laurabegorrah

Thank you so much for the play by play!  I board tomorrow so it was nice to get some recent info!

Everyone enters the terminal together.  Haven is not separated until after security before check in, so no issues getting in together.  From what I have heard and seen, no one is checking boarding times or turning people away if they arrive at the wrong time.  I've not sailed out of NYC since well before covid, but 10:30 ish does seem to be safe assumption for Haven boarding. 

All ships that have Haven suites have a real Haven area.  However the Jewel class ships (Jewel, Gem, Pearl, Jade) are the only ones that do not have a lounge or restaurant.  They also have the smallest courtyard area, but on the flip side, they have the fewest Haven cabins.

Nope.  Unless you are booked in a Spa Haven room or buy a spa pass.  I think you also might get same day access if you get a spa service.  Most Haven courtyard areas do have a sauna...

On 2/15/2020 at 10:04 PM, DarkJedi said:

Epic buffet is in the front. Which is really annoying when you like aft balconies....

It's the opposite for me - I love aft, but most ships, trying to find a room that is not directly below the buffet or directly above the theatre can sometimes be challenging.  With food in front, many more room opportunities open up for me!

The biggest thing to keep in mind with in room dinning is the wait time.  Especially if you are ordering from multiple different restaurants.  We went crazy one night and ordered from 4 different places for out party of 7 in the Gem GV).  It took over 2 hours for everything to get pulled together lol.  It wasn't an issue b/c weren't in a hurry...but with kids that might get cranky if meal time is late, you might want to warn your butler and order as early as possible!

The experience of in room dinning is wonderful though - your butler will serve you one course at a time.  It's not like hotel room service where they jsut wheel a cart in and leave.  It's more like a normal restaurant experience -  having a waiter serve you - just in your room

21 hours ago, Buford T Justiice said:

I think its your TA politely saying don't call me again... My commission is decreasing each time you do this... But what the heck I'll blame NCL

Yeah - this....I change my answer to this lol

22 hours ago, Yo Adrienne said:

NCL is telling her that they only allow one "re-faring" for a price drop per booking...so they're actually doing her a favor by doing this. 

I think the key phrase here is re-faring vs cancelling and rebooking.  Maybe your TA is being conservative, not wanting to risk losing your specific room in the time it takes to cancel and rebook., and just negotiating a price adjustment on the current reservation.  Only a thought.  Could also be (as mentioned) different NCL customer service people will give you different answers to the same question.

5 hours ago, nikkosan said:

 my question is: are there Websites/OTAs/Cruise Consultants who can put together itineraries to create a "sort of" round the world itinerary on NCL?

I would assume a TA would be able to do the leg work for you and find the itineraries/ships that would create what you are trying to do.  It's always nice to have someone else puzzle together something this complicated for you lol

On 12/9/2019 at 6:27 PM, mapleleaves said:

This is probably the air:  https://www.katair.com/excursions/denali-park-day-excursions/

 

That was the excursion we took.  We were planning to do the bus both ways, but made a last minute call and booked through the cabins.  Having spent all day the day before and knowing we were going to be all day in the car the day after, the though of 12 hours on a bus just didn't seem appealing.  I think if we were spending multiple days in Denali, the bus both ways would be amazing....but on a tight schedule, it just made sense for us to maximize.

The bus pass price was included in the price of the tour.  We ended up on the camper bus back, but you could take any of the park buses back.  While not narrated per say, the driver will point out and stop for animals along the way.  

Our pilot was telling us that they have multiple flight paths that they can take, and they can't always circle the summit if the weather is crappy.  

This is how we planned out post cruise from Seward with a similar timeframe:

Day 1 - disembark ship and do a Kenai Fjords boat tour.  Take the 6pm train north to anchorage.  (Major Marine took care of getting our luggage to the train).  The train north from Seward has the most beautiful scenery in the whole Alaska RR Line.  We were there in July, and it was light for the majority of the trip.  We got to see an amazing sunset about an hour outside of Anchorage.  Spent the night in Anchorage (@ Quality Inn near the train station)

Day 2 - picked up rental car and drove to Denali (we rented from Enterprise).  Stopped for lunch and a bit of wandering in Talkeetna.  Stayed @ McKinley Cabins just south of the Denali park entrance. 

Day 3 - Short am hike at the mouth of Denali park. 11am plane tour up around summit of Denali and landing at Kantishna.  Took the park bus back out.  This saved us 6 whole hours on a bus (seeing same scenery twice) and was worth every penny as we were trying to maximize our time. Another night @ McKinley Cabins

Day 4 - drove straight back to Anchorage.  We decided to spend another night in Anchorage (@ Dimond Center Hotel) so we didn't have to worry about traffic issues on the drive home, but we could've easily made an early evening flight out.

Day 5 - Returned rental cal and flew home

On 11/17/2019 at 10:41 AM, matj2000 said:

 

We got the 3 dinner special included,  so I looked at buying another 3 nights but it is almost $500 for our family of 4.    I see no value in that.

 

I thought about just doing an extra pay restaurant and pay,   That is how I came up with the original question.

Short answer, you will see both the MDR and the buffet are still very well visited, and there aren't enough seats in the specialty places for everyone no board to eat there every night.  I wouldn't invest in buying extra nights of the package.  Use the 3 meals that you have in the al a carte places (ie: Cagneys, le bistro, la cuchina).  If there are nights where you don't like the MDR/buffet/o' sheehans as an option, you can go to one of the specialty places that is still one price - moderno lol. 

