The Secrets of the Haven VIP Experience in 2024 and beyond

[Sthrngary]

I have two OP-ED's on the NCL Haven.  The first done in 2019.  It was very popular however after two years, a request came to update it.  So it was updated in 2022.  Many things have happened since that update, important adds/deletions supporting pros/cons.  Years ago, I was very upset with cruising in general.  The ships were to crowded, the folks in the buffet lines were being rude as well as touching food with their fingers, it was close to impossible to find a lounge chair by the pool, Boarding or re-boarding could be a nightmare the the food in the main dining room was really getting poor.  This led me to start to be dismissive of cruising. 

 

Then I started to study the notion of a "Ship-Within-A-Ship" concept.  The question was, "Why would I pay three times the price, to be on the same ship, going to the same places?" Could that extra premium, make my experience that much better.  The answer was, YES.  Now I add, "YES, at the time!"  What that means is simple.  The folks that pay and stay in the NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat, and MSC Yacht Club usually love it the first couple of times.  Myself included.  Then something sometimes simple changes.  That disappoints those folks and yes myself also.  Add to that, the investment goes up because we, those loyal Haven Guest, wrote so many positive things about our experiences.  But now, we feel like the experience is somewhat lacking what it used to provide. Whether a lot or a little, something is lacking and it makes us feel uncomfortable.  

 

Yet those that try the Haven the first time, feel like we did.  "I have finally found the approach to cruising I can really enjoy."  See how that works, when it becomes old had, we tend to become critical.  I found this emotion at its highest point on the Crystal Cruises Brand.  We think we are brand loyal, those folks were a new level of brand loyal at the time.  If something chanced as simple as not putting a Crystal Branded Piece of Paper on the bottom a of trash can in the stateroom, the would debate it for weeks.  Yet new folks trying the brand, seemed to feel they found their perfect cruise line experience. 

 

Understanding the psychology around new vs. normal experiences, I feel we need to bring forth open comments from all those that recently cruised in the Haven.  Share with us the "Secrets" you have found so we can adjust our realistic expectations.  I will be happy to comment however, over my past few cruises and upcoming bookings, I have chosen two different brands for different reasons.  I am no longer the current authority on all things Haven. Now, I ask all of you, to help me see what I and other will gain now, a new time and place.  Your efforts will be appreciated.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Niffernay]

I can't wait to add my input after we cruise in January 2025. Until then, I'm looking forward to reading others' experiences! Great topic @Sthrngary.  

[zqvol]

IMO the comment applies to the rest of the ship too!

[SeaShark]

If I can share some insight from a different viewpoint...

 

30 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

Years ago, I was very upset with cruising in general.  The ships were to crowded, the folks in the buffet lines were being rude as well as touching food with their fingers, it was close to impossible to find a lounge chair by the pool, Boarding or re-boarding could be a nightmare the the food in the main dining room was really getting poor.  This led me to start to be dismissive of cruising. 

 

Reread these issues and note the commonality...people. All of your complaints are centered on people and their behavior. With the exception of the MDR food, none of this is really about cruising.

 

IMHO, I'm betting your best experience will come from ANY options where "people" are minimized. Despite "ship within a ship", you are still on a very crowded ship, and eventually you have to leave the enclave. 

 

Perhaps a more remote vacation experience might be better suited to getting you to your happy place.

 

31 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

Then something sometimes simple changes.  That disappoints those folks and yes myself also. 

 

31 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

But now, we feel like the experience is somewhat lacking what it used to provide. Whether a lot or a little, something is lacking and it makes us feel uncomfortable.  

 

I can help here as well. What you are describing above is "familiarity breeds contempt"...the idea that extensive knowledge of or close association with someone or something leads to a loss of respect for them or it. IOW, the "ship within a ship" concept isn't new and shiny anymore and thus it becomes easier to see the faults.  You can watch the other guests and see this in action. People will have the same Haven experience on the same cruise and react differently...the people sailing the Haven for the first time are overjoyed and in awe, however, Mr & Mrs Been-There-Done-That just don't react in quite the same way. And this isn't a Haven-thing...this affects everybody. Nothing is as good as it was the first time, back in the good-old-days, back when we enjoyed the experience and weren't yet trying to pick the nits.

