The NCL Haven Luxury VIP Experience "Secrets" REVISED for 2022

[justhappy]

4 minutes ago, InfrequentPNWCruiser said:

Just got off the Encore today and was in the Haven for the first time. Before we went the wife was looking forward towards priority boarding and the larger space (forward facing penthouse) . The room did not disappoint even with the complex lighting arrangement and the too bouncy self closing drawers that we fought all week. Boarding went smooth up to the Haven part when everyone in an aft or forward penthouse got their keycard rejected on the gangway followed by the whole computer system crashing. We were all sent back to the Haven Boarding room to await new keycards...and waited while the room filled up. Eventually we had to be taken manually across the gangway checkpoint and had new cards issued in the Haven. We had another non-Haven party with us who managed to board and eat lunch before we even touched the ship. 

 

The Haven restaurant was good but we only ate 3 breakfasts and 2 dinners there. We tended to sleep in late and go to lunch as the first meal or ate on shore or grabbed lighter fare in the Horizon observation lounge where we spent a lot of time. That's a great place to read , relax and watch the whales go by...with a few drinks along the way. 

I did use a butler letter with the preferences like pillows and snack types and a pitcher of cream for coffee and my keto shakes. That worked out well and we did not pre-tip. We had numerous room service orders and the only one we felt bad about he having to do was that delivery of the god-awful tasteless dried-out "anniversary" cake (NCL - why bother doing this if even you arent going to try and give things out that is probably the worst food item on board) from dinner at  Los Lobos . We ended up tipping $150 to the butler, $100 to the concierge and an extra $60 to the very helpful room steward. We weren't planning to use the concierge much but we had to enlist their help in dealing with a noise issue from an adjacent cabin who apparently was going to make everyone's life hell after they did not get their upgrade. We had a cabin between us and them and it was like a herd of elephants on Sunday afternoon/evening. So we had the power of the Haven to bring the hammer down. Luckily,  that solved it and we had the concierge and various officers check in periodically with us if all was well. 

 

Overall, the experience was good and may try again if we can get something reasonable and maybe within the complex next time. Being outside, you tend not to use it as much ( why go up 5 decks to just go down to deck 4 to get off). Since any other cruises will be at the Platinum level now, we may stick with club balconies and Vibe as a reasonable compromise.

Geez, you heard the ruckus from two cabins down?! Man I’d love to hear that story!

We were on the Encore August 27 and had friends staying in a forward facing penthouse, I know what you mean about the bouncy drawers, they were showing that to us!

And good grief about the room key fiasco.

[Sthrngary]

1 minute ago, justhappy said:

And thanks for starting that Haven pricing thread, I’ll keep an eye on that one.

@justhappy My pleasure.  I have seen some GREAT bargains and will consider it in the future.  My older sister has never cruised and I will take her next.  She has a budget so I will pay the difference.  Everyone deserves to take a nice cruise once in a lifetime.  Funny, the prices for the new ships in Europe are really good.  I looked at them a year ago and it was way to high.  So I booked the sister company Oceania for that port intensive trip.  

 

My next quest, which I will work on beginning of next year is a Haven Trip, at the right price, with NCL coming to the table.  How knows, maybe they will give the us a kind of thank you here on CruiseCritic.com let us all enjoy one cruise together.  I am not holding my breath though.

 

Funny, I don't think I am pass on the Vibe.  I have enjoyed that area so much more then the Haven Sundecks.  I think it is the two hot tubs and a bar right there.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[InfrequentPNWCruiser]

6 minutes ago, justhappy said:

Geez, you heard the ruckus from two cabins down?! Man I’d love to hear that story!

We were on the Encore August 27 and had friends staying in a forward facing penthouse, I know what you mean about the bouncy drawers, they were showing that to us!

And good grief about the room key fiasco.

Our other family traveling with us was in the balcony cabin next to that room. Guest Services was kinda ehhhh until we additionally complained and brought the concierge in. The words that our family member heard through the walls was repeated back to me from the concierge after they apparently mouthed off this upgrade issue to them. I think they got a stern warning with if it continues then the "outcome will be different." This probably also saved the vacation for the couple next to us and likely the cabin below . We're not heavy complainers but this was off the charts.

[kasimir]

11 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

Funny, the prices for the new ships in Europe are really good.

 

Indeed, and actually not only Europe, but the Prima/Viva Haven seem to be discounted quite heavily outside of the high season dates around 2-5 months before the sail date. 

Would be really curious to hear your opinion regarding the Haven on the new ships. 

