BEACHBARB

We were paid in full and less than 2 months to sail date when our Mom fell (96 years young) and broke both wrists and dislocated her shoulder.  We talked to NCL - we were booked in the Haven for the third year in a row and it was a no go on changing date.  Had to go thru insurance which worked out very well.  Good luck.

We've been in a forward facing Haven Penthouse - tons of space and the biggest shower I've ever seen.  And the smallest balcony and noise from the crew bar late at night.  We've been in an aft Haven and it was spectacular!!!!!  We spent so much time out there.  And our butler was terrific.  Seka - she's the best.  We were booked in a 2 bedroom Haven on Escape in January but had to cancel due to family medical emergency so never got to see if we liked the Haven area better.  I wouldn't give up the aft balcony.  Disembarkation was great because the night before the concierge let us bring our big luggage and he stored them in his office so we didn't have to hassle with them in the morning.  Then down the big service elevators and out we went.  I can't imagine cruising in anything other than a Haven although the menu does get boring if on a 14 day cruise.  I think you can request the regular restaurant menu and see if there is something you'd like from there.  And I think they would make you anything you want if you give them advance notice.  Lunch on embarkation day in the Haven is a ZOO!!!!!!  We waited for hours.  Get there early.  We were a little late (always waiting for my youngest sister!!!!!!).  

I didn't think you could post about specific companies but apparently you can.  I agree with Insuremytrip.com   

We had booked an Escape cruise while on Breakaway last year and our Mom fell and broke both wrists and dislocated her shoulder so she was in bad shape (and she's almost 97) and this was less than 2 months before our sail date.  So we got our insurance thru Nationwide and the repaid us in full.  No questions or problems.  I submitted all the paperwork they requested and got the check.  Would much rather have been on the cruise on 1/20 but it was not to be.  Maybe next year.  

5 minutes ago, BNBR said:

The Butler is a glorified food runner.  They do very little.  They are not actual butlers and really shouldn't be using the term "butler."  It's basically more personalized room service.  If you want to bug your butler to provide you a meal in your stateroom, they will.  But otherwise they basically drop off a try of snacks every afternoon and you may never see them again.

 

It's expected that you will tip them separately from the service charge.  If you don't use them for anything at all, and they just drop off food in the afternoons, I think $20 - $40 is reasonable.

Our experience with the 2 butlers we've had was awesome.  There isn't anything you ask that they won't do.  You carry the phone around with you and call them from anywhere on the ship and ask them for whatever.  If you left you glasses in your cabin and are in a restaurant at the other end of the ship - they'll get them for you.  There is no real guideline on how much to tip.  Depends on how much you use them.  We had Roland (who was so funny) and Seka (who was also funny and wonderful).  

Best cabin to book for 3, with NO BUNKBEDS...couch or trundle...

I think on Breakaway - you would need a 2 bedroom in the Haven. Be prepared for price shock. The bed in the 2nd bedroom looks like a sofa and pulls open to a double I believe. I don't know about the Star.

December 4, 2016 NCL Getaway. WON IT thru Cruisecritic sweepstakes. Ended up costing something because we upgraded to add our sister and get an aft balcony. Nothing is totally free but for 3 of us in an aft balcony the total cost was under $1,500. What's was funny is that I was the one entering all three of us every day for the sweepstakes and my one sister won it. She thought it was some kind of scam when she got the e-mail and I had to tell her it's for real.

The forward cabins might be in the same area as the Haven proper but depending on which deck you are on the stairs could be a hike and just the walk to the elevator is pretty far as the forward elevators are almost mid ship. Just my opinion. Loved the aft balcony.

If you get a chance for the aft Haven - IT IS AWESOME!!!! We were on deck 10 and it was HUGE. But I must say the forward facing had the biggest shower I've ever seen. And the smallest balcony. We were on the Breakaway.

Thanks for the pictures. I don't see a pulldown bunkbed in the 2nd bedroom, though. Can you confirm this?

It comes out of the ceiling. We are going to have 5 adults in January - I'm on the couch and my sister and her husband are in the 2nd bedroom. I think they are going to find the double bed very small but that's what they have to deal with. No one is going to sleep in the upper bunk. I have slept on the couch on the past 2 cruises and getting an egg crate makes it very comfy.

I'm glad that you had a good time.

 

 

Don't be afraid of asking for too much from the staff. You paid for their services. Obviously, outrageous requests would be going too far but making an arrangement for a meal to be delivered to the suite or to the Haven restaurant isn't outrageous at all.

 

 

 

As for the smoking issue, you'll probably be limited to Bliss and to ships built after Bliss such as Encore and the upcoming Project Leonardo ships.

I agree about not being afraid of asking. One night at dinner with quite a few regular Haven cruisers, they had no problem asking for and receiving a dinner special from a few days previous and a desert someone for lunch one day - they served that also. We've done Haven twice now and there is nothing that compares. We can't go back. Ever.

Hi all

New to this upgrade thing and got my email offering us lots of tempting cabins:p:p.

