Robert Peel

Many thanks

Thanks for the quick reply

We are sailing on the Breakaway at month end for the first time and staying in the Haven. Can anyone tell me for bar service at the pool area do you have to enter inside into the Haven bar, or is there a separate bar out by the pool to get drinks? From the pictures and video I have reviewed I can't see one.

Thanks.

We are sailing on the Breakaway at month end for the first time and staying in the Haven. Can anyone tell me for bar service at the pool area do you have to enter inside into the Haven bar, or is there a separate bar out by the pool to get drinks? From the pictures and video I have reviewed I can't see one

2 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

Agreed, however I can see both point of view.  Love the term "Butt Kiss".  I have worked with people all my life.  Even in the Haven, a great attitude, not being afraid to ask for what you want, and a quiet tip to bar tenders make a huge difference.  Recently, we were at the Haven Bar, I met a very nice lady (I am married so this was not a date), she seemed upset that she was not served quick enough.  The Bar staff was busting it.  The Bar tender saw me, smiled and ask me what I and my friend wanted immediately.  She was taken back.  Then I told the Bar tender to take care of my friend for the week.  She thanked me on the last day.  Some get mad when I say I tip with cash on day one.  Others thank me for the thought on how to improve their time. Others argue and say they should have to do that.  I say, I want to be a Rock Star for 7 days.  Cruise well. 

Well said about tipping, and many can learn from your example as well !! It goes along way, as does actually having a friendly conversation with the staff member.

Our experience in the Haven has been the same as your own, you get what you give, and it only requires a few dollars and some friendly genuine conversation.

We had the same issue in finding a hotel for one night pre cruise with many hotels requiring a minimum two night stay. We are three couples travelling together and first time actually staying in San Juan for an overnight vs a port of call. 

Our travel agent after searching many locations for us found the Costa Bahia Hotel Paseo Caribe   

Reviews seem to be hit or miss but location is good and we are only there for one night, and the prices were reasonable. Maybe worth investigating.

5 hours ago, sasand01 said:

We will be going on our 6th NCL cruise on Feb 23rd-March 1st and I've never been on the Epic. I'm so happy to read this thread and see some positivity.  I started getting a little worried after reading the negative reviews!  Thanks all for calming my fears!! 

Sasand01 you will enjoy the EPIC, my family have sailed on it three times now over the years and are slated for a fourth cruise this year on the EPIC again. It's design is different than other ships but certainly not off putting. The crew are excellent, venues and entertainment great and lots of variety, and you are in the Caribbean for a week.

Someone else commented about negative reviews and I think nailed it...... "Over 4000 passengers a week, times 52 weeks equals over 200,000 passengers a year that sail on the EPIC" and when you compare those numbers vs the numbers of poor reviews, it puts it in a better perspective. The vast silent majority are happy to cruise on it and if not, after their first cruise they will chose another ship, but there are many repeat passengers on the ship who enjoy what it has to offer.

Enjoy your cruise.

2 hours ago, Joken35 said:

We are booked through NCL for airfare on a cruise to SA. Once the flight info was sent to us, we were able to change our seats on one leg of this flight.

Just to add to this, we are a party of seven flying from Toronto Canada to San Juan in February, 6 of us were able to book when the NCL Air Promo was on and paid $256 Canadian each for our return flight, the 7th member travelling with us booked after the Air Promo was over and is paying $1500 Canadian return to be on the same flight.

We received our confirmations for airfare approximately 55 days out from NCL and with our flight reservation number we all were able to access the Air Canada website and confirm and upgrade our seats without issue, and just pay for the difference.

We are all quite pleased with what NCL arranged, they are direct flights and leaving and returning at decent hours.

We all would not hesitate to book with this promotion again.

8 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

My wife and I spent a week in St. Maarten for our honeymoon 31 years ago.  The weather was in low 80's and sunny the whole week we were there, except the night we went to a romantic restaurant on the French side.  That evening, it poured for about 15 minutes while we were eating.  We came out and found that the seats in our Suzuki Samarai were drenched.  I was so mad when the restaurant would not refund the entire cost of our meal and the St. Maarten Tourism Council would not refund the rest of our trip costs!!!

 

 

 

🤣

Now that's funny !!!

I often wondered if people actually read what they wrote before they hit send and send it out for the world to see? And if they actually do read it and then still send it out.... WOW.

Now legitimate complaints are fair game, but writing because it was too sunny, or the water was too wet, someone needs to a grip on reality and what real problems are.

I have learned one thing though "THEY WALK AMONG US !!!"

A drink perfect for every occasion !!!!

