Sthrngary

Oh my, did you choose a tough subject. I know, I had a huge post and within that post I mentioned unruly children. The issue is not the kids. Kids will be kids. It is the parents that allow the children to go unsupervised and or don't care if the child is breaking the pool rules. We all have to remember, NCL has third and forth person free on some of their cabins and suites. If it is a time when it is a holiday or school is out, that is a bargain for many families. I made a decision to never cruise during those times and since then, never had an issue. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I think you got the situation wrong. The program that I think they gave you was Cruise First. You pay $250.00 and you get credit for $500.00. I did the same thing when I booked my next cruise some months ago. The reduced deposit is not a plus or a minus. They really don't give you any value like the "Cruise First". All you get is a little less amount that is your deposit for your cruise. I know how confusing this cruise stuff can be. That is why all my friend reach out to me when they want to cruise. Even my travel agent gets confused with NCL some times. You are not the only one but I know how frustrating it is. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@mauibabesThank you for the great comments. I have had butlers before. Several on the NCL Haven Voyages. One on a Celebrity cruise. However, the butler I had on the crystal cruise was the best I have ever had. He did make the voyage for us. He listen to us and the next thing you knew was he was doing something special. The NCL and Celebrity Butlers were nice but not even close. Something tells me the Butlers on Oceania will be awesome as you suggested. I feel so fortune to have caught the Oceania upgrade promotion. The only down side is it is over a year away. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Your question is a GREAT question. We were booked on Oceania for the same kind of cruise in 2020. it got cancelled due to covid. At the time, we had an argument when I suggested doing the pre-cruise hotel. My friend who does not understand cruising said, I am purchasing the airfare from Oceania, they will hold the ship for us if our flight has issues. I told him, they hold the ship for no one. They will simply fly you to your next port and you will lose part of your vacation not to mention the stress involved. This time, I did not ask. I just booked the Pre-Cruise Hotel. I would assume because of that, Oceania will fly them in the day before since it is their airfare and there pre-cruise hotel. Do I have that right?? I could not agree more. It is always on the table. Not my decision and I don't want to have another argument on extra's with them, LOL. You can lead a horse to water........ Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Rocket, wait until you get on-board and it is in your Room Service Menu. You can ask your Pre-Cruise Haven person how much it is and if you can get it arranged pre-cruise. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I am a first time cruiser with Oceania. I booked a European Cruise in 2020 on Oceania and it was cancelled due to Covid. Two days ago, I booked two Penthouse Suites on the Riviera for November 9, 2023. The Promotion was on the Home Page but you have to be on the Official Oceania web page. I went on a few that I thought was right but it was really a travel company. The other think I thought was interesting was the category of sailing already had the discount applied. That made the decision easier. I had been doing research of all the Cruise Brands with this similar itinerary for Oct-Nov 2023. Oceania had a cruise, 20 days earlier. My savings by booking this promotions was close to $4,000.00. I hope this helps some folks. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

UPDATE: Thank you every one for your feedback and excellent advice. Because of you great folks, as I outlined earlier, I booked two (2) Penthouse Suite Guarantee's on the Oceania Rivera for November 9, 2023. Oceania had the "Category Upgrades" available as a Labor Day Perk for this cruise. The other couple that I have the second suite for does not know I booked it. It will be my friends wife's 70th Birthday. He promised her a Greek Cruise but refused to book it until next year. I knew exactly what the issue was. He could not afford the Deposit until next year. Also, these folks do not understand the concept of planning ahead. So I booked both the rooms, and paid for the deposits with my American Express. This gives both suites the AMX Perks. The best perk of all was to get a Penthouse at literally almost $4,000.00 less then just 20 days prior. I prebooked the pre-hotel in Athens so we all would get their at least a day early. My friends will take the Coach Airfare that comes with the cruise booking. I recommended they did not pay for the premium coach because that extra money could go for some excursions. They are on a tight budget. My wife and I have saved airline points for years to go on this trip in Delta One Business Class. I will have to wait a few months to book that due to Delta's booking limitations. Like many people when they go on a new cruise brand, I have watched all the video's, read what I could here on CruiseCritic.com. I can see from many of your comments that this cruise will be very special. Thanks again. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

