TPgal

1 minute ago, ccuttill said:

Thanks.. That makes sense now..we had a DOS once before and this time we have a two bedroom suite.   I didn't remember seeing any cost items in our DOS

We were in a 2BR Suite on the Jade (non-haven) and thought it was great.  The balcony was similar in size to that of our previous mini-suite, but we had lots of room for everything in the closets.  Our little dining table was covered from day 1 in treats, snacks and paperwork but it was so nice to have a corner for every person in our party (including my mom who bunked in an Inside across the hall.)

We booked the 2BR (haven) on the Breakaway and I'm excited to see how the decor and minor layout differences change the space.

I will tell you that the floor to ceiling windows in the shower provide a great view, but are not privacy coated so be careful if you're using the shower in port next to another ship.   ;)

30 minutes ago, ccuttill said:

What are the extra cost items you talk about in the rooms?

Does the mini bar come stocked with soda?

The mini-fridge is stocked with wonderful things like soda, beer and mini-booze - but it is NOT included in the price of your Haven room.   Those in the DOS/GV have a complimentary liquor perk i.e. 3 full size bottles of liquor of their choosing (within reason) and the accompanying mixers.   Other Haven cabins do not have this perk.

You can ask your butler to remove the mini-fridge items and then you'll have room to store water (that you buy) or stash those wonderful treats if you want. 

On 10/16/2019 at 6:52 AM, ColeThornton said:

The thing I love about Cruise Critic posters is that none of them have kids that act up on the ship.  They are all well behaved.  😉

Conversely, every other haven patron has had to endure gangs of despicable & unruly children.  (Perhaps unsupervised?)

Someone above suggested that families with children should stick to Disney, which makes me want to pop off with those who want to vacation in an adult only environment should cruise exclusively on adult only cruise lines.  

NCL markets to adults and families.  There is nothing in the Haven marketing that implies it is an adult only experience.   Images that show that one beautiful lady alone on her Haven lounger while the steward hands her an umbrella drink is no different than the photo of the beautiful lady alone in the main pool -it's a dream.  Nowhere on the marketing materials do they show people queued up, the muster event, dodging drunk becky, or listening to loungy larry hit on everything.    

NCL runs a great kids program and the effort and space on the ship that they put into that tells me that families are a very profitable segment of their customer base.    

With that off my chest, I will admit that I am hopeful that our too-far-in-the-future Canada/NE cruise in the Haven is not overrun with the Lord of the Flies group of pre-teens who have hoodwinked their adults into letting them roam without any manners.   On the same note, I'm also hopeful not to be cruising with adults with the same behaviors.   In truth I am expecting that on our Haven cruise (and the Disney inside cabin cruise) we will again encounter many kind, wonderful people and enjoy our holidays.  

Thanks for listening.  

I don't see a way to lock that slider, but in our 2BR on the Jade we could lock the door to the mini-room from the hallway.   I wasn't comfortable with that as it seems like a life safety issue for those who might be trapped in that room with no alternate method of escape.

I do agree with Ztras that kiddos will generally learn the first time they walk in on something they shouldn't have.  Also, at 8 &10 they should understand basic human reasoning and explaining that the door will only be closed when they aren't welcome in the room.   They can knock and wait in the event of an emergency.

Enjoy the room, it's a lot of space!

Hope you’re still recovering at home and that the pain is well managed.   Keep the updates coming!!!

In solidarity with you, I fell last Saturday (in a crowded restaurant) and fractured the greater tuberosity of my humerus.   I didn’t get any pictures of me on the floor as the EMTs were there extremely fast, but I have an ER shot.   More importantly, here is Callie, a pregnant dolphin we met in Roatan on our Panama Canal Cruise.  (Taken with my iPhone...can’t complete with the amazing photos you and the rest of the gang are posting.). 
 

Best wishes to you for progress.  

I enjoy hot tea at home and iced tea in lieu of soda (pop) when out and about.   The article is alarming but it does say that they tested the fancy plastic mesh tea bags like tea forte and not the standard paper bags of "yore".  The bags are what is releasing the microbits of plastic, so use a non-plastic bag and you're golden. 

It makes sense that the fancy plastic teabags are not ideal;  they don't compost.   I'm just embarassed that I was hooked by their asthetics - I'm such an easy mark.  

As for the “how” you can sign into my Ncl.com and look at your upcoming cruise then click planning to look at all the extras you can add on including the beverage packages.  
 

wondering...if a cruise under the "kids sail free" promo means they won't get credit.   Seems semi-logical that they wouldn't.   Sort of like how you don't get flight miles for trips you booked using mileage points.

