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To tip, not to tip, how much to tip and when to tip is so personal. It differs from country to country and person to person. Gaining information on what others do and why is simply being considerate. From a personal perspective standpoint, I believe that tipping over and above the monies take from your account is based on a guest past experiences. Tip, don't tip or how much they provide is more then a standard thing. It is learned from events that happened in the past. One such example is my wife at a crowded pool bar on the Celebrity Equinox. She was trying to get a drink order in for 30 minutes until she got frustrated. I heard this, caught a pool server coming by and tipped him heavy. I said, "My wife would like a drink and she is very thirsty today." That is all it took. Another example is butlers that have been Hit/Miss. I now write them a Butler Letter with their entire tip enclosed on day one. Some how, my butlers have been all Hit's since I started that. In both examples when shared, I get those that agree and disagree with my approach. My goal on everything that happens on a cruise is to fine a way to enhance my experience. Knowing what folks thing about restaurants, knowing which excursion seems to be most liked, reading about specific staterooms that are favored OR tipping strategies all seem to drive to the goal of a better cruise. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Traveling Fools Thank you for sharing your story. I truly hope your daughter is ok. The importance of your story to the members of CruiseCritic.com can not be overshadowed. My hope is those that are on the fence about Cruise Insurance listen to you and me. As I said in the original post. I got lucky and like you was made whole very quickly. Folks reading this, you do you. We shared our stories. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Sibsie I can NOT answer your question but I do have a question which you can choose to provide or not comment. I am a first time Oceania guest that spent most recent cruises in another Mainstream Brands VIP area. Why did you choose to make the change? Cruise well and enjoy every moment

Social Media is One Interesting Place: Over the last six year I have attempted to think, before I post. Sometimes I delete my post and wait until the next day. Other times I say to myself, "Gary, your reply is mean and harsh. Re-write it with with empathy and understanding." Yet I am frustrated with one approach by some contributors that I have felt since ever participation in social media. I call the posters, "Unexperienced Experts". These are the members that come on a topic that they have no actual experience, the NCL Haven is a perfect example, with what seems to be very pointed and specific facts about the topic. As we read the reply, we start asking ourselves, "That does not sound like the experience I have had over the last 6 cruises?" A debate usually ensues with members on that post stream. Sometimes the debate becomes heated. The instigator or better known as the "Unexperienced Expert", is firm in their complete dislike of the in this example the Haven. We all soon find out eventually that the "Unexperienced Expert" never use or purchased the item they are so upset about. Their information presented is heresy, inaccurate or what they think instead of actually received. Now if someone said, "the Haven is way to expensive and I cold cruise three times to my one time in the Haven." That is an observation that is verified and valid for anyone. Never needed to cruise in a Haven Suite to fully understand the cost difference, that making everyone qualified on a budget topic. I would hope when folks come to a board that is focused on legitimate experiences in a topic like the Haven that they share their ACTUAL likes, dislikes and improvements. I know it is social media but Trolling a subject is all about making people angry because it is fun to them. If I want that kind of Social Media, I go to Reddit.com and say the word "Haven" in any sentence. That is why many of us are contributing here on CruiseCritic.com. My rant is plea to keep the information provided to new, current and future CruiseCritic.com members actual experiences that will assist in the purchase or improved cruise experience. Help members simply have a better time when they spend what ever amount of money the choose too. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Thank you for the info. What a shame. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@zteamtwo I watch lots of video's with room tours for all the Oceania ships. I am going to give you some information but please realize it is not first hand experience. I am pretty sure thought. The Flat Screens Oceania is using are Samsung. If you go to the setup menu, they have a bluetooth setting. You need to pair your headphones to the the TV. I do it all the time in my home with all of my Samsung TV's. Not hard. About the RCA connectors. Not a good idea. You would be better off with a HDMI cord. My son on a recent cruise on NCL (Sister Company) Samsung TV was able to connect his Xbox via side HDMI connector. The only problem was he was always playing the Xbox. Again, I can confirm the TV's work with Blue Tooth in 78 days. Also, I am on the Riviera not Vista. I will do my best to remember. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@SATaxman Remember this is my first time on Oceania also so I am not an expert. I read somewhere that Oceania has updated/upgraded the afternoon canapes. I also asked for the menu and could not gain it. I do have all the specialty restaurant menu's which is not what you asked for. However happy to share. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@graphicguy I am blushing. Great video. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Agent999 I am somewhat surprised at your response to me. Maybe I was not on point with how I outlined my comment. Anyone on social media can comment on anything they want. That should be a forgone conclusion. Yet to address the notion that making determinations of what is felt, received or appreciated is not worth the premium should be done by a person who had it. Someone who has not had it, is just guessing. Want to put down Haven, Yacht Club or Retreat on anything other then the price, do it was actual knowledge. If not, all you are doing is trolling. My focus on CruiseCritic.com is and always will be only to comment or give my opinion on things I actually have experience and know about intimately. This helps other with making a business decision to proceed or not to proceed. To say things like The Haven Pool is awful, the Haven Restaurant is over rated, the Haven bar does not have my brands or the Haven sundeck has bad lounge chair when you have never experienced any of it is wrong. Especially when you come to a thread focus on the Haven that is all about actual experience. Look, I don't own NCL Stock. I do not have any skin in the game to help their sales. I liked it better when the ships were half filled and the crew could actually provide personalized service. However, if you forcefully give an opinion that you Like or Dislike something with no personal experience, that is simple wrong. Since I have been posting on this topic for over six years, I can tell you many complaint come from those that never experience the benefits. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I think keyword think it opens at 6 AM. I would go down there, it would be absolutely vacant. I would get a cup of coffee and an almond croissant. 15 minutes later my son would come down and do the same. When my wife walk we went to the Haven restaurant for breakfast. I hope that helpsI Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Agent999 You make a good point. Allow me to make a different point. In my pre-retirement life, I was part of some very large companies development of survey systems. Very interesting topic and blessed to have been part of it. It seems that most folks need to have an emotional reason to do a survey and add verbatim comments. I hate the brand or I love the brand. The term Brand Advocate is the goal of most brands. An Advocate are guest that are so thrilled with the brand that they want to tell the world. A guest that is satisfied (Customer Satisfaction) feels the brand simply did what they said they would do. No real emotion with that one. We all know what a dissatisfied guest will say and do. I love the Haven and share why I feel that way because I want other to have the same benefits if they choose too do so. If not, as my adult son says, "You do YOU!" If you don't like my decisions or opinions, again "You do YOU!". What I seriously do not like on this and other social media cruise boards are definitive comments on things like the Haven from those that have never experienced it. How do they have a frame of reference of how the experience feels other they resentment or longing. Here is the bottom line. Every guest needs to do a pro/con list of what the want to make their next vacation or cruise vacation all it can be. With that comes all aspects including budget. They take that list and book what comes comes closest. There choice, their decision and their money spent. If things are not what they expect, their results. If you are upset about the result, feel free to share, I just don't care because you got what you planned to get and miscalculated. If you love your result, I am happy for you for doing your due diligence. Neither will effect of change my life even one little bit. Just social media. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@rattla That is a great attitude. I an assure you, with that attitude, you will have a wonderful time and I hope you will honor us all with your review afterwards. I am cruising on another brand in 78 days. I will miss the darn Almond Croissant only available in the Haven. My wife and I have lost lost of weight doing Keto for our upcoming cruise so you can imagine what that first pastry will taste like. Go to the Haven Horizon Observation Deck, the Coffee Machines are Over the Top, get an Almond Croissant and remember I made the suggestion. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@McGarrett5oh Amen brother. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@rattla Have a great time. I have one piece of important advice. Do not expect perfection. Do not think you are in a Ritz Carlton Hotel. Manage your expectations to be realistic. That way, when you finally receive this new level of cruise experience, it will exceed your expectation. Since I wrote this stream about five years ago, many New Haven Guest have expressed disappointment at things like not getting the type of candy they wanted in their suite. Or not meeting their butler until day two. The fact for the most part the snacks given at 4:00 PM are the same for every Haven Suite. Frequent Haven Guest talk about all the wonderful extra's they get without saying these were unique and not always offered. Whether special escorts to small venue shows or a butler that kindly brought you a drink to your suite both of which is not policy for Haven Guest. The strategy of "Realistic Expectations" will make your cruise and the Haven over the top. Read everything you can and do as much planning. Yet when you get on the ship, go to the Haven Lounge for the first time, STOP, let your planning take hold and enjoy joy your vacations. