Haven sailing with non-Haven

[sbsmutoni]

So, I just want some OPINIONS (I know everyone will think differently, but I want pros and cons).....my husband and I are taking our son and his partner on their first trip to Europe this summer.  We are booked on the Escape out of Rome on a 10-day port intensive itinerary.  My husband and I have cruised Europe many times, but as mentioned, it's a first for the boys.  Hubby and I selected a Haven Owner's Suite, and put the boys in a Club Suite.

 

Obviously, we will have Haven perks such as early boarding, priority disembarking in ports, Haven restaurant, etc., but they will not.  So my question is.....will this be much of an issue on the cruise?  I mean, I know we will have to choose for example to either board early without them or wait to board with them, etc.....but have any of your cruised in the Haven with travel partners who are NOT in the Haven, and if so, what was the experience?

 

And for the record, I'm debating about upgrading them to Haven so we'll all have the same perks....I'm not a cheap Momma, I'm paying for their cruise, flying them business class, and paying most of their ancillary expenses, but I'm looking at another several thousand dollars to move them to the Haven.

 

I knew all this going in, and thought I was good with it, but I just keep thinking I wish they were in the Haven.  🙂

 

Thanks for the feedback!

[SeaShark]

This is only going to be "an issue" on the cruise if you choose to make it one. You paid for, and will receive, Haven perks. They have not. You can choose whether or not to use your Haven perks...you don't HAVE to use them, they are available to you if you want to use them. What you can't do is give your perks to another party.

 

So if being together is desired, you can simply join them at any time...problem solved...they just can't join you. For example, if you have priority boarding and they don't and you want to stay together, you can simply join them in the non-priority boarding line OR you can board by using separate lines and then getting back together once onboard.

[skeeter195]

We have had non haven travel companions board with us on 2 different occasions, no problem either time.   Also they can join you in your suite for meals if you want.  Our butlers have even encouraged this.

[rbird]

Upgrade them to the Haven and don’t look back:)  

I personally cruise other smaller boutique cruise lines for port intensive Itineraries in Europe.   I use the Haven for itineraries with more ship time.

 

Good Luck and have a great time.

[gknep]

We have travelled a few times with my parents in the Haven and my wife and I not. The reservations have always been linked so that the NCL knew we were traveling together. Obviously we did not get the Haven perks, but we did get invited to breakfast with them on disembarkation day, and invited into the Haven for glacier viewing in Glacier Bay. 

[Treasure Hunter]

Upgrade them, if you can. You know the Haven is AMAZING and to be with them you'll have to forgo Haven experiences. We have cruised with our kids and grands ( they were not in the Haven) and it was a less enjoyable experience because we ended up making specialty restaurant reservations in order to eat with them and missed the Haven restaurant. I especially like going down to the shows early and getting my good seat. You could save them seats ( a no no). If there is tendering or excursions you won't be leaving the ship with them. Etc. My kids didn't want to be in the Haven because they wanted their teens in a separate cabin with their own bathroom and I gave them a budget to spend as they wished. But in retrospect, I was sorry.

[cruiseinfoseeker]

26 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

Upgrade them, if you can. . . .

I agree with this. 

Although I don't have any first hand experience with this, I would think that *if* you can afford to, it would just be much more pleasant for you if they have Haven access, too.

 

[JGmf]

If you intend to almost exclusively eat together with the boys, sun together on the Haven deck, and drink together at the Haven bar, then YES, upgrade them.

 

BUT, if you are OK with a few meals together at specialty restaurants and some meet-ups at non-Haven bars and entertainment, then DON'T BOTHER upgrading.  Save the money.  Maybe they'd like the fact that you are not always together in the Haven bubble.

[Treasure Hunter]

Yes they probably do like to be on their own some of the time. But my kids live far away, it was a special occasion and I wanted to see them as much as possible.

[JGmf]

27 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

I wanted to see them as much as possible

 

Well, there you go, you answered the key question.  Upgrade them. 

 

You're a generous parent.  Can I join the family?

[Old & Retired]

Since you paid a lot of money for the Haven, you will want to spend a lot of time there.  The lounge, the restaurant, the pool etc.  If you don't want to spend much time with the boys while you are on the cruise you should be fine.  However, if spending time with the boys is important to you, it WILL be a problem they don't have Haven benefits.  Upgrade them to the Haven if you value spending time with them.