 

Even though we see a lot of deals at the moment, we decided to first experience our first Haven cruise in November, and from there we have an idea what we think the Haven is worth to us and what we are willing to pay in the future. 

The truth is (atleast for us), the more you pay for something the higher your expectations become, and the higher the chances are that you will be disappointed. 

 

 

For standard balcony cabins we set ourselves a limit with NCL to not pay more then $175-200 per person per night (including gratuities) and so far that has worked really well for us. Can we pay more? Sure, but for us we think thats the right price for an NCL balcony cabin and that has avoided us to be disappointed if something doesn't work out. 

On the other hand, if we are positively surprised and certain individuals go above and beyond (and we are easy to please), then we will tip very well. 

It just means that we need to search a bit harder up front to find the cruises that fit our criteria. 😉 

 

[SteveGill]

Norwegian (and Haven) first-timer here and am booked for a 2/23/24 cruise.  I started with an NCL Cruise Consultant who has since left the company.  I have called twice and been promised a new agent, but as of now, nothing has happened.  My question is:  I am 137 days out and understand at 130 days I can make specialty restaurant reservations; how do I go about doing that? And are there any other upcoming deadlines I need to be aware of?

[wolft927]

4 minutes ago, SteveGill said:

Norwegian (and Haven) first-timer here and am booked for a 2/23/24 cruise.  I started with an NCL Cruise Consultant who has since left the company.  I have called twice and been promised a new agent, but as of now, nothing has happened.  My question is:  I am 137 days out and understand at 130 days I can make specialty restaurant reservations; how do I go about doing that? And are there any other upcoming deadlines I need to be aware of?

So you can book these right on your NCL account. At 25 days out I believe Haven guest can then book your shows that require a reservation, everyone else mainly can book at 21 days out. 

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, SteveGill said:

Norwegian (and Haven) first-timer here and am booked for a 2/23/24 cruise.  I started with an NCL Cruise Consultant who has since left the company.  I have called twice and been promised a new agent, but as of now, nothing has happened.  My question is:  I am 137 days out and understand at 130 days I can make specialty restaurant reservations; how do I go about doing that? And are there any other upcoming deadlines I need to be aware of?

Do these things;

Go to myncl.com

Open your account.

Open your reservation

Open Explore and Plan at top of page.

Open Dining.

You will see a list of restaurants

Each specialty restaurant will be displayed, each with a button that says Select.

Select the one you want.

Then select the dates, the number of guest and times.

Then add to Cart.

When finished, you should see the ones you selected in your reservation.

 

[CDR Benson]

15 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

@justhappy My older sister has never cruised and I will take her next.  She has a budget so I will pay the difference.  Everyone deserves to take a nice cruise once in a lifetime. 

 

Heh, this is one of the times when we share sentiments, my friend.  My wife's sister has never taken a cruise.  She has all the usual landlubber's fears of cruising, plus she's been informed by her daughter's cruise experiences--- on Carnival, in the cheap seats.  Mostly, though, my sister-in-law is impeded by inertia, particularly the part of Newton's first law that stipulates objects at rest tend to stay at rest.

 

As with your sister, my sister-in-law deserves a nice cruise at least once in her life.  Besides, she's the one who cares for our pets and home during our voyages, so we want to show our gratitude.  She retires at the end of summer, calendar year 2025, so I'm going to find a cruise on NCL for the last quarter of CY-2025, and book a two-bedroom villa in the Haven, on whatever ship presents the best cost-benefit.  I want my sister-in-law to experience the finer side of cruising, so she realises that there's more to it than just the party-ship stories her daughter has relayed to her.

 

We've informed her that this isn't an option.  We'll shang-hai her, if we have to.

 

My miltary discount keeps NCL Haven-level in my price range, so it seems the best bet to do this.  

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2023 by CDR Benson

[McGarrett5oh]

Now onto the Haven Concierge on the Prima: 

 

We had no need for the Concierge desk other than to correct mistakes NCL made, so we did not tip our Concierges.  We observed many people using the Concierge to make dinner reservations and take care of other needs, but we had pre-planned everything and didn’t need any assistance or changes.  

 

I have a few comments about our Head Concierge, but first this might be a good place to describe the embarkation process, which lead us to first meet him.

 

Our cruise departed from the Horizon terminal at Southampton.  Horizon is the newest Southampton terminal, shared between MSC and NCL.  We arrived at 10am, were in an outside queue by 10:05am and security started moving passengers through at 10:20.  There is no separate Haven “Security” line which upset the elderly couple ahead of us.  It took all of 10 minutes to get to the screening belts.

