Ben and Davids YT Review of Haven on new Ship

[macattack1111]

Anyone seen their Haven review of the new ship....interesting viewing.

[ATXBecky]

I have. We always sail in a spa balcony. The cost for a Haven is not for us. Others love it though. 

[CatBoiler]

I think they paid so much because it was the inaugural sailing. They said it was around $9000 for the 2 of them, including the bid upgrade. They were in a basic Haven room. That's an insane amount. Their upgrade was $2k. So they were paying $7000 for a balcony room. 

 

I'm sailing on Prima in 21 days (just checked in, woo!) in the Haven and we have an Owner's Suite for that amount. Currently, the Haven aft facing penthouse (HB) is $7500 for 2 people. Their thoughts on value might be different on a different sailing.

 

In terms of their other complaints, I've sailed in the Haven before and the service was *impeccable*. Now, I haven't sailed since COVID and insane inflation, so it's possible NCL might have cut back on staff to save money. But I think it's more likely the Viva just wasn't completely ready yet, staff wise. Which is definitely NCL's fault too.

 

As for children in the Haven, I guess it depends when the cruise was. Cruises are much more likely to have children during the summer and holidays. And yeah, they should have been more forceful in their complaints. If there were kids running all over the 16+ sundeck, I would have complained until they were removed. My last Haven was in early Feb and we only saw 4 kids the entire week.

 

Haven lounge/bar vibe - I dislike live music in a relaxing setting. It's usually way too loud to hold a conversation over and the Haven is supposed to be a "sanctuary" away from the chaos of the rest of the ship. So it's just a difference of preference for what type of bar you like. I like the quiet/relaxing, they want more upbeat.

 

Haven restaurant menu - I think their complaints of it might have stemmed from their lack of knowledge because they didn't research the dining room much. No, the menu doesn't change. But it's highly customizable. Want the sauce from one dish on the protein of another? Just ask! Want something you saw on the main dining room's menu? Just ask! But give them an adequate heads up at breakfast or even dinner the night before. Want a lobster tail at every meal? Just ask! You can even have Indulge Food Hall brought to the Haven restaurant or even your cabin! On a 9 night cruise, we're only planning on having dinner in the Haven 4 times. Between specialty dining and being in port, the menu is more than adequate for us. Though I wholeheartedly agree the vegetarian options are lacking, but that's a fleet-wide issue.

 

The biggest thing I agree on - the fact that if your butler brings you a drink, you have to pay extra for it. That's insane. I'm paying $9087.94 for this cruise. And we upgraded to Free at Sea Plus, which was another $882. NCL thinks I can have my butler deliver a specialty restaurant dinner to my cabin but if they also bring me a glass of wine, that's another charge! Especially in an Owners Suite! We already get complimentary pop & water in our cabin and 3 bottles of wine/liquor. But the wine options were *terrible*, $10 bottles I can buy at Kroger. If I want a decent glass of wine, that's covered by my drink package, I have to pay for it again!

 

I think the Haven is fantastic and is a great value. But everyone's idea of a great value is different and I understand that. 

 

 

[JGmf]

4 minutes ago, CatBoiler said:

the Haven is supposed to be a "sanctuary" away from the chaos of the rest of the ship

 

I agree with most of your observations and opinions, but I largely disagree with this ^^^^ statement. 

 

Yes, I think the NCL marketing would lead one to believe it's an oasis of calm. 

 

Well, at least on my multiple Haven sailings, the Haven essentially replicated the chaos on the rest of the ship, albeit in relatively smaller public spaces nonetheless appointed with nicer finishes along with higher levels of service.  Nicer, yes, but still largely chaotic.

 

[Laszlo]

10 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

I agree with most of your observations and opinions, but I largely disagree with this ^^^^ statement. 

 

Yes, I think the NCL marketing would lead one to believe it's an oasis of calm. 

 

Well, at least on my multiple Haven sailings, the Haven essentially replicated the chaos on the rest of the ship, albeit in relatively smaller public spaces nonetheless appointed with nicer finishes along with higher levels of service.  Nicer, yes, but still largely chaotic.

 

My wife and I have sailed in the Haven twice, first time was courtyard, second time was Spa Cabin. Never noticed any chaos in the Haven, the rest of the ship yes, Haven never. The service we had was awesome. 

[RocketMan275]

35 minutes ago, CatBoiler said:

I think they paid so much because it was the inaugural sailing. They said it was around $9000 for the 2 of them, including the bid upgrade. They were in a basic Haven room. That's an insane amount. Their upgrade was $2k. So they were paying $7000 for a balcony room. 

