nmuller328

Question- Is the Haven Restaurant, pool & bar open when the ship is in Port, if you decide to stay on board?  I know most if not all of the complementary restaurants are closed - and only the Garden Cafe & O Sheehan's  is opened- we're not sure we'll be getting off at some of the tender ports- and if we do- it may not be long (Getaway) 

thanks for the info- we're staying in 14736 on the other side of the ship- end of March, here's hoping the soft close is fixed. We just realized we're under the fitness room (think it's the treadmill equip) anyone have any experience staying under it? It was the last Spa Haven room when we upgraded- and were too excited for the Haven to think of it- but we were down under the pool area last cruise & found the chlorine odor from the maintenance room more annoying than the occasional sound of the deck chairs being moved in the morning.  Also Is there an elevator that goes to the 17 floor - Haven sun deck? (hubby has some mobility issues and really doesn't do stairs well) 

thanks again for the info    

On 2/14/2023 at 7:50 AM, Laszlo said:

Here's a Haven Secret or maybe not so secret. On the Getaway don't book Haven Spa Balcony 14140. The cabin is fine, the location is not. The cabin is across the hall from the main forward crew only access. From 6pm - 10pm the crew door is constantly opening a closing, and when it closes it slams shut. And since your cabin door is in a little alcove the room stewards leave a cart right next to it

 

CLIP 1080.mov 17.68 MB · 12 downloads

thanks & we figure 14740 on the starboard side is probably the same.  We're on the Getaway staying in 14736 at the end of March - we're under the fitness room- believe the treadmill room, anyone have any experience - how loud does it get in the morning? 

2 hours ago, estvil30 said:

 

( and the mushroom flat bread is fantastic )

 Not sure which ship you're on- but this flatbread does look yummy- just wondering is this something you could get as room service snack? (Our first Haven experience is in Mar on the Getaway) 

5 minutes ago, DorothyB said:

 

Dinner you are on your own.  You can eat at O'Sheehan's, main dining room, buffet, the chinese place, or a specialty restaurant (where you would pay just like everyone else) OR you can get room service

Wow- well that just isn't right- I haven't noticed that the prices for the Haven on the Jewel ships are that much less the larger ships- but no bar or dinning room & a smaller lounge area- not sure I would select the Haven on the Jewel class.  Thanks for the info. 

Did you also notice that you can select price per person or by stateroom when comparing fares on a particular date ?  ( see slide over black bar in right corner) 

11 hours ago, Rfemle said:

I originally thought they were giving us a 20% FCC IF ANEW BOOKING. that is not correct it is 20% of this cruise fare to our account. Which I believe is 20% of what just the room cost. 

Yea - it's a rebate on what you spent- not what you want to save. This is the industry wide way they do things. 20% off any cruise- would be unheard of- just think- someone was in a sail Away inside room- 5 day cruise  takes the 20% off a 12 day Haven room- no way any cruise line would do this- you're compensated based on your piece of the pie from this cruise.  Could they have given you more- of course- but the offer isn't really all that bad.   

So Breakfast & Lunch is in Cagney or Moderno's (do you get to choice which or does it alternate by day?  And where do they serve Dinner- do you get your choice of the specialty restaurants or just the MDR- and are served the Haven Menu?  Yes you book for the cabin - but the restaurant & bar are part of the amenities. 

7 hours ago, DaisyGoldberg said:

I understand your not wanting to try NCL again, but should you see a good itinerary/deal on a Jewel class ship, I imagine your experience would be much better in terms of ambience of public areas. They hold game shows and other loud activities in the theatre and smaller show rooms and the casino is separate (though still smoky).

I agree- you may want to try one of the Jewel Ship- ie Pearl, Gem. We have sailed on both the Getaway & the Pearl- each has their strong parts- we decided to sail again on the Getaway as we like the shows & their thermal spa whereas the Pearl's thermal spa was lacking & they didn't have the Broadway show like Getaway.  I can see us traveling again on the Jewel Class ship depending on the itinerary.  

7 hours ago, yardbird said:

I realize this is kind of specific, but I travel with a CPAP and really need to know if there is an outlet next to the bed in CBS. In the online photos I see outlets over by the TV, but not much else. I'll need a rather long extension cord if those are the only ones available. Thanks!

