Haven - Jade vs. Epic?

[Sissaaaaaa]

Looking for opinions from people who have sailed in the Haven on both the Jade and the Epic. We absolutely loved the Epic. How is the Jade Haven area? Is there also a dedicated restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

 

Thanks

[MikeyB]

You really do need to research the ships. The Epic has a real Haven. The Jade got it thru a refurbishment. It's very small on the Jade. No dedicated restaurant. Breakfast and lunch is in Cagneys.

The Epic has a small gym. I think it might be the only Haven with one.

[Sissaaaaaa]

You really do need to research the ships. The Epic has a real Haven. The Jade got it thru a refurbishment. It's very small on the Jade. No dedicated restaurant. Breakfast and lunch is in Cagneys.

The Epic has a small gym. I think it might be the only Haven with one.

 

 

I did research. I do not see a Haven restaurant on the deck plans, yet the NCL website states it has one ... hence my question.

 

That is exactly what it looked like to me - that they tried to create a Haven on the Jade as an after-thought. It does look really small. Bummer.

[old nutter]

The choice depends what you value most.

 

There is a "dedicated" Haven restaurant for breakfast and lunch in both ships. In the past the Jade used Cagney's for both but there is no dedicated dinner venue. After the Jade comes out of dry dock it is most likely going to be the new Moderno across the hallway from Cagney's, but it will almost certainly be the same menu. Comparing breakfast and lunch between the two, there is very little difference in the offerings between the two ships. The Epic Haven restaurant effectively gives you another special dinner venue that is not available in the Jade. The Epic also has an excellent small dedicated Haven bar area with a lounge and a small grill area with some deck rails open to the air. Not too sure the Haven was an afterthought in the Jewel class ships, it was just a more select and relaxed facility. In expanding because of the popularity of the concept of a "ship-within-a-ship" some of the original benefits have been exchanged for more facilities and space and having experienced the larger Havens on the Getaway as well, it has lost a bit of it's "specialness" (if there is such a word :-) " Like I said at the start if depends what you value for your cruise.

 

Clearly there is a vast difference in the numbers of guests on each of the ships and there is a corresponding difference in the available space. We found that the concierge and butlers have less guests to deal with on the Jade. Although there are only the 8 H4 and 2 H5 suites plus the three large ones on the Jade, the concierge and butlers have to deal with several other H6 penthouse suites both at the front and back of the ship. The Epic has Haven suites on two floors round the courtyard with 42 H4, 5 H5 and 6 large H2. There are also H6 aft penthouses on decks 10, 11, 12 and 13. These numbers highlight the scale difference between the two ships in terms of workload and availability of the concierge. On the Epic, the concierge and deputy tend to be more static at their desk, whereas the concierge on the Jade has no dedicated desk and tends to be more mobile, being able to make "house calls" to the suites and turning up in most of the restaurants in the evening.

 

So we come to the choices - the Jade courtyard tends to have a much more relaxed atmosphere than the big space in the Epic, Neither have much by way of swimming pools. The Jade has a single hot tub plus a very small gym with only an exercise bicycle and a walk track whilst the Epic has a very well appointed gym. However, because of the big difference in numbers, there is little difference in availability of them. Therefore, the difference is truly governed by whether you feel more "Haven-like" in Jade by virtue of the small number of guests or you like the more "hustle and bustle" of the larger but more expansive facilities in the Epic.

 

Which do we like best? Probably the Jade by a whisker. We feel that there is more personal space on the Jade and, on a final note, there is the huge sundeck over the port suites that give more "over the rail" views of the sea than is available anywhere on the Epic. The somewhat haphazard layout of the Epic Haven area makes it look as though there was some chopping a changing during the building of that ship that was created by the success of the Haven concept on the earlier ships. Having been on the Getaway as well, it seems as though the Havens on the later megaships are much more together. Very much a personal choice.

Edited March 25, 2017 by old nutter
Added a bit more at the end

[BirdTravels]

Looking for opinions from people who have sailed in the Haven on both the Jade and the Epic. We absolutely loved the Epic. How is the Jade Haven area? Is there also a dedicated restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

 

Thanks

There is no comparison between the two. Like all small ships, the Jade uses Modernos for suites breakfast and lunch service. No dinner service. The courtyard is very small, but that is consistent with the size of the Havens.

[Soneil]

I prefer the Haven on small ship like the Jade, there is a lot less people and it feel way more exclusive than the massive Haven on the away ship, I have no interest to book the Escape as the Haven is even bigger. Currently my Haven experiance is twice on the Jade and once on Getaway. I'm on the Epic Haven next month, maybe my opinion will change.