beastlet

I searched "Norwegian flight" and got a zillion results that weren't relevant. They should make one a pinned topic. I guess time to start figuring out what the best credit card is miles to Reykjavík is.

I've always booked my own flights, and was wondering if you book with Norwegian do you get crap flights? Do you get no seat assignment so your family is spread across middle seats all over the plane? Do you have 3 stops en route? For a just-booked Iceland/Greenland cruise I tentatively chose the Norwegian flights. Flying 3 people to Reykjavík from the US west cost for $1800 seemed like a deal that can't be beat. But I'm pretty worried about how terrible the flights will be, especially as it's a long trip.

We were on the same cruise with you. I'm curious if you went to see the comedians? We thought they were awful, like embarrassingly terrible. We couldn't believe that people even laughed, although we saw many people sitting like us, obviously wondering where was the comedy. We really enjoyed the other entertainment, especially Elements and the Flying Fefelovs.

You do your vacation, and we'll do ours, and respect each other's choices. I never could go steerage, not out of any snobbery, but because I'm very introverted and my room is my escape where I'll sit and read on the balcony for a couple of hours, especially on sea days. I would go crazy in a tiny inside cabin, and not enjoy my trip. I always say that cruising steerage is a great value for someone who only uses their cabin to sleep and otherwise is just about enjoying everything the ship and ports have to offer. That is not me. NGL and will say that I enjoyed the privileges of being in the Haven, although I could happily do a regular balcony as well. But if I enjoy the Haven and can afford it, why not?

12502. I usually love my balcony, but am not a fan of cold weather so thought the view would be nicer than a balcony on this cruise. I was tempted for a minute by the two bathrooms in the middle rooms, but they seemed cramped. As a non-drinker the booze isn't appealing to me, but unlimited Diet Coke will make me happy. "No drinks delivered to room, for your convenience, of course." Sarcasm, correct? Otherwise, not understanding.

Really? That seems silly.

I'm actually wondering this now as well. For the Iceland/Greenland cruise we booked on the Star, there is no haven, but we did book a DOS. Can we use that number as well?

I can confirm the separate formal dining room, I remember that vividly.

It has pastries, croissants, various breads, cheese, deli meats, yogurt parfaits, sliced fruit, fruit cups, and most importantly for my family, smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, onions and lemon wedges. There are probably a few other things I'm missing, but everything is cold. The most aggravating thing for us, as bagels & lox lovers, is that the buffet had all the makings you needed except the bagels, and on the Joy is took forever to actually get the bagels.

I won't enjoy a cruise without Diet Coke. I don't drink coffee or tea, and would spend the cruise in caffeine withdrawal. I'm just peeved that I have to pay for the drinks package for me when someone else in the cabin drinks and I don't. Similarly, I'm bring my teenager with us on the next cruise. He loves Starbucks and we don't drink it. I would have loved to treat him with a Starbucks unlimited package but again we have to buy it for the whole cabin.

I was actually wondering this for myself. I don't drink, but do enjoy a virgin pina colada. Buying the drinks package is a lot of money for virgin drinks, when all I really drink is Diet Coke. I think Norwegian won't let only one person in a cabin get a drinks package, which kind of sucks when only one is a drinker.

I just sailed on the Joy and I didn't see anything about a gathering, perhaps I missed it. I did get a nice packet with a pin, a patch and a medal. By far the thing I appreciate most is the 10% discount. Anything else is gravy. When we sailed Breakaway last year I didn't know about the military program. I wonder if NCL would send the patch if I asked.

I did tell them that. it didn't stick. I gave up. I literally told them I wanted it every night, except the 2 specific nights we were eating in specialty restaurants. I never would have thought of asking for it, or expected it, if not that the provided it on Breakaway without me asking for it, simply because they noticed I liked it. The service differential between the two ships is what I am confused about, not the pretzel bread in particular.

We just sailed on the Joy and on the last day we were almost last to get off the boat so asked if we could go look at the premier owner's suite. I didn't take pictures because I thought it would be weird to do in someone else's cabin. There was a lady there videoing the suite so maybe that will be up on youtube soon. What in particular were you looking to know? The suite was huge and wonderful. The only issue I could see with it is price. 🤣

That is what I was hoping to hear. The Breakaway was so fantastic we thought we were Haven cruisers for life. I guess we'll see how the Getaway goes next year.

We sailed in the Haven on the Breakaway in January '23 and loved everything about it. The service was exceptional. The restaurant was lovely and all the staff were wonderful. Our butler was awesome and also adorable because he had just gotten the promotion to Haven butler and was really excited about it. Our steward was also great. We were interested in CruiseNext and they scheduled a time for the agent to come meet us in the Haven lounge, where we booked our next cruise. We just returned home from our second Haven experience on the Joy (March '24). This was not the same experience. In particular, the restaurant was terrible. The service was extremely slow and haphazard. On a port day we arrived an hour before we had to leave the boat for our excursion and had to leave our meal unfinished because we were going to be late to the excursion. They didn't replenish the buffet items at breakfast until you asked. At every single breakfast I had to complain there was no lox available. On the Breakaway the maître d' noticed that I loved the pretzel bread they had only at lunch and not at dinner and surprised me by having it for me every night at dinner. Same for crème brûlée which was not a standard dinner dessert item. I expected the Joy to be the same as the Breakaway, so asked for pretzel bread at dinner the first night and clearly the staff were put out by this. It was begrudgingly produced 20 minutes later. After a few days of this attitude I just stopped asking because the experience was unpleasant. I asked for crème brûlée which was on the menu that night for the regular restaurants was was told it would take 30 minutes with some convoluted explanation about elevators. Our butler on Joy was meh. Same for the steward. For CruiseNext we were expected to stand in a long line right adjacent to LOUD deck 6 entertainment and then stand at a counter for the entire booking process. They refused to send a CruiseNext agent to the Haven lounge, even during times the CruiseNext desk was closed. The only standout Haven staff were two of the three concierges. The restaurant and sun deck on Joy were both much larger than on Breakaway, but they both felt more crowded. If you wanted a shady chair on Joy you had better be up there before breakfast sitting on it. So now I'm wondering - which experience is typical? We have another cruise booked on the Getaway in the hopes it will be just like the Breakaway. I know I will never sail on the Joy again.