Prima class - Haven

[CruisingSince1982]

I admit, I haven't paid much attention to the Prima class ships, mainly because of the complaints with the Haven being too crowded, Haven staff, especially the butlers, being overworked and stretched thin, and service not being as good as the other ships. I am just wondering if those experiences have improved any? I am so hesitant to book this class because of the complaints. 

 

[CruisingSince1982]

No one has sailed the Haven recently on Prima or Viva? 

[DorothyB]

Not yet - ask me in February 🙂

[Kernteam]

We sailed on the Prima for 11 days this past March. We loved everything about our Haven experience. Admittedly we do not use the butler much, but the restaurant staff and the bar staff were the best we have ever had. We absolutely loved the pool at the back of the ship, and found it to be a much more social environment than other Haven pools. We met so many nice people, and would sail a Prima class ship again in a heartbeat. Of all the folks we met, we really didn't hear any major complaints, and the only complaints were about availability of the butlers, but nobody felt that it negatively impacted their time.

 

We are going on the Breakaway in January and we have been on that class ship before in the Haven and I know the pool area will not be the same, but we will love it as it is.

[CruisingSince1982]

13 minutes ago, Kernteam said:

We sailed on the Prima for 11 days this past March. We loved everything about our Haven experience. Admittedly we do not use the butler much, but the restaurant staff and the bar staff were the best we have ever had. We absolutely loved the pool at the back of the ship, and found it to be a much more social environment than other Haven pools. We met so many nice people, and would sail a Prima class ship again in a heartbeat. Of all the folks we met, we really didn't hear any major complaints, and the only complaints were about availability of the butlers, but nobody felt that it negatively impacted their time.

 

We are going on the Breakaway in January and we have been on that class ship before in the Haven and I know the pool area will not be the same, but we will love it as it is.

We aren't big butler people. My main concern was not having sun loungers, or enough restaurant space. Thanks for your review!! 

[Kernteam]

2 minutes ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

We aren't big butler people. My main concern was not having sun loungers, or enough restaurant space. Thanks for your review!! 

We never had a problem getting a lounger around the pool, and the deck above with the hot tubs was empty all the time with plenty of loungers. If someone got up to leave the area, the guys around the pool were putting down fresh towels for the next guests.

 

We never had to wait for a table, loved the option of eating outside for breakfast and lunch, and one evening we were the only couple in the smaller dinning area to the left of the main Haven dinning.

 

Best cruise we have ever taken.

[df5250]

I sailed in the Haven on the Prima last December. I loved it. The pool area in the aft of the ship is amazing. I agree with previous comments that it seems more social. I never had a problem finding a lounger. The bar area could get crowded. There didn’t seem to be any issues with restaurant seating. I sit outside to eat as often as possible. There were very few people eating outside. The downfall of the aft location IMO is having to traipse through the ship to get off and on at ports. There is no straight shot down to deck 4 or back up to higher decks like in the havens that are located forward. A minor inconvenience for the benefit of being Aft!! I loved having our own elevator too! I would definitely sail haven in Prima class again!!

[complawyer]

we're booked in  the prima haven sept 26 thru oct 6........ to be continued (if you all can wait)

[david_sobe]

I read and watch lots of cruise reviews.  Where are people saying the Prima class is crowded?  I do read the Joy Haven is crowded.  Someone posted a video of the Joy's Haven and it looked like they were giving stuff away for free because it was packed.   But I never heard the Prima class Haven area was crowded. 

[CruisingSince1982]

13 hours ago, Kernteam said:

We never had a problem getting a lounger around the pool, and the deck above with the hot tubs was empty all the time with plenty of loungers. If someone got up to leave the area, the guys around the pool were putting down fresh towels for the next guests.

 

We never had to wait for a table, loved the option of eating outside for breakfast and lunch, and one evening we were the only couple in the smaller dinning area to the left of the main Haven dinning.

 

Best cruise we have ever taken.

Perfect, thank you. We booked the Aqua. Looking forward to it! 

[CruisingSince1982]

33 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

I read and watch lots of cruise reviews.  Where are people saying the Prima class is crowded?  I do read the Joy Haven is crowded.  Someone posted a video of the Joy's Haven and it looked like they were giving stuff away for free because it was packed.   But I never heard the Prima class Haven area was crowded. 