 

I'm sailing on Prima in 21 days (just checked in, woo!) in the Haven and we have an Owner's Suite for that amount. Currently, the Haven aft facing penthouse (HB) is $7500 for 2 people. Their thoughts on value might be different on a different sailing.

 

In terms of their other complaints, I've sailed in the Haven before and the service was *impeccable*. Now, I haven't sailed since COVID and insane inflation, so it's possible NCL might have cut back on staff to save money. But I think it's more likely the Viva just wasn't completely ready yet, staff wise. Which is definitely NCL's fault too.

 

As for children in the Haven, I guess it depends when the cruise was. Cruises are much more likely to have children during the summer and holidays. And yeah, they should have been more forceful in their complaints. If there were kids running all over the 16+ sundeck, I would have complained until they were removed. My last Haven was in early Feb and we only saw 4 kids the entire week.

 

Haven lounge/bar vibe - I dislike live music in a relaxing setting. It's usually way too loud to hold a conversation over and the Haven is supposed to be a "sanctuary" away from the chaos of the rest of the ship. So it's just a difference of preference for what type of bar you like. I like the quiet/relaxing, they want more upbeat.

 

Haven restaurant menu - I think their complaints of it might have stemmed from their lack of knowledge because they didn't research the dining room much. No, the menu doesn't change. But it's highly customizable. Want the sauce from one dish on the protein of another? Just ask! Want something you saw on the main dining room's menu? Just ask! But give them an adequate heads up at breakfast or even dinner the night before. Want a lobster tail at every meal? Just ask! You can even have Indulge Food Hall brought to the Haven restaurant or even your cabin! On a 9 night cruise, we're only planning on having dinner in the Haven 4 times. Between specialty dining and being in port, the menu is more than adequate for us. Though I wholeheartedly agree the vegetarian options are lacking, but that's a fleet-wide issue.

 

The biggest thing I agree on - the fact that if your butler brings you a drink, you have to pay extra for it. That's insane. I'm paying $9087.94 for this cruise. And we upgraded to Free at Sea Plus, which was another $882. NCL thinks I can have my butler deliver a specialty restaurant dinner to my cabin but if they also bring me a glass of wine, that's another charge! Especially in an Owners Suite! We already get complimentary pop & water in our cabin and 3 bottles of wine/liquor. But the wine options were *terrible*, $10 bottles I can buy at Kroger. If I want a decent glass of wine, that's covered by my drink package, I have to pay for it again!

 

I think the Haven is fantastic and is a great value. But everyone's idea of a great value is different and I understand that. 

 

 

I agree, no bands in the Haven.  It's not meant to be Syd's.  If that's what you want, go there.  As for the butler fetching drinks, I think that has  more to do with work load.  Can you imagine the number of drink requests?  And, how about those aft havens or the havens outside the haven proper?  The butler would need roller skates.

[kasimir]

7 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

And, how about those aft havens or the havens outside the haven proper?

 

Keep in mind that on the Prima/Viva the Haven is all in the same place (aft part of the ship), with dedicated elevators with the Haven cabins spread over 4 decks (deck 12-15) plus deck 16 & 17 for the Haven areas. 

I do think there should be a clause that 1 drink per person is included with each meal delivered for room service, because otherwise people will be indeed ordering drinks non-stop to their rooms. 

But on the other hand, we pay looooots of money for a haven cabin, so it feels kind of nickel and dimming on NCL's side. I think they need to handle this better. 

[kasimir]

2 hours ago, macattack1111 said:

Anyone seen their Haven review of the new ship....interesting viewing.

 

Just to clarify, the video you have mentioned was released on Sep 24th, but yesterday (Oct 1st) Ben and David released another video and briefly followed up on their Haven experience towards the end of the video and especially mentioned the bad mannered kids in the Haven area. 

 

I do think that Ben and David should know better as experienced cruisers, that booking a cruise during a high-season on a family friendly cruise line will probably yield you a high percentage of kids in any area on the ship (including the Haven). 

 

And while I agree on most points with them and that the cruise was overpriced and potentially not worth it, they most likely already overpaid for the balcony cabin (before the upgrade) in the first place. 

 

It seems though that the biggest issue with the Viva (and that particular sailing), that the ship was just not ready and they seemed to not have all the staffing ready/trained for the first sailing. 

But again, something that an experienced cruiser should be aware (even though this one is on NCL), and one of the major reasons why we never book a cruise on a ship that is not atleast half a year old, so they can iron out all their teething problems. 

[RocketMan275]

11 minutes ago, kasimir said:

 

Keep in mind that on the Prima/Viva the Haven is all in the same place (aft part of the ship), with dedicated elevators with the Haven cabins spread over 4 decks (deck 12-15) plus deck 16 & 17 for the Haven areas. 

