Alternative to HAL Suites on other lines

[kazu]

I have also been reading many positive things about NCL and its Haven Suites. I read a wonderful review authored by a cruise TA who had previously only booked luxury cruise lines and after cruising in a Haven Suite is now accepting bookings for the Haven Suites.

 

I am sure many would be curious to see this - could you give us the link or the google words to search it?

[PathfinderEss]

Now I will have to admit that I've only had a walk thru on one NCL ship and I did get to see the "Haven". Personally I'm not much into IKEA type furnishing and that was the one thing that really did not register well with me about those suites.

I've also noticed that all of the "Suites' that NCL have are on either the front or rear of the ship, doesn't seem to be much in the center except for the 'Haven'.

Pricing Holland America for the cabin that is of an equivalent size of the NCL suite size would be around 7,000. Pricing the NCL cabins of an equivalent size would be around 9,600 both for a seven day Alaska cruise.

[absolutboy20]

This has also been a tricky one for me as well as my experience has been for the price point, it is difficult to beat the square footage, separate shower/jacuzzi tub, double sinks, and for me the perk of unlimited laundry service that HAL offers. I'm not so much so enthralled with the Neptune Lounge, as a really put together room service menu would easily beat what is offered there. I also have heard positive reviews on the Haven suites in the newer NCL ships.

 

I love Seabourn and would sail them again in a heartbeat if $$ were not a issue, but to put it into perspective even with having a comparable suite level to an SA category on Seabourn, laundry service was not included. The same laundry bag that one stuffs with their suite perk on HAL, is $50 a bag with no other unlimited option offered.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa

 

I have been waiting for your take on this topic. I have avoided considering NCL because of the general sense of who sails NCL and how the experience with HAL compares. Does a cruise on NCL of longer than 7 days make up for any of that? My wife has done a few NCL cruises as a 'chaperone', but I have not. The written description of the NCL upper-end suites do sound pretty nice, but I was still concerned as to whether the perks out way some of the possible less desirable aspects of NCL (food, crowds etc). How do the 'perks' of the NCL suites carry over to the overall cruise experience. To be honest I am speaking about how 'special' do you really feel on the cruise. I know I am paying more for a Neptune Suite on HAL and I do appreciate the attention.

 

Please no flames about elitism. :(

 

Dennis

Dennis and also answering to Melodie an others that mentioned NCL. First I have actually never stayed in The Haven. While there are some good deals for Haven passengers for the most part it is just that slight step up from a normal Neptune Suite in price. Aithough I have found the pricing for the SA suites to continue to be going up in price. The Haven Pricing is more in line of Celebrity Suites but until they have their new equivalent of the Haven NCL is a better deal. First to Melodie the ships you saw were older NCL ships a lot is changing including decor.

One does not have to book a Haven to get the Suite amenities on NCL. Category SE SF and SC are Non Haven Suites, they get all the Suite Amenities except for access to the Haven. The SC is 492 sq ft big in the cabin with a private separate living room the balcony is 54 Sq ft, while the balcony is less sq ft than HAL the cabin is definitely much larger and a much larger bathroom Price wise you will find these to be the same if not a lot less than an SA on HAL. Each cabin has it's own Latte Coffee machine that has Lavazza Coffee pods. So you do not have to leave you room to have what I consider a much better coffee. You have your Butler Service that basically brings you anything else you want with out being obtrusive. Bath products are the same exact Elemis except a few more items of Elemis that HAL does not offer. Bath towels are much nicer, same nice slippers offered. What is nice is each room actually has a table and chairs to sit at if you want to dine in your room. Outside the room yes you are treated differently You also have a Personal Concierge that blows away any of the Concierges I have met on HAL . They will escort on and off the ship in ports if you like, if you are not dining in a specialty restaurant they will make reservations for you and even get you a table where you would like. They will also meet you there at the dining room to make sure you are taken care of. I have now taken 4 NCL cruises and have found the Main dining room and Garden Cafe aka Lido food to have taken some drastic improvements. While I actually love their specialty dining and find $20.00 per person a deal for Le Bistro French Restaurant my March cruise we were blown away at the quality of the Main Dining Room. I had some meals that far surpassed anything I have had on HAL. The The Blue Crab Crab Cakes were probably the most amazing crab cakes I have ever had. Even Tom raved about the steaks in the Main Dining Room. The Entertainment is definitely above HAL and being a Suite Passenger even in category SE or SF your Concierge will meet you at the the Show Room and there are special Seats for the Suite Passengers. But unlike some cruise lines such as Princess I honestly have never had trouble getting a seat and you just do not see the Seat Savers :D

