Haven Impressions

[ejincali]

Recently sailed on the Joy.  5th time on NCL, first time in the Haven.  Have also been on Seabourn which is a similar price point to the Haven.  We were in 14798, a Haven Penthouse Suite.  My thoughts:

 

Room:  Fantastic.  As good as Seabourn.  Spacious, comfortable, liked having the double sink and full tub.  Nespresso machine is a nice touch.  Butler also brings snacks every afternoon, and a pitcher of ice water every day on request.  

 

Service:  Hit or miss.  Haven bar (and all bars) usually slammed so not much time for bartenders to chit chat.  Overall service is better in the Haven than the rest of the ship, but there are misses there too.

 

Dining:  Haven restaurant is very good, but they need daily dinner specials like the MDR has.  Favorite items were lamb chops at dinner, scallops at lunch, and avocado toast at breakfast.  Le Bistro was my favorite meal on the ship, their Dover Sole was as good as the Dover Sole at the Thomas Keller restaurant on Seabourn.   DW's favorite meal was Teppanyaki.  My thoughts, very entertaining but the food "good".  DW thought the fried rice was awesome, I said I can make better--so now I need to rise to the challenge...  Cagney's was a miss, waiter was grumpy and items were not at the proper temperatures.  Waiter was not happy about us asking to re-do some of the items.  One night we ate in the MDR, very busy, but the waitress was great and the food very good.  Especially liked their lamb shank.  Another highlight:  the Indian items on the buffet at lunch time.  

 

Entertainment:  Very good.  Enjoyed the comedian, magic show and Elements.  They also had a legit country duo on the ship.  This is where NCL is a clear winner over Seabourn which has minimal entertainment.

 

Ship overall: CROWDED!  Elevators are slammed.  Kids everywhere including the Haven.  Seabourn with their small ships is much better in this regard.  They also have no kid amenities so there are much fewer children on board.  We have children and grandchildren, so nothing against kids--but was expecting the Haven area to be more calm.  

 

Annoyance:  Upcharges and overzealous selling.  Espresso Martini:  $3 upcharge, for example.  Someone is always trying to take your picture or sell you a gambling card of some sort.  It made me appreciate the all-inclusive (even mini-bar) and no photographers on Seabourn.

 

For us, the NCL Haven experience had its high points, but we liked Seabourn better.  And I didn't even mention the included champagne and caviar yet...

[smilegirl07]

7 hours ago, ejincali said:

 

  

 

Annoyance:  Upcharges and overzealous selling.  Espresso Martini:  $3 upcharge, for example.  Someone is always trying to take your picture or sell you a gambling card of some sort.  It made me appreciate the all-inclusive (even mini-bar) and no photographers on Seabourn.

 

 

Thanks for the review!  Quick Q!  Did you have free at sea package or free at sea plus package?  The plus package includes premium beverages package and supposed to include all top shelf drinks as well, I will be annoyed if we have to pay extra even after getting the premium plus!

 

We are sailing the Viva in summer in the Haven and your review was very helpful, setting the expectations!  Thanks again!

[pag111]

Great review.  Wondering was there an up charge for bottled water at the Haven restaurant?

[ejincali]

11 hours ago, smilegirl07 said:

Thanks for the review!  Quick Q!  Did you have free at sea package or free at sea plus package?  The plus package includes premium beverages package and supposed to include all top shelf drinks as well, I will be annoyed if we have to pay extra even after getting the premium plus!

 

We are sailing the Viva in summer in the Haven and your review was very helpful, setting the expectations!  Thanks again!

We had Free at Sea.  The specific issue with the espresso martini was the included espresso (freshly made, so its a very good drink), that triggered the upcharge.  Also, we went to Starbucks in the Observation Lounge, those drinks also were an extra charge.

[ejincali]

2 hours ago, pag111 said:

Great review.  Wondering was there an up charge for bottled water at the Haven restaurant?

Yes, only tap water is complimentary in the Haven Restaurant.   Bottled, sparkling or still trigger an upcharge.  Back to the coffee, if you order an espresso drink in the Haven restaurant, there is no up-charge for it.  So, very confusing as to when you will be charged extra for things...

[gmbhardy]

The Haven is grossly overpriced. We do club balcony suites now for a third of the price.