 

It takes work and effort to maintain that enjoyment. Something very hard for most people to do. If you don't mind my saying so, I'll bet that even your first time in the Vibe was better than your most recent experience. It is pretty impressive that first time, but after a while...well, if you remember the Norwegian Viva we had a pretty lively crowd in the Vibe. A pretty good CC crowd as well...even if Bill and Mary kept moving things to the FB group. As I recall Gary, you spent much of your time in the Vibe in front of your open laptop...not that you weren't doing exactly what you wanted to do, but IMHO you miss out on (and thereby lessen) the Vibe experience by, well, focusing elsewhere. (and now you are realizing that we've sailed together 😉). Is it shot o'clock yet?

[9tee2Sea]

my first time in Haven and on a large ship ( Bliss) was earlier this year on a Panama Canal cruise ocean to ocean.  I did not stay in Haven proper ( aft with large balcony), so I really cant speak of Haven proper.

 The things I liked were:  

Having meals in the Haven Restaurant.  Much better starting the morning in such a relaxing atmosphere. Lunch I usually did the buffet, dinner was back in Haven or Specialty.

The Haven pool area was nice ( very boring), but the empty jacuzzi's were very nice.  The Haven Sundeck was a great surprise.  Pretty empty, and very big covered loungers that will hold  two.

Of course the best part of Haven is being escorted off/on ship in a very small groups, avoiding the throngs of people waiting to get off /on the ship. 

The snacks provided in the Haven Observation Lounge were nice.

If you need to make any pre-booked changes onboard, the concierge will be able to do it much faster than on your own.

The cabin was spectacular ( ours had two bathrooms, first time I ever saw that)

 

What I didn't care for:

The Haven bar was just not to my liking.  I felt it was boring. Spent most of the time at other bars, talking to folks. But it was a great place to meet my partner at  a pre-arainged time.

The Haven Restaurant food choices can get a bit boring, and very bland, but I managed to have some nice ceaser salads with salmon or chicken on top ( not offered).

In my opinion, not worth 3 times the amount as a regular balcony.

I always felt like I had to be quiet ( like in a library).  If I laughed or talked too loud, I did get a few looks. Seems like Haven people really want total quiet when relaxing by the Haven pool.

 

If I do another cruise where I don't get off the ship ( because that would be my 4th time doing the cruise). I MIGHT think of going Haven, but in my opinion, a regular balcony works for me.  Maybe a Club Balcony, but they seem to be under pool decks ( at least at the ships I have been looking at)

 

 

 

 

[Sthrngary]

34 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

If I can share some insight from a different viewpoint...

 

 

Reread these issues and note the commonality...people. All of your complaints are centered on people and their behavior. With the exception of the MDR food, none of this is really about cruising.

 

IMHO, I'm betting your best experience will come from ANY options where "people" are minimized. Despite "ship within a ship", you are still on a very crowded ship, and eventually you have to leave the enclave. 

 

Perhaps a more remote vacation experience might be better suited to getting you to your happy place.

 

 

 

I can help here as well. What you are describing above is "familiarity breeds contempt"...the idea that extensive knowledge of or close association with someone or something leads to a loss of respect for them or it. IOW, the "ship within a ship" concept isn't new and shiny anymore and thus it becomes easier to see the faults.  You can watch the other guests and see this in action. People will have the same Haven experience on the same cruise and react differently...the people sailing the Haven for the first time are overjoyed and in awe, however, Mr & Mrs Been-There-Done-That just don't react in quite the same way. And this isn't a Haven-thing...this affects everybody. Nothing is as good as it was the first time, back in the good-old-days, back when we enjoyed the experience and weren't yet trying to pick the nits.

 

It takes work and effort to maintain that enjoyment. Something very hard for most people to do. If you don't mind my saying so, I'll bet that even your first time in the Vibe was better than your most recent experience. It is pretty impressive that first time, but after a while...well, if you remember the Norwegian Viva we had a pretty lively crowd in the Vibe. A pretty good CC crowd as well...even if Bill and Mary kept moving things to the FB group. As I recall Gary, you spent much of your time in the Vibe in front of your open laptop...not that you weren't doing exactly what you wanted to do, but IMHO you miss out on (and thereby lessen) the Vibe experience by, well, focusing elsewhere. (and now you are realizing that we've sailed together 😉). Is it shot o'clock yet?

