Taishartrueblood

20 hours ago, MotownVoice said:

I have noticed you seem to choose the threads that appeal to your keen ability To insult and condescend.  Seriously.   A cursory scan of your comment history will show that my theory checks out.   It must be a heavy burden. 

They can go the whole week, no problem. 

We are in a recession (could be a moderate or severe one, we will see) and that tends to drive down prices of luxury goods.

We are also in both a demand-pull and supply-push inflationary cycle which means that every dollar you have is worth less (and it an extremely hard cycle to break out of... raising taxes and more spending is exactly the wrong way).

So to answer the OP's question.... Maybe 😛 I am betting that the inflationary pressures will vastly outstrip the recessionary (stagflationary) pressures so cruises (and ALL goods) will cost more next year. Honestly, i recommend buying tangible assets, particularly tax-protected assets, as the $100 you have saved and that is in your bank account.... may only be worth $90 next year. 

Take my advice for exactly what it cost you 😛 

5 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

 

What I wrote was "It shouldn't take 3 days to fix a plumbing problem on a ship like the Encore."

To which you replied: "So NCL purposely took 3 days to fix everything when they could have gotten it fixed in one day?   Not only is NCL to blame for someone's pratfall but now they are purposely delaying to fix the problem?  "

 

It is that twisting of my words that I objected to. I never said they did anything "purposefully".  I just said it shouldn't have happened.  And I stand by that statement, it shouldn't take 3 days to fix a plumbing problem.

 

If you must know, I am a licensed mechanical contractor for over 35 years.  And believe it or not land based mechanical contractors are frequently are engaged to work on large ships in port. That being said, I've never personally worked on the mechanicals in a cruise ship.

 

Of course not, but that shouldn't matter because I very clearly stated "I have no idea why it took 3 days" which most reasonable people would infer means that I don't know what the root problem was.  I also said "Maybe they don't have the right expertise..." and  "maybe they needed parts..."  - more indication that I didn't know what the problem was.  I'm sorry you weren't able to comprehend these basic facts from what I wrote, hopefully you understand now.

 

Yeah you did, see the first point in this post and the next one. 

 

And this is another example of you twisting my words.  I used the word "maybe".  I'm sure you know what that word means.  The fact that you take my "maybe" and change it to a definitive statement ("you are saying NCL does not have properly trained mechanics and plumbers...") is in fact twisting my words.

 

I think everyone agrees on that point, I certainly never said anything to the contrary.

 

Oh - so you know what the problem was ("clogged major lines")?  You are a a maritime plumber who was on board and diagnosed the problem?  Why didn't you say so?  Can you explain exactly what you and the maintenance team were doing for 72 hours to unclog that line?

 

I never said anything about cancelling cruises.  Where did that come from?  It would be much easier to understand and follow your points if you weren't all over the place with them. 

David Sobe is being a jerk, ignore him. You have been polite and honest in your statements, as far as i can tell, and you almost certainly have more expertise than anyone here since you are a large scale mechanical engineer.

Glad you had a great time!

Where are you referring to? NCL sails all over the world. 

6 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

What is "make a chance?"  Many of us routinely execute mock bookings after final payment to determine if there is an opportunity to upgrade.  I once upgraded from an inside to an Ocean View for $1.53.

<clap>?

No, this is a docked port.

There is a lift. There are beach wheelchairs. 

2 hours ago, stefmaia said:

I hope you filled out a Hero Card for Jayson, and maybe send a letter to corporate? It would really help  him ascend in rank if that is what he is trying to do.

I'm glad your dad managed to enjoy his vacation, and it sounds like you found a way to re-center.

I filled out out but i didnt get a chance to drop it off. I am going to fill it out virtually today 🙂 

I did not think to save them, sorry 😞 
 

 "Mystical ChaakTun Cenotes & Maya Spiritual Cleanse" in Cozumel (labeled this by NCL)

You can do this excursion independently, not through the cruise lines, but it was pretty cheap for a full day excursion.

So we have all been to Cozumel a ton of times, but this was the first excursion that was a real taste of culture. The cenotes are always fun to explore but what was amazing was the "Maya Spiritual cleanse" portion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temazcal

After we arrived, we all stood around a fire (20 strangers) and they had us individually come up and toss herbs into the fire and say what we are grateful for. The shaman would then fan aromatic smoke over us. That part was interesting and people were more open and vulnerable than i would have expected.