[BirdTravels]

Don’t wast your money upgrading them. They will actually be happier on their own. Our kids from the time they were teens to now young adults “humor us” by joining us for meals from time to time. But we “know” they would prefer doing their own thing,,, even if we are paying. 

[dmms]

We have been on Escape in Haven with non haven group members traveling with us. It did diminish the experience for both parties. The Escape is a beautiful ship and the haven is a great space. Perhaps upgrade them to a haven spa or suite room in the 16th floor - thus creating a little “space” for not as high a price. And if your port stops include Malta - you will be so thankful that all of you get priority disembark. Everyone’s opinions vary - but being on equal ground enhances your time together. Hope you have a fabulous trip!

[RocketMan275]

5 hours ago, sbsmutoni said:

So, I just want some OPINIONS (I know everyone will think differently, but I want pros and cons).....my husband and I are taking our son and his partner on their first trip to Europe this summer.  We are booked on the Escape out of Rome on a 10-day port intensive itinerary.  My husband and I have cruised Europe many times, but as mentioned, it's a first for the boys.  Hubby and I selected a Haven Owner's Suite, and put the boys in a Club Suite.

 

 

We recently took a cruise on Breakaway.  We booked a Deluxe Owners Suite for ourselves and because we wanted to share the experience with our son and his wife we paid for their adjoining Penthouse suite.  Perhaps you should consider flying them in something less than business and using the savings to upgrade them to a Haven suite.

[Sailing12Away]

Since you're already covering the cost of everything else (quite generously, and I'll jump on the bandwagon and ask how I can become a surrogate child too), maybe give them the info and let them decide. You can pay to have them join you in the Haven restaurant for a few meals (minimal cost, I think it's $25), make arrangements with the butler to have them join you in your room (with a DOS you should have room to spare), join you at the specialty restaurants or MDR with no issues. 

 

Let them know the additional perks you'll get in Haven (lounge, bar, pool, etc) and if they think they would enjoy it - let them foot the upgrade cost. Or again if you want to keep being generous, if it's going to cost 4K, tell them it will be 1K and again you get to help offset the cost and it's their choice to splurge or not.

 

It honestly depends on how everyone enjoys spending their time on their cruise. We're sailing with my folks in September. We're in Haven, they're not. We plan on eating our specialty meals together, a few lunches at The Local together, and a few meals apart. At night we'll probably see the headliner shows together, but then my dad will be in bed by 9 and we'll be closing out the Haven bar. Different strokes for different folks, so no sense in paying to upgrade them to Haven when they don't eat fancy food nor would they get use out of the bar. Better to save that money and put it towards their next trip (for our situation).

[Treasure Hunter]

If you are going to the Med in the summer it is broiling hot. The uncrowded sundeck with bar and lunch service and hot tubs and the pool is great on days at sea. The help of the concierge to get you off the ship first for days in port is key. Just saying....

[Old & Retired]

52 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

If you are going to the Med in the summer it is broiling hot. The uncrowded sundeck with bar and lunch service and hot tubs and the pool is great on days at sea. The help of the concierge to get you off the ship first for days in port is key. Just saying....

Yeah, but almost certainly the concierge will allow non-Haven family to join the Haven mom and dad for priority port disembarkation. 

[sbsmutoni]

You all are AWESOME....thanks so much for the feedback.  I am leaning to upgrading them.  Since they have never been to the Med (or Europe at all), I know they're going to have fun not matter (as are we)!  I will tell this group that they ARE super appreciative of us taking them, and we cannot wait to get there.

 

Thanks all!!

[Laszlo]

23 hours ago, sbsmutoni said:

So, I just want some OPINIONS (I know everyone will think differently, but I want pros and cons).....my husband and I are taking our son and his partner on their first trip to Europe this summer.  We are booked on the Escape out of Rome on a 10-day port intensive itinerary.  My husband and I have cruised Europe many times, but as mentioned, it's a first for the boys.  Hubby and I selected a Haven Owner's Suite, and put the boys in a Club Suite.

 

Obviously, we will have Haven perks such as early boarding, priority disembarking in ports, Haven restaurant, etc., but they will not.  So my question is.....will this be much of an issue on the cruise?  I mean, I know we will have to choose for example to either board early without them or wait to board with them, etc.....but have any of your cruised in the Haven with travel partners who are NOT in the Haven, and if so, what was the experience?

 

And for the record, I'm debating about upgrading them to Haven so we'll all have the same perks....I'm not a cheap Momma, I'm paying for their cruise, flying them business class, and paying most of their ancillary expenses, but I'm looking at another several thousand dollars to move them to the Haven.

