Bish 124 Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 Well what a great blog this was and great questions as well. God bless whoever thunked up this site..... We were Star Class on Ovation this year and fell in absolute love. We are staring down a possible trip on NCL's Bliss in a 2 BR Family Suite in the Haven. I've read that NCL nickels and dimes you to death. A $5 uptick on a shrimp cocktail? Please. I also believe that anything consumed in the Haven suite beyond Embarkation day is charged to the room, does anyone know if that's the case? In star class, it was a never-ending beer, soda and water delivery......for "free". Are specialty restaurant's included on the Haven? For free? Do you go to the front of the line for things like water slides and race cars? Just trying to figure out apples to apples here..... Thanks, Bish Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SweetPea 463 Posted December 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2019 Hi Bish. We are just off the Bliss in a 2BR 12/13. You'll find it very different from SC. Yes, NCL does nickel and dime you, no doubt. Example, we are Platinum Plus and as such get a meal voucher for dinner at Cagney's with a bottle of wine. The voucher covers entrees up to 35$. My lamb was 37$ and so they charged me 2.40$ (2$ +20% grat). No lie. For the drink package that's included in Free at Sea, expect to pay a grat of 19.80$ pp/pd for the first 2 adults. Others in your cabin get no Free at Sea. That drink package covers drinks up to 15$ and you will be charged the overage plus 20% grat. It does not include cans of soda or bottled water. Beers? Tip at the beginning in the Haven bar. Hubby always got 4-5 unopened beers to take back to the room. No room service drinks or mini bar items are included. However, you can tell your butler to leave you pitchers of ice water, ice tea, and lemonade, and there is a gourmet coffee maker in the cabin. Race track is 15$ a go, Haven or not. I believe laser tag is 10$. The concierge can reserve these activities for you. There is no priority on the water slides. You can include a specialty dining package as part of your Free at Sea which again, you will pay the gratuity on. The number of meals will depend on the length of your cruise (e.g., 3 meals on a 7 night cruise, 5 on an 11 night). The Haven restaurant has a great dinner menu and all of those items are complimentary and no reservations are required. Despite having a dining package, some items in Ocean Blue carry an additional (riduculous) supplement. We both ate awesome meals there though without eating anything that had an additional surcharge. Also, room service is free 24/7. Just call the butler. Your day time butler will hand off his phone to the night butler around 10p or so. If i didn't cover anything, let me know! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SweetPea 463 Posted December 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2019 And oh, i will say that these things are mitigated by the Haven area itself. We love the private bar, restaurant, courtyard, and sundeck. It's a small ship within a ship concept. We rarely leave the Haven during the day. On our longer cruises, we always make friends with others. It's a very social place, if you want it to be. I do miss the Haven concept on SC. Haven is reserved only for Haven guests. No amount of status gets you into the Haven if you're not in a Haven room. (And trust me on this, there are self identified Haven Police on every cruise... If you flash a card that's not Haven colored.. Look out!) Jax and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DublinFC 345 Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 Just wondering if you noticed if Music Hall was open during the day so people could play pool and hang out? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JLMoran 6,802 Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 13 hours ago, DublinFC said: Just wondering if you noticed if Music Hall was open during the day so people could play pool and hang out? On both of my Anthem sailings, the Music Hall was open all day whether there was a performance going on or not. Pool tables and such are located on the upper floor of the hall only, and are usable at any time. Just be aware they aren't self-leveling, so any ship motion will translate into balls moving around in sometimes unexpected or unpredictable ways. Lower level of the hall is used for Bingo, karaoke, and other activities during the day. Bars are present on both floors so you can easily get a drink no matter where you choose to sit and relax. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DublinFC 345 Posted January 5, 2020 Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 2 hours ago, JLMoran said: On both of my Anthem sailings, the Music Hall was open all day whether there was a performance going on or not. Pool tables and such are located on the upper floor of the hall only, and are usable at any time. Just be aware they aren't self-leveling, so any ship motion will translate into balls moving around in sometimes unexpected or unpredictable ways. Lower level of the hall is used for Bingo, karaoke, and other activities during the day. Bars are present on both floors so you can easily get a drink no matter where you choose to sit and relax. The non-self leveling tables might actually help with my billiards skills hahaha! Good information. Thank you for sharing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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