darrengs

I'm with you, I always book an aft penthouse and love it, I get all the same perks they get, with the exception of the Haven area.

I agree the Haven area on the Jewel class ships is would not be a factor for me, same perks no Haven bar or restaurant.

Personally I would book cabanas and shore excursions online so you can ensure you get what you want.

As far as booking things onboard including spa it is as simple as stopping by the concierge and getting it taken care of.

For GSC and tender ports the concierge staff will escort groups down via behind the scenes elevators and bypass any lines. Also for getting back on at GSC there is a Suite only line that bypasses the long line to get on the tender.

Same for final debarkation, the concierge staff will escort you off the ship, once off you can bypass the line to enter the terminal as well.

We stayed in 9504 on the Gem and it did indeed sleep 4 then.

You have nothing to worry about. It is very intuitive, and there are plenty of people to ask.

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http://portbermudawebcam.com/

That camera is really bouncing. :)

While U.S. tourism most certainly would be a boon for the Cuban economy it is hardly like they are tourist free. Annually, the visitor count for Cuba is over 3,000,000 with the majority of those folks being Canadian.

 

Their government is the reason for the rampant poverty. I personally, have no desire to go there under the current regime.

Well said!

I agree with gizfish. The Haven restaurant menu never changes and you most likely will tire of it.

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Not sure if it is the same on all ships. But on the Breakaway I had to set up my internet account and logon one off as needed. Just don't give anybody else the info and they cannot use the Internet.

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If you are looking to get in the Haven, I too would suggest you take it at that price.

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14 days is not necessarily too late for an Upsell. People have gotten Haven upsells right up to the cruise, it just depends on what is available.

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We were in the Haven on the Breakaway a few weeks back, and we boarded around noon. As soon as David the concierge greeted us (and remembered us from over 4 years ago on the Gem) he told us our room was ready. So we dropped off our bags , checked out the room and then walked over to the Haven restaurant, we did have to wait about 25 minutes for a table, so my wife and I relaxed in the lounge while the kids went exploring.

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Just off the Breakaway today and here are my takeaways. 1) David & his assistant, Armando, were incredibly warm, friendly & helpful to us during our stay. 2) The retractable roof is working and was open every now & then, although not nearly enough for my taste. 3) Service at the Haven Restaurant was painfully slow. 4) Our 2BR/2BA suite (Ste 16108) was gorgeous & comfortable but there was a horrible odor that permeated the master bathroom. Nothing they did took the smell away. Had a great cruise!

We were in this room a few weeks back and did notice a slight odor at times, sort of a cat urine/septic smell. It wasn't that bad and not all of the time. Sounds like something may have been starting then.

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Is David's last name Contreras?

Yes

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If you are not sure where to check in just ask for Haven check in. A few weeks back while boarding in NYC it was so crowded you couldn't see any signs for Haven. We just kept asking and being pointed in the correct direction until we could find it. Once in the lounge all of the chaos was left behind.

After checking in there was nobody available to escort us and although we could have waited, we walked on ourselves. Once on the ship they said "welcome aboard", and we said "Haven?". At that point we we're escorted to a waiting elevator where a butler took as directly to the Haven Lounge, were we were met by the Concierge team. We were told our room was ready at this time. So we were on board an checking our room out by noon, while the first groups were still boarding.

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Don't think it is a glitch at all, it only applies to select sailings.

I have tried various sailings, various categories where it shows the promotion available and I still never get to choose which one. I do hope it is a glitch and not so limited that even if it shows available it may not be.

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A couple of weeks back I just taped a luggage tag onto a case of water then wrapped the whole thing with shrink wrap. Don't worry if the water doesn't arrive with the rest of your luggage because it looked like they were stacking the cases of water separately and it was delivered a little later than the rest of our luggage.

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They had Brooklyn Lager at uptown grill, but of course I only was able to get 1 before they ran out. I wish I found it before day 5.

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My tip is if you want to get off quickly, I would not bring any luggage off in Bermuda. [emoji38] lol

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I stayed in 9504 on the port side. It is a nice room, you will enjoy it.

