Escape Haven - Brief Review

[SoonerFan20]

My family of 4 and my 2 parents cruised on the Escape from 7/2 - 7/9. I did the upsell from standard balcony rooms to the 2 bedroom villa for us and the courtyard penthouse for my parents (rooms 17106 and 17108).

 

Rooms:

 

The rooms were great! Ours felt like a small apartment and my parent's was more than enough for their needs. Our butler had our balcony divider opened up which made things even more convenient.

 

Service:

 

Our butler, Marivic, and steward, Randolf were very friendly and attentive. Marivic found out my older son liked peanut butter cups and she kept our room stocked with those throughout the week. Service in the haven restaurant was really good. Service in the haven common areas (i.e., drinks) was spotty at best, friendly, but spotty. We always got to know certain servers when on the Pearl and Jewel and they provided prompt, excellent service. Not so in the haven. Maybe a consequence of all the "free" drinks, I'm not sure. We never used the conceirge for anything but disembarking, but they were usually at their desk willing to help if needed.

 

Food:

 

We ate at the haven restaurant for most of our meals. The servers were great and got to know our preferences after the first day. Lucy and Roma were particularly good. The menus do not change during the week, but there was enough variety to shake things up without becoming too stagnant. The food quality was really good. We did eat at the garden cafe for a few meals when we wanted more variety or speed (dinner at the haven would take around 2 hours - which was fine for us most nights). The food there was as expected - good, but not spectacular. One day we went around 10:15 for a late breakfast and it was a madhouse. Took a long time to find a place to sit. The other times we at there it was fine. We ate at Food Republic once for lunch. The food was good, but I think I was expecting more based on the reviews. The service was excellent. We did not eat at any specialty restaurants or main dining rooms.

 

Pool area:

 

The haven pool itself isn't very large. I'm not a pool person anyway so no big deal. My younger son used it quite a bit and liked hanging out there with some new friends rather than going to splash academy. There are 2 hot tubs by the pool and another up on 19 out on the deck. I never used those, but they were never crowded that I saw. The quiet solitude of the pool area or around the upper deck was a welcome experience - and don't forget the peanut m&m's! Going from there to the main pool area with the hordes of people and loud music was a shock to the system.

 

Shows:

 

We used the haven seats both times we went to the theater, but we probably could have done without. We only went to the Four Season's show and the Brat Pack. I liked the former but not the latter. My wife liked both. I spent my teen years in the 80's and really liked most of the movies referenced, but I just didn't care for the arrangement. Such is life.

 

Overall:

 

I was wondering if the upsell would be worth it and every one of us would agree that it was. The rooms, restaurant and respite from the crowds made it so. I still wonder what our cruise would have been like had we stayed in our regular rooms. I'm sure it would have been fine, but the extras the haven provided made the cruise that much better. Will I only sail in the haven now? I doubt it - particularly if I had to pay full fare, but if I could get in on an upsell on a larger ship, I'd do it again without hesitation.

[kjo2020]

Thanks for the info but I have 2 questions:

- did you book with a TA or with NCL?

- how much was the charge for the 2 bedroom?

[Ssutera]

We did the same on the Getaway this past week, upsell into a 2 bedroom from a mini suite with large balcony.

 

Would definitely do it again, we spent most of our time in Haven and truely enjoyed it! Sailed with DH and 2 teen age boys.

[FLcruiser2011]

What is the latest you can have breakfast in the Haven restaurant? Is the closing hour different on sea days than it is on port days?

 

Thanks

[SoonerFan20]

What is the latest you can have breakfast in the Haven restaurant? Is the closing hour different on sea days than it is on port days?

 

Thanks

 

I don't recall the exact hours as we never had to think about it, but I believe they were 7:00 - 10:00 or 7:30 - 10:30.

 

I do recall that they opened at 6:30 on the last day.

[SoonerFan20]

Thanks for the info but I have 2 questions:

- did you book with a TA or with NCL?

- how much was the charge for the 2 bedroom?

 

Costco

Upsell was $2k from balcony room.

[zteamtwo]

Do you mean upsell was $2000 for the 2 cabins--in other words you paid $1000 to upsell for each cabin? How many days out did you get the upsell?

Edited July 13, 2016 by zteamtwo
Added question.

[SoonerFan20]

Do you mean upsell was $2000 for the 2 cabins--in other words you paid $1000 to upsell for each cabin? How many days out did you get the upsell?

 

No - $2k was for the 2 bedroom. The upsell to the courtyard penthouse was $1.5k.

 

I believe we could have had the smaller owners suite for $2.5k.

 

 

approximately 2 weeks prior

[VideoTech]

What is the latest you can have breakfast in the Haven restaurant? Is the closing hour different on sea days than it is on port days?

 

Thanks

 

Just off the Escape. Haven restaurant breakfast hours are:

 

Sea Days: 7:30 to 10:30 am

Port Days: 7:00 to 10:00 am

Miami Disembarkation Day: 6:30 to 8:30 am

 

Hope that helps.