 

While we had our boarding pass on our phones, I would suggest printing them out as the guard at security simply wanted to check that you had a pass and it was easier to show paper..  No need to show a passport at that point. 

 

We were through security and checked in the separate Haven waiting lounge by 10:40.  The usual continental breakfast type items were waiting for us and we were on board and in the Haven by 11:15am.  We thought that was quite swift considering the previous Haven passengers had until 9:30am to vacate the Haven.

 

Since we had arrived early at the terminal, we were among the first group to be escorted on board and up the Haven elevators to the Haven Lounge on 16 where we were told to drop our carry ons.  Fortunately we found 4 seats at the bar and posted up there to listen to the Head Concierge give his welcome speech.  While it contained the usual overview of the Haven & its amenities, he spent a noticeable amount of time focused on NOT bringing any guests from the ship into the Haven ( a topic that has been discussed here and elsewhere).  He indicated there were over 300 guests in the Haven for this sailing.  

 

He then offered up a tour of the Haven.  Since we had done our homework, we opted to stay at the bar where we met Rommel & Pedro, the primary bartenders (more on them and the bar in a future post).  That proved to be a good decision as we were among the first the bartenders met (for name recognition) and we had comfortable seats to wait and a welcome mimosa in our hands.  

 

The restaurant opened promptly at 11:30 and we chose to have lunch there (no other options given to Haven guests other than the non-Haven restaurants) which timed out well as the Haven suites became available at 1pm.

 

Now, a couple of comments about the Concierges:  Of course embarkation day is the busiest and they had 3-4 staff at the desk, however 1 was just for dinner reservations and 1 was for excursions, so there were really just 2 staff to handle various other issues and the line backed up somewhat.  Much better the rest of the cruise.  

 

Across from the Concierge desk on the Prima is an odd office space with opaque glass and NO door that sat empty most of the time.  However, one day, we were sitting on the couches near that office when we overheard the Head Concierge dressing down our Butler (nothing to do with us as we had not complained, but some other guest must have).  On another day,  this same Head concierge took a Facetime call while sitting at the concierge desk obviously talking with his wife and children.  The volume was so loud, we could make out the majority of the conversation.  

 

Beyond the lack of discretion by the Head Concierge, I observed him helping guests throughout the cruise in a friendly manner (although, if you ask him the time, he WILL tell you how the watch is built).   I believe the rest of his staff was efficient and professional and ready to help you.   

 

Watch this space.....

Edited October 9, 2023 by McGarrett5oh
addition

[Daniel A]

16 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

My older sister has never cruised and I will take her next.  She has a budget so I will pay the difference.  Everyone deserves to take a nice cruise once in a lifetime. 

@Sthrngary My recent cruise in the Haven included my sister.  When we winter in Florida, she collects and forwards our important pieces of mail and waters our plants.   She is a single mom and can't afford to pay a single supplement on any cruise line and the singles area on NCL won't work as she would get claustrophobia in such a small cabin with no outside windows.  We didn't want to embarrass her by obviously subsidizing her cruise.  When DW & I were looking for a Med cruise, we saw where NCL had a promo where the 3rd & 4th guests in the same cabin sailed for free, that sealed the deal for us.  We offered to treat her to a 10-day Med cruise with her own room in a 2 BR Family Villa.  We showed her a YouTube video of the Family Villa in the Haven and she was comfortable with the size of the second bedroom and was comfortable that she would have a living room and balcony if she needed a break from her bedroom.  We told her that whether or not she accompanied us, we were going to book a Family Villa because of the size and location onboard and if she didn't go with us, our luggage was going to have their own room and bathroom...😁.  Knowing that she was sailing for free due to the promotion, she jumped on the deal, paid her own airfare to Rome and she really had a great time with us, and more importantly for us, she didn't feel like a charity case.

 

I hope our experience will help you field a cruise with your sister.  It will create memories that will last your lifetimes...

 

I just looked at the NCL website and there is a search feature for finding sailings where the 3rd and 4th sail for free and others for reduced fares.

Edited October 9, 2023 by Daniel A

[bluestar1]

20 hours ago, InfrequentPNWCruiser said:

I did use a butler letter with the preferences like pillows and snack types and a pitcher of cream for coffee and my keto shakes.

Silly question, but you maybe understand the importance because of keto - was it heavy cream or half and half? I'm going in a couple of weeks and will have the exact same request/need. 

 

Thank you for the detailed post!

[Daniel A]

21 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

My next quest, which I will work on beginning of next year is a Haven Trip, at the right price, with NCL coming to the table.  How knows, maybe they will give the us a kind of thank you here on CruiseCritic.com let us all enjoy one cruise together.  I am not holding my breath though.

