Haven Access for non-Haven Guests - Thoughts?

[littlelulu01]

39 minutes ago, trician24 said:

I give props to NCL for reversing their decision as it was the right thing to do but things aren't 100% in my eyes....  It was very telling of some issues NCL has had for a while.   I called NCL on Saturday, Sunday and again yesterday regarding this Haven change.  Each time I got a different response from whoever I was speaking to.  Two of the reps had no idea and I was enlightening them ( both agreed it was ridiculous ).  The third said it was just an increase from the $35 guest fee that has been in place for some time now.  NCL dropped the ball by not educating their reps on a significant change being made.  This seems to be a common complaint that people call and get all kinds of different information depending on who they speak to.  NCL, and all large companies, need to make sure anyone who interacts with the public has the most current information and that they are giving out correct info.  If this went into effect on the 13th as another poster said, then why on the afternoon of the 17th a rep is still giving out the wrong info.  It only takes a few minutes to send out an email memo alert of a new policy.  Ideally the reps should have been alerted a few days before such a change occurred so they could have been prepared for the phone calls and questions.  And in a perfect world everyone with a Haven cruise booked should have been emailed of the change instead of finding out on social media or CC. 

Can’t say they ever had a reputation for the most knowledgeable phone reps so not anything new.  They have gotten better with their charter notifications,  cancellations and alternative offers.  Bottom line for me - I have been pretty disenchanted at times with changes, but in the end Ncl’s product has delivered once onboard.  I’ve yet to have a bad ncl cruise. I’ve have had an excellent time in their suites.  I’m ok giving them a chunk of vacation $, accepting that I’ll likely learn on cc of changes that will potentially affect my vacation.  I’m certain I’ll never have my own private luxury yacht and crew but sailing in a gv for two weeks out of Venice was pretty close.  When the Haven is within my price reach, I’m pretty confident that ncl is going to deliver.  I’ve never sailed with them in the Caribbean and not sure I would want to.  But for west coast, Alaska and Europe they have better itineraries and port times so that alone is worth it to me. Some think their food is fantastic.  Imo their specialty venues have seen a series of declines with free at sea, but they always surprise me with some redemption. 

[js]

4 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Seaside sails out of Miami....I've sailed on her,  and I'm in no hurry to get back on.  Nightlife being one of the main issues. Now granted, I've only sailed Balcony's on NCL and MSC...no Haven or Yacht Club for me. 

 

Yes, thank you.  I have my third cruise booked on Seaside for February 2020 in the YC. We sail YC on MSC and Haven (Platinum) on NCL and balconies on RCCL. As I mentioned, the nightlife on NCL IMO is much better suited for my family, which includes children 21 and 25 vs. MSC. When sailing with my family, I don't consider MSC. But my mom isn't big on going out at night and will go out with me if I want, but I'm fine relaxing after dinner in the YC with a few drinks and hanging. When with my family, we are out at a bar or casino until 2 am.

 

 

Edited June 18, 2019 by js

[rattanchair]

15 hours ago, NLH Arizona said:

Yes, they will (at least the did for me) on my December Breakaway cruise.  The Concierge came into La Cucina while I was there and in my ordering, I asked if the restaurant could make spaghetti bolognese, which they had taken off the new menus, for me and the server said no.  The next day as I entered The Haven for lunch, the Concierge told me that the Chef had spaghetti bolognese (I'm guessing he got it from the MDR, since they serve it for dinner) for me to have with the restaurant's breaded veal.  It took a little longer, but it was delish.  The Chef came out and said if there was anything else I wanted to just let them know and he would take care of me.  It might have changed since December, but when I was onboard, they were very accommodating.    

That just takes the cake !   I go on board expecting to receive what everyone else is raving about on these boards, and it does not happen. I believe your story from reading many of your past posts on different boards. You come across as a' straight shooter'. Thank you. I do hope that someone will write in on their experience in the Breakaway Haven restaurant this summer. I just got back and it bothers me that I did not receive the same treatment. I am going to contact my TA and see if she can call her NCL rep and find out dining policy in the Haven in regard to specialty restaurant meals being delivered to Haven guests in the Haven restaurant.

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 2:55 PM, Two Wheels Only said:

 

TBH, I don't really care about how the non-Haven guests get to the Haven restaurant. I care about how many non-Haven guests are there.  For me, it's about the numbers and if my wait time to get a table (which is usually zero) and my wait time for the meal (which is already high) is negatively impacted. 

