The Haven Restaurant versus Specialty Dining

[Ken the cruiser]

We're taking a family cruise in December on the Getaway, which will also be our first Norwegian cruise, and have booked 2 Haven balconies. We're looking over the Special Dining promotion we're getting and found the first two people in each room get 3 "free" SD meals. The only catch is that we still have to pay 18% gratuities for the first 2 meals and then pay full price for the third person (our granddaughter) + gratuities. What's also interesting is that we get free gratuities as another one of our Haven promotional perks, so paying that extra SD 18% gratuity charge is another issue that rubs us a little.

 

Here's our question. If we already have unlimited access to the Haven restaurant, why should we even consider going anywhere else to eat our meals? Our first inclination, as it is only a 7 day cruise, is to just eat our meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner, in the Haven restaurant and forget about the "free" SD meals perk.

 

If you have a few extra moments and have an opinion about the quality and menu variety of the Haven restaurant, we would enjoy hearing what you have to say.

[yankees111]

If I went to a resort and could choose from ten different restaurants to eat at every day I certainly would not eat all my meals in the same one.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Love my butler]

The Haven restaurant is very nice and exclusive. You could easily be very happy dining there all 7 days. The menu is varied and the service is usually excellent. I have personally ordered items from other restaurants while dining in the Haven restaurant, and those items were brought to me without a problem. However, if you want to branch out and try some other menus and atmospheres then get the dining package. The additional (baloney) service charges you now have to pay are peanuts in comparison to the hefty price you are paying for 2 haven cabins.

[NayRN]

How old is your granddaughter? You may be able to all eat together is a speciality restaurant if she's young enough to eat from the children's menu. Just a thought....

 

I've also eaten all 7 evening meals in the Haven restaurant and was very happy with the selection.

[BirdTravels]

The Haven restaurant is just ok. It is good for about two lunches and two dinners. Would never consider eating the same food over and over and over. You would miss out if you didn't venture out and try different foods.

 

We are just off the Breakaway (the Getaway's sister ship). I posted all of the menus and a lot of photos of foods at different restaurants (including the Havens). See this post: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2504449

 

Havens menus for dinner, lunch, and breakfast.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ranger719]

You're already in the Haven and you already are getting the free specialty dining package and Haven guests aren't charged the 18% gratuity ....so why do you think you have to pay that....you aren't charged 18% gratuity when you go to the specialty restaurants....go places like Teppanyaki or Moderno's which are quite a bit different then you will find in the Haven dining experience

[Ken the cruiser]

You're already in the Haven and you already are getting the free specialty dining package and Haven guests aren't charged the 18% gratuity ....so why do you think you have to pay that....you aren't charged 18% gratuity when you go to the specialty restaurants....go places like Teppanyaki or Moderno's which are quite a bit different then you will find in the Haven dining experience

We read about the gratuity issue in the Specialty Dining promotion T & C. We also just called Norwegian after starting this thread and she confirmed we didn't have to pay the 18% gratuity and since our granddaughter will be 12 years old, she can get the free children's menu. So, you are correct with regards to the gratuities, so all is good now on that front!

 

Now it's time to figure out which are the best SD restaurants to make a reservation at, to include the two you mentioned above.

[Ken the cruiser]

The Haven restaurant is just ok. It is good for about two lunches and two dinners. Would never consider eating the same food over and over and over. You would miss out if you didn't venture out and try different foods.

 

We are just off the Breakaway (the Getaway's sister ship). I posted all of the menus and a lot of photos of foods at different restaurants (including the Havens). See this post: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2504449

 

Havens menus for dinner, lunch, and breakfast.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the advice and link! It definitely will take some time to "digest" all the menus you posted! Thanks!

[Ranger719]

Another idea as a haven guest is to go to moderno's and Teppan-Yaki for the experience and for your third meal pick out either La Cucina ...Cagney's or Le Bistro and have your butler bring you the menu tell him what you want and he will serve you a full white table cloth dinner in your room...no extra charge for anything

[Jana60]

We're taking a family cruise in December on the Getaway, which will also be our first Norwegian cruise, and have booked 2 Haven balconies. We're looking over the Special Dining promotion we're getting and found the first two people in each room get 3 "free" SD meals. The only catch is that we still have to pay 18% gratuities for the first 2 meals and then pay full price for the third person (our granddaughter) + gratuities. What's also interesting is that we get free gratuities as another one of our Haven promotional perks, so paying that extra SD 18% gratuity charge is another issue that rubs us a little.

 

Here's our question. If we already have unlimited access to the Haven restaurant, why should we even consider going anywhere else to eat our meals? Our first inclination, as it is only a 7 day cruise, is to just eat our meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner, in the Haven restaurant and forget about the "free" SD meals perk.

 

If you have a few extra moments and have an opinion about the quality and menu variety of the Haven restaurant, we would enjoy hearing what you have to say.

Not only is the Haven Restaurant excellent but if there is a particular menu item that you would like that is not available in the Haven as a guest of the Haven you can just have your butler or the maitre d in the Haven go get it. We wanted french onion soup from La Bistro and when I mentioned that to a maitre d at the past passenger party she said just tell the maitre d and the Haven and they will get it. You also can have delivered to your room any meal you want by your butler. Our Butler told us if it was available on any menu on the ship he could get it for us. So we had filet mignon and eggs with the works served by our Butler at our dining table complete with white tablecloth and napkins in our room. The cabin dining table is located right next to the sliding glass doors of the balcony so we had a view of the ocean during our breakfast. They really pamper you in the Haven! Remember that your butler does not receive any of the gratuity money that you pay in the Haven. You need to tip him separately. Most people tip $75 - $100 for the week.

