McGarrett5oh

Thanks. I will. I'm a bigger contributor sharing our experiences over on some of NCL & Virgin boards, so I'll be happy to tap the experience of the HA cruisers! Cheers!

Thank you for the detailed response, Roger. We have a HA prepaid bus transfer to the airport in Vancouver and not only have we never cruised on HA, we have never used the prepaid transfer on any cruise line, so you've helped us understand what to expect. Cheers!

Roger - Did you carry ALL your luggage off yourself or did you leave any outside your cabin door the night before and met up with it in the terminal? Our concern is making sure our luggage gets on the same bus we're on to the airport. Thanks

The last times I called this number in the Fall of 2023, I received the same initial phone tree options as I did today and spoke to what appeared to be a dedicated Haven On-Shore Concierge. However, I got the impression that the Haven Concierge is now part of a larger "On Shore Concierge Desk" that handles more than just the Haven. This impression came from the "on-hold" messaging (promoting their "group" concierge), the 13 minute wait time to speak to an agent (I had never waited more than a minute or two), NCL's cost cutting strategies shared in their Investor Day this week and the answers the agent gave me when i tried to poke at this impression. He did not confirm that he handles more than just the Haven but angain left me with that feeling. Nonetheless, I received excellent service from the representative.

Thanks. Would you recommend the PG over Tamarind? Also, was there an “Orange Night/Dutch Heritage celebration on one of the formal nights? B

Really well done thread Roger. Thank you. Also appreciate the photos on your website. Is there a reason you didn’t dine at the Pinnacle Grill?

Were you able to reserve before sailing or did you have to wait and book the boil once on board? Thanks.

How did you find your Aft Suite experience (aside from the night butler)? We’ll be doing the same in September. TIA. 😀

We were on the Prima last fall and had to skip Isafjordur since the harbor was still under construction and, as the captain explained, the Prima’s lifeboats are only that - lifeboats. They cannot be used as tenders so the Prima must dock or use the port’s tenders if they have them. I would assume the same is true for Viva. Another design shortfall on this new class of NCL ship IMO.

All the tours leave steps from the end of the "SeaWalk", which is the floating dock that comes out to meet the ship. You should be fine if you can be on time to disembark. The tour company will be waiting for all their Bus Tour passengers so you won't be alone. The only wild card is if there are two ships in port that day as one has to tender since the floating dock can only accomodate one ship. Prima likely will get priority. You can check the Geiranger port schedule here: https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/geiranger-port-547

Agreed! Based on this thread's advice our "realistic expectations" have yet to be met by the butlers, so our realistic expecations are now a notch lower. That way, we won't be disappointed and perhaps surprised and delighted by service beyond these expectations. Case in point, in the Retreat, the cabin steward set up a birthday surprise for my wife upon returning to our cabin from dinner. This thrilled her and delighted me as we were not expecting any type of recognition despite the key date being on our reservation. The Butler may have had some part in this but since we didn't see him nor did he acknowledge a role, we profusely thanked the cabin steward (and called him out in the post cruise survey) who DID ask how my wife liked the surprise. Sorry if this sounds negative as we really enjoyed so much of our "ship within a ship" experiences (dining room, bar, pool area etc).

@Battlement We also did the type of research you did on this thread and after long consideration decided to tip our butler on the Prima one half of what we had budgeted. For a 14-day cruise with 4 people in a 2 bedroom suite, I decided that about $10/day per person was the appropriate amount. And to @Sthrngary (and other's points), that it's hit or miss on the butler, we will NEVER tip in advance again. Despite the butler letter and the gratitude he showed us, we didn't really get the minimal service we were expecting. The cabin steward, who has a much harder job (not knowing if she would be tipped), was much more pleasant and attentive than the butler and only received her deserving tip at the end of 2 long weeks. Despite the wait, her quality of service never waivered. Recently we spent 10 days in the Retreat on Celebrity, whose Butlers are even more stretched (i.e. # of cabins they service), we opted not to tip in advance. We saw our Butler 2 more times the entire voyage (in the hallway and he never asked if we needed anything), yet saw our cabin steward several times a day. We tipped him, but not the Butler at the end of the cruise. So as we plan for a cruise in the Haven on the Breakaway, we have lowered our expectations and see the value in the restaurant and the ability to get away from the crowds, not the Butler service. As a test I mentioned in a previous post, we have always singled out exceptional service on post cruise surveys so on this next Haven cruise we're going to ask our attendants early on if we can take their picture with their name tag "for the survey". I have a feeling that may motivate them more so to provide quality service than the hope for a tip, as the comments on the survey have a signifcant impact on their long term compensation & promotions. They won't know whether they will get positive or negative reviews from us, but certainly can hedge their bet.

I have also found that if we’ve had good service from a crew member, we take a headshot photo of them with their name badge and tell them we will mention them by name in the post cruise survey. Of course you have to be sincere and follow through. The accolades by name in the survey are as good as gold for crew members in terms of future promotions and the increased pay that comes with them. I haven’t done this yet, but on our upcoming Haven cruise on the Breakaway this Fall, when we are delighted by a crew member, I’m going to take the picture right then to thank them. Instant gratification can go a long way in addition to @graphicguy’s excellent advice.