[cruiseny4life]

28 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

The Haven is grossly overpriced. We do club balcony suites now for a third of the price.

For you my friend, for you! 

 

Go Sabres!! 

[detroitlions]

49 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

For you my friend, for you! 

 

Go Sabres!! 

That's funny! I mean to be honest most of the time you can get in the Haven cheaper with the Bid process or with price drops.

If it is just me and the DW I like the Haven. If I am with a group of people not so much.

My biggest problem is all the kids in the Haven every time crowded with kids. 

[Niffernay]

5 minutes ago, detroitlions said:

My biggest problem is all the kids in the Haven every time crowded with kids.

@detroitlions I have heard so many people comment things like this and I always wonder when they are cruising? I say this because I have never noticed the Haven being overrun with kids (and believe me I would notice; not a fan of unruly kids - ruly ones are ok 🤣). We cruise almost exclusively in January with Carribbean itineraries. We also spend a lot of time on the sundeck and the casino so that might be why we don't notice them so much either. I'm just curious what time of year you cruise?  

 

PS - love your screen name - we live in the suburbs of Detroit and love our Lions! 🦁 So nice that they are finally giving us something to cheer for!  

[pag111]

We were on the Bliss in Feb. Calif kids had a ski week off of school.  Think there were 200 + kids in the Haven.  Some well behave and others not so much.

[detroitlions]

17 minutes ago, Niffernay said:

@detroitlions I have heard so many people comment things like this and I always wonder when they are cruising? I say this because I have never noticed the Haven being overrun with kids (and believe me I would notice; not a fan of unruly kids - ruly ones are ok 🤣). We cruise almost exclusively in January with Carribbean itineraries. We also spend a lot of time on the sundeck and the casino so that might be why we don't notice them so much either. I'm just curious what time of year you cruise?  

 

PS - love your screen name - we live in the suburbs of Detroit and love our Lions! 🦁 So nice that they are finally giving us something to cheer for!  

So yes your right unfortunately I usually have to cruise during high season which there are more kids. Which my last Joy cruise a few weeks ago there were not a lot of kids or young adults. Except folks were complaining about all the kids in the Haven on the Joy I was not in there just folks I met in the Vibe told me.

Oh and thanks for the screen name thumbs up. I grew up near Detroit and I have not lived there in 20 years but I still love the Lions and always will. I thought they were going to the Super Bowl this past season so close.

 

[Niffernay]

@detroitlions - that explains it. We will continue to avoid high season 😁

 

The Lions we so close, weren't they??  Dan Campbell is a god in this town at the moment.  Hoping they carry last season into next. It's gonna be hopping around here soon with the draft! Take care.

[ejincali]

One point I missed is that when the ship is in a port, the Haven staff escort you to the disembarkation deck using a service elevator.  Its a nice touch on a crowded ship like the Joy.  While I'm at it, here are my thoughts on the ports:

 

Roatan - I had thought there was a beach close by, but I was wrong. So we just walked around and did some shopping.

 

Harvest Caye - Here's where the beach is...  In fact this island was developed by NCL.  No tender needed, just walk off the ship to your beach chair.  Clean beach, lifeguards, refreshing water--very enjoyable and I'm a big fan of this private island type of experience.  One note, food and drink are not part of the cruise and need to be paid for with cash or credit card, not room key.

 

Cozumel - Took the ships excursion to the beach at Passion Island.  The beach is clean and nice, food and drink are included and are good.  Not great, but good.  It does take a good hour by catamaran to get there and there is not enough shade seating for all passengers on the boat.

 

Costa Maya - Went to Hayhu Beach Club which we arranged ourselves.  For $600, our group of six got a private shaded area and an area on the beach.  They gave us a $350 credit towards food and drink.  The food and beverages there were excellent.  I recommend the grill platter, for $175, its plenty of food for 6 people and includes steak, lobster and other very good meats.  The price also includes transportation to and from (about 30 minutes), their representative waits for you outside the port area and puts you in a taxi that they pay for.

[cwn]

As we are getting close to the end of our btob sailing on the Prima in the Haven Galveston to Miami I will add my feeling about the Haven and the Prima. In a word GREAT. The first 7 days RT Galveston was filled with children and large three generational family groups as was excepted since this was Easter Holiday. If you don’t want kids (many of them) don’t cruise over school holidays or in the summer period. You will have kids and lots of them on cruises of 7 days or less, not so many on longer cruises but still enough to be seen and heard. This second part Galveston to Miami is 11 days and there are almost no children, a much different vie. 