Thank you for your comments.  That time in the Vibe, I was alone.  I did my first and last solo cruise.  I was missing my family and figured, just blog.  I came back for the next cruise, with my wife who was in the slot tournament finals, In the Vibe.  We love the Vibe the same amount as I remembered it when we met.  

 

The purpose of this thread is to engage others, like yourself that have had more recent NCL Haven experiences to help other with the reality of today.  That includes helping me.  I want to go to Alaska.  I can go on Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Crystal Cruises, Explora Journey (when available), Celebrity or the NCL Haven.  As always, I will do a spreadsheet on all brands and compare all things. This and post on those brands blogs will help in making the selection.  

 

My motto with my Haven Posts is and will always be.  I will answer a question or provide an opinion if I have recently experienced it.  If I have not, the better information comes from those that have.  Glad you remember me, I remember that trip with great affection. Lot's of folks joined that cruise because the ship they were on, hit something and their cruise was cancelled.  Yet they found a way to make it all work.  That is what cruising is all about. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[SeaShark]

25 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

Thank you for your comments.  That time in the Vibe, I was alone.  I did my first and last solo cruise.  I was missing my family and figured, just blog.  I came back for the next cruise, with my wife who was in the slot tournament finals, In the Vibe.  We love the Vibe the same amount as I remembered it when we met.  

 

The purpose of this thread is to engage others, like yourself that have had more recent NCL Haven experiences to help other with the reality of today.  That includes helping me.  I want to go to Alaska.  I can go on Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Crystal Cruises, Explora Journey (when available), Celebrity or the NCL Haven.  As always, I will do a spreadsheet on all brands and compare all things. This and post on those brands blogs will help in making the selection.  

 

My motto with my Haven Posts is and will always be.  I will answer a question or provide an opinion if I have recently experienced it.  If I have not, the better information comes from those that have.  Glad you remember me, I remember that trip with great affection. Lot's of folks joined that cruise because the ship they were on, hit something and their cruise was cancelled.  Yet they found a way to make it all work.  That is what cruising is all about. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 We may be thinking of different cruises, AFAIR, you were not solo that cruise...but, as noted, the Vibe was fun as always.

 

[Sthrngary]

6 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 We may be thinking of different cruises, AFAIR, you were not solo that cruise...but, as noted, the Vibe was fun as always.

 

WOW, I think, key word thing that was on the Breakaway, out of New Orleans with my wife.  That was the Slot Finals for $100,000.00.  My wife lost in the first round.  We had a cabana in the Vibe which my lovely bride really appreciated.  Her line for that cruise was, "I won't come back on a NCL cruise without staying in the Vibe Beach Club."  Fun times, thank you for reminding me.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[zqvol]

42 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

Thank you for your comments.  That time in the Vibe, I was alone.  I did my first and last solo cruise.  I was missing my family and figured, just blog.  I came back for the next cruise, with my wife who was in the slot tournament finals, In the Vibe.  We love the Vibe the same amount as I remembered it when we met.  

 

The purpose of this thread is to engage others, like yourself that have had more recent NCL Haven experiences to help other with the reality of today.  That includes helping me.  I want to go to Alaska.  I can go on Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Crystal Cruises, Explora Journey (when available), Celebrity or the NCL Haven.  As always, I will do a spreadsheet on all brands and compare all things. This and post on those brands blogs will help in making the selection.  

 

My motto with my Haven Posts is and will always be.  I will answer a question or provide an opinion if I have recently experienced it.  If I have not, the better information comes from those that have.  Glad you remember me, I remember that trip with great affection. Lot's of folks joined that cruise because the ship they were on, hit something and their cruise was cancelled.  Yet they found a way to make it all work.  That is what cruising is all about. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

We have sailed SilverSea and Regent in AK. IMO you have to stay off the main stream lines and on luxury there if for no other reason than the super long port times. AK is about AK, not the ship. 

[omahabob]

5 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

...We had a cabana in the Vibe which my lovely bride really appreciated.  Her line for that cruise was, "I won't come back on a NCL cruise without staying in the Vibe Beach Club."...