The social media platform that is not allowed to be mentioned here. 

[CruisingSince1982]

Did the Concierge escort you off the ship in ports, and also to the main theater show, like they do on the other ships? 

[CruisingSince1982]

11 hours ago, df5250 said:

 The downfall of the aft location IMO is having to traipse through the ship to get off and on at ports. There is no straight shot down to deck 4 or back up to higher decks like in the havens that are located forward. 

 

Were you escorted off by the concierge staff in each port? We have always been escorted off. Not sure if that changed because the Haven is aft now?

[cruiseny4life]

We sailed Pr1ma in November. It was a Transatlantic and while we enjoyed being outside, many folx did not. Despite this, many of the loungers were taken on the sunny afternoons when the temps were in the 70's. We never had an issue finding a lounge chair and enjoyed the hot tub. The sundeck servers were always around and I enjoyed the second bar. It alleviated long waits as anyone outside could just go to that bar instead of traipsing inside in wet bathing suits. Much better experience than Joy or Getaway! 

 

Since we booked NCL excursions that met in the theatre I cannot tell you about concierge staff taking Haven guests to the gangway. We did NOT find a Haven line upon our return to the ship in Cartagena or Ponta Delgada. We just waited in the normal line to be welcomed back onboard. We just found our way to the aft of the ship and the private Haven elevators to get back to our room. 

 

The bar was never crowded for long. I am somewhat of a bar fly, though I don't talk to people unless they start a conversation with me. From what I observed, around dinner time, groups will take up the chairs in the lounge after getting a drink from the bar (or the bar server that goes through the lounge asking for drink orders). The seats themselves never filled up except a couple occassions. Again, only around dinner time, except the last evening. The last night, many of us went to say goodbye to the servers (disembarkation day was my only day with a hangover). 

 

I think you'll find Pr1ma's Haven to be a solid choice. The restaurant is good (weird policies, sometimes), but not as good as other Haven restaurants I've experienced. The servers are wonderful and you if you hit it off with one or two servers, you can request to be sat with them. That's what we did and had great service the rest of the cruise! 

 

Our butler, Jefferson, was the best butler we've ever had in the Haven! The concierge, Stefan, was delightful and helped us with a couple of special requests (nothing crazy, but nothing I'll discuss publicly). Really, really great service.

 

@Goldenknight, do you have anything to add? We were on the same cruise, though didn't know each other until lunch on one of the last day's of the cruise.

[CruisingSince1982]

28 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

We sailed Pr1ma in November. It was a Transatlantic and while we enjoyed being outside, many folx did not. Despite this, many of the loungers were taken on the sunny afternoons when the temps were in the 70's. We never had an issue finding a lounge chair and enjoyed the hot tub. The sundeck servers were always around and I enjoyed the second bar. It alleviated long waits as anyone outside could just go to that bar instead of traipsing inside in wet bathing suits. Much better experience than Joy or Getaway! 

 

Since we booked NCL excursions that met in the theatre I cannot tell you about concierge staff taking Haven guests to the gangway. We did NOT find a Haven line upon our return to the ship in Cartagena or Ponta Delgada. We just waited in the normal line to be welcomed back onboard. We just found our way to the aft of the ship and the private Haven elevators to get back to our room. 

 

The bar was never crowded for long. I am somewhat of a bar fly, though I don't talk to people unless they start a conversation with me. From what I observed, around dinner time, groups will take up the chairs in the lounge after getting a drink from the bar (or the bar server that goes through the lounge asking for drink orders). The seats themselves never filled up except a couple occassions. Again, only around dinner time, except the last evening. The last night, many of us went to say goodbye to the servers (disembarkation day was my only day with a hangover). 

 

I think you'll find Pr1ma's Haven to be a solid choice. The restaurant is good (weird policies, sometimes), but not as good as other Haven restaurants I've experienced. The servers are wonderful and you if you hit it off with one or two servers, you can request to be sat with them. That's what we did and had great service the rest of the cruise! 

