graphicguy

Hmmmm...it was never open on the Bermuda cruise. I wonder why given the weather was great.

Sailed her twice in the Haven, latest one being last October in the Mediterranean. No toilet issues either time. Just as an FYI, as they point out in your cabin, throw nothing in the toilet outside of the NCL provided TP. You'll be fine!

You big tease!!!!! 😉

Yeah...when you plan on doing something a little "funky" with your travel plans on a cruise, get travel insurance for this very reason. In essence, you booked two separate cruises. One of them you missed boarding. The fact that they were back t0 back is inconsequential. NCL views at as you missed the ship.

Format might be different (nor sure as I only skim mine). But, they have sent something like that to me the last several cruises.

Probably have to do your own Safety Drill check in in front of the cabin mirror!!!!!

Here's another one for November (probably too soon for me to sail).... 14-day France, Spain, Portugal from Miami... Solo Balcony with FAS $1,583 Guest 1 $1,028.95 70% OFF 2nd Guest $1,028.95 FREE AT SEA PACKAGE Specialty Dining $27.80 Per stateroom $27.80 Open Bar $305.20 Per stateroom $305.20 Shore Excursions Included WiFi Included +MORE OFFERS 70% OFF 2nd Guest Included Subtotal $1,361.95 Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses $239.82 Guest 1 $239.82 Total Due $1,601.77 View Cancellation Policy

You made me look. That's a killer deal. 11 day trans-Atlantic balcony w/FAS in a Balcony.... STATEROOM 1 Guest Balcony $2,152 Guest 1 $699.40 70% OFF 2nd Guest $699.40 FREE AT SEA PACKAGE Specialty Dining $27.80 Per stateroom $27.80 Open Bar $261.60 Per stateroom $261.60 Shore Excursions Included WiFi Included +MORE OFFERS 70% OFF 2nd Guest Included Subtotal $988.80 Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses $197.76 Guest 1 $197.76 Total Due $1,186.56 View Cancellation Policy

But, of course........!!!!!

Mental picture seared into my brain...... 😉

This "hillbilly" actually grew up about 30 minutes from where I live....

Killing me. Now you're going to make me look. 😉

These are our hillbillies. Not sure how they differ from those in the Catskills. 😉

I don't recall seeing the roof retracted over the Haven Pool. So, I say no! 2nd what @debenson0723 stated!

Good points. NCL is very friendly to us (mostly) solo cruisers.

Oops...you right. My bad! Sorry!

The last non-Haven cabin I had was on the Breakway to NE/Canada for 7 days and it was about $600-$700 for a balcony cabin with Free at Sea about a year and a half ago. The rest have been Haven cabins below.... -$4,200 for the Joy 7 nite Bermuda itinerary in June -$4,500 for the Prima 7 nite Caribbean itinerary in April -$4,400 for an Epic 11 day Mediterranean itinerary last October -$591 for a Breakaway 7 nite New England/Canada sailing in a Balcony with FAS -$4,300 for the Breakaway on a 7 nite Caribbean itinerary, July 2022 -$4,300 for the Celebrity Apex on a 7 nite Bahamas cruise in the Retreat February, 2022 That covers fares the last 2 years plus some. All in, with FAS and taxes, fees. Granted, all but one was a solo cruise, so the fares were per cabin, NOT per person.

Just saw this. NCL has a water shuttle from the ship to Hamilton. From there you can catch a bus to just about anywhere. The busses are quite nice. Not sure about particular beaches.

WOO-HOOO! NICE GET! Joy's a very nice ship. And, that's a great itinerary. Topped off by an outstanding fare. Bravo!!!!!

