Haven Questions

[OceanCruise]

We have never cruised on NCL but are Elite Plus with Celebrity and usually book the Retreat. Are alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks included in the Haven Lounge similar to the Retreat? I was looking at a NCL cruise with "all included" promotion that listed a drink package as an included perk but then there was an additional $350 gratuity added on for that perk. That was in addition to the $25 pp daily service charge for suites. Then, in the FAQs, it said that none of the service charge goes to the butler (only regular service staff) so an additional gratuity should be considered for that person. I am confused because the Haven service charge is higher than a standard room service charge. 

[Two Wheels Only]

Technically, drinks are not included with a Haven booking. You do have the option of taking the promo that covers most drinks (up to $15) anywhere on the ship. You would pay the service charge of a little over $21 per day if you take that promo. You can choose the amount that you tip the butler and concierge if you choose to tip them. You can also (controversial topic) adjust the $25 daily charge how you see fit.

[RocketMan275]

53 minutes ago, OceanCruise said:

I am confused because the Haven service charge is higher than a standard room service charge. 

The reason the Haven service charge is higher because of a higher standard of service not because of the butler and the concierge.  The reason the butler and concierge are not included is because there is a wide variance in how much passengers choose to use their services.  This allows passengers to adjust their gratuities to reflect how much they use t their services.

 

Suggest you refer to this thread:

 

Edited May 9 by RocketMan275

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, OceanCruise said:

We have never cruised on NCL but are Elite Plus with Celebrity and usually book the Retreat.

 

 

Are alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks included in the Haven Lounge similar to the Retreat?

No. No drinks are included with the Haven. You either pay for drinks with a room charge or you can accept the "free" beverage package that comes with your reservation. 

 

I was looking at a NCL cruise with "all included" promotion that listed a drink package as an included perk but then there was an additional $350 gratuity added on for that perk.

Yes. You pay the gratuity on the retail price of the drinks package. That comes to $350. That is the same for any passenger on the ship from inside room through Haven. The Haven does not get you relief from paying the gratuity. 

 

You would have also been charge a smaller gratuity if you accepted the free specialty dining. 

 

That was in addition to the $25 pp daily service charge for suites. Then, in the FAQs, it said that none of the service charge goes to the butler (only regular service staff) so an additional gratuity should be considered for that person. I am confused because the Haven service charge is higher than a standard room service charge. 

There is a standard $25 daily service charge. It is kinda like the $23 daily service charge you pay for a Retreat room (versus the $18 paid for a steerage room on Celebrity). 

 

Yes, your butler and concierge are not included in the daily service charge. And NCL encorages you to tip them accordingly. 

 

There is a much higher crew to passenger ratio in the Haven, so your daily service charge is increased because of that along with all of the front of the house and behind the scenes crew that help you throughout the ship. 

 

Personally, we tip our room steward (who is include in the daily service charge) regardless of what class of room we are sailing in (steerage to Haven). We tip our butler. And we tip our concierge. 

 

Edited May 9 by BirdTravels

[OceanCruise]

10 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

 

Are alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks included in the Haven Lounge similar to the Retreat?

No. No drinks are included with the Haven. You either pay for drinks with a room charge or you can accept the "free" beverage package that comes with your reservation. 

 

I was looking at a NCL cruise with "all included" promotion that listed a drink package as an included perk but then there was an additional $350 gratuity added on for that perk.

Yes. You pay the gratuity on the retail price of the drinks package. That comes to $350. That is the same for any passenger on the ship from inside room through Haven. The Haven does not get you relief from paying the gratuity. 

 

You would have also been charge a smaller gratuity if you accepted the free specialty dining. 

 

That was in addition to the $25 pp daily service charge for suites. Then, in the FAQs, it said that none of the service charge goes to the butler (only regular service staff) so an additional gratuity should be considered for that person. I am confused because the Haven service charge is higher than a standard room service charge. 

There is a standard $25 daily service charge. It is kinda like the $23 daily service charge you pay for a Retreat room (versus the $18 paid for a steerage room on Celebrity). 

 

Yes, your butler and concierge are not included in the daily service charge. And NCL encorages you to tip them accordingly. 

 

There is a much higher crew to passenger ratio in the Haven, so your daily service charge is increased because of that along with all of the front of the house and behind the scenes crew that help you throughout the ship. 

 

Personally, we tip our room steward (who is include in the daily service charge) regardless of what class of room we are sailing in (steerage to Haven). We tip our butler. And we tip our concierge. 

