Is The Haven really needed?

[abbyar]

Disney has no rooms that sleep 6 like the NCL two bedroom suites. Not to mention, when we did last sail Disney in 2 balcony rooms, the kids did not have fun - they have aged out of it. Even my littlest (age 7) feels that Disney is for smaller kids. Plus the specially restaurants at Disney were not as good as NCL. Palo for breakfast / brunch is no where near as good as Cagney's breakfast. Cagney's and Le Bistro at dinner are much better than the Disney equivalents.

[Starflyr3]

I like your thinking.

 

I could afford The Haven, but I prefer to be with the masses. (And no, I'm not a Bernie Sanders supporter.)

 

If I wanted an upscale experience I'd sail on an upscale cruise line and be with other upscale people.

 

As long as I can walk (to the theater)....and as long as I don't want a butler to bring me snacks (that I'd toss in the garbage) I have no desire to be in The Haven.

 

As a matter of fact....I like the idea of people paying thousands of dollars so they can be "elite for a week". That revenue allows me to book cabins for just about nothing (and thus my casino budget increases!).

 

I get when you are saying here, and as a couple, yes, cruise an upscale line instead. However, those of us with children can't really do that. That is the reason we sail NCL Haven.

Edited October 1, 2016 by Starflyr3

[Starflyr3]

I'm new to NCL and will be in a standard balcony cabin in January on the Getaway.

 

I must admit, I got sticker shock when I first saw the price of a Haven room. I still can't believe somebody would pay that price for a room on a NORWEGIAN cruise! (No offense, after all, I'm sailing on NCL soon.) But if it were me, for the money, I'd be sailing on a higher end cruise line such as Azamara, Crystal, Oceania, etc.

 

I'm sure I'll catch flack for saying this, but the same thought crosses my mind every time I see the Haven prices.

 

 

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How welcome are kids on azamara/Oceania/Seabourne/Regent? Lots of quality kids programming, plus other fun activities like water slides, yes?

 

Oh... wait.

[Starflyr3]

If children are the only reason you sail Haven over a luxury line, I would suggest sailing concierge level on Disney.

 

 

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Disney concierge with a separate bedroom is 2-3x more than the Haven. Nope, no thanks.

[LadyShiva]

Disney concierge with a separate bedroom is 2-3x more than the Haven. Nope, no thanks.

 

Cat 5 balcony rooms for 3 are higher than the Haven, let's be honest!

 

I appreciated the service on Disney, but the price of the suites is shake your head crazy. The price of the BALCONIES are over 7K, and I'm Silver with Disney (4 cruises in?).

 

Royal, HAL, and Carnival all are missing the 2 bedroom, 2 bath in one cabin configuration I prefer. Yes, I have one kid, but I like taking a bath and looking over the water with a bit of privacy. The "one nice room" configurations are the norm on those lines, and the bathtub with a view is something I've only found on NCL. I'm not looking for 2 separate cabins.

[stickey_mouse]

Disney has no rooms that sleep 6 like the NCL two bedroom suites. Not to mention, when we did last sail Disney in 2 balcony rooms, the kids did not have fun - they have aged out of it. Even my littlest (age 7) feels that Disney is for smaller kids. Plus the specially restaurants at Disney were not as good as NCL. Palo for breakfast / brunch is no where near as good as Cagney's breakfast. Cagney's and Le Bistro at dinner are much better than the Disney equivalents.

 

Sorry your kids didn't have fun, but I would think a 7-year old is in Disney's wheelhouse. Teenagers, not so much.

 

And I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience in Palo. I promise, it's usually phenomenal! I'm skeptical that Cagney's is as good, but I guess I'll find out in January. But I am willing to bet that Disney's MDRs trump those of NCL. And Disney's kids clubs? Out of this world and open all day long.

 

 

 

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Edited October 1, 2016 by stickey_mouse

[stickey_mouse]

Cat 5 balcony rooms for 3 are higher than the Haven, let's be honest!

