Haven Restaurant Menu

[jkbec101]

I looked but couldn't find anything.  

Anyone ever been or seen a reason why the Haven Restaurant menu remains static while the MDR changes?  It would seem to me that of any restaurant on the ship, the Haven would be the one to have a rotating menu fleetwide.

[ejincali]

I don't know the reason, but the lack of daily specials is the biggest flaw with the Haven Restaurant in my opinion.

[goldmom]

I agree, the menu gets a bit boring.  The last time we were on the Joy, the Haven restaurant did offer daily specials for entrees and desserts.  I'm guessing it was just meals that were available in the Main dining rooms but it was nice to have a couple of extra choices.  More recently on the Getaway 10 night cruise there were no specials offered so it must be up to the individual staff on each ship.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, jkbec101 said:

I looked but couldn't find anything.  

Anyone ever been or seen a reason why the Haven Restaurant menu remains static while the MDR changes?  It would seem to me that of any restaurant on the ship, the Haven would be the one to have a rotating menu fleetwide.

Almost all passengers have the 2 Free at Sea specialty dinners. Some have 2 more for being Latitudes members. On a 7-night cruise, the menu at the Haven is more than enough. Absolutely no need for anything more. 

 

For long cruises, they will have a special of the night. 

 

 

[jkbec101]

We were in the Haven on the Epic back in 2022 for a European Cruise and it didn't bother me but it is commented on with increasing frequency and I have never heard anyone give a reason.

[9tee2Sea]

there is no rule that you cant mix up the dishes.  I would order Salmon with a lemon wedge, but the sides i requested were sautéed spinach, chopped garlic, and bacon bits.   That was not on the menu, but the side dishes were.  Sometimes I asked for a meal sized Caesar Salad with chicken strips ( not the fried kind) on top.  I too found the menu stale, but I just tweaked the dishes a little bit to my preference.  No one seemed to mind.  

[The Traveling Man]

3 hours ago, jkbec101 said:

I looked but couldn't find anything.  

Anyone ever been or seen a reason why the Haven Restaurant menu remains static while the MDR changes?  It would seem to me that of any restaurant on the ship, the Haven would be the one to have a rotating menu fleetwide.

While it's true that the menu usually doesn't change, it does feature several different appetizers, main courses, and desserts.  If you're an omnivore, you should be able to enough options for several nights.  As others have mentioned, many, perhaps most, Haven guests have prepaid access to specialty restaurants for more than half the nights during a typical cruise.  That means those Haven guests only "have" to eat dinner in the Haven three or four times.  I can only assume that NCL believes that the fixed Haven menu is adequate.  The few times we have sailed in the Haven, including a 14 day cruise in 2016, the Haven menu was fine, although it did get repetitive by the end of the trip.

[erisajd]

The Haven menus are readily available . . . and here they are -  I am looking forward to eggs benedict and waffle every morning - we have two specialty restaurants to burn for lunch prob - and then filet or ribeye with lobsta for dinner on the nights were are not going specialty will be just fine 

NCL+Haven+Breakfast+Menu.pdf NCL+Haven+Lunch+Menu.pdf NCL+Haven+Dinner+Menu.pdf NCL+Haven+Bar+Menu.pdf

Edited April 16 by erisajd

[Sailing12Away]

2 hours ago, erisajd said:

The Haven menus are readily available . . . and here they are -  I am looking forward to eggs benedict and waffle every morning - we have two specialty restaurants to burn for lunch prob - and then filet or ribeye with lobsta for dinner on the nights were are not going specialty will be just fine 

NCL+Haven+Breakfast+Menu.pdf 485.71 kB · 8 downloads NCL+Haven+Lunch+Menu.pdf 716.12 kB · 8 downloads NCL+Haven+Dinner+Menu.pdf 747.56 kB · 10 downloads NCL+Haven+Bar+Menu.pdf 1.65 MB · 6 downloads

The only specialty place open for lunch is Food Republic, and only on sea days, and not on Prima. So double think your plan to use credits for lunch time, unless you consider 5pm lunch.