 

Thank you. That info is very helpful. I admit that I am surprised that the Haven is more expensive than the Retreat due to these extra costs (at least for the cruises I was comparing). Does the Haven lounge have food offerings throughout the day like the Retreat or is it just an exclusive lounge? Can you get lunch on the Haven sundeck? On the Retreat sundeck there is a small lunch menu and a server comes around to to take orders and bring food/drinks to your lounger.

[david_sobe]

You will find out NCL has lots of things you have to pay additional for that you can get included in suites on other lines.  There are no free drinks.  No drink specials in the Haven lounge. No happy hour at the Haven lounge either.  Even if you book a Deluxe Owners suite you will still have to pay for access to the spa.  You will also pay for internet unless you are in an owners suite.   

Haven daily service fee is more too.  Your room will be made twice per day instead of only once in rooms outside the Haven.  
The Haven restaurant menu never changes either unlike RCCL and other lines that have their suite menu change daily like the MDR.

You will also pay for all sodas in restaurants unless you pay for a soda or alcohol package.  Bottled water and specialty coffees not included in traditional beverage package.

Welcome to NCL
😁

Edited May 9 by david_sobe

[BirdTravels]

5 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

The Haven restaurant menu never changes either unlike RCCL and other lines that have their suite menu change daily like the MDR.

We're Diamond members on RCCL. Coastal Kitchen is not much of a restaurant. We actually walked out twice during our last cruise because the food and the service was so bad. And went to the Windjammer to get some "real" dinner.

 

On small ships, the breakfast service in Chops is abysmal. 

[RocketMan275]

21 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

We're Diamond members on RCCL. Coastal Kitchen is not much of a restaurant. We actually walked out twice during our last cruise because the food and the service was so bad. And went to the Windjammer to get some "real" dinner.

 

On small ships, the breakfast service in Chops is abysmal. 

We also preferred Windjammer to Coastal Kitchens.  The italian place was very nice though.

[Sailing12Away]

23 hours ago, OceanCruise said:

Thank you. That info is very helpful. I admit that I am surprised that the Haven is more expensive than the Retreat due to these extra costs (at least for the cruises I was comparing). Does the Haven lounge have food offerings throughout the day like the Retreat or is it just an exclusive lounge? Can you get lunch on the Haven sundeck? On the Retreat sundeck there is a small lunch menu and a server comes around to to take orders and bring food/drinks to your lounger.

With all things being equal, Celebrity Retreat is always much higher in cost for us than NCL Haven. Our one and only Retreat experience was on a smaller ship (Summit), and did not even come close in comparison to what we experience on NCL (NCL was leaps and bounds better, except for the private restaurant, Celebrity wins there). 

 

Celebrity is no longer including gratuities for free, so no different from NCL's daily service charge.

 

Celebrity doesn't include the mini bar for free unless you're in a top tier room, so no different from NCL. NCL's drink package is pretty reasonable at only ~$21/pp/day - you can decline it if you want and just get a soda plan. NCL Butler can bring you a pitcher of ice water, lemonade, fruit juice, or fountain soda for free - you can't get that in the Retreat unless you're in a 20K+ room. They charged me $5 for a bottle of water just for removing it from the fridge and putting on the counter so I can put my own water bottle in there - never had that with NCL.

Butler on NCL will also bring you snacks throughout the day of nearly whatever you want. With Celebrity, my MIL was only in a sky suite and told she can walk herself to the lounge to get a snack (she was in a wheelchair BTW). We were in a celebrity suite and only got anything because we asked the butler about it, and he brought the exact same thing every day of the trip. NCL butlers will mix it up based on what you tell them you like. 

 

Snacks in the Retreat lounge never changed for us - ever. Some veggies, popcorn, and small canape sandwiches - that's it. With NCL depending on the ship you'll be on, if you're on one with a full Haven observation lounge there are free snacks there throughout the day that change up often and have a much wider selection than Celebrity gives you. Wait staff come through both there and the upper sun deck outdoors to take drink orders, or to get a bigger bite than the self serve snacks - never saw that with Celebrity.

 

With NCL the pool, sun deck, lounge, private bar, private restaurant - they're all in the same general location. So easy to go from your room to any of those exclusive areas without having to fight through the crowds of the regular ship. With Celebrity the restaurant was aft, the lounge forward, sun deck not accessible for MIL in her wheelchair as the elevator has been broken for 2+ years and they didn't tell us until we got on board, no pool - only a hot tub, and to get to it you had to walk through the crowds near the regular main pool area. So we went once to see it and quickly left. 