 

I appreciated the service on Disney, but the price of the suites is shake your head crazy. The price of the BALCONIES are over 7K, and I'm Silver with Disney (4 cruises in?).

 

Disney is pricey, I'll give you that, but you get what you pay for. And in my experience, you can do a lot better than 7K for a balcony, unless you're limited to holiday or summer weeks.

 

 

 

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[UPNYGuy]

My wife and I will not sail on the larger breakaway class ships without being in the haven. We find that the commotion of the common areas on the larger ships to be over-the-top. In the Haven area, it is usually quiet and reserved. It reminds me of sailing on a smaller luxury class vessel, which is the goal. My only issue with the Haven is that you do have to leave it to conduct the muster drill. When leaving during this peak commotion period, it makes it all the more obvious that these ships are large mass market cruise liners. DW and I have one more sailing on NCL this year, and we are venturing back to Holland America Line for a few cruises. From there, we may try Viking Ocean cruises or Oceania before we return to The Haven.

 

 

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[stickey_mouse]

How welcome are kids on azamara/Oceania/Seabourne/Regent? Lots of quality kids programming, plus other fun activities like water slides, yes?

 

 

 

Oh... wait.

 

I said for ME. I don't have kids.

 

 

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[UPNYGuy]

How welcome are kids on azamara/Oceania/Seabourne/Regent? Lots of quality kids programming, plus other fun activities like water slides, yes?

 

 

 

Oh... wait.

 

 

And that is *exactly* why DW and I are going to be returning to Holland America, and are looking into Viking Ocean Line / Oceania. We will still sail Norwegian from time to time, but we do not have children. I could care less about the activities, and care more about cultural enrichment and immersion.

 

 

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Edited October 1, 2016 by UPNYGuy

[UPNYGuy]

Sometimes the pricing on the Haven is three times as much as a balcony room. So they are paying quite a bit more for the privilege of the special treatment.

 

 

 

I don't resent them at all. I'm not 100% sure what your question is. "Is the Haven really needed?" If your question is, "is it necessary for me to stay in the Haven" then I would say, absolutely not. You can have a fantastic cruise experience without it. If your question is "should they get rid of the Haven", well, it's obvious they won't. It's like first class on an airplane. Some people have the money and are willing to spend it for the extra comfort and treatment.

 

 

It is very variable. DW and I have sailed in The Haven for a little more than a mini suite. We have also paid over $10k to stay up there. Is it worth $10K? Depends on your wants and needs.

 

 

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[ABcruisers]

We are doing a transatlantic sailing and booked a Haven suite for a few reason...

The Haven pool has a retractable roof so hopefully our 3 year old will be able to swim whenever she wants

 

The $7.95 room service charge is included and with a 3 year old we will be using that

 

Bigger cabin with a small dining room table and living room area

 

I hear ppv movies are included (yet to be confirmed) and snacks are readily available

 

Having said this it's our first Haven sailing and sure hope it works out as well as I am imagining lol

 

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[Blondie008]

Worst case of "suite snobbery" we saw was on RCI - There was a pool area - at the top of the tiers near the bar - where one section had been "roped off" for suite guests only. It was like fish in a glass bowl. Few used it - I was with a large family - many suites, and we ourselves had THE royal suite - the only one on the ship. There were a couple sunning themselves in the suite area - and (sure we had been drinking and lots of laughter etc at the bar) we decided we needed a snooze - Heading into the roped area - this woman starts telling me off - actually shouting "THIS IS FOR SUITE GUESTS ONLY" -

Unbelievable! She assumed that as we hadn't ventured in to the fish bowl so far, we couldn't possibly be suite guests.