 

First off we have been cruising since the early1980’s and have spent over 700 days on various ships trying lots of itineraries around the world. We always try to do cruises of at least 2 weeks to really relax and enjoy the vacation, then we add a week or two of land vacations to that to make a month …as that is the vacation time we had working and with kids in school.. When our chrildern were home we cruised on princess, HAL and X. When NCL came to Galveston in the 90’s we tried them for a few cruises. It is so easy to hop an boat in Galveston for us. After the Grands came along (7 in 6 years) we did Carnival and RCCL out of Galveston with them because it was easy and they loved it. We also did longe cruises on various lines. But since 2009 we have cruised on SS, Seabourn and the Cunard Queens in the Grill. In 2011 we did a Grand Voyage on the Regent Mariner around SA for 63 days and fell in love with the informal life style, crew and small Regent ships. It was a plus that there was fixed price and no surprises at the end of the Regent cruise. Since retirement we have done 2 world cruises putting together segments of Princess, Seabourn and The Queens World Cruises to get around the would in 4-5 months using the ships a rest stops and transportation between continents and we did a true WC on the Regent Navigator in 2018…fabulous. We like cabins with a balcony and about 300sq feet. We generally do not like big ships, unless it is a ship within a ship concept. The Prima is the largest ship we have been on, but the entry level Haven suite is perfect for us..

 

We are blown away with the service we are receiving in the Haven. The food is great, right temperture and the service is fast. The Haven lounge, bar and the sun deck/pool are pleasant and not crowded (nor empty). I like the walk in feature of the Haven pool. It is shoulder deep for the average person. Our Butler and room steward are very detail oriented and are remembering the little things we like without asking. For a mass market cruise line we are impressed.

 

Our days of long flights overseas are over but i think we have found a home on the Prima class ships in the Haven. Hope NCL will continue with US coastal ports…would like to do the Galveston to Miami to NY run next spring or one though the Canal. The cruise is very fairly priced. We didn’t get the drink package as at 2 drinks at the most a night it was not worth it. We did Add the unlimited internet for two devices for $300 for t and did keep the two specially meals per person per cruise. It is costing about half what a similar cruise we did in 2023 on the Regent Splendor, many of the same ports including the service charge and the extra tips due in the Haven…the service is worth it though.

 

The French press coffee in the Haven is great as is the coffee maker coffee in the room.  We had no problem getting our two dinner reservation after we boarded. We didn’t buy any extra internet for the first 7 days but did do the unlimited for two devices for the last 11 days…more sea days. All in all for our getaways now the Haven suits us fine. We only have to give them the key card when we are ready to leave the venue…not for every pour which is not a big deal…just like eating out at home. I have not seen a photographer except at a distance and no body has tried to get us to buy something. We are not night people but what I have seen of the entertainment….there is plenty, if one place is too crowded go somewhere else. 

 

Cruising is what you make it make it fun….you can always find something to complain about if you look hard enough. 

 

 

[scooter6139]

The only Haven we have stayed in so far was on the Joy for a brief 5 day Mexico sailing pre-renovation. We loved it, but it was super busy with kids as it was over the Christmas Holiday which is a bad time to cruise if you don't want to deal with children.  

 

As for Joy, there is both a Good and a Bad with the Haven.  The good is you can try a Haven cabin for a lot cheaper on Joy than most of the other Breakaway ships (HH, and HJ class cabins not on other ships).  The bad is there are just that many more folks who get to use and enjoy the Haven area.

[Wahoowa9904]

If you value your sanity and have to book on a spring break cruise, the Haven is well worth paying double IMHO. 

On a different week? Probably not double. 

[ejincali]

4 hours ago, cwn said:

As we are getting close to the end of our btob sailing on the Prima in the Haven Galveston to Miami I will add my feeling about the Haven and the Prima. In a word GREAT. The first 7 days RT Galveston was filled with children and large three generational family groups as was excepted since this was Easter Holiday. If you don’t want kids (many of them) don’t cruise over school holidays or in the summer period. You will have kids and lots of them on cruises of 7 days or less, not so many on longer cruises but still enough to be seen and heard. This second part Galveston to Miami is 11 days and there are almost no children, a much different vie. 

