The Haven Review - NCL Getaway - Feb 22 - Mar 1 2014

[Cdnbarrieguy]

Love your review!! Especially since it is a Haven review. I have to wait until

Feb, it is driving me crazy!!!!

 

I'm the same way - I live via these reviews of other people until I actually get to take my cruise LOL :D

[Cdnbarrieguy]

Loving your review & the pics are AMAZING!! We have also cruised Carnival & RCI. I just booked the Getaway for Oct 2015 (sooo far away!) as a 40th birthday gift for my husband. It will be our first with NCL. I went back & forth for weeks: Haven or Regular balcony. Ultimately decided you only turn 40 once, so Haven aft facing penthouse it is!! I have no idea how I will keep this secret for 15 months, lol! Your review has made me feel even better about my decision!! Can't wait to read more. Cheers!

 

 

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You guys are going to have such a fantastic time. I find it really hard to pick a favorite between RCL, NCL, Carnival and Disney. They all have their pro's and con's. But I can say that The Haven on Getaway set itself apart from all the others. This was the one cruise I did without my son - so from an adult perspective it was awesome!

[Cdnbarrieguy]

Cool

We are booked in the same Haven Suite 16710 on September 6 th....party on !

 

Very cool! Great room :D

[Cdnbarrieguy]

Looking forward to the rest still! :)

 

Lots more pics to come... :)

[Cdnbarrieguy]

We decided to take a tour of the top decks. There is SO MUCH TO DO on this ship. It's crazy. From a water perspective there was the main Waves Pool midship. There was also the kids water area. The Haven had it's own pool. Spice H20 also has it's own water area. Then there were the awesome water slides and free fall slides. I spent most of my time at The Haven pool area as it was pretty calm and quiet. When I wanted excitement I would go to the Midship Waves pool. They had fun stuff during the day. It was generally pretty packed whenever I went there.

 

Here are some pictures:

 

The Midship pool area...

 

P2220195 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

Kids play area...

 

20140222_132242 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

[aubreyc1988]

can't wait for more! pictures look great

[Cdnbarrieguy]

More of Spice H20:

 

P2220207 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

Spice H20 after being setup for the Sailaway. This is where most of the nightly parties were held as well as the fireworks:

 

P2220220 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

Midship pool area at night:

 

20140222_222427 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

[Cdnbarrieguy]

So back when I went on the Carnival Dream with these same friends my friend April was SO sea sick! It was horrible until she went to medical and they have her some needle. She then slept for a day and a half and then was fine for the rest of the cruise. So this time we decided to get the wrist bands and patch. The water was the calmest I've ever had on any cruise. The first day was great... then the next day she was SO sick again. The patch didn't do anything. But because she had the patch medical said they couldn't give her the needle for another 48 hours. So she took the pills instead and basically slept for 2 days. Overall I would say that she was sick for more then 1/2 of the cruise. It sucked and I felt really bad for her.

 

Saying that - the crew were beyond amazing. One night on our way back to the room we ran into the Captain and Hotel Director. We asked if they had any suggestions for sea sickness... they told her to eat crackers and green apples. We started walking back to the stateroom again... arrived maybe 10 minutes since we saw the captain to find the following in our room. Green Apples, Crackers, Water, Ginger Ale and a Get Well Card from the Captain WOW!!!

 

P2220283 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

There was this gambling game (they also have it on the Carnival Breeze). I have spent SO MUCH MONEY on these things LOL. But have never won. I noticed on Carnival that almost every row was won by the end of the cruise. Here on NCL people were always playing it but only one prize was won...

 

20140224_183233 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

20140224_184648 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

[Cdnbarrieguy]

So I'm not much of a food porn guy but the dining in The Haven restaurant was fantastic. Very above average. The biggest thing I found was that the food was very hot when it came out because they are one of the only restaurants on the ship that does not share the MDR galley. They have their own kitchen. The negative is that the breakfast, lunch and dinner menu are the exact same every day except at dinner there was generally one special. It was fine for me because I like a lot of different things; however, my friends are much more picky. I took some pictures of the menus. Also - the lunch menu in the Haven Restaurant is different then the lunch menu in The Haven Outdoor Courtyard.

