Celebrity Sky Suite vs Norwegian Haven Penthouse Suite

[Georgia_Peaches]

For those of you who've sailed in both types of accommodations will you please speak to how the Penthouse Suite compares with the Sky Suite... I'm not asking about associated suite perks but rather, the stateroom/balcony itself. Is one better, worse, about the same? I'm partial to all things celebrity but sometimes their itinerary offerings don't fit with my schedule.

Thank you!

[alwaysonaship]

We had an owners suite on the Breakaway. It was about 1000 sq ft and was right at the front and amazing. I didn't love NCL because of all the cigarette smoke, but the Haven was very nice. I think NCL has a nice product with the Haven

[jelayne]

Why would you compare a Entry level suite to a top end suite regardless of cruise line , like comparing water to wine!

[leaveitallbehind]

Why would you compare a Entry level suite to a top end suite regardless of cruise line , like comparing water to wine!

 

Well not exactly. The Penthouse suites on NCL are typically 316 sq. ft. with at 252 sq. ft. balcony and the Sky suites on Celebrity are 251 sq. ft. with a 57 sq. ft. balcony. So certainly a measurable difference - in particular with the balconies - but not entry level to top end. Don't let the names fool you - you can call a suite anything, but that doesn't necessarily reflect what it is. There are many suites on many cruise lines that don't have a name such as "Penthouse" that are many times larger than the NCL example.

[Dr. Cocktail]

Well not exactly. The Penthouse suites on NCL are typically 316 sq. ft. with at 252 sq. ft. balcony and the Sky suites on Celebrity are 251 sq. ft. with a 57 sq. ft. balcony. So certainly a measurable difference - in particular with the balconies - but not entry level to top end. Don't let the names fool you - you can call a suite anything, but that doesn't necessarily reflect what it is. There are many suites on many cruise lines that don't have a name such as "Penthouse" that are many times larger than the NCL example.

 

Having sailed in The Haven many times ... I agree with you but .... NCL uses the word "Penthouse" rather indiscriminately.

 

Breakaway, for example, has 3 Suite categories with "Penthouse" in the name ranging from 328 feet (without balcony) to 655 feet.

 

So .... having sailed in both, a Sky Suite is equivalent to a Spa Suite or Courtyard Penthouse but much smaller than an Aft Facing Penthouse let alone the Owners Suites.

[keep on cruisin]

I cant speak to the Celebrity suites but have done 3 different suites on Breakaway. OP asked about the penthouse which we did last year so i can speak to that. It is a nice room, but it really is just a slightly larger room than a standard balcony. The balcony is very small, nice king size bed and a pullout sofa. The real benefit to this suite is that is within the Haven area which is nice being close the the small Haven pool and its hot tubs.

 

If you want a large balcony(size will vary by deck we had the largest on deck 9), then you can look at the aft penthouse which is fantastic. It has a seperate bedroom with very large bathroom with soaking tub dual sinks and depending on the configuration eith the bathroom looks out over the balcony or the bedroom does. It also has a second bathroom(standard cruiseship bathroom) a king size pullout sofa in the living room. With a dining table. One drawback is it is not within the Haven area itself so I feel we did not take advantage of the Haven Amenities on that trip.

 

We also had the 2 bedroom Haven suite which is set up very similar to the aft penthouse, but does not have the large balcony. The second bedroom is set up with a pulldown bed and pullout sofabed. This suite is in the Haven.

 

We found the service to be exceptional within the Haven, but I think the most telling thing I can say between the NCL and Celebrity is overall as nice as the Haven experiences have been, I would choose Celebrity OV or Balcony over the Haven because I do prefer the layout of the Celebrity Summit over the Breakaway as well as the overall service on the Celebrity is better than NCL once you step out of the Haven.

 

3 times on Breakaway, 2 times on Summit with a 3rd coming in 2 weeks.

 

Hopefully someone who sailed in both can give a more direct comparison.

[WorcesterPear]

We have sailed in Sky suites on Celebrity on many ships including Galaxy, ( the old “top deck” suites) and on Infinity, Equinox and Reflection and also in a “new” Penthouse Suite on NCL Pride of America.

 

The NCL suite had a very large balcony which was great for the Hawaii trip, but we thought that the NCL Penthouse suite itself was nothing special. It was a largish cabin with a curtain around the bed, a sofa at the foot of the bed- and a coffee machine, which we never used. It supposedly came with butler service, but we never saw him at all during the week we were on board. The cabin furnishings were rather garish for my taste.