[Sailing12Away]

As for the original question - it's because they can. People still keep booking Haven cabins despite the non-changing menu, so they haven't yet found a need to change it up.

 

Many people love the menu and feel it's fancy and exclusive enough for them. I don't like it at all really and usually consider eating there a one and done. If we do go more than once I tend to eat off the kids menu.

 

None of the appetizers on the dinner menu are things I would eat, so I tend to get the onion soup or a kids mac & cheese. I don't eat seafood, so the only thing I tend to get for entree is the surf & turf and give the lobster to hubby. The prime rib has always been way too fatty for me.

 

I'm too much of a picky eater, so most of the menu items are lost on me. With Celebrity, it was nice to be handed both the MDR and Luminae menus when you sat down and have tons of options. It let hubby get the foo-foo stuff he likes, and me get a simple pasta dish that I like, while getting the up scale service and attention in the special suite restaurant. If NCL finds a way to offer MDR options along with the set Haven menu, it will be a game changer for them. Even if they put a disclaimer that ordering from that menu would delay meal service a bit to set proper expectations, there's small things they can do to set themselves apart further.

[erisajd]

On 4/11/2024 at 3:02 PM, 9tee2Sea said:

there is no rule that you cant mix up the dishes.  I would order Salmon with a lemon wedge, but the sides i requested were sautéed spinach, chopped garlic, and bacon bits.   That was not on the menu, but the side dishes were.  Sometimes I asked for a meal sized Caesar Salad with chicken strips ( not the fried kind) on top.  I too found the menu stale, but I just tweaked the dishes a little bit to my preference.  No one seemed to mind.  

THIS!! 

 

Don't like something - get the prime rib with a lobsta and mashed.  Put the Mustard sauce on your steak and the béarnaise on the lobsta.   You're only limited by your imagination.  If you're an ex NYer like me - ask for 2-3 bagels and cream cheese to be brought to your stateroom with coffee in the AM - then bring the bagel to the restaurant and make lox, bagels, cream cheese, onion and capers - yum.  

 

Get the French Dip for lunch and ask that the fries be extra crispy with an extra side of au jus=- make it the way you want it . . . 

 

Personally the Haven has many many choices - plus you can mix them up - in addition if you have FAS+ you can order from one of the specialty open for lunch places and have your butler set up lunch in your suite with a nice crisp bottle of white . . .  

Edited April 16 by erisajd

[skeeter195]

3 hours ago, erisajd said:

The Haven menus are readily available . . . and here they are -  I am looking forward to eggs benedict and waffle every morning - we have two specialty restaurants to burn for lunch prob - and then filet or ribeye with lobsta for dinner on the nights were are not going specialty will be just fine 

NCL+Haven+Breakfast+Menu.pdf 485.71 kB · 14 downloads NCL+Haven+Lunch+Menu.pdf 716.12 kB · 16 downloads NCL+Haven+Dinner+Menu.pdf 747.56 kB · 17 downloads NCL+Haven+Bar+Menu.pdf 1.65 MB · 12 downloads

How old are these menus?  If they are new this is very good news.  If the ribeye is back on the dinner menu that would be awesome.  The filet is OK but filet is filet, no real taste.  

[skeeter195]

3 minutes ago, skeeter195 said:

How old are these menus?  If they are new this is very good news.  If the ribeye is back on the dinner menu that would be awesome.  The filet is OK but filet is filet, no real taste.  

Never mind.  I just looked at the bar menu and it is the old one.  I am in the Haven for 15 days starting in less than 2 weeks and would have loved the ribeye at dinner a couple of times.  Third world problems I know.  We are just lucky enough to be able to enjoy the Haven for 15 days.  

[david_sobe]

The Haven menu for dinner has an excellent selection.  Unfortunately they dropped the wild mushroom ravioli that was a favorite for years.  But I could easily eat 4 different dinners off this menu and be happy.

[BirdTravels]

On 4/11/2024 at 2:08 PM, jkbec101 said:

I looked but couldn't find anything.  

