wilmingtech

Dang it. We just booked our 1st cruise to Alaska on NCL 😔

I'm booked on the Escape in just over 3 weeks out of Cape Canaveral. This will be my 4th. NCL sailing. My other 3 sailings were out of Copenhagen and Long Beach. Copenhagen was easy. We got to the port around 10am and pretty much walked onto the ship. When we were in Long Beach we were Haven both times and it was about an hour or so wait but we had our Haven area to sit while we waited although this "Haven" area was just a divider with some chairs and snacks behind it but there were no crowds at all. Our next sailing out of Orlando will be on the Escape. Itll only be the 3rd sailing this season for the Escape out of Port Canaveral and from everything I'm reading it seems like there are always a handful of NCL passengers that don't like to get off the ship so they can't start boarding until later in the morning. It also seems like the waiting area is highly unorganized. So we are planning on showing up around 10:30 or 11am in hopes that the boarding process will have already started and the wait is minimal. Thanks for your feedback as it just reinforces our plans to arrive a little later than we normally would.

I'm sure the crew has a blast. It's a 3 day vacation for them. I was just thinking a one way cruise from NYC to Bermuda, San Juan, DR and Castaway would be something I would sign up for in a heartbeat. And even a 3 day out of NYC could stop in Nassau for a reposition although not sure there are many looking for a Nassau trip that ends up in a port 1500 miles from where you started.

I noticed the Escpe is on a 5 day Bermuda trip from the 10th to the 15th and then transfers from NYC to Cape Canaveral on a 3 day trip from the 15th to the 18th. But this 3 day trip doesn't seem to be published anywhere, is she sailing empty? I'd think a one way 8 day cruise from NYC to FL would sell better than a 5 day cruise to Bermuda then sailing empty to FL. Curious if this is correct.

Ahhh. You are correct I was confusing it with the lounge on the Joy.

That's an interesting coupon as its so specific. I got a coupon as well but mine was 10% off any cruise booked before December 2024 in my account. We used that in addition to the (3) Cruise Next certs (That we got for free) and had over 1000.00 off an Alaska sailing in August of next year.

@Jimmycruiser I have been on the Haven on both the Jewel and the Joy. Here is what I know from my eperience - 1. No. Unless you are in an owners suite. Anything in and out of the mini bar is an additional charge. 2. Yes. They come with a Nespresso coffee maker. You could ask for a regular cabin coffee maker if you didnt like the nespresso but they also have fresh coffee by the pool if you have a room there at the Haven area. I don't mind some of the nespresso but I would just wake up, walk out to the pool for my coffee and then walk back to our balcony to drink it on the Jewel. 3. No. Only laundry service at a charge. I think sometimes they may offer a half off or free laundry in the haven for longer trips (Over 9 days?) But this might be my memory failing me. 4. Not that I can remember. I believe they sometimes had very soft music in the background but no live music. 5. On the Jewel we had breakfast and lunch in Cagneys when we went. It may be in a different location now. For dinner you were on your own. I think the the breakfasts and lunches on the Jewel were much better than on the Joy in the Haven restaurant. While the Haven on the Jewel was much smaller than the Joy, I think we really enjoyed the Haven on the Jewel just as much for a few reasons. The first was that when we went on the Haven on the Jewel it was much smaller which meant no one was really in the haven. This may be different depending on the types of cruisers and time of year but we met about 3 or maybe 4 other groups on the Jewel with us and most times there was never more than one or two groups of people in the lounge or by the pool. it never felt crowded and the service was spectacular in that we got to know all the people working in the Haven pretty well. My daughter would go out early to the pool with her towel and talk the Pool butlers ear off and order all kinds of snacks and get her pool drinks and he and I would laugh about it and he just loved it. The kids got to know everyone back in the Haven and we felt like we were part of the family back there and were spoiled. And when we walked around the ship if we saw anyone that worked in the haven, they would always say hello to us by name and we would get into conversations with them. Going to specialty dinners at night as a Haven guest on the Jewel was great because we never made reservations. There would be a line and we would wait and when we go to the hostess she would tell us that they don't have any reservations available and we would show our Haven card and she would take us right away to a table. We never had to wait. It was the same way in the shows as well. When we were on the Joy the service was just as good but there were a lot of people. The pool was always crowded, it was the week before the holiday and there seemed to be quite a few teenagers and my wife and I were pretty sure they were "sneaking" their cruise made friends into the haven and it was a different vibe. The Haven hot tub was always full. Our kids did not go on the Joy with us and while we had excellent service and got to know our butler and bartender it just wasn't the same. We did love the Horizon lounge but it was always quite busy at breakfast and lunch times on sea days. The Haven space on the joy was great but we felt like smaller fish in a bigger pond than our experience in the Jewel. And while the restaurant was good, it was always pretty busy at dinner where we had to wait at times and make reservations. On the Jewel there would be 15-20 people at breakfast and we would ask for some specific items and the cook/chef would come out and actually check with us how we wanted it cooked (I would get a filet with eggs and hollandaise sauce and he had asked if I wanted the english muffin and the sauce on the steak or on the side and asked my wife about her requests) but on the Joy it was too busy for that type of service. I also think we had 2 or 3 different serves in the Haven on the Joy where that was not the case on the Jewel. So both were great and I would do Haven again in a heartbeat. We have a cruise coming up in December on the Escape and the Haven was sold out but I have a bid on a room in case one opens up. I wouldn't say no to Haven on a Jewel Class ship.

