The Haven Lite Strategy by Sthrngary

[REV_Cruiser]

Gary, let me start by saying thank you for all the guidance on enjoying the Haven.  We will be in the Haven again in October, this time on the Getaway.  Haven lite may come into play at some point. I have a question though, when ordering and drinking your Tequila 1942, is there an upcharge?  Just wanting to know for future reference.  Thank again for your work and advice.

[The Shrike]

7 hours ago, REV_Cruiser said:

Gary, let me start by saying thank you for all the guidance on enjoying the Haven.  We will be in the Haven again in October, this time on the Getaway.  Haven lite may come into play at some point. I have a question though, when ordering and drinking your Tequila 1942, is there an upcharge?  Just wanting to know for future reference.  Thank again for your work and advice.

Not if you upgrade to the Premium Plus package, like Gary does.

[Sthrngary]

9 hours ago, REV_Cruiser said:

Gary, let me start by saying thank you for all the guidance on enjoying the Haven.  We will be in the Haven again in October, this time on the Getaway.  Haven lite may come into play at some point. I have a question though, when ordering and drinking your Tequila 1942, is there an upcharge?  Just wanting to know for future reference.  Thank again for your work and advice.

@REV_CruiserThank you for your kind words.  Please remember, Haven is always my first approach.  That will never change.  Haven Lite is my approach until the Haven prices come back to a point where I can justify them again.  I am retired new and my budget is not what it once was.

 

On to your question.  The Tequila in question is $45.00 per shot.  if you have the normal perk drink package which is called the Premium Drink Package, the up charge per shot would be $30.00.  For lots of reasons, I do the Premium Plus Drink Package, as long as the ship has the 1942, there is no upcharge.  I write extensively on the Premium Plus Drink Package as I do about the Haven and now Haven lite on CruiseCritic.com.  My goal is to inform, not to suggest.  Folks can make their own budget opinions.

 

Cruise well.

[REV_Cruiser]

Thanks for the info Sthrngary and The Shrike!  I should have mentioned that we have upgraded the beverage package for our upcoming cruise, as we had on our previous cruises in the Haven.  I look forward to sampling the Tequila 1942 in October.

[The Shrike]

33 minutes ago, REV_Cruiser said:

Thanks for the info Sthrngary and The Shrike!  I should have mentioned that we have upgraded the beverage package for our upcoming cruise, as we had on our previous cruises in the Haven.  I look forward to sampling the Tequila 1942 in October.

Enjoy!

[KKB]

Addendum:

 

You can now PRE-BOOK the Vibe!!! 

It was announced Thursday & it isn't online yet.

You must call--but be prepared. CS rep this morning could see it but it wouldn't save it to my reservation.

Called later & all booked for Aug B2B!

This is huge for me as I knew I would not be there early enough to get it the 1st leg.

I still have Haven bids for Courtyard balcony & FWD penthouse for 2nd leg...they lowered the min bid this week. Once I deduct Vibe, it's was only $600 more total to bid...I think I''m keeping those just to try it once. 

Edited July 3, 2022 by KKB

[Jim The Lizard]

On 6/29/2022 at 2:50 PM, Sthrngary said:

I am the author of this topic.  My next cruise is on December 4, 2022 on the NCL Breakaway out of New Orleans.  This was not the ship or the itinerary I would have chosen however it was selected because it hosts the Slot Machine Finals.  My wife some how won the Slot Machine tournament on the NCL Joy in December 2021.  This is crazy and odd.  My wife never gambles.  

 

We will be going Haven Lite as I described on this topic. Usually I would do a Haven Upgrade bid.  The issue is even thought this cruise leaves in almost six months, most all Haven suites are booked.  I am assuming because of the Slot Machine Tournament.  If not, I have no idea.  The other reason is some of my family members will be joining and they simply can not afford the Haven.  When you go on a cruise with family and good friends, you want to dine with them every night.  This kind be expensive for the Non-Haven Guest.  

 

My Haven Lite Strategy is the same I did for my NCL Joy solo trip earlier this year.

 

1. Premium Plus Beverage Package
2. Upgraded Unlimited Streaming Internet
3. Three meal Specialty Restaurant Package
4. Earliest Boarding Time
5. Vibe Beach Club and or Thermal Spa Depending on Weather
6. Pre-Paid Gratuities
7. Pre-Cruise Hotel by the Port

 

If anyone has any questions, just ask.

 

Cruise well.

