Linda the Book Lover

I love the thermal spa and in 173 days my daughter and I will be enjoying it once again. 

2 minutes ago, Tutone56 said:

I would love to book the Haven but it’s a little pricy for me.  We hope to rent a place for a couple of weeks prior to the cruise so a balcony is in our budget.

Yes, I agree you are having two vacation experiences for the price of one!

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

In April, my husband and I went on our first cruise. We were on the Getaway over spring brink (week after Easter). It was spring break for NY/NJ/CT schools, including where I was an administrator. Hence, we cruised over spring break. It was one of the first cruises since the restart that was at over 100% capacity. 

 

Thankfully, we booked in the Haven. We strolled out of our room to take a look at the pool deck and Atrium a few times. We quickly retreated back to the Haven, before extremely thankful we didn't have to share a pool deck with that mass of humanity. I'm an introvert, he's an extrovert, but neither of us enjoy being around 1,000 of our newest friends. 

 

I'm in my 30's, he's in his late 20's and neither of us enjoy partying, so I'm thinking we might be a little like you/your wife. If you're able, I'd encourage you to book the Haven where you'll never have a crowded sundeck and you'll have some space. Your wife will probably like being spoiled. I know my husband really enjoys how friendly the staff is and that they'll do virtually anything to ensure a wonderful cruise. 

 

Regardless, enjoy your cruises! 

I admit that if you can booking the Haven is the way to go during spring break and also the summer says this retired mom who travels with an educator daughter and her daughter. Everyone is different in likes and dislikes and also their fiscal circumstance. My granddaughter who is a quiet high schooler was thrilled last summer when she found out we would sail in a POA (not a true Haven) suite. Since we sailed before on this ship together in a balcony cabin, she was able to weigh in on the differences. It was worth the money on POA since it is a port intensive cruise we have sailed before and we had not planned to lay around at a pool. My daughter and I are sailing this summer on the Escape in the Haven to celebrate her special birthday. The husband and I decide what type of cabin based on the itinerary, but I admit we enjoy the extra comforts of the Haven. 

I have to agree with BirdTravels. I have sailed with my husband and separately with my adult daughter on different size NCL ships and we never had an issue with too many people. It gets real busy at the bars closest to the "paid dining rooms" and before and after shows. We have also sailed on the Pearl, Jewel, and POA, and enjoyed the smaller ship feel. I do have to say the larger ships have more venues to relax in and more restaurant choices. If there are any tendering ports there can be a back-up in the waiting to get off and on the ship. My daughter and I have the Escape booked to celebrate her birthday in June and we are really looking forward to it. 

I am curious about the Discovery spa pass. From reading above it seems the passes are 7-day. I will be on a 10-day cruise. Does couple apply to any two people in the cabin?

36 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

I will start looking around the end of January.  Thanks!  I assume we will do a mix of ship and private excursions.  We do have the $50 credit per room/per port, but I doubt that will go far.

Have a great time planning! 

48 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

There is a free bus at LAX that takes you to the Uber lot

A great share about the bus! We fly Southwest and the terminal is right by the lot, so you only walk inside the terminal. It was the walk once outside that for me was so long pulling my suitcases. Though for someone younger than their 70's and they exercise it would be a piece of cake. I know...I know...get on the treadmill. 😂 

17 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Absolutely not. We've been on the Escape 5 times in a mix of mini-suite and Haven. We have enjoyed every cruise. And have just booked another on the Escape. 

Could this be the cruise the daughter and I will finally meet you? We are going June 18th-25th 2023.

15 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Depends on what is important to you. The Escape is hands down my favorite ship. Mic drop. The last time I was on her was the 2nd to last week before the shut down. We had an aft Haven penthouse suite. The balcony was simply amazing. The haven enclave is beautiful but the pool deck is small and not adults only. There were some kids from time to time but nothing too outrageous. The outdoor sun deck is ages 16 and up I believe. The retractable roof was open much of the time and that really wasn’t my favorite (on Breakaway they kept it closed and climate controlled). We thoroughly enjoyed the outdoor dining area attached to the restaurant and the thermal suite on the ship is the best at sea imo. We also really enjoyed the draft house, the water front and Choir of Man (theater show).  The casino is large and offers a variety of current games. Smoking is a bummer but we survived. There’s a dueling piano bar, tons of dining options and endless things to do!

