lemon bar

We have a Haven on Aqua for March of 26 and our pay in full isn't until Nov 2025. We only have penthouse, but still Haven.

We are booked on Aqua for a March 22, 2026 sailing. I didn't even know there was going to be a Luna.

I think we will stick with Aqua as it will be a year older by then and hopefully have kinks worked out. Although we could switch to Luna and do a late April sailing.

Anyone have thoughts on which would be better? They will pretty much be identical ships right? Does March vs April make a difference? Same itinerary.

We are new to cruising (relatively) so not sure if one will be better than the other.

On 5/18/2024 at 2:41 PM, david_sobe said:

My Haven suite that I booked months ago has went up in price $3,000 since I booked a half year ago (December 2023).  The ship has not even debuted yet and the prices are going up.  However I am booked in one of the rare 3 bedroom suites and I think there is only one of them left which of course makes it more expensive.  Just a reminder for those that want to sail the Haven, sometimes your best fare especially on a new ship is to book well over a year in advance.  If a ship is under construction book it then.  I would not have booked this suite if it was this expensive 6 months ago.  Its now on par with the Deluxe Owners suite (not the premier one of course) with price.

Book early.  You can always cancel if something comes up.

That's exactly what we did! But just the penthouse Haven, not three bedroom.

First time NCL

First time Aqua

First time Haven

Hope we like it! 😄

We booked the Haven for the first time on Aqua (first haven, first time on NCL) and our only expectations are priority embark/disembark, to have a nicely appointed and roomy cabin with better than average balcony chairs (we booked the penthouse with balcony), a place to have sit down breakfast if we want and mostly to have an area on the ship to relax and get away from crowds day/night, especially during a spring break sailing (going in March). And afternoon snacks are a fun bonus.

All the other stuff is gravy. We do plan to dine in Haven dining room for dinner some nights, but also plan to eat at some specialty restaurants, one night in the main dining room, the Indulge Food Hall and even try out the buffet!

We aren't big show people, so not worried if we don't get priority seating or even get in at all. We plan to hang in all the outdoor bars available, hit some of the regular bars (not with shows) and also relax at Haven bar.

We have no special requests that I can possibly think of, we will be the easier customers a butler has ever had. 😁

Hi. I was looking at app today and not sure why, but for our trip in March 2026 on the Aqua all types of the cabanas or villas on Great Stirrup Cay were already available to book! So maybe check it out if interested.

Also the app has all restaurants and bars listed, even new ones, with pictures. I'm assuming the pics are more artist renderings, but still fun to look at. 

Have a good night!

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I've absolutely been in these parades. And feel very awkward as I don't belong. Many of the Haveners I've cruised with are a surly bunch. We gravitate toward those that laugh and joke, but every cruise has its' fair share of turned up nose peoples. 

Oh man, that does sound awkward.

Do we have to do this? We will be in Haven (first time) on Aqua, boarding in Miami. I would rather not be lead around people who have been waiting for a while with a sign that says Haven. 😄 If we get of on/off ship at ports during non-peak times, can we avoid this?

9 minutes ago, EatonDoolittle said:

If you do a search for Brightline on this Florida board,  there are quite a few threads on the subject - I would link, but there are too many.

 

General consensus is that it is a positive experience, easy, safe, clean. 

Oh sorry. I started going page by page, but I will do search.

On 2/23/2024 at 9:20 PM, lemon bar said:

 

We did! March 22, 2026!

 

We splurged and booked the Aft suite with the massive balcony on Aqua.

A few trips before this, but none are cruises!

 

Happy waiting to you!

We actually decided to book the Haven - penthouse with balcony, one room. We looked at the rooms on Viva and they looked very nice. The price difference between the Aft suite and the Haven entry-level room was miniscule, so we upgraded. 🙂

still two years away though! 😂

Hi,

After our cruise we plan to take the Brightline train from Miami to Orlando and spend a few nights at Universal. Has anyone done this? Just wondering if you've just taken an Uber from the port to the station or if you had a shuttle. Did you find it an easy trip logistically? 

thanks in advance!

Whew! Long thread. 🙂

Anyways, interesting reading and thank you.

We are booked on Aqua (a ways down the road) and I kept bumping up our room category a bit until low and behold, we booked the Haven! The "smallest" Haven room type, but we are excited.

We are leaving out of Miami. 4 ports, 2 sea days. Honestly have no idea what we are about to experience, but looking forward to it? I looked at the Viva stateroom equivalent and it looks really nice! Also looking forward to sit down breakfasts/lunches if we want, the Haven decks, the lounge/bar and the Butler, although we will probably be the easiest guests they've ever had!

Our whole trip is hopefully just going to be us relaxing, eating and drinking wine in different locations throughout the ship. I really like the idea of the boulevard on deck 8. We aren't huge pool party people, so the areas throughout the ship (and the Haven deck of course) really spoke to me.

We will probably bump up to the premium drink package because there will be much coffee, wine and cocktails had. Schedule maybe 2 or 3 specialty dining dinners. Also want to try the main dining room for dinner. So much to eat!

Um, so just saying Hi I guess! Thanks for all the great information!

On 2/22/2024 at 10:06 AM, david_sobe said:

Guess what?  Only 2 more years till my next NCL cruise on the Aqua.  God willing I will boarding today February 22, 2026!  Please feel to check back for my semi-live report.  Will I be able to find cookies or hash browns?
Stay tuned!

 

Has anyone ever booked a cruise this far out?

We did! March 22, 2026!

We splurged and booked the Aft suite with the massive balcony on Aqua.

A few trips before this, but none are cruises!

Happy waiting to you!

Hi everyone!