 

Our awesome waitress Rose in The Haven Restaurant:

 

20140222_172306 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

The beef entree:

 

20140222_190151 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

Mousse

 

P2220276 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

[Cdnbarrieguy]

Breakfast Menu at The Haven Restaurant

 

20140223_101721 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

Crab Eggs Benedict - had for 4 of my breakfasts LOL

 

20140226_123240 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

Lunch Shrimp Cocktail

 

P2270038 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Cdnbarrieguy]

Actually - I might have posted the Lamb earlier - this is the beef:

 

P2240324 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

P2270108 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

P2230320 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

[Cdnbarrieguy]

Ok... this was my favorite part of the ship by far! Free fall water slide is awesome... but this ropes course takes it to a whole other level with "The Plank"!!!

 

When you walk out to the plank there is a rope. When you pull it - it takes your picture which will be in the photography section later that night or the next day. Here is the one I bought:

 

P2220202 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

20140227_150228 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

 

Zip line part of the course - fun!

 

20140227_150553 by jeremy.hanlon, on Flickr[/img]

[Cdnbarrieguy]

Ok... gotta get back to work. More to come this weekend including:

 

- Behind the Scenes Tour of the Ship - very cool!

- The Ice Bar - very cool (literally) :D

- Some excursions we did

 

Cheers!

[ratpackx5]

Looks like a very fun ship, we might have to try NCL sometime.

[cruisingcasinos]

next time- try the AFT PentHouse Suites- the balconies are out of this world- I will be traveling next year and can't wait. they fit two loungers- a table with 4 chairs as well as a smaller table with 2 chairs!!

 

so sorry- forget to say THANKS. loving the review and pictures

Edited June 20, 2014 by cruisingcasinos

[browniegirl]

Although many months later, this is a great review! just booked the same cabin in the haven for my daughter and I. I am wondering......every suite we have stayed in on NCL has had a little area /makeup table area, ie: with a stool mirror and a drawer and plug etc. Does this suite have one of those? The bathroom looks kind of small compared to their other suites. I just want to be prepared and not disappointed!!! the last suite we had was a deluxe owners suite with two balconies so it will be a switch to have a tiny balcony but the haven is amazing and you get all that deck upstairs I guess to use!!!

 

If you have any more pictures of the suite, would be great appreciated!! Was it noisy ever? Thanks!

 

Leah

[MandyMommyof2]

Great review! I am enjoying your pictures. We are booked on the Getway in July. Can't wait to see what excursions you and your friends do!!

[david_sobe]

That red carpet thing on the way to Spice with the Cruise Director is a really cool idea. Never saw or read that before. Thanks for sharing!

[sjbdtz]

 

there was this gambling game (they also have it on the carnival breeze). I have spent so much money on these things lol. But have never won. I noticed on carnival that almost every row was won by the end of the cruise. Here on ncl people were always playing it but only one prize was won...

 

 

http://www.seganerds.com/2013/11/06/sega-sued-for-rigging-key-master-vending-game/

 

 

.

[Cdnbarrieguy]

Man! I totally forgot I had started this review. Got away from me! 6 months later LOL - I'll post the rest of my pictures and review. Will also post more pictures of the suite. If I remember correctly there was a place to sit and do makeup. The bathroom was pretty small compared to the suite I had on Oasis. I'm actually back on Oasis this Saturday the 17th - can't wait!

 

 

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[spielbank]

Great review!

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review. I'm surprised the room is so small. No wonder our friend in Haven liked our two bed/two bath family suite better than his Haven Suite. He cruises about 10 times a year on different cruise lines. He thought our room suite was the best layout of all.

 

We had a small party for 8 people in our suite before dinner one night. We fit comfortably in our living/dining room. The dining room table was the perfect place to set up the appetizers and the nice size bar accommodated the drinks.

 

Try that category sometime. The master bath is amazing.