Haven Free at Sea Promotion Extra Charges

[Dr. Cocktail]

I think I'm going to try MSC next, or Celebrity's Edge ship. The only concern I have with MSC is, I thought Ire ad that the unlimited drink package they have in the yacht club is only good in the yacht club so if you leave the suite area, drink package doesn't apply? Am I wrong about that? Seems like I must be....but these days you never know.

 

This is directly from the MSC website:

 

 

• UNLIMITED DRINKS in all bars and restaurants of the ship
  

This started a month or two ago. Your suite minibar, inclusive of alcohol and snacks is also included!!! (I will have to overcome my deathly fear of minibar items and charges!)

And ... the butler IS included in the tip pool!

[DMH15]

We are in a forward PH on small ship....so no bar (that we wouldn't use).

 

 

 

After this cruise we will probably return to Oceania. We do not book suites on O, but have sailed in their PH's with upsell. Generally, we book very port intensive itineraries, which works well with O...entertainment on O is not its strong point. But, the inclusions on O works well with what we value...water, specialty dining, specialty coffee and mini bar sparkling water. O does freestyle as well as NCL, so that we can get our valued table for two (although that can be difficult for prime time bookings in specialties). With the O life, we can sometimes leverage some airfare savings, even with deviation fees to select our flights, and use the included OBC for the few things that we do charge onboard. The overall ambiance on O is also something we value (adult and not crowded). We don't feel the need for a suite on initial booking.

 

 

 

That said, NCL worked for this cruise. O does not do a short 14 day around the horn South America. With the time we feel we need in pre and post embarkation cities, the vacation will be over three weeks on the NCL cruise....we would need a month for O. The cruise will have many sea days, so the better NCL entertainment might be nice.

 

 

 

I guess for us, it will come down to a special itinerary to go the the NCL route again. But, I never say never...

 

 

My NCL 14 night SA cruise on the Sun remains my favorite. It would be hard to top.

 

My excursion to Antarctica was a special highlight. I loved Montevideo. Found an awesome artist studio and made memorable purchases.

 

And this Texas gal loved the SA beef!!! Oh, and the red wine too.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[buggins0402]

 

Oh, and the red wine too.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

LOL...my initial posting stated that I will be bringing bottles onboard for corkage...already planning on a winery tour transfer from Santiago to Valparaiso. DH will hate it, but I do the planning. :evilsmile:

[DMH15]

LOL...my initial posting stated that I will be bringing bottles onboard for corkage...already planning on a winery tour transfer from Santiago to Valparaiso. DH will hate it, but I do the planning. :evilsmile:

 

 

We were not able to squeeze that in. I am still working and long cruises are hard to swing as it is. But I have managed to log a few of them. That cruise had us flying in the day of. Which I hate to do. But it was what it was.

 

I am envious. Hope you love it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[buggins0402]

We were not able to squeeze that in. I am still working and long cruises are hard to swing as it is. But I have managed to log a few of them. That cruise had us flying in the day of. Which I hate to do. But it was what it was.

 

I am envious. Hope you love it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

The O cruise would have been worse for us...leave Lima without seeing it AND skipping Machu Picchu, with a fly into BA with perhaps a day. We are primarily land travelers and that would not have worked with how we viewed how we would do South America,

 

The SA cruise will be our first after retirement, but we have a pet. Four weeks is just too long.

[Cruisermom2nick]

I would assume yes for anyone in a room lower than a regular suite, yes.

 

But those who were already booked in non-Haven penthouse suites or 2-family suites (who then upgraded or won bids into the Haven) would not have had to pay gratuities on the dining and drink promos when they originally booked... as those suites like the Haven used to get the Four for Free with the gratuities included as well.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens when this promo ends in terms of whether this becomes a new policy going forward.

 

My NCL PCC told me this was a permanent change on a go forward basis and would not end when the promo ends. Anyone who has already booked a suite or the Haven is grandfathered in though.

[DMH15]

The O cruise would have been worse for us...leave Lima without seeing it AND skipping Machu Picchu, with a fly into BA with perhaps a day. We are primarily land travelers and that would not have worked with how we viewed how we would do South America,

 

 

 

The SA cruise will be our first after retirement, but we have a pet. Four weeks is just too long.

 

 

I hear ya on the pet. Luckily I board my pup in a luxury suite with web cam. I steal a peek several times a day. The staff there adores her and she loves it. Like going to camp. LOL.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[DMH15]

My NCL PCC told me this was a permanent change on a go forward basis and would not end when the promo ends. Anyone who has already booked a suite or the Haven is grandfathered in though.

 

 

Ok then.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I am ready to commit elsewhere.

