Upgrade comparison between Mini suite and Haven?

[Monarch25]

Hi, 

We were fortunate to get the upgrade email that allows us to bid on an upgrade. We (me, my DW, and 2 DS, ages 12 and14) currently have a mini suite (MB) . This is our first cruise with NCL and I am uncertain what we should do. We are happy with the mini suite and would be fine with it. However (LOL), the chance at upgrading to Haven is enticing. We are thinking of bidding to an H4 or a H6. What do you think a reasonable bid would be? Please be free with your opinion as to whether it is worth it or not. I understand that ultimately it is up to us as to whether it is worth it but I would love more sources of information. 

[Chris_2448]

What ship? 

[Monarch25]

The Escape. 

[Chris_2448]

Your Kids probably won't enjoy the full effect of the Haven. The outside Haven area is restricted to 18 and older. They will probably spend most of their free time in other parts of the ship. That said, if you decide to bid I would go for the H4 so you  will be in the Haven proper. We did the Escape Haven last cruise and loved it. The amount of your bid is all depending and what you feel the value of such upgrade is and availabilty. We were upgraded to H5 at $1050 PP and upgraded early in the process (3 weeks out). I probably would have gotten it at a cheaper price but I really wanted it so I went a little on the high side. Good Luck!!

Edited November 19, 2019 by Chris_2448

[Sauer-kraut]

What's the price difference to upsell yourself into the H4?  Base your bid on that. 

[xcell]

37 minutes ago, Chris_2448 said:

Your Kids probably won't enjoy the full effect of the Haven. The outside Haven area is restricted to 18 and older. They will probably spend most of their free time in other parts of the ship. That said, if you decide to bid I would go for the H4 so you  will be in the Haven proper. We did the Escape Haven last cruise and loved it. The amount of your bid is all depending and what you feel the value of such upgrade is and availabilty. We were upgraded to H5 at $1050 PP and upgraded early in the process (3 weeks out). I probably would have gotten it at a cheaper price but I really wanted it so I went a little on the high side. Good Luck!!

 

 

My kids LOVED the Haven - H4 especially.

 

I think (and it is only my opinion), the chances of a cabin of 4 to be upgrade is slim, compared to a cabin of 2 (considering only the 1st 2 are charged for the upgrade). 

 

As some of stated in the bidding forum, it costs more for them to upgrade a family of 4 than a room of 2 but I hope I am wrong.

 

I bid $2500 pp for a Christmas cruise last year that had 7 H4 rooms available 2 weeks before the cruise and did not win.

[zebrazeb]

4 hours ago, Monarch25 said:

Hi, 

We were fortunate to get the upgrade email that allows us to bid on an upgrade. We (me, my DW, and 2 DS, ages 12 and14) currently have a mini suite (MB) . This is our first cruise with NCL and I am uncertain what we should do. We are happy with the mini suite and would be fine with it. However (LOL), the chance at upgrading to Haven is enticing. We are thinking of bidding to an H4 or a H6. What do you think a reasonable bid would be? Please be free with your opinion as to whether it is worth it or not. I understand that ultimately it is up to us as to whether it is worth it but I would love more sources of information. 

 

you did not mention WHEN you cruise is...

 

I must admit that I am a little biased on Haven.  too many benefits to list here. We have an 8 year old son, and LOVE the forward facing room for Haven.  not sure that would work, unless you get one with 4 in room.  

 

2 years ago, I was able to bid AND win an upgrade from a mini suite, to forward facing haven suite.  Two years later, this xmas, I just bought the forward facing Haven suite.  For Us, family of 3 it works so well.  the no lines, own restaurant, and the pool, hot tub, ect. is perfect.  well worth it to us.

[Monarch25]

the dates of our cruise is March 7-14 on the Escape out of Miami.

[BirdTravels]

The “restricted area” is the small Haven sundeck With loungers in the sun. An area which most kids wouldn’t go to, even if they could. Kids really enjoy the Haven. Private pool. Private hot tubs. The luxury experience. 

[luckyinpa]

17 hours ago, xcell said:

 

 

My kids LOVED the Haven - H4 especially.

 

I think (and it is only my opinion), the chances of a cabin of 4 to be upgrade is slim, compared to a cabin of 2 (considering only the 1st 2 are charged for the upgrade). 

 

As some of stated in the bidding forum, it costs more for them to upgrade a family of 4 than a room of 2 but I hope I am wrong.

