Opinions please-Norwegian escape haven aft penthouse questions

[janice2348]

DH and I are booked on the March 3rd sailing in a haven aft penthouse on deck 12. I chose the aft for the larger balcony. I have read conflicting information so I am hoping to get feedback from those who have sailed in these cabins:

 

1. Did your butler refuse any service because you were not actually " inside" the haven?

 

 

2. Was there soot on your balcony and chairs? If so, did the steward clean the soot or did you?

 

 

3. Did you book shows/ restaurants before you sailed? Or did you go through the haven concierge after sailing?

 

 

4. If you did not book shows/ restaurants in advance, were you ever refused seating?

 

 

5. Were there a lot of unruly kids in the haven pool or sun deck in March? Did the staff take care of it or was it ignored? (We don't mind kids- just parents that allow them to run wild)

 

 

6. Would you recommend the aft suites? Why or why not?

 

 

7. Would you sail in the haven again? Why or why not?

 

 

8. Is there anything else you would like to add?

 

 

We are looking for a nice relaxing cruise, away from as much noise as possible. We will be spending a lot of time on our balcony.

 

 

Thank you in advance for your input. CC has always been a great resource. I know you all will come through!

[Ranger719]

Was in the Escape Aft Penthouse 2 weeks ago ( third time)...

Butler will never refuse service because of where it's located...they will tell you that you will see them less then if you are in the Haven itself because your Butler has two Aft penthouses on seven different decks to take care of...

 

There definitely was soot on this last trip you're room steward with will take care of cleaning it...

I book almost all my restaurants and shows before the trip...

Some restaurant times may be difficult to get even with your concierge once you get a board I wanted to change a late seating at Cagney's on Friday night to 8 PM and concierge couldn't do it...

I don't want to start a separate thread about unruly kids in the Haven there's been enough said about that but yes there were a couple of days that we could not stay in the Haven pool area because of several sets of 10-year-old brothers running and screaming around for 5 -6 hours

Absolutely love the aft suites...when the kids become too unruly in the Haven we just go back to the huge balcony and spend the afternoon there...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[janice2348]

Was in the Escape Aft Penthouse 2 weeks ago ( third time)...

Butler will never refuse service because of where it's located...they will tell you that you will see them less then if you are in the Haven itself because your Butler has two Aft penthouses on seven different decks to take care of...

 

There definitely was soot on this last trip you're room steward with will take care of cleaning it...

I book almost all my restaurants and shows before the trip...

Some restaurant times may be difficult to get even with your concierge once you get a board I wanted to change a late seating at Cagney's on Friday night to 8 PM and concierge couldn't do it...

I don't want to start a separate thread about unruly kids in the Haven there's been enough said about that but yes there were a couple of days that we could not stay in the Haven pool area because of several sets of 10-year-old brothers running and screaming around for 5 -6 hours

Absolutely love the aft suites...when the kids become too unruly in the Haven we just go back to the huge balcony and spend the afternoon there...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks so much for your input

[Two Wheels Only]

1. Never. The butler who works the H6 doesn't work the "inside the Haven" suites that week. The butlers rotate so the quality of the butler is important, not your location. Each outside area (H6, H7, H8, H9) is treated the same as the inside Haven (H5, H4, H3, H2).

 

2. One or 2 drops for the week. No problem.

 

3. Both. No problem.

 

4. Never.

 

5. Every child was well behaved.

 

6. 100% yes.

 

7. Coincidentally, I asked my wife if she'd do NCL without the Haven.....it's Haven or MSC Yacht Club for us. (She's not a fan of RCCL or Carnival)

 

8. H6s vary in room configuration and balcony size. Choose wisely.

[BirdTravels]

1. Did your butler refuse any service because you were not actually " inside" the haven?

Absolutely not.

 

2. Was there soot on your balcony and chairs? If so, did the steward clean the soot or did you?

Never had soot on any -away class ship

 

3. Did you book shows/ restaurants before you sailed? Or did you go through the haven concierge after sailing?

We always pre-book shows and restaurants. But adjust onboard based on the Havens cocktail party and other on-board activities.