Thanks for the thermal suite plug. The daughter and I (I am a senior) booked a Haven Spa Suite as we both love the spa. I especially love the chaise lounges. You summed up Escape Haven nicely for me. We have stayed in Suites on the the non-Haven ships and the Haven and though they are basically the same there is a little tweak here and there.

4 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Just booked a Mediterranean cruise 610 days out!  ☺️ First time booking this far out and only second NCL cruise.  Approximately when do they start opening excursions?  

They will slowly start popping up. Try and wait until at least 18 months out as more will begin to show. We tend to book far in advance for a popular cruise and have found this to be when most of the good ones are there to book. We also book private/semi-cruise excursions and have never had an issue. In fact on our Med cruise we booked all semi-private with 8 total. We had a great time and met some fun people. It was great not a having a crowd. 

6 minutes ago, drumming cruisers said:

We are going on same cruise Feb 5. Also wondering about transportation from Long Beach airport to Port. Also is the cruise terminal at San pedro? since we can't check in util 21 days before cruise I can't see the port information on documents. 

Has anyone been to Ensenada? Any stores right off the ship? Or short walk from the ship?

 

TIA

In Enseada there is a bus which will take you into downtown Ensenada. They offer excursions etc. Most enjoy the La Bufadora and the ability to shop at the "swap meet" my loose term for the little open air shops up and down on the way to and from the blow hole after you stop. You can walk from the ship to the downtown area but it is a walk. I am older so we always take the bus to downtown. Though we have been many times we sometimes go to the La Bufadora area to shop and then come back and enjoy a bar downtown and walk back to the bus area for the return to the ship. If you do major shopping, as one time my daughter and I went to buy pots for our yards in varying sizes, and we took a taxi back to the ship. We live in California and it is about a 6 hour drive from my house - worth it for the wonderful pots as they cost almost twice as much stateside.

6 minutes ago, biggu said:

Hello! Departing on Feb 12 aboard the Joy for a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise. I am trying to figure out how to get from LAX to Long Beach area for boarding? I have seen Uber, Lyft, Taxis and assorted shuttles.  Can anyone give me some advise on which is best and if they run 24/7 because our flight may be a red eye. Thanks in advance for your help.

You will sail from San Pedro. When you pick up your luggage there are signs directing you to the Uber/Lyft/ etc pick up. Be prepared to walk. We have wheels on our luggage and there are benches to rest if you feel the need. It is not a hike but be it is a walk. If you are staying at an LA hotel first you will walk straight as you leave the luggage area and there are signs directing you to the hotel shuttle area for the hotels that offer them.

Looking forward to the Escape Haven in June 2023. We are booked in a spa Haven Suite because my daughter and I wanted to enjoy both. 

It is a personal choice if you will use both and your idea of checking it out once on board is a good one. As my husband and I aged we started preferring the spa more as we drank less 😉. I personally am a fan of the heated loungers and purchase a spa pass or book a spa cabin. My daughter and I have a spa suite coming up so we can enjoy both outside and inside.

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Coming back to state that I did not order food from outside the Haven in the Haven Restaurant on my trip that ended yesterday! We did make a few customizations based on what was on the Haven menu and made some special requests the day prior to a meal so we could have some yummy crab cake Eggs Benedict and a filet with our steak and eggs. I did find the morning serving of crab cake smaller than the evening portion, but with the same proportion of crab to breading (it was like 95% crab)!!! 

 

The only curveball (apparently) is when I ordered Swiss Cheese for my burger. After eating the restaurant manager, the lovely Dusan, apologized for the wait as they had to go "downstairs" to get Swiss Cheese. The server never told me that was the delay, just that the food was being prepared. Had I known, I would just selected a different cheese. Needless to say, I felt a bit bad after being told someone had to go in search of my Swiss....but, it appeared everyone else's meals came out with no delay due to my extreme (unknown) request. 

 

Happy Haven'ing everyone!

Next up in Haven Land Escape - June 2023. 

Thanks for the information! Is it Deck 6 on the Discovery Princess as well?

