The NCL Haven Luxury VIP Experience "Secrets" REVISED for 2022

[mtrancher]

25 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

Interesting, we were on her on Oct 29th and we had the escort, special area, all of it.  Not sure what happened on your sailing but my guess is it was a one time issue, maybe a lack of port workers that day.

I think there is a good chance PaulBrowning never sailed. Just joined, 4 posts all about Haven priority embarkation being non existent. The new terminal @ miami has a dedicated Haven boarding area. There's zero chance NCL is phasing out the Haven priority embarkation. These kind of posts are all about getting people fired up about non-existent issues.

[oteixeira]

4 minutes ago, mtrancher said:

I think there is a good chance PaulBrowning never sailed. Just joined, 4 posts all about Haven priority embarkation being non existent. The new terminal @ miami has a dedicated Haven boarding area. There's zero chance NCL is phasing out the Haven priority embarkation. These kind of posts are all about getting people fired up about non-existent issues.

Agree, I just didnt want it to sit here unchallenged so that a new person might think it true.  I want them to put up or shut up, I have all the contacts on Getaway, we can go up the chain.  I think it would be very easy to see if they were on any recent sailing.

[Sthrngary]

20 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

The more I read through this the more confused I get.  We had the best Concierge team we ever had on the Getaway, Alex and Ivan were amazing.  Signs up every day on where to meet and when to get on and off the ship, and to get into anything you wanted to see or do that required reservations, you could cut the line and no reservations at all.  I saw all three Syd Norman shows with no issue, while people waited in line outside for hours and never got in.  Rooms were ready on my sailing at 1PM which is totally normal. 

Can you tell me when you sailed, I actually have emails for people on board, we could ask what happened, because again this sounds very different then everything I saw just 2 weeks ago.  Also, the Haven restaurant is NEVER closed the first day of the cruise, they just WANT to try to get you to go to the diner, just refuse and at 11:30AM the Haven restaurant opens for lunch, we also ate there for dinner day 1 and it was service as usual.  I also have the name and email of the head Maitre 'D onboard for the Haven restaurant, and I am sure Dariusz would be happy to clear it up.

@oteixeira It is great to read your reply.  I have a habit of reading posts and reply's all the time and add when I can give some good ideas.  I read the comments by this new CruiseCritic.com person.  They have been a member since November 8, 2022.  About eight days totals. I have to take their short time on the blog as an indication they came on for a reason.  That reason was to express their views on an experience that is NOT similar to everyone else experience on that same ship.  

 

I am in no way saying their story is not real to them.  I am saying there is more to this story then is being presented.  Details seem to be missing.  I like you have traveled on the Getaway, in the Haven at a port that was not the Main NCL Port in Miami.   It is different yet for me there was an a make shift Haven Lounge with snacks, Haven Check-in Counter, Haven Escort on the Ship for groups of Haven Guests, the Haven Restaurant was open for lunch and you had a choice of on specialty restaurant, you could drop your luggage to your Haven Suite anytime, the luggage was at your suite between 1-3 PM, the Suites were ready about 1:30 PM, and the list goes on.  

 

If NCL is anything, they are pretty standardized in many of these details.  Sometime a situation can be completely mess up. When it is, you will get more than one person sharing the same horrible experience.  In this case, it seems only to be this one very new CruiseCritic.com contributor.  Lets see what other say that were on the same sailing.  

 

Cruise Well and Enjoy every moment.

[Sthrngary]

12 minutes ago, mtrancher said:

I think there is a good chance PaulBrowning never sailed. Just joined, 4 posts all about Haven priority embarkation being non existent. The new terminal @ miami has a dedicated Haven boarding area. There's zero chance NCL is phasing out the Haven priority embarkation. These kind of posts are all about getting people fired up about non-existent issues.

I was writing my reply while you were posting your so it is similar.  I apologize.  I agree with your assessment.  PaulBrowning came on CruiseCritic.com to complain about NCL and the Haven.  None of the experience the he outlined were in anyway close to the experience I and many others have experienced.  

 

This kind of post happens all the time on other Social Media Outlets which is why I like CruiseCritic.com.  It happens rarely.  Thank you for your comment.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[mtrancher]

21 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

Agree, I just didnt want it to sit here unchallenged so that a new person might think it true.  I want them to put up or shut up, I have all the contacts on Getaway, we can go up the chain.  I think it would be very easy to see if they were on any recent sailing.

Do you have David's direct e-mail, he gave it to me on the last cruise and when my Iphone synced with my pc, Outlook deleted it from my phone and I've lost it.

[oteixeira]

5 minutes ago, mtrancher said:

Do you have David's direct e-mail, he gave it to me on the last cruise and when my Iphone synced with my pc, Outlook deleted it from my phone and I've lost it.

 

David?

Can you be more specific?  I have the 2 concierges, the Maitre 'D, my Butler....those are the ones I tend to get on every cruise I go on (as I get to know them during the cruise).  Maybe I am forgetting someone?

