LIVE * Prima * April 30 – May 7, 2023 * Aft OS

[HBCcruiser]

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

 

you pay to be escorted to syd norman's?

 

where is that listed as a haven benefit?  i'm not being a smart aleck; i'd just like to know.

 

most commonly, i see the haven concierge and butler benefit described as offering help in booking "dining and entertainment" reservations and shore excursions. syd's is certainly entertainment, but they don't except reservations, so, i'm baffled as to why getting into an incredibly small venue is an expectation of some haven guests. i've been a haven guest several times and didn't have that expectation.

 

if, as reported upthread, haven guests are occupying 75% of the seats at some shows... that's just wrong on many levels. for starters, haven guests do not comprise 75% of the ship's passengers, so the ratio for the potential benefit is way off. i'm not saying that a mistake was made by stating that haven guests were 75% of the audience. i'm saying it would be a pretty dumb decision to let a small percentage of the ship's guests "rule the roost" in a public venue.

 

the analogy to being able to get a restaurant reservation on short notice when none are otherwise available is an apples to oranges thing... you're asking for one reservation for (presumably) two or four people in a restaurant with a capacity that far exceeds syd norman's. the butler or concierge is not escorting dozens of people en masse to cagney's, i can assure you. 

 

as far as disagreeing... what we're really disagreeing about is whether an individual haven guest feels comfortable accepting such a perk. we can't disagree about whether or not it's the butler's or concierge's job to get haven guests into syd norman's. 

 

it is not. 

NCL could end this debate if they had the show perform just for Haven guests one night. Easy. 

[HBCcruiser]

We got back from our excursion around 5:45, had to shower, dress, eat and be ready by 7:30 for our escort to the Donna Summer show. It was great! The singers were spectacular. We were in the front row so hit to dance onstage afterwards and watch them transform the seats into a dance floor.

 

 

 

[uneamie]

6 hours ago, oteixeira said:

 

And we are allowed to disagree.  I also get into the other restaurants at times that they tell you are not available or have no reservations left, that is another perk of the haven.  You get what you pay for is what I say, but again, we can disagree.

These shows are advertized as part of our cruise entertainment....so WE at lower level cabins should get what WE pay for. Nowhere in those advertisements does it say we only get that entertainment if we're the lucky few to get what's left after Haven guest have been seated.  Otherwise they should advertise them for JUST HAVEN cabins and keep it excusive to them only...better yet, put a theater up in the HAVEN and that would be more than fair. 

[HBCcruiser]

 

 

Day 5: Bermuda. Today we are renting a Twizzy and just going to see where the day takes us! They canceled our Sudetenland catamaran sail too due to high winds so playing it by ear tonight too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RocketMan275]

10 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

NCL could end this debate if they had the show perform just for Haven guests one night. Easy. 

And then, there would be complaints that having a show just for Haven guest is unfair.

[RocketMan275]

9 hours ago, uneamie said:

These shows are advertized as part of our cruise entertainment....so WE at lower level cabins should get what WE pay for. Nowhere in those advertisements does it say we only get that entertainment if we're the lucky few to get what's left after Haven guest have been seated.  Otherwise they should advertise them for JUST HAVEN cabins and keep it excusive to them only...better yet, put a theater up in the HAVEN and that would be more than fair. 

No where does it guarantee that you can enjoy any specific entertainment.

 

[oteixeira]

I wanted to point out Syd Normans holds about 150 tops, and they do 2 shows a week.  So, less then 10% of all guests onboard actually get into the show at all, no matter where you book.  So, while we all pay for it, it doesn't mean we all get to enjoy it, and the way they scheduled and built it dictates that, not us, or the level of cabin we booked.  

[cruiseny4life]

10 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

NCL could end this debate if they had the show perform just for Haven guests one night. Easy. 

What a perfectly great idea that would solve so many issues. It's a shame NCL will never do this. 

[UKstages]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

No where does it guarantee that you can enjoy any specific entertainment.

 

things that are also not guaranteed: the availability of coffee, tea, orange juice, toilet paper, mini-golf, olives in your martini, swiss cheese on your hamburger or ice in your drink. it doesn't say anywhere that those things are "guaranteed." in fact, there is something in the terms that speaks to the individual components of the booked holiday and how no refund will be due in the case of NCL's failure to provide. but you have a reasonable right to expect that you can have ice in your drink (if you want it) and hot coffee in your cup. people will often complain if access to these items is denied, and rightfully so.  my goodness, people practically threw themselves off  the duomo in protest of the switch from pepsi to coke! (which is a whole different matter, but it does speak to passengers' dedication and passion.)

 

people have a reasonable expectation of being able to see an advertised show, if they do what is expected of them. in the case of syd's, that means queuing up in advance to get one of the limited number of seats. no reasonable person would expect that the seating capacity of the venue would be reduced by as much as 75%.

[oteixeira]

I would just like to point out one thing, and I doubt it would change anyone's opinion but I feel it is relevant.  I said that we took up 75% of the seating at Syd's, but that is not 75% of the capacity.  The seating is less then half of the capacity, most people stand when watching a band in the venue.  So, to be clear, at best it was 50% of the 75% of the venue that was taken.  Again, I realize even (at most) 37.5% is still too high a number for the folks who feel this is not fair.  Just wanted to make the clarification.  

Edited May 4, 2023 by oteixeira

[HBCcruiser]

We are having fun driving around the island. The Tizzy is tough to steer but fun otherwise. My DH is driving. Such a great husband!❤️

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Beer Belly]

How is the weather this week ?

