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We have been in the Haven about 5-6 times and did the Celebrity Apex Retreat earlier this year. Bottom line, you can't go wrong with either and I would make decide based upon itinerary, price, etc. With that being said, here are some general observations:

1) The newer the ship the better the Haven. Smaller NCL ships do not have all the same benefits as their newer ships.

2) The Apex Retreat pool/sun lounging experience was vastly better because the Haven has an indoor pool without ocean views. Celebrity's new ships (Apex/Beyond/Edge) have beautiful pool decks

3) If you have a COURTYARD Haven room, you don't have to take an elevator to the Haven pool/restaurant/Lounge. We have always had a Courtyard suite on NCL. We were worried about needing to walk from our room to the suite area on Apex - but in the end, that didnt seem to be a big issue. 

4) We found the dining room on Apex to be very loud. We prefer the dining areas In NCL when there is a Haven restaurant. 

5) It seemed there were more 'little things' offered on NCL. Little treats in the rooms, Escort to seats, etc. Not deal breakers, but felt a little more special on NCL. 

Food options and specialty restaurants were similar and awesome on both. Entertainment seems better on NCL. If you are looking for a relaxed suite experience, would lean Celebrity Retreat. If travelling with friends, looking for a party, would lean NCL. But again, they are both great!

We have sailed in Haven cabins on Epic, GA and BA before and enjoyed the Haven Bar. We are booked on the Pearl in February and wonder if Butlers can bring drinks to your room or the the courtyard as part of the drink package. I recognize that normally drinks are not brought to staterooms, but question if exceptions are made in Haven Courtyard where there is no Haven Bar.

Our family cruises often and on various lines......RCCL/Norwegian/Carnival. Recently returned from the Breeze and I wanted to comment on the lack of stations to watch in staterooms. In the past few years, I have become used to having ESPN International and usually 2 news channels. I enjoy watching sports and have watched NCAA tournament games, football, NBA, Ryder Cup and baseball playoffs in the past. 
Unfortunately, on the Breeze we only had access to CBS News channel (I've heard of Fox News and MSNBC, but never CBS News Network). No ESPN. No Fox Sports. Nothing. The US Women's World Cup final was not shown anywhere on the ship. For some reason, Wimbledon matches on ESPN were shown in the casino, but not in staterooms. How can they have an ESPN feed to show in public places, but not in Staterooms?
The news channel issue was just as concerning....never heard of CBS cable news network. Why cant Carnival give us CNN or FOX or MSNBC?

My guess.....money. There obviously is a cost to providing those networks to staterooms and Carnival opts not to pay it.

I may upset some Carnival fans with this post and I would like to know if there is a history to which channels are offered or other explanations for the low number of channels. (but please don't say that a person should be on vacation and not want to watch news or sports) 

Based upon your comments, get the package. The only reason I wouldn't, would be if you stopped at a lot of ports and therefore would be off the ship on multiple days. 2 Pina Coladas, 1 club soda, a bottle of water, 1 drink with dinner and 2 in casino/show will easily pay for the package.  

My mistake....was thinking 2009.

(Like I said, ship looks great for 10 years old 😉)

Also looks great for 6 years old too!

In either case, Great vacation and lots of fun.

Got off 5 hours ago

Pour House is super fun. Get there early for a good seat. Howl at the Moon and Comedians are great. Entertainment is very good on this ship. (Did not attend Rock of Ages....was tired that night)

Food is subjective: Le Bistro was great. Ocean Blue - we were not sure.....side dishes and appetizers just OK. But the main course fish options were all awesome. Skip La Cucina. Teppanyaki is fun and a lot of good food. (Standard Japanese steakhouse)

Breakaway is approximately 10 years old and does NOT show much wear. We had a great time.

If this tactic is true, I agree that it makes me more inclined not to tip. However, main reason for my post is to comment on the difference between poker tables and table games.

