beachmonkey

No harm in calling but maybe on your next cruise don't book early. You can shop early but wait to purchase/book until after final payment is due.

That could be an issue with a Haven customer. If your heart is set on a certain type of suite, it might be unavailable if you wait that long. Not always the case, but it is possible.

Another vote for Le Bistro. Les fruits de mer is a seafood puff pastry that is AMAZING!

Love it!

There is nothing like your first cruise! I do get that super excited feeling every time I step on another ship.

Thanks for the update and feedback.

It sounds to me like it turned out quite well given that it is a new promotion for the staff to understand. I always expect a few bumps with the release of a promotion or the launch of a new ship. Never a fear that they cannot be worked out.

We have the ALLIN for the next cruise. Down to the double digit dance.

Thanks again!

We were in the deck 11 starboard H7 on the Breakaway (sister ship) and both the balcony and bedroom window offered great views. We loved that cabin!

Hi Elizabeth and Mary!

Congratulations n your upcoming wedding!

Isn't "getting away" on vacation the point of both vacations and freestyle? If wearing your formal dresses and feeling extra beautiful is not how you spend every day, then you have met one of the goals of a good vacation. It is the same as someone who says they must dress up or wear suits at work and don't want to dress up on the cruise.

I bet you look beautiful in these dresses!

Le Bistro is our favorite. I love the escargot and Fruits de Mer (lobster, shrimp, scallops in a puff pastry).

I agree with Tyson. We loved the forward facing penthouse on the Breakaway. I had heard that sometimes having the bed facing port-starboard would make the ship motion more noticeable. We had no issues. We also had a friend sailing in one on the same deck. He gets seasick and even he loved the cabin. No motion issues for him the whole sailing.

The concierge is your best friend. We have sailed with Ruth and Adrian as our concierges. They were both excellent and took care of any dining, shows, and excursions we wanted.

Happy sailing!

We have stayed in the Haven on the Epic three times now and have loved every trip. The service and attention to detail is excellent.

 

My only comment is that once you have stayed in The Haven, you will always want to rebook the Haven Experience

This is so true. We work long hours and appreciate a little extra time and space when we can get it.

Thank you for sharing this information. I have seen their sheet cakes for the CC Meet-N-Greets but never thought about the fact that they are not on the regular ordering pages.

Just reposting to bring it to the top...anyone joining us? :cool:

-Robert

We were able to book an aft Haven suite on the Getaway that was cheaper than the suite we had last April. We also took advantage of the all-inclusive offer they ran in August/September. That offer reduced the cabin by 10% which made it even better.

Now if I could only make the countdown clock move faster!

The H7 forward facing penthouse cabins on the Breakaway/Getaway are very nice. We stayed in one this past year and really liked it.

We stayed in the Haven Spa suite on the Epic and Breakaway. When on the Epic, we used the spa a lot. On the Breakaway, we were busy with other activities and never got our use out of it.

The lobster/puff pastry option is my favorite meal on the ship! I have been ordering it for the last several years. I know that I should try something else, but going to Le Bistro is a highlight of my trip(s).

It is a very light puff pastry that compliments the seafood and sauce very well.

We have sailed in both categories of cabins on the Breakaway. The forward facing penthouse and spa balconies are about the same size. The forward facing balcony do get smaller as you go to the higher decks. This is because of the way the ship is built and the curve as you get closer to the bridge.

The forward facing balcony cabin is our favorite of the two. The window in the bedroom faces forward and provides a great view. There is plenty of space and quite comfortable.

The spa cabin on the Breakaway was not as big a hit since we did not take advantage of the spa (too much to do on the ship!) and never used the spa tub in the room. (on past cruises, you could not get me out of the spa!)

We also found the larger forward facing penthouse to be the same price or a bit cheaper than the spa cabin.

English101, we got married on April 27, 2014. Have you written a review of your wedding?

-Robert

@cruisinthrough, I like your idea of making a game out of it. We had made a photo scavenger hunt for first day at sea and I gave cruise ship gift cards as prizes. Then they were able to use the cards toward their account, drinks, photos, or whatever. A few people chose not to participate and were kind of upset that they didn't when they realized there was money on the line.

That is a great idea! The scavenger hunt idea also probably helped get some special photos that were quite creative and unique!

We were fortunate enough that someone we met on a cruise back in 2009 is a photographer. We did not use the ship photographers. Between our friend and our guests, we got some wonderful photos.

Congratulations!

I have posted often in the Honeymoon/Wedding forum and NEVER received any negative feedback. In fact, the other posters have been extremely friendly.

Congratulations again...now I have to check out your other post!

We have sailed the Breakaway twice now and attended the kid's talent show both times. It is adorable!

For the most part, it is the result of activities they did over the course of the week. I only recall one or two where they did an individual talent. It would be hard to showcase every child in their own routine. There would also be upset parents/family members who felt their child did not get some special attention.

My favorite part of the show is always the "Ice Cream and Cake" song and dance.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

We were able to get our license in NYC even though we are living in Idaho. We got married on the NCL Breakaway while in port and then sailed with some of our guests.

Congratulations to your son and his partner! Your support is beautiful.

- Robert

Thank you for posting your review. The pictures look great!

Wishing you a lifetime of happy memories!

Typically, the GSC is either working on or around the Customer Service desk or in their office which is located fairly close to the desk.

Be sure to keep their contact information available and update them with any issues you have when you have them. We have always found them to be very helpful and responsive.

Have a wonderful trip!

How did you do dinner for your wedding group on the ship? I'm really not understanding this "freestyle" concept. Did you all eat in the same place each night? Did you make reservations for your entire group? I'm going to have around 30 sailing, and not quite sure how dinner would work. The more I look into the breakaway, it seems they have more food options then I'm used to. Just not sure if I want my entire group at separate places each day, it would be nice to stay together.

 

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We did not try to do dinner as a group every night. The first night we went to the Manhattan Room (main dining room) and they seated us at 3 tables in an area by ourselves. The tables were close enough that it did not feel separate. We just made sure that we got up to talk to the other tables a couple of times during the meal.

One night we planned to have dinner with just our Best Man and Best Diva. We took them to Le Bistro, the French restaurant.

As a group, we did the Cirque Dreams and Donner Jungle Fantasy. It is a dinner and show atmosphere. We were able to arrange to reserve tables near each other. The show goes on around you so there is not much dinner conversation, but everyone had a great time.

We also reserved the Teppanyaki dinner for everyone interested in joining us. We had a couple of people say that they were not interested or could not eat the food and one couple said it was too late for them to eat.

For us, we wanted our guests to enjoy their cruise doing the things they anted to do. We met up several times for shows, games, drinks, and hanging by the pool. We rented a cabana on the beach at Great Stirrup Cay that we used as a central meeting place. Some guests did excursions together too.

Trying to schedule everything so much is stressful for you and your guests. Letting them know when and where some events are happening is really enough.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any additional questions.