Observations from the Breakaway Haven

[rattanchair]

16 hours ago, amygutman said:

Different experiences on different ships - one poster got upset on another forum when I described a number of times that we have been able to pre-order or request things from other restaurants as they felt I (and other posters with similar experiences) was receiving special treatment. 

Today, on the Dawn, my son wanted something special from the garden cafe while we were in another restaurant venue. Our waiter asked permission from someone (? maitre d'). and about 10 minutes later my son was munching on his diner. Did not have to go to our cabin nor was it suggested. 

I am sorry you are not having the same experience, and am I truly sorry you are not loving your time in the Haven. 

Amy

Dear Miss Amy,  This is the very first cruise, after more than a hundred cruises in our lifetime that a $50 tip to the maitre d' at the very on set of the cruise had no effect on my getting served in the Haven a specialty restaurant meal. I chalk it up to a very inexperienced maitre d'. And no this will not stop me from my tipping the extremely hard working people on board. My tipping has always resulted in getting the treatment I desire. Their are only two tables for two next to the window, first come first serve. We preferred a table for two against the wall, away from the other diners, coughing and hacking through their entire meal.

[rattanchair]

4 hours ago, Lupush said:

We'll be on the June 20th sailing on the Breakaway doing an H6 for the first time.  We've been doing H5's previously, however with our Son now getting bigger we opted for more room.  A bit nervous about the distance from the Courtyard and Haven Lounge/Restaurant.  Have you found it inconvenient getting from aft to forward?

Dear Lup,  Please let us all know if you can order and receive a specialty restaurant meal in the Haven. If in fact you can, that will really set me off ! 

[Notnewtoit]

Ooof, not my cup of tea either... sad. My desire to sail on an NCL mega-ship has declined to zero. Not to say that there aren't drunks on the Jewels either but at least the numbers help the odds. Seems like drunken/obnoxious behavior is the emerging theme for the summer of 2019.

[Lupush]

1 hour ago, rattanchair said:

Dear Lup,  Please let us all know if you can order and receive a specialty restaurant meal in the Haven. If in fact you can, that will really set me off ! 

I do the specialty restaurants typically 5 out of 7 nights.  Since we get the 3 UDP and 2 extra dinners as Platinum guests.

[rattanchair]

24 minutes ago, Lupush said:

I do the specialty restaurants typically 5 out of 7 nights.  Since we get the 3 UDP and 2 extra dinners as Platinum guests.

Dear Lup,  Yes, we too got the 3 UPD, but our desire was to have them delivered to the Haven restaurant, even if there was a charge,  so we would not have to venture out of the Haven for meals. We did not avail ourselves of the 3UPD and paid the extra service charge. Frustrated, we ventured out of the Haven and found the Manhattan Supper Club a delight for  3 shared desserts and dancing. Check it out, best attired passengers on the ship. If , if, if, we ever return to the Breakaway, we would avail ourselves more of the Specialty dining ,which we missed because of our misconceptions of the Haven. Before you book a restaurant, try to wait for the evening of, check the weather conditions, then contact your concierge to book the Waterfront for you. Walk around deck 8, Waterfront, several times in the afternoon to decide optimum ambience before booking and pick a table up-wind from the coughers and hackers.

Edited June 17, 2019 by rattanchair
puncuation

[rattanchair]

3 hours ago, Notnewtoit said:

Ooof, not my cup of tea either... sad. My desire to sail on an NCL mega-ship has declined to zero. Not to say that there aren't drunks on the Jewels either but at least the numbers help the odds. Seems like drunken/obnoxious behavior is the emerging theme for the summer of 2019.

Dear Not,   Leaving Saturday on the Celebrity Equinox to report on its' Revolution'. Will be posting my 'observations'. Will report from the Luminae, Michael's Club, or the' Retreat,' its new name?  On how the suite guests compare to the Breakaway.

[amygutman]

On 6/17/2019 at 3:59 PM, rattanchair said:

Dear Miss Amy,  This is the very first cruise, after more than a hundred cruises in our lifetime that a $50 tip to the maitre d' at the very on set of the cruise had no effect on my getting served in the Haven a specialty restaurant meal. I chalk it up to a very inexperienced maitre d'. And no this will not stop me from my tipping the extremely hard working people on board. My tipping has always resulted in getting the treatment I desire. Their are only two tables for two next to the window, first come first serve. We preferred a table for two against the wall, away from the other diners, coughing and hacking through their entire meal.

