MrsTocko

I am going to go searching for those threads....I am in the we dont gamble - you have to be losing thousands group...IF we gamble, it is like $20 in a slot machine....so probable still not enough...but if I can learn anything that will help get me a heavily discounted Haven experience, I think it might be worth a shot.

There are entitled people everywhere on cruises that is for sure. I know that not everyone that stays in the Haven are jerks, they are out in the gen pop as well. and I should re-qualify my statement omitting the haven label in general. I have witnessed MORE of the entitled jerks, first proclaiming "Im in the Haven" or "Im Platinum/Diamond...." They make themselves stand out even more. We have experienced the Breakfast/lunch in moderno/cagney's, and have experienced and used the privilege of the concierge service. The things I have overheard people saying to the crew was appalling. The tone too... But I have also witnessed it in the MDR. Where I end up apologizing for complete strangers because people are...entitled. "Vegans/vegetarians" who complain about the options, but dont pre-order their meals. Adult offspring traveling with parents who then have mom and dad advocate (loudly and rudely) for them on the lack of options. Then pouting because you "can't" eat anything. There are things you can order and then pre-order going forward (instead of the yelling/pouting every meal). If it is a health related dietary restriction vs. a preference, you can bet that I am taking the 2 seconds to fill out the special assist form. (These same people I witnessed their behavior in the breakfast/lunch at cagney's/moderno) The ones that complain about the "$2 chuck" or "swill" that is offered with the FAS package...if you dont like it, then upgrade your package to the plus, or pay out of pocket, or pick something else. We did bid on haven room/DOS on the last cruise we did, but didn't get it. We tend to want to stay midship (I get seasick/motion sick). We have the bands and pills, and didnt need any of them this last time (despite a couple days that were pretty rough). A lot of the haven rooms I have seen in my exhaustive pre-cruise ship research - are forward, and far forward...so that too creates a pause...

DH loves the raspberry creme brulee and I am addicted to their OMG Caramel Cheesecake

I get the contradictions in my statement. I think what turns us off of The Haven the most, is a the cost. though if I may at some point bid on a haven, we just dont have it at time of booking or during the bidding as a rule. Havent ever been in a Haven stateroom, but the common areas that I have seen are not worth double and triple the price of my balcony. The second part that turns us off is the entitled attitude of some (I know not all) of the people that book in the Haven. For the most part, we want to be as far away from them as possible. The entitled ones are the louder complainers, and that is what we hear. I heard a haven guy complaining that he and his girlfriend were very disappointed in irritated that the ship hit some rough waters the night before. THAT is what I hear more off, and what puts us off. All of that said, we still want to try it at some point... For us, being on the cruise itself is a luxury. Having a plate of food brought tome that I dont have to cook...or clean up the kitchen afterwards...that is luxury to me. I don't want to fight my way to a food station to get a plate of food, then to find a seat, trolling through the garden cafe scoping out the tables trying to guess if someone is done or not. That is not luxurious to me. If my day warrants that the buffet is the best choice due excursion departure times or whatever, of course we do it. I just really dont enjoy it. Not the food or the crew, just the concept itself. Embarkation day is usually Buffet. DH loves the crepe station on the smaller ships for evening snack. We dont even do the free continental breakfast that EVERYONE can order through room service. Once we get up, we are up, lets start our day and go eat. We dont want to snack on breakfast foods. so for us to ask a butler to go get for us...it is wasted on US, we would just go get it ourselves. As a rule we ask very little of our room steward as it is. Towel animals, pool towels (to use as bath towels), empty the fridge, this last time we also asked for ice for ice packs. That is the extent of our asks. We tip at the start (smaller - $20) and then a thank you at the end ($50). Plus whatever they get in the DSC. But that is why we love cruising - we make it ALL work for US. It is flexible enough to fit everyone's OWN idea of the perfect vacation. And this is also why I love this topic. Im not complaining (though it sounds like it), just stating my "unpopular" opinion...We are all in control of our vacations, it is what we make it. The things out of our control, are just that, out of our control. Being nice, and understanding will get you A LOT further when things DO go wrong (as they often do), then being mean, demanding and nasty.

