david_sobe

Good size. You see by the photo it can have several loungers, a table and table chairs.

I was on the sister ship Encore. I also would go for the larger balcony. But the way the Haven is designed there are no terrible choices and every location has a perk. Deck 18 has the Haven restaurant just steps outside your door. Deck 17 has the concierge and Haven bar and pool just steps outside your door. Another perk on deck 17 is the Horizon lounge is on your floor. However on Deck 18 its just down one flight of stairs. There are no bad choices....decide which you prefer to be on your deck. We had the front forward 2 bedroom suite on Encore and we loved being so close to the Horizon lounge on deck 17. We opened our door, turned left and walked 20 feet through another door and we were in the Horizon lounge. It almost felt like an extension of our cabin. Need some juice, coffee, cookies or treats...just steps away.

OMG those look like Chip Ahoys

The Gold card lost its charm 😞

For some schools it is spring break that early. When I was in college we had our spring break the second week of March and I could not understand why they called it spring break when it was still winter. But the second week of March will be spring break for some. It hits its peak mid march and runs to April. I used to live on south beach and you are aware exactly when spring break is. I avoid all cruises in March and April.

My cruise is February 2026 and I would not be surprised if the dock is not even finished by then. Construction is always delayed and this summer is going to be a brutal hurricane season. But I have something to look forward to if the dock is finished by the end of 2025.

Depends on ship Depends on sailing Some NCL ships dont have a Haven complex while other ones have small Haven complexes and others very large 3 deck Haven complexes. The Haven bar is never crowded of all the ships I have sailed. Always got a seat. On the newer ships people claim the Haven bar area is a ghost town and they have the most suites and most Haven passengers.

You missed the point completely. You are assuming that is why NCL discontinued towel animals. NCL never said any such thing. What you wrote is probably true but NCL gave a fantasy explanation why they were stopping them. THAT was my point. Whether you are for towel animals or against them, the point I was making was the gaslighting from NCL with their ridiculous explanations for some of their decisions and the people that believe those explanations and defend them.

Its about time NCL built a pier at GSC. I am on Aqua in Feb 2026 and I hope the pier is finished by then. Construction is always delayed and this year is supposed to be a brutal hurricane season so I will be surprised its finished by then. But it would be fantastic if it is.

NCL wants and targets new cruisers so they got them. I don't think they care their private yacht experience was not up to expectations. There will be new cruisers to replace them. BTW, you reminded me again to never cruise during spring break.

Unless things have changed again, NCL stopped mailing luggage tags a long time ago. As mentioned by someone you can print them online. They were still mailing Haven luggage tags but maybe they stopped that too. My last NCL cruise in 2020, they were still mailing Haven luggage tags. As platinum you will get to board from the Platinum line. Sometimes it is faster while other times not so much. I think luggage is not given any sort of priority no matter your status or where you are staying. At least my experience is I have never noticed my luggage arriving faster just because I am in the Haven.

Welcome back and thanks again for an awesome review. Any major changes since your last Encore cruise?

I think the airlines have suffered the most post pandemic. I have no idea why people think they can act totally insane and expect to fly 30,000 feet in the air. There are endless youtube channels of the airport meltdowns where police have to fight or arrest unruly passengers. I flew on the second day the airports opened after 9/11. You could not even be dropped off in front of the airport and the check in lines were a quarter mile long. We all stood there silent. No one said a word. No one complained. We were silently praying to ourselves that we could get to where we were going. That did not last very long though. Several weeks later people were fighting over their toe nail clippers. Personally I hate to use the pandemic as an excuse for behavior changes. But people are rude and parents don't teach manners anymore. Talk to anyone working on schools. The kids are out of control and the parents are even worse. I expect someday cruise lines will be like airplanes where they must increase security and have bouncers booting people off in ports every cruise. Who could forget this?

You brought back memories of my Encore cruise in 2020 right before the shutdown going to Long Bay Beach. It was the best beach day I ever had. I had never been to Tortola before and was not thrilled about going. This beach is in my top 3 beaches in all of the Caribbean.

Wow. I forgot its peak spring break.