Havenly disappointment?

I think I somewhat get where the OP is coming from, this based not on my being in a haven, but we did sail in a suite. All the hype of how great the service was by being in the suite from the butler, concierge, etc. We didn't see it. Our butler truly acted like he was bothered by any request from us, and truly I asked for a room service order twice during the entire week, to which he gave me the same room service menu of all other cabins and when I asked about ordering from the other dining rooms, restaurants we were told it wasn't an option. We had no pillow options, the bed my mother slept on was horrible, and it took forever to even get her an egg crate to help soften it a bit.

Didn't really see anything great from the concierge.

I also noticed that whenever the 3 of us didn't dine together they seemed to question it. My mother quite often went to lunch alone in Cagney's and she was always questioned as to why myself and my husband weren't with her. It was just odd that they would comment every day when she went by herself, rather than just welcoming her as she was alone. Though if my husband and I went they never asked about my mother. It was just very odd.

Now for the towel animals and chocolates I view those as for the cabin, not each bedroom. They don't make up multiple towel animals when you have several staying in a regular cabin, those you still only get one.

Something is wrong. This has nothing to do with the fact that the OP had the second and much smaller bedroom. This is about basic service in the Haven. It has to do with her treatment by the NCL employees in the Haven.

I'm going to think that maybe your names weren't correctly included in the reservation somehow.

Because we are regular Haven guests with our teen daughters. From day one the Haven crew knows their names and calls them....Miss X and Miss Y. My teens are in the second bedroom and 3rd and 4th guests. The Haven employees treat them just as they treat me! When we pass Haven employees in the hallways, they know my teens names and address them.

Same with the towel animals and tidying that bedroom. I would get a towel animal in the main bedroom and my teens would get the same towel animal made up in their tiny room. Their room was cleaned with each steward visit including folding their lovey's and putting them on their pillow.

Several times I would send my teens to the Haven restaurant to eat without me and they were treated just as I would be treated.

We've cruised together like this no less than 5 times. Never have I noticed any sort of second class treatment from the crew. This makes me say there must be something wrong with the reservation and they didn't think you belonged in the Haven. You didn't know to speak up but you should have.

This issue has nothing to do with the OP and her friends choosing which couple gets the master and which gets the second bedroom. This issue has to do with the imbalance of service. I think you probably should have asked you cabin steward directly......."Is there a reason you aren't servicing this second bedroom daily?" "Is there a problem I should be aware of because we aren't getting our towels changed or our bedroom tidied". In the Haven restaurant you should have spoken up about the unsatisfactory service....."Is there a reason the waitress hasn't been to our table to take our order?".

I think you did have a responsibility to speak up about the terrible service. I also think there was some mis communication about your reservation that made them think you didn't belong.

I think I somewhat get where the OP is coming from, this based not on my being in a haven, but we did sail in a suite. All the hype of how great the service was by being in the suite from the butler, concierge, etc. We didn't see it. Our butler truly acted like he was bothered by any request from us, and truly I asked for a room service order twice during the entire week, to which he gave me the same room service menu of all other cabins and when I asked about ordering from the other dining rooms, restaurants we were told it wasn't an option. We had no pillow options, the bed my mother slept on was horrible, and it took forever to even get her an egg crate to help soften it a bit.

 

Didn't really see anything great from the concierge.

What you're describing is poor service overall. People would understand if the OP was complaining about the Haven staff's performance. In the OP's case, the complaints (other than the bedroom situation) are that the 1st couple was treated better than the 2nd couple.

There's one couple that was addressed by name and the other couple was "rarely addressed as such". One couple "received chocolates and towel animals every night" and the other did not. (a problem that could have easily been solved by simply asking for those things).

Most of the people who have responded are still waiting for an example of something that would leave the OP "feeling stressed out and crying." (the OP's exact words).

Several people asked questions such as "What does 'hard time getting served' actually mean?" or "Did you pull straws for bedrooms??" because there was a lot of information missing from the OP. People asking questions aren't attacking the OP.