 

Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Forums mobile app

[JohnIreland]

You're already in the Haven and you already are getting the free specialty dining package and Haven guests aren't charged the 18% gratuity ....so why do you think you have to pay that....you aren't charged 18% gratuity when you go to the specialty restaurants....go places like Teppanyaki or Moderno's which are quite a bit different then you will find in the Haven dining experience

 

This has changed in the last week.

[Ranger719]

This has changed in the last week.

 

 

 

What changed??

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NLH Arizona]

What changed??

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Suites now pay the 18% gratuity on the SDP and UBP, if they purchase the package or get it as a perk.

[Ranger719]

Suites now pay the 18% gratuity on the SDP and UBP, if they purchase the package or get it as a perk.

 

 

 

But the OP just stated a few minutes ago that they confirmed with NCL that Haven guests don't pay the 18% gratuity...if that's true that's a huge change for Haven guests ..hard to believe nobody mentioned it in the past week

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ken the cruiser]

Is it worth using one of our SD meal perks to go to the Cirque Dreams and Steam dinner show? It sounds pretty cool?

 

Also, NLH Arizona, how did you learn about this new gratuity charge for Haven guests? If I have to call NCL back, I would like to be able to reference something that confirms what you are saying.

[Cyclops32]

I just got off the Escape and we liked the Haven, however, the menu was static and like another person said it is good for maybe 2 maybe 3 of each meal. I did not try it, but have heard that if you order from a specialty restaurant you will eith use on of you UDP credits or pay for it. Either way we ate at Mederno, Teppanyaki, and Cagney's. The first two I would eat at those restaurants just for the show and experience even if it was free in the Haven restaurant. I also had my 8 and 10 year old sons and we purchased the package for them and it was worth it. Both enjoyed the adult menu items.

[Ranger719]

I didn't believe that gratuity thing but I went on the NCL site and it looks like it's true... did a dummy booking and if you are in the haven they now ask you to choose which perks you want for FREE...then depending on which ones you choose they add the additional gratuity to your charge...this probably just changed in the past week or so ...so if you booked prior to this you won't be charged that additional gratuity amount...now Norwegian is truly nickel and dimeing their best customers

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[yankees111]

If you can afford to stay in a suite you can afford to pay a gratuity.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Ranger719]

If you can afford to stay in a suite you can afford to pay a gratuity.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

That is the exact kind of attitude that Norwegian is hoping for ...good luck to you

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[yummysbakery]

Is it worth using one of our SD meal perks to go to the Cirque Dreams and Steam dinner show? It sounds pretty cool?

 

Also, NLH Arizona, how did you learn about this new gratuity charge for Haven guests? If I have to call NCL back, I would like to be able to reference something that confirms what you are saying.

The 18% gratuities on the Sdp and ubp for the haven just started this week for new bookings. Op I am assuming you booked prior to this week which is why you were told you didn't have to pay the gratuities on the perks.

 

Sent from my 2PQ93 using Tapatalk

[Ken the cruiser]

I didn't believe that gratuity thing but I went on the NCL site and it looks like it's true... did a dummy booking and if you are in the haven they now ask you to choose which perks you want for FREE...then depending on which ones you choose they add the additional gratuity to your charge...this probably just changed in the past week or so ...so if you booked prior to this you won't be charged that additional gratuity amount...now Norwegian is truly nickel and dimeing their best customers

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for checking into this issue by doing a fake booking. That explains why the NCL lady said what she did, as we booked this cruise last year, and why the T & C mentioned the additional gratuities.

 

As far as the "If you can afford a suite" comment, we have never had to pay an additional gratuity when we dined in a specialty restaurant on any of the HAL, Oceania, Crystal, Celebrity or Disney cruises we've been on. However, this is definitely an additional charge to remember if we ever decide to go on another NCL cruise.

[Ranger719]

Happy to be of some help and also very glad to see you have that mindset... i've done seven Haven cruises in the past two years but this gratuity thing just really rubs me the wrong way at this point

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GUEST71919]

You're already in the Haven and you already are getting the free specialty dining package and Haven guests aren't charged the 18% gratuity ....so why do you think you have to pay that....you aren't charged 18% gratuity when you go to the specialty restaurants....go places like Teppanyaki or Moderno's which are quite a bit different then you will find in the Haven dining experience

 

I know this is a year late and I’m sure someone has already stated this...but... Haven guests DO pay the additional 18%. At least we have always been charged for it, if others aren’t do let me know since NCL will owe me big time! :o I believe it may not have been that way in the part, but it surely is now. I started cruising with my parents during my childhood and I find all the new pay restaurants over these last 2-3 decades a negative thing and now when they are free they aren’t free. I agree it’s irritating.

[FLcruisergrl]

Yes, Haven guests are charged the 18% on the package at the time of booking (at least the US bookings).

[Ken the cruiser]

Yes, Haven guests are charged the 18% on the package at the time of booking (at least the US bookings).

Wow! Even if the drink and specialty dining packages along with free gratuities are included in a special cruise sale like the one we got on our cruise last December? We booked 2 Haven cabins and don’t remember a special “gratuity” charge for the drink and special dining package.