@Sthrngary Count us in (conditionally.)  Why not start a thread similar to a pre-cruise Roll Call?  DW & I are in, as long you and many others on this thread are with us in the Haven.  I do have one suggestion though. Please make it out of Florida or an East Coast port as DW is terrified of flying and our flights from NY to Reykjavík to Rome, with the changes wore her down to the point that she needed the cruise to recover from the flights.  The flight back to NY was no great experience on Air Canada either, so if you can consider doing a 'drive to cruise,' we are in!

 

It's nice making friends on Cruise Critic!..🙋‍♂️

[Sthrngary]

6 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

@Sthrngary Count us in (conditionally.)  Why not start a thread similar to a pre-cruise Roll Call?  DW & I are in, as long you and many others on this thread are with us in the Haven.  I do have one suggestion though. Please make it out of Florida or an East Coast port as DW is terrified of flying and our flights from NY to Reykjavík to Rome, with the changes wore her down to the point that she needed the cruise to recover from the flights.  The flight back to NY was no great experience on Air Canada either, so if you can consider doing a 'drive to cruise,' we are in!

 

It's nice making friends on Cruise Critic!..🙋‍♂️

@Daniel A I am still thinking it through.  Of course it would be a FL departure because most of the folks on this threat can make it there easily.  I will look at the cruises after I came back from my Med Cruise next month.  Sorry about your flights.  I booked using all of my saved Delta Skymiles for Business Class, and booked my friends in coach on the same flights with Domestics First Class.  Flying to Europe is no fun at all. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Daniel A]

3 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@Daniel A I am still thinking it through.  Of course it would be a FL departure because most of the folks on this threat can make it there easily.  I will look at the cruises after I came back from my Med Cruise next month.  

If you want/need help with it, let me know.

[RocketMan275]

22 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

My next quest, which I will work on beginning of next year is a Haven Trip, at the right price, with NCL coming to the table.  How knows, maybe they will give the us a kind of thank you here on CruiseCritic.com let us all enjoy one cruise together.  I am not holding my breath though.

 

34 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

@Sthrngary Count us in (conditionally.)  Why not start a thread similar to a pre-cruise Roll Call?  DW & I are in, as long you and many others on this thread are with us in the Haven.  I do have one suggestion though. Please make it out of Florida or an East Coast port as DW is terrified of flying and our flights from NY to Reykjavík to Rome, with the changes wore her down to the point that she needed the cruise to recover from the flights.  The flight back to NY was no great experience on Air Canada either, so if you can consider doing a 'drive to cruise,' we are in!

 

It's nice making friends on Cruise Critic!..🙋‍♂️

 

25 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@Daniel A I am still thinking it through.  Of course it would be a FL departure because most of the folks on this threat can make it there easily.  I will look at the cruises after I came back from my Med Cruise next month.  Sorry about your flights.  I booked using all of my saved Delta Skymiles for Business Class, and booked my friends in coach on the same flights with Domestics First Class.  Flying to Europe is no fun at all. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

I'm already inside Final on my 2024 cruise.

I have another booked on Encore out of Miami 12 Jan 2025.

Both Haven.

[InfrequentPNWCruiser]

12 hours ago, bluestar1 said:

Silly question, but you maybe understand the importance because of keto - was it heavy cream or half and half? I'm going in a couple of weeks and will have the exact same request/need. 

 

Thank you for the detailed post!

It was heavy cream. Started with a small pitcher but  upgraded to a larger one mid cruise. Worked out really well for my purposes and frankly the perfect addition to the Nespresso.

 

[Sthrngary]

20 hours ago, bluestar1 said:

Silly question, but you maybe understand the importance because of keto - was it heavy cream or half and half? I'm going in a couple of weeks and will have the exact same request/need. 

 

Thank you for the detailed post!

@bluestar1 First the answer to your question.  Yes, heavy cream.  My wife and I had every intention to be on Keto, while in our Haven Suite.  It was no issue at all.  Second, well, I lasted until desert, the first night in the Haven Restaurant.  It was the chocolates Cake that got me. My wife made it two days.

 

The good news is we both went back on Keto, lost even more weight and about to go on our first Mediterranean Cruise in November 2023.  We worked hard to be at our fighting weight so bread, potato's and rice are in my future.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[bluestar1]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

@bluestar1 First the answer to your question.  Yes, heavy cream.  My wife and I had every intention to be on Keto, while in our Haven Suite.  It was no issue at all.  Second, well, I lasted until desert, the first night in the Haven Restaurant.  It was the chocolates Cake that got me. My wife made it two days.