 

It honestly all depends on the Celebrity ship you're used to, and the NCL ship you're looking to try out. Not all NCL ships are built the same, and I'm sure if we had enough money to try Celebrity again on a newer ship in a fancier room our experience may be different - but that first trip didn't make us think it was better than the Haven at all. Not counting the Galapagos trip as that's a completely different beast all together, our next Celebrity trip will not be in the Retreat - not worth the price of admission at all.

 

*Edit - also forgot to add that the tip for butler and concierge on Celebrity are not included either. Butler made a point to remind us on day one, and we only spoke to the concierge once on day 3 after having many issues with MIL's room and level of service she was getting. Never saw our cabin steward until the last morning when he showed up with his hand held out for a tip with the butler. 

Edited May 10 by Sailing12Away

[Jmustang67]

We were RCCL cruisers before 2016 then went to NCL. Always have been in the Haven because once you’re there you’ll see the difference. We were just on the Escape for a 16 day transatlantic cruise last month in a Courtyard PH on deck 17. A total of 208 guests were in the Haven yet you would never know it. The sauna I used every day and always was the only one in there. Hot tubs were always available and meals in the Haven restaurant were always well prepared. It’s true the menu doesn’t change but they did add a lunch special many times over our trip. Service is always great with the entire staff. From 12-4 there is a lunch menu as well as 24 hour room service no charge in the Haven as well as snacks every day in the afternoon. We found out that oatmeal was available for breakfast which is not on the menu this trip. IMHO once you stay in the Haven you will be spoiled. There are many perks as well show seating, priority at most ports as well as priority embarkation and disembarkation. I will say Breakaway and Breakaway plus ships are the ones we prefer. We were on the Viva in December and don’t recommend that class of ship.

[Candy Apple 12]

2 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

With all things being equal, Celebrity Retreat is always much higher in cost for us than NCL Haven. Our one and only Retreat experience was on a smaller ship (Summit), and did not even come close in comparison to what we experience on NCL (NCL was leaps and bounds better, except for the private restaurant, Celebrity wins there). 

 

Celebrity is no longer including gratuities for free, so no different from NCL's daily service charge.

 

Celebrity doesn't include the mini bar for free unless you're in a top tier room, so no different from NCL. NCL's drink package is pretty reasonable at only ~$21/pp/day - you can decline it if you want and just get a soda plan. NCL Butler can bring you a pitcher of ice water, lemonade, fruit juice, or fountain soda for free - you can't get that in the Retreat unless you're in a 20K+ room. They charged me $5 for a bottle of water just for removing it from the fridge and putting on the counter so I can put my own water bottle in there - never had that with NCL.

Butler on NCL will also bring you snacks throughout the day of nearly whatever you want. With Celebrity, my MIL was only in a sky suite and told she can walk herself to the lounge to get a snack (she was in a wheelchair BTW). We were in a celebrity suite and only got anything because we asked the butler about it, and he brought the exact same thing every day of the trip. NCL butlers will mix it up based on what you tell them you like. 

 

Snacks in the Retreat lounge never changed for us - ever. Some veggies, popcorn, and small canape sandwiches - that's it. With NCL depending on the ship you'll be on, if you're on one with a full Haven observation lounge there are free snacks there throughout the day that change up often and have a much wider selection than Celebrity gives you. Wait staff come through both there and the upper sun deck outdoors to take drink orders, or to get a bigger bite than the self serve snacks - never saw that with Celebrity.

 

With NCL the pool, sun deck, lounge, private bar, private restaurant - they're all in the same general location. So easy to go from your room to any of those exclusive areas without having to fight through the crowds of the regular ship. With Celebrity the restaurant was aft, the lounge forward, sun deck not accessible for MIL in her wheelchair as the elevator has been broken for 2+ years and they didn't tell us until we got on board, no pool - only a hot tub, and to get to it you had to walk through the crowds near the regular main pool area. So we went once to see it and quickly left. 

 

It honestly all depends on the Celebrity ship you're used to, and the NCL ship you're looking to try out. Not all NCL ships are built the same, and I'm sure if we had enough money to try Celebrity again on a newer ship in a fancier room our experience may be different - but that first trip didn't make us think it was better than the Haven at all. Not counting the Galapagos trip as that's a completely different beast all together, our next Celebrity trip will not be in the Retreat - not worth the price of admission at all.

 

*Edit - also forgot to add that the tip for butler and concierge on Celebrity are not included either. Butler made a point to remind us on day one, and we only spoke to the concierge once on day 3 after having many issues with MIL's room and level of service she was getting. Never saw our cabin steward until the last morning when he showed up with his hand held out for a tip with the butler. 