 

We have never sailed in the NCL Haven, so perhaps that experience is better, but we certainly were not overly impressed with Pride of America “new” Penthouse. But I do appreciate that the ambiance on POA is supposedly different from most of the NCL ships.

 

 

However we have always really loved the aft Sky one suites on Celebrity, particularly the corner aft suites on the S Class, which are light and airy with masses of room- love the big round porthole in which I can sit to watch the world go by, and love the wrap around balcony.

The combination of the light airy Sky suite, Michaels Club and Luminae is excellent .

 

 

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[varoo]

I can't comment on Norwegian Haven Penthouse Suites, never having stayed in one, but I have stayed in a number of Celebrity Sky Suites.

What Celebrity calls a "Sky Suite" is not really a suite but is merely one room, although somewhat larger than a regular Celebrity stateroom.

 

Celebrity classifies it as a suite by bundling it with suite amenities that are not included with non-suite staterooms.

As for the balcony, the size of a Celebrity sky suite balcony can vary greatly from one sky suite to another.

Some non-suite staterooms have larger balconies than some of the sky suites.

Therefore, the amount of balcony furniture on a sky suite balcony will also vary, but at minimum there will be 2 chairs and a dining-height table.

The previously mentioned corner sky suites on the S-class ships are generally acknowledged to be some of the best sky suites in the Celebrity fleet.

Even though the "suite" itself is only one room, it is a really nice room.

The biggest complaint about them seems to be that they are a good distance away from the closest elevators.

Edited August 11, 2018 by varoo

[Project_gal]

For those of you who've sailed in both types of accommodations will you please speak to how the Penthouse Suite compares with the Sky Suite... I'm not asking about associated suite perks but rather, the stateroom/balcony itself. Is one better, worse, about the same? I'm partial to all things celebrity but sometimes their itinerary offerings don't fit with my schedule.

Thank you!

 

We had a penthouse on Sun (i.e. no Haven - the nearest Celebrity equivalent is probably the M-class Celebrity Suite but without the separate bedroom) and the bathroom/dressing room was incredible. On Celebrity you need to book a Penthouse on the S-class ships (not even the M-class) to find one better. However, I am aware that there is not a "standard penthouse" design on NCL as there is on Celebrity. I do not know if all NCL bathrooms are as good as on the Sun because nothing would get me back on an NCL ship.

 

Incidentally, the suite-related service (from butler and concierge) we received on NCL was more or less on a par with that on Celebrity these days but that did not spread beyond that. (e.g. The Champagne Bar on Sun refused to sell me a glass of champagne because they did not have an opened bottle!)

[Georgia_Peaches]

Why would you compare a Entry level suite to a top end suite regardless of cruise line , like comparing water to wine!

Sky suite and Haven Penthouse suite are approximately the same size...so they both seem entry level to me...hence the question.

[Georgia_Peaches]

I cant speak to the Celebrity suites but have done 3 different suites on Breakaway. OP asked about the penthouse which we did last year so i can speak to that. It is a nice room, but it really is just a slightly larger room than a standard balcony. The balcony is very small, nice king size bed and a pullout sofa. The real benefit to this suite is that is within the Haven area which is nice being close the the small Haven pool and its hot tubs.

 

If you want a large balcony(size will vary by deck we had the largest on deck 9), then you can look at the aft penthouse which is fantastic. It has a seperate bedroom with very large bathroom with soaking tub dual sinks and depending on the configuration eith the bathroom looks out over the balcony or the bedroom does. It also has a second bathroom(standard cruiseship bathroom) a king size pullout sofa in the living room. With a dining table. One drawback is it is not within the Haven area itself so I feel we did not take advantage of the Haven Amenities on that trip.

 

We also had the 2 bedroom Haven suite which is set up very similar to the aft penthouse, but does not have the large balcony. The second bedroom is set up with a pulldown bed and pullout sofabed. This suite is in the Haven.

 

We found the service to be exceptional within the Haven, but I think the most telling thing I can say between the NCL and Celebrity is overall as nice as the Haven experiences have been, I would choose Celebrity OV or Balcony over the Haven because I do prefer the layout of the Celebrity Summit over the Breakaway as well as the overall service on the Celebrity is better than NCL once you step out of the Haven.