 

The good news is we both went back on Keto, lost even more weight and about to go on our first Mediterranean Cruise in November 2023.  We worked hard to be at our fighting weight so bread, potato's and rice are in my future.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

I know I won't make it the entire cruise, but I attempt to make what I can 🙂 I have adjusted to plain coffee with cream, and no sugar and will use those saved carbs for the almond croissants and banana banoff I keep hearing about. Oddly, every time I vacation I lose weight, probably because of the extra steps (darn desk job!), and when people cook for me I tend to choose and stick with meat and green veggie or salad combo. Something about being less stressed 😉. I can't wait! Having people serve me meals for 6 days and not have to cook or do dishes sounds delightful. 

[Sthrngary]

22 minutes ago, bluestar1 said:

will use those saved carbs for the almond croissants

You speak my language!! 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[justhappy]

1 hour ago, bluestar1 said:

I know I won't make it the entire cruise, but I attempt to make what I can 🙂 I have adjusted to plain coffee with cream, and no sugar and will use those saved carbs for the almond croissants and banana banoff I keep hearing about. Oddly, every time I vacation I lose weight, probably because of the extra steps (darn desk job!), and when people cook for me I tend to choose and stick with meat and green veggie or salad combo. Something about being less stressed 😉. I can't wait! Having people serve me meals for 6 days and not have to cook or do dishes sounds delightful. 

The almond croissants and Banana Banoffe are worth every stinking carb for sure! Enjoy them for all of us 😃

[Cruzin64647]

With all perks being the same in the Haven except the free alcohol in room I don’t see why anyone would pay for the deluxe owners suite at the ase current prices. I would think at what they are wanting to charge currently there would be an added incentive to book.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Cruzin64647

[McGarrett5oh]

17 hours ago, justhappy said:

The almond croissants and Banana Banoffe are worth every stinking carb for sure! Enjoy them for all of us 😃

 

Last week......

[justhappy]

6 hours ago, McGarrett5oh said:

 

Last week......

You’re killing me smalls!!

[Sthrngary]

15 hours ago, Cruzin64647 said:

With all perks being the same in the Haven except the free alcohol in room I don’t see why anyone would pay for the deluxe owners suite at the ase current prices. I would think at what they are wanting to charge currently there would be an added incentive to book.

@Cruzin64647 Here is a reason which was mine.  Remember, to each their own.  I was booked in a Haven Two Bedroom Family Villa for my 42 Wedding Anniversary.  I was taking my two adult children.  To spare everyone a long post, I was cancelled four times due to covid.  We started on the Pearl, rebooked the Encore three times and ended up on the Joy.  When I took my "THEN" % off, Bonus FCC, and the fact that the Haven H2 Deluxe Owners Suite on the Joy was way less money then the two bedroom on the Encore, I booked it.

 

My family and I enjoyed that experience however at the end, my conclusion was clear.  As nice as the Suite was, and it was nice, unless I got it the way I did or did a "NCL Bid" upgrade at a reasonable price, I would never do it again.  It was one hell of an experience though.  My adult children are now completely spoiled.

 

Side note, My next cruise is a 10-day Mediterranean Cruise on NCL Sister brand, Oceania.  We leave in less then 30 days.  We booked the trip over a year ago, was able to gain two really great promotional sales, and ended up with what is called a "Vista" Suite.  It is about the same size as the H2 Owners Suite on the Encore, Joy, and Bliss.  Again, leveraging all the incentives, catching some great sales and staying on top of details we booked this cruise at even less by a far margin then current H2 Owners Suites.  

 

My point is, sometime you can catch a deal on some of these huge suite.  For me it is sport, I can afford a little more but not full retail.  Everyone needs to do what is right for them knowing what they enjoy on a cruise.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Traveling Fools]

2 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

We booked the trip over a year ago, was able to gain two really great promotional sales, and ended up with what is called a "Vista" Suite.

 

@Sthrngary Have sailed once, just before Covid, on Oceana and booked a Vista Suite.  Really enjoyed the suite.  Left unsure if all the hype about Oceania was factual.  Lor of Oceania cheer leaders out there.  Have an enrichment journey consisting of 5-days pre-cruise in Rio followed by a 22 day Brazil/Amazon cruise in this coming March.  Vista Suites and higher were sold out.

 

I can honestly say the Haven is a tough act to follow and that we found it more to our liking than "O".

Edited October 11, 2023 by Traveling Fools
Added Clarification