Haven dining question

[Jetswdo]

  I contacted pre cruise concierge to ask this question:  Would it be possible for the Haven restaurant to make the salmon dish that is on the lunch menu for dinner, on embarkation day?  First the concierge office emailed me back saying "no reservations are necessary for Haven Restaurant" which isn't what I asked.  Then when I emailed them back to ask about the salmon dish, the concierge said, no meals from lunch will be offered at dinner time.  I thought that was rather odd.  Do you think that once we get on board, we can stop by the Haven Restaurant and ask the matre d at the restaurant?  Has any one who has regularly been in Haven class, been able to request an item from lunch menu at dinner time?

[T1130]

Yes my daughter has requested the Shrimp scampi. But she tells them in advance of dinner. 

[david_sobe]

I would say its very possible and likely but there is no guarantee until you get on board.  The pre-concierge is minimum wage call center workers.  I don't waste time dealing with them.  Its all up to the chef and the Haven restaurant.  I think its quite possible but NCL has been getting pretty strict with rules so there is no guarantee.  The only way to find out is cruise day. Keep us posted. As the other posted suggested, make your request when you board.

Edited July 31 by david_sobe

[erisajd]

FYI:

Haven customer service by email sucks. Sorry. But that’s been my experience.  You ask a question you get standard answer number 43. Doesn’t matter if it answers the question or not. The employee clicks standard answer and they get credit for answering the question. 
 

if you want an answer - CALL. The telephone Haven / suites csr are wonderful and competent and will get you an answer 

 

that said. Upon boarding go to the haven restaurant front desk and ASK if they can make that available for you.  Might NOT be on day one. You might get better service by waiting until first night dinner and going to the restaurant and ask then.  Boarding afternoon is pretty hectic 

 

if you DO get it. A nice tip will keep it coming. 

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, Jetswdo said:

  I contacted pre cruise concierge to ask this question:  Would it be possible for the Haven restaurant to make the salmon dish that is on the lunch menu for dinner, on embarkation day?  First the concierge office emailed me back saying "no reservations are necessary for Haven Restaurant" which isn't what I asked.  Then when I emailed them back to ask about the salmon dish, the concierge said, no meals from lunch will be offered at dinner time.  I thought that was rather odd.  Do you think that once we get on board, we can stop by the Haven Restaurant and ask the matre d at the restaurant?  Has any one who has regularly been in Haven class, been able to request an item from lunch menu at dinner time?

The "Concierge Office" is a customer service call center. It is not a concierge. And all they can do is, maybe, email the ship with your request. 

 

The salmon will certainly be in the Haven galley at dinner time, but may not be defrosted unless they know you will definitely be dining there and asking for it. (All fish, even sushi, needs to be frozen on the ship to kill parasites). 

[Shidah]

I have asked for a lunch dessert to be served at dinner and was told no.  If they had any left over from lunch I would have been in luck.  

[david_sobe]

1 hour ago, Shidah said:

I have asked for a lunch dessert to be served at dinner and was told no.  If they had any left over from lunch I would have been in luck.  

That's a good point about a simple dessert.  This is why unless you prepare food on a cruise ship its impossible to answer this question.  There are too many variables that we dont know about.  It sounds like a simple request that could definitely happen but there are things we dont know about that could prevent it. Many years ago the Haven restaurant would encourage their patrons if they wanted something from the MDR they could eat it in the Haven restaurant.  You also could get specialty restaurant appetizers brought to the Haven restaurant.  My last few trips to the Haven all that stuff is highly discouraged.  It could have to do with food preparation or just sticking to the rules i.e. if someone sees you eating a lunch entre for dinner and then the table next to them wants the same thing and claims its "unfair" they can't get it too.  Sometimes rules are flexible and sometimes they stick to their guns.  Some people have been successful in getting an entre that is not on the menu at all.  It all comes down to the chef and the restaurant and all the variables we dont know about. 

[dobiemom]

2 hours ago, david_sobe said:

It could have to do with food preparation or just sticking to the rules i.e. if someone sees you eating a lunch entre for dinner and then the table next to them wants the same thing and claims its "unfair" they can't get it too. 

Good point. 

[david_sobe]

5 minutes ago, dobiemom said:

Good point. 

Many years ago this board exploded because a poster asked if she could get Margaritaville Nachos and eat them in the Haven restaurant.  Regardless if they would do it or not many brought up the logistics of getting melted cheese halfway across the ship.  But one major point was its going to be eye candy for everyone else.  If I saw those yummy Nachos I would ask for them too.  Its a slippery slope.  I am not saying this will happen with the OP but the point I was making is sometimes they stick to the rules for even reasons we dont know.  I truly believe the OP will be successful in this request but it opens the door for other requests.  My personal experience is NCL was way more accommodating in years past.

