suite private hot tub limit

[havoc315]

According to this video:

 

 

NCL is supposedly strictly enforcing a limit of 1 hour per day on use of private balcony hot tubs. 
 

Does anyone know how this is being enforced? Is the hot tub only being filled for an hour? Is there a timer on the power, so it can only run for 1 hour per day?

 

We have a trip coming up, specifically booked a garden villa as my wife looks forward to lounging in her own hot tub intermittently through the day—- definitely for more than an hour most days. (And we are a group of 7 people in the garden villa, so really expected the hot tub to get a couple hours of use per day).  
 

So anybody know how the one hour limit is being enforced and whether it really is that strict?

 

 

 

[UKstages]

while the video report seems legit, no sources are quoted and this seems inconceivable to me and largely unenforceable. there is nothing in NCL's FAQs - internal or external - about this. not yet, anyway. 

 

but if this is true, i imagine they need the tubs to store the excess lobsters from the haven that are no longer being ordered due to the charge for secondary crustaceans.

 

Edited March 4 by UKstages

[ggTexasGal]

28 minutes ago, UKstages said:

but if this is true, i imagine they need the tubs to store the excess lobsters from the haven that are no longer being ordered due to the charge for secondary crustaceans.

You made my day! 🤣🤣🤣

[david_sobe]

If NCL ever put out such a policy this board would have lit up like a Christmas tree. I think this was discussed here and this was found out to be a rumor, correct?

[havoc315]

Another report about it on the Viva-

https://www.cruisehive.com/norwegian-cruise-line-implementing-new-sanitation-process/116932
 

Not clear if fleetwide.  

[UKstages]

that article is from last november. the video, while new, is from an unknown youtuber with about fifty subscribers, who has probably just stumbled on an old story.

 

this seems to me like a followup to the well known case (first reported here by @Sailing12Away) of haven suite hot tubs being unexpectedly shut down without explanation. at first NCL was quite evasive, then it became apparent it had something to do with health and sanitation and CDC protocols. what's different in these reports is the mention of a one-hour limitation. i hadn't heard that before. 

 

but i don't believe this is really anything new.

 

nothing to see here.

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, havoc315 said:

According to this video: NCL is supposedly strictly enforcing a limit of 1 hour per day on use of private balcony hot tubs. Does anyone know how this is being enforced? Is the hot tub only being filled for an hour? Is there a timer on the power, so it can only run for 1 hour per day? We have a trip coming up, specifically booked a garden villa as my wife looks forward to lounging in her own hot tub intermittently through the day—- definitely for more than an hour most days. (And we are a group of 7 people in the garden villa, so really expected the hot tub to get a couple hours of use per day).  So anybody know how the one hour limit is being enforced and whether it really is that strict?

 

2 hours ago, david_sobe said:

If NCL ever put out such a policy this board would have lit up like a Christmas tree. I think this was discussed here and this was found out to be a rumor, correct?

 

This is old news discussed in depth. It was limited to the Prima and Viva originally. The video has so many factual errors that it hard to tell if it affects older ships. The hot tubs were closed for a long time. Then, NCL got permission for limited use. It is far from cost or energy saving since they were filling, [over] heating, draining and sanitizing the hot tubs for each use.  

[david_sobe]

These are more like giant bathtubs and not hot tubs.  But this discussion brings up a good point what breeding grounds tubs are. Hot tubs are full of chemicals and checked daily. The tubs in the suites have no chemicals to kill bacteria and viruses.  They are like big bathtubs and the only way to properly clean them is to drain them and clean them like a bathtub.  If they were real hot tubs they would stay full and chemicals added daily.  Who wants to soak in a tub with no chemicals after another family has marinated in it right before your cruise. 🤮

[HHI Cruiser1]

We are on Viva now and Viva Haven cabin hot tubs have been fully repaired and are completely functional without any prep/refill necessary.  Works just like a normal hot tub.  We've used it every day so far.