Gary, I'm confused. How do you stay in the Vibe Beach Club? Did you sleep in the cabana? 😄

[Sthrngary]

1 minute ago, omahabob said:

Gary, I'm confused. How do you stay in the Vibe Beach Club? Did you sleep in the cabana? 😄

@omahabob LOL, now I don't know if you are actually asking for real so I will answer as if it is a real questions.  If this was only humor, based on how I wrote you my reply, just disregard. 

 

The Vibe Beach Club is a extra fee for a adult only sundeck.  I really love this place but only when I am not in the Haven which has its own Adult Sundeck.  In my humble opinion, the Vibe Beach Club is better because of the many crew members there and it has a bar.  I was on the Breakaway so for a few extra dollars, I reserved one of only a few cabana's.  My wife is an introvert and love the privacy.  I tipped the servers to never let her get thirsty.  

 

I saw the smiling emoji but thought I would answer the question anyway.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Go2SeaTheWorld]

1st: Our expectations for the Haven was simply to have more room to spread out, a bit more comfort since we both have back & hip issues. We could both do our stretching & PT exercises without being on top of one another. Other than that, we weren't really sure how much different it would be from our cruises on the Star & Pride of America. On those ships we had a mini suite with balcony & and an aft-facing suite (no haven). But so far, our Haven stays have far exceeded expectations, such as they were. I apologize in advance for my lengthy post, but it said share your Haven experience & thoughts. So 🤷🏼‍♀️...

 

Our 3rd cruise, 1st in Haven, was on the Bliss Alaska cruise exactly 1 yr ago. Though there was a Butler with the suite on the POA, we spent most of our time off the ship & needed very little. Had it not been for Sthrngary's help posts we wouldn't have any idea of the types of things to request in the Haven staterooms. Mostly it was simply to have the pitchers of iced water 2X a day & the types of Nespresso coffee pods we preferred. We're easy. Our Butler (sorry, I have become awful at remembering names) would make suggestions on a daily basis, which were always perfect. We knew he was covering at least 8 other rooms, but he still made us feel like we were in his special care.

We LOVED the Observation Lounge, the food offerings & the coffee machine. Best cappuccino I had on the ship.  It was a wonderful place to read, relax after excursions, most of which were rainy & very chilly throughout the cruise. I concur that the Bliss Haven Bar was 'boring'. Very few people hung out there that week. On our cruise, there were a lot of large groups & family travel parties that occupied all the seating in the bars across the ship which was a bit disheartening, since it made it more challenging to interact with other passengers. But still thoroughly enjoyed the ship & the "ship within a ship" experience.

 

However, our Nov.'23 11 day on Epic out of Athens to Rome (originally scheduled for Haifa, but itinerary was reworked when the war broke out) was an entirely different Haven experience, in the best way. We immediately connected with a couple as we were waiting in the Lounge for the dining room to open for lunch upon boarding. Though there were a few small family groups in the Haven (we were sailing over Thanksgiving),the rest of the Haven "residents" composed of couples. The Lounge was lively every evening & we formed some great travel friendships. The staff was much more engaged with the passengers & while remaining professional, seemed to have a lot of fun with us! The rest of the ship was very crowded & again, most entertainment & drinking venues were filled. So it was great to have the fun crowd in the Haven Lounge this time. It was also nice to not have to book tickets for the theater in the evenings, with the escort by the Concierge as they did on the Bliss, too.

 Most meals were in the Haven dining room (did get a bit repetitive) with only real negative note being very fatty, tasteless prime rib for hubs on the 9th evening.  We used our 2 FAS specialty dinners, but also ate in Manhattan DR 2 evenings after having had a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner there.  A CC member had asked prior to cruise who would be interested in sharing Thanksgiving meal together and there were 10 of us. 3 of our fellow diners were from the UK & had a lot of questions about holiday traditions & regional cuisine for the rest of us. 

THIS kind of happening is why hubs & I really enjoy cruising & why I love having found this CC forum as a conduit to make such interactions possible. 

Our stewards, butlers & concierge staffs (and that still feels weird just saying Our staff) have been exceptional both times. We were both raised in middle class (at the time) households so such luxury was awkward at 1st. Not anymore, though. 😉 Fortunately, in retirement, we are comfortable enough to be able to continue to book the Haven for as long as we still enjoy it.  Our 3rd time(only 4th cruise ever) is coming up in October on the Encore, a 21

day Seattle to Miami Panama Canal trip. Cannot wait.