So we too have no real interest in The Haven. We are just not into the whole thing. We would have no idea what to do with a butler....we have been invited to the captain's cocktail party in the haven, and are honestly not that impressed with the facilities, especially with the people talk about it. We are quite happy with our mid-ship balcony. Yes, the extra room would be nice, but still. We usually end up right over where the gangway goes, so prime pier runner watching. I dont care for buffets as a rule. I dont pay to eat out or all the money for a cruise and then have to wait in a line to get food. I am there to be pampered, bring me my food. We have really enjoyed cagney's and moderno (we just turned platinum so we stopped the FAS specialty and are just going to go with the platinum benefit going forward) What we get in the MDR is good for us. We did the sail away for the first time last month. We are always doing something and never realize it. We didnt really feel like we missed much. We do enjoy talking with the people in person that we have been talking to for months online, both here and other social media sites. We ONLY book shore excursions through the ship. I know, more expensive, but the added security of the excursion running late, and the ship waiting for us is worth it. We dont ever want to be one of the previously mentioned pier runners...and we dont ever do the all day/inclusive beach excursion. we want to learn about the port we are at (at least the first time there) We wake early, no alarm, just awake at 6am. which means we go to bed early. like 9. so we are often missing the shows. We like the cheesy port pictures. I know...but we put them on our adventure/travel wall...we miss when they dont do them.

We were getting off the cruise, the day you got on. Then we heard about the changed itinerary. DH and I wanted to be on board for the sole purpose of hearing the Capitan… very disappointing for everyone I am sure. We missed Edinburgh due to rough seas. stay safe, visit Rajesh at spice H20 - request Pandey as you waiter in Versailles. And have fun…

the NCL sail safe page indicates that for non us-embarkation (we embark in Southampton, UK) on Sunday, we can test on Thursday, so it is 72 hours, so as long as it is not time constrained, I think we should be good.

Thank you for all of this, I have already booked my tickets for stonehenge through the link above. Yes we are going on a Saturday, but we are fine with that. That is our ONLY thing planned that day so we are good. From what I understand from your post and the site itself, we do NOT have to make a timed reservation (other than our tickets for the actual day), is that correct? I booked the Ibis Southampton Centre (not the budget), because of the proximity to both the train station and Horizon Cruise terminal. Rooms look small though. It is what it is, which is 2 nights, so we can make it work. Yes, we could walk it, but wont. I am not one to be hauling my suitcases through a town. Just get me a taxi/ride, and I am happy. Friends booked into the White Star Tavern, so we will take a taxi/uber to grab a drink with them on Saturday night. Any recommendations for dinner on a Friday night when we arrive? We prefer local over chain, and like supporting independent restaurants. Where do the people that live there go? We SHOULD be arriving around 7:30-8pm, but we can always go on Saturday. Thanks again

We embark on a Sunday in Southampton. The earlies we can test is Thursday before. We are in Southern California, and Thursday is our travel day. We have tests scheduled for 10 am (our time, 6pm in Southampton) Do we need to be concerned with the TIME our tests are administered (proctored), or is the bigger concern the DATE? On our recent cruise (in April), the embarkation staff, as well as the gate crew at the airport when we were returning home made note, and mentioned the TIME of the test. I think we should be ok, because of the time difference, Im just wondering if I should reschedule a little later in the day. We decided to try and do it in the comfort of our own home before we get on the plane. Any knowledge you have would be appreciated, and direct NCL knowledge would be GREATLY appreciated.

on this laundry topic - we will be using the first time on our cruise next week...are there any items that we CAN'T include? someone on my roll call, heard from someone else that underthings were not washed anymore in the laundry service and should be included in the bag. I certainly hope that is not true, and not wanting to start a big bruhaha, just trying to get an answer for us all...