 

If NCL offered the Haven restaurant to non-Haven guests but limited the offer to specific times, Haven guests would dine at times when the staff isn't likely to be overwhelmed with Haven and non-Haven guests. For ex., if non-Haven was given 5:30pm-6:30pm for dinner, Haven guests having dinner at 7:30pm wouldn't notice much of a decline in service. The way that it seems now, the concierge may give a reservation for a specific time but what if a dozen Haven guests show up for dinner 5 minutes after the non-Haven guests arrive?

Dear TWO,   Also include the fact that there are only 2  much coveted tables for two, next to the window in the Breakaway Haven Restaurant. Also the restaurant staff is shuffled around the ship.  They are short handed and closed the Moderno Waterfront on a perfect evening due to lack of servers. One relief hostess in the Haven is generally stationed at Ocean Blue, but was needed in the Haven one evening, as was the maitre d' . I am sure that the chefs only have 2 hands each, not sure if they can steal away a chef from another venue as well to accommodate a Haven influx some evening.

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 2:56 PM, elwood_98034 said:

There is another thread on here where a guy reports a bunch of drunks rolling around on the floor during dinner on the Breakaway on the 14th. It has been reported elsewhere that this new policy came in on the 13th. He was unaware of the change until I told him about it, and has suggested that the drunks he saw are a result of the new Haven reality.

It will be interesting to see if we get more reports of bad behaviour coming out as the weeks go by.

 The passengers were even more  well-behaved in Syd Norman's Pour house, while rocking out to the fabulous shows.

[NLH Arizona]

2 hours ago, rattanchair said:

That just takes the cake !   I go on board expecting to receive what everyone else is raving about on these boards, and it does not happen. I believe your story from reading many of your past posts on different boards. You come across as a' straight shooter'. Thank you. I do hope that someone will write in on their experience in the Breakaway Haven restaurant this summer. I just got back and it bothers me that I did not receive the same treatment. I am going to contact my TA and see if she can call her NCL rep and find out dining policy in the Haven in regard to specialty restaurant meals being delivered to Haven guests in the Haven restaurant.

The Concierge made the first gesture by requesting that the Chef make me the meal and then the Chef offered if I wanted anything else, which I never ask for anything more.  Possibly a question to the Concierge before you go into your meal will help you get what you want.

 

Good luck.

Edited June 18, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 3:29 PM, newty25 said:

I may move over to MSC... but I've heard mixed reviews. They seem great for the price though!

 

The Regent cruises seem more up our alley.

 Dear New,  We made the move, but we like the variety, a change of pace. We do not want to be forced to fly ( DW packs too many bags).  Have the next 8 out of 11 booked on MSC Yacht Club.

[smithop]

Yes I do or anything else she would like in which they are willing to accommodate.  She (nor I) for that matter like caviar or lobster. My boys on the other hand love trying new things.   Why would what we are choosing to eat have an effect on your eating experience?  She did like the desserts and coffee if that makes you feel better.

They only affect is has on me is to subsidize my low cost cruising. It sounds like the haven is a high profit center for NCL when you eat cheap food.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 4:55 PM, elwood_98034 said:

I don't like crowds, and I certainly do my best to not stick out in them. Based on what you have said I will be keeping my card out of view when outside the Haven. Thanks for the information.

Dear E, I did not notice color differences of cards, was not interested. Had I have known, I might have taped my key card to my forehead.

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 5:07 PM, mertziek said:

Noticing the card is usually on elevators where you need your card to access Haven floors.  I agree - otherwise most people don’t notice cards.

 

I do not recall needing my key card to access the Haven, only used it on MSC Yacht Club, center two elevators.

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 5:41 PM, chars said:

Guests of the Haven have a gold card that says Haven right on it.  So if someone was to "sneak" into the Haven, as soon as they order a drink the bartender or server would know they do not belong there.  I remember purchasing BINGO cards when I was staying in the Haven and the worker, who scanned my card said, "Oh you are in the Haven, you must be rich".  

Gauche !

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 5:45 PM, kitty-sail said:

I was not that thrilled with the restaurant. Menu is boring and by week's end definitely not fresh but re-heated fare. After bitching they finally added one special each night. MDR had a better menu and we had them send up meals to the Haven restaurant instead of eating same old Haven menu which is definitely not worth $50. in my book.   I enjoy the Haven bar and upstairs lounge.