Side note, while La Cuchina is al a carte, you can still eat pretty cheaply, so if you could hitTeppenyaki as a free choice.  While Teppenyaki is single price, it's an expensive single price  - I would never pay for it.  It's not bad, but it's kind of meh - it's worth it at free lol

I think a lot depends on your daughter's interested.  As an 11 year old, I would've enjoyed a cruise like this - outdoor hiking and sightseeing type stuff.  And I was usually pretty content hanging out with adults and didn't need other kids to play with.  But if that is not her cup of tea, you might want to consider letting her stay home.  There is nothing that will spoil a vacaiton faster than a sullen tween lol

On 11/1/2019 at 10:39 AM, Momma Rene said:

Agreed!  I’ve done Princess and Celebrity suites. Everything was served beautifully. I’m sorry, but it looks like a breakfast buffet. I know they serve the hot items but that is Not why I paid for the Haven.  Mini bagels ??  Hmmmm.   Anywhere else Haven folks can go for breakfast?  

That is just the supplemental buffet.....the start of this thread shows all of the other breakfast menu options.  This is the only Haven exclusive dinning venue.  You can obviously hit up the MDR, O'Sheehans, or the full buffet if you wanted to add more variety lol

17 minutes ago, scendro said:

Is the Haven dining menu solely for Haven guests or would this also include Penthouse Suites?  I asked because we are booked in a Penthouse Suite on the Gem. 

So on the Gem, there is no Haven restaurant. Both Haven and Penthouse Suite guest have the option of breakfast and lunch in one of the specialty venues (I think in the Moderno location in Jewel class ships).  The breakfast and lunch menu I think are the same/similar to what is posted here.  There is not Haven/Suite dinner location

Just an FYI, both Le Bistro and La Cuchina have fabulous steak options on their menus that might end up costing you less.  If you end goal is just to have a delicious steak, I would check out those menus as well.  

On 11/3/2019 at 6:39 AM, big al said:

 

Which cabanas for 6 adults would you recommend? Like I said, a great view of the beach is prime, and lots of lounge chairs, too..A/C is nice, but I figure the Bahamas in Nov will not be too hot..

 

Big Al 

Based on the small cabana we rented last year, 6 people will not fit if everyone wants to be in the sun on loungers.  I think there is room for 3 MAYBE 4 loungers on the deck area if you squish,  but if all 6 of you want a loungers, you will not fit unless you invade your neighbors space lol.  Now, if 2 or 3 want to be on loungers, and the others are ok with comfy seats inside or loungers down on the public beach around, you'd be ok. 

Pretty much all of the cabanas have great views - not 100% beach front, but all with ocean/beach views.  As mentioned, the larger cabanas  are all up on a hill, so could be an issue for people with mobility issues.  But  I feel like the views up there would be incredible.

Don't forget that if you book on board, you can both use OBC to pay and get the $50 shore excursion credit.  But you are rolling the dice on them selling out.  And with the size of the Joy, it's a good bet. 

And in the Caribbean, the weather is pretty consistent year round, so summer and winter = similar temps.  

The view from our small cabana last fall:

I would definitely rule out the Dawn.  Loved the ship, but they don't have much of a spa compared to the newer ships.  I have not done the Encore yet, but have sailed Spa Haven rooms on both Breakaway and Escape (and Getaway).  Breakaway and Getaway are identical.  Of the 3, I think the Escape wins, mostly because it does have more room - and the snow room is kind of fun!  The the pool waterfall thing is loud, but for me it kind becomes background white noise.  I didn't notice if it was better on the Escape vs the other two, but I do remember hearing it in all 3.  Below is a link to my photos from the Escape

https://goo.gl/photos/TpmtwxRPYoQS3vvN9

15 hours ago, herdingdogmom said:

We can’t wait to sail out of New York soon!

 

Agree about Venice and San Francisco at sunset being spectacular.  So far, our #1 sailaway is Sydney.

Sydney was lovely.....but being towed back into Melbourne was pretty spectacular as well lol

I booked a self driving tour of Iceland a few years ago.  The company took care of hotel booking (you can request en suite), rental car (and transportation to and from the car rental place), they can book excursions for you as well.  They provide a list suggested attractions all along your route, a cell phone, a GPS device, and a WiFi hotspot.  It was the prefect combination of DYI and go at our own pace with having a bit of direction from a local.....

https://iceland.nordicvisitor.com/

The NCL app for messaging works well-ish.  The app itself is free, but you pay the fee when on board to get the communication functionality.  That fee is per person, not per room.  It works well enough to figure out where someone is or to make quick plans....but it's far from instant, and that lag can make it frustrating at times

Did this itinerary on the Escape inaugural TA and it was heaven.  We spend at least part of every day in the thermal spa. Roll Call put together a huge cabin crawl, so we got to see all of the different room types.  They had a bunch of special entertainment options that were only on board for that sailing.  One of the best cruises I have ever done.

Answer to #2 is that they do not hold any excursions for Haven guests.  The only Haven excursion benefit is, once on the ship, the Concierge can book tours for you through the excursion desk. But there is no priority status for booking to spots held back for possible haven guest usage.

I would say check outside of NCL for the same excursion.  Pretty much any excursion available through the ship,  will be available to book on your own directly with the tour company - for less $$!

Heard from one dog sled company that a cruise passenger stole one of their puppies last summer.  She made it all the way back to the ship before they got it back!

I would not recommend an actual husky as a souvenir.....

11 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

Up until i sailed on NCL, i've never even heard of Tanzanite. (it looks blue like a sapphire.)

 

 I have a lot of Tanzanite jewelry, none of which I purchased on a cruise ship.  It is a real precious gem.  Color ranges from a deep purple going down to a light periwinkle or almost lavender .  It is a relatively new gemstone, according to the article below, having only been discovered in the 1960s  and first marketed by Tiffany and Co.

https://geology.com/gemstones/tanzanite/