Sthrngary

Oh boy you just made my day. I watch every day. That is great information. Thank you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I sent Casino at Sea an email for the information. That is what they sent. I have done all of these ports. The only excursion I loved was the Beach Villa on the private island. I did not do it this time because it is to pricy for two people. Long story short, the only excursion we have is Cozumel and a cabana in the Vibe Beach Club. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Yes, it is call both Ultra Premium and Luxury. Vs. Ultra Luxury. I should have used both in my post. Sorry, my bad. One of the three perks, you have to choose on, is the drink program. It is only beer and wine at meals. You can upgrade to the Premium Drink Program when you get on the ship for $200.00 per person. I am all in on that. It took a while to figure out which one of the three perks I would take but this one was my strategy. Food is very important to me. We are going with our best friends and this will be their first cruise. One drinks (a lot, lol) the other does not drink at all. With every choice you make on cruising and brands, just know the deal. We need to do our own research and make the best choice for us. The Haven is and always will be my first choice. Yet when weight costs and considering our friends budgets, sometimes you have to deviate. In this case, our friends ability to join is more important than the Haven on this trip. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Do not be sorry. That is why I wrote it. Hijack away. All comments are great comments and help people. That is why I most mostly on CruiseCritic.com. Folks have opinions and can give them with professionalism as you did. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

This is a NCL Mainstream Cruise Blog. My comment below will address NCL but focus on "Over commenting" on the Oceania Brand. I am not trying to hijack my own post but it will make sense as I describe it. I just wanted to start out by saying that. I am so happy and used to NCL that it was a learning experience to book another brand even though it is part of the NCL family. It took some research and I got lucky on the the four category upgrade sale. Our fare included coach airfare or a credit of $1,000.00 per person if you use your own airfare. I will use my own airfare. I also included in that fare a Pre-Cruise Hotel in Athens and included gratuities. So the fare was $8,000.00 ish without the airfare and $10,000.00 ish with the airfare. I booked two suites. One for my wife and I; another for our best friends whom don't know I did that booking as of yet. I am a planner, they wait until the last minute. Waiting to the last minute only works if you live by the port. I will surprise them next year. The difference I have found is when you really know NCL, you can navigate it very well. The NCL Free at Sea program is pretty simple for the most part. On this cruise, you have to choice one of three perks. The only way I could figure out which would be the best for us was to ask a lot of question on the brands CruiseCritic.com site. It was a complete education for me I assure you. After I learned, it was an easy decision to take the beverage program and when I get on the ship, upgrade it to the premium beverage program. It took me two weeks to figure that out. I know this was a long response but I wanted you and other to know the importance of really understanding what you get. Know the plus/minus so you are fully aware of the situation when you get onboard. That approach has made my last 20 years of cruising a very positive experience. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Yes. I am always trying to be transparent with my posts. It was the Oceania Riviera. Still an NCL product. They had a four category upgrade event for Labor day. I used my American Express Platinum Card Perks. My total for a Penthouse with a butler was about $10,000.00. That seems like a lot of money but compared to other with smaller suites, and no butler; it was half the investment. I fully know by paying double you get more however it is a matter of if the additional is work the more you get. That is a very personal decision. Regardless, I hope I answered your question. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Just call now. Don't wait. If you wait, you will be uncomfortable. The way I look at these types of things, I want the answer NOW. Or I can't relax. You do what is most comfortable for you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Thank you. If was fun researching and writing it. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

The Spa should be on the floor your cabin is on. Look at the deck plan. I was on the Getaway in a Haven Spa Suite in 2019. The elevators and stairs should be very close and the Haven entry is two floors up if my memory serves. No special entries that I could find. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Opening: I have written extensively about the NCL Haven. How to approach this premium investment to gain the most value and vacation enjoyment. I called it the “Secrets” of the Haven. After four (4) years, it is NOT a secret anymore. The people of CruiseCritic.com have uncovered every drop of pleasure one can gain with some thought, preparation, and strategy. The Outcome of Education: Watchout what you ask for when highlighting any aspect of a truly positive cruise experience. People listen and want some of that same luxury experiences. Now we must add some factual realities. When you add in: Supply-chain issues making everything being more expensive; The cruise brands attempting to improve profits to accommodate the huge loans they took on; Cruisers still utilizing their Future Cruise Credits which are as much as 150% higher than their original money’s paid; The prices for the Haven (and all other VIP areas of Mainstream Brands) have gone up substantially. They are also selling out even more quickly than before the pandemic. Brand New Ships Always Have An Additional Premium Investment: I want to add one more thing that has just become apparent to me. The new ships like the NCL Prima (Viva). Regardless of stateroom, the prices are higher then lets say, the NCL Encore, Bliss or Joy. When you consider the Haven area, Prima (Viva) is a huge percentage higher. I recently compared cruising on a Luxury and Ultra-Luxury Brand for a 10-day Mediterranean Cruise. I used the same basic itinerary, dates, and amenities. The results might surprise ALL of us. First allow me to give a basic evaluation of Luxury and Ultra-Luxury cruise brands. They are the Haven (Celebrity Retreat, MSC Yacht Club) on Steroids. Regardless of the cabin you are in, once you leave your cabin, everyone is treated the same. This is not a “Ship within a Ship” concept. It is the "Entire ship is the Ship" concept. The Good and the Bad: The whole ship is the Haven. In most cases as part of the fare, all specialty restaurants are covered, the premium drink package is included (specialty coffee's/Bottles Waters/Beverages in Suite), the dining is a cut above even in the main dining room, unlimited internet is included, Thermal Spa/Sauna/Steam Rooms are included, and the personalized service throughout the entire ship is a cut above. The ships are smaller, the average age of the passage is older, and the ship spends more time at each port. No waterslides, virtual reality, or go carts which is a downside, and the entertainment is ok but not as good as many mainstream brands. So, some good thing and some bad. When I priced out an average Haven Suite on the Prima (Viva) is was within a few hundred dollars of an all-inclusive ultra-luxury brand (The Luxury Brand Suite did NOT have a butler). It was almost double the investment of the luxury brand with a butler and a much larger suite. This is today reality. We all must decide if paying double is a worthy investment for the same basic ports, dates, and days. We need to make the decision that is right for our family and budget. My advice is look at ALL the options available, do some research, due diligence and make the decision best for you and your trip. Don’t depend on a Cruise Consultant or Travel Agent. Do the work yourself. I choose to upgrade my suite on a Luxury Brand and still it was half the price of the Prima (Viva) with more included amenities. I will always have the thought in my head, “Life is too short, I would have really liked cruising in the Haven on the Prima.” I however know, life is about choices. Be educated and have realistic expectations for the money you invest. What every decision you make, don’t look back, just enjoy the vacation. "Cruise well and enjoy every moment."