 

Our butler, Jefferson, was the best butler we've ever had in the Haven! The concierge, Stefan, was delightful and helped us with a couple of special requests (nothing crazy, but nothing I'll discuss publicly). Really, really great service.

 

@Goldenknight, do you have anything to add? We were on the same cruise, though didn't know each other until lunch on one of the last day's of the cruise.

Thank you, this is very helpful!

 

[BirdTravels]

21 hours ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

I admit, I haven't paid much attention to the Prima class ships, mainly because of the complaints with the Haven being too crowded, Haven staff, especially the butlers, being overworked and stretched thin, and service not being as good as the other ships. I am just wondering if those experiences have improved any? I am so hesitant to book this class because of the complaints. 

 

Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet. We cruised in the Haven in December and had no such issues and problems. We never felt “crowded” with the potential exception of the tiny Haven elevators. The restaurant was alway wide open. Sundeck and hot tubs not crowded. Lounge always had open seats. We could always walk up to the bar and get a drink (inside and outside). 

[Candy Apple 12]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

We sailed Pr1ma in November. It was a Transatlantic and while we enjoyed being outside, many folx did not. Despite this, many of the loungers were taken on the sunny afternoons when the temps were in the 70's. We never had an issue finding a lounge chair and enjoyed the hot tub. The sundeck servers were always around and I enjoyed the second bar. It alleviated long waits as anyone outside could just go to that bar instead of traipsing inside in wet bathing suits. Much better experience than Joy or Getaway! 

 

Since we booked NCL excursions that met in the theatre I cannot tell you about concierge staff taking Haven guests to the gangway. We did NOT find a Haven line upon our return to the ship in Cartagena or Ponta Delgada. We just waited in the normal line to be welcomed back onboard. We just found our way to the aft of the ship and the private Haven elevators to get back to our room. 

 

The bar was never crowded for long. I am somewhat of a bar fly, though I don't talk to people unless they start a conversation with me. From what I observed, around dinner time, groups will take up the chairs in the lounge after getting a drink from the bar (or the bar server that goes through the lounge asking for drink orders). The seats themselves never filled up except a couple occassions. Again, only around dinner time, except the last evening. The last night, many of us went to say goodbye to the servers (disembarkation day was my only day with a hangover). 

 

I think you'll find Pr1ma's Haven to be a solid choice. The restaurant is good (weird policies, sometimes), but not as good as other Haven restaurants I've experienced. The servers are wonderful and you if you hit it off with one or two servers, you can request to be sat with them. That's what we did and had great service the rest of the cruise! 

 

Our butler, Jefferson, was the best butler we've ever had in the Haven! The concierge, Stefan, was delightful and helped us with a couple of special requests (nothing crazy, but nothing I'll discuss publicly). Really, really great service.

 

@Goldenknight, do you have anything to add? We were on the same cruise, though didn't know each other until lunch on one of the last day's of the cruise.

Why wasn’t the restaurant as good as other Haven restaurants?

[SuiteTraveler]

We just sailed on the Prima - July 4, 2024 Iceland, Norway, Holland, Belgium cruise.  It was cold to cool outside and Haven was 100% full.  We NEVER had any problem getting seats at the Haven bar or in the restaurant.  There was never any wait and never any crowds in The Haven areas.  People mostly stayed indoors due to the weather, but it was NEVER crowded in The Haven at all.  The Haven staff did not appear to be stretched thin.  Yes, they were busy, but seemed very happy and to be enjoying their work.

[graphicguy]

from about 6 months ago...

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

30 minutes ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

Why wasn’t the restaurant as good as other Haven restaurants?

Everything below are minor nitpicks. We enjoyed our food. We enjoyed the restaurant. We had very good and attentive service. The below are just the differences we noted between Getaway/Joy and Pr1ma. 

 

1. The menu changed up a little bit prior to our sailing. Not much, and it didn't really impact us a whole lot, but there were a couple of changes. 

