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Hello All: When I wrote this OP-ED in 2019 and updated it in 2022, my focus was on leverage every once of value from the Premium We all pay to enjoy the NCL Haven. If you don't know what you get, it is hard to leverage it. That is why it is called "The Secrets". My goal for the OP-ED and my subsequent replies to questions was to always be professional, honest and balanced. Not all of my responses have be complementary to NCL or the Haven. But when you take the good with the bad, much more good then bad. My next cruise is not on the NCL Haven. It is on a NCL sister brand called Oceania Cruises. The cruise is a 10 day Mediterranean Cruise and it Embarks in 14 days. Here is why I am sharing this topic. I am going to evaluate Oceania compared to the Haven. I want to see if somethings are as good, better or worse. I am looking forward to doing a deep dive. Part of why I am sharing this is because of the many comments given on this stream. Whether it has been Personalized Service, Food, Kids issue, butler issues and others. A comparison by someone who loves the Haven might be helpful. I will link that topic here after I write it. To everyone. see you all soon in a Haven Suite near you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I will be on the Riviera in two weeks. This information is SO welcomed. On the topic of Internet. I remember when the best part of cruising was not phone calls, cell phone or internet. It allowed you to decompress, relax and forget about the world. Then, the internet was per minute and VERY bad and VERY expensive. You had to be a "Minute Plan" like a "Wine Plan". Now, our cruising internet is spotty, and somewhat inconsistant yet we all get at least one device with unlimited access. Soon, we will have internet that is more consistent. Yesterday my cell phone company sent me a instruction to turn on my "WiFi" calling feature which allows in/out calls and text as long as your phone has a wifi source. The evolution is amazing. Boy, the world of cruising sure has changed over the years. Our needs and dependency on the internet has also changed. A true mixed blessing. My expectations on our upcoming cruise is kind of simple. If my mobile phone, with WiFi calls enabled will allow me to "Text" my wife onboard, I am a very happy camper. On other ships, they system they have for this is the true definition of spotty. Thanks to the author again. Very valuable stuff. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Thank You To All: So my family says to me, "Gary, why spend so much time on CruiseCritic.com?" The above responses and comments should answer that question. The stream is on "Preparation". Yet folk saw some of my items and suggested a better approach. That is why we all visit in a community like this. Example: I have booked two rooms for one night at the Barcelona Edition Hotel. I choose this hotel because of location to the Gothic Quarter and my daughter suggested it. I also choose it because it was a Marriott Frequent Guest Property. Those on this board that stayed at this hotel suggested making a change and why. The rooms are tiny, the hotel does not participate with the Marriott Breakfast Perk. The importance of this kind of post has two benefits. First, if I stay, when I get to my room I can't say I did not know it was a postage stamp. That creates "Realistic Expectations". Second, it allows me to change hotel and look for other options. Many other members made some suggestion on other options. Because of this community, I have great information that can positively effect my vacation. I have a very important point here. When folks write things are not good or not to the level one might expect, it helps future guest make better decisions. They my adjust future decisions or keep them. Either way, it was very helpful. Some time, we get upset at folks sharing negatives. Information is not power, it is potential power if you acknowledge it and leverage it. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

So, the Edition in Barcelona is not the place to stay? Please confirm. and Thank you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Love to gain the name and contact info. Thank you.

@Chron I truly appreciate your comments and feelings. As you may know, I love the Haven and NCL. Yet many of the items you outline I felt and saw coming. Butlers were always hit/miss. The dress the part but their actions or lack of action speak louder then words or looks. This is why I did a butler letter which worked most of the time but was not perfect. When push comes to shove, NCL is a Mainstream Cruise line that has a lot of Mega Ships with 4,000 plus passengers. The need to standardize what they do that takes away the feeling or personalization. That is sad to me but the reality. Your comments on the Premium Plus Drink Package is a shame however I hold myself accountable for this change. With Joy in my heart I attempted to find ever ounce of value from this plan and did. When other did the same, NCL realized they had to change the plan. I am half joking her so take what I just said with a grain of sand. People make the ship and people are a hard commodity in todays world. People who take their job seriously is another tough find. I love the Encore and hope to cruise it in the not to distant future. I may or may not choose the Haven but I will choose the Vibe Beach Club. Thank you again. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@WildWanderers LMAO, you got me right. However, I love your suggestions. This suggestion was so thoughtful of you. We were planning on going to the Blue Mosque as one of our main places so this is perfect. Thank you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@MEFIowa I totally respect your opinion and it is a good one. Once at your location, and in your stateroom, all is forgotten about the flight. Thank you for commenting. