The Bliss, The Haven, an Opinion

[roger001]

The Bliss, the Haven, my opinion.  Having sailed on the Bliss last week and booked in the Haven, I offer these thoughts.  If you haven’t tried the Haven experience before, then if you plan to someday to see what it’s like, I suggest the Bliss. 

 

We found both the Haven facility and the crew staffing it to be wonderful.  The Haven on the Bliss, and I guess the mega ships that have a large inclusive Haven area like the Bliss does, is inclusive enough to offer more than we can actually enjoy though.  That’s at least for us, couple in our late 70s.  Even though the Haven was fully booked (the ship otherwise was only about 60%), we never felt like there was anything crowded at all.  In fact, I thought it was only about half full. 

 

We loved the beautiful forward exclusive observation lounge.  It was always uncrowded and peaceful.  And it always had a delicious variety of snacks available along with an excellent espresso coffee machine.  An attendant was always present and bar service readily available.  My wife enjoyed  the very peaceful and quiet small library just above it.  The Haven restaurant was wonderful for breakfast and dinner.  We never tried it for lunch.  And our favorite, the bar/lounge.  Again, seldom more than a few persons there, servers fantastic, and drinks excellent.  It was just peaceful and relaxed.  We, being a bit older, only used the pool area and its hot tub once.  Again though, seldom any crowd at all.  Usually only two or three others in the area.  The outdoor area was super nice, exclusive, and almost private with little use.  For us, we just don’t hang out in the sun any longer though. 

 

We had cabin 17722.  Our cabin attendant Edison, fantastic.  The cabin though was not quit what we have enjoyed on the Jewel class suites.  Slightly smaller and not well arraigned we thought.  For the Haven, a dedicated butler and concierge was pretty much always available in the area.  We had little need for either, but did enjoy seeing them so readily available had we needed their services.  There is a customer service rep always on duty in the bar/lounge area if you need any of that type assistance.  A real advantage of a Haven on the Bliss type ships is that everything you need is just moments away from your cabin.  You basically would never need to see the rest of the ship to still have a wonderful cruise. 

 

We did venture out frequently though using two specialty restaurants, the buffet, and the what was formerly O’Shehans.  And we even drove the race cars.  Our biggest Bliss disappointment was Six being cancelled for the cruise.  A cast member got last minute confined for whatever reason.  Jersey Boys played two nights. However, at an hour and forty five, having seen it several times, we passed on that.  The Beatles forty five minute show was fun to watch, although their musical notes were a bit off I thought. 

 

Back to the Haven.  I can’t say enough about how wonderful the staff and crew assigned to the Haven are.  We wanted to adopt all of them.  You will be pampered by them as much as you wish.  In conclusion, if you wanted to at least try the Haven experience once, I really recommend the Bliss.  We are not big ship fans though.  The Bliss (and our other big ship, the Getaway) both beautiful and with a wonderful crew.  However, they are just too big and with much more offerings than we can comfortable use.  We are fans of the Jewel and Dawn class ships and very happy with their suite offerings.  I cannot however see how using the Haven on those ships would offer much of anything that the suites don’t.  So, Haven, go Bliss if you want to give it a try.  We did, loved it, and will now be back to the smaller ships.   But Bliss staff and crew, we love you and will miss you.  So glad we tried it once. 

 

The attached is a You Tube video of the Bliss Haven.  

 

 

 

 

[exgman]

We agree with you roger. We found the rooms to be a nice size and well decorated. However the chair/fold out bed was totally unusable as were the deck chairs. Extremely uncomfortable. We used John, the concierge several times for reservations and he was excellent. The escort off the ship via the freight elevator was fantastic. I’ve never disembarked a ship so fast and easy. The Haven bar and restaurant crew were great as well. Our first time on NCL, not our last. 

[roger001]

2 hours ago, exgman said:

We agree with you roger. We found the rooms to be a nice size and well decorated. However the chair/fold out bed was totally unusable as were the deck chairs. Extremely uncomfortable. We used John, the concierge several times for reservations and he was excellent. The escort off the ship via the freight elevator was fantastic. I’ve never disembarked a ship so fast and easy. The Haven bar and restaurant crew were great as well. Our first time on NCL, not our last. 

We were going to just walk off ourselves.  As we passed through the bar/lounge area, John was standing there and said come on.  We did. He had us off that ship so fast I think I was trying to catchup mentally.  Never been off a ship that fast.  