NCL does similar things to HAL such as a VIP Party for Suite Passengers and those cocktail parties are held in The Haven. The Past Passenger Party is very much the same as it use to be on HAL. On the newer ships from Jewel on up the Past passenger Parties are held in the Spinnaker Lounge which is basically the Crow's Nest but is larger than the Crow's Nest with seating similar to the Show Room on an S and R class ship. The Officers Greet you when you come in and cocktail servers are all over the place offering drinks of course there is the typical two or three drinks but you can ask for something different and they bring it. I actually had a couple of the drink I wanted this last time. They also had out raffle tickets and give quite a few things away such as bottles of wine, Bingo cards, dinners in the Restaurants. They also recognize those sailing with high number of cruises on board. It actually is a lot of fun and very reminiscent to the old days on HAL when they were held in the show lounge.

You do truly get the feel you are taken care of and a Suite passenger even if you do not have your Concierge arrange things. Much like HAL as soon as you give your cabin number they attempt to accommodate you and actually everyone that is traveling with you which is what is nice. Even if they are not in a Suite. A couple of cruises ago Tom and I were invited to dine with the Captain and we had reservations for 6 of us for dinner that night. Instead we dined with the Captain and the other 4 decided to go to the Main Dining Room, none of them were in Suites but our Concierge met them at the dining room made sure they had a nice table by the window and sent them a bottle of wine.

Oh Speaking of wine :D The Wine selections are far larger with a much better price range of the lowest price wines being much lower than HAL and actually quite good. We found a white Riesling we loved that was must $18.00 a bottle then the second to the last day we found a Moscato that was equally good for $18.00.

 

The other big thing with NCL is booking early rewards you and you do not feel like the cruise line is slapping you in the face with dropping the prices like crazy after final and 3/4 the passengers in suites pay 1/3 of what you paid because they were offered a crazy upsell. If you book 9 months or more out from the cruise Suite Passengers receive $300.00 per cabin Ship Board Credit from NCL. NCL pricing is that the earlier you book the lowest price it is. The prices for suites do nothing but go up because they do sell out early. They never ever Give away cabins. My last suite I booked 18 months from the cruise and it went up $600.00 per person at about final but then they were then sold out in my category. Upsell offers are rare but when they happen are normally a Suite Passenger upgraded to a Haven Suite for for the extra cost difference of what it was when booked 2 yrs out. But that rarely ever happens. You never seen your suite price being offered drastically lower than you paid. But then the same is true for Celebrity, Princess, RCI and of course any luxury lines ;)

Over all I have found the suite experience on NCL to be way above HAL from the check in process with the special lounge area for Suite passengers and your Butler escorting you on board the ship to debarkation with again the special lounge area and being personally escorted to the gangway. Just an over all nice experience :)

[kelleherdl]

Wow. Thanks Lisa

 

Sent from my VS950 4G using Tapatalk

[cbr663]

Thanks Lisa. What a wonderful overview of the NCL suite experience. I hadn't even considered a non-haven suite, but now you have me convinced that I must take a look.

[Sage]

Yes thank you for the information on NCL not only the haven suites but the non haven suites. I must take a look as well.

[erewhon]

Lisa,

 

Thanks for all the NCL information.

[Sam.Seattle]

We have done the Penthouse on HAL, Princess and RCL. WE also have stayed in the Garden Villa on NCL and the Haven. The Haven balconies are TOO SMALL! Overall, for what the OP is looking for, I would recommend RCL. They do an excellent job with white table cloth in room dinning for Breakfast, lunch and dinner for suite guests. The Oasis and the Allure have the best Concierge Lounge! Huge windows with lots of seating and free booze every evening. There are also a nice selection of suites on RCL. A word of caution on RCL. A "Jr. Suite" does not come with all the suite amenities.