It seems that EVERYONE agrees that paying equal amount by the 2 couples was wrong. Most people gave ideas such as switching bedrooms half way through the cruise or having the 2nd couple pay less than 50% (60/40, 65/35, etc.). Those are valid ideas to help someone in the future if the situation arises.

Now for the towel animals and chocolates I view those as for the cabin, not each bedroom. They don't make up multiple towel animals when you have several staying in a regular cabin, those you still only get one.

As many have stated, a problem like that is easily solved by ASKING for those things while on the ship. That is also valid advice for someone who is in a similar situation in the future.

I don't see where posters have been "not as nice" or "mean spirited". People either asked for more information, gave their personal experience (that was different from the OP's), stated that the other couple should have either shared the master bedroom or paid a larger percentage, or stated that minor problems can be fixed while on-board.

I know that the OP is gone but nobody has stated that the "issues" were worth the OP "feeling stressed out and crying." If the OP expected a forum "group hug", it was never going to happen.

Something is wrong. This has nothing to do with the fact that the OP had the second and much smaller bedroom. This is about basic service in the Haven. It has to do with her treatment by the NCL employees in the Haven.

The OP stated that the 2nd bedroom did receive service and clean towels. It was the "extras" that the 2nd bedroom didn't get. All the OP had to do was ask.

This issue has nothing to do with the OP and her friends choosing which couple gets the master and which gets the second bedroom. This issue has to do with the imbalance of service. I think you probably should have asked you cabin steward directly......."Is there a reason you aren't servicing this second bedroom daily?" "Is there a problem I should be aware of because we aren't getting our towels changed or our bedroom tidied". In the Haven restaurant you should have spoken up about the unsatisfactory service....."Is there a reason the waitress hasn't been to our table to take our order?".

I think you did have a responsibility to speak up about the terrible service. I also think there was some mis communication about your reservation that made them think you didn't belong.

The OP's bedroom and bathroom WAS serviced. The OP didn't claim that the service was unsatisfactory. The OP felt that the service was unequal but only gave the "first names" as an example. The "hard time getting served" was never explained.

My spouse and I were also on the September 10th sailing and, also, in the haven. Although we had the specialty dining package and the platinum specialty dining, we only used the SPD one night at LaCucina. We chose to have all other meals in the haven restaurant because

a. The waiter staff was exceptionally attentive and friendly

b. The menu is great even without the lobster

c. When we told the matre d' that La Cucina no longer served pizza,

she had a pizza served for us in the haven.

d. The atmosphere in the haven restaurant is so nice.

My advise is to try the haven again. Engage the staff in conversation. They love to talk to their guests. Waiters all stopped by our table even when not assigned to us.

The haven lounge is a great bar to hang out, although some of the guest were obnoxiously loud.

I'm sorry you were slighted on your cruise. I would be disappointed too. You're not wrong about negative posts on this board being less than well received. Actually, it's not just negative posts, it's pretty much any thread. Ask a simple question and there is always someone telling you to search first and not in a pleasant way. And it seems to me that people try to use the most objectionable word. Someone on this thread asked why you were bitter about something. They could have used offended or upset and it wouldn't have sound mean spirited. Maybe that's why so many people can't imagine that you were slighted. They're oblivious to how words and actions are perceived. Oblivious to me has a negative connotation. I could have said they don't notice the difference and it would have come across better. There are a lot of keyboard Cowboys out there. It's good to have a thick skin here.

Agreed...

I personally don't believe the couples both paid equally for the cruise. But if that was the case, your friends are the most evil and selfish people in the world. If you have ever booked a 2 bedroom Haven suite... its probably around $6000 for the first two guests and about $400 for additional guests. Personally, I would be thrilled to tag along in the Haven for $400 and the staff could throw food at me and I would still be happy. But if its true you paid for half the price and did not share the cabin equally you have no one but yourself to blame to have such selfish friends. But I cant believe that story. Its more likely they paid a few hundred dollars and got jealous of their friends or something. There were NO complaints that were real other than the way their "friends" treated them.

