Treasure Hunter

On a Sunday, unless there’s a bike race that shuts down streets, it should be around 45 minutes tops.

There are very few sea days on most Oceania itineraries. If you go try to pick one of those. You will see grumpy glances.

If you’ve been on Princess, Oceania is the most like the smaller Princess ships ( in fact the Sirena was a Princess ship) . The most exciting event on Oceania is trivia which is a blood sport. The food is good but I don’t really see kids having fun. If you find an itinerary you absolutely love give it a try but we took our teens to Iceland and Tahiti on Princess for much less money.

We just give them to a regular porter ( true for NY and Miami)

Yes they are being mailed. I last got them it was three weeks before the cruise and this time they were purple instead of gold. We had a two bedroom suite in The Haven proper on the Encore.

The New York Haven lounge on shore is plain with hard back chairs but the lady at the door is lovely and the snacks ( coffee, tea, juice, pastries and cake, fruit plates ) is sufficient for the amount of time spent. The assistant concierge is welcoming and has you fill out entertainment requests and you are escorted onto the ship first. It’s not so bad.

I’m so sad. NCL needs to step up its game. Or they will lose us too. You hear a lot of MSC yacht club chatter on this board..And the new Sun Princess is moving towards a Haven /Retreat for all new builds. Princess will now have a suite restaurant instead of a cordoned off area in the MDR ( club or reserve class.) They have lovely elegant ships, well run with lots of high energy cruise staff games for sea days. The food has gone down hill since acquired by Carnival but price is great. I guess they are still cutting corners because of covid debt.

Yes I like ships around 3200 size with a good casino ( had 4 handpays on the Emerald Princess in June to New England/Canada) good entertainment, trivia and nice shower) I would do Oceania in Europe for sure but Princess does an excellent job on tours. Especially in exotic ports. Tahiti comes to mind.

The prices on Celebrity ( especially the Retreat) have skyrocketed. Last year we were in a Royal Suite because the casino comped me 40%. We hate Luminae and you can’t order off the MDR menu on the Edge class ships. We are done with Celebrity for a while.

We have been on five Oceania cruises and double that on NCL ( most in the Haven). It is very important what size ship you pick. The Marina, Vista, Riviera are 1200 passengers with larger newer cabins and better entertainment and larger casino. All Oceania cruises are more port intensive but that doesn’t mean you won’t find chair hogs. The food ship wise is equal to the Haven restaurant with lots of nice touches. It is not a line for kids unless you want to tour every day. It is rare to find a drunk ( unless they are so old that they have fallen asleep). Country Club casual and country club people. I love a big casino and good entertainment and often cruise with grandkids so the Haven has been great for us on holidays and spring break but you are right that it is a rowdy hard drinking younger group even in the Haven. NCL is more fun although their entertainment ( especially Broadway type shows has been slacking). We just got off the Encore in February ( 2 bedroom Haven suite) and all had a good time). We love that we can cruise from NY in winter ( no flights). But we are returning to Princess (35 cruises) in June and January in suites for great prices. Food will be not as good but the ambiance is great and room enormous. July 2025 we will be on the Maiden voyage on the Oceania Allura🤞🏻. If they open Cuba again, our cruise on Oceania Sirena was fabulous. Ask me any questions.

You are not in the Haven proper although you have Haven amenities. You’ll need to do a long walk if you forget anything. We stay in the Haven all the time except for shows and casino. We don’t need a big balcony as we have theHaven sundeck with lunch and bar service right there. But it is cheaper and you get a full suite.

Wow, I am so sorry. I always want people to have a wonderful time ( I love cruising so much). I have been in the Haven on the Getaway with grandkids and I wouldn't say it was perfect but it sure was better than your trip. However, we didn't have bad weather, missed ports and don't drink alcohol. I'm not interested in going on NCL unless I am in the Haven. Especially love the peace on the sundeck. If you are still onboard, you need to tell the concierge. If not write about it on your survey.

I have never been on Crystal. I will try the one cruise and see if the amenities out weigh the lack of a casino. I tried Viking and hated it. Perhaps the fact that we don’t drink alcohol ( so cocktail hour holds little charm) has something to do with it. We have been on many land tours ( Safaris and touring exotic locales ) where casinos just weren’t important. But casinos are fun for days at sea and long evenings. I don’t know the layout of the ship but they had what I hear was a large casino for the size of the ship, so perhaps they can use part of that space again.

Someone said that waitlist doesn’t mean what we usually think and that they can be booked. I don’t have my Symphony cruise until September. I hope this is true.

That is a terrible decision. I’m booked on Symphony and beginning to feel cheated.

I am so happy it all worked out. You are going to have a great time! If you get nervous about your luggage tell your butler and he will go look for it.

Ok you win

Maybe I’m lots older than you, I’ve spent my whole life here and we called it that long before there was a Chelsea pier. But any taxi driver or Uber worth his salt will know what you mean when you say you are sailing on a cruise ship. We cruise regularly year round on NCL from there. But Manhattan Cruise Terminal is more precise.

Yes Manhattan cruise terminal’s local name is the Westside pier. We live a half hour away and take a black car to the pier but there is reasonably priced parking on the roof of the building attached ( another reason to get there early). Also some people I know that don’t have tons of luggage park two blocks south in a parking lot for a little less money. There is plenty of room in the terminal ( enormous) and many uniformed guards directing inside the terminal. You will be fine and relaxed once you’ve parked the car and dropped off your luggage. Just keep saying Haven.

It sounds like the Westside pier if they are in Jersey. New York had 12 hours of torrential rain and flooding on Saturday. Today is sunny, breezy and cold. As Haven you will see a sign as soon as you enter the building to your left. You have your own security. Just keep repeating to people, “We are Haven”. You will be whisked through, taken to the Haven lounge and probably board shortly after that. I agree, get there at two o’clock. Will you drive or take the hotel shuttle? The porters, are terrific in NY just remember to tip.

Yes, the question was comfort if you have mobility issues, not how to get the best exercise. We don’t drink, so bar service is not important to us but I enjoyed the jolly atmosphere at the Haven bar in the lounge. We use the concierge a lot. We always go to the shows and excursions with an escort so having them nearby is great. We also use them for printing so we don’t have To go to the Internet cafe at set hours. The Haven sundeck with lunch ( and bar service) is worth more to us than a big aft deck with no shade. But that’s what makes horse racing.

Celebrity would not do anything for us ( except $260 in port charges. No credit

We use Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com . I found out about him here on Cruise Critic . We have used him since the restart. My husband was ill two days before we left on a Celebrity cruise ( retreat). . We spent the night in the hospital. We got a full refund.

Please pick inside the Haven proper. It will take minutes to get to your room from the restaurant, lounge or sundeck. People choose the far away suites with Haven privileges for two reasons. They often have two rooms( bedroom and living room and they are much less money.) It’s not worth it. They are very far from the amenities that had you choose the Haven to begin with. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go back to your room to pick up something you forgot, use your own restroom and have the concierge right there. That’s where you meet to go down to shows or leave on excursions.

This September will be our first Crystal cruise. If we love it ( which we expect to be the case) we will cruise again, but maybe not as often if there is no casino. A casino adds to my enjoyment of my vacation. So we will cruise NCL Haven and Celebrity retreat and Oceania. Princess ( 35 cruises) is now finally adding a suite restaurant and sundeck ( part of the Sanctuary) which will make their suites more attractive. We are booked but did not receive a survey.