mearsfansinboise

Oof - with the exception of crêpes (that I just wrote down day 5, Mazatlan, crêpes for when we sail the week after next) your day 5 was no bueno. That dinner with the officers is BS. The people who were there and didn't want to be, no planned conversation, the service .... that dinner should have been special. Like you said - it's your upper tier guests who sail with you often and spend a lot of time and money with you; THEY should be treated like royalty! Sorry ...

Ha ha - look at those yummy fat pretzels and that rinky dink cuppette of cheese! 😅

---- nevermind, I see that it was because you stopped in Colombia.

Our maiden Haven voyage and every one since has been better because of these threads you started and the advice you have given. We appreciate you, @Sthrngary! We have had absolutely perfect and accommodating Haven butlers too -- I hold my breath each time we sail because I know that no two are alike and I'm waiting for the dud to come. But, as you advised, if that should happen, we have our letter, and we'll communicate with them to express our needs/desires. And if we still have issues, we'll work with our concierge. We had a minor issue on our last sailing, I don't even recall what it was, but I don't even think it was a butler thing, but I mentioned it - (not even to complain, more like to inquire) - to our concierge (Gian is the BEST) and he called our butler and took care of it on. the. spot.

We received them on our last (2) sailings.

I agree with you here. Our last 2 sailings we were in the Haven on deck 17. This next sailing we'll be on deck 18 and while we will be closer to the restaurant, I don't think it'll feel the same as what we're used to being in the Haven. I know, a quick elevator trip down, but previous sailings our rooms were right near the glass door going into where the concierge sits. I can't imagine being on deck 11 - that's too far for the Haven experience, I would imagine.

@vacation44 @cruiseny4life thank you - so, I guess we are SOL on the luggage tags. 👎 Thanks for the info on the chips - I think I've only seen tortilla chips out and about and the plain ones in the room ... I'll just ask for no chips. We don't really need anything else to go with the sandwiches, but if they had some good flavored chips I wouldn't have minded. Not a biggie. Appreciate it!

Are these free? I always buy a box of Bonine before a cruise, it's got the same mg of Meclizine in it, but if I can get it for free on board ...

We're sailing in less than 2 weeks and I'm updating my butler letter (it has worked out wonderfully for us on our last 2 sailings - @Sthrngary is a genius on this one) and have a couple of questions. 1. Chips - we like afternoon sandwiches, and we always get them, but they come with plain potato chips (that we do not like/eat). Ever seen other kinds of chips? If not, we can just tell them we don't want them (waste bothers me). 2. Luggage tags - we did not receive them this time around. Is that an NCL $ cutback or are they still going out? I suppose at this juncture it's too late to ask them to send them to us in time for them to get here before we leave a week from Friday. Thanks. ☺️

This was not the case when we sailed the Bliss out of San Pedro last Spring Break. Same line for everyone. It's not until you are in do you get the Haven treatment (shorter line, lounge, etc.). We sail again the 26th, so, we'll see ...

La Cucina's menu: https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Fleet_La-Cucina_Dinner_Mobile-Menu_010123.pdf

I have read, and did talk to some crew about this, that they do not want anything .... other than money. And, they do actually disembark. We've run into them at stores and/or see them coming back on board with take-out food or groceries when we are also coming back on board after a day in port.

- same experience with 2 Havens last year, one in a few weeks.

1. When will the rooms be ready on embarkation day? Usually around 1pm. 2. When we do our online check in through the app, I guess we would be able to pick our embarkation time slot (similar to Royal). What if we are late for that time slot (but not late to the ship ;))? Nothing happens. Come earlier, come later, nothing happens. 4. Do package/excursion prices ever go down? Probably not for this sailing because it's too close, but in general? With Royal I am used to booking stuff then cancelling and re-booking if the price goes down, is that a thing with NCL? I've not ever seen that ... though can't say I was looking for it to change either. 5. At this point will there be more excursions added for our sailing? Again, we are a little over 5 weeks out. Unlikely.

The Local menu: https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Fleet_Local_All-Day_Mobile-Menu_010123.pdf

This is the NCL board, but I assume the answer is the same. We did NCL Alaska RT from Seattle in October; there was no Canadian interaction except for when we got off the ship in Canada for the short stop one evening ... and it was just like any other port - off and on you go, nothing different or special because it was Canada.

YES; you'll have the champagne. And on both our last sailings when we asked for all the pay items removed, they weren't taken out of the room, they were hidden (yet visible) on top of the refrigerator area.

Well be getting on the Bliss the day you are getting off. I'm excited to follow along with your sailing!

I'm just now paying attention to the Latitudes benefits and see the discounts I can get at the shops and spa. Do I have to ask for them when I am there, or do they automatically come off when they scan my card?

🎉 24 🎉

We sailed the Bliss to Alaska out of Seattle in October. I'm 99.9% sure there were no stairs; I feel like I would remember because my husband has mobility issues and we ordered the wheelchair for him which we did not get until we arrived at the Haven lounge and don't recall having any issues; I think it was all flat and/or elevators/escalators.

Both items are on the current, updated 2023 menu menu: https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/Fleet_American-Diner_Mobile-Menu-A_010123.pdf --- and I hope they are still there when we sail next month!

Depends on the ship ... and on the day on the ship. For example, on the Bliss, the first day was 11am-10pm, and a port day was 6am-12pm. Maybe search for dailies in the forum from the ship you are inquiring about for a better idea?

We had this a couple of times last year - in Haven and out. Vodka, kiwi, lime and sugar. I recall one of the bars not having kiwi at one point .... and it was about 50/50 on if the eyes were made with black olives or blueberries (I preferred the taste of eating the blueberries after vs. the black olives). I don't remember which bar it was that the drink tasted different - and I asked what he put in it and he said all the ingredients + bitters. It actually wasn't bad; less sweet. Either way - I imagine most bartenders know this drink these days.

Searched the forum for "crepe" - lol - and happened upon your recent post. Question - was the crepe station a daily thing and/or a certain time of day thing? We didn't hit the Garden Cafe once on our last (2) sailings, but missed the crepes and refuse to miss out this time!