Sigyn

I didn't say it was free, I said it was automatically included.

you had to pay for soda in a can? that's so weird. did you have the classic drink package vs. premium+? That's the part of the Haven that I find completely unacceptable vs. the Retreat and other premium ship-in-a-ship suite components of other lines. We just cruises in the Retreat and their Premium drink package is automatically included with all rooms in the Retreat, along with premium Wi-Fi. However, there is a cutoff even for Premium customers - their drink package only includes drinks up to $17, whereas NCL has no cap.

That part is different than The Retreat on Celebrity. The sodas and water in the mini fridge are free and many butlers, including ours on our cruise last week, are fine with stocking beer for you to drink for free as well, even tho technically you're supposed to pay for the beer. I had our butler in The Retreat take out the wine and hard liquor since those were an upcharge.

The Joy goes to Harvest Caye for our March cruise. What is Harvest Caye like? I haven't been to NCL's other private island - the Prima didn't make it there on our December cruise due to rough waters. We saw it, we got near, but then we sailed away. So sad. What can we expect at Harvest Caye? It will be myself and my husband and our son, who will be 16, and any friends he has from the ship.

Yes, we're 12 forward. Sounds perfect with the food! We don't mind going up 4-5 flights of stairs. five flights up to the Haven, right? We can do that! 🙂

Right? The entire cruising world knows that he's 6'4"!!

Thanks! I just finished one cruise to Alaska so now I'm "diving" into this one and making my plans for next March, so I am re-reading everything and I was pondering that statement. 🙂

I'm a bit confused - newbies are natural at it AND it is a learned skill?

I don't have the desire to walk over and tip extra to everyone in Luminae. I wrote up personal notes about those on the ship (including our waiter in Luminae) who made a difference and turned that into customer service, because I believe that should help them out in their career. I provided the tip to Fernando for the pool, and then tipped the sommelier separately.

Since I was gone for three weeks I forgot that my printer was broken until I needed to print something a few days ago. I have now ordered a new Epson printer, to be delivered on Tuesday. My old one was about six years old. Guess that's the lifespan.

We're back from our cruise. Just to confirm what others said, the weather totally changed by the time we went on our cruise a few days later. No rain at all on our cruise, except for a bit of misty rain the morning we went to see Hubbard Glacier but that ended at 8 am. Weather was in the low 60's almost every day, getting up to the mid-60's some days. Perfect weather, really, for an Alaskan cruise.

Snorkeling is much easier. For Try Dive such as at a resort or on a cruise, there are no swimming requirements. But In order to get certified for scuba diving you'll need to be able to swim 300 meters with fins and a snorkel on, swim 50 feet underwater with one breath, and tread water for 10 minutes. I know because I just went through it for my NAUI certification. I had to refresh my swimming skills with six private classes beforehand.

yeah, it was interesting that I had to do the treading water requirement for my pool work for my certification for NAUI last month. There was 10 minutes of treading water for our group. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't super easy, either. It just...was. They said you could float if you wanted, but you couldn't touch the sides of the pool, so since that was super important to stay away from, and when you float, you move toward the pool sides, it was easier to tread water. we asked about the purpose of the 300 meter swim and the 10 minute treading water and the instructor said it's so that if you are separated from your dive boat you have the stamina to survive long enough to wait for the boat to come back and get you, or swim over to the boat if it's 300 meters away.

I like watching the Harr videos. I always wonder about people's experience if they've worked with them. I know we're not allowed to talk about that here. But still, I wonder.

I read all of the time, too. It's my favorite pastime. I'm not a TV watcher. I keep track of my books on Goodreads, and so far this year I've read 96 books. What is your favorite genre? I read just about anything, but currently I've been treating myself to fiction in the magic and mystical realm.

Sounds lovely! We were on the Prima in December 2023, but in a regular balcony cabin. We loved that ship. She's gorgeous. We are on the Joy in a Haven - our first time in the Haven, in an HG, room #12708 - in March 2024, for a Caribbean cruise over spring break. Wish us well. hahaha.

Ah, makes sense. I looked at the two-bedroom suite but it's bigger than we need for the three of us - it's just my husband and I and our 16-year-old son. we don't need two full bedrooms so we'll stick with our HG category forward facing Haven room, which gives us a private bedroom but makes our teenager sleep on the converted couch in the main living area. The two-bedroom is super nice, tho!!!

Curious to see what you think of the HH family villa. I opted against it because I wanted two separate sleeping areas but it looks like a very nice suite.

Which suites are these that you choose? Which category? We're getting an HG forward-facing balcony on the Joy and I was just looking at other categories, including the two-bedroom family villa, to decide if it was worth the upcharge to put us right in the Haven instead of on deck 12. We'd still be forward tho, not aft, in the one I've booked already. The only category sold out for my cruise is the owner's suite, so I'm free to pick something else if warranted. It's for three of us - my husband and I and our son who will be 16. I'm not concerned about a giant balcony. For some reason, we don't end up spending that much time on our balconies. I mean, they're nice, but maybe a half hour a day max is all we spend on them, if that. Other than that, we're out and about on the ship or at port. I do like a nice room, tho. Even on a ship.

Thank you for your input! That was exactly our experience with the Retreat. We were on the Millennium. It was utterly lovely, but there was no bar in the Retreat lounge. You could order drinks from the counter, but it wasn't a "real" bar. And it wasn't a place with windows to sit and look out, but it was quite pleasant. And the Retreat sun deck had no shade. We were in Alaska, so we didn't need it, but it was also quite windy and cold. We went up there the day we left Vancouver but never returned due to the chilly weather and lack of protection from the elements. The food in Luminae was outstanding, however. Just amazing.

Do you wash undies in the sink?

Were you able to pre-book dining online or did you need to call the concierge to do it for you?

This thread is so useful! I love it. We'll be in our first Haven room in March, on the Joy, and I decided to book it after reserving the Retreat on Celebrity for an Alaskan cruise. We hadn't even done the Retreat yet when I went for the Haven, but I knew there'd be no turning back from butler service, etc. I was right. We just loved the Retreat. The Haven sounds quite comparable and, in some ways, better. We were on the Prima in December in a family balcony, so we were curious about the Haven and what it would be like. Now we'll experience it. I've booked us in a forward-facing Haven in the HG category, so it has two rooms, and our 16-year-old son can sleep on the couch that turns into a bed in the main living area, and we'll have our own bedroom. I found the price quite reasonable - with taxes and all it worked out to right at $7,800 for the three of us, but I could have booked a smaller penthouse for about $1K less. That would have exactly matched the going price on Royal Caribbean's Icon for the same week to the Caribbean in a regular balcony room. I decided a week in the Haven on the Joy to ports where we can all scuba dive would be much more enjoyable than a week on the new Icon in a balcony cabin. Plus I splurged for the two-room suite.

The Vibe bar is what would interest us the most. We love a good bar at which to hang out and talk to people. I still want the rest of the Haven amenities, so I'll stick with the Haven and consider adding Vibe to the mix, along with a thermal pass since they're adding a thermal spa to the Joy just in time for our cruise as well.

Oh yes, I saw the special bank of elevators on the Prima when we cruised it in December. I thought you were saying there was something special going on INSIDE of the elevators, too!!!! I was like, what, are they gold plated??? 🤣