[Jetswdo]

Hi! I am the  OP!    My only request is for 1 person (husband) to be able to eat salmon at dinner.

It just isn't something he eats at lunch.  Why it isn't offered at dinner is odd. I thought that the land concierge office would be able to forward this request to the Haven Restaurant, as it is just for embarkation day.  After years of reading how gracious the Haven experience is, I really don't feel that this is out of line. I'm not asking to bring food from other restaurants or anything like that.  I was very surprised by the response from land concierge office. So as soon as we board the ship, I will stop at the restaurant in person to see if one portion of salmon can be put aside for dinner.  It will be very annoying to me if this can't be done. 

[mscdivina2016]

9 minutes ago, Jetswdo said:

Hi! I am the  OP!    My only request is for 1 person (husband) to be able to eat salmon at dinner.

It just isn't something he eats at lunch.  Why it isn't offered at dinner is odd. I thought that the land concierge office would be able to forward this request to the Haven Restaurant, as it is just for embarkation day.  After years of reading how gracious the Haven experience is, I really don't feel that this is out of line. I'm not asking to bring food from other restaurants or anything like that.  I was very surprised by the response from land concierge office. So as soon as we board the ship, I will stop at the restaurant in person to see if one portion of salmon can be put aside for dinner.  It will be very annoying to me if this can't be done. 

 Depends on the ship.  On older smaller ships its easier.  On Breakaway class or Prima class we had no luck.

[BirdTravels]

10 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

 Depends on the ship.  On older smaller ships its easier.  On Breakaway class or Prima class we had no luck.

There is no dinner on older, smaller ships. So you could not make the request. 

[mscdivina2016]

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

There is no dinner on older, smaller ships. So you could not make the request. 

  You are correct, I should have been more clear on older. Epic class we were able to make requests.

[njhorseman]

49 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

  You are correct, I should have been more clear on older. Epic class we were able to make requests.

Epic isn't smaller than most of the ships that followed it, so to attribute the success in getting special requests filled to Epic's size compared to other ships is incorrect.

 

Epic is the only Epic class ship and it is larger in terms of both gross tonnage and double occupancy passenger capacity than Breakaway and Getaway, the two Breakaway class ships that were the first ships launched following Epic. While the Breakaway Plus class ships have a greater gross tonnage, of the four ships in that class only Escape has a greater passenger capacity than Epic.

And the new Prima class ships carry substantially fewer passengers than Epic.

I suspect the inability to get special requests fulfilled is a function of NCL's current management approach versus what it was a few years ago, rather than anything to do with a ship's size or age.

Edited August 1 by njhorseman

[drew69]

1 hour ago, Jetswdo said:

Hi! I am the  OP!    My only request is for 1 person (husband) to be able to eat salmon at dinner.

It just isn't something he eats at lunch.  Why it isn't offered at dinner is odd. I thought that the land concierge office would be able to forward this request to the Haven Restaurant, as it is just for embarkation day.  After years of reading how gracious the Haven experience is, I really don't feel that this is out of line. I'm not asking to bring food from other restaurants or anything like that.  I was very surprised by the response from land concierge office. So as soon as we board the ship, I will stop at the restaurant in person to see if one portion of salmon can be put aside for dinner.  It will be very annoying to me if this can't be done. 

Honestly, that is not a request that should go to or would be handled by the land office, but something that should be asked in person to the restaurant staff.

If they can do it, I am sure they will, but please remember, you say it is a request for one person, but it is one of many requests they receive each for one person all of whom are in the Haven and have their own particular needs/wants to be met and all of whom may be "very annoyed" when it isn't done.  I am sure lack of salmon one night will not ruin the trip.

[9tee2Sea]

so I am curious... What is the salmon dish for lunch that is so special?

[drew69]

1 hour ago, 9tee2Sea said:

so I am curious... What is the salmon dish for lunch that is so special?

It is just grilled salmon, nothing special at all.  

[Tallulah20]

I realize it is not salmon, but the steelhead trout on the Haven dinner menu is very similar to salmon. If your husband likes salmon, he may also like the trout dish if they can't accommodate the special request for you

[9tee2Sea]

30 minutes ago, drew69 said:

It is just grilled salmon, nothing special at all.  

Grilled Salmon?  I cant believe they cant do that for dinner in Haven.  I asked a few times to have the Cesear Salad as my main , with Salmon on top.  Never an issue.