Thanks for the comparison. Does Celebrity go to the Galapagos? It’s a trip I’d like to take, but otherwise based on your post, I’ll stick with the Haven. 
 

The butler brought a pitcher of fountain soda for free? Did you have the drink package? 

[BirdTravels]

Haven eats!

 

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

The butler brought a pitcher of fountain soda for free? Did you have the drink package?

 

There has never been a charge for us. We always have a drink package but even if we didn't, I doubt that a pitcher of Sierra Mist...Starry...Sprite (whatever) would have a charge. 🥤

[Candy Apple 12]

1 hour ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

There has never been a charge for us. We always have a drink package but even if we didn't, I doubt that a pitcher of Sierra Mist...Starry...Sprite (whatever) would have a charge. 🥤

We never get the drink package but my husband and his dad would love a pitcher of Coke. Has anyone done this without a drink package? I’d love to try it on our next cruise. 

[Sailing12Away]

3 hours ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

Thanks for the comparison. Does Celebrity go to the Galapagos? It’s a trip I’d like to take, but otherwise based on your post, I’ll stick with the Haven. 
 

The butler brought a pitcher of fountain soda for free? Did you have the drink package? 

We would never sail without at a minimum the basic soda package. Do you typically get that or not even the soda deal?

 

Celebrity has 3 different ships that go to the Galapagos. Only is reallllly tiny (only 16 people I believe), one is newer and holds 100 people max, and the other is in between around 35 people I think. So not really a cruise ship that most folks are used to - more of a luxury private yacht. I'll know more in October when we get on board...

[Cigar King]

On 5/9/2024 at 1:15 PM, BirdTravels said:

We're Diamond members on RCCL. Coastal Kitchen is not much of a restaurant. We actually walked out twice during our last cruise because the food and the service was so bad. And went to the Windjammer to get some "real" dinner.

 

On small ships, the breakfast service in Chops is abysmal. 

CK is nice for breakfast...Chops less so, but at least you don't have to fight the crowds.  Fresh squeezed orange juice is a nice treat in both.

 

[Russiamomm]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

 

Celebrity has 3 different ships that go to the Galapagos. Only is reallllly tiny (only 16 people I believe), one is newer and holds 100 people max, and the other is in between around 35 people I think. So not really a cruise ship that most folks are used to - more of a luxury private yacht. I'll know more in October when we get on board...

I wasn’t aware of the two smaller ships.  I was going to be in Quito for work in February and priced out the larger Celebrity ship.  $25k for seven days as a solo.  😳. I passed.   😂

[Candy Apple 12]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

We would never sail without at a minimum the basic soda package. Do you typically get that or not even the soda deal?

 

Celebrity has 3 different ships that go to the Galapagos. Only is reallllly tiny (only 16 people I believe), one is newer and holds 100 people max, and the other is in between around 35 people I think. So not really a cruise ship that most folks are used to - more of a luxury private yacht. I'll know more in October when we get on board...

We’ve never bought the drink package or the soda package, hence my question on the success of getting a pitcher without the drink package. They don’t drink enough to make the soda package worth it. My FIL has had some success ordering a soda in the Haven restaurant without the soda package. He expected to pay, but they never brought him a charge slip.
 

I’m guessing with such small ships that the Galapagos cruises are very pricey.

[Sand and Seas]

2 hours ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

We never get the drink package but my husband and his dad would love a pitcher of Coke. Has anyone done this without a drink package? I’d love to try it on our next cruise. 

As a long time Diet Coke drinker, I would not enjoy a pitcher of soda sitting in our fridge and losing all of it's fizz😬    I've gotten the soda package on some cruises.  On others, we have gotten cans of Diet Coke at one of the bars to place in our fridge.

 

We have asked our Haven butlers add pitchers of cranberry juice and/or iced tea in our fridge.  Also cartons of chocolate milk.    

[Candy Apple 12]

31 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

As a long time Diet Coke drinker, I would not enjoy a pitcher of soda sitting in our fridge and losing all of it's fizz😬    I've gotten the soda package on some cruises.  On others, we have gotten cans of Diet Coke at one of the bars to place in our fridge.

 

We have asked our Haven butlers add pitchers of cranberry juice and/or iced tea in our fridge.  Also cartons of chocolate milk.    

FIL drinks regular Coke and likes it flat. Hubby says Diet Coke doesn’t taste as good flat.

[graphicguy]

I have sailed on the Retreat (Edge and Apex) and the Haven (Getaway, Breakaway, Epic, Prima).

 

The Retreat fares and total costs were ALWAYS significantly higher than Haven.

 

Celebrity and NCL price differently.  The Retreat bakes service charges and tips into the fare, which as mentioned, is higher than the Haven, which has lower fares but add in service charges and tips.