Caesar

Cocktail
Bloody Caesar made with 2 shots of vodka, a pinch of horseradish, a little spicy with 5 dashes of tabasco, made muddy with about 10 dashes of Worcestershire, all over ice, and filled to the top of a celery salt and spice rimmed glass with Clamato juice.
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Vodka
Served	on the rocks
Standard garnish	stalk of celery and wedge of lime
Standard drinkware	Highball glass
Commonly used ingredients	6 oz. Clamato Juice 1–1½ oz. vodka 2 dashes hot sauce 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce Celery salt Freshly ground pepper Lime wedge 1 crisp celery stalk
Preparation	Rim glass with celery salt, and a lime wedge.

Thank you for that menu, certainly lots to choose from and still stay inside the package

So an interesting situation with our group of 7 flying from Toronto to San Juan in February. We had previously checked with NCL on flights and were told nothing had been confirmed 

The other day several members our group ( 3 separate cabins but all linked together for bookings) received emails from the airline carrier indicating a flight itinerary  change, it provided a reservation number and when this number was checked on the airlines reservation system the correct passenger names and amount  paid for the flight were displayed but seat assignments were not 

A follow up call by our travel agent to NCL seeking confirmation of this information was met with “they had no information on the flights and the reservations would be distributed 45 days prior to departure “

We all found it interesting that the airline knew our flights ( and they were direct flights as well which we are very pleased with), we knew the reservation number with the airline and even the amount NCL paid for them yet NCL does not have that or will not release that information.

I am just wondering if anyone else has had that experience? We are certainly quite happy with these flights and the price we paid for them with NCL  versus what we would have had to pay on our own, we are saving a substantial amount but curious to see if anyone else has had a similar experience with their bookings?

3 hours ago, wdsted said:

We're in the Haven on Epic this Sunday out of San Juan.  It will be interesting to compare our experience to our first time in Epic's Haven 4 years ago.  The layout, Posh, and the sheer enormity of Epic's Haven make it the best one in the fleet IMO.  Just hope they don't even consider closing the bar early!  

I will be anxious to hear your thoughts on how the ship compares to your last trip upon your return. We are on the Epic in February and in the Haven. It it has been five years since we last travelled in the EPIC Haven and previous  to that spent two other holidays in the Epic Haven and our family enjoyed ourselves immensely on each trip

Hoping that you have a great vacation 

On 10/13/2019 at 6:47 PM, Robert Peel said:

We are three couples flying in a day earlier for our Epic Cruise from San Juan at the end of February. Leaving Toronto on the Saturday for our Sunday cruise departure 

 

Has anyone taken this route before and if so how were the connections? We see that there are a few direct flights however several also with connections and are wondering if anyone can share past experiences on their connections and flights?

Just bumping this thread up to see if there has been anyone who as taken this route with the NCL Free Air Promo recently or has received their flight itenerary for a pending trip?

On 11/1/2019 at 3:42 PM, townsla said:

Ya'll are horrible influences because I pulled the trigger.  I figured I would kick myself for not taking this when I had a chance.  I've decided to not tell my family and just surprise them when we board.  

Excellent choice and the looks on their faces when they learn onboard what is happening with the upgrade is worth every penny. The kids will feel like rock stars getting escorted onto the ship and the service you will receive in the Haven is second to none. Our boys remember fondly the extra special treatment they received from the Haven staff to make their trips very memorable.

You made the right call !!

Brings back fond memories , looking forward to more additions , staying in the Epic Haven at the end of February 2020 and can’t wait to revisit the restaurant 

Yes and with the current exchange rate it makes it that much more appealing 😀

Glad to hear that you have been able to visit your northern cousins, it is a great country to see coast to coast

2 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

You might want to read this current thread:

 

 

Thank you Turtles06, I read that thread earlier and from my read on it and a few other threads it seems for every 5 sad tales of woe there are just as many positive experiences 

For us the price to fly with NCL’s promo was nowhere what we could have booked ourselves and we looked at many different alternatives 

We are hoping for clear skies and hopefully a smooth direct flight but also prepared to see a few airports along the way if that occurs

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

I’m from Puerto Rico. During the last few years, San Juan has gone from zero nonstop flights to Canada to 3 airlines (Air Canada, Westjet, and Air Transat) all flying nonstop to Toronto, and two of them now flying nonstop to Montreal as well. Keep in mind that these routes are seasonal and only operate on the weekends, possibly with cruisers in mind. 

 

With that said, that these routes exist doesn’t mean that Norwegian will book you on one of these nonstop flights. As previously mentioned, Norwegian will put you on whatever it’s most affordable to them, which will most likely include a connection. 
 

Whatever you end up with, have an excellent cruise!

