FYI - Joy Haven sun deck is over crowded

[crockea]

Was on the Joy last week and wanted to pass along to those going on the Joy in the Haven, that the upper sun deck is over crowded.  There are many more Haven cabins on the Joy.  Even though the sun deck is larger than on the some of the other ships, it is not large enough for all the Haven guests.  There were some seat savers but not a lot, and still not any open seats on the last sea day.  Fortunately the ship was only 1/3 full so we had the rest of the ship to sit out but thought those of you who've been in the Haven before and were able to enjoy the perk of no crowds, you might not experience the same on the Joy.  The Vibe club (what I could see through the crack in the door) looked completely empty.  My hope would be that NCL will give up a portion of Vibe to Haven if the trend continues, but .... ?  Now, I know some may think "whaaaaa, you poor thing".  But when you spend so much more to have extra space, it is disappointing.

[Two Wheels Only]

I'm not surprised. When the extra staterooms were added to the Haven, many worried about the outcome. Since the change was announced, then Covid shutdown, then reduced capacity on restart, nobody really knew what to expect.

 

I fear that posts such as yours will continue as capacity starts to increase on Joy.

[Sthrngary]

I was on the Joy sailing on November 27, through December 4th, 2021.  NCL did the bidding process which for them is a very smart move.  The Haven was completely sold out as is the case for every sailing since.  

 

I did notice the Sundeck was much more crowded then it had been before.  Yet I always found a lounge chair.  Of the three ships I really wanted to cruise on which were Encore, Bliss and Joy; the Joy was by fair the much more financially reasonable choice.  Most of us, my self included know about the conversion from the Asian Market to the American Market for the Joy in 2019.  It is very true that the Joy has more Haven Suites and therefore more Haven guests.

 

What we all have to do is look at our choices knowing as much as we can.  In looking back, I asked myself; would I have booked the NCL Joy Haven knowing what I know now.  The answer is, "YES".  If I could have cruised on the Bliss or the Encore for the same investment would I have chosen the Joy, probably not. Still a great cruise and experience.  

 

Cruise well everyone. 

[cruising sister]

If they got rid of the weird and not real comfortable sofas  on the Haven sun deck and replace with loungers that would help. 

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, crockea said:

Was on the Joy last week and wanted to pass along to those going on the Joy in the Haven, that the upper sun deck is over crowded.  There are many more Haven cabins on the Joy.  Even though the sun deck is larger than on the some of the other ships, it is not large enough for all the Haven guests.  There were some seat savers but not a lot, and still not any open seats on the last sea day.  Fortunately the ship was only 1/3 full so we had the rest of the ship to sit out but thought those of you who've been in the Haven before and were able to enjoy the perk of no crowds, you might not experience the same on the Joy.  The Vibe club (what I could see through the crack in the door) looked completely empty.  My hope would be that NCL will give up a portion of Vibe to Haven if the trend continues, but .... ?  Now, I know some may think "whaaaaa, you poor thing".  But when you spend so much more to have extra space, it is disappointing.

I was booked in the Haven on the Joy shortly after the change of cabin class (converting some of the Suites to Haven rooms), but our cruise got cancelled. The Haven (lounge, sundeck, restaurant, courtyard) is designed to optimally support the 80 original Haven cabins. When NCL added more rooms to "The Haven", I suspected that all of the Haven facilities would be over run. And it appears that they are. 

[oteixeira]

12 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

I was booked in the Haven on the Joy shortly after the change of cabin class (converting some of the Suites to Haven rooms), but our cruise got cancelled. The Haven (lounge, sundeck, restaurant, courtyard) is designed to optimally support the 80 original Haven cabins. When NCL added more rooms to "The Haven", I suspected that all of the Haven facilities would be over run. And it appears that they are. 

No one will know for sure until the ship is 100%.  I suspect that right now more of the upgrades may include larger groups/families then would book the haven during 100% occupancy and demand when most of the rooms would not be available.  I could be wrong but my guess is the 3rd/4th and so on guests may be clogging up the deck areas.  I think there will be less 3rd/4ths once the industry is back to a more normal level of occupancy and demand.  

All that said the Joy is cheaper for a reason, this is part of that reason.

[mafig]

2 hours ago, crockea said:

Was on the Joy last week and wanted to pass along to those going on the Joy in the Haven, that the upper sun deck is over crowded.  There are many more Haven cabins on the Joy.  Even though the sun deck is larger than on the some of the other ships, it is not large enough for all the Haven guests.  

 

What about the rest of the Haven facilities......especially the restaurant?  Did that seem overcrowded? and noisy?

[Sthrngary]

12 minutes ago, mafig said:

 

What about the rest of the Haven facilities......especially the restaurant?  Did that seem overcrowded? and noisy?

