Upgrade to Haven?

[wanderlust35]

Hi all, 

 

Husband and I are going on our 10-year anniversary cruise June 25-July 2 on the Escape -- we currently splurged on an aft-facing balcony, but got an e-mail about upgrading to Haven and we are thinking about making a bid. 

 

So, is it worth it? We aren't bringing our kids on this trip. We have cruised many times with NCL but have never felt like we could afford the Haven. 

 

 

 

 

[DCGuy64]

3 minutes ago, wanderlust35 said:

Hi all, 

 

Husband and I are going on our 10-year anniversary cruise June 25-July 2 on the Escape -- we currently splurged on an aft-facing balcony, but got an e-mail about upgrading to Haven and we are thinking about making a bid. 

 

So, is it worth it? We aren't bringing our kids on this trip. We have cruised many times with NCL but have never felt like we could afford the Haven. 

 

 

 

 

How much more is it for the Haven? Whenever someone asks "is it worth it," my reply is "depends, worth how much?" If it's $1,000 per person, perhaps. If it's $5,000, heck no! YMMV.

[ColeThornton]

If you already splurged on an aft-facing balcony how much more do you want to splurge on a Haven cabin?   Is that a budget killer?

 

Personally for me, I wouldn't.  That's money towards the next cruise.   🙂

[wanderlust35]

The low bid option on the The Haven Courtyard Penthouse with Balcony (HF) is 600 pp, The Haven Forward-Facing Penthouse with Balcony (HG) is 550 pp, The Haven Spa Suite with Balcony (H9) is 650 pp, The Haven Penthouse Suite with Balcony (HI) is 550 pp. 

 

 

[Lupush]

Haven is worth every penny.  Go for it!

[wanderlust35]

Would you recommend any of the options in particular? It seems like the Courtyard Penthouse for 600 pp might be the move? 

[DCGuy64]

4 minutes ago, wanderlust35 said:

The low bid option on the The Haven Courtyard Penthouse with Balcony (HF) is 600 pp, The Haven Forward-Facing Penthouse with Balcony (HG) is 550 pp, The Haven Spa Suite with Balcony (H9) is 650 pp, The Haven Penthouse Suite with Balcony (HI) is 550 pp. 

 

 

The low bid option isn't likely to be accepted. I tried it back in December on the Epic and didn't win. Keep in mind that bids are subject to cabin availability. The Haven was totally sold out on our sailing, so no matter how much I bid, it wouldn't have been available in the first place.

[wanderlust35]

Yes, I figured it was just a chance at an upgrade! 

 

[DCGuy64]

Just now, wanderlust35 said:

Yes, I figured it was just a chance at an upgrade! 

 

I'd definitely do it if the numbers worked. Suppose I had a Club Balcony suite and paid $700 pp, and a Haven Balcony retailed for $3,000 pp. (Just as a hypothetical) If a "good" bid for the Haven was $2,000 pp, then I'd still be paying $300 less than booking at the retail price. The little meter NCL has on the bidding site is helpful because it (at least in theory) shows you how likely your bid is to win. What I would NOT do is bid something where the total exceeded the regular price, but I sometimes wonder if NCL lets people do that anyway, in hopes of making more money.

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, wanderlust35 said:

Would you recommend any of the options in particular? It seems like the Courtyard Penthouse for 600 pp might be the move? 

Where are you cruising to? If it's a scenic cruise (Alaska, Panama Canal, Norway, etc.) I'd stick with the aft-facing balcony or upgrade to the Haven Aft-Facing Balcony. I've stayed in a Haven Aft Suite twice. It's absolutely stunning! 

 

I think you'll find the Haven worth every penny of an upgrade fee, especially since it's likely to be much more affordable than booking the Haven outright. 

 

I'll add that I have not sailed NCL in a non-Haven room, so don't know exactly what that experience is. I have sailed on two more than fully booked cruises and repeatedly said, "thank g-d we're in the Haven" to my husband. 

 

To me, the Haven is always worth it. To be fair, we are considering a non-Haven room this fall on a trip to Alaska, but that wasn't in our original 2023 vacation budget, so we're debating on opening the budget up or just going slightly over budget to sail Alaska. 

[DCGuy64]

14 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

If you already splurged on an aft-facing balcony how much more do you want to splurge on a Haven cabin?   Is that a budget killer?

 

Personally for me, I wouldn't.  That's money towards the next cruise.   🙂

That's my view, too. But then again, we'd generally prefer to book MORE cruises, even in cheaper cabins, rather than 1 per year in a Haven cabin. We don't book based on price alone, we book based on time of year and destination. So if we've found the cruise we want and Haven is too expensive (for us that's more than $1,500 pp for 7 days), then we settle for balcony, oceanview or inside. Haven cabins are never that cheap, that I've seen. I suppose if I booked solely on lowest price for Haven, we could *maybe* find something affordable, but if the dates didn't work or we didn't like the itinerary, what's the point? To each his own, if you have the cash for Haven, why not? (MSC's Yacht Club is really nice, BTW and much cheaper, just sayin'.)

[wanderlust35]

This cruise is definitely a special one for us so the temptation to try and bid is there!

 

We are doing a 7 day out of Miami to DR, Tortola, St. John and the private island. 

