Sand and Seas

On our first Haven cruise, we didn't meet our Butler until the third day. We got the impression that he had some very 'difficult' cabins that kept him too busy to do anything else. However our steward, concierge and the Haven restaurant staff were outstanding. You can guess how we distributed our tips for that cruise. Now that we have taken a few more Haven cruises, we have learned there are all types of Butlers😊 On our most recent cruise, we finally decided enjoy breakfast deliveries for a few mornings. We had the two room suite and could let our butler deliver to our outer room without us having to let him in. Our butler was amazing! He really made our cruise extra special and our tip reflected that. He was devastated that he was unable to provide Hash Browns for us....but we convinced him we would be just fine without them😉 Also, we had a new room steward on her first cruise. (We were outside Haven proper in a two room Forward Facing Suite). She took care of our simple requests for extra towels and extra laundry bag, and we could see how hard she was working every day. It was a joy to hand her a nice tip on that last day and see her face light up as she told us "This is my very first tip!" We had great meals in the Joy Haven restaurant, however we never got to create a relationship with any of the staff . On a twelve day cruise, and eating at least one meal in Haven each day, it's strange we never had the same server twice.

On the Joy two weeks ago they let us take dessert from Ocean Blue and Q. It was common to see others carrying covered plates around the ship. It never hurts to ask, but we have also been told 'no' on some other ships in the last year or two.

Yet, if you look on the hangtags for breakfast delivery, Hash Browns are still listed as a choice🤔

So true!

No hash browns in the Joy Haven last week. (We are rarely in Haven, but figured if they didn't have them there they weren't anywhere on ship.) Our awesome butler was super apologetic about this. They are still listed on the breakfast delivery hang-tags😕

@cruiseny4life, love your menagerie! Your picture of your pups seeing elk reminds me of my dog watching everything that moves in our neighborhood. We have been seeing several deer walking by and that doesn't bother him. However he gets extremely concerned about the neighbors cat walking through our yard 🤨

I love your reviews! Starting it a couple of weeks early makes me happy☺️ Any pics from the Best Friends sanctuary? Sounds like an awesome place🚶‍♂️🐾🐾

Hope it works for you. We had acceptable photos saved to our computer but just two months later they didn't like them🤨

We just got off the Joy a few days ago. We have seen both Footloose and Elements. In our opinion Elements was much better. The dancers were excellent and the staging was awesome 😎

If they are flying to/from Houston Hobby much better drive than Houston IAH. Traffic can be horrible and time consuming getting to IAH. Also there can often be construction delays on the road to Galveston. NCL Prima sails from downtown Strand area port. Very nice area to walk around and spend time.

Let me add that the Bliss Haven has a beautiful private Horizon observation lounge . Perfect for indoor Alaskan cruise . We also enjoyed going up to the private Haven sundeck for the awesome views.

Some have given Prima bad reviews, but we loved our 11 day from Galveston last year. Great and roomy cabins. Innovative complimentary Indulge food hall. Sailing in warm waters you can really enjoy the expansive deck 8 waterfront area. It does have quirks but we enjoyed it so much that we have rebooked another 11 days on her from Galveston to Miami next year 😎

Also wanted to add that we really enjoyed the show Elements on the Joy. It was very well done.

We just got off the Joy this morning. I did walk through the Observation lounge with an eye to the upcoming changes. There will still be a decent amount of OL remaining but perhaps not enough for an Alaskan cruise 🤨. We definitely prefer the ships with an Observation lounge and the separate casino smoking area. We will probably book and sail Joy again within a year so I'll be watching for updates after the renovations. Of note, contractors were onboard during our cruise taking some measurements.

Yes. I went through myncl and selected my CN under Make a Payment. I actually applied a third to two separate cruises during the last triple up.

I have booked with two CNext and then was able to apply a third to the same cruise during a Triple offer. I applied the Third myself online. Can't say it would work again but it worked for me.

We are currently on the Joy in a Forward Facing Haven. Our Butler has been wonderful. He is responsible for the 10 FF haven cabins so we are particularly impressed with the level of service. He said the toughest rotation is the 12 Aft haven cabins. Love the two room setup of this cabin. Really nice to have breakfast delivered to front room before we are fully awake. He is amazing! Yes, the front of ship can be rocky but we love it!

Yes Tammy had given us a rocky ride reminiscent of cruising years ago on smaller ships. We are loving it😊. With your advice we have learned to enjoy having our breakfast delivered. New bionic parts holding up well😉

Currently on Joy in Haven. BirdTravels and Russiamomm are correct. I would just add that the Haven restaurant is great plus the Haven Horizon lounge has snacks available morning and afternoon. Also it's great to order whatever Haven breakfast you want delivered to your room😊

Yes, not our favorite drinks either. But we did enjoy spending time with great bartenders and some fun fellow passengers. Maybe we will have a nice chat with you at a future mixology session☺️

Yes, easy to room charge for 3percent fee. Our credit card gives us 3percent back on travel purchases too 😊

Agree! We saw this yesterday too when we walked over to see the Escape. Very aggressive.

We have enjoyed the Mixology session as it's a fun way to meet other Diamond and Ambassador cruisers. Usually less than ten of us and we find a lot to talk about 😉

Yes, although system said that we were to select and book online.

Love the sneak peek of our first Daily☺️ Wish you were staying on for a B2B! It sounds like a couple of cabins will be available due the lack of passports......