What is going on with Haven Pricing?

[bamafamof5]

1 minute ago, Notnewtoit said:

Have an OS booked for Alaska in August. It's expensive, I like the experience and am pretty sure my 75yo mother will have the time of her life. I'm paying for life to be a little less hectic, a little easier, a little more pampered and and little more up market for her; not sure that makes me an idiot, but maybe. I made some $ busting my ass in a medtech startup, taking some financial risk and making good decisions; that's how I afford it.

 

Anyway...  FYI... our cabin price has dropped $800pp since I booked it and NCL have refunded the $1600 difference in full. Not feeling ripped off here. 

 

I can't afford a Ferrari much as I might like one... but that doesn't mean they are a bad company or product.

How did you get NCL to refund you?  Did you have to call when you saw the price go down?  That is great to know!  Thank you!!

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, bamafamof5 said:

How did you get NCL to refund you?  Did you have to call when you saw the price go down?  That is great to know!  Thank you!!

 

It also depends upon when one is sailing, and whether you are in penalty phase.

If you are after final payment, then they won't refund.  They *might* give some OBC, but I don't know if that is definite.
We've never found any decrease; as time goes on, the prices tend to increase (or that's our luck thus far!).

 

But yes, you'd need to call. 

 

GC

[Notnewtoit]

12 minutes ago, bamafamof5 said:

How did you get NCL to refund you?  Did you have to call when you saw the price go down?  That is great to know!  Thank you!!

I literally noticed the price drop on the NCL website, compared to my original booking and called the general NCL number for existing bookings:

 

"Hello, I see that the price per person on my cruise has gone down substantially, can you do anything about that for me?"

"Just a moment, let me look into it"

"Thank you"

"Yes I see that, and we have refunded the difference to your credit card, it'll take 7-10 days to process"

"WOW, thank you so much"

"Is there anything else I can do for you today sir?"

"Buy me a lottery ticket?"

 

This was pre-final payment date (but I had in fact already paid in full).

 

NOTE: It has been well documented on CCritic but in case you missed it... IF the free at sea offers have changed, NCL will honor the CURRENT offers, when they do a refund, NOT the original offers. This is perfectly reasonable... essentially what they are doing is canceling your original booking and making a new one instantly at the new price - with the current PREVAILING offers. So you make that choice.

Edited March 6, 2019 by Notnewtoit

[havenfan]

15 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

I haven't tracked which ship you'll be on, but don't most NCL have the same 2BR suites that are in the Haven, but NOT in the Haven?  Same amount of space for 5 or 6, but much less expensive, and still get the various "suite perks".

 

GC

 

Before the Jewel class the ships didn't have a Haven at all.  The Jewel class ships do have suites, including 2BR, which do not have Haven access and are usually considerably cheaper than those which have courtyard access.  I'm under the impression that, on the Epic onwards, all suites are considered "Haven" even if they're not physically located around the courtyard.  Am I mistaken?

[havenfan]

I always sail with my family; we are either 4 or 6 depending on how many generations are coming.  We're fortunate enough that we don't have to do triple or quad occupancy in normal cabins.  I find that the 2BR non-Haven suites on the Jewel class can be the same price or less than two mini-suites or even two balcony cabins.  Imo a bargain when we are 4 people.  We've gone for the GV when we were 6; that's always been more expensive than three mini-suites, but it doesn't feel too bad when you consider what you get (a lot!).

 

I've never sailed on the newer ships, after the Jewel class, but the prices do seem a lot higher.

[RickinNYC]

Sailing in the Haven is pricey, that's for sure.  We can surely book an inside or standard balcony for much less.  We've sailed in those cabins over the years and enjoyed ourselves.  We have since enjoyed the Haven on the Breakaway and Escape and there's no going back for us now.  I supposed we can book a lower level, place a bid for a Haven cabin and hope for the best, but I refuse to risk not getting a Haven cabin.  So we'll continue to pay the asking price.

 

Incidentally, though we're not sailing this year, we do have three vacations in 2019 so far.  A week long trip with extended family to Walt Disney World.  A week in London.  Almost two weeks at a B&B in Provincetown, MA in July.  All three trips are pretty much the same price we're paying for a cruise we have booked on the Bliss, in the Haven, in February 2020.  Given that understanding, the Haven price structure is pretty equitable to what we pay anyway for our vacations as it is.  

[sverigecruiser]

8 hours ago, havenfan said:

 

Before the Jewel class the ships didn't have a Haven at all.  The Jewel class ships do have suites, including 2BR, which do not have Haven access and are usually considerably cheaper than those which have courtyard access.  I'm under the impression that, on the Epic onwards, all suites are considered "Haven" even if they're not physically located around the courtyard.  Am I mistaken?

 

You are correct. All suites on the Epic and the newer ships have access to the Haven.

[spanishguy1970]

Prices on the Haven are based on supply and demand. I am sure some people are willing to pay 16 thousand for a 10 day vacation but those who do not have other options. Oprah may look at 16 thousand like chump change but i am sure if she did NCL she would get it for free...LOL

[luv2kroooz]

28 minutes ago, spanishguy1970 said:

Prices on the Haven are based on supply and demand. I am sure some people are willing to pay 16 thousand for a 10 day vacation but those who do not have other options. Oprah may look at 16 thousand like chump change but i am sure if she did NCL she would get it for free...LOL

All I know is that if I was going to spend $16,000 for an upscale cruise experience, I'd be thinking Regent, Seabourne, and Crystal, not The Haven by Norwegian Cruise Lines. You know what they say... You can put lipstick on a pig, but at the end of the day, it is still a 🐖 pig.