[cruisernh]

I was looking forward to this being a thread about how many people can fit in one private hot tub 🙂😀

[DorothyB]

We are sailing in a suite with a private hot tub on the Prima in January.  I sincerely hope that we can make as much use of the hot tub as we would like . . . 

[Cabhew]

We are on the June 4 cruise departing Rome on the Viva, and we received the same e-mail from NCL yesterday. We called NCL last night and the agent confirmed that this is the case. Our travel agent spoke with a supervisor today who also said that it was accurate. If the hot tubs are indeed unavailable this will be our last  NCL cruise. This was a known issue, and had they informed us prior to our final payment, we would have changed cabins.  The large balcony with private hot tub the reason we chose this cabin to begin with.  I think this is dishonest and deceptive. Obviously they want to sell these very expensive cabins so they don’t disclose the fact that the tubs are not available as advertised.

 

We have take 3 Haven cruises since October 22- 1 Caribbean and 2 European cruises. On our last cruise, NCL booked our flights incorrectly and would not change them or refund them, so we had to buy flights to London on our own and then fight to get reimbursed 5 months later. The cruise itself and the staff were great; however, customer service, especially to frequent travelers is horrible. We will be changing to Regent.

[MohrPfun]

^ how is it unavailable?

 

Use, have them drain, and refill, right?  Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

Am I missing something here?

[zqvol]

47 minutes ago, Cabhew said:

We are on the June 4 cruise departing Rome on the Viva, and we received the same e-mail from NCL yesterday. We called NCL last night and the agent confirmed that this is the case. Our travel agent spoke with a supervisor today who also said that it was accurate. If the hot tubs are indeed unavailable this will be our last  NCL cruise. This was a known issue, and had they informed us prior to our final payment, we would have changed cabins.  The large balcony with private hot tub the reason we chose this cabin to begin with.  I think this is dishonest and deceptive. Obviously they want to sell these very expensive cabins so they don’t disclose the fact that the tubs are not available as advertised.

 

We have take 3 Haven cruises since October 22- 1 Caribbean and 2 European cruises. On our last cruise, NCL booked our flights incorrectly and would not change them or refund them, so we had to buy flights to London on our own and then fight to get reimbursed 5 months later. The cruise itself and the staff were great; however, customer service, especially to frequent travelers is horrible. We will be changing to Regent.

Changing to Regent is like going from a Volkswagen or a Cadillac. Not at all the same and not a fair comparison. If you can go on Regent why in heavens name would you be on NCL? 

Edited Wednesday at 06:33 PM by zqvol

[david_sobe]

39 minutes ago, MohrPfun said:

^ how is it unavailable?

 

Use, have them drain, and refill, right?  Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

Am I missing something here?

I thought it was just me.  How is it dishonest and deceptive for asking you to call housekeeping after each tub use so that it can be cleaned and sanitized?  

[MohrPfun]

38 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

I thought it was just me.  How is it dishonest and deceptive for asking you to call housekeeping after each tub use so that it can be cleaned and sanitized?  

Right?  And to get paid $500 for it as well…sign me up!

[Ellis1138]

2 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I thought it was just me.  How is it dishonest and deceptive for asking you to call housekeeping after each tub use so that it can be cleaned and sanitized?  

It's limited to one hour of use (or at least 1 hour of it being hot). I can't afford haven or hot tub suites, but I find it hard to believe that this is for "public health" when they no longer make people wash their hands or sanitize at the buffet.

[DorothyB]

The only people that will be in our suite hot tub will be the five people in our suite . . . 

[david_sobe]

50 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

It's limited to one hour of use (or at least 1 hour of it being hot). I can't afford haven or hot tub suites, but I find it hard to believe that this is for "public health" when they no longer make people wash their hands or sanitize at the buffet.

