Celebrity Aqua vs. NCL Haven

[TrustMeI'mANurse]

My husband is committed to sailing with Celebrity because he enjoys Blu/Luminae and is not interested in the MDR experience. He is also a huge fan of Michael's club when we've sailed in suites.

 

Next summer we plan to jump ship because we want to experience  Glacier Bay.

 

Any Celebrity regulars that have gone to a different line and found dedicated suite dining? Any line that offers something similar to a Blu/Luminae/Michaels Club? It seems NCL has something similar in Haven?

 

Thanks for any input.

 

 

[the_dylaness]

Hello,

I've sailed X 4 times, twice in AQ, and NCL 3 times, twice in Haven.  So hopefully I can help answer your questions!

 

At least on the Escape, the dedicated suite dining is in it's own dining room, but, the menu does not change.  It is the same menu every night.  For a 7 night cruise this might be alright- perhaps there are four entrees that sound appealing, and the other nights you're likely dining elsewhere.  But it's the same, every single night.  Blu, the AQ restaurant, has a new menu nightly.  Overall I liked the Blu menus better, but the Haven restaurant was awfully convenient and never busy.

 

 

[TrustMeI'mANurse]

Thanks so much for the info. What did you think of NCL Haven experience? Are there other dedicated suite areas?

 

We're not thrilled with the idea of traveling with a lot of kids. And DH does not enjoy crowds. The smaller M class ships worked great for us.

 

If Celebrity did Glacier Bay we would definitely be staying on Celebrity.

[JennAngel9]

If you don't like kids or crowds (to say nothing of both), I'd suggest avoiding NCL.  We haven't done the Haven yet, but based on the fact that all of the big family suites are Haven suites, I'd expect it to have plenty of kids.

I haven't sailed on NCL since 2011, so I can't comment on crowds now but it was the opposite of low key.  Have you considered HAL/Regent/Seabourn? The latter two don't have suite only dining but they do have open seating of high caliber for all passengers, in our experience. 

[2theship]

I've never sailed on the Pacific Princess but it's a smaller ship so perhaps less family oriented. It sails to Glacier Bay.

[mafig]

I'd advise you to ask this on the NCL board, if you haven't.

 

I have been in suites on NCL, but not the Haven.  The Haven is a "ship within a ship" and Celebrity, with the possible exception of Edge, has nothing that compares to it.

 

Read the reviews.  There are families traveling in the Haven, but not always and they are not always out of control.  What stops me from going with Haven is the price.  I've found a better deal and experience with MSC's Yacht Club....but they don't go to Alaska.

[Nymich]

Aqua and Haven are very different.  The Haven trip we did was awesome but you will pay for it .  Compared to MSC YC or Aqua it is VERY expensive.  MSC YC is priced in the middle of Aqua and Haven.   

 

Even though you pay for Haven we still found a few loud kids without the parents of course running around and being 

quite loud in what is supposed to be a serene place.    That being said if money is no issue I would do the Haven.  Food was better than MSC YC  or  Blu imo.  I did a review on the Getaway when we stayed in the Haven earlier this year.  The ship itself was very different then the Haven.  This fantastic place called Haven in the front and a quite different place as you move down the ship.   I outlined all this in the review I did.   

 

We like Aqua and are doing that again in a few months.

[1025cruise]

If you like Celebrity, but want to do Glacier Bay, why not look at Princess? The experience will be similar. The only issue would be no dedicated suite dining room, but if you book club class, you get your own section of the MDR.

[Sam.Seattle]

Don't rule out Hubbard Glacier!  One of the few Glaciers still Advancing and not retreating.  The Millennium is being revolutionized for a better Suite Experience.  Also, Millie leaves from Vancouver, BC which provides a better inside passage experience especially on the return trip to BC. I live in Seattle and will happily drive to BC for the Inside Passage Experience along with Hubbard Glacier which was amazing this past summer.  

[Jeremiah On a Cruise]

I can't speak to Haven, but I wanted to weigh in on club class at Princess.

 

Club Class is a level of mini suite at Princess - basically their highest cabin short of an actual suite.  