 

[mtrancher]

7 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

 

David?

Can you be more specific?  I have the 2 concierges, the Maitre 'D, my Butler....those are the ones I tend to get on every cruise I go on (as I get to know them during the cruise).  Maybe I am forgetting someone?

 

The concierge on the Getaway, at least at the time of our sailing.

[Laszlo]

10 hours ago, PaulBrowning said:

We just were there.  We were very vocal and we’re told that we needed to go through the regular line.  Afterward, we inquired about the escort and such and the lady at the Haven sign told us that we just had to walk on like everyone else.  No escort.  No orientation.  Then we learned that the rooms aren’t available until 4PM and the Haven restaurant is closed the first day of the cruise.  It sounds like they are phasing out the embarkation perks.

This makes no sense

[mtrancher]

28 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

I was writing my reply while you were posting your so it is similar.  I apologize.  I agree with your assessment.  PaulBrowning came on CruiseCritic.com to complain about NCL and the Haven.  None of the experience the he outlined were in anyway close to the experience I and many others have experienced.  

 

This kind of post happens all the time on other Social Media Outlets which is why I like CruiseCritic.com.  It happens rarely.  Thank you for your comment.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Gary, thanks for your response. It doesn't take long reading these boards to know those who voice their opinions without attack and who simply try to inform others of their experiences. You certainly fall into that helpful category.
I've never appreciated those who post to create arguments that don't exist, it's like vandalism, but in more of an intellectual sense. Still pointless.
Thank you for all your comments and helpful advice.

 

Best of cruses to you.

[Sthrngary]

10 minutes ago, mtrancher said:

Gary, thanks for your response. It doesn't take long reading these boards to know those who voice their opinions without attack and who simply try to inform others of their experiences. You certainly fall into that helpful category.
I've never appreciated those who post to create arguments that don't exist, it's like vandalism, but in more of an intellectual sense. Still pointless.
Thank you for all your comments and helpful advice.

 

Best of cruses to you.

@mtrancher My pleasure and love your writings as well.  When I read this persons comments I had my normal internal conversation.  "Gary, do you want to take the high road or the low road."  The Low Road scratches that itch but then the itch area becomes infected.  The High Road is much harder and takes lots of discipline.  

 

Social media in general would be a better place if we all took the High Road when dealing with those that simply want to create arguments with no real experiences.  CruiseCritic.com to me are folks like you and others that take the High Road daily and it is why I enjoy it so much.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.  

[oteixeira]

52 minutes ago, mtrancher said:

The concierge on the Getaway, at least at the time of our sailing.

Alex is now the head concierge, with Ivan and Maria?? (saw her very little) as the two assistants.

[scooter6139]

I think this has been covered somewhere in the this 44 page thread, but can the Haven Concierge make Spa appointments?  On other lines you can pre-book these before embarkation.  No idea why NCL does not.

[Sthrngary]

3 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

I think this has been covered somewhere in the this 44 page thread, but can the Haven Concierge make Spa appointments?  On other lines you can pre-book these before embarkation.  No idea why NCL does not.

They can however you are much better off simply going to the spa first thing when you get on board.  Most folks want massages on Sea Days.  As a Haven Guest, you are on board quickest and should have no issue gaining that reservation.

 

I had taken advantage of Spa Bookings pre-cruise on Celebrity.  When I got on Board, it was all messed up and the frustration took away from the value/benefit of booking early.  The Fine print said even if you booked a time/day, they could still not accept it.  To me, that was worthless.  Just my experience and not the experience of all.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[FLcruisergrl]

3 hours ago, oteixeira said:

The more I read through this the more confused I get.  We had the best Concierge team we ever had on the Getaway, Alex and Ivan were amazing.  Signs up every day on where to meet and when to get on and off the ship, and to get into anything you wanted to see or do that required reservations, you could cut the line and no reservations at all.  I saw all three Syd Norman shows with no issue, while people waited in line outside for hours and never got in.  Rooms were ready on my sailing at 1PM which is totally normal. 

Can you tell me when you sailed, I actually have emails for people on board, we could ask what happened, because again this sounds very different then everything I saw just 2 weeks ago.  Also, the Haven restaurant is NEVER closed the first day of the cruise, they just WANT to try to get you to go to the diner, just refuse and at 11:30AM the Haven restaurant opens for lunch, we also ate there for dinner day 1 and it was service as usual.  I also have the name and email of the head Maitre 'D onboard for the Haven restaurant, and I am sure Dariusz would be happy to clear it up.

We had Alex on the Dawn and he ranks up there as a favorite, for sure!

[FLcruisergrl]

25 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

I think this has been covered somewhere in the this 44 page thread, but can the Haven Concierge make Spa appointments?  On other lines you can pre-book these before embarkation.  No idea why NCL does not.

Yes and you can even contact the pre-concierge desk and make appointments prior to boarding. I’ve never done it, but they always offer.

