CDR Benson

You're a good fellow, Mr. Tilkin.

Did you folks take American history under Mr. Dixon in room 222?

That is correct: German seamen refer to ships by masculine pronouns. Chinese mariners, meanwhile, have always referred to ships by neutral pronouns. I should have clarified that the tradition of referring to vessels as "she" and "her" occurred primarily in English-speaking lands.

Speaking to the two points I broke out of your post, my friend . . . With regard to heightened expectations, I experienced the same thing with the Good Mrs. Benson. On our first cruise, with Holland America, we stayed in a Neptune Suite. The suite level with HAL carries perquisites, but they're not as expansive or as sumptious as what's provided in NCL's the Haven. For our second cruise, I was determined to enhance our experience and selected a stay in the Haven as our optimum choice. During my exploration process, the GMB commented that she didn't need any special perks, that she didn't need a butler, that any size stateroom would be fine as long as it had a good-sized balcony. In short, she insisted that we didn't need to spend the extra $$$ to stay in the Haven. (Not that we didn't have it to spend; she's just frugal---a bonus in a wife.) Then came our trip in the Haven this past September . . . Now, the GMB won't consider sailing in any accommodation that isn't the Haven, or that level. She's been as spoilt by luxury as I have. With regards to Oceania, you're doing well with a penthouse suite because of the configuration of Oceania Riviera. The larger ships in Oceania's fleet have penthouse suites nicely situated beneath decks with other staterooms. I looked at Oceania closely. It offers a great deal and is inviting. Unfortunately, all the Oceania cruises that fit our itinerary and budget involved its smaller thirty-tonne vessels. And on those ships, through some absurdity in planning, all of its penthouse suites are situated beneath the activity deck (deck nine), with all the pools and bars and theatres. Too much noise transmitting to the staterooms below. At least, the risk of it is too likely for me to outlay that kind of money. Oceania really shoots itself in the foot that way.

I'm confused by why you're confused over whether I was in the Navy or not. Because you're absolutely correct: the proper reference to a ship by name omits the definite article. For example, it would be "My first ship was U.S.S. Forrestal [or simply Forrestal]," and not "My first ship was 'the' U.S.S. Forrestal [ or 'the' Forrestal]. The same applies to any vessel. I've never corrected the posters here who refer to a ship as "the" __________ because there'd be no point. It's a quibble to anyone who's not a mariner. The reason why I'm confused is because I've always used the proper, article-less reference, speaking, for example, of Norwegian Joy or Joy, and never "the" Norwegian Joy or "the" Joy. Go ahead and check any of my posts. I'll wait. You're also correct that ships are traditionally referred to by feminine pronouns, "her" and "she". I don't think I've yet had occasion to do that in my posts on this board, however.

On our cruise this past September, the Good Mrs. Benson and I stayed in the Haven suite "opposite" the one occupied by vacation44 (same dimensions and arrangement, but on the starboard side), and I echo everything she said. Certainly suum cuique, but for my money, there are no better Haven suites on board Norwegian Joy than the ones vacation44 and I have described above. In fact, I've reserved the same suite that we had before for another cruise in 2024.

The Good Mrs. Benson and I sailed on Joy, in a Haven suite, this past September. I echo the positive comments about this ship. In fact, after we got back. I had to virtually arm-wrestle with the GMB to belay her suggestion that we cancel our cruise with Regent Seven Seas next year and replace it with another cruise in Joy's Haven. We compromised. We're still doing the Regent cruise in November, 2023, but also doing another cruise on Joy, in the same suite we had before (# 14778), in February, 2024.

Available cash was something I had to address, as well. I usually carry some walking-around money, but nothing near the amount of cash I would need for tips on board. I relied on two resources. First, the ATM at the hotel in which we stayed the night before sailing. I obtained most of what I needed that way. Toward the end of the cruise, when I decided I wanted to add more to my intended tip amounts. I accessed the shipboard ATM in the casino.