 

Club Class has special dining options that we really enjoyed.  They have craved out a small section of their MDR and run it bit like Blu - with no-wait any-time dinning, with a good staffing ratio and a separate entrance with a dedicated host.  Service and experience were on par with what we've seen at Blu, which is intended as a complement.

 

The food in Club Class wasn't as good as Blu.  It was literally the MDR menu with 1-2 custom dishes added each night.  The custom dishes were simple but very good - though the food remains, at its heart, MDR food.

 

Princess provides a good product, comparable to Celebrity (and, I'd argue, better than NCL), and does do a lot of AK trips to Glacier Bay.  

 

If you're looking for an experience similar to Blu that will take you to Glacier Bay, I think a Princess cruise in Club Class is the way to go.

 

Let us know what you decide.

Edited December 16, 2018 by Jeremiah On a Cruise

[the_dylaness]

20 hours ago, TrustMeI'mANurse said:

Thanks so much for the info. What did you think of NCL Haven experience? Are there other dedicated suite areas?

 

We're not thrilled with the idea of traveling with a lot of kids. And DH does not enjoy crowds. The smaller M class ships worked great for us.

 

If Celebrity did Glacier Bay we would definitely be staying on Celebrity.

 

The Haven is enjoyable.  We would never sail NCL, even in the Haven, if we weren't traveling with our kids.  For us, it allow us to be on a ship with some amenities to entertain our kids (waterslides!) and still enjoy a somewhat luxurious experience.  When you leave the Haven it is kind of rowdy and very crowded.  In 19 days spread across three NCL cruises I have been to the buffet about twice (both on the one, non-Haven cruise- never again) and it was a horrible experience, people plowing you down, rushing for what, god only knows as the food was mediocre at best.

 

I would not sail NCL in a non-Haven room, personally.  If you spend a lot of time enjoying ship offerings outside the Haven, I can't recommend.  Honestly besides the pools/waterslides/kids club we mostly just kept to the Haven and our room.

 

The Haven on Escape has a lounge, bar, restaurant, pool, and some dedicated outside space.

 

 

 

[kkmiausa]

Can the Haven beat a Royal Suite on one of the S ships with all the amenities included? All specialty dining included, stocked bar, butler, etc.

[DogLover]

3 minutes ago, kkmiausa said:

Can the Haven beat a Royal Suite on one of the S ships with all the amenities included? All specialty dining included, stocked bar, butler, etc.

In my humble opinion, no. Sailed NCL many times in suites, but our Royal Suite experience on the Solstice and Eclipse do not come close to NCL (this is our viewpoint and no doubt others will respectfully disagree.) We have little use for the butler simply because we don't dine in our suite and our requests are uncomplicated. Specialty dining can be hit or miss - we like to try out the specialties but also REALLY enjoy the Luminae attentive service, especially at breakfast.

 

We'll be trying an M Class Royal Suite next September for the 14 day Canada/East Coast itinerary. Not the same as the S class, but I'm sure we'll manage. Please let me know if you have any specific questions I can address.

[kkmiausa]

Thank you for your response. We have progressed on this booking been a big decision making and learning process. We haven't sailed on Celebrity since Millineum in    2008. We had a family veranda and we booked an inside for our son and his friend and by the time we finished the friends parents and girlfriend and brother all joined. Quite an event but we had a great time not knowing any better!

Since then we sail mainly on Oceania and Seabourn. We got spoiled with an upgrade offer to penthouse on our first Seabourn and we haven't gone to anything lower yet. We originally wanted to book a short Caribbean cruise on a less regal line so our 31 year old son would enjoy. I discovered the Edge and we booked it. Then I started following all the reviews coming in from the preview tours and felt it wasn't for us. There were 3 cabins booked altogether so we all went over to the Reflection and by the time we finished we ended up with a RS, our friend with the CS, and son and girlfriend oceanview to get the perks.  I thought we may want to dine in our suite a few of the nights so we can all be together. My son and friend will have access to Luminae but his girlfriend was booked as a single oceanview.  While my husband and I now have unlimited specialty dining included.   With the butler can we be served from Luminae or the specialty restaurants in our suite?  Any information you have would be a big help. I also would like to have us all sit together with our specialty dining perk but it won't allow me to make reservation without paying?  Will I have to call? It keeps adding  charges to our shopping cart.          So not used to this with Seabourn or Regent.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

[4774Papa]

We did Alaska on the NCL Sun in September 2016 and it was great.  We were in an aft balcony.  Glacier Bay is a must see.