47 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

Other bad news...my BWC was denied due to "too much conflict"...meaning my employer fought it saying I was done with work for the day versus my PROOF that I wasn't and still had 2 more patients to see and my proof included proof that my employer had been caught in several different lies during this process. So, I'll either have to lawyer up or try to apply for medical assistance for the crazy amount of hospital bills I have.

Thanks for the update,  we are all pulling for you.   I'm so sorry the work insurance thing is such a hassle, and that what I'm about to suggest is even a thing that people have to do - but if you started a go-fund-me I can't imagine that I'd be the only one to try to help out.  Once you were back on your feet (sorry, bad pun) you could pay it forward.

You probably already have, but put that doctor's number on your speed dial.

Virtual love from Seattle to you!

Obviously, any printed brochure for a travel organization is going to be out of date about 10 minutes after it finishes at the printer, but as enticing marketing materials go it works for those folks who aren't constantly online.  Car companies still publish a shwanky brochure for their cars even though you can't know what you're going to exactly get until you go into the dealership and endure time with the salespeople and their odd math (sorry, I'm bitter about the car buying process).

With that said - the interesting thing about the question at hand is the dead of night departure from one port.   For me, a 9 am arrival in Dublin and a departure at 4am means that instead of having a faux pub experience at O'Shehans you would actually have a full evening in a pretty great city.    Just don't expect to pass a breathalizer test during reboarding.  Sounds like a fun day/evening.

On the one itinerary that I found that was similar to the one the OP described it had the "second day" in Dublin (leaving at 4am) but a random one hour stop in Hellesylt, Norway.  (8am to 9am.)  Seems odd to me unless it's a port like Colon, Panama where the purpose is to pick up folks from excursions, even then that's a VERY tight window.

At the end of the day, marketing is marketing - designed to get you to part with your money.  This is why the pool photos only have the one super sexy person with their umbrella cocktail on the sparkling blue day.   That's the dream they are selling.   The ship is technically in Dublin on two separate days, that isn't a lie.   The assumption that there will be time on both days to explore...well I choose not to think of that as intentional diseption. 

If you are hand carrying your luggage ignore all this:

The last night of the cruise you'll be putting your luggage outside your door by 11pm (they'll give you the exact time) so pack your carry on accordingly.  PJ's, clothes for the next day, meds, the right shoes and whatever you'll need before you reunite with your luggage.   People have been seen leaving the ship in their PJs because they forgot to leave out an outfit - don't be those people.  👍

You'll have time with your luggage to move things around before you check them into your airline so don't worry about the 3-1-1 rule until you're ready to check your bags. 

Oh, and as someone said above, you'll need less clothing than you think you will, but on our last 11 night Miami-Pamana Canal cruise we were happy we had 2 swimsuits each but we spent LOTS of time onship and off ship in swimgear. 

Have fun!

NCL has a recent history of changing the dates of the dry dock and impacting a scheduled cruise.   It may not have been their choice, but it was still disappointing to the folks who posted about it.

If you have a choice of dates, it would be less risky to avoid the dry dock bookends.   However, any cruise can be disrupted for any reason so there is no guarantee, which is why good most will strongly recommend good travel insurance.

- Aloha

I read this promo as being able to get in line behind Haven and PP folks for boarding.  Priority does not mean first.  On airlines, those of us rubes who pay for "priority seating" but aren't in First board after People who need assistance, First Class, Million Mile, Platinum, and Gold.  Then the MVPs and people in premium class are allowed to board.    After that the other six people get on.

Other perk of premium (on my airline) include free drinks, but unlike first class where there is a dedicated person to offer beverages on any whim, in Premium they are free only when the cart comes around, that perk is equal to what the million mile, platinum and gold folks who aren't in first class get.

This program seems like a modified version of that.   I have a hard time believing that NCL would send these 25 "priority" folks down the gangplank in front of the Haven, and Platinum Plus folks for a mere $125 (or whatever) nominal fee.

Some people might really like the "priority" feeling and for them, the cost is worth it.  Many happy returns to them.

17 hours ago, xfkzjg1 said:

Not sure if it’s standard procedure or not, but I wasn’t asked to sign a sales slip on the drinks I ordered while still in NY on last week’s Escape cruise. The sales taxes were still added to my account. 

Well, then I say, nicely done NCL.  The paper process seemed silly and time consuming for the staff.

7 minutes ago, dexddd said:

It is nice to have it as it often is not very full and quiet

Well, to be sure it will not be very full and should be extremely quiet on their sailing.   

TBH, I'm sure I'd be put out by the change as well, but hopefully the staff won't lock the dining area off so the Haveners will have access to the tables for cards, cocktails or whatnot.  

The drink package works immediately upon boarding.   While in some US ports you may incur sales tax on the beverages until you are whatever distance away from the taxation authority.   Your drink will arrive with a small slip of paper to sign and you're on your way.

Have fun!

