Monica887

I didn't think I would use the service at all, but the concierge was good and checked in with us multiple times. He showed up at specialty restaurants to make sure we had everything we wanted, called in specific food requests, made a spa appointment that the spa was making difficult. He called us by name, knew my dietary restrictions. Got my mom a last minute spa appointment, replaced her broken luggage. Rescheduled reservations when port times changed. 

It was all quick and seamless, and they get reservations and time changes that are impossible last minute on the app. Yes, we would have still had a great trip without the service, but this truly elevated the experience. 

I went with 8 and 11 year olds, and the 8yo was a very difficult traveler at that time. We rented a car and it was the best day of the trip. We went at our own pace. She loooved the sled dogs at Tutsi. They both loved the desert. The car rental company had lunch ready for us in a cooler in the car, so no stress about food. Drove out ot Emerald Lake, picked some points of interest from Murrays guide. 

Wayyyy cheaper than any excursion would have been and really a wonderful, beautiful family day. 

That said, I'm going back without the kids and will take the train, because I feel like I "should". I'm sure I'll enjoy the scenery, but it was invaluable for all of us to be able to stop whenever we saw something of interest. 

5 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

You can go to their main web page and Explore | Shore Excursions and search by port to see the excursions they usually have. 
 

But that's what's weird too...right now I'm looking at Juneau, not logged in, just in the main website. And there's only 32 listed excursions, and no helicopter tours. No helicopters in Skagway either. No sled dogs in Skagway. I still have a list of some of the ones I was considering last time, so those stand out to me as missing. 

I'm still many months out, but it's odd that it's not on the main excursion page. 

How far out do ALL the excursions get posted? When can I start to obsessively plan without missing any choices...lol... (Alaska, so excursions matter!)

I had that pavlova multiple times on my trip this summer. So light and bright, well balanced. I'll be back for it next summer!

9 minutes ago, rattla said:

I think the key to getting the best deal isn’t about where to buy it, it’s more about when.

From my experience the best bargains are to be had with very late deals, normally a few weeks/a month before sailing. You will unfortunately also find that the best late deals are likely to be for off peak sailings, which understand you are limited on.

yes there are schemes where you can get it cheaper, such as Casino at Sea but as I understand these can be somewhat restricted and limited, and I don’t think it will necessarily be a pathway to the best Haven Suite deals ?

 

ultimately I think you last statement will make it difficult for you due to your lack of flexibility, as to get the best deals you need to be flexible and be able to travel at relatively short notice.

Follow up question, how can I retire at 50? Sigh. 

So where IS the best price usually? Website? Travel agent? The NCL consultant people who call randomly? What about Casino at Sea (I don't have it but my frequent travel partner does)? 

I work on a teacher's schedule and have my own kids. I do ditch the kids sometimes and go myself, but I can only go during peak times and only for a week. There's no way to be flexible there. 

I learned how to pack light when my cruise luggage was lost by the airline and I only had what I could grab in Walmart the morning of the trip. 

It was a cold weather trip. 2 t-shirts and a hoodie - wear the tshirts twice each, and the wash them before wearing them each twice again. One pair of hiking pants and one pair of jeans and alternate. One pair of sneakers and one pair of sandals/flip flops. We didn't dress for dinner in our situation, but two pairs of nice pants and a couple of tops will do.

Overall, plan to wear each thing twice, with one load of laundry mid week and hand washing as needed. 

What's the difference between the Observation lounge and Horizon Lounges? Just that one is exclusive to Haven? 

Also for the record, it does depend on the ship. Not all have the separate pool and restaurants. 

This is a regular Haven balcony room on the Escape -

It is a bit bigger than a typical balcony room but not huge. This one holds 3 people, with the pull out chair. 

Separate restaurant, pool, lounge/bar, sundeck. The pool has a light food menu and snacks. They will escort you to some shows, help you make reservations. Escort you on and off the ship to ports during peak hours (no long elevator lines!). Separate check in and security line and lounge when embarking (this may depend on the port).  They will deliver meals upon request to the room. They will deliver snacks daily to your room. The food in the restaurant is far better than typical cruise food. 2x/day room cleaning. 

Basically it takes care of all the negatives/little annoyances of regular cruising like the crowds.

Why would there be a price listed on a mailed catalog that then isn't listed with the PCC when trying to book? Saw a fantastic Haven price that was then double when we called. She wasn't able to see the lower fare anywhere. 

1 minute ago, libtrek said:

Just my opinion. I’ve done Bliss, Encore, Jewel, plus other lines to Alaska. I prefer the N S routes to/from Seward-Vancouver. Why? Less open ocean, traverse the inland passage, longer times in port, more glaciers, and no Victoria port. I know Jewel is smaller with less bells and whistles, but we enjoy it.

I'd like to do that at some point, but going in and out of Seattle is just easier. We had disaster of travel getting to Vancouver last year. I also want Denali, but that's only over 7 days. I'm leaving my kids home, so I feel like I can't go for more than a week, and I need it to be easy to get to port. I do really like the Jewel and would be more than happy with the smaller ship. 