 

4. If you did not book shows/ restaurants in advance, were you ever refused seating?

The concierge has the ability to "oversell" restaurants and shows. But, if a restaurant is totally oversold, even the concierge can't get you a seat. That being said, if the weather is nice and they open the outside waterfront seating, there is more of a chance to walk-in. If not, you may be offered that 9:30 seating.

 

5. Were there a lot of unruly kids in the haven pool or sun deck in March? Did the staff take care of it or was it ignored? (We don't mind kids- just parents that allow them to run wild)

What do you propose the staff "take care of"? They are paying customers using the facilities like everyone else.

 

6. Would you recommend the aft suites? Why or why not?

Good balcony. Way, way too far away from the Havens courtyard. Gotta hike to get to the elevator, then walk the length of the ship for every meal in the Havens. Or to use the Havens facilities.

 

7. Would you sail in the haven again? Why or why not?

We sail about 30% Havens/Suites and 70% balcony/minisuite. We sail about 5-6 times a year. It all comes down to price and what is important for any given cruise.

 

8. Is there anything else you would like to add?

If you are paying for the Havens, use the Havens. Otherwise, book an aft balcony or minisuite.

 

We are looking for a nice relaxing cruise, away from as much noise as possible. We will be spending a lot of time on our balcony.

We always, always, always say this, but never do. Too many other activities on the ship. And being all the way aft just makes getting to/from those activities that much further.

 

Thank you in advance for your input. CC has always been a great resource. I know you all will come through!

 

Have a great cruise.

[utwofan]

There was so much soot on our balcony that it is a big deterrent from ever booking aft again (also a problem on other ships we have booked aft). The soot was into the cushions and would not come out (except on our clothes). Always had to have towels on the seats and chairs. Steward occasionally made an attempt to clean the soot from the deck but it was continuous on our cruise and we wanted to use the deck area when it was convenient for us, not hours later. We did not see a Butler until day 2. Made a quick introduction and left and saw maybe 2 other times on the cruise. The bed was too large for the bedroom and required a lot of walking sideways and had to be careful using drawers under TV so as not to hit head on metal picture frames (when standing up). Mattress was terrible and sheets did not ever fit. Loved the bathroom facilities. Will mention that since we were not seen all the time, in and out of the Haven area, we never felt welcomed. Would always have to wait for service at the pool or bar or get a servers attention while the "regulars" were waited on as soon as they walked in (that did not change even after daily use of facility). Rarely received any sort of acknowledgement from staff when entering the Haven. They would look at you from their desk and not say anything. Haven restaurant menu was very unappealing to us and service times were way too long when there were few others in the restaurant. Overall not worth the extra costs to us but if we would do it again it would be in a forward cabin.

[andymattmom]

1. Absolutely not! Jorge was our butler on the May 20 Escape cruise and did a fabulous job at our requests.

 

 

2. NO! We never had any issues with soot. We were on deck 9 in H6 cabin 9318. I don't know if upper decks experience soot but we had none.

 

 

3. We did prior to sailing as soon as the booking window opened online. We did make some changes once we boarded but wanted things booked prior to boarding.

 

4. We changed a dinner reservation at Concierge desk in Haven with no issue- this was for Moderno. I don't know that I would have tried booking everything at the desk once on board.

 

5. Not on our sailing. Yes, there were kids and young ones BUT you never would have known they were in the Haven. One night a dinner we had small kids on both sides of us and they were better behaved than some adults on the ship!

 

6. YES! The balcony is great. We never once felt we weren't part of the Haven- others might say otherwise but we loved the location. On deck 9 the aft balconies are bigger so we had 3 loungers and a table with 4 chairs plus LOTS of room. Our cabin was on port side right above the waterfront and there was never any noise or issues. To walk to the Haven was about 650 steps according to my Apple Watch. We'd walk down the stairs to the Waterfront to the front elevators up to the Haven.

