Worth it to bid on Haven Courtyard Penthouse from B1 on Breakaway?

[cidymom]

I received an email to upgrade from my B1 Aft Balcony on Deck 9 to any of the Haven suites and mini suite on the Breakaway. Is it worth it for the upgrade? The minimum bid NCL will accept is US$500/pp. As I'm from Canada, I have to factor in the exchange rate which isn't too great. I don't think I will have a chance on winning any of the other categories (H6 or H7) with a minimum bid. In researching, I note that the Courtyard Penthouse does not have a separate bedroom and there will be three of us in a room. We don't drink coffee or alcohol. It would be nice to experience the Haven but I don't know if it is worth it for a bigger room and nicer bathroom. Any opinions from those who have stayed in the Courtyard Penthouse suites. Thanks all.

[tiger-91]

You ask if it's "worth it". So what would the cabin price be for the three of you if you bid $500?

 

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[tripleboom]

A deck 9, B1 aft balcony on the Breakaway would be pretty tough to beat I'd say, even with the upgrade to The Haven. Having the TON of extra space on your aft balcony, especially with three in the room, would be better than anything The Haven Courtyard stateroom has to offer. But what do I know? Maybe they let you steer the ship if you stay in The Haven. ;P

[BirdTravels]

We would take a Havens room over a balcony any day.

[spidybabe]

We would stay with the aft balcony

Safe sailing

 

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[luvcruzing]

I sailed in a courtyard Haven cabin a month ago. I would keep the aft balcony.

[maryisme]

Just sailed the Breakaway in an aft Haven suite. We sailed a holiday week from NYC and kids were off school. I was very happy to have a space that was NOT crowded. Deck areas were wall to wall people.

 

Have a great cruise!!

 

 

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[lorvit3]

I would say it's definitely worth it if you can swing it. We stayed in The Haven in October for the first time and as they say, "once you go Haven, you never go back." The services are outstanding. Everyone from our butler, cabin steward, Haven Restarant & Lounge maitre D', waitstaff and bartenders (you can have virgin drinks or a soda) as well as our Concierge Patrick could not have been nicer. They consistently strived to see that everything was fine and we were happy...they couldn't do enough for us.

What made it special was that at times the public areas were packed and there weren't too many pool chairs to be found. We had the option to head up to Deck 16 and enjoy the space to have a great lunch or just relax in the pool area. What we really loved was that our stateroom was also on Deck 16 so everything was right there.

We loved it so much we are booked again for this October...Deck 16, same stateroom! :cool::cool:

[Mom2B&Z]

Honestly, unless you could get an H6, I'd stick with your B1. The Haven is nice but often overtaken by a few groups, the restaurant is our favourite perk. Otherwise you cannot beat the aft balcony!

I might be a bit biased, it is seven days until our second H6 experience and I cannot wait!

 

 

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[hansolosmom]

If you booked specifically for the big balcony, I'd keep it.

[TSUmom]

We are wondering the same thing. We have an Aft Balcony on the Escape and as much as we loved the Haven it is just too risky to give up our awesome Deck 9 aft balcony. We put low bids in for either the aft PH or Fwd PH but not in the Haven itself.

[clskinsfan]

I have a deck 9 aft balcony on Escape this fall. And I have been wondering the same thing. If/when the upgrade offer comes. I think I will only bid on the Haven aft penthouses if they arent sold out. That way you keep your monster balcony, upgrade the room and get the Haven perks.

[TSUmom]

I have a deck 9 aft balcony on Escape this fall. And I have been wondering the same thing. If/when the upgrade offer comes. I think I will only bid on the Haven aft penthouses if they arent sold out. That way you keep your monster balcony, upgrade the room and get the Haven perks.

 

That was our thinking too;)

[clskinsfan]

That was our thinking too;)

 

The whole great minds think alike thing :)...Problem is their are a lot of great minds on this site. You have to think that will hurt our odds.

[laurabegorrah]

I think it depends on how much time you plan to spend in your room/on you balcony vs how much you want to be out in public spaces. While you definitely will lose balcony space, you will be gaining a whole heck of a lot.

• You will have an exclusive sundeck (both with outdoor space and under glass if you don't want to be all sun all of the time). While the pool isn't anything spectacular, there is one lol
  
• You get priority seating in the theatre, and priority embarking and debarking (a huge help with you have a private tour and you need to be off the ship ASAP in port).
  
• You get daily snacks and free room service. You can have dinner from any of the specialty restaurants served in room as well (you do have to pay or use SDP meals though).
  
• You have an extra free dinning option that has some delicious menus.
  
• You have access to the concierge who can assist you to get reservations in places that are showing as sold out to the general public.
  

I would pick any Haven room over any non Haven room on any ship, more for the perks than for the room itself. I think in the end it's really about how you plan to spend your vacation and what is most important to you

[Sand and Seas]

The exclusive sundeck with the servers bringing you anything you want is a big plus over your own large balcony. The Haven bartenders are the very best and will recommend great drinks to you....and then remember what you like. Also the Haven Restaurant is the best on the ship. We passed up on our last SDP meal at Cagney's in order to have one more meal in the Haven!

 

If you can't get that, then absolutely a large balcony is great! Just wish it came with a closer bar;)

[clskinsfan]

If you can't get that, then absolutely a large balcony is great! Just wish it came with a closer bar;)

 

I have been looking at that. It looks like the Prime Meridian bar is just down one deck from the deck 9 aft balconies. Shouldnt be too bad?

[Sand and Seas]

If you can't get that, then absolutely a large balcony is great! Just wish it came with a closer bar;)

 

I have been looking at that. It looks like the Prime Meridian bar is just down one deck from the deck 9 aft balconies. Shouldnt be too bad?

 

 

From what I've seen, Prime Meridian is only open at night for dinners. My Mango Meltdowns were really melting after I carried them through the ship to my aft balcony....but still tasty:cool:

[lorvit3]

Our first Breakaway sailing was an aft balcony stateroom. The balcony was huge, ganted, by you're not out there for hours and hours at a time. This past October we went into The Haven. I couldn't agree more about the many perks beginning the moment you arrive at the pier and continuing all week.

Another plus was that disembarkation (something a lot of people complain about and rightfully so) was a breeze. It was a no brainer for us to rebook this fall.

[oteixeira]

As a private person I would take the private balcony over the exclusive sun deck where a bunch of other people will be with you. This is actually a good question. If you add up all the haven rooms x max pax per room what is the max number of people that can be in the haven sundeck at one time? Like everyone says, it is all personal choice, I bid for a haven from my M6, but the only haven I bid on was an H6 (super duper balcony).

[jsny1105]

My fiance and I are bidding for an upgrade from a balcony as well. I'd say it comes down to your financial situation and if and what amount of money you are willing to part with for the category you want. This will be my our honeymoon so we felt for us it was worth it as the Haven would make it an extra special cruise for us. I'd also keep in mind when you are upgraded to the Haven you don't just get the room you get the Haven services that come with it (courtyard with pool, haven restaurant, sundeck). That extra space can come in handy when you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the ship. All those factors come into play on deciding whether its worth it. Either way you will have a blast!!!! Happy sailing and best of luck with bidding!:)

[Bellyflopchamp]

If we get the upgrade offer we will probably only put in for the Aft Penthouse one. We are currently in a B1 on deck 12. I'd love to get the Haven amenities but I do not want to give up the large aft balcony.