This fall we will be in an Aft Haven cabin as on the Breakaway as well & also just looking to relax on board, so very interested in your impressions of the ship, the aft and the Haven. Enjoy your cruise!!

Yes this is so. There are many design flaws in the bathrooms in the Prima 2 bedroom suite. Hooks and shelf space are issues. We bought these suction hooks and attached to mirrors (unlike most ships, the walls are not magnetic). Antimbee (10 Pack) Suction Cup Hooks for Shower, Bathroom, Glass, Door, Windows, Kitchen etc, Max Hanging up to 11 lbs - Waterproof Suction Cup Hanger Holder Removable (Transparent Dual Hooks Design) https://a.co/d/4sb8w5K You will also need to get creative on maximizing space throughout the suite. Have the butler remove all the accent pieces and books. Use the space on the window ledge. Your butler will stow any suitcases that don’t fit under the beds although we kept one in the corner of the master bedroom and used as a shelf. We enjoyed our Prima cruise but wish they had made some better design choices. Cheers!

Some may recall our thoughts & somewhat mixed review on the Prima's Haven last September on a 14 day itinerary to Norway and Iceland out of Southampton. Tomorrow we depart for 10 days on Celebrity Beyond in their Retreat. While the weather in the Caribbean will be different than Northern Europe, I hope to be able to share some "compare and contrast" about the non-weather experiences on these two ships, that both debuted in 2022, to this community, if it's of interest. I would say at this point the lead up to the departure has been quite similar between the two, with the takeaway being that it really is up to the passenger to control their destiny. I did not/have not heard from either prior to departure but have found both to be very professional and accomodating when calling their on-shore concierge phone.

7 days will fly by and getting off the ship in port, even if just to walk about a bit will change the dynamics. Plus the Beyond is a gorgeous ship with much to offer besides the casino and pool. IMO

Thank you for completing your story. It was so well done and helpful for our planning. Cheers!

What a terrific report! Very helpful for our cruise this summer on the exact same ship and itinerary. I do hope you add a concluding post from the Inside Pasage to arrival in Vancouver. If not, know that your timely insightful and detailed information was very much appreciated. Cheers!

It appears that the only fixed wing options at Denali are these 2 companies. Fly Denali lands on the Glacier. Denali Air stays airborne. The price difference and time in the air is proportional. We are trying to decide between the two for June 2024. We like the idea of the snow landing however some of our party are more comfortable that Air Denali has twin engine planes and are a bit larger vs. Fly Denali's single engine aircraft. Any experiences to share? PS. We can't get to Talkeetna and don't want to fly a helicopter. Thank you!

@Sthrngary Thanks. We have an FCC we must use up and are considering the Haven on Escape or Encore with the same/similar itineraries. Just starting the research into the two ships. BTW, this FCC came in part from your coaching on what to do if the price of your Haven suite drops after final payment. I don’t think I ever reported back on that nor did I THANK YOU for the advice! Cheers!

How about the Escape and its Haven?

Thank you for your concern @CDR Benson, @RocketMan275 & @Sthrngary We were fortunate to retire 10 years ago (we’re mid 60s now) and travelled the country in a motorhome for 7 years and 70,000 miles before turning back to cruising. A lesson learned, don't forget, things can change in a moment. One day this past August, after riding my bicycle 14 miles, I sneezed at lunch which has brought about 2 hospital stays and a cancer diagnosis. I’m grateful for the sneeze as we found the C early and prospects are positive. In the meantime, we have to slip our cruises in between scheduling doctors appointments. We are blessed to have amazing medical professionals collaborating on our case! To paraphrase @Sthrngary, "enjoy every moment" You don't know how many you may have left!

Somewhere along the line recently, I came across this motto. Perhaps from you@RocketMan275 We agree and have enhanced the motto by flying first class with our children (no grandkids). That motto coupled with myriad of variations on “You can’t take it with you” have taught us to figure out how to appropriately spend down the capital we’ve been fortunate to acquire through our working lives and a favorable compounding Wall Street over many decades. I recently received an unfavorable medical diagnosis completely out of the blue which reinforces all of this and leads us to splurges such as the Haven! Cheers!

There is an intangible value that each guest has to account for individually. In reflecting on our experience aboard the Prima, beyond the hard cost calculator “cipherin” (IYKYK) (ie room cost, food cost, drink package, internet etc), we found considerable value in the restaurant staff and bartenders remembering our names and our food and drink preferences, early disembarkation, front row seats at the shows, the escape from the on board crowds & generally being treated like ‘rock stars’. Is that enough to swing the value proposition our way? To each their own. For us, coupled with other Haven and non-Haven attributes, for us, YES. If I were the cruise line and I had to balance the hard costs and value equation so that the prospective guest feels they win, I’d focus on the intangibles & the “experience” that may not have any or very much additional hard costs associated to providing.