Getaway Haven 14-21 June (Couples Review)

[Windy56]

I am really appreciating your detailed review. My husband and I have booked a Haven spa cabin for two weeks next year. Could you tell me if the little cabin treats, such as the chocolate covered strawberries come at an extra cost or are they included in the Haven experience?

 

Really looking forward to more of this great review!

[ee1999]

I am really appreciating your detailed review. My husband and I have booked a Haven spa cabin for two weeks next year. Could you tell me if the little cabin treats, such as the chocolate covered strawberries come at an extra cost or are they included in the Haven experience?

 

Really looking forward to more of this great review!

 

All of the treats are included:) The butler brings them every day! Don't hesitate to tell your butler exactly what you like or dislike. I gained the most weight ever on this cruise and to make it worse they put a scale in the bathroom.

[ee1999]

We also booked Le Bistro, don't know how I forgot to mention this gem. Spoiler alert ended up there twice!

[ee1999]

Frasier Season 10 Enemy at the Gate (The parking garage episode)

 

Learned how to use the calendar on my iPhone and planned June 7 to pack for the trip. Erin discovered on the 7th she didn't have enough clothes for the trip. So we headed to the original Tommy Bahama store in Naples and she managed to find everything she needed. They were having what they call a flip side sale. We get $50 to spend in the future for every $250 we spend. She saved me another $100. At this point we have almost saved enough for a future cruise. She found the last piece to the puzzle at DSW a couple days later and we were completely packed.

 

Friday June 13 at 5:30 pm we are heading across alligator alley to Miami! We pull in to the Marriott Biscayne Bay right around 8:00. It is very easy to get to from 95 and easy to the port the next day.

 

Parking in Miami can run really high. The sign posted said $18 for overnight parking which I thought was reasonable.

 

The hotel has undergone some major renovations throughout the public areas and was very nice. We were met at the elite counter by the receptionist. Gaston was very friendly and knew our life history in a few minutes. He maid fun of me because I had told him my vacation is only 5 weeks not all summer. He laughed and said he would get 5 weeks if he was at Marriott just another 15 years. All in good nature and he gave us great room on the 25th floor. He also asked if we had a car and said he would put it on the room so we would only need to use our room card to leave in the morning.

The room was excellent with great views to see Getaway in the morning. The biggest problem we had with the room was that there was no safe. We would gamble on this cruise so we had quite a bit of cash. We just hid it within the suitcase and went to dinner.

 

We went to dinner at an italian place connected to the hotel called Primo's. It was excellent and reasonably priced. I had the chicken francais special. The special included the house salad and tiramisu. Erin had the rigatoni bolognaise. She went afterward next door to a place that was counter service italian to have her first taste of gelato. She really enjoyed it.

 

We went to a counter service place called La Faubours that was sort of like a bodega to get a late night treat. I got a brownie that looked huge in the case, with lot's of goodies and nuts on top. They must have been using magnifying cases because when the girl handed it to me it was really small. Later I found out small was okay because it was terrible with no taste whatsoever. I don't recommend La Fabours.

 

I'll tell you about parking now because I want to cover seeing Getaway the first time and our morning on a separate post. When we checked out parking was $26.00 on our bill. Turns out if you put it on your room you have in and out privileges, which we wouldn't use. So my advice is don't tell the desk you have a car and just pay the $18 instead especially if you won't be using your car that night. I didn't have the time Frasier had to argue. He was going to work, I was going on the Getaway! Any suggestions on how to make the pictures bigger?

[DrNora]

Great review ! Don't know how to make them bigger.

As for brighter...see same season, just episode six-

Star Mitzvah.

[ee1999]

Great review ! Don't know how to make them bigger.

As for brighter...see same season, just episode six-

Star Mitzvah.

 

Unfortunately, I'm worse than Martin, I can't even get the camera to flash when I want to. The one thing missing from Frasier is outtakes. I should post some of my outtake photos at the end.:D

[indigosoulchild]

Love Frasier and love your review so far! Already subscribed! :D

[ee1999]

Have You Ever Heard of Lupe Velez?