 

 

Gary, some good news.   You can now book Vibe in advance, just call NCL.   And, like so many others, I enjoy reading your experiences.  And, like you, I try not to forget where I came from.  Sparing you the comparisons of necessary thrifting upbringings, I love the fact that after your busy work life and  stroke, you seem to be truly enjoying your family and the cruising experience.  We all have so much to be thankful for, don’t we?  Blessed to be on the ocean with the views, grabbing a Cheeseburger for lunch , and enjoying some outstanding whiskey now and then!  Have a great rest of summer!  

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, Jim The Lizard said:

Gary, some good news.   You can now book Vibe in advance, just call NCL.   And, like so many others, I enjoy reading your experiences.  And, like you, I try not to forget where I came from.  Sparing you the comparisons of necessary thrifting upbringings, I love the fact that after your busy work life and  stroke, you seem to be truly enjoying your family and the cruising experience.  We all have so much to be thankful for, don’t we?  Blessed to be on the ocean with the views, grabbing a Cheeseburger for lunch , and enjoying some outstanding whiskey now and then!  Have a great rest of summer!  

@Jim The LizardWow, Jim.  You made my day.  You can bet, tomorrow morning.  I will be calling NCL and waiting the customary 90 minutes to talk to someone so they can transfer me several times, LOL.  The one thing I can assure you, if I can pre-purchase the VIBE.  It Shall Be Done.  Thank you so much for the heads up.  I hated the run to the Vibe desk.  I would much prefer simply to go to the Vibe and have a drink when I get onboard.  

 

Life it short and I am trying to have a nice time for sure.  Hope happiness and health to you and yours. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[HBCcruiser]

20 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@Jim The LizardWow, Jim.  You made my day.  You can bet, tomorrow morning.  I will be calling NCL and waiting the customary 90 minutes to talk to someone so they can transfer me several times, LOL.  The one thing I can assure you, if I can pre-purchase the VIBE.  It Shall Be Done.  Thank you so much for the heads up.  I hated the run to the Vibe desk.  I would much prefer simply to go to the Vibe and have a drink when I get onboard.  

 

Life it short and I am trying to have a nice time for sure.  Hope happiness and health to you and yours. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Today I was able to book the Vibe for our BA cruise in 2 weeks. I was able to request a call back and got the callback within 30 minutes. The agent booked The Vibe passes but made me pay online through my account. 🤷‍♀️ Odd process but it worked. The invoice was emailed to me and the purchased passes also show up in my cruise docs. Good luck everyone! 

[Jim The Lizard]

3 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

@Jim The LizardWow, Jim.  You made my day.  You can bet, tomorrow morning.  I will be calling NCL and waiting the customary 90 minutes to talk to someone so they can transfer me several times, LOL.  The one thing I can assure you, if I can pre-purchase the VIBE.  It Shall Be Done.  Thank you so much for the heads up.  I hated the run to the Vibe desk.  I would much prefer simply to go to the Vibe and have a drink when I get onboard.  

 

Life it short and I am trying to have a nice time for sure.  Hope happiness and health to you and yours. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

You're welcome!  

[vacation44]

9 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

@Jim The LizardWow, Jim.  You made my day.  You can bet, tomorrow morning.  I will be calling NCL and waiting the customary 90 minutes to talk to someone so they can transfer me several times, LOL.  The one thing I can assure you, if I can pre-purchase the VIBE.  It Shall Be Done.  Thank you so much for the heads up.  I hated the run to the Vibe desk.  I would much prefer simply to go to the Vibe and have a drink when I get onboard.  

 

Life it short and I am trying to have a nice time for sure.  Hope happiness and health to you and yours. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

As I mentioned when I started the thread with the prepurchase news, the passes become available to purchase at 90 days before sailing.  I believe your sailing is further out.

[KKB]

15 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

Today I was able to book the Vibe for our BA cruise in 2 weeks. I was able to request a call back and got the callback within 30 minutes. The agent booked The Vibe passes but made me pay online through my account. 🤷‍♀️ Odd process but it worked. The invoice was emailed to me and the purchased passes also show up in my cruise docs. Good luck everyone! 

You aren't the first one to say you had to pay this way.

The CS rep I got had me pay over the phone.

Got the invoice for the Vibe, then updated overall invoices showing it.

Seems they are still working this all out!

[vacation44]

On 7/3/2022 at 8:07 PM, Sthrngary said:

@Jim The LizardWow, Jim.  You made my day.  You can bet, tomorrow morning.  I will be calling NCL and waiting the customary 90 minutes to talk to someone so they can transfer me several times, LOL.  The one thing I can assure you, if I can pre-purchase the VIBE.  It Shall Be Done.  Thank you so much for the heads up.  I hated the run to the Vibe desk.  I would much prefer simply to go to the Vibe and have a drink when I get onboard.  