Windows to the ocean any day of the week > center of the room!!

I'd love to meet up with you and your wife on a cruise and swap experiences - and I am happy to hear that one bad experience has not put you off cruising. 

BTW...if you want the ultimate experience, I highly, highly recommend the Villas at GSC. As quiet or as social as you want to be...had my birthday and our anniversary celebrations their yesterday, and let me tell you - the level of service even put the Haven proper to shame. I'll be posting a review with photos when we get back home. That amazing experience alone will keep bringing us back to our least favorite itinerary!

Amy

[rattanchair]

6 hours ago, amygutman said:

Windows to the ocean any day of the week > center of the room!!

I'd love to meet up with you and your wife on a cruise and swap experiences - and I am happy to hear that one bad experience has not put you off cruising. 

BTW...if you want the ultimate experience, I highly, highly recommend the Villas at GSC. As quiet or as social as you want to be...had my birthday and our anniversary celebrations their yesterday, and let me tell you - the level of service even put the Haven proper to shame. I'll be posting a review with photos when we get back home. That amazing experience alone will keep bringing us back to our least favorite itinerary!

Amy

Dear Miss Amy,  You are very kind and gracious  and I look forward to reading your review. Thank you.

[danak13]

On 6/16/2019 at 8:31 PM, NLH Arizona said:

Usually first week of December.

Good to know! I am booked the first week of December on the Breakaway 🙂

[Lupush]

On 6/17/2019 at 6:12 PM, rattanchair said:

Dear Lup,  Yes, we too got the 3 UPD, but our desire was to have them delivered to the Haven restaurant, even if there was a charge,  so we would not have to venture out of the Haven for meals. We did not avail ourselves of the 3UPD and paid the extra service charge. Frustrated, we ventured out of the Haven and found the Manhattan Supper Club a delight for  3 shared desserts and dancing. Check it out, best attired passengers on the ship. If , if, if, we ever return to the Breakaway, we would avail ourselves more of the Specialty dining ,which we missed because of our misconceptions of the Haven. Before you book a restaurant, try to wait for the evening of, check the weather conditions, then contact your concierge to book the Waterfront for you. Walk around deck 8, Waterfront, several times in the afternoon to decide optimum ambience before booking and pick a table up-wind from the coughers and hackers.

Just out of curiosity OP, have you stayed in Haven before and have they brought you Specialty Restaurant menu items?  

[rattanchair]

3 hours ago, Lupush said:

Just out of curiosity OP, have you stayed in Haven before and have they brought you Specialty Restaurant menu items?  

Dear Lup, Have not been on an NCL ship for 20 years. Last time was the Norway and the Dreamward, Skyward and started out on the Sunward II. Was sold a 'bill of goods' by the posters on these CC Boards. Not blaming NCL. Leaving this Saturday on Celebrity Equinox in a CS. Will be reporting and comparing with my observations, on their 'revolution'.

[Vyhanek]

On 6/14/2019 at 5:02 PM, rattanchair said:

For what it is worth, I have another Breakaway observation. We just started this 'ship within a ship' concept of cruising. We thought we could spend all our time within The Haven, as within the Coastal Kitchen, the Luminae, the Retreat, or the Yacht Club. We started out with a big misconception with the NCL Haven when it comes to dining. NCL posters sold us a bill of goods when it comes to circumventing the limited, never changing Haven breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. Several have posted Haven guests can order off Main or Specialty Restaurants menus and have them delivered to the Haven Restaurant for your dining pleasure.This we found to be untrue on this sailing, June 09. You can accomplish this, but delivery will only be through your butler and only to your cabin. Now who likes to dress up and eat dinner in their cabin? Yes, perhaps if you are sick, incapacitated, or quarantined. Then forget about people watching and catching a 'show'. So from the very start of your cruise be ever so adventurous and book all the Specialty Restaurant venues and the Manhattan Supper Club (when the dance band is playing). We missed all the Specialty venues this cruise (did not use our 3x specialty perk). You might as well, as we discovered that the Haven is not really as NCL is marketing it to be--it is exactly like the rest of the ship.