 

It was really hard to sleep. I kept wanting to open the drapes to see if Getaway was in. Finally, around 8 am Erin woke up and I was able to get my first look at Getaway. 2 Carnival ships and Getaway were the only ones in port for Saturday.

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We went on a run over the drawbridge by the hotel and into a nice little neighborhood. Erin was able to cover 3.3 miles with only a couple of stops, really great for only 2 months of training.

 

When we got back to the hotel as we were walking through the lobby the front desk clerk stopped us to ask if we'd like water. Either she was psychic or we looked way worse than we felt, a nice and thoughtful touch though.

 

We loaded our bags and headed to the port. A short 7-8 minutes later we were at the port at about 10:30 am. Everyone was getting off of the ship and we were definitely salmon swimming upstream. Erin got the bags dropped off and I parked at the port garage. We have used other parking garages, but the savings just aren't worth the hassle of getting shuttles back to them. We opted to pay on return since we were reasonably sure we would lose the ticket anyway.

 

We didn't have to wait at all and were immediately through security. The first door you come to on the left after security is Haven checkin. We had one group of 5 in front of us and you are able to sit until they call you by name. Within 5 minutes we were checked in.

 

They have some nice snacks, tea, coffee, and water available inside this area.

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Then another NCL employee comes and takes you to the upstairs Haven waiting area. We started to feel a little self-conscience. The group of 5 made the entire trip upstairs unquestioned. We were asked at 3 separate points to show our Haven id.

 

The upstairs area is divided by cubicle dividers from the regular waiting area. The chairs are nicer and there were cookies, tea, coffee, and water available in this area as well. We were seated an waiting to board by 10:45 am.

 

My suggestion would be not to arrive at he port until at least 11:00 am if you are in the Haven. Boarding began at 11:20 and they took a group of about 25 of us to the Haven.

You get on the ship on deck 7 and are taken by reserved elevator to deck 16 Haven. I was a little disappointed we didn't go through line to get our welcome aboard photo op. The Haven guests are taken around this area. If you want the photo I would just tell the escort what you want. We didn't and I wish we had.

 

Once at the Haven, Anoop, the concierge, gave us his introduction, but like another reviewer said no tour. We were allowed to go to our cabins to drop off luggage. That was great because I had a roller with a case of Fiji water. Just a side note, Fiji fits great into the mini fridge.

 

A little more background, I never had a vacation as a kid. My parents raised 8 children on 1960s and 70s enlisted military pay. Whenever I do anything like a cruise, Disney, vacation, or any upscale experience it is always exceptional to me.

When my brothers, sister, and I are together we can't help but look back on our childhood and marvel at some of the experiences we have been lucky enough to have. I say this because as a reviewer I now find myself in a position where I do need to nitpick to inform of what to expect.

 

That said, I felt Anoop and the concierge staff were underwhelming. They certainly did provide some great services that I will go into, but our expectations were high. This is one of those things where if you don't ask, you don't get and we just aren't that way. Did it hinder our vacation in any way, no not at all, but to me there was little value added to the Haven from the concierge staff It did seem like they were always busy so I'm sure they provided great service to those who were vocal.

 

 

[ee1999]

I hadn't seen these before and thought they may be useful for anyone out there who needs a Getaway fix.

 

[ee1999]

Love Frasier and love your review so far! Already subscribed! :D

 

I'm glad you're enjoying it.

[Susie51]

Great review! I like Erin math.

[maja651]

Have You Ever Heard of Lupe Velez?

 

 

That said, I felt Anoop and the concierge staff were underwhelming. They certainly did provide some great services that I will go into, but our expectations were high. This is one of those things where if you don't ask, you don't get and we just aren't that way. Did it hinder our vacation in any way, no not at all, but to me there was little value added to the Haven from the concierge staff It did seem like they were always busy so I'm sure they provided great service to those who were vocal.