 

Life it short and I am trying to have a nice time for sure.  Hope happiness and health to you and yours. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

On 7/4/2022 at 5:26 AM, vacation44 said:

As I mentioned when I started the thread with the prepurchase news, the passes become available to purchase at 90 days before sailing.  I believe your sailing is further out.

Just wanted to let you know that I was able to reserve a cabana for a sailing much farther out then your upcoming cruise.   I would definitely call now to grab your passes.

[Sthrngary]

31 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

 

Just wanted to let you know that I was able to reserve a cabana for a sailing much farther out then your upcoming cruise.   I would definitely call now to grab your passes.

@vacation44When I first read your response I thought you meant a Beach Villa.  Now I realize you meant a Cabana in the Vibe.  Per your suggestion, I just called NCL.  It took some effort but they confirmed I have two Vibe Beach passes for the week for my cruise.  What is interesting is, they did not charge me.  My remain balance went up instead of having to pay for it now.  That was a pleasant surprise. 

 

I want to thank you for your help.  I hated the run to the Vibe Desk.  It made an already hectic day worse.  I still don't trust I have this until it shows up on my online account.  So I will call to verify even though they have charged me.  Better safe then sorry.  

 

Thanks again

 

Cruise well.

[vacation44]

9 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@vacation44When I first read your response I thought you meant a Beach Villa.  Now I realize you meant a Cabana in the Vibe.  Per your suggestion, I just called NCL.  It took some effort but they confirmed I have two Vibe Beach passes for the week for my cruise.  What is interesting is, they did not charge me.  My remain balance went up instead of having to pay for it now.  That was a pleasant surprise. 

 

I want to thank you for your help.  I hated the run to the Vibe Desk.  It made an already hectic day worse.  I still don't trust I have this until it shows up on my online account.  So I will call to verify even though they have charged me.  Better safe then sorry.  

 

Thanks again

 

Cruise well.

You are very welcome.   I am happy to pay back a little for all of the Haven information you had provided us for our last cruise.

 

We were also not charged in advance for the Cabana, but I do have an e-mail confirmation, I see it in our itinerary on Day 1 as a reservation and the balance owed went up $599.  For our "Haven Lite" cruise this September, I did have to pay in advance.  However, I am still thrilled that I will no longer be participating in the run for passes.

[Mandalay5]

57 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

You are very welcome.   I am happy to pay back a little for all of the Haven information you had provided us for our last cruise.

 

We were also not charged in advance for the Cabana, but I do have an e-mail confirmation, I see it in our itinerary on Day 1 as a reservation and the balance owed went up $599.  For our "Haven Lite" cruise this September, I did have to pay in advance.  However, I am still thrilled that I will no longer be participating in the run for passes.

I also reserved today and it was added to my balance. Several hours later I received an Entertainment Confirmation with my Vibe pass/cabana info. Love having this done—so much less stress than the running of the vibe on embarkation day!

[Jim The Lizard]

On 7/4/2022 at 5:26 AM, vacation44 said:

As I mentioned when I started the thread with the prepurchase news, the passes become available to purchase at 90 days before sailing.  I believe your sailing is further out.

Vacation44, my sailing is Prima March 5 2023.   Weird, all these inconsistencies.  It’s the luck of the draw who you get on the phone.  The NCL rep I called was aware of the Vibe pre purchase policy, took my payment, and I received a confirmation email before I hung up.   Then my TA sent the same confirmation email to me within minutes.  

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, Mandalay5 said:

I also reserved today and it was added to my balance. Several hours later I received an Entertainment Confirmation with my Vibe pass/cabana info. Love having this done—so much less stress than the running of the vibe on embarkation day!

Did the Vibe Cabana come with two vibe passes?  I will call back and change that if that is the case. Your assistance is appreciated.

[rnfulk]

28 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

Did the Vibe Cabana come with two vibe passes?  I will call back and change that if that is the case. Your assistance is appreciated.

It does. I show the “entertainment”reservation for both in the cabin. 

[Sthrngary]

Hello Everyone, Sthrngary here:

 

Thank you to all the folks that shared information on getting a Vibe Beach Club Pass in advance of your cruise sailing.  I want to share my experience with everyone.  

 

My cruise is 150 days away, I called and get two Vibe Passes for the week at $209.00 per pass put on my remaining balance due August 6, 2022.  I was beyond thrilled.  Then I realized I could have gotten a Vibe Beach Club Cabana for with two week passes for just a bit more.  I immediately called back and it took until the next day to find someone who could help me.  