 

The Haven restaurant was never intended for all meals and the menus have never changed in the Haven restaurant.   Just as the menu in Cagney's or Le Bistro never change daily either!     The idea is not that you will eat in the Haven every meal, the venue isn't large enough to have every Haven passenger eat every meal there.    Its a dining option, it's clear it's a dining option otherwise why do you think you get several Specialty Dining perks included in your Haven package?   This design keeps the Haven restaurant small and intimate and the waiters can give individual attention.   If all Haven guests were eating there very night it would be a very busy place, less intimate, less personal service.    Keeping the menu the same, keeps the Haven restaurant small and personal.    Your expectation is unreasonable here.

 

Same with the expectation that you'd go into the Haven restaurant and order a meal from a different Specialty restaurant.    I don't know why that idea has floated around this board.   It's never been regularly practiced.    I've been a Haven cruiser at least 10 times,  waiters in the Haven DO NOT RUN ALL OVER THE SHIP to bring you a meal from another restaurant.    If you want a meal from Le Bistro, use your free perk as part of your Haven package and go to Le Bistro.  Or use your Butler.   Again, your expectation here is unreasonable, and lacks basic courtesy and common sense.   Even if other passengers have done this, it's still not appropriate.   That equates to something similar as bringing a meal in from McDonald's while the rest of your family is eating at the Outback Steakhouse.    

 

I've been on all the cruise lines you've mentioned.    The NCL product with the Haven is still better than anything labeled...."A ship within a ship"    The NCL Haven product is a ship within a ship with the additional included perk of dining at the other Specialty Restaurants on board included in your fare.    

 

There are plenty of legitimate things to complain about in the Breakaway Haven such as......The extreme lack of sundeck space and loungers on the Haven sundeck for the Haven passengers.    The sundeck needs to be 3-4 times the size.     Or that the Haven lounge/bar area needs to be 3/4 times larger.    I think there's about 5 or 6 bar chairs maybe at the bar.    It's completely inadequate for the number of Haven guests.    I also think there should be a bar on the Haven sundeck.    Expecting passengers to go down 2 floors to the one Haven bar is a lot.    The servers are overwhelmed running those 2 flights and that makes bar service very slow.     There are legitimate concerns about the Breakaway Haven.

 

 

[amygutman]

22 hours ago, rattanchair said:

Dear Miss Amy,  You are very kind and gracious  and I look forward to reading your review. Thank you.

🤗 Right back at you.

[rattanchair]

2 hours ago, Vyhanek said:

 

The Haven restaurant was never intended for all meals and the menus have never changed in the Haven restaurant.   Just as the menu in Cagney's or Le Bistro never change daily either!     The idea is not that you will eat in the Haven every meal, the venue isn't large enough to have every Haven passenger eat every meal there.    Its a dining option, it's clear it's a dining option otherwise why do you think you get several Specialty Dining perks included in your Haven package?   This design keeps the Haven restaurant small and intimate and the waiters can give individual attention.   If all Haven guests were eating there very night it would be a very busy place, less intimate, less personal service.    Keeping the menu the same, keeps the Haven restaurant small and personal.    Your expectation is unreasonable here.

 

Same with the expectation that you'd go into the Haven restaurant and order a meal from a different Specialty restaurant.    I don't know why that idea has floated around this board.   It's never been regularly practiced.    I've been a Haven cruiser at least 10 times,  waiters in the Haven DO NOT RUN ALL OVER THE SHIP to bring you a meal from another restaurant.    If you want a meal from Le Bistro, use your free perk as part of your Haven package and go to Le Bistro.  Or use your Butler.   Again, your expectation here is unreasonable, and lacks basic courtesy and common sense.   Even if other passengers have done this, it's still not appropriate.   That equates to something similar as bringing a meal in from McDonald's while the rest of your family is eating at the Outback Steakhouse.    

 

I've been on all the cruise lines you've mentioned.    The NCL product with the Haven is still better than anything labeled...."A ship within a ship"    The NCL Haven product is a ship within a ship with the additional included perk of dining at the other Specialty Restaurants on board included in your fare.    

 

There are plenty of legitimate things to complain about in the Breakaway Haven such as......The extreme lack of sundeck space and loungers on the Haven sundeck for the Haven passengers.    The sundeck needs to be 3-4 times the size.     Or that the Haven lounge/bar area needs to be 3/4 times larger.    I think there's about 5 or 6 bar chairs maybe at the bar.    It's completely inadequate for the number of Haven guests.    I also think there should be a bar on the Haven sundeck.    Expecting passengers to go down 2 floors to the one Haven bar is a lot.    The servers are overwhelmed running those 2 flights and that makes bar service very slow.     There are legitimate concerns about the Breakaway Haven.