[Adian80]

Sounds like you had a fabulous, relaxing trip.  Can you tell me what the boarding process was like for Haven guests?  I saw a report yesterday that showed really long lines for the preboarding COVID test.  Is there a separate line for Haven guests for the COVID test and check in process? 

[roger001]

1 hour ago, Adian80 said:

Sounds like you had a fabulous, relaxing trip.  Can you tell me what the boarding process was like for Haven guests?  I saw a report yesterday that showed really long lines for the preboarding COVID test.  Is there a separate line for Haven guests for the COVID test and check in process? 

No.  Haven priorities don't begin until after going through security.  Then you are escorted to a Haven check in lounge and escorted onto the ship when it is ready.  However, for us we had a 10 am check in time. The line for Covid testing was very short, no delay, tested quickly, results in about 20 minutes.  Then into a line for the shuttle back to the boarding berth.  Haven priority begins there.  The only problem we had was our hotel shuttle dropped us off at the boarding berth.  We had to walk with luggage down to the testing berth, about 5 to 10 minutes.  If you get transportation, be sure they drop you at the correct berth, I believe 93.  Boarding I believe was berth 91 or maybe 92.  Maybe someone can verify or correct that.  

[exgman]

2 hours ago, roger001 said:

We were going to just walk off ourselves.  As we passed through the bar/lounge area, John was standing there and said come on.  We did. He had us off that ship so fast I think I was trying to catchup mentally.  Never been off a ship that fast.  

Same with us. Left the Haven at 730, at the Doubletree at 815, on the road by 825. 65 mph up the 405. Unbelievable!

[flyguyjake]

The Bliss is a very beautiful ship. Staff, Service & Food was all outstanding. My only request would be that NCL offer an unlimited dining, wifi & beverage pkg. Specifically unlimited (all meals) in specialty restaurants. Unlimited wifi that covers all devices in the same room. Unlimited bev pkg that includes bottles ordered from bars, restaurants and room service. After paying $20K for the owners suite it was we were constantly having up-charges on most things even after upgrading to PP bev pkg. Wifi is very expensive covering only a single device. No laundry, pressing or dry cleaning. We kinda felt nickle & dimed to death. Also the ships hallways are oddly narrow and most ceilings felt lower than usual. So the Owners Suite is a very beautiful room but being in the front top of the ship there is quite a bit of movement. Nothing that made us ill. The bathroom/bedroom doors can open and slam shut. The room does have many rattles and the giant balcony is only usable at ports since at sea the wind nearly blows you right off the ship lol. Even with earplugs I was awakened several times through the night. We would love to sail Bliss again but won't be booking the OS ever again unless there's a significant discount that's too good to be true. We will however definitely book the Haven.

[Adian80]

16 hours ago, roger001 said:

No.  Haven priorities don't begin until after going through security.  Then you are escorted to a Haven check in lounge and escorted onto the ship when it is ready.  However, for us we had a 10 am check in time. The line for Covid testing was very short, no delay, tested quickly, results in about 20 minutes.  Then into a line for the shuttle back to the boarding berth.  Haven priority begins there.  The only problem we had was our hotel shuttle dropped us off at the boarding berth.  We had to walk with luggage down to the testing berth, about 5 to 10 minutes.  If you get transportation, be sure they drop you at the correct berth, I believe 93.  Boarding I believe was berth 91 or maybe 92.  Maybe someone can verify or correct that.  

 

Thank you so much for your reply it is so helpful! Now I can let my family know what is in store for them.  

[phillygwm]

1 hour ago, Adian80 said:

 

Thank you so much for your reply it is so helpful! Now I can let my family know what is in store for them.  

Testing windows open at 9:00.  Friends and I were staying near LAX so ordered an Uber around 8:15.  He arrived quicker than anticipated then did 80 down the 110 so, suffice to say, we were queued up before the doors opened.  We weren't close to first in line either; there were perhaps 20-30 ahead of us.

 

Once inside, it was an amazingly quick and smooth process, then on to a shuttle which dropped you outside the ship.  We waited there, standing, for close to an hour while the last pax disembarked and that was my only minor complaint about the process.  Once they got the count to zero,  we were then allowed to check-in which, as a Platinum, was a separate line and very quick.  Haven would have been even more "preferred."  We were allowed on the ship around 11:00.

 

As soon as you get on the ship, you're routed to your safety check-in site, which was La Cucina for me.  Literally a scan of the card, asked whether you viewed the video, and you're on your way to the bar. 🙂 

Edited December 22, 2021 by phillygwm