Anyone ever been or seen a reason why the Haven Restaurant menu remains static while the MDR changes?  It would seem to me that of any restaurant on the ship, the Haven would be the one to have a rotating menu fleetwide.

It has been NCL’s Haven dinner approach for 14 years. Longer if you consider just suite breakfast and lunch. Why waste money and throw out food by provisioning for multiple dishes when you can provision for a set menu. 
 

As I mentioned earlier, most people will go for specialty dining many of the nights (we get 4 specialty meals on a 7 night cruise). 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, skeeter195 said:

Never mind.  I just looked at the bar menu and it is the old one.  I am in the Haven for 15 days starting in less than 2 weeks and would have loved the ribeye at dinner a couple of times.  Third world problems I know.  We are just lucky enough to be able to enjoy the Haven for 15 days.  

This was the NCL app Haven menu from two weeks ago on the Encore. We were not in the Haven on this cruise, but the menu is the one we had in the Haven in December (I.e., no rib eye). The PDFs above appear to be old. 
 

[ejincali]

13 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

This was the NCL app Haven menu from two weeks ago on the Encore. We were not in the Haven on this cruise, but the menu is the one we had in the Haven in December (I.e., no rib eye). The PDFs above appear to be old. 
 

That was our menu on the Joy two weeks ago.  Rib eye was available in Cagney's.  My favorite from that menu was Lamb chops.

[skeeter195]

56 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

This was the NCL app Haven menu from two weeks ago on the Encore. We were not in the Haven on this cruise, but the menu is the one we had in the Haven in December (I.e., no rib eye). The PDFs above appear to be old. 
 

Thank you.  This is the menu we also had in November on the Joy.  

[RocketMan275]

Pretty much the same menu we had on Prima in February.

My only complaint is the lack of biscuits and gravy.

[erisajd]

Sorry if I posted misinformation.  You can go here instead:

 

https://freestyletravelers.com/blog/ncl-bliss-restaurant-guide

[graphicguy]

15 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

This was the NCL app Haven menu from two weeks ago on the Encore. We were not in the Haven on this cruise, but the menu is the one we had in the Haven in December (I.e., no rib eye). The PDFs above appear to be old. 
 

I enjoy  the Haven Menu.  The ONLY two things I DON'T like on it are the Beets and Broccolini. 

[Laszlo]

6 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I enjoy  the Haven Menu.  The ONLY two things I DON'T like on it are the Beets and Broccolini. 

On our 12 day on the Getaway in the Haven I order surf and turf minus the surf 3 nights. On two of those nights they brought me two filets without me asking

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

On our 12 day on the Getaway in the Haven I order surf and turf minus the surf 3 nights. On two of those nights they brought me two filets without me asking

I'm not a big "lobster guy".  But, I had surf and turf 2 separate nights on my last Haven (Prima) cruise.  We went out of Galveston.  So, not sure where they got their lobsters, but they were quite good.

[goldmom]

I'm not a fan of the pasta dish.  I even prefer the pasta at the local.  I did ask in the Haven on Getaway if I could have the pasta from the Local (or O'sheenan's) brought to the Haven but was told no.  I've heard of others making special requests for the next night but it didn't work for me even though I asked in advance.

[beastlet]

On 4/16/2024 at 11:15 AM, Sailing12Away said:

 

 

On 4/16/2024 at 11:15 AM, Sailing12Away said:

 

 

On 4/16/2024 at 11:15 AM, Sailing12Away said:

None of the appetizers on the dinner menu are things I would eat, so I tend to get the onion soup or a kids mac & cheese. I don't eat seafood, so the only thing I tend to get for entree is the surf & turf and give the lobster to hubby. The prime rib has always been way too fatty for me.

 

 

You can order only the turf. Or double turf. Or the turf with mac & cheese.

My mom orders a lobster tail (or two) with every dinner, no matter what entree she gets. The one thing that makes that static menu work is that you can do anything you want with what's on it.