graphicguy

Sailed the Haven in both....answers below....

Diamond on RCL...Sapphire on NCL. So, sailed both multiple times. I like Royal, except their big ships (OASIS class) always had the feel of a mall to me. Plus, they seem to push everyone inwards on the ship, away from the water. NCL is the opposite. They have the Water Front on the a lot of their ships, where there are couches, chairs, restaurants, bars on the perimeter of the ship where you can dine, drink, read a book, or just relax while having a warm breeze pass over you while watching the water go by. I like that...a lot. Oasis has the diving shows, which is pretty cool. NCL has smaller, but still excellent shows like the Beatles in the Cavern Club and Rumours in Syd Normans. Both are great. Some ships have Choir of Man and Burn the Floor, both are outstanding. Some have game shows you'd see on TV. Not a fan personally, but they are all well attended and the guests seem to like them. Free at Sea is the BIG ONE. You get drinks for free (but must pay tips), some internet, some excursion credit and Some Specialty Dinner(s). This is a major discount over what you'll ever find on Royal....particularly the drinks portion of it. Both lines keep their ships clean and well maintained. Probably give a slight edge to NCL for service. They just seem to be a bit better at it than Royal. It's been over a year since I cruised Royal (and I cruise at least 3 times/year). Their fares have gone through the roof lately. And, I shop like a fiend, and can't find reasonable fare on any of the Royal sailings. Add in the cost of the drinks and the price delta is pretty big.

CONCIERGE-generally controls, books, and makes certain all my dinners, entertainment, excursions, billing and overall Haven experience goes on without a hitch. -Book a restaurant that’s sold out? Done! -Take care of any billing snafu? Done! -Change my dining g reservations on my whim? Done! -Priority (dis)embarkation? Done In short I turn over all my bookings, billing and on/off the ship plans to them. $10/day/person (many times more as they are THAT good) BUTLER-brings coffee refills and daily snacks. That’s about all I use him/her for! $50/week HAVEN BARTENDER-$1/drink HAVEN RESTAURANT WAITER-$5/dinner CABIN STEWARD-$50/week/person Non-Haven cabins don’t have the above so not included in their tip pool. But, I also leave additional tip for my non-haven Cabin Steward.

Well said…agree with all of it!

That is really sad. Concierges are a big part of the Haven experience. Personally, I'd have a frank conversation with the GM about it. It's really unacceptable to have a poor Concierge in the Haven. And, if NCL doesn't know, it will just continue. Everything else? Loving your posts!!!!!

Frankly, in all my NCL cruises, I never had to wait more than 5 minutes or so at any MDR when I just did a walk up. If you want a 5:30 or 8:30 set dining time, you'd probably be better served by booking something like Royal. They don't do "my time dining" very well, but given them the early or late seating option and they can work that.

That far out, anything can happen. So, I usually go with full refund options. The closer in, the easier it is to see plans becoming more concrete so am willing to take a little bit more of a chance on non-refundable flights. Plus, insurance covers most of any flight issues if something would be canceled by the cruise line.

Sailing is 8-9 months out. That far out, it's hard to tell. Maybe a dry dock. Maybe an issue that cropped up with the ports. That far out, excursions can easily be cancelled as can flights!

I've had the Capt come over the intercom and announce itinerary changes. I've also seen those changes reflected on the TV in my cabin. They've even had announcements posted on the big screen in the Atrium (which would be very hard to miss). But, if you aren't on the ship to begin with (as in OP's case), S/He would never know of the changes because S/He didn't embark on the ship.

Yay......another live.....!!!!

OP....I wish you the best. As you can tell, the best advice we can give you is to not spend another minute of effort on this. I've been on these boards for a while. As soon as I think I've read it all, something like this crops up. I have to say, this is the strangest, most convoluted, twisty, turny thread I've ever read. For obvious reasons, there is no refund owed. Don't know that I'd follow this as some sort of warning or Public Service Announcement. Might be a cautionary tale about what NOT to do. Best advice? Don't ever try to do something even remotely like this ever again (if it's not clear by now).