Edited March 7, 2019 by blcruising

[spanishguy1970]

1 minute ago, blcruising said:

All I know is that if I was going to spend $16,000 for an upscale cruise experience, I'd be thinking Regent, Seabourne, and Crystal, not The Haven by Norwegian Cruise Lines.

I agree....in my way of seeing things, even if i had the money i  would never spend that ,but to each his own.

[Granny DI]

6 minutes ago, blcruising said:

All I know is that if I was going to spend $16,000 for an upscale cruise experience, I'd be thinking Regent, Seabourne, and Crystal, not The Haven by Norwegian Cruise Lines. You know what they say... You can put lipstick on a pig, but at the end of the day, it is still a 🐖 pig.

Forget Crystal! What a rip off and not upscale. We spent $9000 for a tiny Ocean view. We couldn’t wait to get off. We have NEVER PAID that for our favorite Breakaway Aft Haven Suite. We love the aft Haven suites on the Breakaway. 

[ClarkBHM]

15 hours ago, havenfan said:

 

Before the Jewel class the ships didn't have a Haven at all.  The Jewel class ships do have suites, including 2BR, which do not have Haven access and are usually considerably cheaper than those which have courtyard access.  I'm under the impression that, on the Epic onwards, all suites are considered "Haven" even if they're not physically located around the courtyard.  Am I mistaken?

 

I really enjoyed having those 2-BR suites that were outside of the Haven. Gave my family plenty of room, but at a much lower cost. I'm really disappointed that the newer ships don't have that option. (Incidentally, that's also why you see so many complaints about kids in the Haven on the newer ships--they don't have a non-Haven option!)

Anyway, for our next cruise, we decided to bite the bullet and go Haven on the Escape, but I'd much rather save $$$ and not sale in the Haven...

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, blcruising said:

All I know is that if I was going to spend $16,000 for an upscale cruise experience, I'd be thinking Regent, Seabourne, and Crystal, not The Haven by Norwegian Cruise Lines. You know what they say... You can put lipstick on a pig, but at the end of the day, it is still a 🐖 pig.

Not really. I would rather pay $16K and be comfortable going to dinner in the suites restaurant in shorts than having to be dressed up and uncomfortable on the other lines. We're Platinum equivalents on Cunard where every night is formal night in the Grill (suites) restaurant. We have left that behind (for now) to feel like we are on vacation when on vacation. 

[luv2kroooz]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Not really. I would rather pay $16K and be comfortable going to dinner in the suites restaurant in shorts than having to be dressed up and uncomfortable on the other lines. We're Platinum equivalents on Cunard where every night is formal night in the Grill (suites) restaurant. We have left that behind (for now) to feel like we are on vacation when on vacation. 

Sounds like a lot of money to pay for the benefit of not having to dress up for dinner.

[Realdeal80]

4 hours ago, blcruising said:

Sounds like a lot of money to pay for the benefit of not having to dress up for dinner.

I only own Jean's. Never where anything but nice Jean's. On land if I cant get in wearing just Jean's I dont belong. I feel the same way on a cruise.

[browniegirl]

Haha, I liked the good old days when you could use your cruise next certificates for a suite or haven and that was all you needed to book them!!  Now, omg.... here is my first born child for my deposit lol.... has gotten very pricey to give them that much money way ahead of time.....I think not....  that is why I booked a MS on my next cruise and as we get closer I will consider what other options there are as far as suites or haven and what the pricing is then.  Haven is so awesome.... It is truly my happy place but the prices have gotten so much higher it's simply out of reach for many now.

 

Leah

[VitaminWater]

On 2/8/2019 at 8:55 PM, Granny DI said:

When we cruise NCL Breakaway we always sail in the Haven aft Suites. We sail in suites on the smaller NCL ships as the Haven is way out of our budget on the smaller ships.  We were just on an 11 day cruise out of New Orleans. We were not in our favorite cabin because I did not book a year in advance. I booked the last aft suite 8 months in advance. Our 11 day cruise was $4000 pp. that included all the perks and $600 in OBC.  The price has not increased much in the last six years or so. Our first cruise in an aft balcony suite from NYC to Bermuda on the Breakaway  was $2600 pp for 7 days....no perks of any kind. The price increased a little each year as more goodies were added. 

 

We are not interested in staying in any of the cabins in the Haven area. We enjoy the aft privacy and the walk keeps us in shape.

 

Celebrity used to be our line of choice but the price increased and the product did not. We are booked on Oceania next year staying in the cheapest penthouse. It is more than our recent 11 day cruise. We want to see Cuba so not much of a choice. We sailed Crystal last year. We were in an Oceanview tiny cabin and the price was $4400 pp and no goodies. Never sailing Crystal again. Save your money! 

Did you book your NCL Aft-PH direct or through a TA?

[Granny DI]

I use the same TA I’ve used for 18 years. 

[VitaminWater]

On 3/6/2019 at 4:17 PM, Notnewtoit said:

Have an OS booked for Alaska in August. It's expensive, I like the experience and am pretty sure my 75yo mother will have the time of her life. I'm paying for life to be a little less hectic, a little easier, a little more pampered and and little more up market for her; not sure that makes me an idiot, but maybe. I made some $ busting my ass in a medtech startup, taking some financial risk and making good decisions; that's how I afford it.

 

Anyway...  FYI... our cabin price has dropped $800pp since I booked it and NCL have refunded the $1600 difference in full. Not feeling ripped off here. 

 

I can't afford a Ferrari much as I might like one... but that doesn't mean they are a bad company or product.

Did you request the price adjustment or was it issued automatically?

[Notnewtoit]

11 hours ago, VitaminWater said:

Did you request the price adjustment or was it issued automatically?

...requested... saw it drop on the website and called customer service. This was BEFORE the final payment date.