My wife and I always fly into the port the day before our cruise embarks. I choose a local restaurant for the Pre-Cruise Dinner. It is usually the Capital Grille which depends on the port. We ALWAYS get to the port early and get the earliest group on board or if in the Haven, Retreat or Suite class, we have coffee in their lounge at the port. On board, it is drink time with my wife having a wine and I have Tequila. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@RocketMan275Hello my friend. That is exactly what I am saying. It is ordered and delivered by room service or in your case, the Haven Butler. It comes with mixers. The bottles are not cheap. Before NCL changed the policy where all guests in a Haven Suite got the Premium Beverage Package, my adult children could choose a bottle of Spirits they wanted for the week. The rule was "No BAR TAB". We got a bottle of Vodka and the mixers. At the time it was about $100.00. Now with everyone in the Haven Suite getting the Beverage Package, we don't do that anymore. I hope that clarifies your question. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@rbxladyMy goal as the Op-Ed here is to assist in realistic expectations. It is my experience in the Haven that the only time a Butler would provide Canned Soda was two situations. First, when you are in an owners suite which provides three bottles of spirits and mixers. The mixers are soda and they replenish daily. It is complementary. The other situation is when you buy a bottle of spirits from room service. Included are some canned soda's. The Haven does not claim to provide soda's to the suite unless you pay extra for them. I also ALWAYS do the Premium "PLUS" Beverage Package. Even then, it has never happened in my suite without a cost. Now I am NOT saying some others have had a Butler that accommodated them. Happens all the time. I am saying it is not NCL Haven policy. So if you go on board and expect this and it does not happen, you will be disappointed. That is what I mean by realistic expectations. If it does happen, great. If it does not happen you are not surprised. When I comment on something that another CruiseCritic.com community member says and I softly challenge it, I mean no disrespect. Instead I just want all of us to have the best time possible. I hope my comment is take that way. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@MEFIowaIf you see a slightly portly man, with a un-lite cigar in his mouth, drinking a tequila, in a hot tub; that is me. Hope to see you there. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@MuraWell written, clear and respectful. Thank you for taking the time. The older My wife and I get, the more having friends and family with us makes a big difference. Something tells me that having our best friends with us will make this trip memorable. Thank you again. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Perfect, thank you for the clarification. Much appreciated. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I agree, this would be special. Is it $300.00 per person? Or for the room. I am hearing different things. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

This is a GREAT idea, thank you so much. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@MEFIowa Thank you for responding. I commented on your post this morning. I wanted to get back with you because we on CruiseCritic.com need to let folks know the decisions we make, on the advice given. I just booked two (PH3) Penthouse Staterooms for the November 9, 2023 cruise you are on. This is a 70th Birthday, for my friends wife and most likely the last of these types of trips we will be able to do together. Thank you and hope to see you then. @Siena219 I can't thank you enough on your references to Crystal. Everything you said makes sense to me after my Crystal Experience. I understand the difference in the drink program and your reference to entertainment. I can't imagine the food better than Crystal but I will take you word for it. As indicated above, I have made the booking. Thank you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

This is the cruise I was looking at. Great pricing.