This will be interesting to see what will be offered. I would love to try the Suite Experience on Princess as I would like to compare to NCL Haven and MSC YC (sign...paid regular price-and no not rich just saved up for it. This bidding program sounds interesting as on my new return to Princess I booked an Aft Balcony on Discovery. Wondering about where the bidding starts etc.

45 minutes ago, flcraigs5 said:

rougebandit1441 I know I have seen it before on our AARP account site but cannot find it now. How do I get to it once I am logged in?

Once on AARP go to AARP Awards. Scroll down and you will see on the right hands side--see all awards. 

18 minutes ago, The Shrike said:

We're not rich, but when we go on cruises (2-3/year) we like to spoil ourselves.  I'm frugal by nature, comes from growing up not too far above the poverty line.  I clip coupons, I brew the beer I drink, make the hot sauce I use, make the sausage I cook, etc.  There are four things I splurge on:  good whiskey, decent but unspectacular cigars (except for a box of Ashton VSGs I get myself at Christmas), flying business class, and cruising in the Haven.

We are not rich either😊 We sail aft balconies or a Havana cabin on Carnival (the suites are not worth the money-but my son, daughter, and myself did do a Grand Suite recently on the Panorama- 70th birthday gift from my son for me). And no suite for me on my upcoming Princess cruise for the Eclipse either. I admit I have been cruising alot lately (the rebooked from COVID) but I budget for my vacations and at my age it is what I enjoy spending my money on. You will recognize me as the older lady wearing the out-of fashion clothes.

46 minutes ago, mnpurple said:

@Homeport5 My family has stayed in the Haven twice, Pearl in 2018 and Getaway this past March.  We also were on MSC Seaview at the end of May this year in the Med. This is a bit long, so if the OP doesn't think it is appropriate, have it removed.

 

We loved our stay on the Pearl even though it isn't the "full" Haven experience. We were in a 2 BR Family suite with 6 of us. This made it a more economical stay. It was great to have two private areas, but we still had 3 in one room. The Concierge was wonderful and we enjoyed the breakfast and lunch offered for Haven guests. There wasn't a dedicated dinner location, which was a bit of a downfall, but we had 3 specialty restaurants which worked OK. We loved the quiet Haven pool area and sun deck. There were hardly ever many people in there, but pool was small.  It was very helpful for us on this particular trip to have express on/off ship priority.  We frequented the bar outside the Moderno and LOVED their staff. The downfall was it didn't open until 4 PM.  I think staff were more personable on the smaller experience with fewer Haven passengers though. 

 

Our stay on the Getaway was similar in a 2 BR. At this time it was my husband and I, 24 year old son and his GF, 21 and 17 year old daughters. Embarkment seemed very disorganized and we weren't even escorted to the Haven.  The room was a bit cramped, but still an OK value having a full cabin. The Getaway is full Haven experience with it's own lounge and restaurant. The downfall is the menu doesn't change and the restaurant has very few window seats. I thought the food was great, but could use more variety. The rest of the family got a bit bored. They were able to get variety and check out the buffet which was close. The restaurant service was OK. They seemed a bit disorganized and it sometime took quite awhile to get through a meal. The MaitreD was very accommodating to help my daughter with vegetarian options and wanted to make her happy. He check with her earlier in the day about options.  I liked that we had a bar, which we didn't really on the Pearl, BUT it was always very busy and longer waits than I expected.  We had servers in the pool/deck area, but it was pretty infrequent and forget ordering food off their menu because it was super slow. 

 

So, I'll just do a quick pro/con of YC. We embarked in Naples, Italy, the experience was different than what I read from people here. The embarking process was definitely better than NCL.  We had a group of six again and had three rooms, for less than the price of the 2BR on NCL. So privacy was a pro. The YC area is definitely superior. It is at the front of the ship with views all around. Service was impeccable, maybe too over the top. There wasn't the same kind of "banter" with the bartenders, so maybe not quite as fun. The sundeck was a lot larger, larger pool, better food setup and availability.  We liked not having to provide a card every time we gots drinks. The restaurant was great and the menu changed every day. Service was more organized. Other pros: we each got Wifi on two devices, there is a mini bar in the room, they will bring drinks to your room and something that surprised me most was that the family loved the free access to the thermal pool/spa area, which was wonderful.  My family preferred our MSC YC experience, but still really enjoyed the Haven.

