Haven Dinner Question

[The Shrike]

11 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

 

I continue to search for added verbiage on NCL's site. If I cannot find it, then I'll just ask in a couple weeks onboard. I do know the Haven staff were kind enough to bring us pretzel rolls every evening (probably from the buffet) after they inquired as to why we were not eating the bread. 

 

They are all about above and beyond service, regardless of any written "perks".  A few years back on the Escape we were in the Haven restaurant and sitting close to the buffet table.  The hostess happened to be walking by and I said "Excuse me, is that dragon fruit there?  I've never seen it in person before."  She replied "Yes sir, it is."  I thought nothing of it.

About ten minutes later she came out of the kitchen with a plate of sliced dragon fruit.  She'd grabbed it off of the buffet table while we were eating, taken it to the kitchen, and had it sliced up for us.  Apparently she didn't worry - as some in this thread seem to - that in doing so service throughout the Haven restaurant would suffer.

[BirdTravels]

15 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

No, that’s not the bottom line. That’s your opinion.

 

The bottom line is Haven passengers pay a huge amount of money for Haven services and your butler can arrange for food from other restaurants to be delivered to you.

You are a 100% correct. You can arrange to have your Butler serve you food from any restaurant. If you want MDR, have your butler serve it to you in your room.  You should avoid telling your haven waiter at dessert time that you want the ice cream from the MDR. 
 

I was dining in the Haven (in a 2 BR suite and paid a huge huge amount of money) last week and know how busy the restaurant was and would not want my dinner being impacted by having restaurant staff running around the ship for frivolous requests. 
 

There is a process for getting food from anywhere on the ship. Use the process. 

[The Shrike]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

 

I was dining in the Haven (in a 2 BR suite and paid a huge huge amount of money) last week and know how busy the restaurant was and would not want my dinner being impacted by having restaurant staff running around the ship for frivolous requests. 

I would like to know if this has ever, EVER occurred due to a special request by a guest.  I'm going with no.

It's a nonsense scenario.

 

It's like saying I shouldn't ask the steward to fill my ice bucket once he's already serviced my room.  "Think of all the OTHER guests that are having their turndown service delayed because of your special request.  THE HORROR!!!"

As for "There is a process for getting food from anywhere on the ship. Use the process."  You know what that process is in the Haven?  Ask.  If they can accommodate you, they will.  If it will cause other guests to suffer malnutrition because there's no staff left to help them, they won't.

[ggTexasGal]

4 hours ago, mearsfansinboise said:

 

Oh yes, I know - but it sounded like the commenter was seeing them now prior to being on ship, so I wondered if they were posted somewhere as I had never seen the on the NCL site.

Within some of the "live on ..." posts, photos of menus can be found.

However, currently, NCL ships rotate menus in the Main Dining Rooms.  Therefore, you would need to check each day for which menu will be utilized that evening!

BTW, BirdTravels has just completed a cruise, and did live posts with lots of menu photos (that you might find helpful).

Edited August 22, 2022 by ggTexasGal
added info.

[david_sobe]

This thread reminds me of one a few years ago when the poster wanted to get Margaritaville nachos delivered to the Haven restaurant on embarkation day.  With all the hustle and bustle of embarkation day, I think the cheese would be cold and hard by the time they got there.

I think there is sometimes a misunderstanding here on the board.  No one is saying it cant be done or impossible to get done.  Its the logistics that make it unfair to the staff which is why there is reluctance.  Just because you are in the Haven, it does not give anyone the right for absurd requests for the staff. If I wanted nachos, I would much prefer to eat them hot and melted as they came out of the kitchen rather than them sitting for 8 minutes until a butler came to pick them up and deliever them 6 more decks.  But that is just me 🙄

Edited August 22, 2022 by david_sobe

[wolft927]

1 minute ago, david_sobe said:

This thread reminds me of one a few years ago when the poster wanted to get Margaritaville nachos delivered to the Haven restaurant on embarkation day.  With all the hustle and bustle of embarkation day, I think the cheese would be cold and hard by the time they got there.

