Loved the Haven (past tense)!

Item: Norwegian Breakaway
Rating: 4.1
Author: FresnoBob

Norwegian Breakaway Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

FresnoBob

Contributor Level: Purser

22 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 20

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5

10 Night Greek Isles: Santorini Athens & Florence (Rome Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 02, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Breakaway

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 15122

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 11 months ago

Review summary

Loved the Haven (Past Tense)! 1. No children under 16 should be allowed in Haven! NCL rule "no one under 16 allowed on outside decks" why not in the entire Haven? 2. Children about 7 sitting at the Haven Bar? 3. Children unattended in Hot Tub with all of their toys. 4. Toddler under 3 having a temper tantrum in the Haven dining room, throwing food on several occasions. The mother even graced us with her presence in pajamas several times. 5. Six non-Haven guests having drinks in the lounge. 6. Four non-Haven guests dining in the dining room. 7. One gentleman was in the Haven on the 11/2-11/12 cruise. He was NOT in the Haven for the 11/12-11/28 cruise but was allowed to use the bar and dining room from 11/12-11/28. The Haven is supposed to be a sanctuary not a day camp. Also, we pay extra for a higher standard. Maybe it's time to explore Oceania, Viking, and Virgin for an upscale adult cruise! We hold a Diamond status with NCL on about 25 cruises. We were not the only ones that felt as I have stated.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Fitness Center, Casino.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Six was not our favorite show!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

I could not be happier with the waiters, room stewards, butler & concierge.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Always well maintained!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Wish I could ship the mattress home. Room steward was always helpful and efficient.

Ports of call

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

4 out of 5

Piraeus (Athens), Greece Did not visit port

Weather

Thumbs Up 0

Mykonos, Greece

2 out of 5

Excursion was a waste. Saw a dirty beach and visited a small town with one restroom for men and one for women.

Thumbs Up 0

Santorini, Greece

1 out of 5

Could not dock at the port so we tendered. More than a two hour wait to get to the top of the hill and then another two hours wait to get down. We were told busses couldn't get to port for excursions.

Thumbs Up 0

Valletta, Malta

4 out of 5

Visited a winery built on a WWII air strip.

Thumbs Up 0

Messina, Sicily

5 out of 5

Visited Taormina! possibly the highlight of this trip. It is a must see quaint little town about an hour from Messina. We had a fantastic guide that lived in the town.

Thumbs Up 0

Naples, Italy

1 out of 5

Our tour guide took us to the opposite side of Naples where we viewed a decommissioned tile factory and youth detention camp. Did a forced march through the Christmas Market. Down one street, up another & as we turned to retrace our steps she lost several people fed up with the tour. No bathroom breaks, stopped at a phone booth sized vendor for a taste of margarita pizza. She lost 17 of 30 on tour. Only 8 chairs available outside for reheated pizza.

Thumbs Up 0

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy Did not visit port

Weather

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

We did a Back to Back cruise so we never had to leave the ship.

10 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 4 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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Sogmoore 11 months ago

You make your own happiness.

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gmababy 11 months ago

Why be a grinch. Life is to short to be miserable for no good reason. Enjoy life and try to have a better spirit.

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Jerrec 11 months ago

I’d suggest you try an adults only line like Virgin if you want to avoid kids. Plenty of families stay in the haven, and there is nothing wrong with that. They have family suites in there for that purpose.

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willwork4cruz 11 months ago

Yes you should try an actual luxury adult-only ship rather than pay extra on a standard ship that cordons off an area and pretends that exclusive area is a luxury ship. You should never be upset if something turns out to be exactly what it advertised. The Haven is for families so how could you get mad seeing children in there. Anytime there are people (children or adults) there will be some who don’t behave well. Maybe try a private yacht.

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esrescuer 11 months ago

Sorry, things were not what you planned or expected, however, The Haven's spaces are not child free at all, since families are allowed to have staterooms in that area too making it not an ADULT ONLY area at all. While some spaces are reserved for older and adult guests, only not all are like the Courtyard pool area, and dining room, for example, is accessible to guests of all ages. Children are not forbidden to sit at the bars anywhere on a cruise ship since they are the ships drink stations for none alcoholic drinks as well. Now, The Haven Sundeck is reserved for guests 16 years and older only.

Thumbs Up 1

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Gwbigdog 11 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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PaulzyJC 11 months ago

I have always held that the "ship within a ship" concept is a waste of money. You could spend the money on a real inclusive luxury line. Unless you need your water slides and laser tag. The Haven is a joke. I don't think I've heard similar complaint from Celerity's Retreat, though.

Thumbs Up 1

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cruising2004 11 months ago

Great itinerary! Thank you for your review.

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javawoody 11 months ago

Appreciate your view

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