I can answer this question, no they did not show any overcrowding or excess noise.  Remember, all Haven are fully booked.  It won't make a difference when the ships have 100% occupancy.  I want to add one thing, the bar on occasion had a wait.  No more then a minute or two. 

 

I hope that helps everyone. 

 

Cruise well.

[crockea]

We did not experience crowding in the restaurant.  I think a lot of folks on board also had the dining package, and with only 1/3 the passengers, having a reservation at a specialty restaurant was never a problem.  

The pool area wasn't crowded.  They kept the cover closed on sea days so it wasn't good if you wanted sun and the AC was high so it was actually cold.  We're from the NW tho, so we were fine with that.

The observation lounge and the library rarely had people in it.  There is a ton of room in the observation lounge so if you enjoy a quiet place to just look at the scenery, it was wonderful.  We were out and about most the time but I could totally see this space being used a lot during an Alaska or cold weather cruise.

Everywhere else on the ship was so empty.  I was quite weird ..... we loved it.  

We booked the Haven about 3 months out and paid 2x the price they were selling for towards the end.  NCL would not give us any credit or even let us upgrade to a higher level cabin, as they were less than what we paid.  hindsight

 

[mafig]

I'm trying to decide between Apex retreat or Joy Haven, and there's the same complaints about the Retreat being crowded, due to Celebrity booking all their suites via upgrades, compared to the rest of the ship.

Edited February 14, 2022 by mafig

[rxlowry]

On the Joy right now and although the Haven is well booked, we have had no problems yet.  Decent amount on our sea day on sun deck but we found primo seats.  The courtyard seems more crowded but manageable.  The hot ticket seat is a barstool in the Haven bar for sure!!

[mafig]

1 hour ago, crockea said:

 

Everywhere else on the ship was so empty.  I was quite weird ..... we loved it.  

We booked the Haven about 3 months out and paid 2x the price they were selling for towards the end.  NCL would not give us any credit or even let us upgrade to a higher level cabin, as they were less than what we paid.  hindsight

 

 

Did you book with a TA?  Sometimes they can go to bat for you.

I know Royal gives obc if the price drops.  Also,  final payment is 30 days off (even for suites).  

[david_sobe]

So all those interior "family suites" are now Haven suites?  I know they used to have their own special breakfast and lunch somewhere but now they are all Haven suites?  Just another reason I would never book Joy.  No spa and over run Haven.

Gee, where do I sign up 😜

[Two Wheels Only]

6 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

So all those interior "family suites" are now Haven suites?

 

Not all of the Concierge Suites became Haven Suites. It was enough to move Joy (118) past Escape (95, iirc).

[vacation44]

4 hours ago, cruising sister said:

If they got rid of the weird and not real comfortable sofas  on the Haven sun deck and replace with loungers that would help. 

On Joy now and I agree.  There are alot of uncomfortable seats on the sun deck.  They need to remove these and replace them with loungers.   We have not had a problem yet getting loungers, but the weather has not been perfect.

[vacation44]

3 hours ago, mafig said:

 

What about the rest of the Haven facilities......especially the restaurant?  Did that seem overcrowded? and noisy?

No, the restaurant does not seem overly crowded.  

[fox02554]

15 hours ago, crockea said:

  

We booked the Haven about 3 months out and paid 2x the price they were selling for towards the end.  NCL would not give us any credit or even let us upgrade to a higher level cabin, as they were less than what we paid.  hindsight

 

we are finding the same thing on our upcoming Breakaway cruise , booked early to get the room we wanted , now 1/2 the price , and there are still 6 , 2 bedrooms open for upgarades. I guess next time we should book cheaper and wait for low price up grade 🤷‍♀️

 

[Sthrngary]

4 hours ago, fox02554 said:

we are finding the same thing on our upcoming Breakaway cruise , booked early to get the room we wanted , now 1/2 the price , and there are still 6 , 2 bedrooms open for upgarades. I guess next time we should book cheaper and wait for low price up grade 🤷‍♀️

 

This entire situation is obviously happening because of the health of the virus.  I personally did what you did and booked the suite I wanted a very long time ago.  Luck of the draw.  My gut tells me, if a person wants the Haven at a bargain fare, do it now and your window might be a month or two.  

 

Regardless enjoy your cruise.

 

Cruise well.

[TheDougOut]

21 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

Remember, all Haven are fully booked.  It won't make a difference when the ships have 100% occupancy.

I suspect there will be a difference.  When Haven (or the Retreat) is near-capacity and the rest of the ship is at half capacity, we tend to spend much more time in the common areas.  We just got off the Apex, and don’t think we spent more than a few hours on the retreat sundeck (compared to endless hours in the empty solarium).
 