Honestly if everyone did this, left a nice pile of clean organized plates stacked in the cabin, it probably wouldn't be so much of an issue. People in general are disgusting. Not us here on Cruise Critic of course but there are many who just leave uneaten plates of food all over the cabin or piled outside in the hallway. I'm certain at one time we have all seen that randomly placed plate or glass throughout the ship. I'm certain being in a toxicated state contributes to this. I've seen a room or two as we walk by going down the hallway when the doors open and the rooms being cleaned and I feel bad for these stewards. On one trip, after the ship went through some weather, we were walking down the hall and one steward was consoling another and we asked if she was okay and the Steward told us "The room is bad, very bad". We didn't see the room but can only assume someone threw-up all over and it probably wasn't a pretty sight to see. That brings up the issue when the ships do hit weather and you have people stacking dishes in rooms and hallways that have uneaten food it really does make a mess. And the smell can linger even if it's steam cleaned. Last - there is always the challenge of logistics. As mentioned above with the wine glass. If there isn't a system or process in place to get stacks of dishes from each cabin back to the dishwasher station on the ship, the steward has to figure out where to stack the plates, stop in their day and manage that process. I can see with cutbacks that this may be more challenging than it has been in the past. I believe this is the primary reason for the room service charge, to pay for the extra man hours of delivering and cleaning up food service in rooms. My two cents - Im all for bringing a lite snack or dessert back to your room. If you do bring food to your rooms, be respectful of the room steward. Clean up after yourself.

Thanks @spotfish That's exactly what I was thinking! Going through a bunch of videos on youtube and it seems that getting the "Captains View" on the approach to the glaciers, through the fjords and coming into port seems to be pretty amazing. We were also thinking that if there is any wildlife in the ocean or otherwise we would get the first chance to see it on either side of the ship. Im not discounting the AFT cabins in any way and would have taken one had it been one of the larger ones but I don't think I'll be too disappointed with the forward facing balcony. As for the rain....meh, it's just water. No such thing as bad weather. Only bad clothes 😁

Definitely Itinerary. We just booked a 10 day Alaskan on the SUN. It has everything we wanted to see except Glacier Bay. No Haven though 😞. That being said, we have done Haven on both the Jewel (Jade is the same / sister ship) and on the Joy. And quite honestly we enjoyed the Haven on the Jewel just as much as the Joy. While the Joy had a fantastic Haven Horizon lounge which would be baller on an Alaskan cruise, I think you would miss out on some of the best things Alaska has to offer. And if you could swing the Garden Villa you won't be dissapointed.

