My favorite Haven perk no longer

[mrbucky]

I don’t like to stand in lines.  In the past  our concierge would take us down a back elevator and into a show. Non showroom.  The video and the papers delivered to the room say VIP seating at all on board entertainment.  Our concierge on the Bliss says, “not this year”.   She said we have to stand in line like everyone else.  I guess I will no longer book Haven as perks disappear.

[Outerdog]

14 minutes ago, mrbucky said:

take us down a back elevator and into a show.

 

Likely covid prevention efforts are restricting pax access to these areas.

[mlgb]

I was just on Bliss from San Pedro. They still had a special Haven seating section on Bliss but had to come in the front door like everyone else. There were only 1100 passengers so needless to say, it wasn't much of a benefit.

 

 Haven got escorted to their cabins on embarkation right away. 

 

 

 

[Sailing12Away]

If you're booking Haven simply for the ability to get escorted into a show first and sit in the 'special' Haven area, you're doing it for the wrong reason. We've always found better seats in the non-Haven area, and prefer to go in closer to show time so we're not just sitting there staring at a curtain for 20+ minutes.

But to each their own... 

 

In case you haven't noticed, there's this thing called Covid that's uprooting and changing all of the 'norms' for everyone on cruises. To fault a cruise company for taking away something that isn't even needed on a ship at 1/3 capacity is quite entitled.

[cruzsnooze]

36 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

. To fault a cruise company for taking away something that isn't even needed on a ship at 1/3 capacity is quite entitled.

Maybe there's just bragging!

[complawyer]

you must be joking. a 24 hr on call butler, priority embarkation/disembarkation, a concierge to help with dinner reservations, a dedicated restaurant , bar and pool area, and you feel cheated about not getting upfront seating for the shows. some people are just never happy no matter what they get. even if you dont like standing in line, on any ncl ship ive been on, the view from any of the seats are perefectly fine with me. im not knocking your point of view, but sometimes we dont even bother seeingthe shows

[amarvel]

I have never been escorted to the haven seating area, we would just show up and take seats in the special area. however i want to say that we were escorted off the ship in a crew elevator on Friday, so they weren't totally not using those back areas.

[IronRobi]

Our last trip in the haven (pre-covid), even without an escort you could usually walk to the person at the door regardless of the line and they'd wave you through. You'd usually hear a couple of "ahhh yaaa these people are in the Haven" with a little bit of sarcasm to it as you're walking through the door.

[NW Pacific]

Think the OP is referring to shows in the Comedy Club, etc. not the main theatre.  We were on the Bliss Jan 9-16th, were told they would take us to the Main theater 30 minutes prior if we wanted.  We only went to one Show in the Main showroom, there was Haven seating roped off, and probably only 60 people attending the Comedy Show presented that night.   The other entertainment venues, the smaller ones have never in our experience had a Haven escort.   Only able to expedite seating with your Haven Card.

[NW Pacific]

The famous back elevator,  (aka freight or garbage elevator, back in the old days) was available for Haven guests going onshore also, and disembarking final day.

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, mrbucky said:

I don’t like to stand in lines.  In the past  our concierge would take us down a back elevator and into a show. Non showroom.  The video and the papers delivered to the room say VIP seating at all on board entertainment.  Our concierge on the Bliss says, “not this year”.   She said we have to stand in line like everyone else.  I guess I will no longer book Haven as perks disappear.

If you book Haven rooms to take crew elevators, then you best not book any more Haven rooms. 

 

The CDC sets the groundrules on what crew areas passengers can be in. Hence the suspension of the behind the scenes tours. 

[david_sobe]

I think the issue is the elevators as Bird pointed out.   There will always be reserved Haven seating.  No need to stand in line or reserve seats.  In the age of Covid, passengers are probably restricted from crew elevators.  

Theater seating never required a crew elevator. Some shows have intimate seating and this is when it was used. 

[The Traveling Man]

15 hours ago, IronRobi said:

Our last trip in the haven (pre-covid), even without an escort you could usually walk to the person at the door regardless of the line and they'd wave you through. You'd usually hear a couple of "ahhh yaaa these people are in the Haven" with a little bit of sarcasm to it as you're walking through the door.