I do think there should be a clause that 1 drink per person is included with each meal delivered for room service, because otherwise people will be indeed ordering drinks non-stop to their rooms. 

But on the other hand, we pay looooots of money for a haven cabin, so it feels kind of nickel and dimming on NCL's side. I think they need to handle this better. 

If you're going to do it on one ship, you'll have to do it on all.

Another issue is people inviting non-haven passengers to their cabin for a drink.  That would put considerable pressure on the butler to police that and remember the butler is working for tips.

[CatBoiler]

23 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I agree, no bands in the Haven.  It's not meant to be Syd's.  If that's what you want, go there.  As for the butler fetching drinks, I think that has  more to do with work load.  Can you imagine the number of drink requests?  And, how about those aft havens or the havens outside the haven proper?  The butler would need roller skates.

 

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of the cabins outside the Haven proper. Maybe there could be some sort of policy where if you order room service or have a specialty dining meal delivered, drinks are included? I would absolutely take a latte with my breakfast if it was included.

 

I don't necessarily think the number of drink requests would be that insane though. Look at room service. It's free for the Haven but not *overly* requested. I think, in general, most people still want to eat/drink/socialize outside their cabin.

 

I think "included with food delivery" would be a good compromise. 

[RocketMan275]

3 minutes ago, CatBoiler said:

I think "included with food delivery" would be a good compromise. 

You didn't address the issue of inviting multiple passengers to their haven cabins for the free drink service.

We've seen countless threads where people want to share their Haven experience with their families not booked in the Haven.  Free drink room service would only increase that.  

[Liljo22]

I usually like Ben and David's videos but this one and the one they posted yesterday kind of irked me.  They are basing the cruise off the pricing of the first sailing which is always higher than future cruises.  I could have gotten an Owner's Suite on my Prima cruise for $9k for 4 of us. Same goes for The Shiplife who complained about paying $6,500 for a standard balcony for two and then upgraded to a club balcony.  

 

Yesterday's video had a thumbnail that claimed NCL conned them because their Viva cruise ported in Civitavecchia instead of closer to Rome.  They mentioned in the comments that they know all cruise lines do it but the damage is done before someone even clicks on the video.  

 

BTW...here are the two thumbnails for the Viva videos.

Edited October 2, 2023 by Liljo22

[Laszlo]

8 minutes ago, CatBoiler said:

 

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of the cabins outside the Haven proper. Maybe there could be some sort of policy where if you order room service or have a specialty dining meal delivered, drinks are included? I would absolutely take a latte with my breakfast if it was included.

 

I don't necessarily think the number of drink requests would be that insane though. Look at room service. It's free for the Haven but not *overly* requested. I think, in general, most people still want to eat/drink/socialize outside their cabin.

 

I think "included with food delivery" would be a good compromise. 

Ships like the Gem have 14? cabins in the "Haven" the other 24? are in the front and rear of the ship. I'm assuming they have three butlers, one for the Haven cabins and two for the suites forward and rear?

[CatBoiler]

11 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

You didn't address the issue of inviting multiple passengers to their haven cabins for the free drink service.

We've seen countless threads where people want to share their Haven experience with their families not booked in the Haven.  Free drink room service would only increase that.  

 

I mean, that's a whole other issue, the sharing of the Haven benefits. I read a thread on CC a month or so ago where the person was angry 2 of her family members were asked to leave the Haven bar because they weren't Haven sailors. She complained that the bar wasn't even busy, so why can't they stay! *eye roll*

People can still get away with "buying" free drinks for those without the bev package outside of the Haven. I assume people get away with ordering room service to their Haven cabin and getting food for visiting friends/family.

I don't know if it would make it worse or not. Someone trying to cheat the system punishes everyone else. If the butler knows there's only 2 people in the cabin, then they can deliver 2 drinks at a time? At some point you just say eff it and let it slide. I want my coffee included damn it!

[CatBoiler]

14 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Ships like the Gem have 14? cabins in the "Haven" the other 24? are in the front and rear of the ship. I'm assuming they have three butlers, one for the Haven cabins and two for the suites forward and rear?

 

I honestly have *no idea* how many butlers there are. 3 seems extremely low though for those numbers. 1 butler for 14 cabins? What if they all request breakfast delivery in the same half hour?

[Laszlo]

4 minutes ago, CatBoiler said:

 

I honestly have *no idea* how many butlers there are. 3 seems extremely low though for those numbers. 1 butler for 14 cabins? What if they all request breakfast delivery in the same half hour?

Maybe, on the Getaway in January in a Haven Spa cabin on deck 14 our butler had 16 cabins. 

[CatBoiler]

21 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

  

BTW...here are the two thumbnails for the Viva videos.