So you think she is a liar? Do you know her? Why would she make that up?

I think I somewhat get where the OP is coming from, this based not on my being in a haven, but we did sail in a suite. All the hype of how great the service was by being in the suite from the butler, concierge, etc. We didn't see it. Our butler truly acted like he was bothered by any request from us, and truly I asked for a room service order twice during the entire week, to which he gave me the same room service menu of all other cabins and when I asked about ordering from the other dining rooms, restaurants we were told it wasn't an option. We had no pillow options, the bed my mother slept on was horrible, and it took forever to even get her an egg crate to help soften it a bit.

 

Didn't really see anything great from the concierge.

 

I also noticed that whenever the 3 of us didn't dine together they seemed to question it. My mother quite often went to lunch alone in Cagney's and she was always questioned as to why myself and my husband weren't with her. It was just odd that they would comment every day when she went by herself, rather than just welcoming her as she was alone. Though if my husband and I went they never asked about my mother. It was just very odd.

 

Now for the towel animals and chocolates I view those as for the cabin, not each bedroom. They don't make up multiple towel animals when you have several staying in a regular cabin, those you still only get one.

We are sailing on NCL for the first time in a 2 bedroom suite. I really hope we at least get a friendly Butler. Yours sounds pretty bad. Are the Butlers just taking care of too many Suites so they are grumpy and overworked? Did you say anything on the comment card about your Butler? Hopefully you reflected the lack of service in your tip (I can't believe I am saying that as I a big believer in tipping but it should always reflect the actual service given). I think I need to lower my excitement and expectations about having a suite and butler/concierge for the first time to avoid being disappointed. I hope if we are friendly then they will be friendly as well.

I hope you don't get slammed for your honest comments but I really appreciate them!

Sorry you felt that way.

 

From our experience, the towels and snacks were placed in the living room of the suite, not either bedroom.

 

I do agree your friends screwed you over. We're taking my Mom on our next cruise. We are only having her pay the $229 in taxes for her "free 4th person fare", her dining package and her beverage package.

 

NCL divides out the confirmation price per person. You two should have only paid the 3rd and 4th person fares, not 50% of the bill.

Actually, I think it should be more than just the 3/4 person fare. They still were entitled to ALL of the amenities that a suite provides outside of the sleeping accomodations.

I once came up with my formula that 50% is for the room and 50% for the rest. So, a 70/30 split of sleeping arrangements/bathroom is fair. Based on that, a net of a 60/40 split is equitable. (both share living, dining and balcony).

After all, guests 1/2 are giving up privacy and that that is worth something. Otherwise, why wouldn't they (3/4) just get their own space? Because they wanted suite perks! That's why.

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We are sailing on NCL for the first time in a 2 bedroom suite. I really hope we at least get a friendly Butler. Yours sounds pretty bad. Are the Butlers just taking care of too many Suites so they are grumpy and overworked? Did you say anything on the comment card about your Butler? Hopefully you reflected the lack of service in your tip (I can't believe I am saying that as I a big believer in tipping but it should always reflect the actual service given). I think I need to lower my excitement and expectations about having a suite and butler/concierge for the first time to avoid being disappointed. I hope if we are friendly then they will be friendly as well.

 

 

 

I hope you don't get slammed for your honest comments but I really appreciate them!

If you are not happy with the butler and your service do not just wait and comment on the card.

Speak to the concierge and hotel director and give examples. Our first butler was not good. Every one since was fantastic!

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If you are not happy with the butler and your service do not just wait and comment on the card.

 

Speak to the concierge and hotel director and give examples. Our first butler was not good. Every one since was fantastic!

With your first "not good" Butler, did you speak to the concierge and hotel director on board? If so, what happened? Did they give you a different Butler?

I don't think OP is actually coming back.

