Gem Suite/ Haven Question

[NoDayButToday00]

Hello Everyone!

 

I had a question on the Gem since I have never been. Me and my DH are looking at the Gem for a 10 day cruise to the Caribbean in October. We have done the Breakaway multiple times, always in the Haven.

 

The question is how much will we miss not having a private area on the Gem if we only book a Penthouse with Large Balcony? How is it not having the private lounge at night and the private sundeck? Is it impossible to get chairs and drinks, etc.?

[DMH15]

Hello Everyone!

 

I had a question on the Gem since I have never been. Me and my DH are looking at the Gem for a 10 day cruise to the Caribbean in October. We have done the Breakaway multiple times, always in the Haven.

 

The question is how much will we miss not having a private area on the Gem if we only book a Penthouse with Large Balcony? How is it not having the private lounge at night and the private sundeck? Is it impossible to get chairs and drinks, etc.?

The Gem does not have a Haven lounge or evening restaurant exclusive to Haven guests. Also the Jewel class ships, like Gem have fewer Haven suites and the pool area is very different.

[AEckhardt]

The Gem does not have a Haven lounge or evening restaurant exclusive to Haven guests. Also the Jewel class ships, like Gem have fewer Haven suites and the pool area is very different.

 

 

It seems the OP was aware of that and asked how the Haven experience compared when you do not have such things.

 

I have been on both the BA and the Gem, but have no Haven experience on the smaller ship, therefore cannot offer any insight comparing the two. I can say that the ships are quite different in set up and overall vibe. I'm sure it will be a much different experience for you, but an enjoyable one, nonetheless.

 

Happy sailing :)

[garycarla]

Hello Everyone!

 

I had a question on the Gem since I have never been. Me and my DH are looking at the Gem for a 10 day cruise to the Caribbean in October. We have done the Breakaway multiple times, always in the Haven.

 

The question is how much will we miss not having a private area on the Gem if we only book a Penthouse with Large Balcony? How is it not having the private lounge at night and the private sundeck? Is it impossible to get chairs and drinks, etc.?

 

How much will you miss it? Hard to say.

 

I think you are asking if a regular penthouse will be okay?

 

We have done both on the Gem class ships. Having the GEM area is nice, but a regular balcony is just fine with us. The balcony is pretty much the same size as a normal balcony, but it does fit two lounge chairs - barely.

 

If you want to go to the regular pool, you will be competing with the rest of the ship. Often crowded, but we rarely go there anyways.

[Mom2B&Z]

We had this debate before our recently completed Gem cruise. We don't find jewel class ships have great suite options for families of 4, so we booked a balcony cabin knowing the ship is much smaller than Breakaway, where we had an H6.

The pool deck gets crowded (we were on the Christmas/New Years cruise, so the ship was very full), but there were still many areas you could go to relax. We loved the sunbeds on deck 14 forward, it was almost always a quiet place and had a great view when leaving port.

As for access to a private lounge, we noticed the bar city area was often no more busy than our experience with the haven lounge. We aren't big on lounges, so I'm sure there are other areas that I never noticed.

Bottom line, we would absolutely cruise a jewel class ship without haven access, just never again with the four of us in a balcony :)

 

 

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[njhorseman]

It seems the OP was aware of that and asked how the Haven experience compared when you do not have such things.

 

I have been on both the BA and the Gem, but have no Haven experience on the smaller ship, therefore cannot offer any insight comparing the two. I can say that the ships are quite different in set up and overall vibe. I'm sure it will be a much different experience for you, but an enjoyable one, nonetheless.

 

Happy sailing :)

 

I'm not as certain as you that the OP was aware of that, because of the wording of the question: "The question is how much will we miss not having a private area on the Gem if we only book a Penthouse with Large Balcony?" Almost sounds as if they might think if you book a Haven suite, as opposed to a Penthouse suite, on the Gem, you do get access to a private lounge and sun deck. I think the word "only" is what makes it hazy.

 

In any event, I don't find the Haven on the Jewel-class ships to be attractive enough or have sufficient amenities and facilities to warrant the extra cost of a Haven suite, so we always book a Penthouse suite. The Haven on the new ships make the Jewel-class Haven look second class. Just my personal opinion.

Edited January 14, 2015 by njhorseman

[JohnIreland]

The Haven on the Jewel class ships is nice , but not worth the premium usually charged over non-haven suites.

 

I wouldn't be more than 20% extra for it.

[bonniboo1]

Last year we booked Penthouse Suite 10500 which is below the bridge forward. The balcony was enormous. We had a cabin crawl with 11 and we could have fit more out there. There was plenty of nice furniture.

[Kingmaker_inc]

In any event, I don't find the Haven on the Jewel-class ships to be attractive enough or have sufficient amenities and facilities to warrant the extra cost of a Haven suite, so we always book a Penthouse suite. The Haven on the new ships make the Jewel-class Haven look second class. Just my personal opinion.

 

My perspective is quite different. We sail during school breaks and my family loves the Gem/Jewel-class Haven area. We find it a lovely and quiet oasis on an otherwise busy ship. You get a large comfortable and well-appointed adjunct to your cabin, with a small pool and a large hot tub.

 

To be clear, there is no private lounge and no private restaurant; but the Haven steward will make the experience very similar - if you want drinks or food.

 

I would miss it a lot.

[Kingmaker_inc]

The Haven on the new ships make the Jewel-class Haven look second class. Just my personal opinion.

 

If this is true, I am looking forward to my Breakaway cruise even more! Awesome!!