I think there is sometimes a misunderstanding here on the board.  No one is saying it cant be done or impossible to get done.  Its the logistics that make it unfair to the staff which is why there is reluctance.  Just because you are in the Haven, it does not give anyone the right for absurd requests for the staff. If I wanted nachos, I would much prefer to eat them hot and melted as they came out of the kitchen rather than them sitting for 8 minutes until a butler came to pick them up and deliever them 6 more decks.  But that is just me 🙄

I agree! I stay in the haven and would never put any undue stress on any crew member especially on embark day! But this is also coming for a former crew member 

[david_sobe]

People have written they have used their butler to fetch their sunglasses in their cabin when they are as far away as the main pool area.  Just because you "can" does not mean you "should" is the point.

I am in the Haven so I can get ________________ is not a line I would be proud to say. 

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, The Shrike said:

I would like to know if this has ever, EVER occurred due to a special request by a guest.  I'm going with no.

Yes it has

[kitty-sail]

Pre-covid, I did order a entree from MDR. Haven staff went from deck 18 forward to kitchen on Deck 6 aft. I would not ask that of them again.  

If you desired an item from the main menu, have your Butler serve you dinner in your cabin or bring the app to your room before going to Haven restaurant.

Since the Haven menu does not change, the MDR menu can be very appealing on a long cruise.

[The Shrike]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes it has

Sorry, not enough data.  Please provide proof that your dining experience in the Haven Restaurant was degraded by some other guest's requests of the staff.

Here is where we veer into the realm of the ridiculous.  Do you exchange pleasantries with the Haven staff?  Do you not realize that by doing so you are delaying them from completing their duties, which has an exponential domino effect upon them as every guest exchanges pleasantries with them, further delaying them, time and time again, until I'm trying to get dinner and they hand me the breakfast menu because I've been sitting there for 11 hours?  Thanks a lot, your "Appreciate it, how are you doing today?" just screwed over your fellow guests.  How selfish! 🙄

Edited August 23, 2022 by The Shrike

[The Shrike]

2 hours ago, kitty-sail said:

Pre-covid, I did order a entree from MDR. Haven staff went from deck 18 forward to kitchen on Deck 6 aft. I would not ask that of them again.  

If you desired an item from the main menu, have your Butler serve you dinner in your cabin or bring the app to your room before going to Haven restaurant.

Since the Haven menu does not change, the MDR menu can be very appealing on a long cruise.

One prep chef, steward, or butler does not equal "Haven Staff".

Where is everyone getting this idea that service in the Haven comes to a screeching halt if someone asks for the corn chowder from the MDR?

[pcakes122]

I never even thought about mixing and matching restaurant food when in the Haven until my butler suggested it to me.  I was ordering dinner to my cabin and couldn't decide where to order from because I wanted mushroom soup from Le Bistro but I also really wanted the apple crumble dessert from Cagney's.  My butler is the one that said no problem you can have both those things! (And I did.)

 

Also, regarding getting the Margaritaville nachos in the Haven,  I have done that several times and they always brought the cheese sauce separately in a paper cup wrapped in aluminum foil still piping hot.  (Same with fish & chips from Ocean Blue. Just had them on my Joy cruise in May and they arrived tightly wrapped in foil still so hot that I literally burnt my tongue.)

 

The more I read the more I think I have truly lucked out with the butlers I have been assigned. I don't even have to ask for these "extra" services that folks are saying they would never consider requesting.  🤷‍♀️ I just always assumed this was normal Haven service (which is fantastic IMO.)

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, The Shrike said:

Please provide proof that your dining experience in the Haven Restaurant was degraded by some other guest's requests of the staff.

I am so sorry that you have lost the argument since you have not demonstrated first hand experience dining in the Haven Restaurant as others on the thread have. 

[The Shrike]

12 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

I am so sorry that you have lost the argument since you have not demonstrated first hand experience dining in the Haven Restaurant as others on the thread have. 

I did so, in the very first response to the OP's question and again in post #27.  Perhaps if you'd actually read the thread you'd have seen that.   After my original response, it should have been /thread.  But unfortunately, some people were in too much of a hurry to chastise the OP for destroying the cruise experience of everyone else in the Haven with their utterly mundane request.

I answered your question.  Yet you haven't answered mine.  Telling...

[YVRteacher]

9 hours ago, The Shrike said:

I would like to know if this has ever, EVER occurred due to a special request by a guest.  I'm going with no.

It's a nonsense scenario.

 

It's like saying I shouldn't ask the steward to fill my ice bucket once he's already serviced my room.  "Think of all the OTHER guests that are having their turndown service delayed because of your special request.  THE HORROR!!!"