2. Presentation of food was more important than special requests/taste. My husband is a shrimp fiend. He orders a 12-piece shrimp cocktail. Despite this being on the dinner menu, an undressed Shrimp Louie was served (wasting the lettuce, tomato, and avocado as he doesn't eat those). At lunch a cold shrimp isn't available, so he orders the grilled shrimp that is served with the Israeli Cous Cous salad. Despite asking for 10 - 12 each time, the server was only allowed to bring six out at a time. Thus, we had to bother the server for more later in our meal service.

3. We requested a standing order of pretzel rolls during dinner. In the past this request was always provided and when we would sit down for dinner, we'd let the server know. On Pr1ma this was request was not possible, though pretzel rolls were available in the buffet. 

4. The servers, except the two we ultimately requested each time, just were not as (I'm at a loss of words: they were professional, they were polite) more distanced? They didn't seem as engaging. 

5. We were on an eleven day cruise. One time, the day before embarkation, did the maitre d acknowledge us. I don't need a conversation, but I do expect the person in charge of the front of house to at least stop by a couple times to check-in. He did not. And we were not the only ones he did this with. On Joy, the maitre d was always very "happy" to see us. I say "happy," because we're guests, so staff are always happy to see us. It's just the professional front that they all excel at. On Getaway, the maitre d and us (and other tables) had ten to fifteen minute conversations discussing so much more than just the weather and our food. It felt like the local diner you know the owner of, not a multi-billion dollar corporation's luxury restaurant. 

6. The breakfast buffet was oftentimes empty and not refilled quickly. Because the cruise embarked from Barcelona, I craved prosciutto as a replacement for jamon. I don't normally, but Spain! Anyway, they put six or eight little nests of prosciutto out at a time. Within a minute, it was gone. It would take five to ten minutes to refill this. Same with the fruit refills. Having said that, there appears to be a workaround we did not utilize! If you really want something off the buffet ask your server for it. We noticed a server bring a guest a full plate of melon and prosciutto. This seemed like overkill to us, so I didn't do this. But, it's certainly possible.

 

Again, please know, these are nitpicks. Our cruise was enjoyable. Personally, I enjoyed Pr1ma and would cruise it again. My husband would, but he much prefers the Breakaway/Breakaway Plus class of ships. Hence our Getaway sailing in February. 

 

 

[Candy Apple 12]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Everything below are minor nitpicks. We enjoyed our food. We enjoyed the restaurant. We had very good and attentive service. The below are just the differences we noted between Getaway/Joy and Pr1ma. 

 

1. The menu changed up a little bit prior to our sailing. Not much, and it didn't really impact us a whole lot, but there were a couple of changes. 

2. Presentation of food was more important than special requests/taste. My husband is a shrimp fiend. He orders a 12-piece shrimp cocktail. Despite this being on the dinner menu, an undressed Shrimp Louie was served (wasting the lettuce, tomato, and avocado as he doesn't eat those). At lunch a cold shrimp isn't available, so he orders the grilled shrimp that is served with the Israeli Cous Cous salad. Despite asking for 10 - 12 each time, the server was only allowed to bring six out at a time. Thus, we had to bother the server for more later in our meal service.

3. We requested a standing order of pretzel rolls during dinner. In the past this request was always provided and when we would sit down for dinner, we'd let the server know. On Pr1ma this was request was not possible, though pretzel rolls were available in the buffet. 

4. The servers, except the two we ultimately requested each time, just were not as (I'm at a loss of words: they were professional, they were polite) more distanced? They didn't seem as engaging. 

5. We were on an eleven day cruise. One time, the day before embarkation, did the maitre d acknowledge us. I don't need a conversation, but I do expect the person in charge of the front of house to at least stop by a couple times to check-in. He did not. And we were not the only ones he did this with. On Joy, the maitre d was always very "happy" to see us. I say "happy," because we're guests, so staff are always happy to see us. It's just the professional front that they all excel at. On Getaway, the maitre d and us (and other tables) had ten to fifteen minute conversations discussing so much more than just the weather and our food. It felt like the local diner you know the owner of, not a multi-billion dollar corporation's luxury restaurant. 