@LHT28 Yes, thank you for remembering. I do spreadsheets all the time for almost everything I consider doing especially if the investment is significant. Those spreadsheets focus on comparing brands investment, cabins, and amenities. I have already done the spread sheet bringing me to the high likelihood of booking an Oceania Cruise. With Crystal Cruises, it was my very first time on a Luxury Type Cruise and I was really interested on the perception of the differences from the guests. I remember we communicated on posts back then. Thanks for remembering. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Background: I have cruised on NCL for a long time. My usual stateroom is the Haven which I know intimately. I have also cruised with Celebrity in the Retreat. Finally, I cruised on Crystal Cruise last year prior to their financial issues. I have chosen the NCL Haven for the "Ship-within-a-Ship" concept. The better dining, excellent entertainment and less hectic when we had enough of the main ship. We chose Celebrity Retreat to gain an alterative to the Haven. We selected Crystal Cruises to dip our toes into the Luxury segment and called it a "Luxury Cruise Test Drive". Goal: To have a memorable Mediterranean Cruise with our best friends and not have to break the bank. Our friends are on a tighter budget than we are and asked for my help in comparisons. If it were up to me, I would book Regent Seven Seas due to the completely all inclusive approach they take. The issue is budget. Cruises especially these kinds of cruises are best shared with good friends. This means flexibility to suit all budgets. This brings Oceania as a great choose on paper. Now I need real guest comments to seal the deal. REQUEST FROM CRUISECRITIC.COM MEMBERS: Can you give the pro's and cons of Oceania. My concern is being bored on sea days and in the evenings. This came from my Crystal Cruise Experience. I would love to know what you loved about the brand. Any assistance is welcome. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@cruiseny4life Hello, I am the OP. You can call me Gary and you make a great point. This question comes up a lot so I think it might be time to do some clarifying. I hope everyone remembers my intent is to establish Realistic expectations. Otherwise, we go on an expensive cruise, upgrade to the Haven and feel like we did not get the values others have gotten. That is a downer for most folks. Expectation to the Pre-Cruise Concierge: My goal is to handle a few things pre-cruise so I don't have to on the cruise. The assistance falls in two area's, first to have things done for me in advance. Second, to give me the best approach when I am on the ship. That is my goal. I just want to know the rules to the game. Truly Personalized Service: The NCL Haven and the Celebrity Retreat do a nice job of personalized service. This includes before the and mostly during the actual cruise. They don't hold a candle to Regent, Oceania, SeaBourn, Viking, and other luxury segment brands. The difference subtle and hard to describe. My experience is you can get the same things done Pre/During Cruise but it takes more effort on Mainstream Cruise Brands. The effort by the crew on personalized service is hampered on the Highly Structured Process and Procedure used. Where on the Luxury Brands, the crew has discretionary abilities. It is simply not the same and we need to go into the cruise knowing that. The True Secret To Getting What You Want: Have your request pre-thought out. Start with the Pre-Cruise Concierge and ask for confirmation in writing. Follow up if need be with the on-ship concierge in writing if possible. Finally, ask your butler and again I do it in writing. None of these folks have a crystal ball to know what is uniquely important to me different than others. On a luxury brand, you can simply write and email or ask your butler. They have never missed with a request that was no to over the top. I do something else and this is the first time I have ever stated it out loud. I create a relationship with the folks I talk to on the phone or emails. I ask for them in the future, I praise them to their managers if they go over the top. I gain the supervisors name and contact information. When my request is granted, I show my appreciation with a kind think you. I know have collected names and contact numbers for the majority of supervisors and executives on the brands. I never abuse the relationship, ever. If You Don't Ask, You Don't Get: If something is important to me, I ask. If I get a "No" I am not upset. My thoughts are, I did not know if it was possible anyway. I have asked for "Upgrade/Upgrade Status" and never gotten one unless my upgrade bid was a winner. No special treatment. On the other hand, I wanted to buy the Premium "PLUS" beverage package for two of the four adults in my suite. I was given the right person to call and it was handled onboard. I was told that this was not possible on Social Media yet with a little intuitiveness it was done for me on my cruise. Conclusion: You can get almost anything you want done with a little planning and realistic expectations. Never demand or use anger (no one ever said in this stream they were using anger or demanding), collect confirmations emails of your requests, write a reasonable list of what you want, start with pre-cruise and don't be disappointed it you have to simply ask on the cruise. If you don't get everything you want, let it go. Nothing is perfect. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Sailing12AwayGuilty as charged. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@RocketMan275I thought I was the only one that the robe did not fit. I asked for a "Portly" size and was told "One Size Fits All". All except me, I guess. Then we spend a week on a cruise eating and the provided Haven Robe has NO CHANCE. Thanks for the laugh, I needed it. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

NorwegianConciergeDesk@ncl.com They are pretty quick. Remember my whole MO is to help folks establish realistic expectations. These fine folks can't do everything we ask. What they can do is give us instruction if it is not in their abilities. They usually respond in 24 hours of less. Cruise well and enjoy every minute.

@rbxlady If you have any special request for your suite, call the number or if you want an email address respond to this post. There is nothing in particular you have to ask for however everyone is different. I usually ask for a water and extension cord for my CPAP machine. If in the Owners suite I tell them the three bottles of spirits I want and the mixers. If in a suite with a very large balcony, I ask for additional lounge chairs for everyone in the cabin. There is a pillow menu you can clarify. I have also had both excursion and specialty restaurant reservation changes done in advance. I hope that helps. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

It is my understanding that All Owners Suites get that perk. In addition, the three bedroom villa's also get that perk. I found a "Welcome Aboard the Haven" document that might help. It is attached. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.