Just stairs.

Definitely deck 16. Just steps away from Haven courtyard, bar, etc.

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Not sure, whenever I went back to our room it was made up and all dishes were gone.

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Returning to the port required us to have both our ID and key card.

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I really liked the Haven Restaurant. On some other Haven threads, the question arises about is it better to actually stay *in* the Haven or in an aft penthouse (with a huge balcony. The downside being that it is indeed a trek to the Haven on a ship like the Breakaway.) Well it would now be my opinion that being in the Haven would be preferable because of the proximity to the restaurant (if this is indeed important to you.) Nothing like being able to roll out of bed and 10 steps later have access to a really nice continental breakfast buffet or some French press coffee. (Actually, I don’t drink coffee but people who did really seemed to like it!)

 

I’ll start by saying that we usually had breakfast in the Haven. Like I said, the breakfast buffet was great. What was there was pretty much the same as in the Garden Café buffet except I am pretty sure there were more fresh berries and if you like more exotic types of fruit (i.e. rambutan, dragon fruit, papaya) I don’t think you will find these in the Garden Café. OK, the menu doesn’t change. But this is a pet peeve of mine when reading about the restaurants on the Breakaway (or any cruise ship for that matter.) I mean, come on, at least at my house, my choices for breakfast are either cold cereal or if I am feeling industrious, hot cereal. No one is cooking my omelette, bacon, sausage, French toast, etc. Maybe if you are on an around-the-world cruise the food might get repetitive, but on a seven day cruise? Please. If nothing else, try something different for a change, you might actually like it!

 

As far as some of the foods l like, the challah French toast (I thought challah was to be eaten on the Sabbath (?) Not complaining though, it makes great French toast!) was almost addictive. For dinner, I loved the rack of lamb and my wife was very happy with the lobster and the duck breast. And a couple of the appetizers were what I would consider “above cruise ship” quality: the pork belly with glazed carrots and the beet and arugula salad with a goat cheese tart. (I saw pork belly on the Cagneys menu as well but didn’t see the beet salad outside of the Haven.)

 

But really, what I think makes the Haven Restaurant good is the service. I think having the same maître ‘d and hostess and servers makes a *big* difference. They get to know your preferences. And who doesn’t like to be addressed by their first name by the second day you go in there? And unless you are a hard core food taster, I honestly believe that good service can make mediocre food taste better. (I don’t think the opposite is true.) And for those who don’t stay in the Haven, I would encourage you (particularly if you are not doing the specialty restaurants) to pick one dining room, eat dinner at the same time, and try to get seated in the same section with the same server (assuming you liked them the first time!) Service can’t help but go up. You will be more comfortable asking for things that might not be on the menu. You will be more comfortable joking with your server (i.e. order a Big Mac one night or if you know about the food of the country of origin of your server, order something like lumpia or chicken adobo.) Somehow I think the food will start to taste better.

 

Oops, got off track there! In short, if you have the opportunity to stay in the Haven, I don’t think you will be disappointed with the restaurant.

Welcome home it was a pleasure meeting you and your wife last week, and again thank you for adding your room to the cabin crawl.

I love this review and agree whole heartily.

We enjoyed breakfast in the Haven restaurant every day except one, when we had it in our room, the french press coffee was definitely a highlight except once when we had coffee after dinner, it was not that good.

Another plus in my mind for having your haven room in the Haven is in regards to the UBP and the Haven bar. What service, and to be able to walk out of my room and order drinks to bring back in no time at all was a great benefit for us.

I was on this cruise and I set up the Meet and Greet. This is why, in my opinion it is important to have at least one member of the traveling party attend the meet and greet. The Officers are there and you are given a card with all of their names and direct contact numbers. If you run into any issues they want you are to call them immediately and let them know. They are very attentive and will listen and correct any deficiencies. They tell you at the M&G, their goal is to make sure you have a great vacation and they want to correct issues then and there instead of finding about it on Cruise Critic after the fact.