 

 

Dear V, Your grievances are legitimate for you and your ilk. My ilk do not sit at bars and do not drink alcohol ( a couple glasses of white wine excepted). We do not sit in the sun or bath in hot tubs or pools. What suits you does not suit us. We tried out the Haven, and it suits us just fine in every other regard, except dining. We were under the false impression we could have other dining options in the Haven, which turned out to be false as of the June 9 2019 sailing. We only read the reviews from posters like you on these CC boards. As I posted, we are the type of cruisers that do not venture out of the Haven enclave if we do not have to. NCL is forcing guests like myself to go elsewhere to find our 'Goldilocks' suite venue. We do not want to venture out and rub elbows with the hoi polloi to have TCZ ( which from OP may not be as expected anyway). Sour grapes!

Edited June 21, 2019 by rattanchair

[Lupush]

14 hours ago, rattanchair said:

Dear Lup, Have not been on an NCL ship for 20 years. Last time was the Norway and the Dreamward, Skyward and started out on the Sunward II. Was sold a 'bill of goods' by the posters on these CC Boards. Not blaming NCL. Leaving this Saturday on Celebrity Equinox in a CS. Will be reporting and comparing with my observations, on their 'revolution'.

Understood.  For what it's worth, I've sailed in the Haven quite a bit.  Have never seen someone or been offered to have a menu item from a specialty restaurant brought to the Haven likely due to the galley issues as previously mentioned.  I have however ordered menu items from Le Bistro for example and had them brought into Cagney's when I was having dinner.  Hope you enjoy your cruise on Celebrity.  My wife an I have been considering a cruise with them and I will be following your report intently!

[rattanchair]

4 hours ago, Lupush said:

Understood.  For what it's worth, I've sailed in the Haven quite a bit.  Have never seen someone or been offered to have a menu item from a specialty restaurant brought to the Haven likely due to the galley issues as previously mentioned.  I have however ordered menu items from Le Bistro for example and had them brought into Cagney's when I was having dinner.  Hope you enjoy your cruise on Celebrity.  My wife an I have been considering a cruise with them and I will be following your report intently!

Dear Lup,  Thank you for your reply. You are a true gentleman.

[elwood_98034]

43 minutes ago, rattanchair said:

Dear Lup,  Thank you for your reply. You are a true gentleman.

Mr Rattan, I feel slightly let down as well. I was operating under the same misplaced belief as yourself, and there appears to be a lot of conflicting information. 

 

I was secretly hoping to scam a good Club Sandwich with fries on the side. It is my guilty pleasure. From what I have seen I think I can assemble one myself in the Garden Cafe, but there is nothing like when a well put together one hits the table in front of you. Even better, a Croque Madame.

[rattanchair]

On 6/21/2019 at 2:13 PM, elwood_98034 said:

Mr Rattan, I feel slightly let down as well. I was operating under the same misplaced belief as yourself, and there appears to be a lot of conflicting information. 

 

I was secretly hoping to scam a good Club Sandwich with fries on the side. It is my guilty pleasure. From what I have seen I think I can assemble one myself in the Garden Cafe, but there is nothing like when a well put together one hits the table in front of you. Even better, a Croque Madame.

 

Dear El,  Had a great meal assembled for me on Celebrity Equinox, Quisine, Le Petite Chef. Not only was it assembled on the table in front of me in animation accompanied by a French female vocalist singing French favorites; it appeared to my satisfaction, voila, in front of my very eyes at the precise moment by real chefs.

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 4:06 PM, rattanchair said:

Dear Lup,  Please let us all know if you can order and receive a specialty restaurant meal in the Haven. If in fact you can, that will really set me off ! 

Dear Lup,  It has been over 6 weeks since your cruise. Did you try to order a specialty restaurant meal in the Haven restaurant? I discern from your posts you are an honorable bloke and would never deceive a fellow CC poster.

[Sweetnspicy]

On 6/15/2019 at 1:21 PM, andymattmom said:

We were in the Breakaway Haven a couple weeks ago. Saw a gentleman come to lunch at the restaurant wet, towel wrapped around his neck. He proceeds to lift his shirt up and dry off his stomach and armpits in the restaurant.

 

This made me laugh out loud 🤣🤣🤣