We have stayed in the Haven and also the Suites on the non-Haven ships. We loved the service in both types of experiences even though it also meant Cagney's for breakfast and lunch only. We have also sailed the YC on MSC (Seaside and Seashore). To me it is really different experiences and I agree the prices are less on MSC and the level of service is different. Everyone bent over backwards to ensure you had a great time. We did find our Seashore Butler to be not as wonderful as on the Seaside. Even though we are low key we would need to remind him to fill our fridge with more beer 😂. We will lose our Diamond aka used to be Black status as we will not be sailing on MSC within their one cruise every three years to keep it. I found that once we requested something the NCL Butlers were always on point. Post-COVID on POA both Jeffrey (Butler) and Gulsen (Concierge) hit it out of the park. I am looking forward to the Haven on the Escape with my adult daughter for her 1/2 century birthday in 2023. 

1 hour ago, Sand and Seas said:

We will be eating in Specialty restaurants also and usually are too full to enjoy dessert right after dinner.

 

I believe I've read here on CC that it's not unusual to ask for your dessert to be sent to your room?   I'm in 'the don't want to make a big fuss category, but if the Specialty restaurant can ask the night butler to deliver our desserts to our room for an after show late night treat we would love it.   Or, we could ask for a late night dessert from the Haven placed in room.   What would you suggest?

 

(We are about to have our 2nd Haven cruise of about 40 NCL cruises.  Didn't use the Butler at all on that first cruise and that was fine with us.  After this 2nd Haven we will happily be back to our regular cruising.)

 

We have had our dessert delivered to our cabin and enjoyed it later. There was never an issue. 

1 hour ago, mearsfansinboise said:

 

We ain't rich - even though we have sailed the Haven once and coming up again in 52 days (no, we aren't counting down excited or anything 🙌).  And maybe it's because we're not rich that it doesn't take much to impress us - lol

I am however going to steal the idea of asking our butler to bring us an appetizer or a dessert from the MDR - (to our room, with advance notice early in the day/once we see the menu).  We are foodies and I am not overly interested in the desserts in the Haven restaurant.  I'll do the cheesecake and maybe the chocolate cake (on separate occasions, of course) but, there may be something in the MDR that I would love instead.

My husband loves warm chocolate chip cookies in the evening when we return to our cabin. Every night they would be there. We always request during our introduction meet with the Butler. My DGD also requested on POA (Suites no Haven on this ship) and every night she got them including enough for my DD and myself. She could not wait to tell her Grandpa. on the Epic we have also requested a sandwich when we returned to the cabin (very port intensive Europe) and it was not an issue. These are requests which take nothing away as far as restaurant time from others also enjoying the Suite/Haven Life. THough they always add a little cheese to my scrambled eggs in the restaurant in the morning. 😉

18 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I think they do care.  If you managed a restaurant, you would want servers running back and forth from other restaurants bringing food into yours?  I think not.  It causes delays, longer wait times for other customers let alone working already over worked butlers to the brink.  I am not being argumentative but that is not a perk assigned anywhere from the Haven page.  Many years ago people would write here how they would get specialty dining appetizers for free in the Haven restaurant.  NCL stopped doing that several years ago.  If you want a specialty dining appetizer you must go to that restaurant and pay.   If you have been sailing NCL for over 10 years, you have seen the changes. The Haven restaurant is for guests of the Haven to eat. It is not an extension of your cabin to get food deliveries.  Having said that, you could score a ship where they may try and make it happen but its definitely not encouraged.  In 2010 on Epic when NCL had lobster night, it was an offering since the Haven did not have lobster on the menu.  But that again was the old NCL.

I agree with you on I never saw this mentioned. There have been a few changes but I have found those working in the Haven to be accommodating but then again we never ask for much. We sailed on POA in the suites (no Haven there) and we asked for our usual warm chocolate chip cookies. Our Butler God bless him brought enough for the three of us (my DD and DGD and myself) after I explained it was something Grandpa looked forward to each night when the two of us sailed and my granddaughter wanted to tell him she had them too when she got home. It will be interesting to see in 2023 if the Haven has changed when we sail the Escape. 

So I wonder why hasn't the PVSA act gone away like other things which have been added and subtracted.  

Excited to no longer have to add getting tested to my pre-cruise list! Thank you Carnival Corporation.