I think I somewhat get where the OP is coming from, this based not on my being in a haven, but we did sail in a suite. All the hype of how great the service was by being in the suite from the butler, concierge, etc. We didn't see it. Our butler truly acted like he was bothered by any request from us, and truly I asked for a room service order twice during the entire week, to which he gave me the same room service menu of all other cabins and when I asked about ordering from the other dining rooms, restaurants we were told it wasn't an option. We had no pillow options, the bed my mother slept on was horrible, and it took forever to even get her an egg crate to help soften it a bit.

 

 

 

Didn't really see anything great from the concierge.

 

 

 

I also noticed that whenever the 3 of us didn't dine together they seemed to question it. My mother quite often went to lunch alone in Cagney's and she was always questioned as to why myself and my husband weren't with her. It was just odd that they would comment every day when she went by herself, rather than just welcoming her as she was alone. Though if my husband and I went they never asked about my mother. It was just very odd.

 

 

 

Now for the towel animals and chocolates I view those as for the cabin, not each bedroom. They don't make up multiple towel animals when you have several staying in a regular cabin, those you still only get one.

Very simple...they come from an old school culture where the males tip extra in cash not the females

Unless of course you had an American crew of waiters who know both tip

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I'd also be curious as to if someone complained about their butler and either got w new one or service improved. If my butler refused room service I may just have a temper tantrum right there.

We are sailing on NCL for the first time in a 2 bedroom suite. I really hope we at least get a friendly Butler. Yours sounds pretty bad. Are the Butlers just taking care of too many Suites so they are grumpy and overworked? Did you say anything on the comment card about your Butler? Hopefully you reflected the lack of service in your tip (I can't believe I am saying that as I a big believer in tipping but it should always reflect the actual service given). I think I need to lower my excitement and expectations about having a suite and butler/concierge for the first time to avoid being disappointed. I hope if we are friendly then they will be friendly as well.

 

I hope you don't get slammed for your honest comments but I really appreciate them!

I have to say reading all the hype before the cruise (it was my first NCL cruise), I was so super excited about the cruise. The service we received was some of the poorest we have had on any cruise. There were many things I read on these boards about different things you got with a suite, when the butler basically told me I was incorrect and misinformed I just assumed I must have read the things here wrong. I had nothing to back it up so I didn't argue with him.

Biggest thing I remember was being given a room service menu and we had another cabin with 4 people and we had a huge balcony, when we went into the glaciers everyone (7 of us total) went to hang out on our balcony and we ordered some food from room service. He totally freaked out when I told him I was ordering for 7 people, as he questioned the food we were ordering and how many it was for. It wasn't like they couldn't have ordered their own room service and walked it to our cabin. I was so utterly disappointed with the service that I went another 3 years before booking NCL again. We did enjoy Cagney's for breakfast. I had also thought I had read you could get meals from the restaurants for your own cabin, not just the standard room service menu - he of course told me I was incorrect.

However in terms of splitting the cost, we have 3 or 4 traveling and we have always splint the total cost equally. My mother normally has the pullout sofa, yet she pays an equal 1/3 as she knows the cabin for her alone would be way more than dividing it among three of us.

Just a thought. While obviously no one (besides maybe the room Stewart) knows who is sleeping where. Might they know who the first and second passenger are (assume they get the free ubp and sdp) and who the third and fourth passenger are? I would think that would be listed on the reservation somewhere that the Stewart and restaurant had access to. If so, it might be possible that with all the 'friends and family sail free' bookings, they might be under the impression that you sailed free with your friends and therefore might not be as worried about impressing you with the service as the 'paying' customers.

I have to say reading all the hype before the cruise (it was my first NCL cruise), I was so super excited about the cruise. The service we received was some of the poorest we have had on any cruise. There were many things I read on these boards about different things you got with a suite, when the butler basically told me I was incorrect and misinformed I just assumed I must have read the things here wrong. I had nothing to back it up so I didn't argue with him.