Thanks @TheDawg79 After a discussion and weighing the pro's and cons, we ended up booking this specific front balcony for a few reasons. (This is more for me to convince myself I did the right thing 🤪) 1. The main reason we chose the front balcony was the size. We really wanted an AFT cabin, I was hoping for an M1 but the only AFT cabin left was the smallest AFT cabin available. We have 2 friends that will be cruising with us and it looks like there would be room for 2, possibly 3 chairs/loungers on the smaller AFT balcony but we could easily fit 4 on the Front balcony. We have had a large balcony before and it was nice being able to hang out on the balcony without having to get up each time someone enters or exits. 2. Its on a 10 day Alaskan Cruise on the Sun with quite a few short travel days of slow rolling inside passage. Day 3 is Juneau, 4 is Skagway, 5 is Haines. Day 7 is Sitka, 8 is Icy Straight and hoping on day 9 we take the inside passage from Icy Straight point to Ketchikan. In all that I'm believing that we will have plenty of time on those days to sit on the balcony and enjoy the views. 3. We are on the 11th floor, 1 level up from the bridge. From what I can tell, being out on the balcony will have no affect on the bridge below. There is a chance that we might need to keep our balcony light off and our curtains closed but honestly if we do go out after 10pm we would not be inconvenienced by having to leave our balcony light off. 4. Pricewise it was about 1400.00 more for the AFT cabin. The AFT cabin is definitely smaller and the balcony is smaller and other than the view from the back of the ship, the value for the money spent didn't seem worth it to sacrifice space for a different view. 5 Here are some pictures to compare both spaces. You can easily see the see difference in the balconies. AFT BALCONY SUN ROOM 0266 AFT BALCONY SMALL - AFT BALCONY with PERSON FRONT BALCONY SUN CABIN 1202 FRONT BALCONY LARGE - notice the railing is 3 sections across as opposed to 2 on the smaller aft balcony. FRONT BALCONY with PERSON - Notice the depth of the balcony compared to the aft balcony.

We ended up booking the forward family balcony on the 11th floor. There are 2 of them 😉 1002, 1102 Here is a video review of 1202 - It was a decent deal with the 3 cruise certs and a 10% FCC for a 10 day cruise. It was only 25$ pp ($50 total) more than a standard BB balcony.

Just curious if you have been in a forward balcony and if so what floor/room/ship? Im aware of the rules requiring lights to be off around the bridge at night. In the summer, there is no reason for us to ever have a light on the balcony after 10pm. If we were on our balcony that late we would be stargazing. Also the only front facing B4 cabins are on deck 11 and I've been on the Star and if I remember correctly the observation/sun deck on 12 has a very high angle railing that prevents you from looking down below and the only view is just the bow of the ship. So I don't think that would be an issue with us. So having coffee in my birthday suit shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks all for he heads up on this. I had 3 Cruise Certs that we got for free on our last Haven escapade and it was nice to be able to use all 3 of them on a single cruise plus a 10% FCC coupon.

We are booking a 10 day on the NCL Sun in August of '24 and we have a choice of a rear facing B1 or a Front Facing B4. We really wanted the rear facing balcony but the M1's are sold out and the one Aft balcony left on the 10th floor, the balcony looks tiny. Where as the family room balcony looks pretty big. Has anyone sailed these cabins before? What did you think? If you haven't sailed these cabins, which one would you pick and why? Thanks!

@big al I love a hard mattress 🙂 that being said, if I am on the go and the mattress is uncomfortable I have had luck in the past of turning the mattress over as long as it's not a "pillow topper" mattress. If it is a pillow topper then sometimes just turning it 180 degrees helps. Usually if the mattress is firm though it tends to be a newer mattress so that might not help you much. Sorry about your poor sleep experience that would be miserable on a cruise.

Ive been in the haven twice, on Jewel and Joy and never needed to make reservations with the exception of Teppanyaki. Many times we have walked up to the host/hostess, showed our haven cards and were seated. I wouldn't really worry about reservations unless you are set on certain days/times and as mentioned earlier, you can just hand the concierge a note with your reservations listed on them and you will get taken care of.

.70c is a daily stock swing. Not even worth mentioning. Of more concern would be that it is down 15% in the last month, 25% in the last 3 months and 400% since pre-pandemic levels. Anyone who bought and held NCL for 100$ obc in the past 3 months would have done better just pocketing the 100$. Cruiselines always carry debt, it's a commodity. The business models for cruiselines will never guarantee a huge influx of profit as they can only ever be 100% full and the only way to increase revenue is to build more ships to increase the number of passengers which takes on more debt to build more ships to increase the number of passengers. Its a transitive business that will never skyrocket in profit unless the passengers are willing to pay 2x, 3x 4x more for the same experience and Im thinking thats not the current trend of the cruiseline customer base.