6. The breakfast buffet was oftentimes empty and not refilled quickly. Because the cruise embarked from Barcelona, I craved prosciutto as a replacement for jamon. I don't normally, but Spain! Anyway, they put six or eight little nests of prosciutto out at a time. Within a minute, it was gone. It would take five to ten minutes to refill this. Same with the fruit refills. Having said that, there appears to be a workaround we did not utilize! If you really want something off the buffet ask your server for it. We noticed a server bring a guest a full plate of melon and prosciutto. This seemed like overkill to us, so I didn't do this. But, it's certainly possible.

 

Again, please know, these are nitpicks. Our cruise was enjoyable. Personally, I enjoyed Pr1ma and would cruise it again. My husband would, but he much prefers the Breakaway/Breakaway Plus class of ships. Hence our Getaway sailing in February. 

 

 

Lots of nitpicks can definitely add up. Regarding points 2 and 3, it sounds like the staff needs a lesson in flexibility. Regarding points 4 and 5, it sounds like the staff needs a refresher course in hospitality. Regarding point 6, thanks for the workaround idea. I’ll have to remember that if by it’s still an issue in January. 

[cruiseny4life]

56 minutes ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

Lots of nitpicks can definitely add up. Regarding points 2 and 3, it sounds like the staff needs a lesson in flexibility. Regarding points 4 and 5, it sounds like the staff needs a refresher course in hospitality. Regarding point 6, thanks for the workaround idea. I’ll have to remember that if by it’s still an issue in January. 

Just caught what I said in my above post (#5 in my post, not post #5)....I think you knew what I meant, but for those reading later, I meant to say disembarkation. @hallux can attest to me being all sorts of confused and saying dis when I mean em and em when I mean dis. Oh well!

 

Thanks for your comments - you'll still have a wonderful cruise! I'm sure of it! 

Edited July 31 by cruiseny4life

[df5250]

13 hours ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

 

Were you escorted off by the concierge staff in each port? We have always been escorted off. Not sure if that changed because the Haven is aft now?

They tried to escort us off, but we wound up in the crowd with everyone else once we hit the public stairwell or queued up to scan to get off the ship. Haven elevator only went to deck six and then we walked to the public stairwell and down from there. It was different from other ships.

[Candy Apple 12]

12 hours ago, df5250 said:

They tried to escort us off, but we wound up in the crowd with everyone else once we hit the public stairwell or queued up to scan to get off the ship. Haven elevator only went to deck six and then we walked to the public stairwell and down from there. It was different from other ships.

So no crew elevator that takes you right to the gangway like on the Bliss and Escape?

[mscdivina2016]

On 7/30/2024 at 1:40 PM, CruisingSince1982 said:

I admit, I haven't paid much attention to the Prima class ships, mainly because of the complaints with the Haven being too crowded, Haven staff, especially the butlers, being overworked and stretched thin, and service not being as good as the other ships. I am just wondering if those experiences have improved any? I am so hesitant to book this class because of the complaints. 

 

 Sailed Prima last September 16 night Iceland and Norway.

 

Hated it!  Will never sail Prima class again.

  The Haven was crowded in our opinions.  Being in the rear of the ship it has 8 decks an two small elevators that services those decks. It no longer has that enclave feeling. Probably 110 or so cabins versus 50-70 on others

 The pool area was useless as the temps were cool/cold.  The seas were very rough at times with closet doors and drawers just opening and banging hard. Luckily I had tape to secure them.

 The restaurant was packed and people did have to wait. The staff was not adequate to service everyone.  Special request were denied.

 The bar is weird, it is broken down to several room like areas with the actual bar only seating around 8 people and a couple of other seats against the walls. At times they were overwhelmed it seem.

 

No special seating in the theater on our sailing and there was a really small venue called Syd normans. Only held 50 or so people and you had to wait in line early to get in. Total Joke.

No dance floors at all when live bands played. They have the showroom which the seats retract for their disco.

 No escort off ship or back on. 

 Other food venues are small and packed. Smallest buffet area I have ever seen and I have taken 69 cruises so far. This ship has a food court with little kiosks to order from. Always packed at prime times.

 End of cruise we waited to be escorted down to a huge line already waiting to get off so no special treatment there either. We would have been better off not waiting for butlers.

 

 We prefer ships like the Encore.

 

 Keep in mind our likes and dislikes are ours and your needs and wants are yours..