We then were led into a Temazcal (think a brick igloo with a fire pit in the middle). The idea is that this symbolic of a woman's womb... the hole at top is the belly button and the entrance in the birth canal. Our guide had warned everyone that this was not for everyone.....when we first entered, it was cool in there which felt nice on a hot morning. We all sat around the outside or on the ground and then the shaman entered..... followed by a glowing hot rock that was tossed in by people outside the temazcal. The rock was the size of 3 cinderblocks and was literally glowing red (had been in a fire all morning). The shaman led us in welcoming the rock (grandfather/fire) and then 12 more glowing how rocks were tossed in (not the safest thing, imo, and the shaman was barefoot! He would move the rocks into the firepit with a pair of deer antlers).

At this point it was HOT in the temazcal, we all had sweat pouring off of us... but it gets worse 😛 The shaman then had them cover the hole in the ceiling and  poured some water on the glowing rocks to create steam. While it was hot before, the steam was EXTREMELY hot, we probably had 80% of the group choose to leave at this moment. They then covered the doorway and the the shaman would both lead chants and beat on a very loud drum (simulating a mother's heartbeat to a fetus, i suspect, but he didnt explain). After about 10 minutes of this, the ceremony was over and everyone left.

This is fairly authentic, this is a ritual that is still done on a regular basis. It is an experience that i expect i will remember for a long, long time... VERY highly recommend it! 

https://chaaktun.com.mx/

Good morning everyone, we just got back from our June 26-July 03 western Caribbean cruise Costa Maya, Harvest Caye, Roatán Bay, Cozumel and it was our first time in Haven.

First off, a little background. My dad is 70 years old but not in great shape... he is mobility challenged, nearly blind, and has significant neuropathy in all extremities. We have been cruising together as a family for a decade but we realized that he couldnt get around well enough or know where he was going.... last trip, he stayed in his room unless one of us came and got him. The thought was that the Haven is much smaller, less crowded, and there is a shorter walking distance between his room and the pool/bar/restaurant. We didn't know exactly what the butler would provide (we read up on it but still were not exactly sure) but felt like the personal interaction would be beneficial to him.

Food:
The Haven restaurant was good but not great. I like all types of foods from the "mundane" like fast food to Michelin star dining so I am not a food snob but i was expecting better. I have been on many cruise lines and the only moderately priced line that I thought had excellent restaurants was Disney (Remy and Palo). The service was excellent, the atmosphere was nice, and they were willing to customize to our preferences. We tried Ocean Blue, Teppanyaki, and Cagney's and we generally found them also good but not great. 

Pool area:
It was a nice place to eat (closer to our rooms so dad didnt have to go as far) but the area was generally empty. I am not complaining as that quiet really did feel like a Haven from the energy on the main deck.. i like the energy but sometimes it was nice to have a break!  We didnt see anyone using the lounge chairs in the pools all week, some kids/adults used the hot tubs (insert rant about hot tubs being lukewarm at best 😛 ), and a few kids swam in the deeper pool area. Staff came by on a regular basis to see if there was anything anyone needed. The adult-only sun deck was nice.

Bar:

I am not a big drinker so i didnt hang out at the bar, just stopped by a few times to get a drink. The drinks were a higher quality than the other bars (more alcohol, correct proportions) and the staff were constantly joking/chatting with the bar flies 😛 

Staff:

This is where the Haven stood out. All the staff were extremely personable, efficient, and clearly enjoyed what they were doing (even if they, like all cruise staff, work CRAZY hours!). For example, my sister's company was closing a massive contract and she needed to sign the contract (for whatever reason they didnt do digisign <shrug>) and fax it back to the purchasing company. Her lawyers sent her the document, she put it on a thumbdrive, and asked the concierge to print it out. I am not sure if she misspoke or the concierge misunderstood, but she only needed to print the 6 signature pages, not the whole 400 page document! Even so, the concierge printed it all, whole punched it, and put it in a binder for her review.... way above the expectation!

Butler:

Our butler Jayson deserves his own section, I can provide his last name if people ask (not sure i should post it publicly?). 

Dad took a fall the first day that dislocated his trapezium bone and he got a bad cold on the later part of the cruise.... He is used to being a power player but with his physical limitations, he has to rely on others to help him and has turned reclusive. The loss of control (i am playing amateur psychiatrist here) makes him both very demanding and something of a jerk to just about everyone. I would help him get dressed and that sort of thing, but Dad didnt want to leave his room. That being said, Jayson was a Godsend! Jayson had spent time caring for his ailing father before his father passed and he and dad really connected. He would help get dad on a wheelchair and take him around the ship (we didnt ask him to do that, we are certainly capable of pushing him in a wheelchair, but i think it is company policy?). He checked on him constantly and would even do things like help him get into the pool (again, this is NOT part of the scope of a butler, this is way more than  expected). I don't want to list all the ways that Jayson made the cruise better, but neither Dad or myself would have had a good time without Jayson's assistance. We probably gave him more tip than he gets in 3-4 weeks but he was worth it!