After telling her we were in the Royal Suite - I proceeded to bring all the remaining suites family "in"- That soon livened things up :D

 

I have never cruised in a suite on Norwegian - Celebrity, Royal, Costa etc always suites - but never with NCL. SO far I don't know what I am missing and I think I am going to leave it that way, for now anyway. Air for us is always the cost of a cruise and some more££s - and as we get older we can take more time out - we wanted to get used to mini suites so that we can travel more and for longer cruises. We wanted to see if we could cruise without the added luxuries. We are doing just fine. Have found that we like a spa pass for those moments when we need chillout time - That aside - haven't missed the suite life at all. We use speciality dining on nights we feel like it - we only ever used our cabins/suites to get ready at night and sleep in. We never liked to dine in our suite - We are pretty much party people so liked the buzz of H20 - (daughter tells me POSH is too quiet for us I wouldn't know!).

I can afford it - but feel we work too hard to throw money away lightly. I have had good and bad cruises in suites - Costa provided one of the best suite experience we have had, and for sure Royal the worst!

On land vacations we go to Sandals and for that we DO like suites - I am not sure I would want to go back to Sandals and not be in a suite ...

I don't envy suite guests on my cruises. I don't even think about it - What someone else has/does has nothing to do with the enjoyment of my cruise. I DO envy long haul BA first class - aaaaaaaaaah to go up those stairs on the overnight transatlantic - dream on hah! On Epic we had an amazing cruise - I did see the elevator to the Haven - but that's as near as I got. We had an absolute blast of 14 nights - in a humble spa mini suite - and that was just fine for us.

Will we ever go Haven? Probably at some stage in life - meanwhile too many nights to party - too many ships to sail - and too many dreams to live :)

[kernie968]

For us the Haven is needed. My husband does not do well in large crowds so the Haven is perfect. We leave him in the Haven and go out and enjoy ourselves in the crowds, then go back and spend time in the Haven. If not for the Haven we would probably not cruise and I love cruising!

[Annmeat]

We are doing a transatlantic sailing and booked a Haven suite for a few reason...

The Haven pool has a retractable roof so hopefully our 3 year old will be able to swim whenever she wants

 

The $7.95 room service charge is included and with a 3 year old we will be using that

 

Bigger cabin with a small dining room table and living room area

 

I hear ppv movies are included (yet to be confirmed) and snacks are readily available

 

Having said this it's our first Haven sailing and sure hope it works out as well as I am imagining lol

 

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PPV movies are free in Haven suites. Depending on the suite and ship, however, in room dining can be dicey due to size of table. We could not eat meals with our 3 kids in a 2 bedroom H4 - tried breakfast once and it was quite a balancing actYou can have any snack or meal delivered to your room. You have a 24 hour butler service , no room service fee either. Just got off Getaway and had 2 late night deliveries which took no longer than 15 minutes.

 

I haven't read this entire thread, just addressing your post

 

If your kid wants gummy bears , then gummy bears it is. Ours liked the cookies and after a first request they were delivered several times a day.

 

The butler even noticed your coffee/ tea choices and brings extra if what you like.

 

BTW Getaway has no retractable roof if it is she you are sailing . Her Haven is open air.

 

We have been in suites on RCL, Disney and NCL

Disney has amazing 2 bedroom suites but the price is insane. Ours are too old for Disney and-

While they have longer kids care hours we found the clubs absolute chaos when our kids were between 3 and 6. Literally had to wander among throngs of children trying to find ours. Service was great ,suites were great but after 3 trips we were Disney done.

 

Have a great trip

NCL - with one exception when the concierge told us he despised kids ( prior to the Haven concept)-treats the kids very, very well.

[ABcruisers]

PPV movies are free in Haven suites. Depending on the suite and ship, however, in room dining can be dicey due to size of table. We could not eat meals with our 3 kids in a 2 bedroom H4 - tried breakfast once and it was quite a balancing actYou can have any snack or meal delivered to your room. You have a 24 hour butler service , no room service fee either. Just got off Getaway and had 2 late night deliveries which took no longer than 15 minutes.

 

I haven't read this entire thread, just addressing your post

 

If your kid wants gummy bears , then gummy bears it is. Ours liked the cookies and after a first request they were delivered several times a day.