[HokiePoq]

Give me any of the Full Suites on NCL over a HAL Neptune Suite. Unfortunately the Neptune itself does nothing for me. I much prefer the perks in the Suite on Norwegian. One does not even need to spend the money for a Haven Suite to get a nice size Full Suite with huge cabin and huge balcony. The Haven Suites are so far above what HAL offers. Celebrity will soon have Suites that are comparable to the Haven Suites on NCL but I am sure at a premium price to what they are now offering.

Anymore I am splitting up my cruising time between HAL and NCL but it would most likely be NCL all the time if it was not for friends/crew that I wanted to see on HAL :o

 

I've only had a suite once on the NCL Epic and would agree with this. Plus, on the Epic (and probably the other new ships) there is a special dining room with fabulous food for all three meals. Other ships offer breakfast and lunch at Cagney's (specialty restaurant). The butler provides fresh flowers, nightly treats before dinner, fruit....those are nice but we really liked the coffee/tea machine he maintained. We were in a Penthouse Suite but you had the Haven privileges, at least at the time we sailed.

[richarduk]

Thanks for ALL the information. It will take SOME TIME do digest!

 

My Main issue with lots of the alternatives is that you don't seem to get a suitable dinner table on the balcony, and we use that a lot in the Med especially.

 

Also I have never yet found another line with a spacious balcony/furniture and full room service for anything like the price of a HAL Signature Suite. We also travel Neptune, but in this instance I'm talking about the Signature Suites (Cat SZ, SY, SS) on newer ships.

 

After all this I'm still not sure about switching from HAL suites!

 

HELP!!

Edited June 1, 2014 by richarduk

[VioletHorse]

Last year DH and I sailed on the Summit to Bermuda and were invited by another CC member and his DW to tour their Royal Suite.

 

Wow. It was a beautifully decorated apartment with luxurious bathroom, bedroom, living room and dining room. The balcony was huge, with dining table and chairs, addtional seating and hot tub. I believe the room came with a couple of bottles of complimentary liquor of their choice, along with mixers. There is a butler to attend to your needs.

 

Celebrity is currently in the process of converting an under-utilized lounge to a Suite/Elite lounge, and is also establishing a separate Suites only dining room.

 

If you check the Celebrity website you will find a listing of all the perks for this room category.

[Sam.Seattle]

Thanks for ALL the information. It will take SOME TIME do digest!

 

My Main issue with lots of the alternatives is that you don't seem to get a suitable dinner table on the balcony, and we use that a lot in the Med especially.

 

Also I have never yet found another line with a spacious balcony/furniture and full room service for anything like the price of a HAL Signature Suite. We also travel Neptune, but in this instance I'm talking about the Signature Suites (Cat SZ, SY, SS) on newer ships.

 

After all this I'm still not sure about switching from HAL suites!

 

HELP!!

To achieve your main issue of a table on the balcony, HAL does a good job with that. The Haven on NCL in the two bedroom suites will not work for you as the balcony is really small. I still stand think RCL is the the next best option. You get to order from the main dinning room menu and not room service menu when in a suite.

 

Also - The passenger demographics is very different on NCL - It is a PARTY!

[NMLady]

Also - The passenger demographics is very different on NCL - It is a PARTY!

 

I have cruised on both HAL and NCL and disagree that NCL is PARTY. Although our NCL cruise in the Caribbean had several party passengers that was not true of any of our other NCL destinations.

[Lisa63]

I agree with the comments on the NCL suites. We had a two-bedroom villa on Norwegian Jade as well as suites on an NCL ship that has since been sold and suites on two of HAL's S-class.

 

NCL does a fantastic job with suite pax. We were offered a smaller venue for breakfast and lunch (no extra charge), a reserved seating area in the show lounge, concierge escorts at embarkation and debarkation, and -- of course -- an enormous cabin. Cabin amenities on Norwegian Jade were spectacular and included four TVs, two bathrooms (a total of two showers and one tub), and a master bedroom that was separated from the living area by sliding doors.

 

The villa level (now called The Haven) also gave us access to a pool area and a large outdoor deck for the shared use of other villa passengers. Coffee, tea, and light snacks were available here, too. Yet, unlike HAL's Neptune Lounge, the concierge desk was not located here. She was, however, available by phone and had a desk set up in the breakfast and lunch area I mentioned above during dining times.