 

 

I agree with you on this completely! Nothing against Anoop and the staff, but I was very underwhelmed compared to Adrian and his staff. Unfortunately for Anoop, his tip reflected this.

[ee1999]

I agree with you on this completely! Nothing against Anoop and the staff, but I was very underwhelmed compared to Adrian and his staff. Unfortunately for Anoop, his tip reflected this.

 

Michelle,

So funny, I am also reading your awesome review. We had a very similar experience with Noemi concerning dinner reservations.

 

I agree with so much of your review. Everyone I spoke with told me we had to go back on Epic in Haven. Everyone to a person said there is no comparison.

 

We had a great time and Haven is definitely worth every penny, but there were a lot of little things they could have improved.

Billy

[maja651]

Michelle,

So funny, I am also reading your awesome review. We had a very similar experience with Noemi concerning dinner reservations.

 

I agree with so much of your review. Everyone I spoke with told me we had to go back on Epic in Haven. Everyone to a person said there is no comparison.

 

We had a great time and Haven is definitely worth every penny, but there were a lot of little things they could have improved.

Billy

 

Billy - did you spend much time in the Haven? I don't recognize the person in the picture. It is fun reading your review and comparing to my experience.

[ee1999]

Billy - did you spend much time in the Haven? I don't recognize the person in the picture. It is fun reading your review and comparing to my experience.

 

Not really. We had 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 1 dinner at the Haven restaurant. We spent about 8 hours total on the Haven sun deck. The sun deck was great, nice and quiet.

 

Although I will say the kids were well-behaved in the Haven area, it was just a little too loud for us there especially right at the pool level and the area surrounding it. Not quite what we were expecting.

 

The second sea day was much better than the first day. We spent most of the afternoon there that day.

[SissasMomE]

That said, I felt Anoop and the concierge staff were underwhelming. They certainly did provide some great services that I will go into, but our expectations were high. This is one of those things where if you don't ask, you don't get and we just aren't that way. Did it hinder our vacation in any way, no not at all, but to me there was little value added to the Haven from the concierge staff It did seem like they were always busy so I'm sure they provided great service to those who were vocal.

 

 

 

For your next vacation, for something really special, look into Sandals Grenada. Specifically Grenada. It's more upscale that the other Sandals resorts. If you can swing it, book an Italian villa. You will not regret it, but it will spoil you!

[ee1999]

For your next vacation, for something really special, look into Sandals Grenada. Specifically Grenada. It's more upscale that the other Sandals resorts. If you can swing it, book an Italian villa. You will not regret it, but it will spoil you!

 

Thank you for the suggestion. We have looked at all-inclusives in the past and will take a look at Sandals Grenada. What were your favorite parts of the resort?

 

I did feel spoiled in the Haven. I just feel in general the service sector overlooks those not willing to make a fuss.

[ee1999]

Season 7 Episode 14: Big Crane on Campus

 

Putting your platinum key into the door of the Haven is like taking Lorna to the class reunion. At the bar they were serving non-alcoholic mojitos and punch. Neither of us had ever had a mojito so we both tried the non-alcoholic version. We both were impressed at how refreshing they are. We already planned on hitting the mojito bar on 8, but now it went higher on the list.

 

The Haven restaurant wasn't open yet, but they were passing around sliders with fries. I love burgers and these things were excellent. I could have eaten 2 or 3. Erin agreed with me, but we decided we should pace ourselves. Big mistake, that was the last time we saw sliders available in the Haven, should have at least had 2.

 

We also took a tour around the Haven area. They have a cocktail table in the Haven where you can swipe your cabin card and see your photos. I agree with other reviewers who say they learn your name almost immediately in the Haven area. I had yet to pull out my card and at least 2 people addressed me as Mr. Billy. You really can't help but feel special in the Haven area. It was equally impressive to me that no matter where you went on the ship as soon as you gave them your card they would refer to you by name. It didn't seem to matter if we saw them 2 or 3 days later I would still be greeted as Mr. Billy.