I, too, enjoy Steak 'n Shake. Before they tinkered with it and made it a "frisco melt", their patty melt was the best thing on their menu. But I don't sail in the Haven to eat at Steak 'n Shake. It's coïncident that In and Out Burger's been mentioned a couple of times above, because that's the first place I thought of when the consersation turned to the subjectivity of individual food tastes. Twenty-two years ago, I was preparing to go on leave in California. I hadn't been to California very often, and a junior officer in my shop insisted that I visit an In and Out. I'd love it, he said with the strongest possible recommendation. Best burger ever, LCDR Olson insisted. So, I went to California, and on the first day, after leaving the airport, I popped into an In and Out, and sampled its fare. It was---O.K. Nothing wrong with the burger, but it didn't knock my socks off. I've had better burgers in other places before and since. Which re-attests that one man's ambrosia is another man's pottage.

I take your comment on the inconsistency of quality. In retrospect. that, rather than individual tastes, may have been why the Good Mrs. Benson didn't enjoy her French dip as much as I enjoyed mine. I can state there was a distinct difference in meals I was served in the Haven Restaurant. I enjoy prime rib, but I never order it in restaurants---even the best cuts are too riddled with fat for me, and once you trim it away, there's too little choice to make it cost effective. However, since cost wasn't a factor, I ordered it twice for dinners in the Haven Restaurant (with a couple of lobster tails thrown in for measure). The first night I had the prime rib, it was one of the best cuts I'd ever had, surprisingly low in fat content and very flavourful. The next night I ordered it, however, it was mediocre---more fat to trim away and a smaller choice portion. The taste didn't have that "wow!" factor that the previous one did. As I was draughting this, it occurred to me to wonder if a specific factor had to do with it. The first night I had the prime rib, it followed the ship's captain's cocktail reception for Haven guests, so I was wearing my service dress uniform. The second night I had the prime rib, I did was not in uniform. It's not a strong suspicion, but I vaguely wonder if being dressed in my dress blues influenced, due to a variety of possible effects, how great a cut I received the first time. Thank you for your kind words, and you can count on a trip review after our next Haven stay (and after the cruise with Regent, too, if you've a mind to check out the Regent forum after next November).

Not at all. I learnt years ago that food is one of the most difficult things to objectively critique. People's tastes are just too individually subjective for one man to accurately gauge another's liking or disliking of a dish. (Barring, of course, something burnt, spoilt, or truly atrociously prepared.) The French dip is a good case in point. The Good Mrs. Benson took one look at the one I was served and wished she had gotten one herself. Especially after I raved about it. Two days later, she ordered it for lunch and found it O.K., but nothing to write home about. The shoe's been on the other foot. The GMB has insisted that I sample some dish she's having, because she finds it wonderful. But when I try, my reaction is a shrug (or worse). I understand your reasons for taking in the American Diner, but your comments on your evaluations of the food bear out my opinion that it'd be the same thing as dining at my local Steak 'n' Shake.

I can speak only to our experience on Joy back in September. I understood that all of the Haven staterooms were occupied for that cruise. Yet, as I stated above, the Haven and Horizon lounges were not crowded. (I will add the caveat that certain times---the morning of embarkation [as Haven guests were being escorted and oriented] and the mornings of port visits [when Haven guests assembled near the concierge desk for their priority debarkation]---things got elbow-to-elbow. I would imagine that the Haven gets crowded at these occasions, no matter how many Haven pax there are.) The Haven Restaurant was never crowded. We were always seated immediately. As I remarked, one night, the Good Mrs. Benson requested a table by the window; the two-minute wait was so they could bus and redress a table for us. And, on another evening, they stretched a point and admitted us ten minutes before the restaurant officially opened for dinner. The Haven Bar is a different animal. As Mr. Tilkin and other Haven veterans of Joy have pointed out, the seating is limited at the Haven Bar, nine-to-twelve stools, I think, and they are at a premium. I noticed it was almost always the same group of travelers planted at the Haven Bar. The waiters, however, do a grand job of supplying the guests in the Haven and Horizon lounges, so you won't go thirsty. That first day, we ate lunch in the Haven Restaurant. The bill of fare was its standard lunch menu, nothing special for the first day. (NOTE: I had the best French dip sandwich of my life.) We didn't have to wait for a table, either. We couldn't see going to the American Diner for our first-day lunch, even if it was free. That seemed too much like going to a Steak 'n' Shake or some other short-order joint, and we could do that at home.