 

We had a full breakfast in our cabin a couple of times. The table was large enough for all three of us. The butler prepared the table nicely with linens and place settings, which was a nice touch. Yet, as stated previously, I do not think this would have worked on the balcony. The balcony was not small, yet was also not large enough to accommodate a table of that size. HAL and Princess would be good options for balcony dining, IMO. (I do not know about Princess' suites, though.)

 

Our Norwegian Jade cruise was in the Med and we found the demographics similar to that of HAL -- in fact, I caught myself trying to identify our ship by looking for HAL funnels!

 

I hope this was helpful. Enjoy narrowing down to your selection...that's part of the fun for me!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

[quote name='Sam.Seattle']
Also - The passenger demographics is very different on NCL - It is a PARTY![/QUOTE]

[quote name='NMLady']I have cruised on both HAL and NCL and disagree that NCL is PARTY. Although our NCL cruise in the Caribbean had several party passengers that was not true of any of our other NCL destinations.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="4"]NMLady, I so totally agree with you, where Sam.Seattle got the idea that NCL was a Party crowd I have no idea unless he was on a 3 or 4 day cruise. I guess he has not been on any of HAL's short 1 or 2 day re-positioning cruises :rolleyes: Out of 4 cruises with NCL one of which was a 2 day cruise to no where, not one of these had a party crowd on board. As a matter of fact I find NCL to be so much like HAL it is weird. The age demographics is similar maybe ever so slightly younger for our recent Spring Break March cruise but that can be the same for HAL during Spring Break. But it was a far cry from any of the three RCI cruises I have taken...now those did have some partiers on board :eek: And way too many kids running amuck. I have not found that on NCL. For the most part I find NCL to be the way HAL was when I first started to cruise HAL in 2003.
This last cruise on the Jewel I was so impressed with the food in both the Main Dining Room and especially the Garden Cafe which is their Lido. The soups were amazing, there were several to choose from each day and also changed each day so the variety was amazing. The Salad area was great with some one there hand tossing a salad for you. The Chicken Caesar Salad adding my anchovies was a perfect lunch with this really good 5 mushroom soup and NCL's amazing pretzel rolls. I got to a point that I really only wanted to dine in their Garden Cafe. The cups for tea and drinks are larger too than HAL Lido. They offered a sugar free Mango drink that I would mix with the ice tea that made for a fantastic tropical tea. The area is extremely roomy, tables not packed on top of each other, there is also outside seating mid ship and or aft and there is absolutely always a table to be found even on embarkation day which is probably the only extremely busy time. I was always shocked on Sea Days when there were so many table available between 12 and 2. Then oddly I have never been a soft serve ice cream person but I kept seeing people getting this really pretty pick ice cream cone. It was a strawberry soft serve that was probably the best ice cream cone I have ever had :D
Now I will admit that the Dawn and the Star Garden Cafe area does not have as much room because they are a bit older ships but the Jewel, Jade, Pearl and Gem which are newer have the Buffet area set up really nice with 3 times the selection of what HAL offers on the Vista Class Ship. [/SIZE]

[iancal]

Our last two cruises on NCL were definitely not 'Party' ship environments.

And let's face it, most HAL ships could do with a bit more atmosphere....and a lot better entertainment. In our experience, NCL excels in the entertainment area.

Not certain where this came from. Edited June 1, 2014 by iancal

[PathfinderEss]

[SIZE=4][COLOR=darkred][SIZE=4][COLOR=darkred]Ok here goes, I don't need anyone to take me to my cabin, coffee is not my thing so I don't care if there is coffee in the Neptune or cabin. I like to be able to go over to the Neptune and graze. If I want snacks in my cabin I can call the Neptune, room service or just get it myself. [/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#8b0000][/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#8b0000]The [SIZE=3][SIZE=4]Concierge[/SIZE] [/SIZE] on Hal have done some awesome things for my DH and me over the years. Certainly some are better then others. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=4][COLOR=#8b0000]Personally I have a problem sailing on a ship that has balloons, stars, moons or whatever on the hull of the ship, as I have with the butcher job they did to the Veendam. And speaking of the ships in general, I don't want to cruise on a ship that has 4,000 passengers as the Getaway/Breakaway does, and still any suite (except the Haven) are on one end or the other of the ship. Not something I'm interested in. I like the middle of the ship, that is where I am the most comfortable.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Cabin size, well the only one that comes close to Hal is the Family suite (Haven) and for 7 days it is 7 thousand dollar and for Hal it would be 6 thousand. I would say that is more then a slight difference.