[Two Wheels Only]

10 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

The folks that pay and stay in the NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat, and MSC Yacht Club usually love it the first couple of times.  Myself included.

 

Another option to compare/contrast would be the Princess Sanctuary Collection.....

 

As the name suggests, guests reserving in the Sanctuary Collection enjoy exclusive access to the ship’s top deck retreat* area, along with a host of additional and high-end amenities designed to enhance their voyage. These indulgences include exclusive private dining and relaxation areas, a luxurious stateroom experience, as well as the Princess Premier bundle to round out the all-inclusive allure of the Sanctuary experience. Princess Premier offerings include: 

 

Premier Beverage Package (covering drinks up to $20, champagne by the glass, specialty coffees, smoothies and bottled water, as well as 25 percent off bottles of wine)

 

Unlimited MedallionNet 2.0 with Fleetwide Starlink and 5G for up to 4 devices

 

Daily crew appreciation (e.g., gratuities)

 

Two nights of specialty dining

 

Unlimited prix fixe meals at any casual dining location

 

Free OceanNow Delivery Service Activation

 

Complimentary Room Service

 

"Green Lane" Express Boarding (Free Medallion device delivery included)

 

Reserved seating in the Princess Theater

 

Unlimited boutique fitness classes per voyage (e.g., Pure Barre, YogaSix, StretchLab)

 

Unlimited premium crafted desserts

 

Unlimited premium fresh juices

 

Unlimited Digital Photo package / Princess Prizes

 

* - They actually used the word "retreat" 😄

Edited yesterday at 12:33 AM by Two Wheels Only

[havoc315]

I feel like part of the issue is the cost cutting and cheapening of the mainstream cruise experience. 
 

When I first tried the Haven about 13 years ago, regular cruising was semi-luxury while the Haven was a step above. The quality of service, food, entertainment was great even without payment for the Haven.

 

To broaden the market and increase profits, spectacle and booze has replaced quality for the regular cabins. Cheaper food, goodbye lobster nights.  Smaller entertainment cast, fewer shows, replaced by pay to play game shows.  No more turndown service. 
 

And Haven got reduced too… I saw recently it appears Haven replaced steak on the lunch menu with a pork chop. To some degree, the Haven is becoming what you used to get for a regular price. (Though much bigger cabin).  
 

And of course, the entertainment reductions hurt Haven guests just as much as the non-Haven. 
In fact, the advantage of ship within a ship is that you can also enjoy the big ship entertainment. With reduced entertainment, there becomes less reason to even leave the Haven. 
 

and if you have no reason to leave the Haven, may as well go to the smaller luxury lines. 

 

 

 

[omahabob]

21 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

...If this was only humor, based on how I wrote you my reply, just disregard...

Just humor. But I never disregard anything you say.

[RocketMan275]

18 hours ago, havoc315 said:

And of course, the entertainment reductions hurt Haven guests just as much as the non-Haven. 
In fact, the advantage of ship within a ship is that you can also enjoy the big ship entertainment. With reduced entertainment, there becomes less reason to even leave the Haven. 
 

and if you have no reason to leave the Haven, may as well go to the smaller luxury lines. 

 

 

 

Couldn't care less about the entertainment and see no reason to go with the smaller luxury lines which usually don't offer the cruises I'm interested in.  

[havoc315]

57 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Couldn't care less about the entertainment and see no reason to go with the smaller luxury lines which usually don't offer the cruises I'm interested in.  

Just curious: assuming the itinerary was the same, why would you pick the Haven over the smaller luxury lines?

 

I haven’t had trouble finding the same itineraries, though often with fewer choices for departure dates. 

[Go2SeaTheWorld]

1 minute ago, havoc315 said:

Just curious: assuming the itinerary was the same, why would you pick the Haven over the smaller luxury lines?

 

I haven’t had trouble finding the same itineraries, though often with fewer choices for departure dates. 

We have already, in 4 cruises, become Platinum Latitude members, have had 2 of the cruises discounted 10% & are pretty familiar with how things go. For us, it's more of a comfort due to familiarity & a hubs who lives by the adage "Why change?"