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I am trying to grasp the point of the conversation going on now on this thread. Not sure if my addition is on topic or not. When creating the perfect vacation, we all have to take a few moments to be sure of what our likes, loves and dislikes have been. The things that matter and don't matter to each of us. Cruising provides a unique opportunity to do some pre-planning. Allow me to give some thoughts and I sincerely hope it is helpful or at the very least entertaining. Airfare: I book my own airfare because I want to gain the best price and choose my seating. Our next cruise is a 10-day Mediterranean Cruise. I saved Airline Points for years to gain two Delta One Business Class tickets. My wife has never done business class. Because of my research and my wife/my preference to have a window seat, we book two different rows. I am in row two and she is in row four. These seat are closest to the view of the window. The flight is 10 hours. I can be in a seat for 10 hours without holding my wires hand. Gratuities: I miss the old days of having the same server in the Main Dining Room. Having those same folks every dinner meal was uniquely fun. I was obviously in the minority because all the Main Stream cruise lines went to eat any time and we lost those relationship. I have found I could come close to it by staying in the Suites only sections like the Haven, Retreat or Yacht Club. That buy itself did not justify the insane premium however it was part of the justification. Lounge Chairs: It was never so much you could not get a lounge chair near the pool as the so called reserved lounge chairs by folks that seemed to never use them. That seem so rude and I felt greedy. I really wanted not to have to plan my day to get up early and grab a chair. The VIP area's above solved that issue for me. They also gave me a private sundeck, butler phone for snacks and roaming servers for drinks. Those folks we saw frequently and tipped accordingly. There are so many more thing that improved the overall cruising experience for my wife and I. The reason many folks seem to have a issue with this area is they really have not got a strategy to receiving every bit of value for the premium they spend. Whether the suites only restaurant, butler, personalized service, suites only bar or amenities. Some folks simply don't want those things and that is that. So if you want it, you can have it. If you don't, you don't have to have it. You both can still enjoy the majority of the ship activates. The best of both worlds. The issue was the intense premium paid. It has gone higher and higher because of the popularity of these area's. Over the past few years, some things have changed for the better and worse. Like with any other business, this drives guest to look at other options. One is a Haven Lite Strategy and another is to choose a Luxury Cruise Brand that actually can cost less than being in the Haven. The point of my rant is all of these options are available for each of us and we can make those decisions for ourselves. Don't like something? I assure you if you choose a different options you can find what you like. Planning and due diligence can solve almost any vacation issue. That is the nature of cruising. Just my two cents. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@amygutman I am SO happy for you and your Husband. You deserve this vacation and it will be everything you hope it will be. When cruising the Haven Letter is the first spark of excitement. The second is the drive or flight when you see the port. The Third is the walk onto the ship. Enjoy every aspect. Let all of us know your experience. Teach us what we need to know to enhance our future cruises. Not to much though. It is so important that you enjoy every single second of your long-awaited cruise. That is your real job so don't let yourself or your family down. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Ballwin Babe The premium for $60,000.00 would be very high. On the the other hand, the premium for a $4,000.00 cruise is surprisingly low. Both are risk tolerance. Some folks like I did for 28+ cruises did not purchase this protection. Others never have at all. Yet others do it all the time. Risk tolerance! The decision is the guest 100%. If a guest chooses not to do so, and they have an issue that costs them, they should consider not complaining. It was their decision and they knew the rules. In the case of the folks in the article, they simply used poor business judgement yet want to blame everyone while not acceptable the slightest bit of accountability. That is simply not fare to all involved. Again, just and only my personal opinion. That and a dime won't get you a starbucks on an NCL Ship. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@kismetique This just happens to be a topic I was writing about this morning so it is fresh on my mind. Many folks that have a butler for the first time simply do not know how to leverage this very unique amenity. I was one of those folks with my first butler. In my home, I was the Cleaning Person, Chef, Butler and Maid. To let someone else do those things for me was uncomfortable. This is why with butlers, folks say things like, "I don't need or use a butler. We do these things for ourselves. So it is a waste." Then one day, you kind of wake up. You read some blogs, research what butlers do and don't do for you. You hear what other guest enjoyment was from their butlers. A few cruises later, you become a fan in a very big way. I now write a butler's letter and give it to them when I meet them. Makes my cruise elevated and makes me feel like a Rock Star for 7 days a year. My butler letter (I am the crazy person that developed this idea) for my upcoming cruise askes for coffee and a small plate of pastries to be brought to my suite at 7:30 AM every morning. I want the coffee from the Illy Barista Coffee Bar. We are in a upper end suite so the Bedroom and the Dining Room are two separate rooms with a door. I give my butler permission to knock twice and come in. My wife will ask once or twice during this 10 day cruise to have a bubble bath done. We will give the butler lots of notice. Once or twice we will eat on our balcony from a Specialty Restaurant. I can go on and on. Would I have the butler bring in coffee if we did not have two separate rooms, YES. The difference would be I would call when I got up so it was not awkward. Having the different rooms, makes it much nicer. Learning to be pampered was not the easiest thing in my life. I kind of like it now thought. Just my two cents. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Ballwin Babe Good point. All I can do is talk from my own perspective. When I first started to cruise, 44 + years ago, I trusted the cruise line would give me good advice. I and many others got lucky. As time went on, I did something kind of important. I read the cruise contract. It was frightening. Still, I cruise many more times but knew, I as a consumer had very few rights. Still to this day, folks book a cruise and don't read the contract. They trust the cruise line will take car of them. For decades I thought there was a benefit for booking airline with the cruise line. I had the impression as many do, that if the cruise arranged airfare got delayed or cancelled, the cruise line would take care of me. Hold the ship, or get me to the ship or to the next port. I thought the cruise line would take care of me. I was wrong, I was misinformed. At first, I would fly in the day of embarkment so save the money for a overnight hotel. Until I almost missed my cruise ONCE. I got lucky and learned a lesson. After a while and 30 + cruises, you start to get the picture. Yet still, I had NEVER purchased Cruise Travel Insurance until two years ago. That was my first time for cruise insurance. Good thing, I got lucky. My wife got Covid-19 8-days before the cruise left and I would have lost thousands of dollars. Instead, because of the Cruise Travel Insurance, I was made whole in 15 business days. For the life of me, I do not know what made me buy that insurance the first time. I am lucky I guess. These folks in the article did not use good business judgement. I know, for years neither did I. Neither did a lot of us. We just got lucky. In this case, these folks did not get lucky. Now do I think with all the media and press on this that NCL will make the whole, maybe. This and other reasons are why I am so grateful to CruiseCritic.com. If you have a question, a concern or need an option; you can go to the blog and ask. The community will for the most part give you their opinion. $60,000 for a family vacation is a ton. These folks did a leap of faith and got a very unlucky outcome. I am sorry for them but in the same tone, their story will be an example to others to do their due diligence. Just my opinion and everyone has one. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Call your travel agent or the agent you used for your booking. Sure, you can call the concierge however this issue, which is common and I hope you have your requests and conformations in writing, is more common then one might think. I am sorry this happened to you. This is the third post, on three separate blogs I have addressed on the same topic. Anyone reading this, please book your own flights and don't even give the cruise brand an opportunity to book flights for you. They are awful at it. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@HBCcruiser My pleasure. With all good things comes some downside. Five years ago, I wrote a couple of OP-ED's. The Secrets to the Haven and The NCL Premium Plus Beverage Package. Both gave good information on how to get as much value from the Haven and the PLUS as possible. Now the Haven Prices are as you stated, astronomical and the Plus Beverage Package have changed some of the rules. That is why I did the Haven Lite Strategy. I found the service received in the VIBE Beach Club to be superior to the Haven Sundeck. Recently, my lovely bride joined me in the Vibe and she said, this is the place to be on a big ship like this. I love, love, love the Haven concept. I will always be one of it's largest fans. Yet my next cruise is not on NCL, Not in the Haven. Yet I have all the same benefits, larger suite, butler and a lot more amenities. All for a cost per day this is far less than the Haven. Will I book a Haven Suite again? Absolutely. Not until they get real on the fares. NCL is not a luxury brand, it is a Mainstream Cruise Brand. When you can go on a Premium-Plus/Luxury or in some cases Ultra-Luxury Cruise instead of the NCL Haven, you have to consider the options. That is what a value proposition is all about. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

You might have a point here however, it costs either way. My Desert for my wife was about $10.00 plus tip in the Haven Restaurant. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@McGarrett5oh Here is my experience. The only Restaurant that served Creme' Bruilee was Cagney's. My wife does not like Cagney's so we would never book it. On a Monday night, I asked if my wife could have a Creme' Bruilee in the Haven Restaurant for Tuesday night. They agreed and I was charged for the desert which was just fine. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@eppler You will love the Joy Haven. One of my favorite ships and Haven's. I will attach what I have and cannot guarantee it is accurate. But it will give you a feel. Cruise well and enjoy every moment. Haven_Dinner_Menu_Side_Two.jfif Haven_Dinner_Menu_Side_One.jfif Haven_Lunch_Menu_Side_Two.jfif Haven_Lunch_Menu_Side_One.jfif Haven_Breakfast_Menu.jfif

What are the rules for buying NCL stock and then gaining on-board-credit for being stock holder. To clarify, I have no stock. I can buy some, how much do I need and can I apply for the credit event though my final payment already passed. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.