I think the issue is that these tubs are not hot tubs.  They are not filled with chemicals to kill all sorts of bacteria.  These tubs are private and out of view if anything happened.  I am reading between the lines on this one.  Something happened. Maybe someone really dirty created some sort of issue.  It shows how full of bacteria these tubs are that they cant even wait until the guests leave to sterilize them.  There is hanky panky going on and who knows what else.  Its pretty extreme for NCL to lay down this requirement.  This does not happen for no reason.  NCL is protecting themselves by protecting their passengers.  But I think this is reasonable to use a hot tub for at least an hour and then call housekeeping to clean it.  People upset at this are the ones soaking in them all day creating issues.  Its sick to say but people urinate in hot tubs all the time.

[MohrPfun]

1 hour ago, Ellis1138 said:

It's limited to one hour of use (or at least 1 hour of it being hot). I can't afford haven or hot tub suites, but I find it hard to believe that this is for "public health" when they no longer make people wash their hands or sanitize at the buffet.

 

At a time, yes, but not per day, which is the point here.

 

It stays hot for an hour.

 

They drain it.

 

They clean it.

 

Have them refill it.

 

Use it for another.

 

Repeat this process for as long as you want.  I find this even better than public health, this is my personal health.  Hot tubs are gross to begin with the chemicals that dry out your skin, this seems like a far better solution to me.  

 

[gizfish]

I can understand how inconvenient it is to not be able to use the spa tub when and for how long you want to.  However, Legionaires disease, which is what these procedures are preventing, is a whole lot more inconvenient. The temperature of the spa is ideal for growth of legionella, and the jets are ideal for aerosolizing it.  The one hour limit followed by the thorough cleaning prevents this.  NCL is just following CDC protocol and they are paying you generously for your inconvenience.

[erisajd]

9 hours ago, gizfish said:

I can understand how inconvenient it is to not be able to use the spa tub when and for how long you want to.  However, Legionaires disease, which is what these procedures are preventing, is a whole lot more inconvenient. The temperature of the spa is ideal for growth of legionella, and the jets are ideal for aerosolizing it.  The one hour limit followed by the thorough cleaning prevents this.  NCL is just following CDC protocol and they are paying you generously for your inconvenience.

Where is legionella coming from if they've sanitized the HT and the only people in it are you and your immediate party? Its not coming off of you, since you don't have it on your person if you have showered in the last 24-48 hours - so where is it coming from? Are they draining the hot tubs in the public areas every hour?  No -of course not.  There an infinitely greater chance of contracting this disease in a public area vs a private hot tub on your deck.  

 

Just my opinion - I've been wrong before but this seems like some public health officer somewhere decided to be a butthead.  

[RocketMan275]

Do these suite hot tubs have heating elements?

Or, are they filled with hot water from a tank elsewhere?

[dexddd]

11 hours ago, gizfish said:

I can understand how inconvenient it is to not be able to use the spa tub when and for how long you want to.  However, Legionaires disease, which is what these procedures are preventing, is a whole lot more inconvenient. The temperature of the spa is ideal for growth of legionella, and the jets are ideal for aerosolizing it.  The one hour limit followed by the thorough cleaning prevents this.  NCL is just following CDC protocol and they are paying you generously for your inconvenience.

NCL is paying the guest?  Or is the guest getting a slight reduction in fare in form of obc, which when you factor in various markups on whatever they buy, is a fraction of the $500.

[dexddd]

31 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Do these suite hot tubs have heating elements?

Or, are they filled with hot water from a tank elsewhere?

I can't say how they work on Prima and Viva.

 

We've had both outside ones and inside, large tub like ones on the ships.  Even had tub one at home that we pulled out.

 

Gem outside did not have a heater, water had to be filled, drained nightly.

 

POA had heater and jets.  Used it most of 10 day trip on and off during the day -  had several sea days.  No one got sick and no one used it as a toilet.  Was drained daily.

 

Inside ones I usually do a fill, run, empty, rinse before I'll go for a spin.  Prima had a ton of jets.  Other ships similar.

 

I do understand if there is CDC guidance, don't think I've actually seen it posted here, they should follow it. The problem seems to be no notice at time of booking where the fare should be reduced off the bat.