17 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The ships are nearly identical. Yeah, the Encore does not have a Spice H20, but it has more limited use in Alaska. 
 

FWIW, we sail Alaska every year and will be on the Encore in a couple of weeks. In a Spa Club Balcony. 

Thanks. If we don't do Haven, I would want an aft balcony, which I've never done. I would likely get the spa pass, but don't think I need a full spa room. 

Just now, BirdTravels said:

Pick an itinerary that goes to a glacier Bay. That is normally the Encore. 

Yes - I was wondering if Glacier Bay on the Encore made up for the extra port on the Bliss. So that's helpful. What about the ships?

Yup. I had the veggie one last week. 2 fish and 1 veg option. It wasn't the best sushi I've ever had, but with the huge array of options it was a nice addition. 

Got home yesterday from the Escape and already planning the next! 

Alaska, next summer - Bliss vs Encore.

I've never done either. Pros and cons of each? Possible Haven, but not necessarily. Bliss has the slightly better itinerary (an extra port) but not enough to fully sway me. 

I would love to get to Denali but it seems that only the longer (over a week) trips go there? Is there a cruise line that gets there in 7 days? 

Thanks all for following along! I'm glad the pictures were helpful. I had fun journaling the whole thing for you, and it prevented me from overdoing it on my own social media!

This was an incredible trip. It was a difficult year at home, and last summer was a complete disaster so I was SO looking forward to this trip, and it did not disappoint.

THE SHIP

Having been on the Escape before, I was fine not really exploring the ship, and really just enjoying the Haven experience. From what I could see though in the entertainment spaces and walking though public spaces, the ship is holding up nicely. But we didn't even go to the pool or garden cafe at all.

THE ROOM

We were in 17724. You walk through the lounge, enter the room area through the door on the right, turn right, and it's the 2nd room. Just far enough away from the entry door but no long corridor to walk down. Category HF, the most basic Haven room. The bed is on the right. And the chair bed is closer to the balcony. It technically holds 3 people. The beds in Haven do NOT separate. So you're either sharing the bed, or the chair pulls out. If the chair was awful I would have switched to the bed, but it was honestly fine. They added a mattress pad and there was no bar in my back or anything like that.

The room is bigger than a regular balcony room, but smaller than a typical American hotel room. It had MORE than enough storage for 2 people. The walls are not magnetic, if you're into that sort of thing, which I usually am. There was only one outlet, by the nightstand between the bed and chair. Luckily I had brought an outlet splitter with extra USB ports, and we both had long power cords so that we could use separate nightstands. 

The mildew smell in the bathroom never really went away. We said something a couple of times and then just got used to it, and had to keep the bathroom door closed to keep the whole room from smelling. 

Rustine was the Butler and Manuel the steward. We didn't see Manuel much but he did an excellent job. The room was always well taken care of. 

ROOM SNACKS

A lot of posts in this forum mention the snacks in the room. When we arrived there were pistachios, peanut and mini M and Ms, and a big fruit basket. I believe the pistachios were because when we initially reported what snacks we like, I mentioned cashews. But the pistachios were soft and unsalted. 

The first few days we got canapes, along with another snack like sandwiches, and usually chocolate covered strawberries or other chocolates sent by the GM or casino. It was a ridiculous amount of food. The canapes were pretty, but bland, and sitting on stale-ish bread. And when sandwiches came it was enough for a full meal for 2 people, not a late afternoon snack. Eventually we did just specify what we would like and what to avoid. It was still very large platters. We asked for smaller amounts and I'm not sure that was really adjusted. Next time I would specify 1 treat a day, not 3 full plates at once. I felt bad about the amount of waste, even in the dining room. We would ask for one of something and still get 3, occasionally with them just giving one. 

We enjoyed things like chips, a cheese plate, veggies and dip. 

POOL

I mentioned before the chair hogs are real. People leave their stuff and disappear for hours. One day we were in our chairs for 4-5 hours, and we only saw the person in the next chair when she put down her stuff and walked away. 

There is light lunch menu from 12-4. Wraps and sandwiches, ice cream sandwiches. There is a snack station that has coffee and pastries in the morning, and then in the afternoon infused water, iced tea, m&M's, gummy bears, pound cake and banana bread. They take that away at 4. I do wish that water was more readily available at other time (with the option of plain, not infused), and I wish there was an ice machine by the pool. The butler kept my ice bucket filled and I used the tap water, but I thought it was odd that it wasn't available in a central location. 

DRINKS

We didn't get the drink package - I don't drink enough to justify it. I got a couple of drinks at the bar and pool and just paid per drink. At lunch in the Haven restaurant, I did request ice tea or club soda, and that was never a problem and they never took my card. Same in the theatre when I ordered a club soda. 

