JGander

On 11/11/2023 at 2:41 PM, Arizonee said:

Our NCL cruise ship has day 3 in Germany, then day 4 at sea, then day 5 at another port in Germany. So far, NCL customer service says we can not skip the sea day and rejoin the ship on day 5. Why not? If I missed the ship accidentally, wouldn’t I get to rejoin at my own expense at day 5 anyways? I’d love to spend the time in Germany instead of at sea. (US citizen). Thank you.

 

Yes, you can. Inform the ship prior to departure that you will be staying overnight and will be rejoining the ship at X point.

This is not uncommon in Central America when people want to go see ruins that are too far inland for a day trip, you just overnight on land and rejoin later.

You are required to do some homework though. Make sure you have everything you need for a visa of the length of time you are staying, this varies by country. And you will need to meet any visa and medical requirements of any country you enter or pass through.

And I agree, as someone who doesn't like sea days I would far rather spend that day in Germany.

On 3/28/2024 at 7:41 PM, traveluphill said:

Looks absolutely amazing, doesn't it? 

Yes, it does,

1 hour ago, traveluphill said:

Has anyone done the public ferry to Ste. Margarite, an island about a half mile off the coast of Cannes? The island looks stunning. Just wondering if anyone had done this. 

Have not done it yet, but plan on doing it in May so we can visit the fort and the cell that the man in the iron mask was housed in.

Might bring snorkeling gear and go out to the underwater statues as well.

1 hour ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I dont know when they come out, but I will strongly recommend doing an NCL excursion over a private tour.  With NCL, there is no waiting in the long line to enter the Vatican.  Also, traffic in Rome is notoriously bad, so if the group is late, the ship will wait ( not so on a private tour).  I did Rome/Vatican tour many years ago, and our group was 2 hours late getting back to the ship.  The guide was in constant contact with the ship, so they knew what was going on.  If we were in a private tour, the ship would have sailed without us, and we would be responsible for catching up at the next port.  It may be pricey, but can you put a price on peace of mind?  

We have known several people to be left behind when the ship pulls out, and they have been on ship excursions, including an entire dive boat.

They leave you, and their staff behind. What they do do is pay for your hotel and transfer to the next port.

Add your name to any custom magnets, this makes them less attractive.

Place a pineapple on them and people will be less inclined to steal them for fear of being labeled a swinger.

Yes, I would have to go back and check which ports as it was several years ago.

You will need to plan in advance as most places do not accept day tourists, AK is a very different diving experience in most places.

It was also odd how cavalier DMs were about picking up the wildlife, as a normally Carib diver it was really weird to me.

Overall, the thing I remember most was it was colder than CA diving. Wife thought it was OK, but way too cold for her.

19 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

This really bothers me.   

 

Not that they took care of your niece.   I think that's great and they should.   What bothers me is it seems so difficult to get my diabetic wife a sugar free dessert at the Haven restaurant.   The following are replies we've received when we asked.  Keep in mind that litterally EVERY other restaurant on the ship has sugar free/no sugar options available. 

 

-we only offer what's on the menu

-have you tried the buffet 

-we might have some fruit left over from breakfast 

-I don't understand 

-you should have contacted the special needs desk/pre-departure concierge (I had contacted both

-we don't have that because no one has ever asked

-you should tell your butler to get something and bring it to your room

-and just this morning I got an email saying it's up to the chef on board and I would need to discuss it with him

 

Yes, the Haven which claims you can customize things is not willing to go to the buffet/main dining room or anywhere else to get the sugar free dessert already on offer to others.   It's pretty frustrating and really just makes her feel bad for being a diabetic. This has happened on every single one of our cruises that had a Haven restaurant!  Ironically,  it's never been an issue on ships that didn't have a Haven restaurant when we asked at lunch. 

Hmmm, this being my first cruise since becoming diabetic I think this should be interesting. Will have to remember to bring my butler phone to the restaurant and order the butler to deliver the dessert to the restaurant table. And then make certain the concierge knows my opinion of this problem.

We are in an aft suite on the Escape for May.

The only aspect of the Haven I really care about is getting off the ship first without waiting in line. Otherwise I mainly am paying for the larger room and larger aft balcony.

As for the meals, If I can eat in a strange city and try foods I can't normally get, I will. Be it street food or a high end restaurant, I am happy. Last October we got Cuy from a little old lady selling it on the side of the road and cooked in an open air brick oven and ate at Central in Lima for the same trip. Both were excellent experiences.

The issue for myself, like others, is not the lobster tail, it is the nickel and diming after paying 3x the price of a normal balcony.