Poker is a game where the players play against each other and not the house. The house 'rakes' at a poker game in order for the house to make some money off the play. Table games like blackjack have a built-in odds advantage for the house.....that is how the house 'rakes' at a table game. In both situations, the house makes money.

If you choose to tip the dealer, you should be tipping THEM (not the cruise line) for dealing you good cards that allowed you to win. It is the same at poker and blackjack.

Thanks to all

Quick question. We are Platinum. We are booked on the Breakaway in a couple of weeks in the Haven. We booked the 5 option package which included the beverage plan and 3 Specialty dinners. Those are listed on our reservation. What is not listed is the 2 dinners that one would get from Platinum status. At first, I was not worried about this and felt it would be added once on the cruise. But I also noticed that we do have the Latitude Internet bonus on the reservation. This makes me concerned that we might not have the 2 Platinum dinners on our reservation. Do I need to contact my travel agent? Will the concierge in the Haven fix this if it is not there on the ship? Wondering what others would do.

Thanks 

Thanks to all. Especially appreciate the recent experiences of NWPacific and paulis.

We did come up with a back up plan if there are delays. .

Thank you FRANKnBEANS…..that is exactly what I was hoping to hear. If we are off the ship by 7:15, we will be good.

Any other opinions would be great

Travelling on Breakaway at the end of March. We are staying in the Haven and I know that we will disembark first. I thought I had planned my flight accordingly. However, I am learning about construction near the port/convention center and I also noted the fact that Carnival Dream will be arriving same day.  It seems as if Breakaway is scheduled before the Dream, but arrival time is 7AM. Multiple variables at play; most notable being the fact that I thought arrival time was 6AM (not 7AM).   I am looking for information on what time previous Haven passengers were off the ship in NOLA. (I don't want to say, but plenty will ask......I am presently scheduled on a 9:30 flight)

PS: I am not looking for judgement about my flight plans. We travel light, we do not need assistance, we have been in the Haven before, we are seasoned travelers, and we have TSA. My mistake was thinking 6AM and not 7AM. And I am trying to get in front of this rather than being anxious for a week prior to disembarkation.  

Can you comment on disembarkation from Haven. I know you get first priority and get escorted down. Wondering what time that occurred for you as we are deciding how early a flight to take in April. Thanks

Family of 5 including adult children aged 18-22. We enjoy Carnival, RCCL, and NCL. We generally like newer ships, but our favorite Carnival ship has been the Breeze. We are looking at Western Caribbean itineraries. Only difference is the Breeze stops in Costa Maya and Vista has an extra sea day (not an issue either way). Airfare to both Orlando and Houston is about the same. Fare is $1500 total more to go on Vista.

Since new activities like SkyRide are not going to be a big draw for my kids, I am looking for opinions on whether the added expense is worth going on the newer Vista rather than another week on the Breeze.  

I realize this could be posted on a Port Of Call board, but hope to get answers quicker on the NCL board

We are considering renting a beach villa or pool cabana when we visit Harvest Caye in March. Prior to doing this, we were wondering if there are any perks for Haven guests at HC.

Thanks for any info

Lots of variables for you. American is pretty good at LAX. And first class and TSA gets you to the gate quicker

In general, Agree that LGB is best and closest if they have a late morning flight. In general, I would definitely fly into LAX. If price was similar and LGB not an option, my second choice for departure would be SNA. 

Agree that Burbank and Ontario are too far and there would need to be a significant savings to justify the drive.

I agree that the glass will significantly reduce UV light/tanning.

We will be on Breakaway in March. I would like more info on the closure issue. We have been on Getaway and there are plenty of loungers in the sun. Looking at the pictures of the upper part of the Haven, I can see that much of the top deck is under cover. How much room is there toward the front on the starboard side? Is it crowded?

Thanks for the live updates. Can you give a little more info on the weather you have had thus far. My parents are on the ship and I was wondering. Thanks

Let me start with the obligatory disclaimers:

I am a loyal RC cruiser.