At dinner, the first night we got the "free" bottle from the dining packing at Bayamo. We drank half and then they held onto it and gave us a claim ticket to use later. The next night in Haven we gave the claim ticket, but they said never mind and just opened up a fresh bottle. Same thing the next couple of nights. So we never ended up even paying for wine at dinner, but drinking plenty of it. In various venues, we just kept getting new bottles. Granted it was the "free" bottle that costs under $10 retail. Obviously, your milage may vary - don't count on free wine. Maybe it was because we were in Haven, maybe they just don't like going to the other venue to get the wine. 

KIDS

On another forum, someone posted yesterday about this particular trip and the kids at the Haven pool and bad behavior. There were a lot of kids. I work on a school schedule so I don't have the luxury of avoiding the kid heavy times. I have kids, so maybe I have a higher tolerance for them. I have to say there's a fine line between them laughing and having fun, and taking over the place. These kids were right on that line.

There was some 100% problematic behavior - our doorbell rang and kids ran away. Someone else witnessed kids pouring their water cup back into the water jug on the upper level at the pool ( I was there but didn't see it happen). One of the much younger kids was frequently shrieking at the pool and I never saw a parent address it. I saw kids throwing ducks, paper airplanes, room cards - they went zipping over people in chairs, or slammed into doors. They ran across and jumped on the wicker chairs that were in the shallow part of the pool.  I saw staff members say things a couple of times, but the kids immediately resumed whatever behavior (splashing, jumping etc) as soon as the staff walked away. 

Other things are more gray areas that are more about individual tolerances for children. They played a lot of Marco Polo. They frequently took up one entire hot tub and sometimes both. There was yelling and laughing. I think these things just speak to the fact that kids are allowed in the Haven. This is absolutely their right, and I understand that. But it's distracting and annoying if you're expecting a quiet zone. This is not a quiet zone, even if you want it to be.

I rarely saw a parent speak up. I would probably not travel with my kids in the Haven, personally. Because I would want to lounge by the pool, and my kids would get loud and I would be shushing them or threatening to remove them (or actually removing them) and that wouldn't be fun for anyone. 

The main pool area is my preferred area. I love to put my toes in and get in and out of the hot tub. It's where the snacks are and it was steps away from the room. But I ended up using the upper area, which was also enclosed by much hotter, so less comfortable. It was mostly families in the pool area. Which I understand, because that's where the kids want to be so that's where the parents (and often their extended family) needs to be. 

HOME

Long story short, my 6:15 flight, booked by NCL was delayed, I got on a 4:15 instead, that was delayed too. I finally got to my house by 10. Woke up and drank iced coffee. It might be days before I'm hungry again!

Aunt and I are thinking of doing Alaska next summer. We went last year (with the husband and kids too) but can't wait to go back, if anyone has specific recommendations! And yes, we want Haven again....

What did I miss? Any questions?

Just now, RocketMan275 said:

Yes, the long chocolate thing.

I sometimes have trouble figuring out what the items are.  It helps if  things are labelled.  

Ah, yeah, I tried to put the pictures under the text that mentions it. 

Just now, RocketMan275 said:

What is this?

Which one? The long chocolate thing? The marquise au chocolate dessert from the Bistro. Insert your own lewd joke. My 9 year old said it looks like poop, when I sent it to her. But I've seen it called more colorful things....

Day 8: No such thing as day 8

And just like that, I'm sitting in the airport. 

I was not able to see the meteor shower last night due to the weather, and possibly the ships own light pollution. So I got a good night's sleep and woke up early for one last vacation breakfast. 

Disembarkation was so easy. Gather in the Haven lounge, and then just take your luggage off, or wait for your color to be called. They take you down the service elevator.

I was on the bus to the airport just a few minutes later. The bus is not the Haven. This airport is not the Haven. No one has offered me food or drinks or help in hours. 

My ridiculously late 6:00 flight was delayed to 8:00. But I was able to switch to a 4:00. For a middle seat. Which also, is not the Haven. 

I'll do one more post with some final thoughts and specific room info in a bit!

12 hours ago, mking8288 said:

It's been a joy to follow and read your Escape Haven report - and see that Kivanc is still GM (formerly HD titled) onboard, he runs a tight ship and has a great team then, look forward to meeting him & perhaps the rest of his team from the older days ... soon.  Thanks you and much obliged.

 

Was the ship sailing at / above capacity this week - Haven and spa cabins for our upcoming one already sold out, apparently no further "chance" for bidders to upgrade (unless, no-shows or last minute cancellations, etc.)  

 

Have a great disembarkation, safe travel and getting home, etc. Cheers 👍

Yes, Kivanc was great - very visible, approachable, and sent treats several times. 

1 hour ago, Chesneygirl said:

Thank you for your wonderful LIVE from the Escape!

I'm curious to know, who was your concierge? 

Dilip - absolutely wonderful!

13 hours ago, cruiservictor said:

I should have asked you this earlier in your trip, but is Dilip’s last name Lopes?  We had Dilip Lopes as our butler on the Escape in 2018. (I keep track.). Could it be the same Dilip?  

Yes, that was him! He was wonderful. 

When we were planning ahead with how much cash we would need for incidentals and tips we said "there's no way we'll use the concierge much" but they really did work miracles, super attentive, and went out of their way without us even asking.