 

NCL basically changed me from a cheerleader to Rhett Butler. You know the line.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[WYTinman]

I think I'm going to try MSC next, or Celebrity's Edge ship. The only concern I have with MSC is, I thought Ire ad that the unlimited drink package they have in the yacht club is only good in the yacht club so if you leave the suite area, drink package doesn't apply? Am I wrong about that? Seems like I must be....but these days you never know.

 

The Y/C drink package is now ship wide (as of a few weeks ago). There are some restrictions as to what you can order at the bars outside of the Y/C. I haven't seen or heard what those restrictions are as of yet. I don't imagine that they will be very restrictive.

[WYTinman]

Ok then.

 

 

NCL basically changed me from a cheerleader to Rhett Butler. You know the line.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

My wife and I have the same feelings Donna.

We have decided that it will take something special to get us to reconsider NCL in the future.

Mark & Lori

[dexddd]

Yes 7 days . Both cruises are November 18, 2018 the NCL cruise is on the Getaway from Miami and we booked the DOS for $19206 for the 2 of us in cdn $ . Yesterday we were able to book the Royal suite on Freedom of the Seas for the same date for $9767 cdn for the 2 of us. After the cruise is over we're planning to spend a week or 2 in either St Maarten or Aruba so the Royal cruise works out better in terms of where we'll be as well.

And before anyone asks, yes I realize that it is US Thanksgiving that week (but it also happens to be a milestone birthday for me so we cant change our dates :) )

Im just frustrated and perhaps once we booked I should have stopped looking, because I did want the Haven.....but how in heavens name do I say no to the Royal suite with the hot tub to boot at half the price....lol ?

Or as dh put it, 3/4 of the price ok....but half???

 

PS Dexddd...I just looked at your profile page...we too did the Paul Gauguin many moons ago...now that was an amazing cruise :)

 

We stayed in the DOS on BA and have one booked on Escape. I see the GA booking you have for the DOS is over Thanksgiving so that is driving the price up.

 

That being said, I follow NCL suite prices pretty closely and that rate is one of the highest I've ever seen even factoring in it being a holiday sailing. I personally would never pay anything near that. I think you'd be better served cancelling that and going on RCCL.

 

Yes, PG is fantastic. I got email from them yesterday and they have a new stop added now to Tahiti Iti which is some small remote island as I understand it.

[dexddd]

I think I'm going to try MSC next, or Celebrity's Edge ship. The only concern I have with MSC is, I thought Ire ad that the unlimited drink package they have in the yacht club is only good in the yacht club so if you leave the suite area, drink package doesn't apply? Am I wrong about that? Seems like I must be....but these days you never know.

 

I can only speak for the Divina, but yes, that changed 4/1/17. YC folks can now get drinks anywhere on the ship.

 

I'll be taking good use of that mid-August.

[dexddd]

If true I may never leave

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Divina YC drinks everywhere on the ship on any day ending in ..."Y".

 

Not sure about the other ships as I seem to recall it being rolled out on the Divina first.

[dexddd]

This is directly from the MSC website:

 

 

• UNLIMITED DRINKS in all bars and restaurants of the ship
  

This started a month or two ago. Your suite minibar, inclusive of alcohol and snacks is also included!!! (I will have to overcome my deathly fear of minibar items and charges!)

And ... the butler IS included in the tip pool!

 

We have two rooms coming up. I'll have to get a key card to the kids room so I can burgle their minibar during the day.

[dexddd]

Ok then.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I am ready to commit elsewhere.

 

NCL basically changed me from a cheerleader to Rhett Butler. You know the line.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I certainly can visualize these cheerleaders you speak of, but Rhett Butler, no, I'll need some help there.

[Desert_ Dweller]

I certainly can visualize these cheerleaders you speak of, but Rhett Butler, no, I'll need some help there.

 

Frankly, my dear......................................

[Dr. Cocktail]

We have two rooms coming up. I'll have to get a key card to the kids room so I can burgle their minibar during the day.

 

I view this as the height of responsible parenting. I would not want to tempt them with alcohol, salt or sugar.

 

Ask your butler to substitute the pop with prune nectar .... this way, not only will your children not be tempted, if they are ... you'll know where to find them!

[Luckybee]

We stayed in the DOS on BA and have one booked on Escape. I see the GA booking you have for the DOS is over Thanksgiving so that is driving the price up.

 

That being said, I follow NCL suite prices pretty closely and that rate is one of the highest I've ever seen even factoring in it being a holiday sailing. I personally would never pay anything near that. I think you'd be better served cancelling that and going on RCCL.

 

Yes, PG is fantastic. I got email from them yesterday and they have a new stop added now to Tahiti Iti which is some small remote island as I understand it.