We are booked in a balcony and the price for an upgrade to a Haven 2 bed family says $895pp, am I correct in thinking that we would only pay for the 2 adults not the 2 kids? And that our free UBP and service charges would carry over and would not have to pay extra? We are on the breakaway in Aug and have always fancied trying Haven but the price puts us off as we would need the 2bed with our kids. :'):')

You are correct about only the first 2 in cabin pay the upgrade. You should do it if you can afford. It is AMAZING!!!! But know that you may never be able to go back - we upgraded once and have been doing Haven ever since at full price because we don't want to take a chance of NOT getting a Haven.

I was looking at the other Haven suites, as there were a lot available, but really was looking for two full bathrooms. I think the only Haven suites with two full bathrooms were the Two Bedroom and the Aft Balcony.

Stayed in an aft haven balcony on Breakaway in February and the second bathroom is tiny. It was nice to have the extra toilet but used main bathroom for showers, etc. We had a forward facing penthouse on Breakaway once on deck 9 and the shower was HUGE!!!!!

Have a choice between decks 9;10 or 13 Haven Aft which would you choose.

 

 

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According to what I've read on cruisedeckplans.com - decks 9, 10, 12, 13 and 15 have the bedrooms by the balcony which I like better than having the bathroom by the balcony. On Breakaway on deck 11, we had 2 doors to balcony which was nice. The higher up you go, the more noise you will hear from Spice. On 11, we only heard some music one night while on the balcony, and it wasn't loud.

We LOVED Haven on the Escape. It was worth every single penny to us and then some. We cruised the week prior to Christmas so the ship was PACKED and while there was a dozen or so kids in Haven ... the pool was not over run whatsoever. They actually all left most of the day to do all the slides etc. And come back for a little peace and quiet.

 

 

We did the aft balcony, and while it was definitely a hike... we had the best of both worlds. I agree with a previous poster and outside pool in Haven would be appreciated on that ship. ( yes the roof is retractable but they did not open it all week)

 

We looked at it on Bliss for Alaska and while it would be nice... the $$$$ is just not possible. New Ship+ Alaska =$$$ no matter what room you pick.

Looking forward to Escape this January but we had an aft Haven balcony on Breakaway and I agree with the hike but the balcony was sooooo worth it. We didn't spend much time during the sea days in the Haven because we had that awesome balcony. We are in a 2 bedroom in January and will definitely miss the balcony but need the space for more people.

You are ASSuming that NCL was not the ones who found it. In either case, I am sure what you were trying to say is "go to thank NCL AND The people who found it".

YOUR BLINKING EYE BREAKS ME OUT (but I think it's soooo cool)!!!!!

I will second this. Had him on the Epic, March, 2017.

He’s so good, that when we were on the Epic again this past December, our butler asked who we had before. When I said Maxi, his eyes got wide. Oooh, I’ve got big shoes to fill! He said. lol.

 

And fill them he did. Roland was his name, and he was sooooooo good. He even found a bottle of pickle juice for our friend that was sailing with us to make PickleBacks with the bottle of Jameson we had. Perfectly good way to ruin a glass of Jameson, IMHO, but to each their own!

 

And I guess that’s the strangest request we’ve made of our butler. Pickle juice.

We had Roland on the Breakaway in 2017 and he was awesome and so funny!!! Loved him.

Looking forward to our Escape cruise this January. We stayed in an aft penthouse on deck 11 and the only negative is how far it is from the Haven. But the balcony is not to be beat. I never went to the sun deck in our 2 week cruise because the balcony was so lovely. We're in a 2 bedroom this January so no big balcony :( Oh well - can't have everything. But why not????

Beautiful tribute. We've sailed on her three 2 week Caribbean winter cruises in a row - 2 of them in the Haven and loved every minute of all of them. Looking for to Escape in 2019.

The Haven/Suite DSC is higher to compensate for this.

From what I've read - they don't get any of the DSC.

What media? Doing a google, other than this forum and Canadian media.... I saw little media attention.

 

I'm kinda puzzled why the original threads were closed.

It was on ABC evening news here in the US last night.

In Antigua a few years ago we saw a family take a zip lock bag out of their beach bag that was full of cold pizza. Once getting off a ship, I had an ice cream cone and they stopped me right off the ship and made me finish it before we could leave. I'm surprised a cone made it from the buffet to the gangway!!!

Nope....just pay with it. You have to chck your offers on line to be sure you got the offer, and then you have to select it in order to activate it. Then its available for you to use.

Unfortunately, not everyone gets the offer :( We had it last year and it was great but nothing this year. We booked thru the same on line agency etc but no deal. Called AMEX - they said to contact NCL which I did - they actually called me and said call the on line agency so I e-mailed my agent and heard nothing. Oh well.

Had the aft haven suite on Breakaway in February and it was AWESOME. Best balcony ever. It was very windy in some of the islands but we didn't have any problems with it. We were on deck 11 so far enough away from Spice only heard some music one night and it wasn't much of anything. And loved having a door from the living room AND the bedroom.

Have you considered an aft haven suite? It's a bit far from the Haven area BUT the balcony is the best we've ever had. We left the beach in Aruba early just to go back to your wonderful balcony with 3 loungers, a table with 4 chairs and additional chairs. A door from the living room and one from the bedroom. The 2nd bathroom is so tiny I would consider it more of a 1/2 bath - I showered in there once and that was it.

Another Seka fan. She is terrific. Never tried the peanut butter cheesecake - but I will in the future!!!!