Sadly it comes down to how the dollar looks on paper. On my next cruise I got a decent deal on a balcony for 2300 (4 of us) and then it'll cost me another ~500 for tips. I think marketing wise if I had an opportunity to jump on a balcony for 2800 and tips were not allowed (Drinks, dining or otherwise) it would be a competitive offer and I think I'd prefer that environment. But on the corporate side taxes and the lighter burden on business overall by calling them "Gratuities" is going to be really hard to separate from the current environment

NCL has gone from a net income of (-482.48M) in Dec 22 to a +345.87M in the 3rd quarter of this year (2023). How long will it take for that to trickle down to increased service and food quality on the ships? I understand the reason for the cutbacks but now with the cruise industry booming, will more of that addl profit go to new ships and expansion of the company with the current cutbacks being the "new normal" or will they focus on improving quality of food and service on the ships to retain the clientele?

@Marga.Anders We have been on 6 cruises now. 4 of them with our 4 kids. 3 of these cruises were on Royal Caribbean (Freedom and Quantum Class ships) and 3 on NCL (Jewel Class & Breakaway Plus) 2 of the 3 on NCL were in the Haven. We have 1 cruise on the Escape booked (37 days! sailing with @big al) And another booked in 2025 on a Celebrity Med cruise. We also have some cruise certs from NCL we need to use up. Here is my feedback for you - Take the reviews with a grain of salt. Usually you have to read between the lines. Some people will have a bad experience boarding the ship and from there its just every little thing makes their cruise worse. For some it's their 1st time on an NCL cruise and they really miss having "their personal waiter and table" at the MDR. Or in their excitement they get to the port at 7am and complain that it took 3 hours to get on the ship. Other things to pay attention to is that often times when a ship changes itineraries, like the first cruise after a repositioning or after a dry dock, there is a large crew turnover and it takes one or two sailings before the new crew gets it all together again. So you will see great reviews and then one or two weeks of meh to bad reviews and then it gets better again. So all that being said, here is my 2 cents. (Keep in mind this is all pre covid experiences) Our cruising style is pretty laid back. On Sea Days we love to get up early and watch the sunrise, get breakfast before anyone else has had a coffee. Find places that are not by the pool where 70% of the ship hangs out. We strongly dislike the large crowd "ship games" although once in a while it can be entertaining. As a family, all of us agree Royal is the better cruise line for us. The caveat here is that the Haven is hands down probably one of the best experiences you can have on a ship. As far as Ships - Royal really wins this one. Two Wheels stated Escape is like a Quantum class ship and having been on the Joy (In the Haven) and Anthem I have to strongly disagree here. I think the Breakaway Plus class is more akin to a Freedom Class and I would take a Freedom Class over the Breakaway Plus with exception of the Haven. I love the Solarium in the Quantum Class ships and the activities and layout of the ship was fantastic. There is no Solarium or Forward Facing lounge or observation area on the Escape. Even in the Haven. You'll have to get a Spa Pass to enjoy that area on the Escape which might actually be worth it. One thing I do like about the NCL breakaway ships is the Waterfront. It's not perfect but a nice place to do some laps and we like to sit in the outside dining areas during the day and relax and play cards or a board game before the restaurants open for the evening. Entertainment - Royal again wins here. I have seen some amazing and super memorable shows and entertainers on Royal ships. We still occasionally talk about the shows and talent we have seen on our Royal sailings. And honestly, I cannot remember what the entertainment was on the NCL sailings other than a comedian or two. And the Two70 on the Anthem is really just an amazing experience. Now there may be the occasional act on either line that is good/bad better than the other but overall I think the trend is that Royal has a better talent pool. Food - This is a tough one. "Cruise Food" is typically akin to what you would get from a catering company as opposed to a sit down restaurant. I grew up in the restaurant industry and quite honestly its amazing at how good some of the main dining room meals are on any ship considering they have a limited budget and a pretty good sized menu. The logistics of pulling all this together is really incredible. The upgraded dining options on Royal have been of a better quality and experience (although more expensive as it's not usually included as a package) than the specialty dining on the NCL ships. There have been a couple hits and misses on all the ships we have been on and we are finding that while the ships may have the same menus, the quality can be very different for the same meals. The MDR food on both lines has been similar. Hits and misses in both places. The thing that works for NCL is all of the dining & bar options. It's like a food mall. Restaurants everywhere. That tends to be the focus. If you go on NCL and decline all the specialty restaurants and just do the complimentary food you are going to struggle to get consistent returns. Also on the Escape other than the MDR, Buffet and OSheehans, there is nothing else. On Royal ships they always have a BBQ by the pool or an Ice Cream machine, pizza or some a place to grab some free snacks. On NCL its all extra dollars to get the ice cream and snacks. This is definitely a draw. If you like the MDR and same time dining every night with a waiter with more complimentary food options then Royal. If you want a bunch of different dining experiences throughout the week and unlimited food menus then go with NCL. As for the buffet - It is what it is. Some better than others. Again the exception to this is the Haven. Food tends to be better overall here but we have had some misses in the Haven restaurant as well. Having the restaurant experience, my mission is always to do the research, find the meals that are the best in the MDR and elsewhere and schedule the specialty dining around that. This has usually paid off and often times there are one offs that we have done well with. On one NCL cruise we found they had a shirmp burger on a pretzel bun and it was only served in the MDR at lunch on the embarkation day. That was a delicious score. Service - First of all, in our limited cruising experience there is nothing like the service in the Haven. But I cannot say we have ever had a bad experience on either line. We are easy to please and tend not to need or want much. When service has been slow it's because it's 12:30pm on a Sea Day. All of our room stewards have been great and in the Haven they have been exceptional. Activities - Royal in our experience has had more activities for both us as adults on our no kid cruises and for our kids when we all went on the sailings. An example of this (leaving off the activities that are the same such as kids clubs, water slides and mini golf) is that on Freedom of the Seas we had Ice Skating, Flow Rider, Rock Climbing all included. On NCL Joy we had ... um, well, nothing unless we wanted to pay for go carts, laser tag and virtual games. Escape does have the ropes course and we are looking forward to that (We'd rather this than go carts or laser tag) We always find something to do regardless and don't need to be entertained. A lot of times we love finding a quiet area and read a book or play cards or a board game and just relaxing so the activity options are just gravy. Private Islands - Have not yet been to Great Stirrup, but from looking at reviews and the buildout, Royal is way ahead on this one. Overall Our next cruise on the Escape is sadly in just a balcony room (It was last minute and Haven was sold out) but we will have a great time. I can tell you now that we will really miss having a observation lounge on this ship and a dining area outside behind the buffet. We are still contemplating the Thermal Spa but wondering how much we would actually use it as there are only 2 sea days on this cruise. I think if you can spend the money on the Haven then do it. If you want adults only areas to drink and party then get a vibe pass and hang out at Spice H2O. It's not really better or worse on NCL, just "different".