[Wedgie Wedgie]

This is like watching a Scooby Doo where the mask is lifted off a brand new poster only to reveal---------

 

 

----------------------------------it's Karen the jilted Haven lowball bidder!

[Laszlo]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

They can however you are much better off simply going to the spa first thing when you get on board.  Most folks want massages on Sea Days.  As a Haven Guest, you are on board quickest and should have no issue gaining that reservation.

 

I had taken advantage of Spa Bookings pre-cruise on Celebrity.  When I got on Board, it was all messed up and the frustration took away from the value/benefit of booking early.  The Fine print said even if you booked a time/day, they could still not accept it.  To me, that was worthless.  Just my experience and not the experience of all.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Yes, go first thing..... like as soon as you board. My wife and I went to the Spa around 11:30am. She wanted wanted to book something. Their might have been a half dozen people in there. Later on it was jammed packed 

[scooter6139]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

They can however you are much better off simply going to the spa first thing when you get on board.  Most folks want massages on Sea Days.  As a Haven Guest, you are on board quickest and should have no issue gaining that reservation.

 

I had taken advantage of Spa Bookings pre-cruise on Celebrity.  When I got on Board, it was all messed up and the frustration took away from the value/benefit of booking early.  The Fine print said even if you booked a time/day, they could still not accept it.  To me, that was worthless.  Just my experience and not the experience of all.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

We are cruising with another couple who are not in the Haven.   I know the wives would like to do something together (mani/pedi I guess) so unsure if NCL lets you book for another guest without them present, either Concierge or at the Spa.   I guess we can always ask.

[Sthrngary]

36 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

 

We are cruising with another couple who are not in the Haven.   I know the wives would like to do something together (mani/pedi I guess) so unsure if NCL lets you book for another guest without them present, either Concierge or at the Spa.   I guess we can always ask.

The spa will take any and all reservations as long as you have a cabin #.  Still, go to the spa and do it live if you can't get the Pre-Cruise Haven desk to do it for you.  Have both paths covered.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[umpisoccer]

Thank you for all the information.   We are sailing in a Haven for the 1st time Dec 23rd for Xmas.  Very excited!

[Sthrngary]

Hello Everyone, I would like to ask for some help!  If you have followed this Streams on the Haven.  The original stream on the Haven or the stream focused on the Premium Plus Beverage Package; you know me and my writing style.

 

I just got an email from someone that conveniently left their name off.  It came to my personal email account which is very rare because I don't give that email out often.  However I am very easy to find.  It seems they followed my instructions for a butler letter on a recent NCL Epic cruise in October and got very good results.  They thanked me.

 

The last paragraph is as follows: 

 

"I sent you a pre-cruise email asking about my (draft) butler doc but you never responded... which is consistent with your "focus" the past 6 months on improving your status as a cruise critic "influencer" rather than seeking to "help" people asking questions/advice. Not to worry... i have already blocked your email as spam so no response is necessary/invited... //"

 

To everyone on CruiseCritic.com.  I might be well known on CruiseCritic.com but I am NO influencer.  I have never gotten one single dollar from a social media company, a person I have helped, a person I have answer their questions or a cruise company.  I do this as a hobby and for my personal enjoyment.  On the occasional times I have gotten a personal email, I have answered it quickly and to my best ability.  I do the same here on CruiseCritic.com when someone put @sthrngary in the context of your response. 

 

This last paragraph upset me.  It came across that I am some how obligated to respond to every inquiry.  What is funny is I do respond to every inquiry unless I don't receive one or accidentally delete it. Could happen.

 

What is your thoughts on this subject?  I would really like to know. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

What is your thoughts on this subject?  I would really like to know. 

I wouldn't worry abit about this.  Anyone who leaves their name off an email, then blocks your response to that email isn't worth the time you spent posting this message.  If anything, this person sounds rather juvenile and jealous.

[oteixeira]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

 

What is your thoughts on this subject?  I would really like to know. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Let it go, you have helped so many of us, one person getting upset is not on you!!

[dmms]

@Sthrngary
Agree - let it go!

The email guy sounds a little like the PaulBrowning character who posted the false information in response to my query about Haven boarding @ Fort Canaveral.

Some people just don’t possess a good frame of mind;(

 

[Sailing12Away]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

What is your thoughts on this subject?  I would really like to know. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

It makes me laugh honestly. The entitlement of some folks as if you were their own PCC, or an official Haven ambassador. Those brave keyboard warriors who hide at home in their living room angry typing as if 'they showed you' who's boss and mightier.

 

If there was an official poll on whether folks here considered you a good guy, helpful, knowledgeable, fair, honest, and hoping their vacation plans align with yours so they can spot you at the Haven bar with your 1942..... vs those who say otherwise, I'm confident the overwhelming majority of votes would fall in your favor.

 

For me personally, I'm hoping to be a fellow Haven bar chair hog with you one of these days.