I just discovered your channel but I already fell in love with the videos. Not sure if anyone told you but i feel like you really have a knack for this. From the website to the quality of the videos and to the detailed explanations, good job. i like your style, real fresh! I want to go on a cruise in Alaska as well near autumn or maybe next year but this really helped to made my mind. Wish i could find more solo cruisers like you. Cheers!
Hi Tim! We are booked for June 2023, so excited!! Thanks for the great videos. Did you feel a lot of movement being so close to the front of the ship? Noise? They have this listed as mid ship and I think they mean deck wise it’s in the middle of the ship. Thanks I’m advance.
The dinners in the Haven are very good. Some of the choices included prime rib, filet mignon, lobster tails, lamb, scallops and lobster ravioli. You should have tried it. It is better than mediocre.
I agree, I definitely should have. On the first day of the cruise, they did a solo cruiser meet-and-greet and I met some people there. I was the only one in the group in the Haven, and I valued having dinner with them more than going to the Haven restaurant. I'll be on the Prima in September in the Haven again, and I'll definitely give it a try!
On the amenities list for my room which is an SN category I saw listed that I only get F&B requests 2X during a 7 day cruise. My cruise on the Jade will be a Panama Canal cruise from Panama City to Tampa FL and a 10 day cruise so im hoping I get one additional F&B requests to eat in the room because they say we have no access to the Haven restaurant or sun deck.
First, thanks for a really good and in-depth video. It's very helpful. Regarding the Haven... it seems like you didn't need/use the butler, the bar (and Haven bartenders!), and the Haven restaurant. That's fine, but those are some huge, core things that make the Haven worthwhile. Given that, I think it's going to be really heard to evaluate the value of the Haven fairly. Again, thanks for your thoughts and a great video!
Hey Craig, thanks for the feedback. I can't disagree with what you're saying. I had planned to actually eat at the Haven restaurant a lot more and maybe do some "private" dining in my room, but I met some people on the cruise that weren't Haven guests and ended up having a lot of meals with them. So that definitely affected my use of the restaurant and butler. I'm not really one who would just call the butler out of the blue and ask for something, so I'll probably never make full use of a butler. Of course, this is only one man's opinion on a light sailing, and traveling alone definitely affected my opinion, but hopefully it will still be helpful to those considering it. I certainly wasn't trying to dissuade anyone from trying it.
SUPER AWESOME VIDEO..AMAZING DETAIL. WE HAVE BEEN ON 2 ALASKA CRUISES AND IT’S BY FAR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ONE. WE JUST BOOKED ANOTHER ONE FOR JULY ON THE NCL ENCORE. A AFT PENTHOUSE SUITE. THIS WILL BE OUR FIRST TIME USING THE HAVEN SO YOUR VIDEO WAS PERFECT FOR US. THE CRUISE STAFF ARE THE BEST PEOPLE AND HARDEST WORKERS IN THE WORLD. I ALWAYS TIP THEM WELL AND APPRECIATE THEIR HARD WORK. YOUR SO CORRECT WITH SUITES OR BALCONY CABINS FOR ALASKA. WHAT DO YOU GUYS TIP THE BUTLER FOR THE HAVEN PENTHOUSE SUITES?
we are doing a cruise in august on the encore in Alaska -- do you know about parking at the port? we are driving to Seattle from portland. Also curious what your thoughts are on dress code -- living in portland we just dress for weather. You mentioned not really dressing up. Does the haven dinner have a dress code_ I know you mentioned you didn't try the dinner there but curious how much we need to dress up.
Sorry, I have never parked at a port, so I'm not sure about this. NCL is pretty casual with their dress code. They want you to be comfortable. I wore jeans and polos or half-zips most of the time and I didn't really feel underdressed. I think they prefer pants for dinner and no tank tops or things like that, but I doubt they would not serve you.
I wanted to know if there was a balcony above you. In another video (same category) there was a balcony above. Since this is a "Penthouse" that usually means it's the very top? Was this the case?
Ocean Blue in my experience was much better than Palomar on the Prima. Your experience with getting numerous appetizers and other selections might have been due to it being near the end of Covid-19 period. Recently I went to Le Bistro and they were VERY strict about only ONE appetizer and one entrée and two sides and ONE dessert. Really irritating because I like shrimp cocktail and soup and a salad then my entrée and dessert.
Too many TH-cam channels talk about the Haven and act like they didn't want to get their money's worth. "Oh I didn't want to bother my butler!" YOU ARE PAYING FOR IT! If I am paying $11k+ for a cruise i want the full service. Nit a diluted butler who has way too many rooms to care for!
Please stop saying your experience with half the normal passengers is what to expect! Your images show a ghost ship! If it normally can have 4000+ passengers then at least don't gloss over that to make everything hunky dory. Glorifying a cruiseline because this cruise of yours was an exception sets others up for disappointment on their cruise now that NCL is maxing out capacities onboard!
Some of your comments about Norwegian are too general and are NOT the same on all their ships. Children are not a big consideration on the Prima. Very limited activities for children. The water deck had no imagination for children to be excited about.
I just discovered your channel but I already fell in love with the videos. Not sure if anyone told you but i feel like you really have a knack for this. From the website to the quality of the videos and to the detailed explanations, good job. i like your style, real fresh!
I want to go on a cruise in Alaska as well near autumn or maybe next year but this really helped to made my mind. Wish i could find more solo cruisers like you. Cheers!
