Great Stirrup Cay - Private Lagoon Retreat

[lawcruiseboy]

Does anyone know where I can find out more info about the private lagoon retreat, like info, pics, etc. that's offered to suite passengers at Great Stirrup Cay? 

 

The only info I can find is a press release by NCL before the area opened.  Thanks. 

[amygutman]

Another thread was started last week re: this question. I emailed the Haven pre-concierge to inquire and was told today that they are "previewing" parts of the area starting this week. Unsure when the full area and all of the amenities will be available. Certainly exciting though...as I said on the other forum (I am sorry, but am unsure how to link there), we love our GSC large cabana and would be hard pressed to find anything better. Saving 500$ on the cabana however for a "free" (ok..."included"...nothing in the Haven is "free") villa would be worth a try though. Especially for the kids area and bathrooms! I am dying to see photos - we hit 80 days until our June 15th cruise yesterday and cannot wait!

 

Pictures anyone? Info?

 

Thanks  - Amy

[stormynow]

Will be back on the Sky with GSC 4/11/19.  Will get more info then.  Stormy

[amygutman]

1 hour ago, stormynow said:

Will be back on the Sky with GSC 4/11/19.  Will get more info then.  Stormy

💗 Many thanks!

[Wendy&Grumpy]

We are on the Dawn 5/1 and currently have a small cabana reserved. Just called pre-concierge and was told Haven Lagoon villas cannot yet be reserved for our sailing. Hopefully this changes soon! 

[Greenpea2]

On 3/28/2019 at 6:22 PM, amygutman said:

Another thread was started last week re: this question. I emailed the Haven pre-concierge to inquire and was told today that they are "previewing" parts of the area starting this week. Unsure when the full area and all of the amenities will be available. Certainly exciting though...as I said on the other forum (I am sorry, but am unsure how to link there), we love our GSC large cabana and would be hard pressed to find anything better. Saving 500$ on the cabana however for a "free" (ok..."included"...nothing in the Haven is "free") villa would be worth a try though. Especially for the kids area and bathrooms! I am dying to see photos - we hit 80 days until our June 15th cruise yesterday and cannot wait!

 

Pictures anyone? Info?

 

Thanks  - Amy

Is this true that the cabanas in the Haven area will be free? How will they be able to do that and have enough for all Haven guests? Otherwise there is going to be a lot of people wanting one and being disappointed that some got them and they did not...

[FLcruisergrl]

1 hour ago, Greenpea2 said:

Is this true that the cabanas in the Haven area will be free? How will they be able to do that and have enough for all Haven guests? Otherwise there is going to be a lot of people wanting one and being disappointed that some got them and they did not...

Everything I’ve seen says that there is a charge for cabanas, even for Haven guests. Now, Haven guests will get into the private lagoon area for no additional charge, while other passengers must book spa services (or maybe pay for a pass?) in order to hang out there.

[Greenpea2]

11 minutes ago, FLcruisergrl said:

Everything I’ve seen says that there is a charge for cabanas, even for Haven guests. Now, Haven guests will get into the private lagoon area for no additional charge, while other passengers must book spa services (or maybe pay for a pass?) in order to hang out there.

That makes much more sense to me. I wonder if the Haven cabanas will cost even more than the non-Haven ones. They are all more than I would spend for just 2 people, though, so I guess it doesn’t matter, lol. 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

13 hours ago, Greenpea2 said:

That makes much more sense to me. I wonder if the Haven cabanas will cost even more than the non-Haven ones. They are all more than I would spend for just 2 people, though, so I guess it doesn’t matter, lol. 

 

I'm gonna guess they'd be at least comparable to the Harvest Caye Villas in price ($599 on our April 26 Dawn cruise), since they appear to be comparable in style. Possibly even more though, since they appear to be larger and in the private lagoon area. 

[lawcruiseboy]

So...is this area actually opened yet?

[misha1]

May I ask a sightly off topic question please?  How does one book a large cabana?  

 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

7 hours ago, lawcruiseboy said:

So...is this area actually opened yet?

 

I called the pre-concierge Friday and was told not yet. Some on recent cruises have reported being quietly moved from their small cabanas to Haven Lagoon Villas for "testing" purposes, and another reported being told the Villas were available for booking. Pre-concierge told me no, the Villas are not available for booking yet. 

 

I'm honestly wondering if in the 2nd case there was confusion between cabanas & villas. The cabanas on Harvest Caye are called villas, while on Great Stirrup the regular (small & large) cabanas are called cabanas and the ones in the Haven Lagoon area are called villas. 

 

1 minute ago, misha1 said:

May I ask a sightly off topic question please?  How does one book a large cabana?  

 

 

If there are any available for your cruise, they'll show in your cruise planner under port excursions. They go fast.

[misha1]

1 minute ago, Wendy&Grumpy said:

 

I called the pre-concierge Friday and was told not yet. Some on recent cruises have reported being quietly moved from their small cabanas to Haven Lagoon Villas for "testing" purposes, and another reported being told the Villas were available for booking. Pre-concierge told me no, the Villas are not available for booking yet. 

 

I'm honestly wondering if in the 2nd case there was confusion between cabanas & villas. The cabanas on Harvest Caye are called villas, while on Great Stirrup the regular (small & large) cabanas are called cabanas and the ones in the Haven Lagoon area are called villas. 

 

 

If there are any available for your cruise, they'll show in your cruise planner under port excursions. They go fast.

Thanks, we visit GSC, and I would really like to book a cabana, how far out before the cruise do they usually show up?

 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

5 minutes ago, misha1 said:

Thanks, we visit GSC, and I would really like to book a cabana, how far out before the cruise do they usually show up?