 

We sailed on the Pearl in Dec in a Club Balcony - and you are correct that the outlets are all near the tv- we did bring an extension cord- we found a 15 ft one from Amazon- (Amazon Basics 15-Foot 3-Prong Flat Plug Grounded Indoor Extension Cord with 3 Outlets - 13 Amps, 1625 Watts, 125 VAC, White) runs under $10 - it's a basic 3 prong cord- remember it can't be surge protected. We ran it under the foot the the bed to his side table without any issue. Don't forget to complete the special needs form so your Steward with have your distilled water in the room. ( we did remind him when we saw him but he knew we needed it) 

NCL Military Appreciation Program FAQs

1. Who is eligible for the NCL military discount?

Active members, veterans, spouses and surviving spouses of the following branches of the United States military with a verified ID.me account:

Army

Navy

Air Force

Marine Corps

Coast Guard

Space Force

National Guard

2. How does NCL verify proof of military service?

NCL partners with ID.me, our trusted third-party verification service, which uses private and secure data sources to confirm the accuracy of the information you provide. The verification process typically takes five minutes or less. Once your credentials are verified, you will begin seeing your discounted rates on NCL.com at checkout when logged in. The discounted rate displayed at checkout is reflective of 10% off the cruise fare portion of any cruise.

3. Where can I learn more about ID.me?

To learn more about the offers and benefits of ID.me, or for company information, please visit www.ID.me

4. How much do I save with the NCL military discount?

You save 10% off the cruise fare portion of any cruise for sailings beginning 1/1/23. To make it even sweeter, this discount is in addition to Norwegian’s Free at Sea promotion which includes unlimited open bar, free specialty dining, free excursions, free airfare^ and more. It is also combinable with other promotions that are available, but subject to change.

^Buy an air ticket and the 2nd guest flies for free. View for full terms and conditions

5. Why do I need a My NCL account to receive my discount?

You will need a My NCL account so we can link your military discount to your account. This will allow you to see your discounted prices when logged in to NCL.com and/or allow your travel agent to see your discounted prices.

6. How do I apply for the discount?

Visit www.ncl.com/military

Login to your My NCL account and/or register to create one

Follow the prompts to verify with ID.me which will pop up in a separate window.

After you complete the ID.me registration and verification process, you will be returned to NCL.com to begin shopping for your next cruise vacation. If you are logged in to your My NCL account, the prices displayed will be inclusive of your 10% off.

7. Will my discount apply to all members of my group?

The discount will apply to the verified military member’s entire stateroom. The discount is limited to one stateroom per verified military member per sailing.

8. Can my spouse use my discount if I’m not traveling with them?

Yes, your spouse is also eligible for the discounted rates if verified via ID.me.

9. Can I provide my discount to non-eligible friends?

No, the discount is only for eligible members. ID.me’s identity platform can detect fraudulent use across accounts and reserves the right to revoke access/membership from anyone abusing the terms of usage.

10. What should I do if I have issues enrolling?

Call 1-866-775-4363 or visit help.id.me/hc/en-us/p/contact_support for assistance with the registration process and/or to get additional information on the documents required for verification.

11. Can I book through my travel agent and still receive the discount?

Absolutely. All you have to do is visit www.ncl.com/military to enroll in the program. Then provide your travel agent with your My NCL/Latitudes number. The discount is tied to your account.

12. Do I have to verify with ID.me every time I want to book a cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line?

You only have to validate with ID.me once. Your eligibility will be permanently associated with your My NCL account.

13. Am I able to cancel my reservation due to active duty deployment?

Yes. Once your reservation is cancelled, please contact Guest Experience at https://www.ncl.com/case-submission. Here you will be directed to submit the request and attach the active duty military deployment orders. Upon receipt, orders will be reviewed, and if compliant, a Future Cruise Credit Certificate will be issued.

I've seen posts on FB from Veterans who have cruised the Gem since January- they were invited to a special Veteran's event attended by some officers- they were given a coin, letter & pictures were taken with officers & as a group. It's my understanding that the Gem is the first ship to start these events & they will be rolled out across the line during the coming year. 