Thanks for this thread. We booked an aft facing suite (non-Haven) with large balcony on Aqua. I'm hoping what's listed here as far as perks holds true.

Can someone explain with priority disembarkation is exactly?

thanks! 🙂

Thanks all. We plan to book an aft suite with large balcony on Aqua. That link is very helpful.

Hi - is there a thread here someone can link that lists everything that comes with booking a suite - non-Haven - for NCL on any of the ships in the title? I tried search but many topics came up.

Just can't seem to pinpoint what you actually get when booking a suite.

thanks!

Not the haven suites, these are on deck 9. I don't see many reviews out there.

Just wondering how you felt about the view and how noisy was it when sleeping at night?

We actually chose this on Aqua, but obviously no reviews on that yet!

Thanks!

Hi all!

We were supposed to sail on Viva in 2024, ended up booking a completely different vacation.

So we are booking Aqua. I have a question about the family suite with master if anyone has the answer? On Viva, both sides have a slide that runs through part of the (quite large) balcony, on Aqua only one side has it. I inadvertently picked the deck 12 side with no slide. Not sure what is there if the slide isn't, assuming just empty space. 

Would you switch to the side with the slide or keep the side without? Just looking for thoughts on the matter, thanks!

edited to add - sailing in March 2026. Long ways away, but 2024/25 already have our vacations planned. 

Is the coverage through NCL sub-par? We don't have any pre-existing conditions, we are about 50. Two of us.

Do people not recommend because you can find better pricing elsewhere? Or is it just not good? We are concerned with medical coverage the most, trip cancellation/interruption is secondary to that.

thanks!

12 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

This is the one we stayed at. Walking distance to a lot of scenic things, nice and clean, and they have a free happy hour where we ran into a bunch of fellow cruise travelers and started making friends the night before.

 

https://www.elconvento.com/

Wow, that's looks absolutely perfect for what we are looking for! I can't book yet as we are too far out but this is it, thanks!

1 minute ago, GreenFamily said:

The alt balcony on the 9th floor is set back so that you don’t get a direct view of the wake, but of the indulge food hall and the soliel bar. I’m not sure how private it will be during lunch and dinner. It should be fine in the evenings with great views. Personally, I would be fine with it. 

Thanks! Yes I found a picture of one on the Prima. It's pretty long! It might be fun to bring the chairs to the edge and stare at everyone eating. 😂

But it is set back like you said, so no looking straight down into the water. But since most of our days are at ports and the actual sailing during the night, I feel like the view would be pretty relaxing at night?

40 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

If you like port intensive trips, leaving out of San Juan is perfect. We did an 11 day southern Caribbean trip from there and it was amazing. Not a lot of downtime, but we're not huge fans of sea days so for us it was perfect. We stayed one night before the cruise in Old San Juan and got to walk all over town. Ate some amazing food, and the next day took a shared bus with a few other travelers from the hotel over to the port.

Thanks! If you could give the name of the hotel and any others you think are good, let me know! We will probably be there 2 nights before cruise, but not arriving until late afternoon the first day.

We will be sailing out of San Juan and going to Tortola, St. John, St. Marteen, St. Thomas, Barbados and St. Lucia - not in that order. 😄

Is this more of an Eastern Caribbean since we are going to St. Thomas, etc? For some reason I thought St. Lucia was Southern, but it's not?

We are at a port every single day, which I like. We are going first week of April.

This is our first time not leaving from Florida, it will be weird to not cross the Atlantic on the way there and back. Anyone who's been out of Port Canaveral and San Juan, anything you like better about leaving from San Juan as far as weather/water wise? about the same? 🙂

Thank you @BirdTravels!!! This is so helpful. I didn't even see that we should book dining 120 days out! So happy you told me this.

We plan to be in San Juan Thursday or Friday and ship leaves on Sunday, so we will for sure get there early if appears there are still issues. We also decided to fly home on Monday instead of Sunday just in case any issues! 

Hi all, previously booked on Celebrity, but canceled for reasons you probably won't care about. 😄

So we were looking for a port heavy itinerary and wanted to leave out of San Juan for a change so we could stay there for a few days before. NCL Viva has the perfect cruise (we think).

We are going in 2024 and we chose Easter week. (i know, i know, but dates worked out and it was a good deal)

Somehow, I don't know how, I was able to book an AFT balcony room on the 9th floor. Looks like there are only 2 available that aren't suites! 

I read some criticisms of Prima on how small the pool area is, but since we are in port every day, we aren't that concerned.

I also know it's a MUST to make reservations for shows, but again not that concerned. Since we are pretty much island hopping, I will be very happy to sit and drink some wine on deck, watching the islands fade away into the night.

Dining- we don't pick a time? Do you just make reservations?

Of course no one can give thoughts on this ship since it hasn't sailed yet, but how about sailing from the port in San Juan? Any advice? We've only sailed from Port Canaveral before.

Ports include Tortola, St. John, St. Lucia, St. Marteen, St. Thomas, Barbados - any ports you'd suggest spending part of day enjoying the ship?

I'm also reading Viva has been cancelling some cruises in 2023, so as with everything in life, nothing is guaranteed. 

I guess those are all my questions for now, but if you can think of anything I should know in particular, let me know!

thanks! 

Hi all!

So we don't normally buy trip insurance, but we decided to for our cruise. Not until April 2024 so we have time. We will be 50 by the time we cruise, it's an Eastern Caribbean cruise if that matters.

We always buy refundable plane tickets, so not worried about that. 

I know celebrity offers insurance - is that not a good option? Or perfectly fine?

thanks!

We booked a sunset veranda room on deck 9 -9308 to be exact - for our upcoming cruise on Apex.

No idea if it's a good location or not, so we kind of just spun the wheel and picked! 😁