I agree. The mid-tier (NCL, Royal, Celebrity) lines are moving up a category by offering the "luxury" line experience with Haven, Star Class and the Retreat, respectively. It's a higher revenue, higher margin experience that used to only be available on the Premium lines like Oceania, Regent, Seabourn, etc. Is it the same experience? Probably not. The "ship within a ship" concept isn't the same as sailing on an entire ship focused on the luxury experience. But, the flip side of that is you can leave the Haven or Retreat and still have the run of the rest of the offerings on the ship, which is way more than what's offered on the luxury brands. Overall, the Haven and Retreat (not so much Star Class on Royal) are less expensive than the fares on the luxury brands....usually by a factor of 50% or more. Worth it? I think so. Others will debate me on that, though. For the most part, I think NCL, Royal, Celebrity....and the rest are sailing at or near capacity. So clearly, the demand is there. Given the different cruising landscape post Covid restart, there has been some juggling of services, itineraries, etc. I think that will continue with all the cruise brands. As they say..."the only constant is change". So very true of the cruise market. I don't think there will ever be any sort of equilibrium in the cruise market, from any of the brands. They are all jockeying for our cruise dollar. As such, they are all tweaking, massaging, changing...sometimes on each individual cruise. If that's something that's upsetting, and I mean this as a sincere recommendation, maybe a land based vacation would suit better. But, I find cruising better now than I did when I first started cruising 15+ years ago.

I found the Prima to be as nice as a cruise ship as I've ever sailed. I know some didn't like it, but I did. I like the EDGE on Celebrity, too. Again, some don't like it...naming Magic Carpet and the Infinite Veranda (which from what I can tell is making its way to the new Royal ships) as two unpopular features. There are enough features and ship types to appeal to just about everyone. What will never happen is a ship, crew, food, entertainment, etc that will appeal to everyone, all the time.

Premium lines......I haven't sailed Oceania, Viking, etc....typical premium lines. I have sailed Celebrity. I like them. Is it a premium line compared to NCL or Royal? It's a little bit different. Premium would be a stretch for me. Paying more for a "premium" experience is a case I can't make. Recently, I've found Royal to have generally higher fares than their sister Celebrity. So, does that make Royal premium to Celebrity? Never sailed Princess. Never could find one of their cruises that excited me enough to book them. But, they are supposedly the premium line of Carnival. To those who have sailed both, is Princess a more premium offering to their Carnival owner?

I believe most are here because they are a veteran cruiser. If not, and there have been a few who have said they are "first time cruisers", then the experience will be their first and initial first impression they can comment on. There's a lot of "I'm going to cruise 'Princess' (or pick any of the other mainstream lines) because I don't like NCL". That's OK, too! I personally have sailed MSC, Royal, HAL, Celebrity and NCL. I find value in NCL. I've seen it all on these boards. Most recently, the uproar over someone not being able to find cookies. I never had that issue, and many have pointed out that they hadn't either. But, that caused a stir. Hashbrowns are gone. OK. Personally, those round potato "thingies" they served were pretty dismal to begin with. But, if you miss those, OK. I read a recent criticism because someone wanted to bring their own flavored sodas on board because of health issues. Seriously! They considered it a violation of the ADA if they weren't allowed to bring their preferred soda flavor on board. It's this kind of stuff that makes me shake my head and not take most of the complaints seriously. You're going to drop $1,000 or more on a cruise. For that money, I'm shopping, a lot. I can usually find a nice fare on NCL. But, if you can't, by all means, find another cruise line that offers you as much for the buck. It can be done. Just like you can find a fare on NCL that's less expensive than the other cruise lines. But, this is like going to one grocery store because their loaf of bread is less than another. Going to another grocery store because their gallon of milk is less than the others. Or, finding a pound of coffee is less at another. Sure, you got the cheapest price, but you dropped $10 in gas traveling around to save $5 in grocery costs. What is one person's criticism is another's highlight. Whatever experience you want or have on a cruise on any cruise line, begins with YOU! If you have an issue, tell the cruise line. They will do their level best to alleviate whatever issue you have (within reason). Appreciate other peoples' thoughts. But, moving from one cruise line to another is generally a personal choice. A cruise allows you to have as much food as you want, as much drink as you want, be entertained, visit exotic locales, all while comfortably sailing on the water. How that can be bad is beyond me.

Saw all 3...Priscilla, Six (when I sailed with you) and Kinky Boots. I'm happy to hear they've changed out all 3. None of them were shows I'd have made it through all the way without having drinks (yes, plural) help me through them.

Agree. It infuriates me. Sometimes I just cancel it, and then UBER tries to charge a cancellation fee. I protest it and they remove it.