ISABELLA

Taste was very good. Alkaline balanced, bottle had BPA free liner. Made in USA.

Thank you so much for all your opinions. Seems that YC is winning over Haven. We have tried Haven for the first time few months ago and really enjoyed it. Although, I want to point out that we enjoyed Haven's food and service, out butler was very accommodating, but we didn't like NCL perks and didn't care for the ship - way too crowded everywhere outside Haven. I do agree, since X raised prices so much for AQ and Retreat, it seems that product is way overpriced. I think we will give YC a try.

Question to all who sailed in YC, Haven and / or Retreat. How do you compare all of them? Cons and Pros? Which one you like better? All information is greatly appreciated.

There were not cans. They are bottles with screw on top. I liked them. Water stays cold longer.

Doesn't look like a good mark. Losing customers is not a good thing.

I believe that if you cancel your NRD booking, you will loose your full deposit, not just $200.

You cannot change from NRD to RD for the same sailing without canceling the cruise and loosing your deposit

We are Loyal X cruisers, former Loyal Princess cruisers ( last one was about 16 years ago), cruising on Equinox coming November and booked 14 days on Sun Princess next May. After reading all Pro and Cons X vs Princess, we hope that maybe sailing on brand new ship experience will be pleasant.

Prices are higher due to demand, inflation and value of the dollar.

Canceling NRD cruise will cost you paid deposit plus repriced under current promo

When we were in Istanbul over 10 years ago, restaurants take CC, small vendors takes everything - Euros, dollars...

We just returned from our first Haven cruise in May. I agree with other posters that Haven experience is very nice ( we will do it again), but exploring the rest of the ship ( Gateway) was not very pleasant - very crowded with smoke smell in some areas. I think X ships are offer a better ambiance overall.

Also, if you cancel your cruise booked with NRD, you will loose your deposit. Keep the same booking #.

😆 I hope they don't upgrage to a different cruse line

I can see next change coming will be MDR at charge like any restaurants and the only free food will be in OV cafe. After 30 cruises on X, we have only 1 booked for this November. We will evaluate our loyalty to X after the cruise.

I am so agreed with you. I am not a fan of "Free Style". I was disappointed the way people were dressed on our recent NCL Haven cruise. I don't care to see people's PJ in the evening, walking around the ship. Nicely dressed people enhance overall cruising experience, like it used to be. Cultural decline is seen everywhere.

Hank, I have been reading about your tips and advices for years. Thank you for sharing your experiences. We are planning to be in Naples mid to end of May next year. We will twice in Naples during our 14 days cruise - beginning and the end. I have been to Capri and Pompaii in the past, but my DH has not. How crowded Amalfi will be in May if we choose to do Amalfi Coast tour? Most likely it will be a private tour. Thank you so much.

We just took our first cruise in Haven, not sailing with NCL in 20 years, we mostly sailed with Celebrity ( over 50 cruises in total). We sailed on Gateway, 9 days Caribbean. We absolutely had no issues or complaints in regards of " Haven" experience and product. Our suite was specious with jacuzzi tub in the room, plenty of closet space. Our butler was very accommodating, although we didn't have a lot of requests, just coffee with almond croissants and muffins in the morning and real cream for coffee, not non dairy little things they had . She was keep asking if anything we need or want. Suite was cleaned every day. In regards of Haven restaurant - fantastic service overall, minor issues, not worth talking about. Never had problem to substitute of some side dishes. Food was very good, and I am very picky about it. Overall great experience. I thought it was worth $$$$. It worked great for us to have own space and not to be in the middle of the crowds. We have some health issues to consider. We didn't like NCL perks as much as Celebrity. Internet perk is useless, even we paid to upgrade, it was spotty and slow. Ship overall felt very crowded and not very well designed. We will go in Haven again, but it will have to be for a right itinerary and price.

We just tried our first Haven suite cruise on NCL. Very much enjoyed it. We don't like NCL ships or NCL product in general. But we thought that Haven is good alternative. And it was cheaper than AQ. Food and service were excellent.

From my previous experiences, cancelation fees are kicking in after final payment, which used to be 60 or 90 days, which brings final payment to May 24 or June 24, not July 7. I am glad I am not alone who is confused.

We only ate at Haven, LaBistro and Ocean Blue. Don't order salmon in OB - tasteless fish. Lamb and Dover sole were good in La Bistro. Cheesecake in the jar in OB was excellent.

I was checking on a cruise in Europe for August 24, 2024 - 9 days and this was under cancellation policy. Cancellation Fees Deluxe Porthole View with Veranda If you cancel your reservation after the dates listed below, you may be subject to additional fees. Dates Cancellation fees per guest 07-07-202425% of total cruise fare 07-22-202450% of total cruise fare 08-05-202475% of total cruise fare 09-04-2024No refund except for taxes and fees -?????? First, I think that final payment is 60 or 90 days out and cruise ends September 2. So not sure what all this means. Does anyone can explain?

