cruiseny4life

Ahh! Ok that makes sense - the family part. Of course the kids in the Haven makes sense if they bother you. Personally they don't bother me (I worked in a school for several years). We were in the Haven during spring break and very few kids seemed to be in the courtyard so I didn't expect that to be a problem. . Thanks for helping me understand why those in the Haven would want the Vibe.

Hey everyone - I know NCL does not offer an afternoon tea, so I am on a project to create my own afternoon tea. I'm curious if anyone else has done this, especially those staying in the Haven? I know the butler will bring me treats, but I need ideas to ask him for (room service type). I'm thinking some sweets (mini cakes/scones/etc.) and tiny sandwiches (kind of like the mini-BLT). Has anyone successfully done this? What did you do? What type of sweets and savories did you order? Are there other options I'm not thinking of? I'd love to hear y'alls experience if you have done this for you and your special darling.

I think the food quality will go up in this case. It's easier for line cooks to learn a few different meals and prepare them every single night, kind of like most land-based restaurants. The meals in the Haven are phenomenal and those are always from a fixed menu. I'm sure it is to keep the meal quality with the different cooking skills in the kitchen. I'm not saying MDR food will be as great as the Haven (ingredients and experience matter), but I do truly believe the dining experience in the MDR will be better without a rotating menu. As for the last part - I don't think they'll be taking advantage of local products, based on seasonality/location. Not when they need to order enough food for 2,000+ people.

I suspect you're correct, but I don't see many reasons for someone in the Haven to purchase this. Perhaps the balcony cabins like Club Balcony Suite, Family Suites, etc. And, yes to the Latitude categories!

@SeaShark - this seems to be why the OP believes it is NCL's fault. I would agree with the OP, except that I would not have trusted NCL to provide pick up the luggage. To be fair, it's pretty challenging for a passenger to make arrangements with an airline while on the cruise - though if this were me I am sure I would have purchased the streaming internet package to have access to email and WiFi calls. Hopefully they would actually go through and not just buffer. The OP tried to work through the airline/NCL system. While probably not the best option based on other's experiences, this should be an option that works fine. Sounds to me that NCL messed this one up and you're not quite getting that by quoting the post that doesn't have all the information necessary to form an opinion.

It's the best part of the ship! My husband and I won't travel without the thermal spa. In fact, on an upcoming cruise we opted for the Haven Spa Penthouse, rather than a Courtyard Penthouse just so we could have the spa included in our room. Little advice - the first sea day it will probably be really crowded. Keep coming back throughout the day to find the time when few are there. It is so worth it, but there may be times when no stone loungers are available. Of course this is mainly on full ships which ours was back in April. Yahoo spring break and parents getting away from the kids in the thermal spa! I cannot speak highly enough about how great the thermal spa is - it's worth the $299!

Thanks Shrike! I forgot this is the discussion I referred to myself as a fat cow....ugh my memory.

@KeithJenner and @Coastalbreezes thank you! That's kind of what I thought, but sincerely appreciate the confirmation. The wine pairings sound good, unfortunately not on sailing. I'll have to watch for those in the future.

Hey fellow NCL lovers! I heard tell of a chef's table. In August I'm cruising on the Getaway and am wondering if anyone knows about chef's table. Is there one? I'm thinking not, but hoping I'm wrong!

*cough cough* medical necessity...I don't feel so well. I would never do such a thing. Welp, add another $200 to our cruise in August. Oh well, it'll be worth crashing in a comfy bed for a few nights without four dogs around.

Ok @graphicguyyou need to keep good care of the Getaway! We just booked a 5 day cruise for August/September on her. Also...have you been watching a wee bit too much of Cruise with Ben & David?

I really need to use my Cruise Next certificates soon...I was looking at late 23 or 24. Gotta convince the husband we need a cruise this year or we'll potentially lose our money! At this point would be ethical to sell the Cruise Next to someone (Cruise Critic, I am not soliciting). Come on NCL, keep steaming until we've gone on another cruise with you!

7 days over 6 days any day of the week! But, you should ask this on the Carnival forum too. I bet everyone will choose Carnival just as everyone here is choosing NCL.

The only thing I wanted at Cagney's was mac and cheese. I was so disappointed when the waiter said they didn't have this anymore. The baked potato was not a good substitute, nor were the cold onion rings.

I know! I've got to look at SYR and ALB more often. I always forget about them as I'm so used to flying out of Rochester, even though I now live in the Utica area. Oh well - when the time's right, I'll get back on a ship.