I totally get it. For most of us its a hard earned vacation. Im just sharing what I have seen on past cruises and in my limited cruise experience. Just things to look out for when you book a cruise. We are booked on the Infinity in 2025. Definitely not a ship I would have picked but we are going with a group and hopefully its still Israel/Egypt by then. Again hard earned money to go to these locations but if the itinerary changes we will probably still go regardless as its not easy for us to just find 3 weeks of a calendar year that we can go overseas.

As an inexperienced cruiser, I'll give you my take on the food thing. Every so often when itineraries change and ships start sailing out of different ports, this can often line up with contract changes for crew including managers as well. Since the Infinity just recently started sailing out of Lisbon, I wonder if the kitchen (Including the guys who manage the manifest for the food) had a turn over and the new crew just didn't have its chops up yet. So some misommunication with what was ordered, the qty of items they should have had for the menu and maybe being limited budget wise and not completely aware of what was possible to get vs what was easily available within the budget for this sailing. I've seen many posts where the first two or three sailing after a big crew change over (especially after a dry dock or ship repair) where the dining room is in disarray until the crew settles into the flow. Just a thought.

So many ships... So little time haha. Out of the 5 ships we have been on the Anthem of the Seas was pretty amazing mostly because of the technology on the ship. The entertainment was impressive. We loved the layout and the ability to find quiet places on a very full ship.

Thanks for posting. We booked a cruise on this ship going in 2025. Not a ship I would have picked but we were going with a group and it's a bucket list trip to Israel and Egypt. We liked the itinerary. Ship looks nice enough and we are easy to please so as long as the food is edible and the vibe is laid back and relaxed I think we will be just fine. Looking forward to this ship. A lot can change in 18 months though.