 

 

I don't recall exactly what the release timing is, but I booked ours for our 11/18/18 cruise on 4/3/18.

[Freeholdnjjoe]

Just off the escape this morning. Villas section 1 of 3 is open as of  2 weeks ago. I had one and it was amazing, definitely better than a large cabana in my opinion. 

[amygutman]

Thanks for the info... I'm very excited to get more information. 

I know it's silly to get so amped up for what amounts to a day on the beach, but it's such a GREAT day on the beach in a cabana...maybe the villas will be my new dream day....

[Wendy&Grumpy]

10 hours ago, Freeholdnjjoe said:

Just off the escape this morning. Villas section 1 of 3 is open as of  2 weeks ago. I had one and it was amazing, definitely better than a large cabana in my opinion. 

 

Do you have any pictures of the villa itself that you can share? We'll be there in early May!

[maryisme]

8 hours ago, amygutman said:

Thanks for the info... I'm very excited to get more information. 

I know it's silly to get so amped up for what amounts to a day on the beach, but it's such a GREAT day on the beach in a cabana...maybe the villas will be my new dream day....

I am right there with you!  I am very excited about this. We can both be silly 😄. 

[amygutman]

On 4/1/2019 at 8:53 AM, maryisme said:

I am right there with you!  I am very excited about this. We can both be silly 😄. 

:🤗

[Wendy&Grumpy]

On 4/1/2019 at 8:51 AM, Wendy&Grumpy said:

 

Do you have any pictures of the villa itself that you can share? We'll be there in early May!

 

There are photos shared in this thread: 

 

[Samstress]

There was a link to these Haven Villas on another social media site.   One of the posting members was at GSC and in one of the Haven area Villas.  He had originally booked a 4 person cabana, but was offered an upgrade to the Haven area (even though he wasn't in the Haven on the ship).  He was told they were doing a 'soft' opening so no online bookings are available yet.  You can only book once on the ship.

They are out past the lighthouse.  I wish I had known as we were just on GSC last Wednesday and I definitely would have walked over to have a look.  

I called the concierge line today & she told me that they didn't have any definite information yet as to when they would start offering them.  

According to the passenger who was in one; it was fabulous.  They have a private restaurant, a/c and a private bathroom.  Some of them are apparently going to have bedrooms!

So it's a hurry up and wait situation:-)

Cheers,

Sandy

 

 

[jshelly]

Hi All --

 

Just got off the NCL Epic 7 day cruise ... YES, the Haven Villas are OPEN.  We were lucky enough to get one!  The lagoon ones are not open yet, but the oceanfront ones are!  They are FABULOUS!  We had the absolute best time. 

 

Air conditioned with large flatscreen, couch, chairs, full bathroom, shaded porch with lounge chairs.  We each had a bulter assigned to our villa who brought us drinks to the villa.  Also got a $50 food/beverage credit we used for sushi, jumbo shrimp, and cheese platter.  There were chips and fresh salsa, fruit, and water bottles waiting for us in the villa.  The private restaurant is fabulous with delicious food!

 

The beach was pretty rocky and no drink delivery to the beach, so that was a PITA to trek up and down the hill to the villa to get drinks.  Floats are included with the villa so that was nice to float out in the ocean.  TONS of amazing shells along the beach.

 

The lagoon ones were way off the beach area, so I'm not sure how that would work -- it would be a hike to go from the lagoon villas to the private beach.  Also, the zipline is being built right over the private beach area, so that will distract from the privacy and the peaceful environment.

 

Price was $625 and worth it!!  Have fun everyone and be sure to book it quickly!!

 

 

Edited April 30, 2019 by jshelly

[FLcruisergrl]

2 hours ago, jshelly said:

Hi All --

 

Just got off the NCL Epic 7 day cruise ... YES, the Haven Villas are OPEN.  We were lucky enough to get one!  The lagoon ones are not open yet, but the oceanfront ones are!  They are FABULOUS!  We had the absolute best time. 

 

Air conditioned with large flatscreen, couch, chairs, full bathroom, shaded porch with lounge chairs.  We each had a bulter assigned to our villa who brought us drinks to the villa.  Also got a $50 food/beverage credit we used for sushi, jumbo shrimp, and cheese platter.  There were chips and fresh salsa, fruit, and water bottles waiting for us in the villa.  The private restaurant is fabulous with delicious food!

 

The beach was pretty rocky and no drink delivery to the beach, so that was a PITA to trek up and down the hill to the villa to get drinks.  Floats are included with the villa so that was nice to float out in the ocean.  TONS of amazing shells along the beach.

 

The lagoon ones were way off the beach area, so I'm not sure how that would work -- it would be a hike to go from the lagoon villas to the private beach.  Also, the zipline is being built right over the private beach area, so that will distract from the privacy and the peaceful environment.

 

Price was $625 and worth it!!  Have fun everyone and be sure to book it quickly!!

 

 

 

Did you book it directly or were you in a cabana and upgraded?

[jshelly]

14 hours ago, FLcruisergrl said:

 

Did you book it directly or were you in a cabana and upgraded?

 

We did NOT have a cabana as they were sold out.  On our first sailing day we spoke to the concierge who said that there were only villas available.  😲  I was like BOOK IT!!!!!

[Wendy&Grumpy]

We're onboard Dawn now, going to GSC Friday. We called every day prior to boarding on the 26th and were unable to upgrade our small cabana to a villa. Once we boarded we asked our concierge Roel, and he was unable to upgrade us at that time. He kept checking and finally called us last night to let us know that the ship had finally "received the download" and he was able to upgrade us! Price for us is $475, so it definitely fluctuates with ship/demand.