5 hours ago, mking8288 said:

    As far as food temperature goes, the MDR delivered the worst experience, nearly almost just luke warm or barely above room temperature and the buffet (Garden Cafe) isn't really much better - except, perhaps for the hot soups and carving stations, or catching a freshly grilled hamburger or hotdog and items coming off the skillets.  

5 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

We had similar experience in Oct- food temp at every meal was tepid at best- I was really impressed at how warm- actually hot the meals were in Dec on the Pearl. It was like night & day.  I'm really hoping that our decision to upgrade to the Haven- was a great (ok even good) decision as they have their own restaurant & a limited # of pax to serve. 

Again I really appreciate the time you have taken to share your experience. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Blah, blah, blah. You realize you're unhelpful right? Why must pedantic(s) argue semantics online? It's so tiring. But, let's have it your way. NCL "encourages" guests that utilize the services of a butler and concierge to tip them as they're not part of the daily service charge. And I will be that person. If you use the services of your butler and/or the concierge, then you damn well ought to tip them. Unless you're cheap in which case you need to not cruise the Haven. 

 

 

Yea, I'm not going to keep it low key. Give people information. They can use it as they would like. There's about as much reason to keep tips hush hush as there is to keeping salary hush hush. 

 

Cruise one - April, Getaway, Haven Penthouse Suite

 

Butler - $100

Concierge - $100

Server staff - $20 for three or four that we had a great relationship with

One bartender - $20, because he made my day down at the Sugarcane bar on Waterfront

 

Cruise two - September, Getaway, Haven Aft-Facing Penthouse

 

Butler - $50

Concierge - $50

Server staff - $20 for three or four

One bartender - $20, same one as above

 

Cruise three - January, Getaway, Haven Aft-Facing Penthouse

 

Butler - $50

Concierge - $50

Server staff - $20 for three or four

Two bartenders - $20 for the two Haven bartenders

 

So sorry, did I spoil your need for discretion? Ooopsie patootie! 

 

People can use the information above as they like. They can do what I did since it's a guide. They can call me cheap and tip more. Or they can tip less and wonder why I'm crazy for tipping more.

 Thanks- this really helps- as a first timer- it's nice to see some definite amounts- we've tipped our room steward before - what we feel was fair for the service we received - though after our second cruise we wished we had tipped our 1st steward more- the second wasn't half as good as the 1st - though not sure if the 1st was that good or was the 2nd that mediocre- now this time we're going Haven so we don't know, plus they are changing the work load for the room stewards so who knows.  Did notice that you didn't tip the room steward in the Haven- is there a reason ?  Also your 1st cruise you tipped both Butler & Concierge twice as more then the next 2 cruises- is there reason (longer cruise, 1st time Haven, did you have them do more for you) Totally understand that $ is at our discretion but it's nice to have a guideline- (also one that seems a little more reasonable- I've heard of some who give those amounts daily- that is a little out of our wheelhouse but I could see more like your 1st cruise) We do tip during the week when we feel someone has gone the extra step & even tipped musicians when we have had a great evening.    Thanks again for your insight. 

thank you once again- I really had missed not seeing a post from you today- this has been very helpful- we're heading out the end of March- 1st time out of MCT but not our first on the Getaway. Looking forward to the rest of your review. 

Thank you for taking us along with you- very informative. Safe travels home. 

curious what's a Cruise Next Haven certificate- how is it different from a regular Cruise Next 

yea not quite sure why I can call  the butler to bring me a drink to another venue (that's true right- though not use I'd do it) but he can't bring me one to my room- what if he met me in the hall- lol. Totally understand someone could abuse either of those situations. Would just be nice to have that night cap waiting in the room vs having to carry it but we're still in the Haven. 

Just wondering- know that there are Haven sections for the shows- is that for the main theatre only . Thought I saw seats saved at the Illusionarium  when we were on the Getaway in Oct for the Broadway Review as well as Junnk- is there a Haven section- or will concierge assist? What about getting into Syd Norman's- we never made a show in Oct?  

Also- since we we're in the Haven- we don't have to do the mad dash when we board to get our shows/remaining dinners booked- correct- Concierge will help us with that. 