Generally accurate.  There are staggered check in & boarding times.   Your boarding time can be delayed by many things inside and outside of the ground crews control.   You are requested to not check in prior to the time on your eDocs (the 1 hour window thing as mentioned by @mapleleaves ), but coming after is AOK.  

There are folks who like to get to the port and start the process as soon as they are allowed to do so, and then there are folks who wait until later to avoid the initial rush of people.

To me it's amazing how well they manage the efficiency of such a huge number of people off and on the ship and the dance of the luggage carts and provision loading.  I'm in awe of the crew.

1 minute ago, aero777 said:

 

TPgal this picture is of the Getaway, which like the Epic, has no roof over the courtyard.  Breakaway, Escape, Bliss and Joy are mega ships with retractable roofs. My experience has been they rarely open them.

Thank you,  I knew it must be something like that.   The "lack of retraction" is disappointing as we booked the Haven (Breakaway) with our DD a (terrible, awful, unemployed 9 year old) and I'm a delicate flower who needs sunshine while on vacation.  But... we'll be on vacation and that is never a bad thing.  Counting the days...

2 hours ago, GA Dave said:

Here is a good picture of what is at the front of the Haven Courtyard area.  Basically, at least two stories of wall to keep the wind out.

 

I love your pictures; it's very clear that the retractable roof was open when you were there.   It's my understanding that in most cases the roof is closed.   Was that your experience?

On 8/22/2019 at 9:34 AM, mitsugirly said:

The buffet is EXPENSIVE! $25 per person. YIKES! But everyone was hungry and what can you do?

When we were there in April we went first thing in the morning, and we stayed as long as we could without eating.  Then we went back to the ship (Jade) and ate by the pool while kiddo enjoyed an empty pool area.  I could not add $75 onto our day for a questionably reviewed buffet,. 

The great thing about our plan was we had the whole park almost to ourselves, as we started to packup the folks from the Breakaway & the other large ship started to arrive.  There were lines everywhere, when we had none earlier in the day.  

You are 100% correct about water shoes, and we wore rash guards because we are slide people and had read that the slides are bumpy - correct.

(sorry about your leg...)

2 hours ago, Fotini said:

Thank you all for your answers. They all love swimming and anything water related. They are indeed home-schooled, which is wonderful for adventure year round. They are all 3 well-seasoned world travelers. Thanks again! 

 

You are kind to respond to the inquiry about their education - I might have been grumpy about that.   We took our kiddo out of school for the Panama Canal cruise because it was an experience with her grandparents who, if I understand biology, won't live forever and two weeks as a group doing something like that was worth the homework.  

But,  in regards to the swimming comment, calling the child camp "Splash Academy" makes it sound like they'll have access to the pools during their time there - that is not true.   Pool time is not included in this program.   Kids are welcome in the pool with adult supervision.   Waterwings are allowed, but not pool toys.

Your trip sounds wonderful.    We have done two trips with three generations,  our 8 year old, the DH & I (just 50) and our parents (ages 75, 80)

NCL has a kids club called Splash Academy that the kids will probably enjoy.  The staff is great at games and different activities each day.   There is no cost but the staff is not part of the general tip pool, so we happily contribute to the basket at the end.  

SA is not open 24/7 but the hours tend to give parents a nice option for free time.   My cruiser loved it even when there weren't very many kids participating.   On our Alaska cruise there were quite a few families and sometimes we had to wait in line to get in, but were never turned away.   On the 11 night Panama Canal cruise there were only 30 people under the age of 18 on the entire ship (the Jade) so the problem was there weren't any friends, but it sounds like your group are a built in gang - so they will be happy regardless.

Our kiddo wasn't too excited about the MDR or the other restaraunts so she was happy to eat buffet and then go to Splash Academy when it opened.  We would then enjoy a dinner and pick her up at bedtime.   She was happy to have her own time.

We could have taken her there on port days, but there weren't any ports on either cruise that we wanted to hang out on the ship for.  

Sometimes there were nights that SA was open late and we could pay a bit extra, but with two sets of grandparents in nearby cabins it was easy to manage a late night while she "camped" on a couch on the one night we had dinner on our own.

Search the NCL site for Splash Academy and read all the requirements, but they'll give your kids the info when they register the littles on day one.  (They can even add you as a person who is allowed to pickup or drop off - which might be nice.)

Great review so far.  I'm happy you felt at home in Seattle, we try.  

Can't wait to read more.

Maybe it's a YMMV situation, as we had two on the Jade for an 11 night in April.  

14 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

Try a repositiong cruise down to California for the Mexico cruise season in the fall.

This is a great idea.   I'll start the hunt.

PS - my profile says Seattle because most people don't know Washington, but I'm in the highlands near Hazen.  Hello neighbor.