 

The top deck was awesome! The Getaway is like a huge playground on the pool deck. The ropes course is way more massive than I had imagined and I got to try it later in the cruise. There also seem to be slides all over the place.

 

We went from the pool deck straight to our room (no stairs, same deck as the pool). When we arrived the room was ready. The area around the courtyard rooms is very quiet and controlled by key access. We weren't in the room 15 minutes when the doorbell rang. It was our steward, Randolf with our luggage. This was probably around 2 pm very early. Randolf was magnificent though out the cruise and the best room steward hands-down of any we have had. I believe he said he has been with NCL about 15 years, rolled out the Epic, and came to Getaway on the maiden voyage. If you are in his area he will make your trip. Erin made the mistake of asking him for some extra shower gels. I think he delivered about 35 bottles before we convinced him we had plenty. That's just one of the examples I can give you of his great attitude. Also, you can see Erin doesn't quite understand the concept of photo bomb.

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[ee1999]

highlights for the week. The only one I could find before I left was from the inaugural cruise.Week at a Glance 14-21 June.pdf

Edited June 24, 2014 by ee1999

[ee1999]

I could only copy it a page at a time for size restrictions.

Getaway 14 June 1.pdf

 

Getaway 14 June 1-1.pdf

 

Getaway 14 June 1-2.pdf

 

Getaway 14 June 1-3.pdf

[thefuturemrsc]

Fantastic review so far! Very excited for our cruise in September! We are staying in the Haven and it is my first cruise...I have seen my fiancé (Geauxboy) talking about me :) And yes hunnie, get used to that overtime. Erin is going to teach me her Math skills for the future!!

[ee1999]

Fantastic review so far! Very excited for our cruise in September! We are staying in the Haven and it is my first cruise...I have seen my fiancé (Geauxboy) talking about me :) And yes hunnie, get used to that overtime. Erin is going to teach me her Math skills for the future!!

 

I wish I could go in September again! Erin works hard so I have no complaints (she's working now and I'm reading cruise critic). I wish the bank would adjust our account the way she sees it. I would say I should have well over a million in the bank with all the savings!:D

 

Despite any little flaws, you are truly pampered in the Haven. NCL does a lot of things I wish they would adopt on the other lines.

 

Best excursion of any cruise was in St. Maarten with Cpt Bob and Soualiga Destinations, look for them on trip advisor.

[DrNora]

I wish I could go in September again! Erin works hard so I have no complaints (she's working now and I'm reading cruise critic). I wish the bank would adjust our account the way she sees it. I would say I should have well over a million in the bank with all the savings!:D

 

Despite any little flaws, you are truly pampered in the Haven. NCL does a lot of things I wish they would adopt on the other lines.

 

Best excursion of any cruise was in St. Maarten with Cpt Bob and Soualiga Destinations, look for them on trip advisor.

 

My husband cannot wait to get back to his Haven. We had to divert to other lines for a while due to that "school" thing with the childrens... whilst I loathe most NCL concierges that have been tossed in my path, the overall experience is not attainable for us with the kids on another line. The simple act of being able to escape the throngs sold us on our first NCL cruise. Sure, we had our own library in the Walt Disney Suite on DCL( it was like living at the Montana, sans the gift wrapping room) , nothing is the same as having the ability to flee.

 

I don't need to write letters to my butler , but DO enjoy the little treats each day. It is fun to be spoiled every now and then. This will be our first NCL Mega ship experience- getting excited!

 

Nora

[ee1999]

My husband cannot wait to get back to his Haven. We had to divert to other lines for a while due to that "school" thing with the childrens... whilst I loathe most NCL concierges that have been tossed in my path, the overall experience is not attainable for us with the kids on another line. The simple act of being able to escape the throngs sold us on our first NCL cruise. Sure, we had our own library in the Walt Disney Suite on DCL( it was like living at the Montana, sans the gift wrapping room) , nothing is the same as having the ability to flee.

