CA to Epic Haven (June 05, 2016 Embarkation)

[strykes]

We were able to board at around 11:30 A.M. The terminal filled up by 11.

 

Thanks! Do you have any idea when the Haven courtyard filled up, if it did? I'm considering spending as much time as possible in Barcelona and not getting to the ship until the afternoon. But, if all the chairs are taken...I know kids are allowed up in Posh for sail away - do you know if they were allowed up there before sail away the first day?

[Sissaaaaaa]

How is your cabin? Is it noisy? Thanks!

[jewelmick]

Thank you for posting the menus. We will be in the Haven in February. Is this the new menu? Also, since there are two appetizer and entrée menus, can I assume that the first set is lunch and the last set is dinner?

 

~PaulaJoy

 

Thanks! Do you have any idea when the Haven courtyard filled up, if it did? I'm considering spending as much time as possible in Barcelona and not getting to the ship until the afternoon. But, if all the chairs are taken...I know kids are allowed up in Posh for sail away - do you know if they were allowed up there before sail away the first day?

 

Thanks so much for the review! So much helpful info already.

 

Did you notice if there is a special Vegetarian menu?

 

What are the rules for the Posh for kids?

 

Thanks, again...great pictures.

[fatherlu]

How is your cabin? Is it noisy? Thanks!

 

Very quiet.

[fatherlu]

Thanks! Do you have any idea when the Haven courtyard filled up, if it did? I'm considering spending as much time as possible in Barcelona and not getting to the ship until the afternoon. But, if all the chairs are taken...I know kids are allowed up in Posh for sail away - do you know if they were allowed up there before sail away the first day?

 

Haven courtyard is hardly filled and mostly empty in the afternoons and evenings. I never used the posh so wouldn't know. Didn't participate in sail away either...sorry.

[fatherlu]

Thank you for posting the menus. We will be in the Haven in February. Is this the new menu? Also, since there are two appetizer and entrée menus, can I assume that the first set is lunch and the last set is dinner?

 

~PaulaJoy

 

They are the new menus on the Epic. You are correct on the menu.

[fatherlu]

Thanks so much for the review! So much helpful info already.

 

Did you notice if there is a special Vegetarian menu?

 

What are the rules for the Posh for kids?

 

Thanks, again...great pictures.

 

Unfortunately, I did not notice about vegetarian options.

[fatherlu]

Can you tell me what espresso and/or coffee maker is in the room? Is it Lavazza or Nespresso, and if Nespresso, which machine? Evoluo, Lattissima, CitiZ? Also, is there frothing capability in the room? (I need to know whether to bring my Aeroccino).

 

It is the Bespresso but I don't know the model.

[suron]

Haven courtyard is hardly filled and mostly empty in the afternoons and evenings. I never used the posh so wouldn't know. Didn't participate in sail away either...sorry.

 

I think you will find that the Posh Club is for adults only during the cruise. I purchased a pass for my week on Epic from Barcelona and it was $59 well spent. It is a lovely area with comfy loungers, a bar for food and drinks and the waiter was excellent, attending to your every needs. To get a pass you need to get to Guest Services as soon as you board as they are limited. You get your cabin card swiped which will then give you access to the Posh Club area.

 

Suzanne

[fatherlu]

It is the Bespresso but I don't know the model.

 

Here are some more pictures. Typo on the Nespresso previously.

 

Haven 16017 Second Bedroom Setup

 

Haven 16017 Living Room Sleeping Setup

 

Nespresso

 

Nespresso Cartridge

[fatherlu]

Someone on another thread about the Epic asked about the Posh and the Epic Grill. Each cruise will certainly be different and have its own characteristics and I can only speak about the cruise that I was on but on my cruise, I didn't see my Haven area heavily used. At the heaviest time during late morning to mid-day, the most filled was about 33% and that was a sea day. The other times maybe two or three people. Most of the time in the late afternoons and evenings, you seem to be able to have the entire Haven to yourself. The two times I went to the Posh during the afternoon on a stroll, I only saw about 3 or 4 people with 2 bar staff. I did find lots of other people sun bathing close to the Posh using certain areas that were available to all. I did not see the Epic Grill being utilized but I would see a staff or two.

 

The Haven children that sailed on this cruise appeared well mannered and from more refined families--both at the Epic Club restaurant, in the hallways and the few times I saw them in the Haven area. One night I did see the staff draining the entire Haven pool and refilling it by the next morning but I don't know what that was all about.

 

The Haven area has a unisex sauna and separate male and female steam rooms. I saw one person using it on Monday of the cruise and yesterday (Tues) afternoon, my wife and daughters had it to themselves for an hour before dinner time. I tried to use it also--has it to myself on the male steam room side but left after 10 minutes.