 

[Sailing12Away]

10 hours ago, Russiamomm said:

I wasn’t aware of the two smaller ships.  I was going to be in Quito for work in February and priced out the larger Celebrity ship.  $25k for seven days as a solo.  😳. I passed.   😂

Yeah, they don't really do any discounts for solo travelers because the ships are so small. You can certainly look into the smaller ships, since they're a bit older they tend to be cheaper. I have no idea what week you need in February, but a quick check would get you on board Exploration (8 cabins total on the entire ship) for around 14K as a solo. The other thing to consider is that many of the Galapagos trips are 100% included - meaning no extra charges for drinks, specialty dining, wifi, tips, flights.... it's all there. So yes, 14K for a week is high, but it's a private yacht with only 15 other passengers and the only other expense is the Uber to get you to the airport (which on our package was covered as well). Specifically on Flora, the worst cabin on the ship (which is what we booked) is still considered a decent sized suite on any other regular cruise line. You're not getting an oceanview cabin <200 sq ft in size for that big price.

 

10 hours ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

We’ve never bought the drink package or the soda package, hence my question on the success of getting a pitcher without the drink package. They don’t drink enough to make the soda package worth it. My FIL has had some success ordering a soda in the Haven restaurant without the soda package. He expected to pay, but they never brought him a charge slip.
 

I’m guessing with such small ships that the Galapagos cruises are very pricey.

The soda package is $10/pp/day. Which comes out to only 3 sodas a day. I'm in the camp of when I'm on vacation I never want to convince myself that something is 'worth it' and whether I should buy it or not. If I'm thirsty for something other than water, I want to just drink it without hemming and hawing over whether it's worth the $3 or not.

 

And yes, Galapagos cruises are pricey due to the limited number of guests on board. We got ours at a very good price considering everything that's included but it's still our 2nd most expensive cruise booked to date. The only thing that trumps it was our ill-fated Prima Haven trip which we egregiously overpaid for and will never do again.

 

Galapagos trip includes all of this: car service to/from our home and JFK, flights to/from Quito, 2 hotel nights & tours in Quito pre-cruise, 1 hotel night post-cruise, flight to/from Baltra, 7 night cruise, drinks/wifi/tips/excursions/laundry/dining on the cruise and in the hotels. Literally the only thing left to do is pack our toothbrush and swimsuits. 

 

The Prima trip was the price for a 10 night cruise with the basic FAS package. That's it. Had to pay extra for flights, transfers, pre-cruise hotel, all excursions, gratuities, etc etc. And if I ignore the $1350 OBC we had the price was even worse.

[chill6x6]

On 5/9/2024 at 1:15 PM, BirdTravels said:

We're Diamond members on RCCL. Coastal Kitchen is not much of a restaurant. We actually walked out twice during our last cruise because the food and the service was so bad. And went to the Windjammer to get some "real" dinner.

 

On small ships, the breakfast service in Chops is abysmal. 

 

On 5/9/2024 at 1:37 PM, RocketMan275 said:

We also preferred Windjammer to Coastal Kitchens.  The italian place was very nice though.

I have a different opinion....

 

Coastal Kitchen is EXCELLENT! Breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I've never walked out of Coastal Kitchen... My last three Royal cruise were Star class....could eat anywhere on Oasis, Harmony, and Wonder....yet we picked CK many times out of our choices.  And I love Chops for breakfast when there is no Suite Lounge/CK.  

 

Funny how opinions can differ.....

[RocketMan275]

13 minutes ago, chill6x6 said:

 

I have a different opinion....

 

Coastal Kitchen is EXCELLENT! Breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I've never walked out of Coastal Kitchen... My last three Royal cruise were Star class....could eat anywhere on Oasis, Harmony, and Wonder....yet we picked CK many times out of our choices.  And I love Chops for breakfast when there is no Suite Lounge/CK.  

 

Funny how opinions can differ.....

Our experience with CK was years ago, perhaps 2017, when the menu  never changed and was very limited.  Since then we've discovered the Haven and it fulfills our desires.  No need to go back to RCCI.

[david_sobe]

I sailed Epic twice in Haven suites but long ago.  They used to have 2 for 1 drink specials in the Haven lounge from 5 to 6pm.  During sail away they would walk all through Posh and offer rum punch and sparking wine.  Those same kinds of drinks you get at the latitudes party.  Probably cost NCL nothing but they still took it away.  The Haven also used to get giant fluffy special towels.  Those are gone too.  In the old days they also would give you a few liters of spring water.