NCL Pearl Haven, Love? Hate?

[Fogfog]

Best to appreciate?

and disappointments of ?

in Haven on the Pearl please...and thank you. 

 

Looking at milestone in life sailing for sailing and trying to decide about booking

 

Hoping our CCer friends can help us plan and understand expectations

 

Meals for breakfast/lunch 

Room service in suite dining

Menus

Butler vs Concierge roles

Embarkation expectations in NY

Debarkation

Planning flights

Land excursions

Does the ship offer duplicate bridge (are we showing our age?), lectures?, what do they offer on long sailing sea days?

Does the ship change time daily? (losing/hour or gain an hour a day etc?) 

 

We really appreciate everyone who makes a sailing great...and so understand staff serves and are Not our servants.

 

Please let us know about laundry/pressing as well for long sails

 

How do we best appreciate what is offered and the people who staff the Pearl.

 

Please let us hear your thoughts and experiences

 

Thank you so much.

 

 

[FLAHAM]

In my experience, NCL has offered duplicate lessons and games (with a director) only on transatlantic cruises.

 

The pool in the small haven is a swim-against-the-current endless lap exercise pool.  It is about the only place in the fleet to get in a real swim.

[Fogfog]

8 hours ago, FLAHAM said:

In my experience, NCL has offered duplicate lessons and games (with a director) only on transatlantic cruises.

 

The pool in the small haven is a swim-against-the-current endless lap exercise pool.  It is about the only place in the fleet to get in a real swim.

TYVM

It is a TA so hopefully there is some duplicate on sea days

[BirdTravels]

Personally, we prefer to stay in a regular suite and not the Haven. The tiny Haven doesn’t get you much and you get many of the perks in a suite for less money. 
 

In general, NCL switches to local time. 
 

Breakfast and Lunch is the same for Haven and Suites guests. Great complimentary dining. Good, non-changing menu. No need to eat anywhere else. 
 

We sometimes have our butler bring breakfast on busy port days. They will serve you breakfast around the time requested on a white tablecloth. 
 

You get butler and concierge service in a suite or the Haven. Always great service. Don’t forget that NCL asks that you tip them separately. 
 

The is a separate security line for Haven guests. haven check in is about 3/4 down the terminal with a separate waiting area. 
 

Escorted disembarkation is offered in some ports and at the end of the cruise. 
 

Bottom line is that it is a mini Haven with a mini courtyard and not much else for a lot more money. It is not the grand lounges, bars, and forward facing observation decks like on big ships. 

[Fogfog]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Personally, we prefer to stay in a regular suite and not the Haven. The tiny Haven doesn’t get you much and you get many of the perks in a suite for less money. 
 

In general, NCL switches to local time. 
 

Breakfast and Lunch is the same for Haven and Suites guests. Great complimentary dining. Good, non-changing menu. No need to eat anywhere else. 
 

We sometimes have our butler bring breakfast on busy port days. They will serve you breakfast around the time requested on a white tablecloth. 
 

You get butler and concierge service in a suite or the Haven. Always great service. Don’t forget that NCL asks that you tip them separately. 
 

The is a separate security line for Haven guests. haven check in is about 3/4 down the terminal with a separate waiting area. 
 

Escorted disembarkation is offered in some ports and at the end of the cruise. 
 

Bottom line is that it is a mini Haven with a mini courtyard and not much else for a lot more money. It is not the grand lounges, bars, and forward facing observation decks like on big ships. 

TYVM for this. We booked last night and so are committed 

Where do Haven pax eat dinner? And does concierge make those reservations? I am assuming it is not a MDR experience and same menu for this kind of $

We are used to sailing MSC YC which is ship within a ship, private bar/pool/restaurant etc. 

We expected this to be similar.

 

[Sailing12Away]

All of the Jewel class ships are not a 'full' Haven experience. Not to say they are bad in any way, but for us, we have a different price point we're willing to pay for a Jewel class Haven room vs a Breakaway Plus class ship Haven experience.

 

Breakfast & lunch you have a dedicated restaurant. But no difference between your Haven room and a non-Haven suite room. They both get this same perk.

 

For dinner - you are on your own. There is no dedicated restaurant for you. So you either have to go to the MDR, buffet, O'Sheehans, the noodle place whose name I can't remember, or use a specialty dining credit (or pay out of pocket). So already, compared to the bigger ships you're missing out on a perk. 

 

If you are having trouble booking dining reservations for the specialty places on your own now, the pre-cruise concierge can help make reservations for you. When you are on board, they can help you again if you need to shuffle things around based on show times and such.