[fatherlu]

Does anyone need any Haven pictures that isn't normally available? I will try my best to get them.

[penwah2002]

I'm curious why you had to pay in the specialty restaurant. Our Haven stay on the BA in March included free dining at all restaurants except Ocean Blu which was worth every penny, I think it was 25pp.

[mal&jason]

Does anyone need any Haven pictures that isn't normally available? I will try my best to get them.

 

First, I want to thank you so much for posting the pictures and your review. You have answered so many questions about the Haven for me. Forgive me if some of these questions have been answered already, but I think not.

 

What do you think of your butler, steward, and concierge? What are their names?

 

What did you think of the Haven dining room? How many dinners have you had there?

 

Was the Haven dining room available for lunch on the day of embarkation?

 

We are in cabin 17000 but notice that the size is rather small at least on the NCL website. Do you know if the H4's on the sides are bigger than the aft (other than 17001 of course, which is bigger than all of them)?

 

Did you find that your balcony was big enough for you? Did it matter on such a port intensive trip?

 

As far as pictures, the most important ones for us were the extra beds in H4. I think that will definitely help us plan where the boys will sleep.

 

When did you make reservations for dinner/shows? Before the trip? Did the concierge help you out of any pickles?

 

How long did it take you to tender from Cannes? What do you think is the fastest this can be done?

 

Thank you so much, fatherlu!

 

Mallory

[cincicruisers]

Enjoying your trip report. Looking forward to the rest.

[mm3386]

Is anyone else having problems with the pictures loading in the thread? I can't see them. I was really looking forward to them as I'll be on the Epic in the Haven later this year. Any suggestions on how I can get them to load? All I get is a gray square with a line through the square.

[fatherlu]

Appreciate all the questions. I will attempt to to answer all of them, however my Internet package is running low. Perhaps I will answer some of them in a few days and the rest when I'm back home. I will also send alternative ways of downloading pictures when I'm home.

[trrrip]

Thanks so much for posting this review. We will be in the Haven in 16021 in October and our adult son will be using the second bedroom. It was great to see your pictures which gave a good indication of the space.

 

Enjoy rest of your cruise:)

[bakersdozen12]

Is anyone else having problems with the pictures loading in the thread? I can't see them. I was really looking forward to them as I'll be on the Epic in the Haven later this year. Any suggestions on how I can get them to load? All I get is a gray square with a line through the square.

 

 

I'm not having any problems seeing them. It might be that your browser is missing a necessary plugin needed to view them. But then again, I'm not a computer expert.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[fatherlu]

penwah2002...regarding your question, I did not have the free dining package in all the restaurants. I had a small $150 credit for specialty dining.

 

mal&jason...my butler is Jorge Ybanez, a Filipino. My concierge is Noemi Yap, a female and Filipino also I believe, though I'm not sure. She has two assistants.

 

Jorge is extremely helpful and polite. The same with Noemi but as a concierge, she is less hands-on probably due to the larger size Haven. She delegates many of the work like assistance with priority show escorts to her assistants. Neither she nor her assistants will Greet you in a daily capacity like some concierges in smaller ships like the Pride of America (James). While she is kind, polite and helpful when you go to her desk, she seems really busy most of the time.

 

I really like the decor and quietness of the Haven dining room. Sometimes it gets busy but most of the time it is only one third full or less. The assistant manager Daniel (from Serbia) is friendly, hepful and runs a tight service staff that treats you with the highest level of service. My family and I had all our dinners there except for 2. The Haven was also available for lunch on embarkation day.

 

As for your size questions, I'm not sure.

 

As for the balcony size, though small, was sufficient for us since we rarely used it on a port intensive trip.

 

I did make most of the reservations online prior to the trip but there were ones that you can only make on the ship. The iConcierge app is supposed to allow us to make it but I encountered a problem of not being able to make it for my children. The concierge was able to resolve that--however the app should have been able to book those had it been operating properly.

 

As for Cannes, we we're able to tender immediately at 8 A.M.--just met at the concierge desk and she or her assistant will bring you down. From that point, it took us about 15 minutes to arrive at the dock. The dock has restrooms and WiFi.

 

For everyone else...I still intend to write about my impression of the overall service in the coming days. I also had a hiccup with my Internet usage and will review the Internet manager's response as well as the how who the hotel director is and how helpful he can be.

 

Will be in Marseilles today in my last port before disembarkation in Barcelona tomorrow.

[fatherlu]

Here are additional pictures:

 

Epic Grill Menu - Open 2 P.M. to 4 P.M.