 

As far as allowing outsiders for dinner and drinks, how do we know that Haven ppl aren't already bringing in family to enjoy the pool or lounge? I have never seen anyone ushered out of the Haven because they didn't belong.

When did you  sail and have this option with MDR meals sent to Haven restaurant?

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 5:53 PM, bevkay said:

Maybe Haven guests could wear some kind of gold crown/tiara and others could have a scarlet letter pinned to their chest so it was obvious who belongs and who doesn't.

A scarlet H for my lapel would do nicely, thank you.

[2bthere]

Dear R:
May I suggest that you resurrect your TR regarding your experience in Haven? 
This thread does not represent your dealings as the it's about what could/would/didn't happen.
If you wish to coat-tail on something like this it doesn't make your point any stronger.
Just an observation. 
 

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 5:56 PM, newty25 said:

My mother went on MSC and had a terrible experience and told us not to cruise them. She said that the staff was very rude to her.

 

She's fairly easy going and not very demanding so I trust that the staff truly was rude to her. We may give them a try anyways. We canceled our November MSC cruise to cruise with her on the Breakaway.

 

If it wasn't for family cruising with us and a birthday celebration, I'd probably cancel our Breakaway cruise. But, we'll give NCL Haven one more cruise.

Dear Newt,  We were on the Divina for  Christmas. You can only go on MSC in the Yacht Club. It is totally a different experience. It was our first cruise on MSC in the Yacht Club. We were so impressed at the service. You never heard the word 'No' when we asked for anything.  We were told 'No' in the Haven Restaurant, repeatedly, when we requested a specialty meal from the MDR, 3 cheese pasta, by the maitre d' and the concierge, last week on board the Breakaway. We will probably not sail again on NCL Haven, but when on board the Divina we booked 2 more cruises, Got home, looked at dates (itinerary is unimportant to us) and booked 6 more MSC Yacht Club cruises, with a booking of the Equinox and Edge to break things up.

[newty25]

6 minutes ago, rattanchair said:

Dear Newt,  We were on the Divina for  Christmas. You can only go on MSC in the Yacht Club. It is totally a different experience. It was our first cruise on MSC in the Yacht Club. We were so impressed at the service. You never heard the word 'No' when we asked for anything.  We were told 'No' in the Haven Restaurant, repeatedly, when we requested a specialty meal from the MDR, 3 cheese pasta, by the maitre d' and the concierge, last week on board the Breakaway. We will probably not sail again on NCL Haven, but when on board the Divina we booked 2 more cruises, Got home, looked at dates (itinerary is unimportant to us) and booked 6 more MSC Yacht Club cruises, with a booking of the Equinox and Edge to break things up.

 

I'll have to research the best ships on MSC. I only know about the Meraviglia since that was the one we booked before booking the Breakaway in November.

[kitty-sail]

6 minutes ago, rattanchair said:

When did you  sail and have this option with MDR meals sent to Haven restaurant?

I've done this several times, but most recently was in Dec on the Escape out of NY.  Every afternoon I would check the menu posted at one of the MDR and decide what I wanted for dinner. The concierge desk also keeps copies of daily MDR menus - just ask for it. Then tell person at concierge desk what you want ordered from the MDR.  They like to be told before hand so it will be ready when you are seated, but if you don't mind waiting, someone will run down and bring it up to Haven restaurant. It's similar to ordering room service except you're eating in the Haven restaurant instead of your suite. You can mix items from Haven and MDR for variety.  For example, MDR makes fr onion soup which I like. They had short ribs once which I also like. This is not something that they advertise but several yrs ago, a bunch of us complained that the menu was boring after a few days at sea so they told us we could order from the main dining room.

[rattanchair]

On 6/17/2019 at 6:48 PM, elwood_98034 said:

I was planning on wearing a red t shirt with

"HAVEN GUEST

SUPREME BEING

APPROACHING"

printed on the front and back. Or would that be not inclusive?

Dear E,  I simply wore a jacket, and a tie and slacks for dinner in the Haven every evening., in respect for my fellow Haven passengers, for the Cruise line, and for decorum in an age of shorts and ball caps and over indulgences.

[rattanchair]

23 hours ago, perditax said:

 

That’s a normal dining time on these ships. 

