Sailing12Away

Yeah, just make sure to clarify what perks you will get with the new booking before accepting it. For our Panama Canal trip the price dropped significantly (more than 2K on a Haven room), but with the new pricing we would lose some specialty dining meals (original promo was giving us 5 I believe, new promo would only give 3). We didn't care because I can easily buy 2 more meals at a much cheaper rate than the 2K in savings we would get - but just make sure you know how ALL of your perks and such will be affected by the new price.

We'll be on the 2025 Mardi Gras sailing. Do you recall when excursions to watch the parades and such opened up for booking? The only thing we can book right now is a cooking class that's costing $500/pp! Not sure if that's a 3 day long class, or we're going and catching the crawfish ourselves from the river before cooking them up, but too rich for my blood to learn how to make gumbo. I was hoping Celebrity would offer some type of parade viewing day with a seat to put my butt in and rest without having to stand all day, as well as potty access. But there's nothing available for booking beyond that pricey cooking class.

Too bad their actual wine choices don't compare though... Service on Celebrity hands down, but actual wine choices - NCL hands down. The only place you can get decent wine on Celebrity is within Luminae, not even in the Retreat lounge. So unless you're eating dinner - good luck.

See, and that's my issue - I have never been able to go 'off menu' in the Haven restaurant without feeling guilty like I'm asking someone to hand roll bucatini from scratch as they stomp on the grapes to make my wine to pair with it. Even trying to talk to the concierge ahead of time and pre-plan for later in the week... it's always a hesitant "well, yeah, I guess we could maybe sort of possibly, I'm not sure, we'll have to let you know". Had chatted with a F&B manager once during one of the meet & greets and she said it would be no problem to get Indian food up there one night, but every time we asked we were always told to just go to the buffet. So not sure if we're asking the wrong people at the wrong times, have had bad luck or caught crew at bad moments, or if we just need to put our NY foot down and say "I want xyz on Thursday night - make it happen." Getting specific food to our cabin from the butler has never been an issue, but the dining tables in most of those cabins is barely big enough for 2 plates of breakfast items, let alone a multi-course dinner meal. So we don't usually bother unless we know one person is eating from the coffee table on the couch while the other is at the "dinner" table. Not counting the Galapagos as that's an entirely different entity in itself, our next Celebrity trip we're doing an Aqua cabin. Not because we enjoy the spa (have never stepped foot in one in over 12 trips), but because the price for the Retreat is egregious and the ship we'll be on wasn't even retrofitted yet - so you're paying top level suite prices for a restaurant only. We opted to try Aqua as it will give us a private place in Blu to go to, so treating it like the "Haven Light" approach that others have done with NCL. We'll see how that goes.

Ahh but that's the beauty of Luminae which makes it "better" - you have not only that menu, but MDR and Blue available to you every meal every night. I found the meals from their menu too foo foo, but hubby and MIL loved it. So I often picked something from MDR but had the super attentive service of Luminae. Service in Luminae is heads above even Haven. Pillow service, bread girl, somollier visiting every time not just when you ask....

I'm not interested in attentive and up my rear or fancy schmancy - I'm a tshirt and shorts gal remember. We drink wine out of red solo cups for pure laziness of not having to hand wash the stemware when we're done. But more in the lines of the Haven staff do a better job of learning which of us want to be left alone, and who wants to be doted on. So I feel like in the Haven I can have a conversation without someone hovering and watching, or constantly interrupting. They know how to sneak in like ninjas and refill my water or top off my wine. It doesn't feel like a forced respectfulness, just more go with the flow. There also tends to be less hiccups, and the space in general is just more calming to me.

I think what a lot of people are either ignoring or glossing over is that the Haven restaurant isn't just about the food items. It's about (or should be at least) the fact that it's a more quieter and intimate setting. The service compared to MDR should be notches above. It's the little touches like that which are supposed to set it apart from going to the MDR. The actual food served there is secondary, to me. If both the MDR and Haven served identical menus, folks who could eat in the Haven 90% of time probably would. It's calmer, more attentive, and just better - even if the food itself is identical. To me, the idea of going to the buffet during prime times causes anxiety. So on ships where you have to even walk through it just to get where you're going is a big ick to me - forget about trying to actually eat there. MDR can be very crowded, busy, loud, and just not pleasant. So nights where I need a safe quiet place to just veg and talk without having to shout - we go and eat in the Haven. Maybe I'm an anomaly and everyone else picks where to eat solely by the food options, but I don't. It's about the complete experience. Assuming the quality of the steak was identical and I had to pick between eating at Applebees or eating at Capital Grill.... there's a time and place for Applebees, but I'm picking Capital Grill more often than Applebees. At home we have 100s of places to pick from, and even for a nice quiet dinner there's still at least 50. On a cruise - not so much. So if I want more quiet and relaxing, the Haven restaurant is a great choice - but it gets old very quickly with that fixed menu when based on my own limited preferences the options are slim to begin with. MDR has their 'classics' which never change, and a few which do. Haven never changes at all unless you're on a trip >11 days. So it's like picking to eat at Capital Grill for all 7 nights of your trip, and as much as you may love the food choices, it gets dull doing the same exact thing for a week straight.