Solo Balcony!

This is just one example, and as I've said, a little shopping goes a long way. -$163 round trip on Frontier (let's call it $200 with luggage)-Airfare from Cincinnati to New Orleans, arriving the day before the cruise -$150 inc/tax- Hyatt 1.5 miles from the port (stayed there before, nice hotel) -$1,804/cabin- NCL Getaway Balcony Cabin, all in, including taxes fees and FAS, -PORTS-Harvest Cay, Cozumel, Roatan TOTAL-$2,117 Let's call it $2,200 with UBER and taking yourself out for a meal while in New Orleans. Let's start deducting.... ($400) if you only get an Ocean View Cabin ($270) if you have the 15% off coupon ($180) if you're a Veteran -You'd be under $1,300 for the cruise and still have drinks, 2 SDPs, some internet and excursion discounts of $50 per excursion The Away ships are nice ships, not the newest...not the oldest, but the ones that have the goodies like "THE WATERFRONT", OCEAN 678, Syd Norman's, all the Specialty Dining Restaurants people usually like. All-in-all, a very nice vacation for between $1,300 and $2,200 for EVERYTHING! You wouldn't have put your hand in your pocket for another nickel the entire time.

Sailing I was looking at sails from New Orleans on November 17. I like the Breakaway. Still shopping for other sailings. Looks like there are a bunch of deals.

OK....just looking at some fares...these are per cabin, not per person, and before coupon discounts (15%) -7 Day Breakaway out of New Orleans-11/24~$1,700 Balcony and $1,300 inside with FAS I like sailing out of New Orleans.

@mking8288...I don't know if those discounts are tied to a PCC, as I always use a TA to book my cruises.

I do think the Prima was a step above the normal NCL/Royal/Carnival, etc ship. It "felt" upscale. I found the food in the "free" Indulge to be similar to any Specialty Restaurant on any other cruise line, just in smaller quantities and without the table cloths. Unique and welcomed dining experience. The colors, the architecture, the layout was all more modern than what you would experience anywhere else on any other cruise line. Personally, I found the food on the Prima to be a step above any of the other ships. They expanded, didn't cut back. So, maybe they are moving "upscale". Personally, you listen to any of the cruise line CEOs and they all tell similar stories....stories meant for their investors. They all do tend to embellish a bit (just about every CEO of any Public Company does the same in front of investors). If you want a rock bottom fare, on any cruise line, you can find them. I pretty much juggle my wants with what I want to spend. Usually, I can find a deal on something I like. If I spend just tad more, I find something I like. More often than not, at least recently, that's been on NCL. Plus, I Iike NCL's "vibe", their ships, their experience, etc.

Man...you guys made me look. In addition to the Bliss-Alaska cruise discount this September (can't use it)....there were a couple of others...Geez....looks like I'm cruise shopping today! 10% Off Discount Future Cruise Credit XXXXXXXXXX 10% Off Expires On8/31/2024 Sail by12/31/2025 Not Applicable VIEW CRUISESView Terms Your Exclusive Limited-Time Offer – Get An Extra 15% Off! XXXXXXXXXXX 15% Off Expires On9/30/2024 Sail by12/31/2024 Not Applicable

Post of the month....thank you!

Agree entirely. Weather can't be predicted. What I do know, it's easier to get a "deal" on a cruise fare during the times people believe the weather "might be bad". Some other times to look at fares for deals (on all cruise lines).... -Hurricane season in the Bahamas or the Caribbean -late October for New England and Canadian cruises -April and October for Alaskan cruises Other ways to find cruise deals.. -repositioning cruises (embarking at the origination port, but disembarking at the end of the cruise at a different port) -right before a ship's dry dock And, last rule of thumb...."find a cruise and a fare you like, then plan your vacation around that". Not vice versa.

Good point! I know a wealth of people who turn their phones off as they don't want to run up an outrageous phone bill if someone calls in international waters and becomes subject to the crazy high "per minute" charges of such a call. Not something I'd do. It was convoluted to begin with....doing a B2B cruise and disembarking on the first leg early, and embarking on the 2nd one late. What could go wrong?