Thank you so much!!
Hi Tim! We are booked for June 2023, so excited!! Thanks for the great videos. Did you feel a lot of movement being so close to the front of the ship? Noise? They have this listed as mid ship and I think they mean deck wise it’s in the middle of the ship. Thanks I’m advance.
The dinners in the Haven are very good. Some of the choices included prime rib, filet mignon, lobster tails, lamb, scallops and lobster ravioli. You should have tried it. It is better than mediocre.
I agree, I definitely should have. On the first day of the cruise, they did a solo cruiser meet-and-greet and I met some people there. I was the only one in the group in the Haven, and I valued having dinner with them more than going to the Haven restaurant. I'll be on the Prima in September in the Haven again, and I'll definitely give it a try!
@@timatsea The Prima sounds fantastic. Enjoy!
On the amenities list for my room which is an SN category I saw listed that I only get F&B requests 2X during a 7 day cruise. My cruise on the Jade will be a Panama Canal cruise from Panama City to Tampa FL and a 10 day cruise so im hoping I get one additional F&B requests to eat in the room because they say we have no access to the Haven restaurant or sun deck.
First, thanks for a really good and in-depth video. It's very helpful.
Regarding the Haven... it seems like you didn't need/use the butler, the bar (and Haven bartenders!), and the Haven restaurant. That's fine, but those are some huge, core things that make the Haven worthwhile. Given that, I think it's going to be really heard to evaluate the value of the Haven fairly.
Again, thanks for your thoughts and a great video!
Hey Craig, thanks for the feedback. I can't disagree with what you're saying. I had planned to actually eat at the Haven restaurant a lot more and maybe do some "private" dining in my room, but I met some people on the cruise that weren't Haven guests and ended up having a lot of meals with them. So that definitely affected my use of the restaurant and butler. I'm not really one who would just call the butler out of the blue and ask for something, so I'll probably never make full use of a butler. Of course, this is only one man's opinion on a light sailing, and traveling alone definitely affected my opinion, but hopefully it will still be helpful to those considering it. I certainly wasn't trying to dissuade anyone from trying it.
SUPER AWESOME VIDEO..AMAZING DETAIL. WE HAVE BEEN ON 2 ALASKA CRUISES AND IT’S BY FAR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ONE. WE JUST BOOKED ANOTHER ONE FOR JULY ON THE NCL ENCORE. A AFT PENTHOUSE SUITE. THIS WILL BE OUR FIRST TIME USING THE HAVEN SO YOUR VIDEO WAS PERFECT FOR US. THE CRUISE STAFF ARE THE BEST PEOPLE AND HARDEST WORKERS IN THE WORLD. I ALWAYS TIP THEM WELL AND APPRECIATE THEIR HARD WORK. YOUR SO CORRECT WITH SUITES OR BALCONY CABINS FOR ALASKA. WHAT DO YOU GUYS TIP THE BUTLER FOR THE HAVEN PENTHOUSE SUITES?
Most excellent. Thank you so much for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it!
No needle when bidding as long as I've been cruising since 2013. Bids win if those bidding are few or they bid less for the same category.
we are doing a cruise in august on the encore in Alaska -- do you know about parking at the port? we are driving to Seattle from portland. Also curious what your thoughts are on dress code -- living in portland we just dress for weather. You mentioned not really dressing up. Does the haven dinner have a dress code_ I know you mentioned you didn't try the dinner there but curious how much we need to dress up.
Sorry, I have never parked at a port, so I'm not sure about this. NCL is pretty casual with their dress code. They want you to be comfortable. I wore jeans and polos or half-zips most of the time and I didn't really feel underdressed. I think they prefer pants for dinner and no tank tops or things like that, but I doubt they would not serve you.
I wanted to know if there was a balcony above you. In another video (same category) there was a balcony above. Since this is a "Penthouse" that usually means it's the very top? Was this the case?
It wasn't top deck by any stretch. I think Penthouse is just a common term for their Haven rooms.
Ocean Blue in my experience was much better than Palomar on the Prima. Your experience with getting numerous appetizers and other selections might have been due to it being near the end of Covid-19 period. Recently I went to Le Bistro and they were VERY strict about only ONE appetizer and one entrée and two sides and ONE dessert. Really irritating because I like shrimp cocktail and soup and a salad then my entrée and dessert.
How much did you have to bid to get the upgrade?
I think I bid around $1000 if I recall correctly, and since I was a solo traveler, the total was $2000 since it's based on double occupancy.
Nespresso coffeemaker not Keurig.
Why the hot tub located in a shade area? Looks very nasty. It reminds me of rats in corner of trash.
Too many TH-cam channels talk about the Haven and act like they didn't want to get their money's worth. "Oh I didn't want to bother my butler!"
YOU ARE PAYING FOR IT!
If I am paying $11k+ for a cruise i want the full service. Nit a diluted butler who has way too many rooms to care for!
Please stop saying your experience with half the normal passengers is what to expect! Your images show a ghost ship! If it normally can have 4000+ passengers then at least don't gloss over that to make everything hunky dory. Glorifying a cruiseline because this cruise of yours was an exception sets others up for disappointment on their cruise now that NCL is maxing out capacities onboard!
Some of your comments about Norwegian are too general and are NOT the same on all their ships. Children are not a big consideration on the Prima. Very limited activities for children. The water deck had no imagination for children to be excited about.