More Viva Questions—just booked Haven

[alliecat44]

Hello, all! I know Viva is just completing her first couple of cruises, and am very excited to have booked Viva for February (the San Juan port-intensive itinerary). 
 

I was wondering a few things so far: 

—in the Haven, will your butler bring selections from Indulge? 
 

—any idea yet which cabins have the slide problem (slides that obstruct the balcony and/or view) like the Prima? 
 

—any confirmation on the location of the deck 18 smoking area? (For DH) 

 

Hoping all are enjoying planning for their next cruise! More questions to come later, I am sure! 🙂 

[BirdTravels]

If you coordinate in advance, your butler will bring you food from any open restaurant.

 

Personally, I would go to the indulge and get my food hot, with the ability to keep ordering. You really don't know what you want until you see it on the ordering pad. That's what we are planning for our Viva Haven cruise. 

[Karaboudjan]

The deck plans seem fairly specific now about where the slides are on each deck.  My bigger concern, though, would be privacy issues with the rear-facing balconies on the cabins that the slides go around.

[Liljo22]

The slides mostly go through the Family Suite w/ Master Bedroom cabins.  They are not Haven but do come with a butler and concierge.   They also list the 2 bdr Haven cabins as having obstructed views in cabin 15300, 14900, and 13900.  

Edited August 22, 2023 by Liljo22

[alliecat44]

Thanks, guys! I had been looking at the deck plans on my phone and didn’t squint to see the little light gray unlabeled swoops that indicate the slides. 🙂 now that I am on a desktop and you pointed them out, I can see where the slides are. Thank you! We’ll be in 13316, so they shouldn’t affect us (thank goodness). 
 

I was just wondering if there was a policy against butler delivery of Indulge items since the venue sounds consistently so busy and standing room only on the Prima. Have been in the Haven before. Woukd much prefer to eat at Indulge, but if seating is such a huge problem I was just wondering about a backup plan for their incredible menus. 😉 

 

 

Many thanks! 

[MammaCass]

3 hours ago, alliecat44 said:

Thanks, guys! I had been looking at the deck plans on my phone and didn’t squint to see the little light gray unlabeled swoops that indicate the slides. 🙂 now that I am on a desktop and you pointed them out, I can see where the slides are. Thank you! We’ll be in 13316, so they shouldn’t affect us (thank goodness). 
 

I was just wondering if there was a policy against butler delivery of Indulge items since the venue sounds consistently so busy and standing room only on the Prima. Have been in the Haven before. Woukd much prefer to eat at Indulge, but if seating is such a huge problem I was just wondering about a backup plan for their incredible menus. 😉 

 

 

Many thanks! 

 

[MammaCass]

we will be in 13316 leaving on September 4, 2023!!!  I can't wait!!

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, alliecat44 said:

I was just wondering if there was a policy against butler delivery of Indulge items since the venue sounds consistently so busy and standing room only on the Prima. Have been in the Haven before. Woukd much prefer to eat at Indulge, but if seating is such a huge problem I was just wondering about a backup plan for their incredible menus. 😉 

 

If you coordinate in advance, your butler will bring you food from any open restaurant.

 

Personally, I would go to the indulge and get my food hot, with the ability to keep ordering. You really don't know what you want until you see it on the ordering pad. That's what we are planning for our Viva Haven cruise. We have been to the Indulge 5 times for both lunch and dinner snacks. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by BirdTravels

[cruiseny4life]

On 8/22/2023 at 8:46 PM, BirdTravels said:

If you coordinate in advance, your butler will bring you food from any open restaurant.

 

Personally, I would go to the indulge and get my food hot, with the ability to keep ordering. You really don't know what you want until you see it on the ordering pad. That's what we are planning for our Viva Haven cruise. We have been to the Indulge 5 times for both lunch and dinner snacks. 

Much like you, I would prefer to go to Indulge when we're on Pr1ma. I'm a wee bit worried due to the many reviews/videos/etc. showing Indulge to be super packed. What was your experience? Did you go at non-popular times? Did you circle, like a certain bird, for a table? Was it crowded, but fairly easy to find a table, despite the crowds? I'd love to hear your experience and any tips you may have on making it easier to enjoy Indulge which you've done. Thank you!