 

3 times on Breakaway, 2 times on Summit with a 3rd coming in 2 weeks.

 

Hopefully someone who sailed in both can give a more direct comparison.

Thank you. This is very helpful. I have been in Sky suite and Royal suite on Celebrity. I noticed that the aft facing NCL Penthouse OUTSIDE the Haven is mostly equivalent to the Royal suite. Surprisingly, NCL categorizes this suite below the courtyard penthouse because it's not inside the Haven compound. I'd take this one over the Courtyard Penthouse easily, but they are all booked on my sailing. So I am back to thinking that the NCL courtyard PH is more like the Sky....perhaps a smidgen smaller. IDK

[Georgia_Peaches]

We had a penthouse on Sun (i.e. no Haven - the nearest Celebrity equivalent is probably the M-class Celebrity Suite but without the separate bedroom) and the bathroom/dressing room was incredible. On Celebrity you need to book a Penthouse on the S-class ships (not even the M-class) to find one better. However, I am aware that there is not a "standard penthouse" design on NCL as there is on Celebrity. I do not know if all NCL bathrooms are as good as on the Sun because nothing would get me back on an NCL ship.

 

Incidentally, the suite-related service (from butler and concierge) we received on NCL was more or less on a par with that on Celebrity these days but that did not spread beyond that. (e.g. The Champagne Bar on Sun refused to sell me a glass of champagne because they did not have an opened bottle!)

Wow! I'm with you. I prefer Celebrity for sure but I'm also a cruise-aholic and I start going through serious withdrawals when I don't have one on the books. I just couldn't find a November itinerary that worked with my schedule so went with the Breakaway out of NOLA. It will be a new experience for me but we'll have fun no matter what.

[Lovesealife]

We sail in sky suites on Celebrity and sailed in an aft facing penthouse suite on the NCL Gem. As far as size the rooms are comparable. We did not like the configuration of the penthouse. There was a little hallway where the closets, drawers and dressing table were all located. If one person has a drawer or closet open the other cant get by. We were constantly tripping over each other. Also the furnishings and decor seemed almost gaudy to us. Someone else mentioned sky suites feeling more "light and airy". This is definitely true. I found the aft corner sky suite to have more of an open, accessible layout. Our aft balcony on the Gem was also far more narrow than the aft corner sky suite balconies. On a positive note for NCL the suite service was fantastic- they treat their suite guests like royalty.

 

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[Dr. Cocktail]

Thank you. This is very helpful. I have been in Sky suite and Royal suite on Celebrity. I noticed that the aft facing NCL Penthouse OUTSIDE the Haven is mostly equivalent to the Royal suite. Surprisingly, NCL categorizes this suite below the courtyard penthouse because it's not inside the Haven compound. I'd take this one over the Courtyard Penthouse easily, but they are all booked on my sailing. So I am back to thinking that the NCL courtyard PH is more like the Sky....perhaps a smidgen smaller. IDK

 

If you're willing to be one deck away from the Haven, I would seriously consider a Haven Spa Suite. We have done this category on Breakaway, Getaway and Escape.

 

They have a wood laminate floor (can't fake clean!) and a whirlpool in the room itself. https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/why-cruise-norwegian/cruise-accommodations/spa-cruise

 

Same butler service, same perks and plenty of storage. An excellent shower-only bathroom with a HUGE shower stall and all of the various body sprays.

 

The biggest bonus is you get passes for the week to the Spa and its heated lounge chairs, various thermal rooms and saunas and most importantly, a gigantic Thalasso pool with tons of underwater jets, whirlpools and spouts. That alone is usually $299 per person.

 

Just do a search on the Spa Suites and you'll get a better idea of it's appearance.

[Project_gal]

We sail in sky suites on Celebrity and sailed in an aft facing penthouse suite on the NCL Gem. As far as size the rooms are comparable. We did not like the configuration of the penthouse. There was a little hallway where the closets, drawers and dressing table were all located. If one person has a drawer or closet open the other cant get by. We were constantly tripping over each other. Also the furnishings and decor seemed almost gaudy to us.

 

IMHO, this s why we dislike cruise lines where there is no consistency in ship configuration. The bathroom/dressing room area on the forward-facing Sun penthouse was so well designed (unlike the overall layout of the ship). At least on Celebrity, you can have much more idea about what you are getting when you book.