Haven question for ncl newbie

[mmbah214]

Hi all,

 

I will soon be on the breakaway, it's the first time on ncl. I called the up sell dept. yesterday and they have a penthouse courtyard with balcony available. It's on deck 15, so we won't be in the main haveN area. I think our sailing is pretty booked, and we are craving a more peaceful and relaxing vacation. We've been on the royal Caribbean oasis and I felt there were lines everywhere and since BA is a similar huge trip I was concerned about long lines everywhere. So my questions are:

 

1. is haven worth it? Even if haven is booked does it every feel loud and crowded ESP in the pool area? I was first thinking about trying to get VIBE passes prior to the haven becoming a reality for us.

 

2. Is the food in the haven restaurant superior to the other dining areas in the ship, I think I read that in another post.

 

3. Will we feel "left out" in anyway since we would be on deck 15?

 

4. If we had prepaid gratuity when we booked a BD balcony, how would that work now that we would have a butler. Of course we would tip more for great service.

 

Thanks for your opinions in advance!

[ryarger]

1. Absolutely! There is plenty of space in the Haven for everyone there. Worst case is you get a family or large group that is loud, but you have two decks (three on Escape) and should have no problem finding a serene spot.

 

2. Yes! And don't forget that you can order from any menu on the ship from the Haven restaurant. Don't feel limited to the menu they provide.

 

3. I doubt it. You're directly below the Haven. You'll have the same butlers that serve the suites in the Haven. It's just one quick flight up!

 

4. Not sure on this. The DSC in Haven is a couple of bucks more. They may charge you the difference or not, I don't know. The butler and concierge are NOT included in the DSC. Tip them separately based on the service you receive.

 

 

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[Kfamilycruise]

If you prepaid your gratuity, then you should be ok on gratuities, but as pp said, concierge and butler are not included. We did an up well at the end and had choice still to prepay gratuities at non-haven rate, but chose to pay on board instead at haven rate because of a large amount of OBC.

 

 

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[FM]

What was the phone number of the upsell department?

[tantine]

1. To us, Haven was totally worth it. We didn't use it on port days because we got off the ship but spent the entire days there on sea days. The only time it got crowded was on the last sea day where people were holding chairs and we had to look for seats. Otherwise it was not a problem.

 

2. We have eaten at most venues on the ship and the food varies from good to amazing. In the Haven restaurant, we found the food to be amazing. It is prepared well and quality ingredients. You can order an extra entree to try if you want to. We really enjoyed every meal we ate there. When we couldn't eat dessert at dinner, we had it sent to our room.

 

3. You would not feel left out at all on Deck 15. You walk up stairs and you are in the Haven Lounge which leads out to the courtyard and pool. We were in an Aft Suite on Deck 12 and had to walk there and still didn't feel left out. It required more of an effort to get there but definitely didn't feel left out.

 

4. Not sure how it works - if you DSC would stay the same or you would have to pay the difference - sorry!

[luckyinpa]

can i ask how much the upsell was?

 

i just paid full price for upgraded spa room but i'm ok with it because they are sold out and no chance for upsell and there's only one penthouse and a few other havens even left. i doubt will be any left 30 days out.

 

i did get the free DSC though and all the other perks so i'm happy

[mmbah214]

Thanks for all the responses.. You all twisted my arm to take the up sell hahaha, not that it was a tough sell [emoji5][emoji5][emoji5] I thought I was excited before, but I am beyond ecstatic. Is there another pool? I looked on YouTube and the pool in the courtyard looks tiny.

[mmbah214]

The up sell was 750pp and the phone number is 800-625-4309

[luckyinpa]

the 1 pool without the chairs is just as small as you think. i've watched 3 reviews on youtube and seen the videos. so when are you going?

 

my spa room is almost as big as the penthouse you have but of course you are on 15, not 14. but i'm looking at all the other perks as being a premium worth paying for. you definitely got a steal.

 

i seriously doubt i'd take an upsell since id then have to pay 400 for spa passes but if it was DOS and relatively cheap, i may do it :) wont be on a cruise again for a very very long time, if ever.

[jandj1224]

We upsold to a Haven 2br on the Getaway last year. It was the most amazing experience and I was so glad we did it. We loved the pool area. On our sailing we never had an issue and we used the pool every day. They also have the private upper level seating deck to lay out. Things we enjoyed:

Priority boarding

Pool

Concierge walking us down to illusionary show and getting front row seating

Unlimited movies in cabin

The cabin itself, loved the master bath.

 

You will not regret the upsell!

[san92103]

Once you go haven, you'll never go back. My wife and I will not go any other way... So we do a cruise every other year instead. Splurge on it. You'll seriously love every second of it!!

 

 

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[AP1016]

Hi there. I've been in the Haven 3 times and there has never been a time where the pool area felt crowded. Any time of day. You will love it

[MikeBTN]

Since you pre-paid the DSC, you will not be charged anything additional. We did the same in May. You saved a few bucks, but nothing to write home about :-)