I liked avocado toast, shrimp toast and keto omelet for breakfast. Surf and turf for dinner, Caesar salad with choice of chicken, shrimp or salmon. Burgers were very good, french dip. .

Before I will impose my opinion regarding cruising in NCL Haven, I would like to clarify few things. Although we cruise with Celebrity for 20 years +, we never sailed in suites, only Balcony or AQ. So, my review is not to compare suite life on either line, but to give my opinion on what is Haven life and cruise experience around the ship. We sailed on NCL Gateway, 9 days Caribbean from Port Canaveral. We chose this cruise for a few reasons – only 1 hour drive from home and we wanted to try something different. Getting from the port entrance to a drop off the luggage location took 50 min - very disorganized. After we parked the car and got to the Haven's check in it was quick process. We were taken up to 14th deck, where our cabin was. Suite was very nice and specious with a jacuzzi tub in the room by the window. Bathroom had small double sink set up and nice walk in shower with jets. Lots of closet space. Balcony was narrow but long with 2 wicker chairs and small table. Nice touch in the room was Nespresso with pods and teas. But only non-dairy creamers were provided. Our butler- lady was very nice, explained that we shouldn't hesitate to ask for anything we need or want. We usually don't eat breakfast in the room, so only asked for coffee with real half and half to be delivered around 7:30. All perks that came with Haven were very nice and useful to us: priority to get off the ship in ports, pre reserved seating in the theatre was great. Haven's courtyard was nice place to be, always quiet, plenty lounge chairs. All people serving Haven are stella and work very hard to please passengers. Haven's restaurant was very nice, similar to Blu. Food and service were excellent, for exception of soups, although my husband liked lobster bisque. Menu does not change. But we found that is not a big deal for us, always found something different to eat. Surf and Turf was excellent. And you can have more than one lobster. Portions were good. Prime rib was huge - could feed 2 or more people. Specialty restaurants were not any better that Haven restaurant. Desserts were disappointment, except " cheesecake in the jar " in Ocean Blue restaurant - best I ever had. WiFi is spotty and slow ( we paid for an upgrade from free 150 min to unlimited). About beverage package, that was included - no water of any kind is included. My husband doesn't drink, I enjoy occasional glass of wine - Moscato. They didn't have it and no substitute was offered. So, it came down to paid for a beverage package we didn't use. We didn't use Thermal Spa, which was not included in Haven, unless you stay in Spa suite. It looked nice and big. I am guessing there are a lot of Spa suites About the ship: First - she looked clean everywhere. Big deal at sea. For the most part we didn't like the ship, 17 named bars and 15 dining venues are on 3 decks, so it looks very cramp, there is no elegancy to interior. I think it is by design, since it is Free style and 90% of people are in shorts all day long, even at dinner time. Main pool area was a zoo during the day, but we expected that. So being in Haven was a blessing. Entertaining: Nice to have reserved seating in the theater. Theater look like movie theater, not like performance theater. Comedy was performed in different small venues, which avoided - too crowded. We wish Celebrity go back to have a piano bar, where you can relax and listen some nice tunes. Also, there was no place on Gateway like Cafe Al Bacio, which we liked a lot. In general We didn't like NCL Free at Sea perks. They are useless to us. At least at Celebrity we get much better drinking package, paid gratuity and wifi. Gratuity in Haven are $25/pp per day ( not included in perks) plus additional for Butler and Concierge were recommended. We always tip extra when exceptional service provided. Officers and crew on Celebrity are much friendlier that on NCL. Activities on board are similar to other cruise lines. Maybe I missed something, but if you ask I will try to answer. Overall we enjoyed our cruise and will cruise on NCL again- Haven only- if itinerary and price is right. After trying Haven, I will say there are pros and cons with both lines. Our next cruise is 10 days on Equinox in November and 14 days on Sun Princess in Mediterranean next year. Thank you for being patient, waiting for my review. I am trying to upload few pictures.

We sailed primarily with Celebrity for over 25 years and loved it. We decided to try something different - NCL Haven on Gateway. We had wonderful experience in Haven - food and service were very good and having separate area to relax was the reason we booked it. We didn't like the ship. We didn't like the perks - free at sea. Free internet is a joke ( 150 min). We paid for an upgrade and still service was spotty and slow. Beverage package does not include water. I have very simple taste in wine - Moscato. But they didn't have any and no substitute was offered. I don't drink mixed dinks or hard liquor. $50 / cabin excursion voucher was useless to us, since we had no plans to take any tours. Specialty restaurants were not any better than Haven restaurant. Entertaiment was hit or miss. We wish Celebrity had a piano lounge, like back in good old days. There is no place on NCL Gateway where you can sit down and have a cup of tea or coffee, like Al Bacio on Celebrity. Nice Latte were available in Haven. We are not fans of Starbuck coffee. Garden Cafe looked always busy, reminded me school cafeteria. Will we go back to NCL - probably, but only in Haven and for a right price and itinerary.