The Good Mrs. Benson and I sailed on Joy this past September, as well, and in terms of Haven population, we had the same experience as yours. The conventional "wisdom" in most of the commentaries after Norwegian Joy shifted some additional suites to Haven status was that the influx of now-Haven residents would fill the Haven past a comfortable capacity. The lounges would be overcrowded, we were told, and there would be an extended wait to dine in the Haven Restaurant. However, that opinion was wrong, at least as far as our cruise went. We never had to wait to dine in the restaurant (well, once, we had to wait a whole two minutes, because the GMB wanted a table next to a window), and none of the other Haven spaces were ever crowded (except for, understandably, that morning of embarkation). Always plenty of comfy chairs and loveseats, even at sailaway, and enough people with whom to socialise, if one wanted to, but not so many that one couldn't find a more private spot.

I'm a belt-and-suspenders kind of guy, so I followed your advice for the luggage tags, plus inserting the cruise info in a prominent pocket inside both bags. Luggage Forward also provides stout luggage tags and cruise information to go inside the bags. I simply added those items with the tags and info I'd already attached/inserted. If we didn't receive our luggage, it wasn't going to be because somebody couldn't figure out where it was supposed to go. But it arrived just fine.

This was another method I learnt from your posts, sir. I did the same for our cruise last September, and it worked fine. Mote important, it worked fine for Luggage Forward, which we used to transport our bags to the ship.

We feel the same way about its starboard twin, # 14778. That's why we reserved it on Joy for a Feb.-Mar., 2024 cruise. Fingers crossed that you can move to # 14178 for your '24 cruise.

Thank you, sir, for your kind words and the benefit of your experience. The opportunity to do a Regent cruise arose at the perfect juncture. It will be our third cruise, and for that one, the Good Mrs. Benson and I decided that it would be our cruise of indulgence; that the destination didn't matter, for we would simply bask in the luxuries of the ship. And the Regent cruise seemed perfect for that. This was all before we'd sailed in the Haven on Norwegian Joy this past September, and now that the GMB knows first hand how indulgent cruising at that level is, she no longer cares where we go ever again, as long as we travel in that style. Hence, the Caribbean cruise in '24. I sailed in the Caribbean enough times with the Navy that the area holds no allure for me. But, it's where Norwegian Joy is going in '24, and I've landed the same Haven suite. So, we'll probably never set foot in any of the port stops. At least, as far as the GMB is concerned, so long as the Haven bar doesn't run out of chocolate martinis.

If by "across the hall", you mean suite #14178, then you have an excellent stateroom. Poster vacation44 has stayed in that suite and can attest to its advantages. For my money, the two "mirror image" suites, #14178 and #14778, are the two best locations on the ship.

We were confronted with a similar situation after our marvelous experience on Joy. The Good Mrs. Benson loved the ship, loved our suite, and loved the Haven. So had I. Before we departed on the Norwegian cruise, I booked an incedible opportunity for a Regent Seven Seas cruise in November, 2023. I related in a post several pages back on this thread how the GMB gently lobbied to drop the Regent cruise and book another one in the Haven on Norwegian Joy. I was able to pursuade her that she would enjoy the Regent cruise even more. As it turns out, however, I wound up compromising of a sort, when I explored Joy's cruise schedule for 2024. I went ahead and booked another cruise, to the Caribbean, on Joy, in the same suite, # 14778, that we had before, for February, 2024. That's the kind of lure the Haven casts when everything works right.

On Norwegian Joy, it opened for dinner at 1730 (5:30 p.m.). But one night we got there a little early, 1715, and they admitted right then.

I heartily join the above chorus of replies, Mr. Tilkin. Don't give your mystery correspondent a second thought. I can attest to the promptness with which you reply to personal e-mails and you have a throng of grateful posters who know how gracious and even-handed you are. Any contention lies in Mr. No-Name's head. Shrug him off, my friend.

I took a studied look at the CruiseNext offerings while we were underway on Norwegian Joy in September. What stuck out to me was the lack of simplicity in the CN benefits. It wasn't "15% off your next cruise" or "a free upgrade to the next level of stateroom" or something relatively simple to grasp and apply. It was this fol-de-rol about certificates and how they're applied and you get so much, if you buy so many. And I hadn't even gotten to the small print, yet. I got a strong whiff of a used-car salesman playing a shell game with his four-box diagram. Maybe that was unfair, but it was enough to put me off from enquiring further.