Not when you are seated at 6 pm and those passengers seated 15 to 20 minutes later are served before you.

[rattanchair]

20 hours ago, valleyvillage said:

We are committed to providing exceptional experiences across our fleet for every type of traveler.  As such, we test a variety of opportunities to expand our offerings.  Recently, we explored making an extremely limited number of reservations for The Haven restaurant available to non-Haven guests. Given that this test has not been well received, we will continue to preserve The Haven experience exclusively for our Haven guests. With over 30 restaurants and lounges available across the fleet, serving a variety of delicious cuisines, we are confident our guests will have a satisfying culinary experience on board.

From NCL

 Dear VV, Yes, thank you for this posting . It took me 2 days to get to this page. I still like to dabble in the work force.

[rattanchair]

20 hours ago, Bigbluegal said:

We were on the Bliss not the Breakaway....but some examples would be....we had a gentleman in our party who had to have sugarfree ice cream.  While they didn't serve that in the Haven it was provided for him from the garden café.  My mother also requested grill cheese and fries on one evening as we do not eat seafood and she was not willing to try some of the other items that others might see as cuisine.  They brought up pizza one night as well.  We were also offered any of the menu items from the other dining areas(not specialty).  We would trade lamb for soup beans and cornbread any day of the week but we had to wait to get back home for those.  

Dear Big,  That is just great and what I expected as well, but was told 'No' by the maitre d' and the concierge. All I asked for was the 3 cheese ziti on the MDR menu, pre-ordered at lunch for dinner.  I feel I was cheated out of my Haven experience that you all raved about in the Haven Restaurant on our June 9th sailing on the Breakaway.  Thank you for your reply.

[rattanchair]

18 hours ago, smithop said:

Wait, you pay all those big bucks so your mother can eat grilled cheese and pizza up there in the haven?

I thought the hoi poloi were dining on caviar and lobster up there.

Just another reason I won't be wasting my money on haven suites or passes.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 

Dear Smith, We are dining on lobster and caviar, but some of us prefer grilled cheese and pizza. On one cruise in Indonesia, the ship was over night in Bali. There were four of us adults, we hired a car to take us to Kuta Beach. On a whim we stayed over night in a famous hotel in their penthouse suite, 2 bedroom, two floors, winding staircase, the Presidential Suite. We were told Ronald Reagan stayed in this suite. We called Pizza Hut to deliver a couple of pizzas to the suite. We felt it was the safest thing to eat off the ship. Next thing we knew the hotel staff sent up the delivery boy with 4 hotel staff escort  with table clothes, silverware and candles. Tips all around. This was over 20 years ago and thank God I can still remember.

[rattanchair]

16 hours ago, amygutman said:

Glad to hear about everyone's different experiences - 

I bumped into a few folks today on the Dawn that I recognized from a past Haven sailing - they are avid CC stalkers but not frequent posters (shout out to Joanne (sp?) or Jacklyn (sp?) from NY 🙌. They noted about a 50% success rate with special requests - different boats, different Havens, different concierge. The one thing they confirmed was a 100% denial rate for the sushi restaurant. 

Interesting too: they said on their last cruise on the Escape (last Nov) their friends were unable to get a meal from another restaurant ordered at the Haven, so either the butler or concierge got them a free meal credit at Le Bistro for another night. Granted - I am getting the tale 2nd hand, but still good info. 

Now...most importantly...cornbread...where can I get cornbread on the Dawn?????

Amy

Dear Miss Amy,, Thank you. It appears that NCL has an inconsistent product. It has taught us to have our TA check before we ever book another Haven again.

[rattanchair]

11 hours ago, pcakes122 said:

The great thing about the Haven is that you can have whatever the heck you want whenever the heck you want it - but the Haven is not for everybody.  Some people are actually uncomfortable with a lot of personal service and would prefer to be more independent and left on their own.  I have many friends who could well afford the Haven but actually prefer not to have a butler or concierge tracking their movements and wants.  Personally, I love it ❤️😁 but I can understand that there are others who wouldn't.

Dear P, Unfortunately your first statement is untrue in my case last week in the Breakaway Haven Restaurant.

[mertziek]

2 hours ago, rattanchair said:

I do not recall needing my key card to access the Haven, only used it on MSC Yacht Club, center two elevators.

There are some ships you need your key card to get to the Haven floor.  I think it is Pearl, Jewel and Jade but I could be wrong.