[RocketMan275]

14 minutes ago, havoc315 said:

Just curious: assuming the itinerary was the same, why would you pick the Haven over the smaller luxury lines?

 

I haven’t had trouble finding the same itineraries, though often with fewer choices for departure dates. 

We are limited to Caribbean cruises of seven days or less. 

Only Florida or NOLA departures. 

Hard to find smaller luxury lines with those restrictions. 

Most importantly, NCL and Haven satisfy our requirements.  

 

Edited 20 hours ago by RocketMan275

[Sthrngary]

11 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

We are limited to Caribbean cruises of seven days or less. 

Only Florida or NOLA departures. 

Hard to find smaller luxury lines with those restrictions. 

Most importantly, NCL and Haven satisfy our requirements.  

 

@RocketMan275 Thank you for clarifying your answer.  The Haven is such a great option for the cruises you go on.  I could not agree with you more on that.  On Asia, Europe, and other far off places; the Haven is an option but the entire focus is different.  Other lines provide a different cruising experience.  Not better or worse, just different. 

 

Example was a recent cruise for 10 days to the Mediterranean.  I was so used to the Caribbean which for me is simply chilling every day.  In the Mediterranean, you are walking a lot more.  Many different things to see.  When I would get back to the ship, it was shower, dinner, drink (did I say drink?) and mostly bed.  The benefit of these luxury smaller ships is more ports without tendering, more time at most but not all ports, and everyone when they leave their stateroom are treated the same.  

 

Now, If I were to go to Alaska, I would 100% choose the Haven.  The Bliss, Encore or Joy.  The layout of the ship is perfectly suited for Alaska.  

 

The real key is the options we have as cruisers.  Whether it is the NCL Haven, Luxury/Ultra-Luxury, or other ships-within-a-ship concept.  The world is at our feet.  Nice to have that opportunity.  It has been a long time coming.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I agree with a lot of what you saying, we have cruised Haven about 14 times mostly in the Haven proper but our last cruise in April on the Joy decided purposely to book Haven on Deck 14 to see if we would miss not being in the Haven. Even though coming up in November we will be on deck 18 on the Bliss. But have decided that in many cruises the Haven is almost 5 times the price of a Club Balcony in many sailings. For many years I thought the price difference was well worth it to be in the Haven, it had only been 2 to 2.5 times the price of the Club Balcony. But with the reduction of service and quality of food in Haven Restaurant it definitely is not worth that large of a difference. Our stay in category HJ on the Joy was actually quite nice and I did not miss being in a Courtyard Haven suite even a little bit. We have booked Bliss and Encore for February TA and Panama Canal in 2026 on Encore and have decided to go with the Club Balcony. Being Sapphire and not that far away from Diamond the perks fill in any extras we may want.

I feel NCL has out priced themselves with Haven while cutting back on what was special about it.

[RocketMan275]

51 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@RocketMan275 Thank you for clarifying your answer.  The Haven is such a great option for the cruises you go on.  I could not agree with you more on that.  On Asia, Europe, and other far off places; the Haven is an option but the entire focus is different.  Other lines provide a different cruising experience.  Not better or worse, just different. 

 

Example was a recent cruise for 10 days to the Mediterranean.  I was so used to the Caribbean which for me is simply chilling every day.  In the Mediterranean, you are walking a lot more.  Many different things to see.  When I would get back to the ship, it was shower, dinner, drink (did I say drink?) and mostly bed.  The benefit of these luxury smaller ships is more ports without tendering, more time at most but not all ports, and everyone when they leave their stateroom are treated the same.  

 

Now, If I were to go to Alaska, I would 100% choose the Haven.  The Bliss, Encore or Joy.  The layout of the ship is perfectly suited for Alaska.  

 

The real key is the options we have as cruisers.  Whether it is the NCL Haven, Luxury/Ultra-Luxury, or other ships-within-a-ship concept.  The world is at our feet.  Nice to have that opportunity.  It has been a long time coming.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Europe and Asis are simply out of the picture for our cruises.  We have two standard poodles which we do not wish to kennel for the amount of time that would take.  Plus, wife and I have flown so many times we simply do not want to minimize flying.  We will consider Miami since we can get direct non-stop flights.  We don't care about entertainment.  We seldom go to movies and certainly won't go to concerts. To be honest, a cruise is something we do as a break.  We just happy to be on the ship.