[wanderlust35]

I just did the math -- if we got the low bid option at 600pp, we'd be saving $3,500 off the list price that NCL is currently advertising. 

 

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, wanderlust35 said:

I just did the math -- if we got the low bid option at 600pp, we'd be saving $3,500 off the list price that NCL is currently advertising. 

 

Give it a try, nothing to lose. Congrats on the 10-year anniversary. 😁

[Laszlo]

10 minutes ago, wanderlust35 said:

I just did the math -- if we got the low bid option at 600pp, we'd be saving $3,500 off the list price that NCL is currently advertising. 

 

Bid what you feel is comfortable. If you win great, if not you still have a nice cabin. How much is a fair to good bid?

 

If you win........     

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN_k8_puSY4&t

[graphicguy]

55 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

The low bid option isn't likely to be accepted. I tried it back in December on the Epic and didn't win. Keep in mind that bids are subject to cabin availability. The Haven was totally sold out on our sailing, so no matter how much I bid, it wouldn't have been available in the first place.

Have made the low bid several times and have never won.  I think it’s a marketing thing to get people to get into the “bid higher” thought process.

 

If I find a really good Haven deal upon booking, I’ll book it then.  If not, I don’t bid.  Wait, I lied. It costs nothing to bid low.  So, I’ll do that.  But, have been totally unsuccessful.

Edited March 8, 2023 by graphicguy

[wolft927]

I agree, We have won 2 Haven bids but this was during lower capacity with a fair bid. But warning you, after staying in the Haven it is hard to go back. 

[BostonGal35]

its worth putting in a bid, we love the Haven and have actually decided to sail ONLY Haven, even if it means less sails per year. 

 

but unfortunately, sailing in the summertime means you will probably have a TON of kids in teh Haven and it wont be the same relaxing experience you can get when you sail during times when school is in session.

[sharonann24]

I think you also should consider some of the additional perks you get with the Haven, such as the bar, restaurant, concierge service, private sun deck, priority check in,  etc.  We bid on the Haven when we were going to Bermuda, not even really knowing what it was all about.  I think we put in $500 bids pp and we got it.  Boy were we delighted because it was in July and the main pool deck was loaded with children and "spring breakers".  We love a party just as much as the next person, but the Haven was definitely a welcome respite. We had the spa room and it was great.    We are going non Haven on the Prima this July because we are traveling with my father who would not go that route.  I dream of going to the Haven again.....Bid what you are comfortable with and see what happens!  Happy Anniversary.

[PTC DAWG]

Keep in mind, once you sail the Suite Life, you may not want to go back to Steerage.  🙂

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, wanderlust35 said:

Hi all, 

 

Husband and I are going on our 10-year anniversary cruise June 25-July 2 on the Escape -- we currently splurged on an aft-facing balcony, but got an e-mail about upgrading to Haven and we are thinking about making a bid. 

 

So, is it worth it? We aren't bringing our kids on this trip. We have cruised many times with NCL but have never felt like we could afford the Haven. 

 

 

 

 

Just for kicks, I looked at that sailing. I don't know much you paid (nor do I need to know), but currently the aft-facing balcony is going for $2029 pp while the Haven is $3449. Honestly, that's not a bad jump in price for all that the Haven offers. Especially considering it's your 10th anniversary cruise, I'd bid high enough to get that cabin for sure. Less than $1,500 pp for the Haven sounds like a pretty good deal.

[wolft927]

3 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Keep in mind, once you sail the Suite Life, you may not want to go back to Steerage.  🙂

Agreed, We won our first 2 haven bids now I simply book it lol

[Nclgetawaymenhoney]

34 minutes ago, wanderlust35 said:

I just did the math -- if we got the low bid option at 600pp, we'd be saving $3,500 off the list price that NCL is currently advertising. 

 

Not to burst you dreams of the haven, but the first thing you should do is check inventory because just because you received the invitation to bid doesn’t mean they have inventory left.  They send the upgrade advantage bids out to also collect data for data mining for pricing future cruises not just this one.  So I looked at inventory for you only 5 total havens left currently.  1 HF. 2HG. And 2HA, and the odds are those will sell between now and end of June so again sorry to squash your dreams it odds aren’t good for you to win a upgrade 

[Peachypooh]

Decide what Haven perks are meaningful to you. I value the priority embarkation and disembark first and last days and during the cruise. I value knowing that if a problem arises we have multiple  people  to contact easily to get it corrected but not so much the Haven courtyard unless the ship is very full. Then bid what it would be worth it for you to have what you value.

[DCGuy64]

58 minutes ago, Nclgetawaymenhoney said:

Not to burst you dreams of the haven, but the first thing you should do is check inventory because just because you received the invitation to bid doesn’t mean they have inventory left.  They send the upgrade advantage bids out to also collect data for data mining for pricing future cruises not just this one.  So I looked at inventory for you only 5 total havens left currently.  1 HF. 2HG. And 2HA, and the odds are those will sell between now and end of June so again sorry to squash your dreams it odds aren’t good for you to win a upgrade 

Please bear in mind that 1) inventory is subject to change and  2) the inventory shown on NCL's website isn't always accurate. I constantly see Roll Calls where people change their minds and cancel up to sail date. This sailing isn't for another 4 1/2 months. Plenty of time for cabins to become available.