We are Diamond members who love the new ships

I understand that cruise prices are not much higher now than they were 20 years ago; thus cruise lines are going to look for alternate ways to increase income.

And most importantly, don't play BINGO if you don't want to play BINGO

With that being said, I believe that RCCL has far exceeded reasonableness with the cost of BINGO. Until last week, we hadn't played BINGO for 4 or 5 years. When we went down to play on the Allure last week, we were surprised to see various packages of BINGO cards ranging from $30-80 for one session. (they do offer a Buy 2, get 1 free deal)

In any case, I would estimate that there were 150-200 people in the room playing BINGO. Reasonable guess is that that the cruise line took in ~$8000 for that session. In the past, a BINGO session would include 5 games of BINGO. This session included only 3. But the crazy part is the payoffs:

$160 for the first game, $350 for second game, $510 for the last. Approximately $1000 total in spite of taking in between $5K-$10K. Even for the Final Jackpot Bingo, the jackpot was only $2000.

I recall on our very first cruise in 1993, the jackpot was over $5000. There were a lot more players and the cost to play was probably $15-30.

RCCL.....why are you skimming so much off the top? Make this more fun for all players.

Play 4-5 games per session MORE WINNERS.

Increase the payouts to something like say, 25-30% of income. MORE INTICING

Drop the price slightly, MORE PLAYERS

We have done Chef's Tables multiple times on different ships including RCCL and Carnival. We have never had a bad COURSE, and we love the experience.

However, since the menu has not changed recently, we are unsure if we will go on our upcoming Allure cruise next month.

2 questions:

Should we consider 150 Central Park? How does that experience differ from Chef's table?

How common is it to see discounted on board prices for Chef's Table....especially on Allure?

Thanks

Thanks to all. I was aware about kids not getting the diamond discounts.....they are not booked as 3rd/4th passengers and have sailed enough to qualify as diamond. Doesn't make sense

But again, thanks, will purchase the package ahead of time

Our family will be sailing on the Allure next month. 2 adults/2 Teens.....all with Diamond status. In the past, it seemed that there were significant deals on Internet for Diamond members. It seems as if the current deal is one day of free internet (and 1 device) per diamond member.

Are there additional Diamond deals? What is the best way to do this? At this point, I anticipate purchasing the package for 3 devices....teens off/on all day. HELP

Thank You LadyBebop.......I am glad that CBS is in every room. Will be a great start to a day at sea. Looking forward to it.

Saint Greg....u have been wrong at least twice in one thread. Once these games went to early starts at 930AM EST, they were on across the country. Including at 0430 in Honolulu. You were referring to 2-3 years ago when the London games started at 100PM Eastern at the same time as the rest of the league.

This is a longshot for big football fans. Over the past year or two, the NFL has had games in London start at 9:30Eastern and shown them all over the country. There are 3 of these per year.

It just so happens that we will be cruising on one of those Sundays when our team (Indianapolis) is in London with an early start time.

Does anyone recall seeing NFL football before noon on their TV's in the past year??

Thanks

WOW.....we are also RCCL Diamond members. We really enjoy the NCL product. We have been on Epic twice and more recently Getaway. Lots of fun. We have booked NCL Haven Suites recently and really love them.

Our opinion: NCL Haven experience >> RCCL >> NCL regular cabin.

Aside from a family suite on some older RCCL ships, we have not been in a suite on RCCL. So it can be said that we are comparing apples to oranges. But some of the extras that RC is offering seem to be a direct answer to the experience on NCL. Private lounge, Coastal Kitchen, private deck areas.

IF you are booking a regular cabin, we would say that daytime is better on RCCL and nighttime better on NCL. Regular rooms on RCCL are usually a little better. We prefer dining room on RCCL. Prefer Buffets on NCL. Definitely like the specialty restaurants on NCL.

Hope that balances previous negative NCL review. We love them both!!