My wife and I go on a NCL Cruise for 7 days. We get the Free at Sea perk plan. I get two specialty meals and she gets two specialty meals. I get the Premium Drink package, she gets the Premium Drink package. The cabin based on the first person in the room, gets a $50.00 off excursions. So always book from the first person in the cabin when you do an excursion. Remember, $50,00 for the cabin on this one. The Free WiFi minutes is for one device at a time. Everything that comes with Free At Sea can be upgraded. You can upgrade any part of it or all of it with the addition of the Free At Sea PLUS program. I hope this answer your questions. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Sometimes, an email gets it done. Sometimes it take a phone call. When you have a moment, give them a call. Not sure if they can answer your questions however they can at lest give you an approach to get the information. That was my experience anyway. Good luck. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Yes, based on consumption. You are doing the right thing. The more you know, the better your expectations are. Two Meals per person. Read the thread on the Premium Plus Beverage Package. It has all the positive and negative reasons. Or you can just ask me here any specific question you have. I authored this and that thread. Hope I helped you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Great post and I will be on the Breakaway in 30 days, December 4th. Love your requests. I hope the person you spoke with was Maria. She is a true class act. I am so glad you got the letter and you called. Thanks for the report. Cruise well from a fellow Alabama Person and enjoy every moment.

The key name is the first name. That person really controls the reservation. You can change other names. What I suggest is you call NCL and when it the last time to change a name. The other question is can you get a refund if one of the folks cancels at the last minute. The real rules happen once the final payment is paid. You could consider which I do every time, to have travel insurance for all with a cancel clause. These are all things you have to think about. All I am going to say is if you split the tab four ways, whom ever is in the second bedroom will get the short end of the stick. The reason economically that folks do what you are doing is because on most cruises, 3-4 person is discounted or free. If you do Encore, Bliss and or Joy ships, the second bedroom is really small and the master bedroom is delightful. When you do the Prima the second bedroom is better. Just something to keep in mind. If at all possible, try to price out air travel on your own. I am not clear where your cruise is going or the ship so I say this from experience. NCL air often looks like a deal. It maybe. However you lose all your control of the flight, day, time and brand. It takes away your ability to fly in the day before. I know from experience, the strategy of getting to the port the day before is critical to my enjoyment and stress level of my vacations. You do you. Yes. No and if each one of you want to use the minutes give, you have to boot the other person off. If you forget to log out, you lose the minutes. You can purchase WiFi plans for each of you but they are pricy. if NCL does not give you any, your travel agent might. Also with cards like American Express Platinum, it gives up to $300 per cabin of OBC. Check with your credit card company. I recently did four in a Haven Suite. I had two free Specialty restaurant meals with Free at Sea and a third was a perk from American Express. I then purchased a three-meal package for my two guests. I upgraded the WiFi package from the Free at Sea to unlimited streaming. I then purchased another one because it would have made for fights with the way we all use WiFi. I also had my travel agent us FCC to upgrade the first two people's Drink package to the "Plus" upgrade which was very hard to do but worked. During the process, I actually had a 5th person in the room. They could not make it. I cancelled them prior to the final payment. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Or you can take that bottle back to your cabin for a night cap. That is what my wife and I do. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I agree with your perspective completely. Let me tell you why. It was well written, you did a great job of explaining it clearly and it was what really happened to you. That is a perfect post. I have not skin in the game here other than to assist everyone with an interest with realistic expectations on aspects of cruising. So many folks pass judgement on items like this drink program with no real experience utilizing them. The same think holds true with guest commenting on the Haven that have never stayed in the Haven. Your post is what makes CruiseCritic.com GREAT. Thank you so much. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@laudergayleI agree with your observation from your last cruise on the Breakaway. I would like to elaborate though. Issue One: Husband that drinks beer almost exclusively. The issue here is not the program. It is that both member of the stateroom have to have the Premium Plus Package. In your case, your husbands participation is a complete waste of investment. Issue Two: Availability of higher end bottles/glasses of wine. In the future, if you will tell the wine person at the restaurant you are eating at, the night before, what you want, they will have it for you. We talk a lot about the Premium Plus Beverage Package however the reality is, this option is not taken by most guest. We focus on the options because it is the topic of this stream giving us the impression it is taken by more guest. This means, the high end stuff is not always easy to find. Issue Three: This is not so much an issue as it is a clarification. Where many folks say, you can only get a selected bottle at dinner. You just clearly stated that you go one for breakfast. I fully agree with that and I hope others read this so we don't have to debate that issue any more. IMHO, if one of the two partners will not fully utilize the Premium Plus Beverage Program, it does not make sense to consider it. Like excursions of specific specialty dining, it is subjective and up to the guest to make that determination. My wife and I use the program. We just use it differently then others. I do spirits (Energy Drinks, Bottled Water, Specialty Coffees, Starbucks) and she does wine. As you can see even in my case, subjective. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Did they miss a port??