 

Biggest thing I remember was being given a room service menu and we had another cabin with 4 people and we had a huge balcony, when we went into the glaciers everyone (7 of us total) went to hang out on our balcony and we ordered some food from room service. He totally freaked out when I told him I was ordering for 7 people, as he questioned the food we were ordering and how many it was for. It wasn't like they couldn't have ordered their own room service and walked it to our cabin. I was so utterly disappointed with the service that I went another 3 years before booking NCL again. We did enjoy Cagney's for breakfast. I had also thought I had read you could get meals from the restaurants for your own cabin, not just the standard room service menu - he of course told me I was incorrect.

I am sorry that you experienced this. The butler is supposed to provide all meals for your room. Ours have always provided all of the specialty restaurant menus along with the main dining room menu daily. You can order from any of these places. Although with specialty restaurants, the usual fee would apply.

With respect to treats for guests that should be provided as well, within reason.

The first butler we had wasn't that great but he did deliver all meals, etc as necessary there were just no extras and he didn't really interact with us. The second was much better and knew after the first day what our schedules were for the day and prepared accordingly so he would be around if needed.

If this were to happen in the future, speak with the concierge and it should be resolved. I can't speak to whether the butler would be replaced or counseled to do the job better. If the concierge doesn't handle the situation I would go to the hotel director.

Just a thought. While obviously no one (besides maybe the room Stewart) knows who is sleeping where. Might they know who the first and second passenger are (assume they get the free ubp and sdp) and who the third and fourth passenger are? I would think that would be listed on the reservation somewhere that the Stewart and restaurant had access to. If so, it might be possible that with all the 'friends and family sail free' bookings, they might be under the impression that you sailed free with your friends and therefore might not be as worried about impressing you with the service as the 'paying' customers.

I worked in the service industry for a number of years, managing executive transportation for films, weddings, fortune 500s etc....

The only thing that would annoy high paying clients more than delivering subpar service to them - would be delivering subpar service to their associates/friends. Generally the "add ons" are guests or acquaintances who used the service as part of a reference from the paying customer. The paying customer has spoken highly of the service and doesn't want to feel letdown if the acquaintances had a negative experience.

Now it's not usually like that on NCL, but this will be my mother and aunts first trip on the cruise line. We've raved about the Haven from a prior experience and if they don't treat my family the same or better than me (paying 65% fare for the larger bedroom) it would annoy me greatly.

Of course the pre paid gratuities are included in the 1st and 2nd passengers, so only the 3rd and 4th can "adjust" their gratuities based on service. You'd think that would be an even larger incentive to treat the 3rd and 4th passengers better if that would ever happen.

I think the staff generally treats everyone in the Haven the same. My wife is much more outgoing than I am, and the staff interacted with Her much more willingly due to that. They didn't mistreat me and took care of me, however it was a different interaction. Just how people are, the staff deal with a million passengers needing something and sometimes dealing with someone who's interacting with you as a person and not asking for something always, goes a long long way.

I never said that our being in the second bedroom made the wait staff pay less attention to us. They were two separate points that I was making.

 

I have to say, I debated over posting this here for about a week, given the track record of backlash of a negative post, and decided today to post it. Maybe, I didn't word my posts exactly correct or made it seem confusing, but I seriously regret posting it. There seems to be a lot of people telling me that how I got treated couldn't have possibly happened and it must all be me and my misconstrued perception, well, we did get treated that way. Plain and simple. I started this post because I was curious to see if anyone had bad experience in the Haven. Well, just like the old saying goes, curiosity killed this cat. I give up. Consider this thread killed. Pretend it never happened and have a nice day. Enjoy your stay in the NCL bubble, I am going to hop over to the Disney bubble for a while.

Sorry your experience was less than ideal, but I am more sorry that you have all these negative people posting on your post. I am fairly new to CC and am floored by the negative people on here who seem to thrive by posting negative posts to others. I hope your next cruise is a better experience!!