Thank you Tapi, yes we actually changed our flight from Montreal to Toronto as it provided more options and direct flights into San Juan for us

Its nice to see Canadian airlines making it easier for we Canadians to visit your island

3 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

 

Speculating - do a dummy booking on the most likely airline(s) to service that route/itinerary.

 

Best that you go with an airline that has more than one flight frequency daily -

An airline with one flight a day is not the best choice

 

Delta would be one with frequent non-stops flight out of Atlanta - San Juan

American would be a likely Miami - San Juan

There are also connections via NYC and Chicago

United may have something to offer

I think that Jet Blue is a recent entry in that SJU market

Plot your origin flights to those connection points.

I highly recommend what you are planning - arriving a day early for your cruise

You are going to have a 5+ hour flight non-stop questionable and if connecting flights

2-3 hours to the connection point and then again another 2-4 hours for the final leg to San Juan

In planning those connections allow reasonable time - 30 minutes to an hour really not the best idea !

Look for 2 hours to have an edge for both you and your baggage to be on the same plane

 

Leaving the origin in the 8-9 am range arriving San Juan after 4 pm (time zone change)

 

Factor February weather in your travels - - - best to have a cushion in your travel plans

 

Did this in February '09 traveling on Delta from MSP - ATL - SJU  -  Southern Caribbean Carnival Victory

Arrived SJU a day early in the late afternoon - if catching the ship same day it would have been hectic.

 

This should give you some ideas and get you started with your plans - - -

 

Thank you for the comments and research, we have also looked at the various connections at play in this and we know it can be anywhere from a direct flight to seeing the eastern seaboard with a number of connections 

Eventually we will arrive...., and it will much warmer in San Juan than Toronto. I was hoping to hear from someone who has done this flight in the past with NCL,  we know it may not be the same flight/connections this February, depending on costs and available flights but wanted to see what they have done for clients in the past

Thank you for the time you took to review that for me and your suggestions , much appreciated 

We are three couples flying in a day earlier for our Epic Cruise from San Juan at the end of February. Leaving Toronto on the Saturday for our Sunday cruise departure 

Has anyone taken this route before and if so how were the connections? We see that there are a few direct flights however several also with connections and are wondering if anyone can share past experiences on their connections and flights?

9 minutes ago, cdnsteelman said:

Having done both, here are some thoughts: typically a ~35 minute cab / uber FLL- to terminals B or C (15 minutes from MIA to B/C). MIA is far busier in my experience and that 20 minute difference can easily be eaten up collecting baggage / navigating the airport at MIA vs FLL. The 836 can get VERY traffic-choked from MIA westbound several times a day. I'm sure I-95 south from Hollywood can too but I haven't had that issue personally. Maybe a Miami local can enlighten. Uber X FLL - B/C ~$40, MIA - B/C ~$20. It's quite reasonable to fly in to FLL for Port of Miami cruises. I can see why the OP would prefer MIA to FLL but, in practice, there's not a huge difference in time / expense IMO.

I agree, we have flown into both airports several times in the past, typically a day earlier than our cruise out of Miami and prefer FLL both for convenience, cost, better hotel options and more things to do in FLL

We have found the FLL Water taxi to be one of the best valued and interesting venues there and getting to the port of Miami is a breeze with many different transportation options we have found on cruise critic 

An excellent and very accurate review of what the Haven experience has to offer. We have enjoyed the Haven now on three different ships, on six different cruises and with and without young adults with us and have loved every minute of it.

The service that we received from the staff in the Haven was second to none and how our two sons were treated by the different butlers looking after us on the various cruises was above and beyond. All Haven members made it a truly memorable experience.

If the Haven experience is within your budget it is worth every penny 

We are just off the Dawn yesterday and had a wonderful holiday. Yes there were some plumbing issues in different areas of the ship with Public Restrooms and a couple that were out of service the entire trip, however there was always another bathroom around the corner that was open and spotless.

The couple we were travelling with stayed on the 10th floor and their neighbours had an issue one morning that was quickly attended to by NCL and was caused somewhere else down the line however never re-occurred.

We were on the Dawn seven years ago and while she has aged, it is a ship that is still in good repair and the staff on board made our trip one to remember.

I think that college football is no big deal. it is not like it's the super bowl.

That fact that they had it on at all is going the extra mile.

 

Too bad hockey fans don't get such consideration. I would love for once to see one hockey game on a cruise.

Any hockey game.

in 16 cruises i only saw hockey once and it was in Europe on an Italian cruise line (MSC)

As a fellow Canadian who enjoys watching hockey I agree with your point completely on no hockey being available on NCL, and the other cruise lines that we have sailed. Not even highlights, trying to get scores is hit and miss as well.