Funny story. On my NCL Joy family vacation. We waited so long, has so many disappointments, I did a "Journey Document" to pass the time. It was about 25 pages with everything from my spread sheet to our covid-19 cards. As the time passed I would add things just because I was bored. When my family had one of their many questions, usually asked about two days before we were to leave; I would give them a professionally bound copy of that document. I remember posting about it on CruiseCritic.com. While I was sitting at one of the bar stools at the Haven Bar. Yes, I felt fortunate to have a bar stool their one random night. Usually, they were all taken. A very nice woman asked me if I was Sthrngary. I of course said yes. She asked if she could see my "Journey Document". Actually, we got to talking and I brought up the document because I was dying to show some one outside of my family, lol. I ran back to my suite and go it. She found her husband and said, "See honey, this is the guy. He plans even more than I do." So by all means, share the spread sheet. Be proud of it. Enjoy the hard work you did and nothing wrong with taking a bow. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

LOL, we are talking about NCL. There are no Kickback for sure. I wish. Great post and thank you so much. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

To clarify so folks will not be confused. Starbucks at the official Starbuck Counter is complementary with the premium plus beverage package. Starbucks in the Haven Restaurant is complementary even if you don't have the Premium Plus Beverage Package. On the larger ships, in the Haven Observation Lounge, the machine that does specialty coffee uses Starbucks brand and is wonderful. As it relates to Butlers. Starbucks from the Starbucks Counter, falls under the same rules as alcoholic beverages. The Policy is to charge. That is why, I always suggest that if you are in the Haven, you insist that all of your Room Service comes from the Haven Restaurant which uses Starbucks beans. The reason I am clarifying this is to avoid the expectation that the butler bring Starbucks from the Starbucks counter. That said, it is possible a Butler might do something nice like this yet it is not NCL Policy. Establishing realistic expectations is one of the key reason for this and other topics. I in no way want to establish myself as some sort of expert or "Know it All". This is simply something I experienced. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

The Butler USUALLY will NOT be able to bring you Starbucks from the Starbucks shop. However if you request all room service from the Haven Restaurants. The Coffee at the Haven is usually Starbucks. The French Press is a little strong but lovely. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Sthrngary here. Thank you for the shout out. I have never been able to upgrade one of the two people in a cabin. I was able to upgrade, the first two people and not the second two (My adult Children). All four got the Premium Beverage Package. My wife and I got the Premium PLUS beverage package. The way I did it was prior to the cruise, I had lots of Future Cruise Credits left. The process was to have my Cruise Travel consultant, call NCL, use the credits for my wife and I upgrade to plus. It worked yet we still had an issue. When we got on board, we were in the Haven. Day one, they give you a complementary lunch at the American Diner. Both my two Adult Kids orders a beverage. It was charged to my suite portfolio. It seems that when they upgraded my wife and I, they cancelled my son and daughters program. The Haven desk had it fixed in 30 minutes. The issue is NCL Computer Program are simply not flexibly. NCL policy is afraid one person will provide the other person with benefit. They have a point. I assure you all, my adult daughter drank her weight in French Champagne that cruise because of my Premium Plus package. I feel horrible that I would every so such a thing, NOTTTTTT. Hope this gives you a smile and answers our question. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@JM0115That is great to hear. I love the Veuve very much and especially when eating at the French Specialty Restaurant. After my second glass, they just put the bottle close to my table, LOL. My wife loves the bottles of wine however, she orders by the glass until her last glass. That is when she orders a bottle. Has one glass and takes the bottle to our stateroom for a night cap. I personally will try the Silverado Cab on my upcoming trip. Thank you for the recommendation. The Encore is on my list for the future. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.