Then there's zero reason for me to us them. If something out of the norm happens and we miss our cruise, it's someone up above telling us it wasn't meant to be and we're fine doing something else instead.

Was just checking prices today for our trip in March 2025. Prices by Celebrity are $1 more than booking directly the 2 separate trips (different airlines going/coming based on times needed) with the individual carriers. Came here to find out what was I missing as to the reason I would book through Celebrity and it doesn't seem like much. I don't care about not paying until closer to cruise date - it's just another expense to track and budget for. I'm in the book it, pay it, forget about it camp. We have a flight credit with Delta - would I even be able to use that when booking the flight through Celebrity if half the trip is Delta and half is JetBlue? What about wanting to possibly upgrade to comfort plus if prices drop - are you able to easily do that or would you have to cancel the original flights through Celebrity and rebook as new? And for seats it just says 'pre-assigned seats' - but does that mean I get to pick them, or Celebrity has a bucket of seats and I'll be granted one of those? I'm still scoffing at the idea of having to pay $600/pp to go from JFK to Tampa, but I guess the days of hopping down to Florida for sub $200 are long gone.

Stop putting words in my mouth that I never said. I have no problem speaking for myself without you interpreting for me. I didn't read anything on the Internet, I, me, didn't like specifically the Haven fixed menu. Which is why I said on a discussion group where people share opinions that it's the worst part about the Haven. Not that it's any of your business about my specific dietary restrictions or limitations, but I also don't eat pork or egg yolks. Or lamb. So yeah, stay in your lane.

8 different trips, about 70 total nights we could have eaten there. I don't eat seafood so that eliminate a lot of the menu choices for me, so we usually only go 2-3 times each trip. I prefer food options outside of the Haven. We don't book it for the food. What difference does it make though? You've eaten there 100+ times and love it, I've eaten there <20 and tolerate it.

Same menu, every sailing, every ship in the fleet. Biggest complaint about the Haven.

Depends on the type of credit, as they're not all the same and there's different rules about what you can or can't use them on. $200 isn't a whole lot to worry about though, that can quickly be used up on meal upcharges, drink experiences/tastings, last minute excursions, transfers to the airport, fancy milkshakes from Cocoa's...

They're already covered in the regular daily service charge, so anything extra you give them at all will be appreciated. ~$500 seems really high to me - we don't even give that much to the Haven butler.

Current pricing for a club balcony room for 2 people is only $2400 right now. So if you've paid close to 9K just by adding on extra dining meals and the Vibe, something isn't adding up.

If there are still a lot of cabins remaining, call NCL and see what the cost would be to just outright upgrade into the Haven. Since you didn't sail yet, you can still cancel the extra meals purchased, you can cancel the Vibe, and use those funds to pay for the upgrade outright and just be done with it. Newest ship doesn't mean best ship. Quite the opposite really during those first few sailings as the paint still dries actually. Basing your loyalty to a cruise line based on an almost random lottery isn't a good approach. There's a lot of complicated factors that go into the bidding process, nothing is set is stone and most are based on folks assumptions, previous experiences, and their own personal hopes of how it works. But highest bid does not necessarily win. There may be an expensive owner's suite unsold that someone already in the Haven moves into. That then frees up their entry level Haven room for a balcony to move into. Which frees up a balcony for an inside cabin to move into. Which frees up a cheap cabin in general for an entire set of new passengers to come on board and spend money in the casino and shops etc. If you want to be in the Haven and there are rooms available stil, and you're sailing in <7 days - call and ask for the price to just move there. On a week long cruise you do not need 5 specialty dining meals unless you saw the menus and reallllly wanted to try each one. Haven comes with its own separate restaurant that most folks rave about, so it really removes the need to pay extra for dining. Haven also gives you a private pool, sun deck, and hot tubs. So again, no need to pay for Vibe when you get it for free in the Haven. Quick check though and it looks like Haven and non-Haven suites are now sold out on that sailing. So OP may have just waited too long to sort it out.

Yup. Since you're near a fairly big airport you probably don't have an issue. But when I put down JFK, they can technically make me go out of Newark if they wanted to. It's again part of the risk of using the discount program.