 

Which is exactly what we did. I cancelled the NCL cruise yesterday and we're doing the RCCL cruise instead !

 

We've only cruised a few times as we tend to be more land based people but I had hoped to try NCL and the Haven as I think it might be right up our alley and avoid some of the things that we haven't loved about cruising. That said, when we can get a luxury private villa on an island for less than the price of the haven it just isn't worth it for us...and when a suite that is arguably better (without the perks) on a different line is half the price I realized we'd be silly not to go that way.

 

I have a question though....is the pricing that high perhaps just because we're booking very early ? I ask because after reading your post I checked the week before and after and while the pricing was less the difference was only about $1000 less. Then I also checked the Bliss and for the 3 cruises it was over $5000 more each week for the DOS.

 

DH and I just got back from STT, and SXM.....on SXM one of the places we stayed was Coral Beach club where we had a beautiful private villa with a pool directly on the beach for about $700 night US (around $1000 CDN)add food at some of the best restaurants anywhere and we're still substantially less....I just cant justify the DOS haven pricing as it now stands in my own mind but we're still open to trying NCL and the Haven at some point if we see the value.

 

Thanks for your advice !

[Luckybee]

I certainly can visualize these cheerleaders you speak of, but Rhett Butler, no, I'll need some help there.

 

Rhett Butler was the lead character in " Gone with the Wind" played by Clark Gable where he uttered the words "frankly my dear I don't give a damn" when he was leaving Scarlett Ohara and she was asking him what she was going to do. Probably the most famous line from a movie in history

[lgdesign]

My NCL PCC told me this was a permanent change on a go forward basis and would not end when the promo ends. Anyone who has already booked a suite or the Haven is grandfathered in though.

 

 

BOOOOOO... HISSSSSS.... After our upcoming 2018 Australia/NZ, I will be looking elsewhere. This was my one straw too many after some very, very nice cruises. Glad we did the DOS in the Haven on the Gem out of NYC back in 2015 when the UDP was every night and the promo gratuities were included. And the Chef's table still existed. That was one of our best cruises with NCL... and that was despite the bathtub leak we had to deal with.

 

Shame, shame...

[reaton]

I've been planning a European cruise in 2018 for a while now... we'd planned to splurge on a 2 bedroom in the haven on the epic, but it is now over $2000 cheaper to book 2 yacht club suites on MSC Divinia for the same time period...thank you to everyone on this thread as I'm considering more options now.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[DMH15]

Looks like I might find some of my NCL suite contemporaries in the MSC YC. Fun.

 

To all of you who are also going to try MSC they are still doing the loyalty match. Be sure to do it asap.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[dexddd]

Frankly, my dear......................................

 

Thanks, I have heard that phrase. The person, no.

[dexddd]

I view this as the height of responsible parenting. I would not want to tempt them with alcohol, salt or sugar.

 

Ask your butler to substitute the pop with prune nectar .... this way, not only will your children not be tempted, if they are ... you'll know where to find them!

 

That's funny, we were just talking about prunes yesterday.

 

Plus they have pringles in the mini-bar. I'm in for a tough fight on that one as I can see our DS rolling out of bed and hitting the can of pringles before I can make my move.

[dexddd]

Which is exactly what we did. I cancelled the NCL cruise yesterday and we're doing the RCCL cruise instead !

 

We've only cruised a few times as we tend to be more land based people but I had hoped to try NCL and the Haven as I think it might be right up our alley and avoid some of the things that we haven't loved about cruising. That said, when we can get a luxury private villa on an island for less than the price of the haven it just isn't worth it for us...and when a suite that is arguably better (without the perks) on a different line is half the price I realized we'd be silly not to go that way.

 

I have a question though....is the pricing that high perhaps just because we're booking very early ? I ask because after reading your post I checked the week before and after and while the pricing was less the difference was only about $1000 less. Then I also checked the Bliss and for the 3 cruises it was over $5000 more each week for the DOS.

 

DH and I just got back from STT, and SXM.....on SXM one of the places we stayed was Coral Beach club where we had a beautiful private villa with a pool directly on the beach for about $700 night US (around $1000 CDN)add food at some of the best restaurants anywhere and we're still substantially less....I just cant justify the DOS haven pricing as it now stands in my own mind but we're still open to trying NCL and the Haven at some point if we see the value.

 

Thanks for your advice !

 

Bliss suite pricing is crazy to begin with so that is kind of an odd duck with them trying to see what they can get.

 

Booking early (over a year in advance) on NCL typically gave you the best prices unless you risked it and booked after final payment.

 

Now NCL seems to be throwing high suite prices out, seeing what they can get and playing the advantage upgrade program at the same time. All of this is new starting early this year so who knows how it will play out.