As for "There is a process for getting food from anywhere on the ship. Use the process."  You know what that process is in the Haven?  Ask.  If they can accommodate you, they will.  If it will cause other guests to suffer malnutrition because there's no staff left to help them, they won't.

I just did this is May and in July   I am a vegetarian and was having lunch in the Haven restaurant.  The Haven menus for both lunch and dinner are not great for vegetarians (spaghetti squash? Seriously?!) Several times I was able to order food from another restaurant to be brought to the Haven.

 

I have also been doing this for years in Cagney’s since there are no vegetarian entrees on the menu.  I have also ordered Indian food from the MDR to be delivered to the Bistro.  When the chef heard how much I enjoyed this meal, he even made me a special dessert and sent it to Le Bistro.

 

I did not need to order or arrange anything in advance.  I have had soups brought from the MDR to the Haven and Moderno, salads brought from the MDR to the Haven, Moderno salad bar brought to Cagney’s.

 

Just because someone on here says “no-it can not be done!!” doesn’t make it true.

 

 

[kitty-sail]

5 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

 

Just because someone on here says “no-it can not be done!!” doesn’t make it true.

 

 

The Haven staff will do anything and everything they can for you.  I do like to be considerate of them so when in the Haven & ordering from another restaurant, I give them advance notice by giving my order to the hostess especially if I'm dining at peak rush hour time.  It's a different story when dining in your cabin. Your butler is probably not under the same pressure.

[kitty-sail]

8 hours ago, The Shrike said:

One prep chef, steward, or butler does not equal "Haven Staff".

Where is everyone getting this idea that service in the Haven comes to a screeching halt if someone asks for the corn chowder from the MDR?

I was referring to the Haven restaurant staff - not my room steward, and not my butler. Stop being snarky.

 

A girl from the restaurant staff went down to the main kitchen to fetch my meal but in case you are unaware, the main kitchen is located 12 decks down from Haven and at the opposite end of the ship. How long would it take you to walk that distance down and back??  Plus they have to re-heat it before serving as after traveling 15 minutes its not hot anymore.

 

Just because we are in the Haven, does not give us reason to be inconsiderate of the staff.  Order in advance and say thank you.

[Linda the Book Lover]

18 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I think they do care.  If you managed a restaurant, you would want servers running back and forth from other restaurants bringing food into yours?  I think not.  It causes delays, longer wait times for other customers let alone working already over worked butlers to the brink.  I am not being argumentative but that is not a perk assigned anywhere from the Haven page.  Many years ago people would write here how they would get specialty dining appetizers for free in the Haven restaurant.  NCL stopped doing that several years ago.  If you want a specialty dining appetizer you must go to that restaurant and pay.   If you have been sailing NCL for over 10 years, you have seen the changes. The Haven restaurant is for guests of the Haven to eat. It is not an extension of your cabin to get food deliveries.  Having said that, you could score a ship where they may try and make it happen but its definitely not encouraged.  In 2010 on Epic when NCL had lobster night, it was an offering since the Haven did not have lobster on the menu.  But that again was the old NCL.

I agree with you on I never saw this mentioned. There have been a few changes but I have found those working in the Haven to be accommodating but then again we never ask for much. We sailed on POA in the suites (no Haven there) and we asked for our usual warm chocolate chip cookies. Our Butler God bless him brought enough for the three of us (my DD and DGD and myself) after I explained it was something Grandpa looked forward to each night when the two of us sailed and my granddaughter wanted to tell him she had them too when she got home. It will be interesting to see in 2023 if the Haven has changed when we sail the Escape. 

[The Shrike]

1 hour ago, kitty-sail said:

Just because we are in the Haven, does not give us reason to be inconsiderate of the staff.  Order in advance and say thank you.

I said exactly that in the very first response to the OP's question.

[rbxlady]

19 hours ago, The Shrike said:

Great advice!  So OP,  just have the MDR appetizer sent to your room and hand-carry it to the Haven restaurant.  That should satisfy all those who are engaged in anguished garment-rending over the fact that you ordering that appetizer will cause the precarious house of cards that is Haven service to come to a screeching halt.  🙄

Ignore the naysayers.  Order what you want.  If the staff can do it, they will.  If they can't, they won't.  No, the other guests won't starve to death as foraging teams of Haven sous chefs are sent out to secure your appetizer.  No, the turn-down service won't suffer causing other guests to -GASP!- have to fluff their own pillows because a butler has to take an elevator down eight floors, grab an item, and return.

