Please Help Haven Spa Suite or Haven Courtyard Penthouse

[rocky55]

HI. Thank you for all your help. I am booked in a Haven Spa Suite on the Getaway this August. This is my 10th cruise, 3rd with NCL and first time in the Haven.(Did I mention I am sooooo excited!!) I was wondering if anyone has stayed or seen both of these rooms. (Even perhaps on a cabin crawl). I am going with my 11 year old daughter. Final payment is due soon(earlier I guess because I am in a suite) and trying to decide if I should switch. At the time I booked, the spa suite was the best deal, so I booked it. My daughter cant use the spa, and I will probably only use it a couple of times when she is at the camp, so that is not a huge factor, but a slight plus. So I guess i am wondering which room "feels better" (i know that is subjective, I want peoples opinions) and is actually staying in the Haven area better. (That would be the courtyard penthouse) The courtyard room has a love seat and small table, the spa suite has a big tub which My daughter and I might put on bathingsuits and use once, not sure. Also which balcony is better.

'Thank you to all my CC friends.

 

 

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[dexddd]

HI. Thank you for all your help. I am booked in a Haven Spa Suite on the Getaway this August. This is my 10th cruise, 3rd with NCL and first time in the Haven.(Did I mention I am sooooo excited!!) I was wondering if anyone has stayed or seen both of these rooms. (Even perhaps on a cabin crawl). I am going with my 11 year old daughter. Final payment is due soon(earlier I guess because I am in a suite) and trying to decide if I should switch. At the time I booked, the spa suite was the best deal, so I booked it. My daughter cant use the spa, and I will probably only use it a couple of times when she is at the camp, so that is not a huge factor, but a slight plus. So I guess i am wondering which room "feels better" (i know that is subjective, I want peoples opinions) and is actually staying in the Haven area better. (That would be the courtyard penthouse) The courtyard room has a love seat and small table, the spa suite has a big tub which My daughter and I might put on bathingsuits and use once, not sure. Also which balcony is better.

'Thank you to all my CC friends.

 

 

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If you have a room with the option of being in the Haven I'd say that would be my preference under your circumstances. There is lots of loungers for you two, you have the small pool, two whirlpools, they have snacks, serve food there, it is nice to be close to or in the Haven.

[brookie848]

If you have the opportunity to actually stay in the Haven rather than in the Spa area, do it.

 

While we didn't use our butler at all, we did find the concierge helpful. I prefer talking to people in person, rather than on the phone and it was nice just to stop by the concierge desk on my way to the cabin.

 

Also, you are just a short walk away from breakfast in the morning, which is great. As the previous poster mentioned, being close to the pool and lounges are also a bonus.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't feel as if I had gotten my money's worth if I had stayed in a Haven cabin that wasn't actually in the Haven. That wouldn't have been NCL's fault -- it would have been mine -- simply because it is much easier to use amenities that are "right next door" rather than ones that I have to travel to get to.

[fulfart]

I think I would stay in the Haven, more thing to do. Do you think that room 15126 is a good room?

[Cubechick]

If you have a room with the option of being in the Haven I'd say that would be my preference under your circumstances. There is lots of loungers for you two, you have the small pool, two whirlpools, they have snacks, serve food there, it is nice to be close to or in the Haven.

 

This. Definitely in the Haven.

[pyrogy]

We stayed in a spa suite on the Breakaway recently and we did not feel separated at all. It is only one flight of stairs to the Haven area and once you walk in the door you are the same as everyone else. I am not sure what the difference is other than the one flight of stairs.

 

Having said that, if you do not plan on using the spa I do not see any real benefit to the spa suite, assuming everything else is more or less equal. I doubt you will use the tub in the room.

[TrumpyNor]

I have stayed in a Haven Spa Suite on the Epic, and I understand they are quite similar to the Haven Spa Suites on the Breakaway and Getaway. Since your daughter is too young to take advantage of the free spa pass, if I were you I would go for the courtyard suite instead. The tub in the Spa suite is actually taking up a lot of the space in the room, so for us it was just a waste of space - the spa suite actually felt more "cramped" than the regular suites on board. The bathroom in the Spa suite was really nice though. Only advantage with the spa suite for us (we are not what you would call "spa lovers") was that it gave us access to the Haven area and Haven sundeck - and that was actually the only reason I booked it. I had originally booked a minisuite, but a few weeks before the sailing date they had only one spa suite left and they dropped the price significantly so that I could purchase an upgrade and pay only $400 p.p. extra - and the Haven access was worth it for us to do the upgrade.

Edited May 1, 2014 by TrumpyNor

[graphicguy]

We stayed in a spa suite on the Breakaway recently and we did not feel separated at all. It is only one flight of stairs to the Haven area and once you walk in the door you are the same as everyone else. I am not sure what the difference is other than the one flight of stairs.