 

But again, compared to the bigger ships, on the Pearl there is no dedicated concierge desk. They usually set up on deck 13 at the check-in desk for Moderno/Cagneys. So depending on what you needed to discuss with them, it won't be a private conversation and there's no place for you to sit and have a lengthy chat. Bigger ships have a dedicated concierge desk. 

 

NCL has a full ship within a ship - but just not on those jewel class ships. You have a private pool and sundeck that is exclusive to you - but that is it. Your dedicated restaurants for breakfast and lunch are outside of the Haven. There is no private bar. There is no private lounge. 

 

Not sure if you're already past final payment, but you can look into 'downgrading' to a non-Haven suite. You'll still get many of the same perks, but at a much more appropriate price point. Haven on the Pearl is not the same experience as on the Joy for example, so not worthy of the same price tag (to us at least).

[Sailing12Away]

I just checked your sailing, the itinerary looks lovely. NCL is really funny sometimes with their pricing. Haven 2br is cheaper than the non-Haven 2br suite. Go figure.

 

You've got a few months to learn more about the Pearl so your expectations are correct going in. I'm sure you'll still have a lovely trip, but at least it's a lesson learned that the Haven experience is not the same on all ships. The newer ships tend to give you more bang for your buck.

 

[Fogfog]

27 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

I just checked your sailing, the itinerary looks lovely. NCL is really funny sometimes with their pricing. Haven 2br is cheaper than the non-Haven 2br suite. Go figure.

 

You've got a few months to learn more about the Pearl so your expectations are correct going in. I'm sure you'll still have a lovely trip, but at least it's a lesson learned that the Haven experience is not the same on all ships. The newer ships tend to give you more bang for your buck.

 

We booked a 2 br Fam villa-- though its NOT as 2 BR-y as some other ships that truly have a small second br...though looks nice and spacious.

 

We paid in full last night about 6pm and in 12 hours are already disappointed that what we thought we'd be getting --and what we get are not nearly the same.

 

We hate the MDR experience on other lines and our only NCL experiences were short sails so that MDR experience wasn't bad. It was just avg and we limited our expectations based on the ship and short sail....

The steak place on the Sun was a disaster-- loud and terrible food.

On another sailing we ate in the one French specialty restaurant and had an excellent meal. So go figure.

 

Had not even thought about "shows" as on MSC the YC has its own special seating with no reserv needed..and butlers watchover that section so only YC sit there. Same for Celebrity and suite class-- show seating is protected.

 

 

Edited January 15 by Fogfog

[Nilbog]

On the Pearl (and the rest of the Jewel class ships) there is a reserved seating area for Haven/Suite guests for the shows that is watched by the butler/concierge staff.

[Sailing12Away]

2 of the specialty restaurants on the Pearl are flat rate. So if you were truly worried about meal quality in the MDR those are 2 inexpensive add-on options. 

 

Not sure how long ago your last NCL trip was, but quality changes with each trip. So if you didn't like the meals on one trip, don't immediately discredit a restaurant on the future trip without giving it a try. You can peek at the menus now to get an idea of what might be calling out to you to figure out if it's better to pay as you go, or add on extra dining credits now (slightly better pricing to do it now ahead of the game).

 

Here's your specialty dining options on the Pearl - we've eaten at them all and they've all been fine for us. https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/pearl/whats-on-board/specialty-dining

[havoc315]

I love the Jewel class Haven. Whether it's worth the upgrade price over a non-Haven suite depends on the price differential.

 

I know it lacks many of the amenities of the larger ships, no Haven restaurant for dinner, no exclusive Haven Bar/Lounge.

But it has something very valuable lacking on the larger ships:  Exclusivity. 

On the larger ships, the Haven may indeed be a "ship within a ship."  But it can also be a "crowded ship within an even more crowded ship."

In the Jewel class, only about 60 people have access to the Haven, so it is almost never crowded. Truly a VIP private space. Full time access to a pool deck right outside your suite, that it almost never crowded, and that is even covered in bad weather.  (Had a pretty bad weather cruise one time, too much rain for most guests to swim or hot tube... not a problem for Haven guests).  

While no dedicated lounge, the Haven itself is a comfortable space to bring a cocktail, have a butler set up a meal.

 

I know a lot of people are disappointed that there is no fulltime upgraded restaurant for Haven guests to have dinner.  Egads, you're treated like a regular cruise guest for dinner.  But if you can afford the Haven, you can certainly afford the NCL Specialty restaurants. (And on most bookings, suite guests get some included specialty dinners).   It's not as if you're relegated to the buffet for dinner. 