Nothing brings out the apocalyptic scenarios on CC quite like the incredibly minor request of a Haven guest.

 

 

I probably would not do this just because I tend to be overly conscientious of the appearance (let alone the actuality) of putting someone else out. In other words, I'm unlikely to order anything from the MDR in the Haven restaurant knowing that someone is going to have to run down there and back just for little ol' me.

 

However, when I worked in a busy downtown restaurant in a major city, I loved it when I got sent out on various errands. Now, this never happened while I was waiting tables because I was way too busy for that, but when I was working the counter in the AM, making slightly over minimum wage, getting to leave the restaurant was the best, since I was still getting paid the same and didn't lose tips. I didn't dawdle or anything, but having to run to the Wawa on the corner to get more milk or having to run a delivery to City Hall was A-OK for me.

 

I am also that person who refuses the Publix bagger's offer bring my groceries out to my car, but sometimes they insist and suggest that they want to get outside, even if only for a couple of minutes, in which case I'm happy to oblige.

 

All that to say that while I might hesitate to make someone run elsewhere on the ship just for me, that someone might be looking for an excuse to deviate from their typical duties, and they might actually be happy to get the chance to leave their post for a few minutes.

[PTC DAWG]

Pretty amazing to me what some expect from the staff…

[The Shrike]

1 hour ago, rbxlady said:

 

I probably would not do this just because I tend to be overly conscientious of the appearance (let alone the actuality) of putting someone else out. In other words, I'm unlikely to order anything from the MDR in the Haven restaurant knowing that someone is going to have to run down there and back just for little ol' me.

 

This is why it's a good idea to make such arrangements in advance.  That way no one is being put out.  

Edited August 23, 2022 by The Shrike

[The Shrike]

50 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Pretty amazing to me what some expect from the staff…

Yes, letting the Haven restaurant staff know at 10:00am that you'll be dining at six that night and if they could, would they have an appetizer from another restaurant for you is an absolutely outrageous request...scandalous even!  🙄

[BirdTravels]

Sure is. Folks need to understand that this is NCL and not Cunard. When we are in Grill Class over on Cunard, at breakfast, we are presented the dinner menu and asked if it acceptable. If not, we order, in the morning, whatever we want for dinner. Once, we asked for a Steak Diane and that evening, the Maitre d came and cooked it for us tableside. The Maitre d is also the one that controls the keys to the caviar locker… so they don’t like us for depleting their supply.  He got a handsome tip that cruise. And the Maitre d, Allan, on NCL also got a handsome tip from us last week for going out of his way to ensure a memorable cruise. 

[cruiseny4life]

28 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Sure is. Folks need to understand that this is NCL and not Cunard. When we are in Grill Class over on Cunard, at breakfast, we are presented the dinner menu and asked if it acceptable. If not, we order, in the morning, whatever we want for dinner. Once, we asked for a Steak Diane and that evening, the Maitre d came and cooked it for us tableside. The Maitre d is also the one that controls the keys to the caviar locker… so they don’t like us for depleting their supply.  He got a handsome tip that cruise. And the Maitre d, Allan, on NCL also got a handsome tip from us last week for going out of his way to ensure a memorable cruise. 

Yes, the NCL boats aren't rusted, guests aren't antiquated, and staff can be a bit more lively. Oh, and I can wear my flippie floppies wherever I want...well except for Le Bistro and Manhattan Room. Bet I could get in those too if I wanted to skirt the rules though ( to be clear, I don't y'all).

 

I can pretty much ask for whatever I want from the Haven staff. Apparently, that's a no go on your lovely Cunard unless "you're in the know." Our butlers on NCL ensured we knew we could order anything we wanted, and our servers let us know that, with advance notice, the chef could whip up something else (maybe not always standard - could have just been that ship - I don't know). 

 

Now, yes, if someone is in a MDR on NCL, or in steera....err Brittania on Cunard, then they would not be able to order off menu. 

 

So, uhhh, yes, I'm going to go ahead and order that chicken cordon bleu from the MDR to have served in the Haven. I'll pre-order so the staff know, and give them an approximate time I'll be there to eat....and I'm not going to let another critic tell me otherwise. 

Edited August 23, 2022 by cruiseny4life
was not done when this posted originally