Thanks 

5 hours ago, disneydave said:

Business Cards are a great idea.  We take a picture of them and their name tag.  

We've taken pictures in the past- after we didn't have the names for our first survey - but I like the business cards as well 

24 minutes ago, fsa1155 said:

I would like to start doing the "Hero" cards.  Where do we get these?  Are they at the main customer service desk or can I get them at the Haven Concierge desk?  We are staying in the Haven for our next cruise. 

Not all ships do the the Hero cards- the Getaway had them in Oct but the Pearl CS desk had no idea what I was talking about and kept pointing to the tell Mario box.  The MDR did have a comment card re service at each table every night. Funny not sure how much they are read - cause one of the times I asked for the Hero Cards- the CSR gave me a few of them - and about half of them were already filled out- someone must of mixed the completed ones with the blank ones. 

You do need the employee's full name- to ensure they get credit with the hero cards- we've started taking pictures of these crew members- most cheerfully pose as they understand why. It also helps when completed the post cruise survey .

4 hours ago, TSUmom said:

I always bring thank you cards and have never noticed envelopes at the concierge desk 

We also have brought cards in the past. It gives the personal touch and we actually didn't see our Room Steward the last morning- so we left it on the counter for him. 

I have no problem going back to the in person drill- as someone who spent 6 hrs outside in a life jacket of the Grandeur of the Seas in  May 2013 - with the lifeboats dropped as close as you could get to abandoning ship while they fought a fire in the back of the boat. I am very happy to do what ever is needed to know where my muster drill is - and help train the staff in managing getting all of the passengers where they need to be to be safe.  Doing drills with just staff isn't realistic- you need to have the real thing- people just being people like so many of you have stated in this thread.  I will say I have comfort in having seen the emergency procedure in action- seeing first hand how they looked for every passenger & knew where they were.  ( we even received confirmation that our family was safe as we were split between 3 muster stations)   So these drills are not just for us- but for the crew- How many crew members change ships, are totally new to cruising- they need the drills as much as we need to know where to go.  How many posters would be the first to complain after the emergency that staff didn't know what they were doing. 

Curious- how do they do emergency drills in school, at your job - is it just a video- or a live drill?  

Re the crowds- it's amazing how we all cry we want to be back to normal- don't need to be 6 ft apart, don't want to wear a mask but are the first to play that card when it's something you really don't want to do.  It's an hour out of your cruise- but it could save your life.  

Safe Cruising 

8 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

With regard to reading tons of information, read NCL's website "Certain staff positions (e.g., concierge, butler, youth programme staff and beverage service) provide service on an individual basis to only some guests and do not benefit from the overall service charge. We encourage those guests to acknowledge good service from these staff members with appropriate gratuities."

https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/cruise-faq/how-to-honour-good-service-cene

 

When asked, here's the general guidelines we use:

 

We stay in the Haven/Suites about half the time. Regardless of stateroom class, we would tip a room steward $5-$10/per persons in the stateroom/per day. If there is are waiters or assistant waiters who we see frequently, around $50+ at the end of the cruise. 

 

We tip a butler $10-$15/per person in stateroom/per day.

 

We tip the Concierge $5-$10/per person in stateroom/per day. 

 

We will tip bar waiters and bar tenders $1 per drink. By the second or third day, our drinks are being prepared by the time we get to the bar (Birds are creatures of habit, so that works just fine)

 

We always do Hero cards which help the crew members in their evaluations and progression in the cruise line. We take the time to do a good recommendation (not just a "good job" card). 

Thank you this is very helpful- funny how NCL charges the suite/Haven extra which I always thought because there were additional people who service only those in these areas- so that extra $5 would go into that fund that they would get some monies from our daily service charges. We tip above the usual service charge for our stewards when we previously cruise.  Glad to have a baseline for the Haven.   

Do you give any tip at the start of the cruise- or just at the end to your butler & concierge ?

15 hours ago, Greenpea2 said:

You might want to check out this Haven thread--has lots of info on it.

 

Very informative thread- it helped us decide to upgrade to a Haven cabin directly instead of taking a gamble on the upgrade bidding process- we got the cabin we wanted- for pretty much what we think the bid would have been - and it was the last Spa haven cabin - sooo excited.