Getaway Aft Facing Penthouse - need opinion

[JandR1]

Hi,

 

I know everyone will have their own "take" on this topic, but I want to hear all sides :D We are booked for Spring Break (I know, I know, I'm a glutton for punishment!) on the Getaway in a Haven Aft Facing Penthouse. "We" are my husband and myself, our daughter (14) and son (12). I am really looking forward to the Butler service and using the Haven a lot.

 

My question to all is, does the fact that the suite is in the aft of the ship affect how you enjoy the Haven facilities (i.e. they are not right outside the door)? Also, how does this suite being set away from things affect your butler service?

 

Again, I know I will probably hear both sides of things, but I really want to know. I thoroughly LOVE the aft of ships - it's my favorite place - but I also want to get the full experience of being a Haven passenger.

 

Thanks in advance for any (and all!) opinions!

 

Jen

[SouthernBelle_N_Louisiana]

We just left Getaway Aft suite 11308 Saturday morning.

 

It was absolutely the best cruise we've ever had. Armando the butler will bring you anything you want from the Haven restaurant- drinks too. We LOVE the aft area and no it did not diminish our Haven experience. Your family will love the room :)

 

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Edited June 16, 2014 by SouthernBelle_N_Louisiana

[happy cruzin]

Hi,

 

I know everyone will have their own "take" on this topic, but I want to hear all sides :D We are booked for Spring Break (I know, I know, I'm a glutton for punishment!) on the Getaway in a Haven Aft Facing Penthouse. "We" are my husband and myself, our daughter (14) and son (12). I am really looking forward to the Butler service and using the Haven a lot.

 

My question to all is, does the fact that the suite is in the aft of the ship affect how you enjoy the Haven facilities (i.e. they are not right outside the door)? Also, how does this suite being set away from things affect your butler service?

 

Again, I know I will probably hear both sides of things, but I really want to know. I thoroughly LOVE the aft of ships - it's my favorite place - but I also want to get the full experience of being a Haven passenger.

 

Thanks in advance for any (and all!) opinions!

 

Jen

 

It did not effect our use/enjoyment of the Haven on the Breakaway at all.

 

We enjoyed our walks to and from the Haven - really experienced more of the ship "feel" than when our cabin was in the Haven Courtyard on the Epic. We rarely left the Haven - except to go to dinner or the show when we sailed on the Epic ! :o

 

NO issues with the Butler service either. We were on Deck 9 - it was fantastic and that balcony is to DIE for! ;)

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my phone - using the Cruise Critic forums app

Edited June 16, 2014 by happy cruzin

[woodmews]

I had an aft penthouse on Breakaway during christmas week. Loved the balcony its huge and also all the Haven benefits. Our butler was horrible but I dont think it had to do with the aft suite. He was just bad. I would take that suite everytime if I could.

[barnacle_boy]

I did two aft penthouses on Getaway (9916 and 11908). The walk all the way forward is a long hike, but it shouldn't be a problem so long as no one has any physical disabilities. Just remember to gather everything you need before you leave your cabin, it's a long walk there and back again. I forgot the sunscreen one afternoon, and it took nearly 10 minutes to go back and get it.

 

The butler service is fantastic. It doesn't make much of a difference to the passenger, although the lack of support facilities at the stern requires the butler to put in more effort (and miles, literally).

 

Also, for those curious, the walk to the Haven from the forward facing penthouses is almost as long. Since there are only two main passenger staircases, the walk is just about 1/3 shorter.

 

 

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[DaphneBernstein]

We are booked for an aft-facing Haven penthouse in November and I, too, wondered if it made a difference to be outside of The Haven, but a representative at NCL made a great point by explaining that being outside of The Haven may be a preferable option for us since we have two kids (ages 12 and 14), and many guests in The Haven are more mature guests who sometimes frown on having kids around. I could be wrong, but I bet we will enjoy the butler service and the large balcony, and find that we don't use The Haven amenities all that much.

[younglegend]

We sailed in the aft suite on Breakaway last year. Best stateroom ever, hands down. The walk to the Haven is surprisingly not bad. We thought it would feel like a trek, but never did.

 

Our butler service was not great, but I'm not sure it had anything to do with the location. Perhaps he had all of the aft suites and couldn't be as attentive. We stayed in the Spa Suites on Epic, which are also located away from the Haven and the butler service there was amazing.

 

I would book the aft again without hesitation.

[bear3412]

..... a representative at NCL made a great point by explaining that being outside of The Haven may be a preferable option for us since we have two kids (ages 12 and 14), and many guests in The Haven are more mature guests who sometimes frown on having kids around. ......

 

:eek:

[eynsteinp]

I was in an aft facing balcony suite on the Breakaway about a year ago with our twins who were 11 at the time and we all loved the room. Being in that suite did not lessen our use of the Haven or negatively impact our cruise in any way. It was one of our favorite vacations ever and in fact we just book the same suite for next year. I do not think you have to worry about anything as far as not being in the haven itself. The room is fantastic with the best balconies on the ship. The walk wasn't bad and the service was excellent. Enjoy your cruise.

[DaphneBernstein]

We had just sailed on the NCL Getaway with a Haven aft-facing penthouse suite. Before the cruise, I wondered if I was making a mistake having an aft-facing suite rather than being inside The Haven at the front of the ship. I was not the one who made the mistake of having the aft-facing suite outside of The Haven...NCL made the mistake of not having The Haven at the back of the ship where the nicest cabin locations are! As it was, we loved the cabin and the balcony, even more than the owner's suite that we saw onboard, and we loved being in the back of the boat. The music from H2O was loud and we could hear it from the balcony and sometimes from our cabin (we were on the 14th deck), but it didn't bother us. The walk to The Haven was not an issue in any way, but I do think that we would have felt more of The Haven experience had we been within that area. It would have been great for the kids to hop in the pool just steps away from the cabin, and it would have been far better to be on the level of the courtyard rather than the one below. We had been told that some Haven guests frown upon kids in that area and that we would be better off in the aft-facing suite with them, but I only saw one Haven guest that was rude and uptight. We loved eating breakfast in The Haven--loved the french press coffee! What a great experience, and if the cruise was a little longer and went to more exotic islands, it would have been perfect perfect perfect.