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Yesimapirate Funny thing happened this morning at 05:15 AM. It is 14 days before our flight. Delta offered an upgrade for our guest (best friends) from "Refundable Coach" seats to "Delta One Business Class Suite" for $698.00 each. Yesterday, the amount for upgrade was $2,850.00 each. We booked our our flights but if we had booked with Oceania Air, the upgrade amount to "Coach Premium" would have been $299.00 per person each way. I saw that and knew that those seats would be gone quickly. The number of Business Class seats went from 12 yesterdays to 6 today. I immediately upgraded them both and did not even ask. My friend is on a limited budget, he always says no to extra's so I figured to have them in Business Class with my wife and I on the longest 10.5 hour flight is worth the money. I am quite sure he will say "NO", but be very surprised when he sees his seat on the long haul flight in JFK. The way I look at life, with all that is going on, is "Life Is Fragile and to short". Bring a little joy to others if you can and in doing so, you get the most joy. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@edgee You are right I have not yet experience disembarkation on Oceania, what the OP shared sounded awfully familiar to me. Let me say this differently. Better then some worse then other experiences I have had. When I write or comment it is never to suggest everyone needs to flyout the next day. It is to say, if you have the time, the means and plan it that way, it can improve this situation a bit. My message is always to be Proactive if possible. There are always things out of our control. We all have choices and the OP confirmed my choice was a good alternatives to avoid what happened to them. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Bobbyjimbob Thank you for sharing. Like many, I love to cruise. Also like many, that final morning has been my least favorite part. Lots of reasons for what happened to you at the port and the airport. None of it acceptable and enjoyable. Yet to me, your post is a benefit to myself and others. What I take from your post. Here is your actual and recent experience. What can I do if in a similar situation to make my experience much better. Kind of like an excursion that is not great, I avoid it. Knowing the stressful downsides gives me a heads up to avoid it. So Thank You. Action that I will take when it is my turn because of your helpful information. No Rush to Dis-embark: I booked a hotel for Dis-embarkment day. My guest and I can lay low until all the crazies get off the ship. One response said, the guest don't follow the rules. I have found this to be true more often then not. Pre-Reserved Taxi: I personally don't like the ship transfers. For just a little bit more, we have a Sprinter Van pick us up. Now we are going to a hotel not the airport. However, if we went to the airport, still I would rather my own driver than the cruise brand. The drop off is the drop off and is out of my control. My actions are simply based on disappointments in the past with cruise line transportation. Flight Strategy: When I booked my flights, I noticed the direct flight to my major hub (Atlanta) was at 10:55 AM. Later flights has connections and added hours on my flight time. Hence the decision to go out the next day on the direct flight. This leads to not having to stress or rush to the airport especially when out of my comfort zone or country. Nothing makes the last day "Pop" with joy. It is the end of usually a good vacation. All we can do is learn from the OP and take precautions. Based on the outline, could Oceania have done a better job, YES. It reminds me of the staff at the Miami NCL Terminal. They are clueless, often rude and disorganized. I was even in the Haven and still not what anyone would call guest friendly. Not pleasant and will never be acceptable. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Mkdvmz Thank you so much. Your comments are so important to me and my party. We are just a few weeks away from our cruise on the Riviera. I found it interesting the Veal Chop was good in Polo and the veal in the Italian Restaurant was not so. As with other dining comments, I made a note of that. Also your comment about the Prestige Drink Package was nice to hear. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Allow me to kick in here because I remember this same question confused me. When the cruise had a "Four Cabin Upgrade" promotion, the upgrades were applied to the cabin you choose. To be clear, if you choose a B-2, the price for that stateroom applied the promotion. You will not be upgraded past that at that price. We booked a PH3 at the price of a Concierge Level. I remember also being a bit confused until I clarified it with the Oceania Telephone agent. I hope I was helpful. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@jw_406 My wife and best friend will be sailing with you on November 9, 2023. I also appreciate this blog by the OP. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Guest I hope you will share what happens. We have 1 1/2 days in Turkey in early November 2023. My gut tells me, Turkey will be cancelled. If we go, my wife and guest have all indicated we all have to be much more caution. I have no inside information, time will tell. Lowering expectations today is better then being surprised tomorrow. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

The OP was looking for a discussion on what will happen in the cruise industry world. We all know time will tell however most everyone going even close to the conflict knows the risks are increased. My educated guess is: Cruise booking for the future will go down, anywhere near the conflict. Not for ever just for the immediate future. Those booked for Mediterranean Itineraries for the next few months, I am one of them with my cruise in 20 days, will be somewhat nervous. Not so much for Greece, Italy or France. More for Turkey. Decisions to cancel ports will be on going. Many on this board talk about how Oceania tends to cancel port more frequently than other brands. The odds of this happening in the near future percentage has gone up. I only share this from an "Realistic Expectations" standpoint. In the past, the debate to cruise or not to cruise was a hot topic. Debate to me means two or more views. It is a personal decision with consequences both good and bad. Since we don't know the future, the debate will continue. I have noticed on the cruises going to the Mediterranean in the next month or so few if any guest cancellations has started to happen. This might change in the future. It does show in some unofficial way, most cruisers, if not going to the conflict area directly are still ok with cruising. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@FetaCheese Hello old friend. I learned a long time ago, prepare but don't anticipate to much. I once did not enjoy a cruise that I visualized to much. It was anticlimactic. Especially with cruises, they never go quite as planned. My wife and friends joining us are now concerned about the conflict. I attempted to tell them many of the ports cruise ships are going to after their port was cancelled are our ports. I fully agree with the photo thing. But I did it anyway. I am a detail guy and that would keep me up at night. I really appreciate the hard work you did on your blog. You were completely balanced. I hope to pay you back by taking your lead. The Taxi Service I booked for Airport to hotel and hotel to Port was Athens Airport Taxi. Also well rated. Reasonable price for a Sprinter van for four adults and lots of luggage. Now we have 21 days with nothing to do but stay on our diets. That diet was the hardest part of going on this cruise. My hope is, it was all worth it. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

21 Days Out Online Boarding Pass/Check-IN: As everyone that goes on a cruise knows, a major milestone is when you can do the "Online Check-In". It has changed over the years however is basically the same. For Oceania, it was 21 days in advance of departure. This morning was 21 days. I went online, did the seamless and easy process. Had to reformate on picture for my wife. This allowed for the Boarding Pass document to be available which I immediate printed. I also put a copy of it in my "Journey Document" in the same area as copies of my Travel Insurance Card, Passports, Drivers License's, Hotel Reservations Confirmation, Air Reservation Confirmation, Specialty Restaurant Confirmations, Prestige Drink Package Confirmation, and Cooking Class Confirmation. Over the years, I used to carry each document in a folder and always had a hard time finding the one I needed. Now it is located with an agenda page showing a page number for the information. Side Note, I fully expect that we will have to take our pictures at the port even though we did it for this online document. That has been my experience up to this point. I also made my reservation for a Van (Taxi) to pick us up at the airport in Athens and take us to our hotel. Another easy process. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Everyday, I do a search on YouTube.com for NEW video's for Oceania Cruises. Rarely are they posted but every now and again, one comes up. The one I am referring to is about Afternoon Tea on the Riviera. It seems on this video, the afternoon tea had a theme. One was "cheese cake" and the other was "cupcakes". Two things I truly enjoy, rarely allow myself to have because I am allergy to them both. When I have either cheese cake of cupcakes they make my body swell better know as I gain weight. So I save those treats for special occasions like going on a cruise. "There is cheating on a diet and then there is Cheese Cake!!" I had no idea that the teas could or would have a themes and love the idea. Yet the video showed you still could have the famous sandwiches' where the crust was cut off. Afternoon tea is new to me so it is not critical to my experience. It is a novelty. I hope to enjoy my first afternoon tea early on in my cruise. Who knows, I might get hooked on the event. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Vineyard View You see, your point of bringing wine onboard is for me a true benefit of Oceania. I remember way back when, a very long time ago, cruise brands allowed you to bring wine and spirits onboard. We did it all the time and it was the best. Never disappointed and it at the time saved us money which we did not have. Then, the industry changed the rule. So I like other realized that opinion was lost. I was so pleased to find out Oceania's policy on this. Not huge or even a reason to cruise Oceania but a benefit to me. So, to your point, I am excited that we will be flying into Athens Greece a day before the cruise. We will see some sites, have a fantastic meal and buy some wine for the stateroom. Makes the time in Athens even more fun. Since this will be my first Oceania cruise, something tells me, even the wine by the glass will exceed my wife's expectation. Our experience in the recent past simply makes me want to Fix a Potential Problem before it happens. Worst case, we have to much wine. NOW, that is a third world problem I can defiantly live with. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Croooser This is why making comments on Social Media is so hard sometimes. Written Words take us just so far. I use an American Express Platinum Card, it also has travel insurance benefits and it is complementary with the card as long as you pay the entire vacation with the card. I have used and been paid off by it many times. Chase Sapphire I am sure has some outstanding travel benefits. No doubt. However as stated, not the issue. Not what I was attempting to point out or say. Planning, experience as a long-term cruiser, making smart decisions and living with the decisions you made is my point. One poster is the kindest way said on the topic of Travel Insurance that they had saved over $100,000 by not taking or purchasing it. That is a fair and reasonable decision as long a you know the consequences and accept accountability for your decisions. Let's take the Travel Insurance topic off the table for a moment. One is booking ports that are super special to them, important, and as with this situation somewhat risky. If those are the places you really want to go to, fly and stay in the area. If you choose to cruise, which would be my choose also, this comes with baggage. In most cases, things will be just fine. But because of the region, it can also be an issue at a moments notice. Nobodies fault. Been this way for a long time. Common sense tells us, take extra precautions on that trip. More importantly, know that it might not work out and if that is the case, it is not the cruise brand fault. To expect a cruise brand to take a financial hit by "expecting" a full refund, FCC, and other benefits because of a situation out of their control is a big ask. The brands obligation is to change ports which they did. If you