That's good! I've done a few dummy bookings just to see the airfare prices from ROC to wherever (Miami, Orlando, Heathrow) and all have been about twice as high as what I could find on Google Flights.

Take a look on YouTube for advice on where to book a room - Tips for Travelers has a great video on this. You can also peruse the cruise ship deck plans (for free) on NCL's website to see where a specific room is. I'll quickly summarize the Tips for Travelers video - probably missing some as I watched it awhile ago: 1. Make your room the peanut butter/jelly to the bread. You want your room to be in between two stateroom decks. 2. Don't select a stateroom above or below a nightclub or restaurant. 3. Be sure the sundeck or pool deck is not above you. On the deck plans, find a few good rooms, then just google "NCL" + ship name + stateroom number. You'll likely find the basic information with square footage, balcony size, and possibly some photos of the stateroom. You could also do this on YouTube as someone may have created a video with the stateroom you have in mind. As for finding the cheapest balcony - well I don't have advice for you on that.

After booking NCL we discovered the same thing. Unless you really dig into the terms and conditions you just don't see that the deals aren't as good as they sound. Marketers get away with a lot of flat out lying. Free excursions? Only if it's $50 or under and what worthwhile ones are? Free internet? If you only want 150 or so minutes. Free drinks? Well technically yes, but gratuities. Free meals? Well again, technically yes, but gratuities. Free airfare? You pay double for the first person, so not really. Even though I'm still pissed at NCL, I recognize that all cruise lines do this and as a consumer it is really my responsibility to know what I'm booking. Ergo, I'll still be cruising NCL. The Haven product is such a great one that I truly don't think I'd find the same experience elsewhere. And by experience, I mean everything from rooms, to restaurant, to dress code (or lack thereof), to thermal spa (I know, extra)...anyway, NCL it is for the foreseeable future. I do have this dream of taking a Cunard sailing. I'd find the absolutely most outlandish tuxedos and other dress wear so that I would adhere to their dress code, but piss the tuxedo and ball gown crowd off. Just a dream...I'm not going to spend a few grand to do that no matter how much fun it sounds!

Apparently Bermuda has a history of being homophobic, even though laws have been passed making discrimination of LGBT+ illegal. I didn't feel any discomfort in Bermuda at all, but when I got home I realized I should have done some research. I did and it seems it can be unfriendly. Thankfully that wasn't my experience and I'm sure plenty of us have a wonderful time there. My main point is just research the location(s) you're going so you know what to expect. Obviously there could be a hater anywhere, even in the most chill, friendly place ever. It's too bad we can't ever let our guard down, but eh, that's the world we live in.

Also, and I cannot believe I forgot this...it's that old brain of mine!! Almond croissants from the Haven are the absolute best food item on the entire ship.

On the Getaway in April I had the best milkshake I've ever had in my life - the banana milkshake at American Diner was phenomenal on embarkation day. It was still really yummy, but not as good on our last sea day. Instead of chocolate shavings, their were what appeared to be crumbled up cocoa puffs on the rim of the glass. The milkshake itself was so good though. I'll spend that $5 every cruise for the milkshake. I wasn't particularly pleased with Cagney's or Teppanyaki, but the Haven Restaurant was excellent. The pork belly appetizer is excellent, as was being able to order a prime rib and lobster tail(s) as often as I wanted. My husband would definitely say the shrimp cocktail. Just because it's not on the menu, doesn't mean you can't have it. He would order it with 6 or 9 shrimps, instead of the 3 that come with it. Other than the milkshake I can't say anything was the best I've ever had, but those are my favorites we had on the ship!

Not sure if anyone else responded - still getting through the thread, but milkshakes are definitely not included with the free at sea beverage package. I don't know about the premium plus, but we had to purchase the milkshake.

That quote can describe the markets for the last 3 - 6 years. They have certainly not acted normally. This is one of the reasons I have a hard time listening to economists - even though it's human created, I think predicting the market is as accurate as predicting a snowstorm today for January 27th.

That is true! I suppose you have to go once, and since I went by on many occasions without stopping, I finally decided to stop. I wasn't really impressed. Now just down the road is a restaurant with some darn good mozzarella sticks and a yummy Indian Taco! I'd pass up the Wall Drug cafe for that place anytime.

Had I known about the free baked potato I certainly would have stopped there many times! I lived in Gardiner/Mammoth for five years so frequented Idaho on trips to civilization (SLC). 🙂 And I'm all in for a baked potato bar!