Would I do Haven again? No, for me it wasn't worth it. Would we do it again if Dad was coming? Yes, definitely!

P.S.

Best excursion i have been on in Mexico,  "Mystical ChaakTun Cenotes & Maya Spiritual Cleanse" in Cozumel

So we have all been to Cozumel a ton of times, but this was the first excursion that was a real taste of culture. The cenotes are always fun to explore but what was amazing was the "Maya Spiritual cleanse" portion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temazcal

After we arrived, we all stood around a fire (20 strangers) and they had us individually come up and toss herbs into the fire and say what we are grateful for. The shaman would then fan aromatic smoke over us. That part was interesting and people were more open and vulnerable than i would have expected.

We then were led into a Temazcal (think a brick igloo with a fire pit in the middle). The idea is that this symbolic of a woman's womb... the hole at top is the belly button and the entrance in the birth canal. Our guide had warned everyone that this was not for everyone.....when we first entered, it was cool in there which felt nice on a hot morning. We all sat around the outside or on the ground and then the shaman entered..... followed by a glowing hot rock that was tossed in by people outside the temazcal. The rock was the size of 3 cinderblocks and was literally glowing red (had been in a fire all morning). The shaman led us in welcoming the rock (grandfather/fire) and then 12 more glowing how rocks were tossed in (not the safest thing, imo, and the shaman was barefoot! He would move the rocks into the firepit with a pair of deer antlers).

At this point it was HOT in the temazcal, we all had sweat pouring off of us... but it gets worse 😛 The shaman then had them cover the hole in the ceiling and  poured some water on the glowing rocks to create steam. While it was hot before, the steam was EXTREMELY hot, we probably had 80% of the group choose to leave at this moment. They then covered the doorway and the the shaman would both lead chants and beat on a very loud drum (simulating a mother's heartbeat to a fetus, i suspect, but he didnt explain). After about 10 minutes of this, the ceremony was over and everyone left.

This is fairly authentic, this is a ritual that is still done on a regular basis. It is an experience that i expect i will remember for a long, long time... VERY highly recommend it! 

Enjoying thread, glad you all had a great time!

Good afternoon, I havent seen anyone ask this yet. Do they have board games (Scrabble in particular) on-board, either in a playing room or in the Haven? We can bring our own but would rather not 🙂 

So is there a difference between these? i think that the top is the "Free at Sea" promotion and the bottom is purchased seperately?

14 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes, the Manhattan Room has a section of 10-tops. 

 

I hope you are planning for one meal together. People think that "the family wants to eat together every night".... which is not the case. Everyone wants to go out and try different restaurants and eat on their own schedule to see shows. 

Well, that isnt the case with your family...... It may or may not be the case with his family. 

Thanks all!

Thanks all!

When we sailed in the fall to Alaska, the NCL ship was about 35% full... it was great! We have a cruise starting in about a week... anyway to see how full the Breakaway will be?

Thanks! 

Just curious, how much do you tip at the beginning vs. end of the cruise?

Thanks!

Thanks all, great community!

I am making a list and going to see how many i can try 🙂 I should have added that I LOVE mojitos! I dont think i have ever had a ginger one but i love ginger... i love mojitos... sounds like a perfect match.

Thanks! 

Thank you all for your help.

So we are doing Haven this year and have the drink package of course. I like alcohol but I am not a big drinker, i certainly drink more on cruises than i do on the rest of the year combined. I generally stick to the drinks i know.. beers, whiskey sour, tropical sweet drinks, brandy alexanders, etc.
 

Anyone have a favorite drink that they would recommend to try, even if it wouldnt be something i would normally order in a bar? Also, do you know if they have Blanton's Bourbon?

Thanks all!

Good evening and thank you for your help.

I have seen that some people have written letters to give to their butler detailing what they wish done with their rooms. I think that is a great idea, makes their life easier and ours! Should I just email the letter to the email address listed norwegianconciergedesk@ncl.com or is this something that is usually delivered in a different way? 

Thanks! 

Thank you both!