As DaveChipp mentioned, the soot has always been an issue with the aft balconies on the Epic, but more than made up for by the larger balcony IMHO.

7 hours ago, UKstages said:

NCL values all its guests (except, perhaps, the veuve-drinking , hash brown-eating, cookie-eating guests)

You forgot the Grey Goose drinking guests, they don't value them anymore either. 🙂

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

having cruised haven and non-haven, suites and standard balconies, as well as the erroneously named club balcony suites, i can tell you that the "haven halo" is quite real. one does not need to wave anything. the keycard is coded and cabin status and latitude status pops up on the screen at every venue. the staff is trained to take it from there. all things being equal (and they are not), a haven guest, a suite guest, or a sapphire or diamond guest will absolutely get preferential treatment.

 

(at the local and the MDRs there are often raised eyebrows, because the host(ess) often doesn't understand why you would choose not to dine in the haven. so, you're practically treated like a celebrity.)

 

NCL provides an expedited in-port escort when haven guests return to the ship. they provide reserved seating in the theatre. they provide access to expedited onboard immigration clearance (on sailings where this is offered, such as canada or to certain ports in the UK). why would one think NCL hasn't trained its employees at every customer touchpoint to recognize haven guests and attempt to provide them the very best service?

 

 

you've chosen to take an innocent comment based on my personal experience and twist and turn it into a commentary on "karenism" and "BS," the basis for which which exists only in your imagination.

 

folks are free to provide their personal experiences as to whether or not a haven cabin or elite latitudes status carries any import outside the haven. what they probably shouldn't do is create elaborate fantasies involving other forum contributors. if you as a haven guest or a diamond guest have found that your status doesn't matter as you travel about the ship, then by all means say so and share with us your experiences.

 

 You are quoting items which are specifically perks of the suites and Haven, such as priority disembarkation or boarding, which are very different than simply getting service at a bar.

Same with main dining if you chose to eat there.

While you may believe that it is getting you something, simply asking for a window seat will typically do the exact same thing, and not asking can get you anywhere even with your Haven card, as others have stated. And at a bar, you get your service before you show your card, unless you already have it out and have it presented to show it off.

As I said, outside of Haven I have never been treated differently based on what card I had, but this is most likely because my key card lives in my wallet and not on display. When it does get displayed I have never had service suddenly change from what it was to somehow make me think my card was magically making things better or easier.

18 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

There's an outside? 🤔

It is that area between the Haven door and the gangway.

Or, since we prefer the aft suites, its the big section of the ship.

20 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

without commenting on the nature of self entitlement, which can be an attribute of any cruiser, regardless of status or cabin class, i'm here to tell you that the haven key card does indeed matter a great deal outside of the haven area.

 

there is what i have dubbed "the haven halo" that follows a haven guest around the ship. if you go to the MDR or the local, for instance, you are more likely to be seated more quickly or by a window than somebody in an inside cabin. that's just the way it works. it's all done very discreetly, but haven status - as well as elite latitudes status - is absolutely a factor in certain customer touch points throughout the ship.

Having cruised Haven and non-Haven, suites and standard balconies, I can tell you that this is either your imagination or you are waving it around to create the Haven Halo affect in the same way that a Karen running around asking for managers creates an affect of people who just simply don't want to deal with their BS.

10 hours ago, LloydJr said:

That only applies to 2.3% of cruisers.  The rest are nice people who couldn't care less about flashing around "special status."  I wish there were more, because they amuse me greatly.  

I agree, and many of those are Haven users who think that the card matters outside of the Haven area.

10 hours ago, benel204 said:

@JGander Since you are an experienced NCL and Haven cruiser who tends not to stay in the Haven proper, I'm curious what will be the top Haven value/benefits/perks you'll take advantage of on this port-intensive cruise coming up?  (aside from the large Aft facing cabin)

I gave that a lot of thought before we upgraded to Haven, so would appreciate your perspective. 

Honestly, not a lot. Most of the on-ship stuff would be on sea days, and we have none.

The Escape appears to have a nice, if small, sauna to use so we won't be getting the ThermaSpa, and a private hot tub. Sadly the hot tub is likely to be closed since we will be in motion at night shortly after we return.

The restaurant is mostly a waste this trip, we will only be able to get breakfast twice, and dinner more often but it will depend on what we found to eat on shore if we attend.

The best amenity to us is the ability to get off the ship right away. We will use the balcony a lot, we enjoy sitting out on it in the evenings and relaxing on the loungers while the ship takes us to the next stop.