 

16017 Balcony Looking Out

 

16017 Bath Window (Same for Shower) Without Blinds

 

 

Manual Blinds For the Modest -- Especially When In Port

[fatherlu]

My overall impression of the Epic Haven is a very positive one. The staff were polite, accommodating and professional. When I travel, I do my best to learn about the background of those who assists me. The personal information that I have received is not necessarily from those directly assisting me but from the many that I have had the chance to get to know during my week. Many of the servers and attendants work 7 days a week for their contractual terms of 8 months. They all seem to work split shifts, usually with a 6-hour break then returning to do the other part of the shift. Their work day far exceed the 8 hours that Western workers are used to. They often have to put up with unreasonable demands while maintaining composure and humility. They do all of these things and much more so many cruisers can have a temporary escape from their lives. Compared to Western wages, many of these workers would be at a below average income level but for the economic translation when living in countries with lower economic prosperity.

 

It is not necessary for me to list the majority of the Haven staff when practically all of them were outstanding. There are three names though that I would like to mention to assist Cruise Critic Haven cruisers to be aware of. At the practical top, you should be aware of Andy Stuart, COO, who should be a last resort should you have an unresolvable problem during your cruise. He is quite an amazing executive who responds to valid customer concerns--if not personally, he will take the time to refer your concerns to the appropriate person.

 

At the local Epic level, the go to officer is Richard Janicki, the hotel director. At our Cruise Critic meeting on board, he reassured CC members that if you couldn't resolve any issues, go to him before writing negative things about your experience. The only memorable negative experience I had was with the Internet manager, David Shang. It was difficult enough with slow Internet speeds, but when you couldn't log off in a limited Internet plan, it becomes even more frustrating. This happened to me a few times but on one occasion, I took the time to meet with the Internet manager to resolve the issue. When a woman left his table frustrated and having witnessed Shang's cold and unfriendly attitude in front of her, I was prepared to step out of the comforts of the Haven to deal with the matter. What surprised me was that when it was my turn, I had to almost grovel for assistance in front of a man that didn't even Greet me with regular customer service decency. He just looked at his laptop and typed most of the time while occasionally looking up to ask a few questions. Before he would even give a 16-minute credit for NCL Internet system failure to log off, he actually asked how many minutes of those 16 minutes were actually used so he could deduct the 1 or 2 minutes from the credit. His actions were so out of the culture of NCL that Richard Janicki promised to resolve after my discussion of the incident with Richard. I wanted to share the incident with him since I would be writing about it to help future Epic Haven guests know what to expect. Richard was also kind enough to provide extra internet connection time so I could send these updates (with pictures taking the most upload time) while still on board. So if you have a problem that other staff cannot resolve, remember Richard Janicki, your hotel director.

 

Finally, I would especially like to commend the assistant manager at the Haven restaurant, Daniel Ostojic. He is a really great manager, hard worker and has the unique ability to to connect with all Haven guests who come to Epic Club. I think he has all the qualities and abilities for upper level management. Daniel, if he is around on your Epic cruise, will make your Haven dining experience so much more enjoyable.

[mal&jason]

Hello Fatherlu,

 

Thank you so much for all of your posts and pictures. Thanks also for answering my many questions.

 

I am even more excited now for our cruise in September.

 

Thanks again,

Mallory

[fatherlu]

My family decided to leave early at 6:15 a.m. We had an early departure at 9:15 a.m. Make sure when you exit the ship you use the EZ walk off line if you choose the early walk off. There were many people in line waiting to pick up their baggage but it was way too early.

 

If you decide to take a taxi to the airport the cost would be 39 euros for four passengers or lower. If you have more than four there will be a supplemental charge. The charge for our family was 46 euros and with tip, it was an even 50. If you see that your terminal doesn't have enough taxis feel free to go to the next terminal.

 

Most of the time taxi drivers in Barcelona tend to take advantage of tourists. We know that but it's not worth our time so we just are more fogiving.

 

Out of all the countries we used taxis outside of the United States, we think that England generally has the most ethical standards.

 

We arrived at the airport within 20 minutes. I'm currently just waiting until my flight boards in approximately 2 hours.

 

Note that there's free Wi-Fi at the airport but be prepared to go through a more lengthy sign up. It is worth it though.

Edited June 12, 2016 by fatherlu

[fatherlu]

Is anyone else having problems with the pictures loading in the thread? I can't see them. I was really looking forward to them as I'll be on the Epic in the Haven later this year. Any suggestions on how I can get them to load? All I get is a gray square with a line through the square.

 

Are you still having problems seeing the pictures? If so, have you tried any other browser?

 

Let me know to see if I still need to provide separate links. If no response, I will assume you have resolved it.