 

I don't need to write letters to my butler , but DO enjoy the little treats each day. It is fun to be spoiled every now and then. This will be our first NCL Mega ship experience- getting excited!

 

Nora

Dr. Nora,

I believe going to the NCL Haven from a regular cabin on another line is like going from the Shangri-La to the Montana. Going from a suite on most lines to the Haven is probably closer to going from The Elliott Bay Towers to the Montana.

 

The treats are perfectly timed when you come back from shore excursions.

Goodnight Seattle!

[gschwartz001]

We learned a valuable lesson over the years as it relates to planning meals in specialty restaurants and entertainment on the newer cruise ships. If you don't reserve ahead of time prepare to be patient and disappointed or lower your expectations. We did not want to have a hard time getting tickets to "Tales of the Mariner" like the Frasier episode. I also knew I would write a review this time and didn't want to talk about things I hand't experienced. I saw what trouble that got Niles and Frasier into.

 

Being in the Haven we were allowed to book our shows and dinners 55 days out instead of the 45 allowed for all other cruises. Now the policy has changed to 90 days out, but I'm not sure if that is the same for Haven guests or if they get additional time. If you know please chime in.

 

We booked Cagney's for the first day and an additional day. We also booked Teppanyaki, Moderno, and La Cucina each for one day. We booked each of the shows Illusionarium, Wine Lovers the Musical, Legally Blonde, Burn the Floor, and Levity Comedy Group. I believe those were the only shows available for prebooking.

 

On board we were able to see the Grammy Experience, Howl at the Moon, and fireworks very easily without reservations.

 

We also emailed NCL's pre concierge about 3 weeks ahead of time because we had not received the concierge letter. The letter gave us choices for pillows, allergy concerns, or any other special requests we may have. Everything we put in the letter was met to the tee.

 

We are very low maintenance. The problem is we probably didn't get the most out of the Haven experience being that way. I would suggest that no matter where you are on the ship, but especially the Haven ask for what you want and don't settle for anything. The staff were excellent at taking care of any concerns that we saw anyone voice. Here is my first suggestion if you are staying in the Haven. You don't have to request just what is on the letter. Just as an example, we asked for chocolate covered strawberries and they were waiting on us. We also wanted the mini fridge emptied and it was.

 

The last thing we decided was to drive over the night before and stay in a hotel. Originally we wanted to stay in the Coconut Grove area because Erin hasn't seen it before and wanted to do some shopping. However, when she checked her schedule the earliest we could be in Miami was about 8:30. So we decided to stay closer to the Port of Miami. We chose the Marriott Biscayne Bay because we had stayed there for our wedding cruise aboard Liberty of the Seas and they have a great military rate.

 

The plan aboard ship is in place. What's left? Yeah shore excursions! Rarely do we book through the ship and Erin gave me free reign to choose. The first island we would be going was St. Maarten. I use to be an airborne ranger in a past life. The only reason I say this is knowing that people are surprised that I get extremely motion sick. I can't even ride as a passenger in a car most of the time. So I naturally chose Soualiga Destinations power boat trip with Cpt. Bob for St. Maarten. Erin almost overruled but conceded because of the motion sickness. For St. Thomas I chose Active Island Tours 5k run. St. Thomas is very hilly, traffic and driving are brutal, and Erin hadn't started running yet (although she had talked about running). And finally Bahamas, we chose Atlantis and arranged a casino rate of $85 versus over $150 each the ship was charging.

 

I'll go into detail on all of the entertainment, meals, and excursions. This was just what we planned ahead of time.

 

My husband and I are heading to Atlantis on our October sky cruise. If you don't mind me asking how did you get a casino rate? Have you played there before? We are CAS guests but have never been to Atlantis.