 

First off we have been cruising since the early1980’s and have spent over 700 days on various ships trying lots of itineraries around the world. We always try to do cruises of at least 2 weeks to really relax and enjoy the vacation, then we add a week or two of land vacations to that to make a month …as that is the vacation time we had working and with kids in school.. When our chrildern were home we cruised on princess, HAL and X. When NCL came to Galveston in the 90’s we tried them for a few cruises. It is so easy to hop an boat in Galveston for us. After the Grands came along (7 in 6 years) we did Carnival and RCCL out of Galveston with them because it was easy and they loved it. We also did longe cruises on various lines. But since 2009 we have cruised on SS, Seabourn and the Cunard Queens in the Grill. In 2011 we did a Grand Voyage on the Regent Mariner around SA for 63 days and fell in love with the informal life style, crew and small Regent ships. It was a plus that there was fixed price and no surprises at the end of the Regent cruise. Since retirement we have done 2 world cruises putting together segments of Princess, Seabourn and The Queens World Cruises to get around the would in 4-5 months using the ships a rest stops and transportation between continents and we did a true WC on the Regent Navigator in 2018…fabulous. We like cabins with a balcony and about 300sq feet. We generally do not like big ships, unless it is a ship within a ship concept. The Prima is the largest ship we have been on, but the entry level Haven suite is perfect for us..

 

We are blown away with the service we are receiving in the Haven. The food is great, right temperture and the service is fast. The Haven lounge, bar and the sun deck/pool are pleasant and not crowded (nor empty). I like the walk in feature of the Haven pool. It is shoulder deep for the average person. Our Butler and room steward are very detail oriented and are remembering the little things we like without asking. For a mass market cruise line we are impressed.

 

Our days of long flights overseas are over but i think we have found a home on the Prima class ships in the Haven. Hope NCL will continue with US coastal ports…would like to do the Galveston to Miami to NY run next spring or one though the Canal. The cruise is very fairly priced. We didn’t get the drink package as at 2 drinks at the most a night it was not worth it. We did Add the unlimited internet for two devices for $300 for t and did keep the two specially meals per person per cruise. It is costing about half what a similar cruise we did in 2023 on the Regent Splendor, many of the same ports including the service charge and the extra tips due in the Haven…the service is worth it though.

 

The French press coffee in the Haven is great as is the coffee maker coffee in the room.  We had no problem getting our two dinner reservation after we boarded. We didn’t buy any extra internet for the first 7 days but did do the unlimited for two devices for the last 11 days…more sea days. All in all for our getaways now the Haven suits us fine. We only have to give them the key card when we are ready to leave the venue…not for every pour which is not a big deal…just like eating out at home. I have not seen a photographer except at a distance and no body has tried to get us to buy something. We are not night people but what I have seen of the entertainment….there is plenty, if one place is too crowded go somewhere else. 

 

Cruising is what you make it make it fun….you can always find something to complain about if you look hard enough. 

 

 

Congratulations on being able to avoid the photographers, we encountered them every time we left the ship in ports, in public areas, and while dining.  Of course you can say no thank you, but we found it annoying to be asked about being photographed while mid-conversation at dinner.  We were also asked for key cards up front for any drinks--could be a difference in the two ships.  

[cwn]

After this trial in the Haven, I love the private elevator, the halls, lounge areas, bar, dinning room sun decks and pool that are all self contained in the Haven area. We have no interest in having to wonder all over a large ship. We also like the Prima class features. It is definitely nice to sail on a Brand new ship with a reasonable bathroom also. There has not been a photographer in the Haven period not when we got on. Or at the ports at the Haven gangway. WE have been able to settle our bar bill when we leave the bar or restaurant so it have not been an issue. If this is not the case in other Havens,we will pass except the new ships.

[roddy good boy]

We used to have to sail during the summer and school holidays because of our kids. Now that they are adults, and on their own, we always make sure to vacation in the Fall, Winter or late Spring! Unfortunately, even though the Haven has been light on kids, we were impacted by hurricanes on two separate cruises during the Fall months, on Carribiean cruises. This year, we’re still sailing in Sept.,but cruising out of Europe. I don’t imagine they’ll be a significant amount of kids on a Mediterranean cruise during the fall.