Thanks for the review. Enjoyed it, a lot!

All the cruise lines are all saying the exact same thing. No surprises with Sommer's interview. If you want to fish in the "blue light special" pond, there are cruise lines who cater to that demographic (Margaritaville comes immediately to mind). But, NCL and the rest of her competition is not that. Personally, I would be hard pressed to find a 7 nite vacation in a nice hotel room, with a choice of restaurants, with the vast majority of drinks included, entertainment within a 5 minute walk of your door, with views of exotic locales, that usually change every day, for what a cruise costs. I have friends who quiz me about cruise cost all the time as they know I enjoy it. Have said before, don't sail during "high season". Sail when school is in session. Families don't pull their kids out of school to cruise (at least they probably shouldn't). Sail to Alaska at the very beginning of the season and the very end of the season. The weather turns during those times and it's not as "nice" as it would be during the summer months. Sail the Bahamas. Every mainstream cruise line sails in the Bahamas, so competition is fierce. Same goes for Cozumel/Cancun. Sail at least 7 nites. Shorter cruises tend to cost more per nite than the longer ones. Sail on the cruise lines' oldest ships. They're typically less expensive than sailing on their newest ships. If you really want to cruise on a budget, don't buy the drink packages. Don't buy the specialty dining packages. Only drink the water, juices and coffees and eat the food they have in the buffet and MDRs. Don't shop in the shops on board. GTY cabins are available. They are the cheapest on the ships. Look for those. The above is true on any cruise line. But, if you decide you're only going to cruise on any given week or month, at it's high season, and you absolutely have to have a balcony (although I find it pretty easy to find deals on balconies with NCL), you have to sail on the newest ships, you have to have Free at Sea Plus, you have to have internet access, etc. You're going to pay more. Again, this is true of ALL cruise lines. You either pay for it in higher fares, or via add ons to your "cheaper" fare. Finally, shop, shop, shop. I shop fares every week. As an example, there are some GREAT NCL fares on TA cruises on NCL's Encore this coming December right now (or at least were last week). Encore is part of NCL's biggest and "newest" Breakaway Plus ships. If you are aghast at any cruise line's fares, adjust your parameters just a bit, and you'll find deals on ALL of. them.

Lots to digest here. Quick questions...... -OP, you mention the "Embarkation Manager". Not saying there isn't one, but in all my cruises (not just NCL), I've never encountered this person. Where did you communicate with this person? Was their official title "Embarkation Manager"? I'm just trying to nail down who it was that instructed you that your plan was "approved". No one can force you to embark or disembark the ship. That's up to you. So, getting "approval" isn't really a "thing". It's up to you to embark the ship at the embarkation port before "all aboard" time. Getting to the cruise ship embarkation port at the start of the cruise is your responsibility. Cruise lines many times do offer transport from airports to the cruise port for boarding but you made no mention of having those arrangements. You state you disembarked early on the 1st cruise. At that juncture you are not a passenger. It's not clear to me when you wanted to board the 2nd cruise, but will assume it wasn't at the origination point and you wanted to reboard at one of the ports in between. Those are always subject to change. As such, they do have a responsibility for the reasonable care and safety of their passengers. But, you weren't a passenger when you missed the ship. If you had made the original embarkation port on the 2nd cruise, you would have been on the ship as a passenger when they communicated the itinerary change. But, you missed the ship. Again, you were no longer a passenger at that point. The itinerary was communicated to the passengers. You weren't on the ship for those communications. I do agree with you that insurance may not have covered you missing the 2nd cruise. Two separate cruises....you left the first one early, and tried to embark on the 2nd one late. That's a recipe for disaster. I do wish you luck. Hard to see "your side of things" (as you put it) on this. You put yourself in a "vulnerable and dangerous" (again, your words) situation. Tough to see any support coming your way. Also tough to see any compensation coming your way from the cruise line, either. Consider it a lesson learned, albeit an expensive one.

Good point. This probably would not have been covered under insurance.