 

The butler even noticed your coffee/ tea choices and brings extra if what you like.

 

BTW Getaway has no retractable roof if it is she you are sailing . Her Haven is open air.

 

We have been in suites on RCL, Disney and NCL

Disney has amazing 2 bedroom suites but the price is insane. Ours are too old for Disney and-

While they have longer kids care hours we found the clubs absolute chaos when our kids were between 3 and 6. Literally had to wander among throngs of children trying to find ours. Service was great ,suites were great but after 3 trips we were Disney done.

 

Have a great trip

NCL - with one exception when the concierge told us he despised kids ( prior to the Haven concept)-treats the kids very, very well.

 

Sounds like exactly what we are looking for! We may need the pool to combat the sugar lol!

 

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[NLH Arizona]

And that is *exactly* why DW and I are going to be returning to Holland America, and are looking into Viking Ocean Line / Oceania. We will still sail Norwegian from time to time, but we do not have children. I could care less about the activities, and care more about cultural enrichment and immersion.

 

 

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You might want to look into Crystal as well.

[TheDougOut]

My only issue with the Haven is that you do have to leave it to conduct the muster drill. When leaving during this peak commotion period, it makes it all the more obvious that these ships are large mass market cruise liners.

 

I was traveling in a group of 16 for our introduction to the BA-class ships, and our muster station was in the O'Sheehans game room area. What a mad scene that was... both during, and the moments that followed, as all guests attempted to depart a common area.

 

I actually had an awful sinking feeling that we had made a mistake with this ship, and that all reviews about overcrowding were accurate. We ended up retreating to the Waterfront for sail-away, after giving up trying to head up the stairs. And that's when the "magic" of the ship took over for us. For the next hour we felt like we had the ship to ourselves. This was a theme that kept repeating itself again and again as the week went on. We eventually started to joke, "where is everybody?!?"

 

The muster drill can often be a less than ideal welcome experience.

Edited October 3, 2016 by TheDougOut

[Jeff&Pam]

Disney concierge with a separate bedroom is 2-3x more than the Haven. Nope, no thanks.

 

I second that...we were looking at the same for this year and our haven deluxe spa suite...which has a separate bedroom, is cheaper then a regular DCL concierge room, and there are more perks on NCL.

[samiam0403]

We sail exclusively in SF aft corner suites, usually on Dawn or Jewel class. I could afford it, but I have never sailed in the Haven and don't intend to. We prefer the medium size ships. The perks we get, for the price we pay, is one of the best deals at sea. Sort of like a "Poor Man's Haven". I do tape our cabin key card to my forehead so everyone knows I'm a suite passenger, though.

 

Thanks for that - almost spit my water all over my computer! :D Agree with some other posters here - I sail in suites/Haven in order to have a relaxing experience combined with the the available amenities of a large ship. I can't enjoy a zip line, large casino, and rock climbing wall on the luxury lines! Also, hubs is happiest on a casual line, while I like things a little 'fancier'. NCL and their suites are the best of both worlds for us.

[pieshops]

we get T shirts made that "say we are in the haven and you are not, nah nah nah"

[stickey_mouse]

I second that...we were looking at the same for this year and our haven deluxe spa suite...which has a separate bedroom, is cheaper then a regular DCL concierge room, and there are more perks on NCL.

 

What are the perks?

 

 

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[Two Wheels Only]

What are the perks?

 

Everything Haven plus Spa access.

[Marine Mom]

Unless something has changed within the past couple of weeks I don't believe there is any priority line for customs ...no matter who you are ...there certainly is priority disembarkation but once you're off the ship everyone is the same

 

 

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I was thinking the same thing....once we got off the Breakaway (April 2016), there was not priority customs that I knew of, we stood in the same line as everyone else.

[Two Wheels Only]

I was thinking the same thing....once we got off the Breakaway (April 2016), there was not priority customs that I knew of, we stood in the same line as everyone else.

 

There is no separate line but there are times when Haven guests are brought to the front of the line to be "next".