[laudergayle]

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Much like you, I would prefer to go to Indulge when we're on Pr1ma. I'm a wee bit worried due to the many reviews/videos/etc. showing Indulge to be super packed. What was your experience? Did you go at non-popular times? Did you circle, like a certain bird, for a table? Was it crowded, but fairly easy to find a table, despite the crowds? I'd love to hear your experience and any tips you may have on making it easier to enjoy Indulge which you've done. Thank you!

While you didn’t ask me…lol, I’ll share our experience.  Yes it’s crowded often, but if it were that difficult to eat there, you wouldn’t have so many people raving about how great it is.  It’s like finding a seat or parking spot.  You have to gauge the people in the space, look at their progress in the meal…are they on dessert or appetizers. On our cruise, we found 2-ish and 8 pm-ish it was quite easy to be seated. And rarely were there people seated at the individual station counters…which I under they now let you order from all food venues not just the one you are seated at.  

Edited August 24, 2023 by laudergayle

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Much like you, I would prefer to go to Indulge when we're on Pr1ma. I'm a wee bit worried due to the many reviews/videos/etc. showing Indulge to be super packed. What was your experience? Did you go at non-popular times? Did you circle, like a certain bird, for a table? Was it crowded, but fairly easy to find a table, despite the crowds? I'd love to hear your experience and any tips you may have on making it easier to enjoy Indulge which you've done. Thank you!

We have cruised on the Prima twice. Our experience is that it is crowded. We go early to get a seat. Or we don't mind sitting at the high top bars (not associated with a restaurant). The food is wonderful and what we see on the ordering pad drives what we order. We keep ordering until we have had our fill. Some of our favorites were the BBQ salmon and the butter chicken. Can't beat a crab tostada either.  

[cruiseny4life]

14 hours ago, laudergayle said:

While you didn’t ask me…lol, I’ll share our experience.  Yes it’s crowded often, but if it were that difficult to eat there, you wouldn’t have so many people raving about how great it is.  It’s like finding a seat or parking spot.  You have to gauge the people in the space, look at their progress in the meal…are they on dessert or appetizers. On our cruise, we found 2-ish and 8 pm-ish it was quite easy to be seated. And rarely were there people seated at the individual station counters…which I under they now let you order from all food venues not just the one you are seated at.  

 

12 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

We have cruised on the Prima twice. Our experience is that it is crowded. We go early to get a seat. Or we don't mind sitting at the high top bars (not associated with a restaurant). The food is wonderful and what we see on the ordering pad drives what we order. We keep ordering until we have had our fill. Some of our favorites were the BBQ salmon and the butter chicken. Can't beat a crab tostada either.  

Thank you both...even you @laudergayle since I didn't ask you. Haha, I'm kidding! Really! I appreciate you two giving some advice so I can maximize my Indulge Food Hall experience. After hearing about it from you, others here, and on YouTube, I'm really looking forward to trying the place out a few times in November. Minus the small'ish space, it seems NCL has definitely nailed it with this concept. 

 

Butter chicken and crab tostadas here I come! That sounds yum yum yum. Those station counters look appealing to me...if I can order from all the restaurants. I haven't seen where the iPads were set up differently, but I trust what you've heard. It would seem to be a much smarter way of alleviating some of the crowding. I might feel slightly awkward eating ribs in front of the noodle bar though.

Basically, I'm hearing go early, like right at opening or go late after everyone has had their fill. We'll try both times out to see what works best for us. Very grateful you've helped make my trip in November even better!

[lgdesign]

Does anyone know what the Haven Restaurant hours are for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

[ggTexasGal]

2 hours ago, lgdesign said:

Does anyone know what the Haven Restaurant hours are for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

I do not know for certain, however, probably like, or very similar to most ships Haven Restaurant.

Breakfast hours: 7:00am - 9:30am varies by port

Lunch hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Dinner hours: 5:30pm - 9:30pm

[lgdesign]

1 hour ago, ggTexasGal said:

I do not know for certain, however, probably like, or very similar to most ships Haven Restaurant.

Breakfast hours: 7:00am - 9:30am varies by port

Lunch hours: 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Dinner hours: 5:30pm - 9:30pm

 

Thanks very much...

[kasimir]

On 8/25/2023 at 8:21 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Basically, I'm hearing go early, like right at opening or go late after everyone has had their fill.