 

We are considering a trip to Alaska.  We did that in 2019 and were sick most of the time.  It was late 2019, supposedly too early for COVID but we had all the symptoms.  The last four days were miserable.  The trip back to Alabama was worse.  Since we missed so much, we might do Alaska again.  

 

We're at the point were we can see our cruising experiences coming to an end.  We have two cruises booked out of Miami.  Encore in 2025 and Aqua in 2026.  One more and I'll be eighty.  

[GALSews]

Gary, we did a cruise on the Jewel last month to Alaska. If I recall you prefer the bigger ships. We chose the Jewel because she had more time in port. Also, I wanted to see Butchart Gardens in Victoria. You only have 4 hours in Victoria on the Encore and it is at night. By flying in 2 nights early we were able to visit Victoria during the day. 

 

As the Jewel does not have a Haven restaurant, we went with an aft suite and saved a little while still having access to the concierge, butler and the exact same breakfast and lunches as Haven passengers. We didn't have the Haven courtyard, but we added the Thermal Spa which I wasn't thrilled with as the common area for men and women is small. 

 

Getting to see both Hubbard and Glacier Bays was very special.

 

As the Jewel is a one-way cruise in Alaska, you do land up with potentially needing two one-way trips to get home unless you opt for a B2B. 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

While there are people willing to pay the extra $$$ for the Haven experience, NCL is more than happy to oblige.

 

While we had sailed in suites on small ships, the Haven on the Epic was the first time we dipped our toes into a real Haven experience. Multi-story lounge with quite places to sit and read. The Posh Club. Private gym. Steam room. Sauna. The Haven Restaurant was big and spacious with a very large outdoors dining space. A courtyard with lots of loungers. Magic.

 

Then we sailed in the Haven on the Breakaway. A tiny restaurant that spilled over into the courtyard replacing loungers with tables around the pool for overflow. Your food would smell and taste like chlorine. Placing the smoking section at the front of the ship on the tiny sundeck let smoke flow back on everyone.  Shock and dismay. 

 

We continued our Haven adventures on the BA+ ships. First the Escape. Better. Then the Encore with our first experience with the expansive Horizon's lounge. Recovery. 

 

Then the Joy after they reclassified many of the concierge suites to Haven rooms,,, now cramming 100 staterooms and a lot more people in a space designed for 80 staterooms. $$$ starting to show it's ugly colors.

 

Then a Haven on the Viva. The lounge, bar, and restaurant were larger. A dedicated bar on the pool deck. But with 100 staterooms, it seemed too busy. The tiny Haven elevators always too crowded and slow. The concierge desk was always overflowing with people making requests. A once excellent concierge, David Contreras, always seemed too busy with his laptop that he never really got to know his guests. And our overworked butler seemed to fade into a ghost after the first few days of our cruise. $$$ making the Haven experience impersonal.

 

The Haven experience is all driven by excellent Concierge. The best concierge in NCL used to be Adrian Bica. He took many new ships out of the yard and established the standard for the Haven on those ships. His falling out with NCL left a big void. One of his mentees, Lyster Diaz, has proven to be another outstanding Concierge, taking the time to engage with his guests. Lyster has been spending time on the Encore and Prima recently. 

[Ticatraveler]

I agree with @Sthrngary. A new cruiser will try NCL Haven and love the experience, while the experienced Haven cruiser wonders how many more changes will take place before the product is unrecognizable. 

We enjoy the Haven as a space without crowds and the perks associated with it. But as the price skyrockets and the quality declines we have started to look elsewhere. We have a cruise booked on the Viva in 2025. We are going with friends and I'm sure it will be enjoyable.

In May 2024 we cruised on the Prima Iceland to Southampton.  We had a wonderful butler and a fantastic room steward and loved the two bedroom suite. 

 Everyone's experience is different. We want to keep loving NCL but with every cruise we find more and more changes that don't justify the higher prices. 

Future cruisers new to NCL should give the Haven a try. It's a beautiful area with some special touches. You will not miss what you don't know.