 

Having said that, if you do not plan on using the spa I do not see any real benefit to the spa suite, assuming everything else is more or less equal. I doubt you will use the tub in the room.

 

Fiance and I were trying to make the same decision. Not having to pay extra for the Spa made our decision for us. That said, we'll use the spa every day. As mentioned, we don't mind at all traveling one set of stairs to the Haven (good exercise).

[garnet115]

Not sure if it matters to you, but the Spa Suite is a king bed that cannot be split, so you and dd will be sharing the bed. I believe (someone correct me if I am wrong) that the courtyard suite has a pullout couch.

 

FWIW I stayed in a Spa Suite with my 10yo dd back in February and we had a great time.

[rocky55]

Not sure if it matters to you, but the Spa Suite is a king bed that cannot be split, so you and dd will be sharing the bed. I believe (someone correct me if I am wrong) that the courtyard suite has a pullout couch.

 

FWIW I stayed in a Spa Suite with my 10yo dd back in February and we had a great time.

 

 

Which ship were you on? Did you guys use the tub as a hot tub? I am wondering how big it is. (If it is big enough for us to put on our bathingsuits and go in like an outside one)

 

Thank you for all your responses. Does anyone know which balcony is better.

 

 

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[tarps14]

According to the "cruise deck plan" site, the balcony of the courtyard penthouses is 43 sq ft while the balcony for the spa suite is 30 sq ft. 13 sq ft is more than you think. All things being equal, I, too, would go for the courtyard suite. As a previous poster stated, the tub appears to take up a fair amount of usable space in the cabin.

 

This chart has a lot of very useful info regarding cabin and balcony sizes. It's specific to the Breakaway but the Getaway is identical.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AkRUeqCmOMnGdFZWTVVzZndrc0NkN1N0TGpZb2ZYU2c&single=true&gid=0&output=html

Edited May 1, 2014 by tarps14

[JuneauWhatIMean]

I would much rather have a sofa and larger balcony than a bathtub/whirlpool in my bedroom, which I may or may not use.

[tarps14]

I would much rather have a sofa and larger balcony than a bathtub/whirlpool in my bedroom, which I may or may not use.

 

JuneauWhatIMean, I noticed your ticker. We leave the day before you on the GA. Are these last two weeks going as ridiculously slow for you as they are for us?

 

Sorry, OP. Didn't mean to hijack!

Edited May 1, 2014 by tarps14

[JuneauWhatIMean]

No sweetheart, I'm in panic mode! I still have to shop for new clothes. :eek::cool::rolleyes::o;):D

[JuneauWhatIMean]

Sorry for my rudeness. :p BON VOYAGE!

[roddy good boy]

Which ship were you on? Did you guys use the tub as a hot tub? I am wondering how big it is. (If it is big enough for us to put on our bathingsuits and go in like an outside one)

 

Thank you for all your responses. Does anyone know which balcony is better.

 

 

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My husband and I stayed in the Spa suite on the Breakaway last Sept. (2013). We loved it and are booking it for this Sept, as well. The tub in the room is more like a whirlpool bath than a hot tub. I used it several times. My husband...not so much! It has bath salts (provided) that can be added to the water. I think that it may be more suitable for couples, but I am a firm believer in doing what feels comfortable for you! I didn't find the short walk to the Haven area burdensome. BTW, we LOVED the spa area and used it just about every day. So it was really worth it to us!!!!

[Mom2B&Z]

I vote aft penthouse suite :). The aft balcony is amazing, and IMHO well worth the walk to get to the Haven. We ate all our meals at the Haven restaurant on Breakaway, except those we had in-suite or at a specialty restaurant, and certainly didn't mind the walk.

 

 

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[rocky55]

I vote aft penthouse suite :). The aft balcony is amazing' date=' and IMHO well worth the walk to get to the Haven. We ate all our meals at the Haven restaurant on Breakaway, except those we had in-suite or at a specialty restaurant, and certainly didn't mind the walk.

 

 

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Hi. I would love the aft, it is just a lot more expensive, it would be over $3500 more, and I can't afford that. I have looked into the courtyard penthouse, and even that would end up costing me more than I thought. It would be over $800 more than the Haven Spa suite, and I am going to hope it comes down and than I would love to switch. For now I will stay put. I do appreciate everyones help, because if I can upgrade, I will in a heartbeat. I am just happy that I am in the Haven for the first time.

 

 

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[garnet115]

Which ship were you on? Did you guys use the tub as a hot tub? I am wondering how big it is. (If it is big enough for us to put on our bathingsuits and go in like an outside one)

 

Thank you for all your responses. Does anyone know which balcony is better.

 

 

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We were on breakaway. The tub was nice in theory but took forever to fill so we only used it a few times. Not big enough for 2 of us - just 1 at a time.

 

 

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[roddy good boy]

I agree that the tub isn't really large enough for two. It's about the size of a regular sized tub, just round::D