Small feedback from my side, as we also loved Indulge. The previous posters hit it on the nail, for lunch, either come early late, in between is just too busy. And I mean early, actually come like 10 minutes before the official opening hour (11:50am), then it’s empty and the staff starts turning on iPads a few minutes before anyway. Because from what we saw it fills up quickly at lunch time, especially on a sea day. 
 

Regarding dinner time, from our experience, most of the days, it was on average half full regardless what time we went, as it seems that most folks try to eat at Hudsons. But if you ask me, the food quality is way way better compared to the MDR. 
 

Also keep in mind that the Indulge menu is different between lunch and dinner, so it’s worth to check out both to try the different items. 
 

My wife is obsessed with the pasta from Noodles, but the Indian menu for us is the highlight. 

[cruiseny4life]

11 hours ago, kasimir said:

Small feedback from my side, as we also loved Indulge. The previous posters hit it on the nail, for lunch, either come early late, in between is just too busy. And I mean early, actually come like 10 minutes before the official opening hour (11:50am), then it’s empty and the staff starts turning on iPads a few minutes before anyway. Because from what we saw it fills up quickly at lunch time, especially on a sea day. 
 

Regarding dinner time, from our experience, most of the days, it was on average half full regardless what time we went, as it seems that most folks try to eat at Hudsons. But if you ask me, the food quality is way way better compared to the MDR. 
 

Also keep in mind that the Indulge menu is different between lunch and dinner, so it’s worth to check out both to try the different items. 
 

My wife is obsessed with the pasta from Noodles, but the Indian menu for us is the highlight. 

Thank you! This is going to help us immensely. I am really looking forward to both stations you mentioned. The naan looks phenomenal! And, Im a sucker for noodles - I have one large drawer of my back desk dedicated to instant ramen in my office (and, yep the actual thing is even better).

[UKstages]

i’m coming late to this resurrected thread. just popped in to say that you really don’t want your butler to fetch food from indulge. you just don’t. indulge is a grazing concept. you order a little bit of this and a little bit of that, as the mood strikes you, while you’re actively eating. some of the portions can be diminutive, two or three pieces of chicken tikka, for instance. not only is it not a proper portion, if ordered on its own, but because of the small food mass, it doesn’t travel well. the food will quickly get cold.
 

think of indulge as a series of never ending tapas, brought to your table within a minute or so of being cooked. think of it as dim sum, with ordering via tablet. also, your butler probably has lots more important things to do than trying to coordinate a meal from a bunch of different for stations, all the components of which have different cook times.

 

the challenge in finding seats at indulge is real and there are good suggestions about how to combat that above. that’s the solution here, not sending your butler.

[luvtoride]

On 8/22/2023 at 3:22 PM, BirdTravels said:

If you coordinate in advance, your butler will bring you food from any open restaurant.

 

Personally, I would go to the indulge and get my food hot, with the ability to keep ordering. You really don't know what you want until you see it on the ordering pad. That's what we are planning for our Viva Haven cruise. 

What is “Indulge”? Is that the Haven restaurant? We’re just arriving back in NY today from our first ever NCL cruise in The Haven on Escape.  The Haven restaurant was by far the best dining we tried on the ship. The service, menu selection and presentation and quality for every meal we had there was outstanding!  Why go anywhere else or have it brought to your cabin (unless you’re not feeling well)?

[Vegasvolfan]

I am headed to Lisbon today to board Viva tomorrow I plan to Indulge often and will try to leave a review after my cruise.  Very excited by this concept and the menus I have seen.

[bluefish17]

Just got off Viva in Lisbon. Indulge was very nice, just have to find a table.

Smokers area on deck 17 Sundeck in Haven on ports

side, couple chairs and ashtray things. Out of the wind.

[Sand and Seas]

On 11/15/2023 at 1:08 AM, luvtoride said:

What is “Indulge”? Is that the Haven restaurant? We’re just arriving back in NY today from our first ever NCL cruise in The Haven on Escape.  The Haven restaurant was by far the best dining we tried on the ship. The service, menu selection and presentation and quality for every meal we had there was outstanding!  Why go anywhere else or have it brought to your cabin (unless you’re not feeling well)?

Indulge Food Hall was great on Prima.  It's a complimentary venue that has a huge variety of small plate items.  Each table has a tablet to place your orders.  Easy to over order so suggest you start with just a couple of choices.  Servers deliver your selections.