That will no longer be the case once ships return to 100% capacity, and the suite areas are comparatively the less-crowded spaces.

[vacation44]

Very valid point.   We are spending a good amount of time in the "common" areas where I know we would not if it was at full capacity.  

[aubreyc1988]

I like a few people around me so I hope I won't be bothered by this. I should be fine as long as I can find a place to sit. I like when there are signs of life lol 

[jleslie48]

The entire breakaway class is an abomination.   The interior areas block off views of the ocean, the open air areas are entirely too small for the number of passengers, and quite frankly the Haven is an insult to anyone not in it and leaves me with a bad vibe all around. Never again. 

Try a jewel class cruise with Norwegian you'll notice the difference immedately: You never have to get a reservation for anything. Walk into the theater 2 minutes before the show, you'll get a good seat.  Have dinner in any restaurant no wait.  I was just on the Gem in 2024 and it was at ful capacity.  Never an issue getting a lounge chair.   

 

edit: I forgot to mention the atrocity that is the elevator situation on the breakaway class.  I've seen subway stations less crowded than the wait (up to 4 groups,) ahead of you to take an elevator.   How in god's name did they make these ships with 20 decks and only 2 banks of elevators.  

Edited March 27 by jleslie48
more details

[cruiseny4life]

29 minutes ago, jleslie48 said:

The entire breakaway class is an abomination.   The interior areas block off views of the ocean, the open air areas are entirely too small for the number of passengers, and quite frankly the Haven is an insult to anyone not in it and leaves me with a bad vibe all around. Never again. 

Try a jewel class cruise with Norwegian you'll notice the difference immedately: You never have to get a reservation for anything. Walk into the theater 2 minutes before the show, you'll get a good seat.  Have dinner in any restaurant no wait.  I was just on the Gem in 2024 and it was at ful capacity.  Never an issue getting a lounge chair.   

 

edit: I forgot to mention the atrocity that is the elevator situation on the breakaway class.  I've seen subway stations less crowded than the wait (up to 4 groups,) ahead of you to take an elevator.   How in god's name did they make these ships with 20 decks and only 2 banks of elevators.  

And you also have to eat in specialty restaurants or the main dining room or the buffet every evening on Jewel class ships. No, thank you! I'll take my Breakaway/Breakaway Plus/Pr1ma class ships over those small abominations any day (being a bit dramatic to...well prove a point which I assume @jleslie48 is doing too). 

[jleslie48]

13 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

And you also have to eat in specialty restaurants or the main dining room or the buffet every evening on Jewel class ships. No, thank you! I'll take my Breakaway/Breakaway Plus/Pr1ma class ships over those small abominations any day (being a bit dramatic to...well prove a point which I assume @jleslie48 is doing too). 

I've never eaten at the buffet. 12 times on the Jewel class ships, the specialty restaurants, the main dining room and O'sheehan's bar.  The Main Dining room is spectacular. Both of them.  I've never eaten at complimentary Asian Restaurant either. 

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, jleslie48 said:

The entire breakaway class is an abomination.   The interior areas block off views of the ocean, the open air areas are entirely too small for the number of passengers, and quite frankly the Haven is an insult to anyone not in it and leaves me with a bad vibe all around. Never again. 

Try a jewel class cruise with Norwegian you'll notice the difference immedately: You never have to get a reservation for anything. Walk into the theater 2 minutes before the show, you'll get a good seat.  Have dinner in any restaurant no wait.  I was just on the Gem in 2024 and it was at ful capacity.  Never an issue getting a lounge chair.   

 

edit: I forgot to mention the atrocity that is the elevator situation on the breakaway class.  I've seen subway stations less crowded than the wait (up to 4 groups,) ahead of you to take an elevator.   How in god's name did they make these ships with 20 decks and only 2 banks of elevators.  

@jleslie48 Tell us all how you really feel.  All kidding aside.  I have cruised all of the Ship Categories on NCL.  Each have something to love and something this is less then pleasing.  I have cruised in a Inside Cabin Stateroom, Balcony, Club Suite, Haven Spa Suite, Haven Penthouse Suite and the H2 Deluxe Haven Owners Suite.  Like the ships, each stateroom and each set of accommodations had some good and bad aspects. 

 

Our job for enjoyment and reducing disappointment in your vacations is to do some due diligence on our choices. It is important to explain clearly with unemotional yet descriptive words our likes and dislikes and why.  That really helps folks make a good business decision.

 

After decades of cruising for me, the only thing that is consistent is nothing is for everyone.  So do the research and take everyone's opinion including myself with a grain of salt.  This way, the core is always how to make our cruise vacation better. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.