 

I bid $2500 pp for a Christmas cruise last year that had 7 H4 rooms available 2 weeks before the cruise and did not win.

 

on bliss this year before they sold out they were going for about 15K so you didnt have chance. haven sold out this year when i got the last H5 3 weeks ago so doesnt surprise me none are available for bidding. if you can ever go the week before christmas its a steal. i think aft haven was about 8K or less

 

also once you price christmas. every other week during the year seems like a steal

[PTC DAWG]

I would consider upgrading if was just adults...the kids will be fine in the Mini Suite...

[xcell]

16 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

 

on bliss this year before they sold out they were going for about 15K so you didnt have chance. haven sold out this year when i got the last H5 3 weeks ago so doesnt surprise me none are available for bidding. if you can ever go the week before christmas its a steal. i think aft haven was about 8K or less

 

also once you price christmas. every other week during the year seems like a steal

 

All the Haven rooms are available to bid but being sold out, not sure what the point is (and yes, I know someone can cancel but chances are slim).

 

"Enjoy what you have" is my motto -- for cruise booking (and hope for something better  ;)  )

[ggooglyboogly]

19 hours ago, Monarch25 said:

Hi, 

We were fortunate to get the upgrade email that allows us to bid on an upgrade. We (me, my DW, and 2 DS, ages 12 and14) currently have a mini suite (MB) . This is our first cruise with NCL and I am uncertain what we should do. We are happy with the mini suite and would be fine with it. However (LOL), the chance at upgrading to Haven is enticing. We are thinking of bidding to an H4 or a H6. What do you think a reasonable bid would be? Please be free with your opinion as to whether it is worth it or not. I understand that ultimately it is up to us as to whether it is worth it but I would love more sources of information. 

 

I've been successful in Haven with a couple hundred dollars over the min bid.  This worked once for me last year (when they had a lot of Haven rooms open) and didn't work for me on my cruise last week.  We had a mini suite and it was fine, the larger bathroom was really nice. 

[expectthebest]

5 hours ago, Monarch25 said:

the dates of our cruise is March 7-14 on the Escape out of Miami.

Your kids are at an age where they are “aware” of social media and the whole celebrity posts/likes side of life. That said... it would blow their mind if you surprised them at the pier when you walk into the “restricted” haven only area... 

 

giving them access to a butler and concierge at such a impressionable age is priceless...

 

every dad wants to be viewed by his family as Superman....10 feet tall and bullet proof...this is your chance to make the absolute most of your cruise and having the haven access makes it all the sweeter...

 

we have 2 kids under age 10 and they love the haven experience... we save up and stay haven when we travel NCL

 

please bid on the haven and upon your return make sure you write a little review about your experience.

 

your kids and DW will absolutely always remember how awesome of a dad you are for doing this.

 

10 years from now you will forget about how much you paid for the cruise... but I promise you it’s ‘worth every penny’

 

-Mark

[Love my butler]

The chances of you winning your bid are slim to none.  

[Greek Boss]

For a family of 4 the odds you will be able to score an upgrade to the Haven is very low unless you bid the absolute max you can and even then it still might be difficult. Mini-suites are excellent for families so you will be just fine if you stay in the room you are in. Additionally, not that I am against it, but if you choose to splurge on the Haven for your first NCL sailing you will never want to settle for anything less again. It really is an over the top experience if you are into being pampered and treated like luxury. Keep in mind that beginning and throughout the month of March is typically Spring Break for many schools so there might be a growing amount of families/college students traveling. 

[tarps14]

Based on NCL's site, as of today there are 11-H4's (2-BR) available on your cruise (this is what I would recommend for 4 people).  You could outright purchase it for $8700 (does not include drink package gratuities or specialty dining grats should you choose the Free at Sea offers).  Take what you are paying for the mini-suite and subtract it from the above amount.  Then divide the balance by four.  This will tell you whether it is worth it to go thru the bidding process and some idea of where to start, or better yet, just pay for the upgrade if it's doable.  Only you can decide if it's worth the money or not.  The kids would be fine in the mini or the 2-br.  We had three adults in a mini last Spring and it was just fine, four shouldn't be too tight with them being 12 and 14.

 

Good luck whichever you choose.  I will add, the butlers in the Haven take really good care of the kids with all kinds of little extras.  That price above for the H4 is actually outstanding for the week you're sailing.