[Sailing12Away]

38 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

I know a lot of people are disappointed that there is no fulltime upgraded restaurant for Haven guests to have dinner.  Egads, you're treated like a regular cruise guest for dinner.  But if you can afford the Haven, you can certainly afford the NCL Specialty restaurants. (And on most bookings, suite guests get some included specialty dinners).   It's not as if you're relegated to the buffet for dinner. 

Suite guests do not get specialty dinners for free. The majority of NCL guests choose the free at sea promo which includes a few dinners, but that has nothing to do with the cabin booked.

 

I have never seen people eating meals out by the courtyard pool area. I would never want to sit out there and eat my filet while someone is swimming right next to me. That's just.... odd. Maybe a quick lunch bite from the snack menu, but not dinner. Have also never felt the Haven areas to be crowded on the bigger ships, so I guess it all depends on your particular sailing.

[havoc315]

6 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Suite guests do not get specialty dinners for free. The majority of NCL guests choose the free at sea promo which includes a few dinners, but that has nothing to do with the cabin booked.

 

I have never seen people eating meals out by the courtyard pool area. I would never want to sit out there and eat my filet while someone is swimming right next to me. That's just.... odd. Maybe a quick lunch bite from the snack menu, but not dinner. Have also never felt the Haven areas to be crowded on the bigger ships, so I guess it all depends on your particular sailing.

 

At various times, Suite guests got all of the promo offers (specialty dining, unlimited bar, etc, while non-Suite guests had to pick one. Not sure how it's currently working.

 

We have done meals in the Haven. Not a white table cloth dinner. But casual meals, absolutely. And the Haven is spacious enough that you're not right up against the pool. 

 

An example of the crowding in the larger Haven ships:

 

 

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, havoc315 said:

I know a lot of people are disappointed that there is no fulltime upgraded restaurant for Haven guests to have dinner.  Egads, you're treated like a regular cruise guest for dinner.  But if you can afford the Haven, you can certainly afford the NCL Specialty restaurants. (And on most bookings, suite guests get some included specialty dinners).   It's not as if you're relegated to the buffet for dinner. 

The Haven Restaurant is a restaurant that can be compared to a decent land-based restaurant. The NCL specialty restaurants are comparable to your average, middle of the road chain restaurant. Nothing wrong with them, but I would never pay a la carte prices for Olive Garden and Texas Roadhouse.  And I would much prefer the Haven Restaurant to purchasing a full cruise worth of specialty dining upgraded meals.

 

I've never felt crowded in the Haven on Getaway (Easter break out of NYC and New Year's cruise out of NYC), Joy (March break weeks), and Pr1ma. Pr1ma did come closest to feeling crowded as almost all seats in the lounge were taken during the day, but it was a Transatlantic during Thanksgiving so a lot of family groups.  

 

It's possible we will someday sail a Jewel class ship, in the Haven, but my preference are absolutely the larger ships. I am pretty sure we'll have many meals in the main dining room as our (limited) experience in the main dining rooms onboard NCL ships has been good. In some cases better than specialty dining. 

[European_CruiseGirl]

For a milestone sailing I would change to Silversea, Seabourn, RSSC or similar. Their entry level suites (= cabins) would provide a more luxurious experience than NCL Haven on the Pearl. 
 

Don’t get me wrong: the Pearl is lovely and it is a nice experience but I get the feeling that you op are looking for something luxurious and really special and you simply won’t find it on NCL Pearl Haven. Yes the prices can seem steep for those ultra luxury cruiselines but if you factor in what they include (for example RSSC even includes tips/service charges and shorex in their prices) then it isn't that expensive anymore. And as already mentioned you could book entry level at any of those cruiselines and get a better (= more luxurious) product than Pearl Haven. 

Edited January 16 by European_CruiseGirl

[havoc315]

47 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

The Haven Restaurant is a restaurant that can be compared to a decent land-based restaurant. The NCL specialty restaurants are comparable to your average, middle of the road chain restaurant. Nothing wrong with them, but I would never pay a la carte prices for Olive Garden and Texas Roadhouse. 

 

You're really understating the quality of the specialty restaurants. I agree they aren't 5-stars, but Cagney's and Le Bistro are also not Olive Garden. Even La Cucina is a good couple steps better than the Olive Garden.

 

On the other hand, I definitely find the MDR to be Applebee's, Olive Garden type quality.  

[cruiseny4life]

10 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

 

You're really understating the quality of the specialty restaurants. I agree they aren't 5-stars, but Cagney's and Le Bistro are also not Olive Garden. Even La Cucina is a good couple steps better than the Olive Garden.

 

On the other hand, I definitely find the MDR to be Applebee's, Olive Garden type quality.  

I can't say that I agree with you on this point.