don't like the change, which some folk won't, you agreed to this when you agreed to the contract terms. If the brand for client satisfaction provides compensation for this situations out of their control, that would be ideal but not expected. Now we can talk about the options we have if now the cruise port changes are unacceptable. Whether travel insurance, looking for something else that many or many not be offered. To make the brand the Bad Guy, any brand, to not take any accountability for the choice one made, is unfair. Then to post to gain folks to agree you have been so wronged is simply not fair. All it is is venting, looking for folks to support your position so yo can feel justified in your feeling. It fixes nothing except an outlet for you emotions. Welcome to social media. I feel really bad for the author of this thread. But they have not been wronged by the brand. Should Oceania offer them and other some level of compensation or benefit, in my opinion YES. But it is not a given nor should be expected. Brand bashing is a thing and a unforeseen war makes brand bashing again simply not fair. Just my two cents nothing more or less. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@shepherd really Thank you, good information. I think all the questions about wines, spirits and drink packages are based on many cruisers recent cruise experiences. Not necessarily on Oceania. On another brand, we had the hardest time finding a average white wine. We even had an upgraded drink package. To clarify, we drink wine in a box at home and like it so we are not great wine drinkers. The wine served was really bad and it was disappointing. Something tells me many others have had the same experience and want to make sure it is better. Thank you again. I always enjoy your posts and information. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@JFontaine I understand your point of view here, I really do. The issue should have been common sense by the author. Allow me to explain. If the Author has cruise 30 + times which they stated many times. This being their first time with Oceania, they should understand the difference between credit card travel insurance and third party travel insurance. Yet it took four or five attempts to gain if they had Travel Insurance. They did not, but booked with a credit card. Poor planning for a veterian cruiser going to this region. If a person is knowledgeable about cruising, then they are knowledgeable about this regions. This region is in and out of conflict quite often. It should be NO surprise that the region my have even an minor conflict effecting ports. Know that, remember 30 + cruises history, a cancel for any reason third party policy is so very important. Would it cover a war, hard to say. Should the policy have been in effect instead of counting on a credit card, absolutely. It is all about the planning and choices we make. Finally, why would anyone write this post focusing that the entire blame is on how Oceania or any cruise brand is handling this situation which is still fluid. What benefit does it really provide? The only benefit is for the Author to vent, rant and justify their position so other make them feel better. The want their position of being wronged vilified. Does this fix the problem they are having, NO. Do they accept accountability of any level for the decision to go into this region knowing the potential risks, NO. It is all the brands fault so let's brand bash. I have no skin in the game here. Just like the author, I am VERY new to Oceania but not new to cruising. I have had my fair share of complaints with cruise brands over the years. However, I handle my complaints directly with the source and RARELY have ever not had my issues resolved to my satisfaction. I am no one special, ask my wife and kids. I just think, I can make my case better then anyone else can, never give up and gain the outcome without crowd sourcing to stir the pot. The intent of this post was to stir the pot. When the author did not gain the support from the community they were looking for, they did what I expect they did with Oceania. The gave up and got their feeling hurt. Why, because social media did not agree 100% with their position and people were direct with them. This is social media, it is opinionated. This board is kinder and nicer then the one that starts with a "R". I know, that site is brutal. We as cruiser should have our heads examined to cruise at all. Just reading the contract should set us all straight. However, we love the hobby, love talking about it, love dream about it and love the experience so we do it knowing so many things can and usually will go wrong. With that understanding we accept a certain level of blame for issues. Just my two cents and not worth anything but making a point. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

A bit off topic but hell, it happens all the time on this thread. If you are a Haven Guest and either on the ship, off the ship or in social media folk complain they should have the same access, try not to be to upset. They know not what they say to you. They don't understand that you paid three to four times the fare for the same cruise as they did. Sometimes they do understand and don't care. They don't understand the NCL LOVES the Haven because it provides the highest profit margin per guest of any guest on their ships. The don't understand that the Haven Suite are usually sold out first. What these folks, not all folks just a very small group want is to have everything you have paid a premium for just because they grace the same ship. This is a very rare rant for me. I sometimes get SO frustrated that the folks that feel the Haven area, privileges and amenities should be for everyone are the same folks that wake up at 6:00 AM an attempt to reserve a lounge chair at the pool for all day without staying in them. By the way, those folks are the reason WHY I pay more for the Haven. My vacation should not include confrontations with folks that feel entitled to things that they never paid for. Rant complete, and thank you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@UKstages I am so happy for you. Congrats. Enjoy your time in the Vibe, I know I did. Much easier to meet new people as well. Enjoy. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.