[drew69]

3 minutes ago, 9tee2Sea said:

Grilled Salmon?  I cant believe they cant do that for dinner in Haven.  I asked a few times to have the Cesear Salad as my main , with Salmon on top.  Never an issue.

They most likely will, but OP is asking  a land based NCL customer service rep to confirm it before even stepping onto the ship when it should be asked at the Haven restaurant when onboard.

[Jetswdo]

I can't believe all this fuss.  I received a letter from NCL (remember I am new to Haven) that asked for any requests.  Nothing special about the salmon (which was not the point)-- I was just looking over my notes for embarkation advice from the good persons on cruise critic, regarding Haven-- saw the lunch menu --- saw that ordinary salmon was on it--- and thought that would be nice for my husband at dinner time, that is all. So I went ahead and asked if they could send a note to the restaurant.  Their answer was no reservations necessary.  (Which wasn't what I asked.)  So I  wrote my simple request back, and was surprised by their answer, which is why I wrote about it on this post.  Again, based on all the hype that I have read about how great the Haven restaurant is, and how accommodating they are, I thought this was a simple request, not an issue.  I wouldn't have made this request to the land concierge, it the letter was specific to what requests they would take. Drew69: Salmon or not will not ruin the trip, again not the point of what I was talking about, but sorry,  I  certainly will be annoyed if this one request can't be done.This shouldn't be a big deal in my opinion, sorry if that bothers you. Not meant to show entitlement or anything like that.  If for what ever reason the restaurant can save a piece of ordinary salmon for a few hours, I'm sure my husband will find something else that will be very good for dinner.  I plan on ordering prime rib!

[david_sobe]

1 minute ago, Jetswdo said:

I can't believe all this fuss.  I received a letter from NCL (remember I am new to Haven) that asked for any requests.  Nothing special about the salmon (which was not the point)-- I was just looking over my notes for embarkation advice from the good persons on cruise critic, regarding Haven-- saw the lunch menu --- saw that ordinary salmon was on it--- and thought that would be nice for my husband at dinner time, that is all. So I went ahead and asked if they could send a note to the restaurant.  Their answer was no reservations necessary.  (Which wasn't what I asked.)  So I  wrote my simple request back, and was surprised by their answer, which is why I wrote about it on this post.  Again, based on all the hype that I have read about how great the Haven restaurant is, and how accommodating they are, I thought this was a simple request, not an issue.  I wouldn't have made this request to the land concierge, it the letter was specific to what requests they would take. Drew69: Salmon or not will not ruin the trip, again not the point of what I was talking about, but sorry,  I  certainly will be annoyed if this one request can't be done.This shouldn't be a big deal in my opinion, sorry if that bothers you. Not meant to show entitlement or anything like that.  If for what ever reason the restaurant can save a piece of ordinary salmon for a few hours, I'm sure my husband will find something else that will be very good for dinner.  I plan on ordering prime rib!

Most everyone here has been respectful and actually trying to help you.  If you are new to the Haven we will tell you what you have already learned.  The pre-concierge is worthless.  They would never be able to secure such a request.  I gave up on them with simple requests like emptying the fridge.  All you have to do is speak to the Haven restaurant on embarkation day.  No one is trying to rain on your parade.  You will most likely get your request.  However some of us are explaining that sometimes things don't go as planned and there "could" be reasons they would not honor your request.  Personally I don't think that is the case but I think some of us are trying to ground you in case it is denied.  The Haven restaurant staff will greet you with open arms and do what they can to make your trip special.  Please do us a favor and report back what happened. 

[BirdTravels]

In the photos, you can see the Lunch Salmon (which really wasn't that great). You would also see a cold salmon added to a Caesars Salad for dinner. 

 

 

[Jetswdo]

I will be happy to report when we come back from cruise.  I will say that I am surprised and agree with David Sobe that I think the pre cruise concierge is worthless.  I had thoroughly read through SothrnGary post where he wrote so many helpful things on what to expect when booking Haven.

I guess I got the wrong impression on what to expect with pre cruise concierge-- Gary seemed so satisfied with his contact with them.  Again, thanks for all the input from all those who were trying to be helpful.  It is really appreciated, and I will be happy to pay it forward when I come back from cruise.  Thanks again.  Sincerely, Anita

[Jetswdo]

Ok, just came back from cruise.  we didn't stop by Haven restaurant at lunch--- Ate at the Local which worked out fine for us.  At dinner at Haven restaurant,  my husband just asked our server if the chef would mind just serving the salmon from lunch today.  Waiter came back and said the chef didn't mind at all.  So he did receive the salmon after all. David (my husband) said it was very good.  and that was that.