That's unfortunate but true.  Some passengers aren't aware of the additional benefits provided to those traveling first class, others are simply jealous.  But, hey, if you're in the Haven or have concierge service because you are a Latitudes Ambassador, more power to you.  You paid for the privilege, either by the extra money you spent on your current stateroom or by sailing dozens of times previously and building up loyalty points.  You earned the right to skip the line, just like some folks at Disney parks pay extra for a skip-the-line pass.  Enjoy your benefits and don't let a few catcalls get you down.

[kenzie]

2 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

That's unfortunate but true.  Some passengers aren't aware of the additional benefits provided to those traveling first class, others are simply jealous.  But, hey, if you're in the Haven or have concierge service because you are a Latitudes Ambassador, more power to you.  You paid for the privilege, either by the extra money you spent on your current stateroom or by sailing dozens of times previously and building up loyalty points.  You earned the right to skip the line, just like some folks at Disney parks pay extra for a skip-the-line pass.  Enjoy your benefits and don't let a few catcalls get you down.

Totally agree - pay a huge premium for perks such as getting into the shows first- we were on the Getaway in October and concierge took us via the crew lift into the smaller venues and we did not have to queue- a perk we enjoyed more than anything - we tipped concierge well - if this is not available on our next sailing in Haven then we will be disappointed as if they can offer it on Getaway in Europe it should be available anywhere. Too many people knock those in Haven, they appear jealous but as we all know - money makes the world go round 

[Sailing12Away]

I don't think anyone in here is knocking Haven guests, as many of us have sailed in those category rooms ourselves. We're simply trying to point out that in the grand scheme of all the 'bonuses', to make the bold statement of 'no longer booking Haven' because of the suspension (not removal/revoking, but temporary suspension) of ONE of those perks is what set the trigger off.

 

Making bold statements on the internet that will be of an unpopular opinion will tend to result with some comebacks. We're all entitled to opinions, everyone knows the saying...

[LGW59]

On 1/23/2022 at 5:49 PM, mrbucky said:

I don’t like to stand in lines.  In the past  our concierge would take us down a back elevator and into a show. Non showroom.  The video and the papers delivered to the room say VIP seating at all on board entertainment.  Our concierge on the Bliss says, “not this year”.   She said we have to stand in line like everyone else.  I guess I will no longer book Haven as perks disappear.

Oh poor you suffering so!  Do you even know how this sounds!!!!

[LGW59]

On 1/23/2022 at 5:49 PM, mrbucky said:

I don’t like to stand in lines.  In the past  our concierge would take us down a back elevator and into a show. Non showroom.  The video and the papers delivered to the room say VIP seating at all on board entertainment.  Our concierge on the Bliss says, “not this year”.   She said we have to stand in line like everyone else.  I guess I will no longer book Haven as perks disappear.

"not this year"   as in Covid!  I invite you to come for a drink in my Iconic Suite on Celebrity later this year, my butler will treat you in the manner to which you no longer receive in Haven.  Note, there may be a line outside the suite, I have invited several from my roll call to join me.

[deliver42]

Boy, talk about feeling entitled.

[Goldconnection]

Some people. 🥴

[LGW59]

8 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

Boy, talk about feeling entitled.

It was totally tongue in cheek to say someone feels unentitled because they have to stand in a line during trying times when an entire industry is trying to stay solvent.

[ChiefMateJRK]

These threads are very amusing!!  Keep it comin'.

[kenzie]

11 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Oh poor you suffering so!  Do you even know how this sounds!!!!

Well I think it sounds like they are willing to pay the extra money to stay in Haven and enjoy the perks that Haven gives them, I did in fact have early access to all the smaller venues whilst on the Getaway in October-in the middle of the pandemic, they took us via the back lifts, as they do for excursions and disembarkation so that is not a problem in Covid, I do not see why this perk is not available on other ships and well, I tip on how much I am helped, this particular perk is important to me- and if you think that is entitled -well it is because I PAY for it. So if you do not pay for it do not comment 

 

[CarolinaMamma]

We were in the Haven on Encore last week. We were told that we could ask our butler to escort us to shows, but why? There was no line and plenty of room. There was a special Haven area.  Seriously, why would someone need an escort in this situation? This photo was taken about 5 minutes before the show started. 

[kenzie]

1 minute ago, CarolinaMamma said:

We were in the Haven on Encore last week. We were told that we could ask our butler to escort us to shows, but why? There was no line and plenty of room. There was a special Haven area.  Seriously, why would someone need an escort in this situation? This photo was taken about 5 minutes before the show started. 

 

[kenzie]

Agree with you, not necessary for the main theatre.