Was thinking I could be way smart and impress my husband by picking out our room, and not tell him how, for those balcony pics…

I got ya - I obviously understood it a completely different way! Thought I was missing an OBVIOUS thing on every cruise...

We take a "balcony" photo (if possible) on every cruise. At the end of a port day, I head up to our room, step out on the balcony and wave to my DH who is still on the dock, and he takes a photo. You can understand why it is not always possible I am sure. I just looked at the balcony photo from our April 2022 cruise....No numbers on the outside of our cabin to identify our room. Hope this helps.

its in the FAQ

Agreed. We are flying the same route from LAX…700 total for both of us, including deviation…she told me everyone on our reservation would be on the same flight, but up to us to get seats together.

This is my understanding of the USA rules. The credit is applied to each excursion for the "lead" passenger only. If the cost of the excursion is less than the $50 credit, then the amount of the credit is reduced to the cost of the excursion. For example: Excursion cost is $39. The value of the credit is reduced to $39. The remaining passenger(s) pay full price of the excursions in their name. After the credit is taken off, then the latitudes discount is applied, if you are entitled to a discount. So in the case of my DH and I on the above excursion. My excursion is free (I'm listed as the lead passenger). DH is charged full price of $39. Deduct 10% latitude tier discount = 35.10. Regular full price would be $78. Total Savings = $42.90. Make sense?

I started on Carnival...So I hear you... I actually just booked 2 spring break cruises....

I keep booking cruises... Is there a cruise addicts support group that I can join? Please send help...

Do the ArriveCan before embarkation…it is a pain to fill out…but a bigger pain to fill out at the pier (as the people in line behind us could attest) Your still fill out the paper health form. have everything else ready when you enter the terminal. They needed our arrive can at the Vancouver airport when we flew home, but as that was our only Canada stop, I am not sure what others experienced. We have to fill out the standard customs declarations form.

I LITERALLY just recommended your 2016 sun review to someone that is booking an NCL Alaskan. Cant wait to finish your review. We had the Breakaway book in July 2021, that was cancelled - and havent yet made the timing work for another go at it.

Anyone know the category code for the Penthouse Balcony on the star? I have seen it as both SC and SG. I am thinking about bidding for an upgrade, and I want to be sure that I know where I COULD end up (want to stay more midship). For my vacation budget, that is the most friendly. Balcony is a must (according to DH). Currently in a regular ol midship balcony. Not even the family balcony.

Ok - here is what happened. I started the roll call for our upcoming cruise on the Jewel - Leaving April 22 to Alaska. I have agreed (and early on agreed) to organize the Meet and Mingle for our cruise. I sent over the email to set it up. We are a small group but enthusiastic...anyway, I just received a call from NCL that someone else had already signed up to host the Meet & Mingle for our cruise! We had 4 members (that I know of for sure) of our roll call cancel their cruise...Im guessing that one of them had set it up already. I was told that it was on the books for a year already (I didnt think we could set one up until 2-3 weeks prior - but apparently you can set it up then adjust the numbers closer to the sailing date). NCL couldn't tell me anything about who set it up (obviously - privacy - I get that), where or when (not my event - so I can't hijack it I guess?). and the Problem is that they cant have 2 cruise critic Meet & Mingle on the same cruise. Again Obvious. So at the moment, there is a Meet & Mingle set up for our cruise, that no one knows anything about, and is not likely to, if the person who set it up cancelled their cruise. If it was one of them, just because they cancelled the cruise, doesnt automatically remove them as host of the Meet & Mingle. NCL Special Events needs to be contacted with a request to be removed as host or in some other way inform the group event coordinator that you have cancelled. I have posted the situation in my roll call - not sure if the cancelled members will still receive notification or even read it. Which is understandable. But is there a way to contact them directly to explain the situation and ask them to contact NCL? OR If you are reading this, and this is you, please can you give them a quick call or send them an email? They have the roll call that I am leading listed as the second one. So by you calling and letting them know, they will just let me know that we are good to go. Thank you for any help or suggestions you can provide. I appreciate it. Now I better go try to set it up for the July Cruise!