 

I knew all this going in, and thought I was good with it, but I just keep thinking I wish they were in the Haven.  🙂

 

Thanks for the feedback!

Can you adopt me? 

[brookie848]

Our first cruise was a split cruise (we were in the Haven, the rest of our party was not). I would never do this again.

 

Would a 2-bedroom work for your group? At least everyone would get the Haven perks that way.

[Newfun4me]

I ask myself this question a lot as we often treat our young adult kids to vacation with us.  I book them in the same category that we are in.  I know they won't always be able to travel with us and things will eventually start to get in the way - schedules, lack of vacation time, pull from the in-laws, them wanting to do their own thing, kid stuff, etc.  For now and while we can, we splurge.  It's as much for me as for them as I like being around them.  If I was you, I would bite the bullet and upgrade them.  You sound a lot like me and I think the joy you will get out of seeing them enjoying their fancy vacation will make it worth it.  I, personally, would be bummed if I was sitting in the Haven lounge and knew that they couldn't come if they wanted to. 

 

On the flip side, my mom and her boyfriend are joining us for a cruise to Alaska later this year.  We are Haven and they are not.  They are paying for their own trip and decided to join after we booked.  I know we'll have them join us for dinner in our suite and we will spend time with them on their aft balcony.  They mostly want to do their thing and we want to do ours.  That'll work out just fine.  BUT, I'll help her if she has an option to bid for Haven.  🙂

[Newfun4me]

On 4/19/2022 at 11:02 AM, sbsmutoni said:

So, I just want some OPINIONS (I know everyone will think differently, but I want pros and cons).....my husband and I are taking our son and his partner on their first trip to Europe this summer.  We are booked on the Escape out of Rome on a 10-day port intensive itinerary.  My husband and I have cruised Europe many times, but as mentioned, it's a first for the boys.  Hubby and I selected a Haven Owner's Suite, and put the boys in a Club Suite.

 

Obviously, we will have Haven perks such as early boarding, priority disembarking in ports, Haven restaurant, etc., but they will not.  So my question is.....will this be much of an issue on the cruise?  I mean, I know we will have to choose for example to either board early without them or wait to board with them, etc.....but have any of your cruised in the Haven with travel partners who are NOT in the Haven, and if so, what was the experience?

 

And for the record, I'm debating about upgrading them to Haven so we'll all have the same perks....I'm not a cheap Momma, I'm paying for their cruise, flying them business class, and paying most of their ancillary expenses, but I'm looking at another several thousand dollars to move them to the Haven.

 

I knew all this going in, and thought I was good with it, but I just keep thinking I wish they were in the Haven.  🙂

 

Thanks for the feedback!

One other option (although this could be a big no) would be to downgrade your room a little bit (YIKES - I LOVE an Owners Suite) to help offset the cost of putting them in the Haven.  

[DaisyGoldberg]

We've traveled with family outside the Haven on smaller ships and were able to visit in our suite with non-Haven guests (it was a 2 bedroom so had that living room space - wouldn't have been the same in a courtyard penthouse!) They did not use any of the Haven facilities other than the hallway to our cabin. They'd call up when they were coming and I'd let them in, though once or twice the butler would spot them first and have already let them in. Each time the butler learned their names, greeted them in the hall, the concierge welcomed them to board/disembark with us, etc.  However, the case could be very different on your sailing so you can't count on these courtesies, especially on a larger ship where you're more likely to want to spend more time in the Haven space.

 

Good luck with your decision!  We're not big fans of the Haven restaurant for more than a meal or two per trip, so meeting others elsewhere to dine and at shows, bars, lounges, etc  wouldn't be a big hardship, especially if it gave the other couple some private time. 

[bluesea777]

On 4/19/2022 at 1:02 PM, sbsmutoni said:

 

And for the record, I'm debating about upgrading them to Haven so we'll all have the same perks....I'm not a cheap Momma, I'm paying for their cruise, flying them business class, and paying most of their ancillary expenses, but I'm looking at another several thousand dollars to move them to the Haven.

 

 

Why not downgrade them to Economy to upgrade them to Haven? 😁

[mjkacmom]

Hmm, since this is a couple, they might like having some time to themselves, but if you paid for the upgrade, might feel obligated to spend more time with you (I’m a parent of 5 young adults 19 - 25, 3 with long term SO’s). I’d definitely have a conversation.