I am so sorry Jenny. Nothing worse than being disappointed on vacation. Especially when you are paying a lot of money. Did you have a good time with your friends, at least? I know that I can sometimes imagine things to be more fantastic than they turn out to be :( Perhaps you didn't have a great butler, room steward? I know some are better than others. I know that when my expectations don't come to fruition, I carry the disappointment with me which can permeate other things as well.

 

I must say, I have been on many cruises and always participate on CC beforehand. This will be my first NCL cruise and I have definitely notice that "some" of the NCL posters (definitely not all) are not as nice as I have experienced on other cruise line boards. I noticed it almost immediately after I booked our cruise 2 months ago and started coming on the NCL boards. I am hoping it is just a coincidence and not a characteristic of the average NCL cruiser. You asked if any others were disappointed in their Haven experience, not asking for other people to negate your personal experience and tell you what you did wrong. I hope your next cruise is fantastic!!!

Well said!!

With your first "not good" Butler, did you speak to the concierge and hotel director on board? If so, what happened? Did they give you a different Butler?

Yes, my Concierge was great. She made sure she got things done. In fact three different suite pax had complained about the butler. Two guys in a suite were shocked when we mentioned our snacks were all over the floor one night, and had obviously fell off the table after they were delivered before we got home. Our butler told us he would have it cleaned up the next day. The mess was less than a foot from where my mother was sleeping and he thought the spilled bowl of salsa was okay overnight? Oh yeah, why were the guys shocked? They said, you get snacks? LOL. They asked the butler if they could have cookies. By the end of the 14 night cruise they said he brought them 3 times. He was a relatively new butler but unfortunately not very good at it. Midway through our cruise he got sick with a cold and the other butler and the back-up butler pitched in. We thought Armando, the other butler was fantastic. We are pretty easy going but it was frustrating with the original butler. He hardly ever returned calls. Just did not seem to care. Maybe he wasn't ready.

But here is the clincher: he got off in one port late in the cruise but didn't return. So, what's worse? A bad butler or no butler? LOL. Just kidding. Between the other butler, the fill in butler and our concierge we had a great cruise. Certainly not ruined by any means as this is my favorite cruise to date. The butler was just a tiny thing in the grand scheme of things and the butlers we have had since have been fantastic!

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The post above is an example of why it is better to deal with a problem while on the ship instead of holding things inside and venting on CC after the cruise.

I've tried to find the "negative posts" but all I see are people giving advice as to how things could have gone better or people asking for further information as to what made the OP cry.

[quote

I've tried to find the "negative posts" but all I see are people giving advice as to how things could have gone better or people asking for further information as to what made the OP cry.

Let's see... just a few off the top of my head. Her post was called "ridiculous" she was called "Bitter" and then she was accused of lying. Perhaps there are actually people who do not find those comments offensive...

Let's see... just a few off the top of my head. Her post was called "ridiculous" she was called "Bitter" and then she was accused of lying. Perhaps there are actually people who do not find those comments offensive...

The person who used "ridiculous" also asked several questions for clarification.

The person who used "bitter" (same person) was responding to the "Enjoy your stay in the NCL bubble.." comment.

The person who didn't believe also posted "But if that was the case...." and then blamed the other couple as much as the OP.

So, out of nearly 100 posts, those were the only "meanie" posts? :rolleyes:

So you think she is a liar? Do you know her? Why would she make that up?

No, not at all. If you read my entire post I said it was unbelievable the couples would split the cruise fare 50%. If its true the couple in the master bedroom are the most selfish and evil people in the world. I just don't find a couple doing that to another couple who split the price equally. Even more if I paid 50% I would say something and expect to share the cabin/suite equally.

As Judge Judy says...."if it does not make sense.......its not true"

None of that makes sense to me. To make my point even more. The OP never mentions any of this in the original post. All of the blame is on the cruise line. If you really paid for the suite you would make sure your friends allowed you to experience all of it. The cruise line who sold you 50% of the cruise fare would not be at fault because of your selfish friends.

I just cant believe the sleeping arrangements would not be discussed. That is just me. But I take the OP at their word but that makes the situation so much worse.