 

7. Yes, its a wonderful experience.

 

8. Make sure your cabin isn't right below a restaurant or the pool deck- try to find reviews. Our cabin had regular cabins above and we never heard any noise. I wouldn't hesitate to complain about unruly kids in the Haven--BUT you need to stop and think are they just being kids and having run OR are the parents not watching them and letting them run wild. If they were running wild I'd say something to Haven staff. If they are kids having fun with parents then let them be kids!

 

 

Enjoy the aft balcony. It was the best trip we've had cruising! I have pictures of ours I could post of the balcony. 9318 was a great cabin.

[janice2348]

Thanks everyone for your input. I did my homework as to deck, cabin configuration ( we wanted the windows in the bathroom) and a larger balcony. Deck 12 seemed a good choice as it has the a larger balcony and is away from restaurants etc above or below us. Someone here on CC did a spreadsheet on cabins. Very helpful!

 

I did not mean kids should not be kids. My aplologies if I offended anyone. Just getting an idea of what to expect from those who have sailed in aft suites.

[janice2348]

There was so much soot on our balcony that it is a big deterrent from ever booking aft again (also a problem on other ships we have booked aft). The soot was into the cushions and would not come out (except on our clothes). Always had to have towels on the seats and chairs. Steward occasionally made an attempt to clean the soot from the deck but it was continuous on our cruise and we wanted to use the deck area when it was convenient for us, not hours later. We did not see a Butler until day 2. Made a quick introduction and left and saw maybe 2 other times on the cruise. The bed was too large for the bedroom and required a lot of walking sideways and had to be careful using drawers under TV so as not to hit head on metal picture frames (when standing up). Mattress was terrible and sheets did not ever fit. Loved the bathroom facilities. Will mention that since we were not seen all the time, in and out of the Haven area, we never felt welcomed. Would always have to wait for service at the pool or bar or get a servers attention while the "regulars" were waited on as soon as they walked in (that did not change even after daily use of facility). Rarely received any sort of acknowledgement from staff when entering the Haven. They would look at you from their desk and not say anything. Haven restaurant menu was very unappealing to us and service times were way too long when there were few others in the restaurant. Overall not worth the extra costs to us but if we would do it again it would be in a forward cabin.

I'm sorry to hear that. Can I ask what deck you were on?

[Two Wheels Only]

Thanks everyone for your input. I did my homework as to deck, cabin configuration ( we wanted the windows in the bathroom) and a larger balcony. Deck 12 seemed a good choice as it has the a larger balcony and is away from restaurants etc above or below us. Someone here on CC did a spreadsheet on cabins. Very helpful!

The spreadsheet was for BA/GA, not Escape.

 

On ESCAPE, decks 11 and 14 have the bathroom with the balcony view (H6).

 

 

Also, for Escape, the H6 balcony sizes and size order are different than BA/GA.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Two Wheels Only

[cb at sea]

I would say that if you wish to use the balcony, and there is soot, clean it off and use the balcony. I think the wind direction will have something to do with if and where any "soot" lands!

[janice2348]

The spreadsheet was for BA/GA, not Escape.

 

On ESCAPE, decks 11 and 14 have the bathroom with the balcony view (H6).

 

 

Also, for Escape, the H6 balcony sizes and size order are different than BA/GA.

 

You are correct. I originally was looking at the breakaway but changed the sail date.

[Cruisin&Relaxin]

DH and I are booked on the March 3rd sailing in a haven aft penthouse on deck 12. I chose the aft for the larger balcony. I have read conflicting information so I am hoping to get feedback from those who have sailed in these cabins:

 

1. Did your butler refuse any service because you were not actually " inside" the haven?

.

.

.

 

!

 

If your butler ever refuses to provide any service, call the concierge or the hotel director to either understand why the butler was correct in refusing your request or to get them realigned ASAP to provide the ourstanding service they are known for.

[janice2348]

If your butler ever refuses to provide any service, call the concierge or the hotel director to either understand why the butler was correct in refusing your request or to get them realigned ASAP to provide the ourstanding service they are known for.

 

We had outstanding butler service on POA but some here have said that was not the case on Escape. I would most certainly say something as I expect outstanding service on Escape as well