Norwegian Epic Review
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Hello Future Norwegian Passengers!! Norwegian is the way to go!!!
My Husband and I have done cruises with other cruise lines. This was our first cruise with Norwegian. This cruise line has topped all cruises we have ever done. This cruise was a very special cruise, it was the celebration of our life together and my best friend's 40th Birthday party all in one. We went all the way out and got a courtyard family villa, I can say truly amazing. My best friend and I started planning last year around fall . After putting down my deposit it was then that I was able to call on the concierge service that comes with Haven Suites. Not only was I planning for our trip; I was also planning for my best friend's surprise birthday party as well. I worked with some of NCL's best, Ms. Stephanie R. She is with the concierge service and she helped with the special things I wanted to add to my suite. She answered and pointed me in the right direction for any questions I had. I have never known service so awesome and attentive. Every time I contacted her, she gave me the best service and this was just short of a year out before my trip. Ms. Rose made our trip so special before our cruise date and I am so thankful to her for all her help. In the planning of my best friend's party Ms. Rose connected me with Ms. Deborah, the Epic Group Events Coordinator and this woman was amazing. She helped me plan one of the most elegant events I have ever done. Every detail she covered and together we got through it. She helped me get my own decorations mailed to the ship for my event and she consistently kept me informed of any details or information from the ship. Also, she helped me with getting my best friend's Stateroom decorated with my own decorations. NCL asked me for instructions on how I wanted her room decorated..WOW!! My friend loved it, housekeeping did a wonderful job. The day Housekeeping supervisor, Stan, and Julia from the Epic Group Events services helped with the decorations and any other services I needed. Amazing! Amazing!! They were at my side assisting me which made the evening so beautiful. I have never had services like that ever on a vacation. WoW!!!!
The hotel we booked ourselves because it was cheaper. Norwegian is very organized and can help with booking hotel and provide transportation to and from the port. Being Haven guest, you get priority embarkment and so many other awesome amenities. We only stood in line for maybe 5 or 10 minutes and we were taken to a lounge by our personal escort where there were refreshments waiting for us. An escort took us to and on the ship and gave us a tour of the Haven section. Just beautiful!! There was an elevator reserved just for Haven guest during embarkation and then again during debarkation! He took us to concierge and from there we were escorted to our suite. Our butler was an amazing person and was very busy, it was good to know that our Butler has others to attend to as well. He knows his job and did it really well, we will miss Crisol. Just awesome!!
Cabin Review
Courtyard Villa with Balcony
We had The Haven Courtyard Villa and we were blown away with how nice our Villa looked inside. I have read a lot of cabin reviews and watched videos and although helpful nothing prepared us for actually being in one. Very spacious, Interior very nice and clean. When we walked through the doors there is a temperature setting panel and lighting panel. We could set the lighting in the suite. There were so many different light setting types (candle light, over night and etc..) we tried them all to see which one was best. There is of course a fridge with minibar and a cool instant espresso machine. The Villa has phones in the living room, master bedroom and there is also a cordless phone that is right on the bar by the expresso machine. This phone we took anywhere on the ship and when we were out of our Villa we received any calls that came into our Villa. We could also make calls around the ship with the cordless phone which was awesome. For instance, we could call the butler if we had something we wanted done or the concierge as well as other staterooms to get in touch with our friends.
Fresh flowers in the living room which Andro, our stateroom steward, watered when he cleaned in the morning as well as a bowl of fresh fruit which would get refilled. The second bedroom we used to put any extra stuff we had, it was a very nice and spacious room as well. It had a nice size bathroom with a shower. Since this Villa is made with families in mind this room is often referred to as the kids room. Our phones in the room were preprogrammed with the services list and it was touch screen so we could chose whom ever we needed (butler, concierge, housekeeping etc...). The master bathroom was in front of the ship so when we took baths or showers we could pull the shade down or not. It was a beautiful view in the early mornings and evening times. Where the toilet is there is a motion sensor light that comes on when you enter so we didn't have to deal with light switches. All glass doors and wall for the shower and toilet area which were frosted.
There was a TV in each room with a DVD player in the living room and master bedroom. You can check your account on the TV as well as make reservations and see the menus for all the restaurants! As for the butler services and the treatment, pampered is the best word I can use. All of Norwegian's Haven Suites have Butler service and Concierge Service. The Concierge service we started using months before are cruise and is available for all Haven Guest before and during the cruise. Stephanie is a Concierge Representative who I dealt with before the cruise and all the questions I could think of I asked her. She helped with detail preplanning of our suite and other services on board as well as seating for shows, etc. during the cruise. The amenities are so many and just wonderful for what we paid. We are still amazed at what Norwegian gives you being a Haven Guest. My husband and I didn't get a chance to indulge in some of the amenities because we were very busy. We did enjoy all we could for the short time we had on the ship.
I would say that there is two things that is need to know. The first is there is a bath menu to chose from which cost if you want the Butler to draw you a bath. The beautiful treat is I could run my own bath at no cost and the Villa has its own supply of bath salt right on the tub. The second need to know is at the beginning we barely saw our butler. What we found out is that there are other suites the butler has to attend to but if you need anything just push the butler button on your phone screen and help will be there. Our butler, Crisol, was amazing and very helpful. It was hard for me bothering our butler sometimes but to Crisol it was his job and he loves what he does. This made the pampering we wanted for ourselves during our vacation that much more amazing. Another awesome thing the butler does is leave special treats (sandwiches, dessert and veggies plates) in the Villa during turndown, it was something different every evening. Just awesome!!
Staff in the Haven was amazing and our time we spent doing our vacation with NCL unforgettable. To all who reads this never be afraid to ask questions because the staff of NCL is there to help make your vacation be the best.