[cliffd64]

We stayed in a Aft Penthouse on the Gem and had no issues with poolside chairs at the adult pool. We created our own "Haven" when we went to the pool :)

[DMH15]

It seems the OP was aware of that and asked how the Haven experience compared when you do not have such things.

 

I have been on both the BA and the Gem, but have no Haven experience on the smaller ship, therefore cannot offer any insight comparing the two. I can say that the ships are quite different in set up and overall vibe. I'm sure it will be a much different experience for you, but an enjoyable one, nonetheless.

 

Happy sailing :)

 

 

Sorry if I misunderstood. But the way I interpreted it was if they were in a PH and not the haven would they miss the nightime lounge in the Haven. Since they said they had not been on the Gem thought I would mention the difference that Gem does not have that nightime venue for them to miss.

 

 

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[AEckhardt]

Sorry if I misunderstood. But the way I interpreted it was if they were in a PH and not the haven would they miss the nightime lounge in the Haven. Since they said they had not been on the Gem thought I would mention the difference that Gem does not have that nightime venue for them to miss.

 

 

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Ah yes, being that I read that in the middle of the night while sleep was evading me, I did not catch that the OP was in a suite and not a Haven suite on the Gem. My apologies.

 

I am interested in people's opinions on that, as well. I will be on the Dawn next, and they don't have a Haven at all.

[tumblew467]

Hello Everyone!

 

I had a question on the Gem since I have never been. Me and my DH are looking at the Gem for a 10 day cruise to the Caribbean in October. We have done the Breakaway multiple times, always in the Haven.

 

The question is how much will we miss not having a private area on the Gem if we only book a Penthouse with Large Balcony? How is it not having the private lounge at night and the private sundeck? Is it impossible to get chairs and drinks, etc.?

 

HI NoDayButToday,

 

I was on the same sailing on the breakaway as your were in 2014.

It was the 1st time in the Haven for us. We had an Haven aft penthouse.

The aft penthouse was wonderful. But It was a long walk to get to the haven area for us. We really only used the Haven on the Breakaway for breakfast. Now if my cabin was in the immediate haven area, I definitely would have used the pool and lounge area all the time.

 

Our next cruise was on the Gem. I had booked the aft penthouse suite with large balcony. Loved my suite, and loved being able to sit out on the large balcony listening to the wake of the ship. The view was great as well. I didn't care if I had access to the haven pool or lounge. I had never stayed in the haven on the gem. So what i did not experience, I figured I would not miss. I was content with knowing that i had the butler, concierge service and priority embarkation and disembarkation. The room was plenty big for us. We traveled with our 21 yr old son. However, on our 2nd day on the cruise we got a phone call that they wanted to move us to the 2 bedroom haven suite. This is when they were doing some refurbishment while at sea. They wanted to change the carpet in our room and it just so happen that they finished tiling the bathroom in the 2 bedroom suite.

Was I going to say no, absolutely not.

Now I personally like going to the pool area and watching all the events they have going on. I love the bands/dj's that play at the pool. I have no problem going to the buffet as well.

All our past cruises where in a balcony, never the suite or haven.

However I found that on this particular sailing it was nice to have a area to retreat to. Meaning the quiet area of the Haven pool or sundeck .That I only had to walk 15 ft and sit down in the courtyard and order my breakfast.

I found it lovely that in the evening we could go up to the haven and use

the hot tub. Or go up on the sundeck and look at stars. No one was around. Sometimes you just want that peace and quiet. (Although, I thought the Haven pool area was very hot . No breeze. Even when they opened the sun roof. So that was a drawback for me. )

Our sailing had over 1000 kids on it. I can't complain about them. I felt like I never saw them. Now my husband will tell you differently. (I think the buckets of beer helped in that dept.)

The Gem and the Breakaway are 2 different ships IMO. Each has its own atmosphere.

The Haven to me is an area where you can go to leave all the hustle and bustle and take a break from the crowds.

As far as getting drinks around the Gem pool area, I never had a problem. There is always someone walking around and asking if you need anything. Usually, if they see you day after day and get to know you, you'll be greeted by your first name and they will probably have your beverage on their tray to give to you. There are 2 very close bars in that area as well.

Are there chair hogs, yep. Is it difficult to get chairs. yes and no. depends what time you go and where you want your chair. Prime real estate is always going to be all around the immediate pool area. You may have to walk around and scope out someone leaving to snag a chair. The upper level around the pool or the front of the ship --easier to find a spot.

[NoDayButToday00]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and feedback! It is much appreciated.

 

I was aware of no lounge in the Gem. I was asking more of not having a private area and dealing with the general masses when it comes to loungers and space. When I was walking on the Breakaway on one of the upper decks of 15 or 16 I was kind of appalled with how close the loungers were to each other. I got claustrophobic just looking at the empty chairs when we were departing a port.

 

The ports on the 10 day Gem are so much more exciting then the Breakaway even though I adore the entertainment and amenities. A plus is that it will be October so most children are in school.

 

When posters say the vibe is different between the 2 ships, can anyone expand on this? What would you say the biggest differences are?

[AEckhardt]

The Breakaway, being a newer ship, has many more options for dining, entertainment, and activities. The Gem is more subdued and traditional. It's like comparing a big city to a suburb. Each has their own nightlife, eateries, and atmosphere, but they are very different experiences.

 

I love the Haven and the high end feel of the Breakaway, but I enjoyed the entertainment on the Gem more, and I think part of that was attributed to the Gem's CD staff, which I thought were awesome.