 

It seems, at 150 days out, all Breakaway Vibe Beach Cabana's are completely sold out.  In addition, Normal Vibe Beach Club passes are sold out.  I am sharing this with you because I thought they were released 90 days before, but now I find out that even at 150 days you can get them.  Please be advised.

 

My wife and I are thrilled to get the passes, we are happy not to have to run to get them when we board on the ship.  I hope this information helps everyone.  

 

Cruise well and Enjoy Every Moment. 

[vacation44]

16 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

Hello Everyone, Sthrngary here:

 

Thank you to all the folks that shared information on getting a Vibe Beach Club Pass in advance of your cruise sailing.  I want to share my experience with everyone.  

 

My cruise is 150 days away, I called and get two Vibe Passes for the week at $209.00 per pass put on my remaining balance due August 6, 2022.  I was beyond thrilled.  Then I realized I could have gotten a Vibe Beach Club Cabana for with two week passes for just a bit more.  I immediately called back and it took until the next day to find someone who could help me.  

 

It seems, at 150 days out, all Breakaway Vibe Beach Cabana's are completely sold out.  In addition, Normal Vibe Beach Club passes are sold out.  I am sharing this with you because I thought they were released 90 days before, but now I find out that even at 150 days you can get them.  Please be advised.

 

My wife and I are thrilled to get the passes, we are happy not to have to run to get them when we board on the ship.  I hope this information helps everyone.  

 

Cruise well and Enjoy Every Moment. 

Very happy you called yesterday and were able to secure the passes.     I called again this morning to secure passes for 11 people for another sailing that is far out and were able to reserve them.   I was told Cabanas for that cruise are not available yet.   I will keep on checking.   But like you and many others, I am thrilled knowing I have the passes in advance for our three booked cruises where we want the Haven-Lite experience.   I do not even care the price went up.

[Jim The Lizard]

55 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

Hello Everyone, Sthrngary here:

 

Thank you to all the folks that shared information on getting a Vibe Beach Club Pass in advance of your cruise sailing.  I want to share my experience with everyone.  

 

My cruise is 150 days away, I called and get two Vibe Passes for the week at $209.00 per pass put on my remaining balance due August 6, 2022.  I was beyond thrilled.  Then I realized I could have gotten a Vibe Beach Club Cabana for with two week passes for just a bit more.  I immediately called back and it took until the next day to find someone who could help me.  

 

It seems, at 150 days out, all Breakaway Vibe Beach Cabana's are completely sold out.  In addition, Normal Vibe Beach Club passes are sold out.  I am sharing this with you because I thought they were released 90 days before, but now I find out that even at 150 days you can get them.  Please be advised.

 

My wife and I are thrilled to get the passes, we are happy not to have to run to get them when we board on the ship.  I hope this information helps everyone.  

 

Cruise well and Enjoy Every Moment. 

I think we’re going to start seeing some sold out Vibe Beach Clubs. 

[firstimecruiseronncl]

2 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

Hello Everyone, Sthrngary here:

 

Thank you to all the folks that shared information on getting a Vibe Beach Club Pass in advance of your cruise sailing.  I want to share my experience with everyone.  

 

My cruise is 150 days away, I called and get two Vibe Passes for the week at $209.00 per pass put on my remaining balance due August 6, 2022.  I was beyond thrilled.  Then I realized I could have gotten a Vibe Beach Club Cabana for with two week passes for just a bit more.  I immediately called back and it took until the next day to find someone who could help me.  

 

It seems, at 150 days out, all Breakaway Vibe Beach Cabana's are completely sold out.  In addition, Normal Vibe Beach Club passes are sold out.  I am sharing this with you because I thought they were released 90 days before, but now I find out that even at 150 days you can get them.  Please be advised.

 

My wife and I are thrilled to get the passes, we are happy not to have to run to get them when we board on the ship.  I hope this information helps everyone.  

 

Cruise well and Enjoy Every Moment. 

 

This will be upsetting. I've gotten the Vibe on every cruise I've been on. If it ends up being sold out before I even get on the cruise, I would most likely cancel it (if I'm not in the Haven). 

[cruiseny4life]

2 minutes ago, firstimecruiseronncl said:

 

This will be upsetting. I've gotten the Vibe on every cruise I've been on. If it ends up being sold out before I even get on the cruise, I would most likely cancel it (if I'm not in the Haven). 

Just uhhhhh....book it ahead of time? 

[firstimecruiseronncl]

4 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Just uhhhhh....book it ahead of time? 

It was mentioned that they were sold out ahead of time.