The butler experience on board Norwegian vessels appears to be hit or miss. Some Haven travelers report excellent interactions with their butlers. Others describe a familiar litany of problems: the butler didn't show until the second or third day (or later), that he rarely made an appearance, that he wasn't responsive to their requests, and so forth. The Good Mrs. Benson and I were Haven guests for a cruise aboard Norwegian Joy two months ago. It was to be our first experience with a butler. For over a year, I followed Mr. Gary Tilkin's posts "The NCL Haven Luxury VIP Experience 'Secrets'" and the "REVISED for 2022" version. This is where I read most of the reviews, good and ill, about NCL butler service. In his OP's, Mr. Tilkin describes measures he takes to enhance his interactions with Haven butlers. He states that, before these measures, his experience with NCL butlers was spotty, as well. Principally, Mr. Tilkin provides his butler with a letter introducing himself and his wife and specifying precisely what their requests and expectations are. He also includes his tip to the butler up front. (Note: yes, he knows that the advance tipping is a controversial issue. It's been discussed to death on his threads, and I'm not meaning to open the discussion, again. I'm simply reporting what he does.) Mr. Tilken also contacts the concierge if he doesn't see the butler on the first day. Mr. Tilkin reports that, since implementing these practises, he's had successful service from the butlers. He stresses, though, that he can only report on his experiences; he cannot allow that othet Haven passengers will get the same results. In essence, he allows that there will always be some butlers who do a slipshod job. For our Haven cruise this past September, I prepared a letter along the lines of Mr. Tilkin's, in which I included only half the intended tip to give to our butler on the first day. (I also prepared an alternate letter, with no tip enclosed, if I didn't see our butler on the first day.) In our case, our butler impressed us with his performance at our first meeting---when we weren't in our suite, he tracked us down in the Horizon Observation Lounge to introduce himself to us, and the ship wasn't even underway, yet. He got the letter with his partial tip, of course, and we received excellent service from him. In fact, he went above his usual duties for us. (For details, see my trip review in the "NCL Haven Luxury VIP Experience 'Secrets' REVISED for 2022" thread--page 29, post # 710.) Like Mr. Tilkin, I can comment only on the quality of service we received from our butler. It is a testimony that one can receive excellent treatment from NCL butlers, and I believe the letter and some degree of advance tip helps. However, I have read enough posters' reports of receiving poor service from often-absentee butlers that I cannot preclude that you, or another Haven traveler, won't get one of those foul balls. If you do get one of those, I would recommend going to the Haven concierge no later than late the second day of the cruise to report your difficulties. The butlers work for the concierge office and the problem should get remedied. You are paying for the proper performance of a butler within the scope of his duties. Some folks don't want or need the services of the butler, and that's fine, but it's one of the perquisites of the Haven experience. If you want it, you should get correct butler service.

We also sailed this past September, on Norwegian Joy, and this our experience, too. At 1130 or so, on embarkation day, the Good Mrs. Benson and I decided to check in at our muster station. On the way, we stopped at our suite to drop off our carry-on. The space seemed ready for occupation in all respects, except there was none of the usual "welcome aboard" literature. We dropped the bag off, went to our muster station and checked in, then had lunch in the Haven Restaurant. It was about fifteen minutes after 1300 when we returned to our suite, and all of our welcome-aboard documents, excursion tickets, and the like were now there. We never heard an announcement that the staterooms were now ready for occupation. We just figured they were ready, and ours was, at least.

On the day of our wedding, a few decades ago, the limousine brought the Good Soon-to-Be Mrs. Benson to the church. Almost as soon as she stepped out, you'd think a calamity had ensued. It was five minutes before she was scheduled to start down the aisle. The train to my wife-to-be's gown had ripped free and her maid of honour could not get it reättached. At the same time, my then-sister-in-law, who was handling the logistics, frantically announced that the flowers for the church had not yet arrived. Meanwhile, the four-year-old ring bearer had decided this was the perfect time to launch into a kicking-and-screaming temper tantrum. "What will we do?" they all cried. "Everything's not ready!" It was now one minute to show time. My wife calmly asked if I was there. He is, said my sister-in-law. "Then, we're ready," declared my wife. "Let's go!" As long as he's there, ma'am, there are no shortcomings.