It makes you feel good to flash your special status key card around.

That's about it.

6 hours ago, LloydJr said:

There is no such thing as a "check-in time."

You can not check in before they open the offices and start processing people.

And you can not check in after the ship has departed.

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

@JGander My motto is "Realistic Expectations" on everything cruise related.  I have found, the butlers on every NCL Ship have been grossly over worked with way to many Suites to work with.  Some are better then others.  Butlers in general are hit or miss on all cruise lines I have been on.  

 

Please also remember, Butlers on NCL do a certain set of duties and the rest is done by the Haven Concierge Desk.  By splitting the duties where other cruise brands have the Butler doing everything, the NCL Butlers can have more suites.  In theory anyway. 

 

If you have never had a butler, you will enjoy the nicety.  If you have had one on a Luxury line, you will instantly notice the difference.  The best approach is clear and transparent communication upfront on what is important to you and your elevated cruising experience. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Oh, I agree, but as a fan of the Epic aft suites, the issue of poor quality butlers was brought up several times. And I mean poor quality on the very basics.

We honestly could completely skip the butler, especially on our next cruise since we are in port every day, and we tend to get off with the first group and back on as late as possible.

1 hour ago, benel204 said:

I thought so 😊

I'm curious if there is one butler that services all the aft suites, or maybe a couple of decks of aft suites ?

 

There are 14 suites aft, so I hope it is more than 1 butler!

1 minute ago, benel204 said:

We are leaving Barcelona on May 5 to Trieste May 16.

 

OK, I'm tired. Yes, the 5th, the 6th in Palma.

Call NCL directly to discuss this.

The latest check in time is your arrival time, this gives them plenty of time to process everyone and get them on board. If you are arriving a few minutes before they pull the gangway you may not have time to actually get processed and checked in.

20 hours ago, benel204 said:

Hello all,

I have a question regarding room service when staying in a Haven suite.

We upgraded to a Haven penthouse suite for our May Mediterranean 11-night cruise on the Escape and really looking forward to trip. (Thanks again to @Sthrngary and others on this thread for the great information about Haven and encouragement to treat ourselves!)

This is our first NCL cruise and Haven, and I've combed the boards thoroughly, but wasn't clear about Haven room service.  One thread stated that they were not able to order Haven for room service because they were not in the Haven area (I believe they had a Haven Aft Penthouse).

 

There are a couple of ports where we want to get an early start, and therefore may opt for room service for breakfast.

 

Question:  Our cabin is not in the Haven proper -- can we get room service from the Haven, or only from the room service menu? And if we can order room service from Haven, is room service available from the Haven only during Haven dining room hours?    (I realize we can get 24 hour room service from the room service menu, but I am asking specifically about Haven room service.)

 

Leaving from Barcelona on the 6th? If so we will be in one of the other Aft suites.

A lot of confusion exists about these suites because they used to not be "Haven" suites, so you got some perks, but not all perks, of the Haven. You also got terrible butlers who didn't want to run to the back of the ship from their precious haven up front. I guess enough people complained and they added the aft suites to the Haven experience.

This will be our first time on the Escape, love the aft suites on the Epic.

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

First, we asked for the menu from the hostess for the courtyard menu. She said no. We then asked our server if we could order from the courtyard menu. I think it is called snack. I dunno! Anyway, same thing. No can order from inside the restaurant. I suggested he (the husband) go order his chicken wrap and bring it in to eat with me. He didn't want to. We tried again a couple days later with the same answer. That time the husband just ordered off the kid's menu as the hot dog is there. You can get a kid's hot dog, but not a grown up courtyard/snack menu hot dog. No chicken wrap though!

 

Not sure where the mandate came that one cannot order from the snack menu in the restaurant. Head office. Head Haven chef. Restaurant manager. I was thinking that maybe the items came from a separate kitchen. Sounds like that is opposite of what you saw on Escape. Very interesting (and head scratching).

Pull Malicious Compliance:

Pull out your Butler phone in front of them and ask them to get you an item from the snack menu and deliver it to you in the restaurant.

Stay in the aft suite.

We will do the Haven when it includes the aft corner suites, but if not we use the balcony way too much, and only when the ship is not in port.

The large front balconies are not as usable when the ship is at speed in the evenings, which is mainly when we use it.

10 hours ago, edspec said:

I would be furious if I was on this cruise.  All of us understand changes/eliminations of ports due to weather or unforeseen mechanical problems.  This doesn't sound unforseen, more of a bait and switch.  

 

This sounds exactly like bait and switch, especially if they knew in advance and did not tell anyone.