If you consider someone giving you an answer you don't want to hear them being 'rude', well there's not much we can do here to help you but to point out you're wrong. For the rest of the trip, speak to the correct people to get resolution to your issues, before before you do please choose your words more carefully. Referring to a grown woman as a "girl" can come off as condescending. Asking a question with a hidden criticism to something that person isn't even personally responsible for immediately puts them on the defensive. Making broad blanket statements about cleanliness, rudeness, etc isn't productive, helpful or going to get anything resolved. It just comes off as whiney and ungrateful. I was on the Epic last month, and didn't notice anything dirty about it, didn't recall the food quality being inedible where buffet pizza was the best thing to eat (I don't usually step foot in the buffet ever), and don't recall staff being vindictive or rude. Did they tell me things I didn't want to hear - yes, but that doesn't make them rude. And it doesn't mean you remove the daily service charge to cheat out the people who are doing their jobs behind the scenes that you don't even know about. If you're at a restaurant on land and the waitress bringing your food is lovely and attentive, but you don't care for the taste of the dish - you don't skip out on leaving a tip for her, right? You don't fault the server if you don't like the taste of the food, the server has nothing to do with that. By you threatening to remove the service charges you yourself are being vindictive and taking revenge on the people who rely on those service charges even though for most of them they did nothing wrong to warrant your actions. Your interpretation of your trip experience is your own, but please do not act petty and take revenge yourself on the wrong crew members just because you got a bad steak. Next steak you get when you cut into it and see a tendon, flag someone over, show them, and get a different one then and there. You don't remove the DSC for the laundry, housekeeping, food & beverage, and everyone else that goes into making the trip happen.

Assign one person (the one who has access earliest based on latitude status or room cabin type) to book all the reservations for the group. You can only book them in even numbered parties, so if you need a table for 7, just book the one for 8 and let them know when you get there only 7 will be eating. Tables for large groups like that are hard to get - so book ASAP if you are planning on eating during the prime dining hours in the most popular restaurants.

If you're going to complain about every possible little discrepancy between what you experience and what you saw/read/heard that the experience is 'supposed to' be like, you're in for a long and non-fun filled trip. Let it go. You're getting yourself worked up and filling out Karen complaint forms over 3kg that everyone is saying from first hand real life experience is insignificant.

The fit as much as you can for one flat price deal is flexible. You don't have to wait until it is announced, but do speak with guest services first. My sister doesn't have any real status but was able to talk to guest services and ask about the laundry 'deal' very early into our Prima trip last year before any flyer came out. They told her what to write on the top of the laundry itemized list so it was billed correctly at the 'deal' price.

No. Think of the logic. If that was possible then why would anyone ever book 2 suites or Haven cabins at the full fare when they can buy a cheaper room and just pay a flat fee to get what they're missing? What specific perks are you wanting the folks in the club balcony to have? The real suite can order room service for everyone, there's no rule that says you can only order 1 item per person. Club balcony will also get some snacks throughout the trip - not as many as the suite, but they'll get some. And again, talk to your butler - let them know the preferences for the room and they may be nice enough to bring enough to share for all. On the flip side - the club balcony room will get free laundry which the suite will not. So unless someone is platinum or above in status, that's a bonus the club room gets special for them which the suite room doesn't.

Nah, already have too many other coffee/espresso/tea kettles/french press gadgets and gizmos a plenty. The NCL pods are boring, so no point in stealing them to bring home. I was looking to go the opposite direction and buy the fun and flavorful ones to bring there to use on board. All the barista collection ones are calling out to me, as is the orange blossom and Colombian one. I'm stumped by the Indonesia one though - who wants to drink tobacco in their coffee (besides smokers needing their fix I suppose)?

The most you can do is a 2 day deviation. If you request a deviation they give you a $50 credit because it makes it easier for them to find flights that won't cause you to miss the cruise. Just look at the types of flight options you have on your own first. If there's a nice direct flight for $1000/pp or a less ideal flight with 1-2 layovers and changes it from an 8hr flight to 12+ hours - you can almost bet money that NCL will be putting you on that cheaper and less desirable flight. It honestly depends on what you're comfortable with. We've done the B1G1 free airfare a half dozen times and up until the most recent have never had a problem. In all but one flight we were able to pay extra to the airline when we got our record locator number and upgrade to comfort plus seats. The last trip was our longest, flying home to NY from London so an ~8.5 hr flight - and that one we couldn't upgrade at all. So the rules about picking your seats, being able to upgrade or not - it all depends on the specific air carrier the flight is booked with. You have no say in that. You have no say in the time of the flight or how many layovers (they'll limit it to <2). You can't change your mind and say no if you don't like them once assigned. If you're equidistant to both PHL or EWR, you technically don't have a say in that either as they can put you out of either one if they're within I believe 50 miles of your preference. If you don't care about where you sit, when you fly, having extra legroom (or butt room for those of us fluffier travelers), or anything else - then yes, go ahead and cash in on those savings. In your case the savings isn't big enough for me to take that chance on an international flight based on our recent trip. Domestic, yes, I'll keep using them. But for long haul trips - nope, I want control of that going forward.

Ironically, stumbled upon a whole section from Nespresso of the pods that work with it and I'm tempted to stock up on the funky fancy ones next time I book an NCL Haven trip. https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/original-coffee-pods