Now I will agree with you that Hal does play games with prices on there suites. That is a fact, don't know about NCL and I will defer that to you.

Food wise we eat mainly in the Pinnacle, which suits us just fine as we are '5' star. Love the food and the service.

I guess were just Hal people.
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[dorisis]

[quote name='sail7seas'][B] Sage,
Does Princess offer full, hot room service breakfast?

[/B][/QUOTE]

In a full suite; yes. But not in mini suites.

[Sam.Seattle]

STATED BY Lisa:[COLOR="Navy"] [I]NMLady, I so totally agree with you, where Sam.Seattle got the idea that NCL was a Party crowd I have no idea unless he was on a 3 or 4 day cruise.[/I] [/COLOR]

REPLY : I never have cruised on any ship for less than 7-days. I have been on 52-cruises. I also stay up past 10:00pm with people who "Party".

[url]http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1776201[/url]


See for yourself... I have never seen a party like this on any ship called HAL with a solid blue hull.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nirN2A1vvQ[/url] Edited June 2, 2014 by Sam.Seattle

[kjw869]

[quote name='Sam.Seattle']STATED BY Lisa:[COLOR="Navy"] [I]NMLady, I so totally agree with you, where Sam.Seattle got the idea that NCL was a Party crowd I have no idea unless he was on a 3 or 4 day cruise.[/I] [/COLOR]

See for yourself... I have never seen a party like this on any ship called HAL with a solid blue hull.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nirN2A1vvQ[/url][/QUOTE]

I think these are the people who paint the NCL hulls after the parties! Edited June 9, 2014 by kjw869

[Cruise_More_Often]

Here's a link to a new [URL="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2053840"]review[/URL] by a fellow who has cruised on Oceania, Azamara and HAL, as well as others. The review is for NCL's Breakaway, which is one of the new, large ships in NCL's fleet.

This cruiser's suite was a forward-facing penthouse. He didn't mention it, but it was probably an Owners' Suite. Most of the Haven suites are within the actual Haven complex. This is true of the other NCL ships that have a Haven complex (Getaway and her older sisters, Jewel, Pearl, Gem and Jade).

Here's how he summarizes the Haven:

[INDENT]Does it provide the casual elegance of O [Oceania] or A [Azamara]with a gracious, quiet atmosphere?
No, but for those seeking a 7 day cruise, The Haven provides excellent accommodations with a lovely area with private pool, sundeck, bar and restaurant. It also you importantly gives you access to the most dynamic entertainment options we have ever had on a ship on over 60 cruises.

I would have no hesitation recommending it to those “luxury” cruisers who might want a bit of a change on a lively and vibrant ship.[/INDENT]

I have not cruised on the Breakaway or Getaway, and I have no interest in doing so. However, I have cruised in Haven suites twice, and they are truly wonderful. Edited June 9, 2014 by Cruise_More_Often

[geekypenguin]

[quote name='richarduk']Thanks for ALL the information. It will take SOME TIME do digest!

My Main issue with lots of the alternatives is that you don't seem to get a suitable dinner table on the balcony, and we use that a lot in the Med especially.

Also I have never yet found another line with a spacious balcony/furniture and full room service for anything like the price of a HAL Signature Suite. We also travel Neptune, but in this instance I'm talking about the Signature Suites (Cat SZ, SY, SS) on newer ships.

After all this I'm still not sure about switching from HAL suites!

HELP!![/QUOTE]

We just returned from an SS suite on HAL. Our past cruises have been with Celebrity in an aft Concierge Class or aft AquaClass room. The only difference we noticed in favor of the HAL suite was the larger bathroom. In other respects our cabins were quite similar. The HAL cabin was slightly larger with more storage, but we found the Celebrity cabins better appointed and an aft balcony in either Concierge Class or AquaClass would be larger than our SS balcony was.