 

I agree. I normally like Ben & David but I thought these 2, especially the Civitavecchia, were extremely deceiving. 

 

I did appreciate their train explanations though. I don't think nearly enough cruise passengers utilize the European train system. The cruise line excursions tend to be a total rip off and often a huge waste of time. My cruise's FB group has been discussing how to get from Rome to the port and I can't believe how many people are paying cabs and busses hundreds of dollars when the train ride is an hour and costs less than $5!

 

Full disclosure, watching the Civitavecchia now and not completely done with it.

[CatBoiler]

3 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Maybe, on the Getaway in January in a Haven Spa cabin on deck 14 our butler had 16 cabins. 

 

That's crazy! Did they seem rushed every time you saw them?? Were all 16 cabins spa cabins so they were at least near each other??

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, CatBoiler said:

 

I mean, that's a whole other issue, the sharing of the Haven benefits. I read a thread on CC a month or so ago where the person was angry 2 of her family members were asked to leave the Haven bar because they weren't Haven sailors. She complained that the bar wasn't even busy, so why can't they stay! *eye roll*

People can still get away with "buying" free drinks for those without the bev package outside of the Haven. I assume people get away with ordering room service to their Haven cabin and getting food for visiting friends/family.

I don't know if it would make it worse or not. Someone trying to cheat the system punishes everyone else. If the butler knows there's only 2 people in the cabin, then they can deliver 2 drinks at a time? At some point you just say eff it and let it slide. I want my coffee included damn it!

 You can get all the coffee delivered that you want.  You can even get Starbucks Cappuccino.  Now if  you want liquor in your coffee, you can get a couple of shots from the bar and carry it back to  your cabin.  

 

Most Haven passengers are just a few steps from the Haven bar.  I just don't see this as a major inconvenience.

[Laszlo]

2 hours ago, CatBoiler said:

 

That's crazy! Did they seem rushed every time you saw them?? Were all 16 cabins spa cabins so they were at least near each other??

The cabins are pretty close to each other on deck 14. Never seem rushed, but the guy was always on the move. The cabin next to us had people who were.... I'll put it nicely..... very needy. We never saw them leave their cabin, and it seemed they had room service for every meal Lol

[Girr]

54 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

The cabins are pretty close to each other on deck 14. Never seem rushed, but the guy was always on the move. The cabin next to us had people who were.... I'll put it nicely..... very needy. We never saw them leave their cabin, and it seemed they had room service for every meal Lol

Several years back on the Star I sailed in a DOS on deck 14 where they have the family suites. Two families had book two family suites (think six passengers each per cabin) plus two interior cabins across the hall (four passengers in each). The “abuse” of the butler was horrendous.  These 20 people ran the poor man into the ground - I don’t think they ever ate a meal outside of their rooms. 

[zackarykeef]

TBH, they're last few videos have been annoying and extremely negative overall, whether re: NCL or another line. They may be trying to post videos to "warn" or give a head's up, but I just feel they've been leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

 

They also have become more deceiving with the title/preview pic, as many YouTube videos do nowadays. I feel like they're becoming more popular and adding click bait for views, which you can't blame them for, but...oh well 🤷‍♂️

[Sharon_and_TC]

On 10/2/2023 at 11:48 AM, CatBoiler said:

 

I agree. I normally like Ben & David but I thought these 2, especially the Civitavecchia, were extremely deceiving. 

 

 

I think part of the problem with "influencers" and people who make their living cruising and 'tubing about it seem to want to make BIG HEADLINES to be noticed.  I've watched many of Ben and David's reviews and videos - and as several have said - these two videos seemd particularly egregious in their headlines.

 

There are a couple of others doing it as well and unfortunately, they will just drop off my subscription list.  One subscriber dropping is not going to make a difference, but it's my one way to make a reaction to their posts.

 

[Liljo22]

1 hour ago, Sharon_and_TC said:

I think part of the problem with "influencers" and people who make their living cruising and 'tubing about it seem to want to make BIG HEADLINES to be noticed.  I've watched many of Ben and David's reviews and videos - and as several have said - these two videos seemd particularly egregious in their headlines.

 

There are a couple of others doing it as well and unfortunately, they will just drop off my subscription list.  One subscriber dropping is not going to make a difference, but it's my one way to make a reaction to their posts.

 

Influencers are finding that negativity get more clicks than positivity.  The other thing that is really getting to me is when they label the video as an "honest" review.  The belief is that a positive review by someone was paid for by the company.  

[yakcruiser]

ABC cruise lines abandons 50 people at dock and sails away!!! That sounds better than 50 people showed up late for ships stated onboard time and then departed at scheduled departure time.