends on how busy the Haven restaurant is on night 1. 

Has anyone used this company for transportation from Venice to Trieste? The reviews are excellent, but there are not many of them. I just want to make sure that we will actually be picked up and not left stranded at the airport on Venice.  Thank you

Has anyone done this excursion through NCL? Shore excursions is useless in trying to answer a simple question, and it is so frustrating! If anyone has done this, approximately what time did you leave Florence to go to the wine tasting? We have timed entry tickets to the Galleria already, and I am trying to make sure I can make this work before spending money on the tour. It leaves the ship at 7am. Thank you!

I’m considering booking the Best of Florence small group tour. We already have skip the line tickets to the Accedemia for 11am. Would i still be able to book this tour?

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

If you are looking for the best food you need to sail Oceania

We are looking at Oceania and Regent for our next cruise! 

19 hours ago, david_sobe said:

This is a very common thread asking the same question. Everyone always justifies their position and experience.  I have stayed in both types of Haven cabins.  I said the same thing when I booked a forward penthouse on Getaway. "I wont mind walking.  The saving on money is worth it, etc"  While I enjoyed a larger cabin, the Haven experience was not the same IMHO.  I felt like an outsider in the Haven having to commute there since we were not part of the Haven compound.  While not terrible, it definitely impacted the Haven experience.  I love waking up in the Haven complex and just opening my door to the restaurant, pool, and concierge.  The concierge seems to know the people better that actually stay there.  I call the experience "Haven-lite."  Here is a good analogy.  Do you want to stay at an ocean front resort overlooking the pool and ocean and restaurant or stay at a hotel 3 blocks away and you are entitled to walk to and use the facilities.  IMHO its not the same experience. 

Totally agree with this!

Did you have a scheduled time to meet in the Haven lounge to be escorted off the ship in ports, or do you just show up when you are ready to go ashore? 

Hi - do most vendors accept credit cards? Taxis, bus, restaurants? 

On 1/16/2024 at 12:39 PM, mapleleaves said:

Our cruise on the Epic was scheduled to arrive at 5am to Barcelona.   I don't know when disembarking started but at 7am when I went to bfast there were 12-15 people in taxi line. The line moved quickly. There were also NCL transfers and independent busses to the airport.

You shouldn't have any problem with an 11:30 flight. But I would plan on arriving 2 1/2 - 3hrs prior; the airport was quite busy. 

We had a 1pm flight to Lisbon and left the port around 9:30am. 

We booked the NCL transfer. They will get us there on time 🙂

Oh that makes total sense, especially since this is the only review that I have read that mentioned! Thank you, I feel better now.

I just read a review on Shipmates about Cabin 11706, a forward facing haven suite on the Escape. It was a mediterranean /Greek isle cruise, and the poster said the wind coming off the front of the ship created such suction that it pulled at the balcony door all night, creating constant loud noises that sounding like screaming children. Think this was just a fluke? I can't imagine the ship was going fast. Those islands are so close together. That's the cabin we booked 😆

Thank you Josh. I wasn't sure because the Spa is right there too.

On 7/4/2017 at 4:57 PM, Hotspring said:

Ship - Escape

Deck - 16

Stateroom # - 16100

Stateroom Category – H8

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Quiet Stateroom? – Yes. End of passenger hallway. Only heard ship crew traffic for a few minutes when disembarkation luggage was picked up for the rest of the Haven Spa units.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No, but the master bedroom was private from the living room except for lavatory access. Much larger than the 309 square feet NCL posts for the Spa units.

Balcony View - Great view

Balcony Size? Oversized. Could handle two loungers and 2 sitting chair, most in this Spa category could only handle two sitting chair or maybe a one lounger with no walking room on balcony.

Was wind a problem? - As anticipated and appreciated.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A

Any specific problems with this cabin? - No

Any other comments? - Likely the greatest value available in the Haven Suites, particularly when traveling with 3. The Haven Spa units come with complimentary spa access yet offer all the other benefits of a Haven unit usually at the lowest price. One only needs to walk up a stairway or two to step into the Haven enclave. While the living room sofa was not much more than a day bed when made up at night (slightly narrower in width than a twin) the extra room throughout the cabin was enthralling. We were delighted to have a king size bed rather than the merger of two smaller beds we usually experience. There was even a pocket door between the master bedroom and closet area en route to the lavatory/shower to provide maximum privacy. Even a couple would appreciate this cabin should they manage to snag it. We are still scratching our heads as to how we lucked out for our party of 3, all other Haven Spa cabins could only accommodate a party of two on this ship. Top of the line Stateroom Steward and Butler provided.

I know this post was made a while ago, but NCL is stating this room accommodates 4 people. Did they put a larger sofa bed in the cabin with the refurbishment? 

I know the forward suites on Deck 16 aren't in the "Haven proper", but it looks like they are all Haven suites. Is this corridor keycard only access? 

20 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

No, the Haven sofa bed can sleep 1 or extend to sleep 2. 

Thank you

On 1/9/2024 at 8:50 PM, BirdTravels said:

The 3rd bed is really just sleeping on the hard sofa. Not a sofa bed. The very very firm sofa. You can try to request an egg crate pad, but it is still the sofa. 

Is it the same type of sofa that's in the Haven Forward Facing Suite? 

On 1/7/2024 at 1:41 PM, CruzinMel said:

Picking up where I left off - here's every possible detail about the cabin:  #8720, Club Balcony Suite, Deck 8 Forward. 

 

•   There is a smoking area somewhere near this balcony.  

I thought the smoking section was port side? 

Thanks all! 

19 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

You didn't mention the relationships between the adults, or the length of the cruise. As you've been cruising since 1982, I assume you're not three 20-something best friends out to party. Three adults in a club balcony is going to be tight. No getting around it. 

 

Married adults and adult child. It's going to be tight. I doubt we will do it.

20 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

NCL asks for a lot when going from a Club Balcony Suite to a Haven 2BR on Escape. There are no non-Haven suites on that ship. 

It's a lot. The best I can do is a forward facing haven suite. Still only 1 bathroom, but at least 2 separate sleeping areas.