[HBCcruiser]

Swizzle drink and burger. Awesome!

 

 

[Maleficent's Dad]

Love the Swizzle Inn!!

 

Do you know which Swizzle Inn you went to?  The original?  Or South Shore?

I had heard a rumor, that one of them closed, but cannot find any information about it.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Silly question -- do they let people climb up the lighthouse?  (That's something I like to do, but a lot of lighthouses won't let you, for legitimate reasons.)

[bluesea777]

1 hour ago, Maleficent's Dad said:

Love the Swizzle Inn!!

 

Do you know which Swizzle Inn you went to?  The original?  Or South Shore?

I had heard a rumor, that one of them closed, but cannot find any information about it.

 

The original at Blue Hole (near Grotto Bay Hotel & airport).

 

The one on South Shore closed down as Swizzle Inn but opened up as different restaurant, different menu.

 

 

[peg013]

1 hour ago, Maleficent's Dad said:

Love the Swizzle Inn!!

 

Do you know which Swizzle Inn you went to?  The original?  Or South Shore?

I had heard a rumor, that one of them closed, but cannot find any information about it.

The original Swizzle Inn is the only one open. The pandemic closed the south shore one and afaik it has not reopened.Edited to say….. Oops didn’t see this was already answered. 

Edited May 4, 2023 by peg013

[uneamie]

7 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

No where does it guarantee that you can enjoy any specific entertainment.

 

No one is expecting a guarantee....but if it's advertised as part of our cruise then one does expect a decent reasonable level of availability. If 70% of the room was filled by "perk people"...then I would not cosider that a decent level of availability for the rest of us. If that is going to be the case then they need to give the Perk People their own shows in their own Haven deck. 

[oteixeira]

5 minutes ago, uneamie said:

No one is expecting a guarantee....but if it's advertised as part of our cruise then one does expect a decent reasonable level of availability. If 70% of the room was filled by "perk people"...then I would not cosider that a decent level of availability for the rest of us. If that is going to be the case then they need to give the Perk People their own shows in their own Haven deck. 

Again, I said seated area, it was much closer to 37.5% of the occupancy of the room.  I think people have confused the number of seats in Syd's with occupancy of Syd's.  I tried to correct that earlier.  

[uneamie]

7 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

And then, there would be complaints that having a show just for Haven guest is unfair.

ugh.....Haven guest have their own hot tubs, bar and restaurtant. I don't see anyone complaining about that.  The point is....if Haven guest had their own theater and shows in that theater it would be understood that it's a perk included in their high price, just like getting lobster in their restaurants "free" when the rest of us have an upcharge.  ( no complaints )... 

[uneamie]

2 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

Again, I said seated area, it was much closer to 37.5% of the occupancy of the room.  I think people have confused the number of seats in Syd's with occupancy of Syd's.  I tried to correct that earlier.  

I think this whole discussion is going nowhere because frankly the entire set-up for this venue and the Haven perks being considered first in it, no matter how many of them utilitze it, is always going to be a sore spot for those who have to stand in line for an hour and sometimes no room after that wait. I realize they pay 2 to 3 and sometimes 4 times for their level and cabins. Yes, they deserve certain perks....but none of those should interfer with the things that are included for the rest of the passengers. 

[Greenpea2]

5 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

We are having fun driving around the island. The Tizzy is tough to steer but fun otherwise. My DH is driving. Such a great husband!❤️

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remember the swizzle Inn! That was a good place. 

[UKstages]

48 minutes ago, uneamie said:

Yes, they deserve certain perks....but none of those should interfer with the things that are included for the rest of the passengers. 

 

when haven passengers mix with gen pop, they should play by gen pop rules.

 

it really is as simple as that.

 

that doesn't mean they can't have a special section set aside for them in the theatre. that doesn't mean they shouldn't get priority embarkation or priority tenders. that doesn't mean they shouldn't have private elevators. it does mean that they shouldn't be escorted through a back entrance to a small venue and proceed to occupy 75% of the seats. (and, yeah, i understand the difference between seating capacity and occupancy.) what's next? a haven omelet station in the buffet for the express use of haven guests? a haven service bar for the express use of haven guests at the gen pop pool? special opening hours for indulge just for haven guests?

 

if you venture out of the private cocoon that is the haven, be prepared to meet and mingle with your fellow passengers. and play by gen pop rules. (by the way, that doesn't mean that hosts and servers in the local and other restaurants won't still fawn all over you when they see the haven designation on your key card. i call that the haven halo and it's a real thing. but it doesn't extend to giving you the right to bypass queuing up in other parts of the ship.)

 

again, i've sailed in the haven and i feel this way whether i'm sailing in the haven or not.

[LATTELOVE]

7 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

We are having fun driving around the island. The Tizzy is tough to steer but fun otherwise. My DH is driving. Such a great husband!❤️

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for such detailed reviews and photos.

We are really enjoying them.  The pictures from the beach

in Bermuda, have been awesome!!

We need to go back.  Bermuda is calling.

[Sailing12Away]

10 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

We are having fun driving around the island. The Tizzy is tough to steer but fun otherwise. My DH is driving. Such a great husband!❤️

 

 

 

❤️❤️❤️ 

If I ever stumbled upon this gem I don't know if I would leave. Looks like your own private oasis. Are those stairs carved into the mountain across the way?