The cruise we were on did not have a lot of kids. It was in early September.

[steamboats]

Which NCL ship are you thinking about? The newer ones (Breakaway and Breakaway Plus Class) do have a ship in ship concept regarding The Haven. This includes an indoor pool area, sundeck, restaurant and a forward facing lounge (Norwegian Bliss and prettly likely also the Norwegian Joy after the refit for Alaska). The smaller ones don´t have the same Haven experience as back then they didn´t have the ship in ship concept.

 

If you want to be closer to the X experience I´d suggest Princess or HAL - both do Glacier Bay.

 

steamboats

[fshagan]

18 hours ago, Jeremiah On a Cruise said:

Princess provides a good product, comparable to Celebrity (and, I'd argue, better than NCL), and does do a lot of AK trips to Glacier Bay.  

 

I would also say that you're less likely to have a lot of kids on Princess. We have sailed them a couple of times for Alaska and they had less kids than our NCL cruises. Alaska is often a "family destination" though, so in prime season you will see kids on all of the lines. 

[deultgen]

I might suggest a Princess cruise, with a regular balcony stateroom, and dining in a Specialty Restaurant every night.  Depending on the ship, the specialty restaurants are certainly an upgrade and we have found we regularly can have the table as long as we want most nights.  Again, depending on the ship, you can eat in the specialty restaurants for about $200 per person for a 7 night Alaskan cruise.

 

Plus not as many children on a Princess cruise.  

[deultgen]

I should have also said, if your husband liked the Persian Garden experience with Aqua Class then he would like the Thermal Suite package on a Princess ship - its very nice and actually inexpensive in my opinion.  

Edited December 17, 2018 by deultgen

[Finnrox]

We sailed on the Getaway in July in the Haven, and it was great.  Private lounge and restaurant, as well as a private pool area and sun deck.  Having said all that, our next cruise is on the Summit, in a suite.  Our 13 year old son described the public areas of the Getaway as "Gen Pop" (as in a prison), as it was very crowded and somewhat out of control.  The Haven truly was a sanctuary, and we rarely left that area to go out to the rest of the ship, except to hit up specialty dining and the like.  The other thing about the newer NCL ships with the Haven are that they are very large and typically have well over 4000 passengers onboard.  We have never done Celebrity before, but are looking forward to a smaller ship in the Summit, with the Suite class amenities.

[bajathree]

On 12/16/2018 at 1:49 AM, JennAngel9 said:

If you don't like kids or crowds (to say nothing of both), I'd suggest avoiding NCL.  We haven't done the Haven yet, but based on the fact that all of the big family suites are Haven suites, I'd expect it to have plenty of kids.

I haven't sailed on NCL since 2011, so I can't comment on crowds now but it was the opposite of low key.  Have you considered HAL/Regent/Seabourn? The latter two don't have suite only dining but they do have open seating of high caliber for all passengers, in our experience. 

Absolutely agree.....If you are traveling during school vacation time those suites will be filled with kids...NCL is a kid friendly line and attracts family....just like Royal.

Edited December 17, 2018 by bajathree

[Georgia_Peaches]

Love Celebrity a lot but I also LOVE the Haven.  We were in a Haven suite over Thanksgiving.  I counted 5 children in the Haven area at any given time and they were always with their parents either having a meal or passing through to some other location.  Only once were there children in the little Haven pool and that didn't last long because there are just too many other areas of the ship that are appealing to children.  I would do the Haven again in a heartbeat...

[MizDemeanor]

16 hours ago, kkmiausa said:

Can the Haven beat a Royal Suite on one of the S ships with all the amenities included? All specialty dining included, stocked bar, butler, etc.

Yes. 

[Cruise a holic]

I am a big fan of celebrity  however you cannot compare the Haven to Aqua class.  Aqua class is a regular cabin that you more for to dine in blu and have access to the persian garden   some other IMO of little value perks.  The haven, is a ship within a ship concept   More like Celebrity Edge suite class or Royal Grand suite and above on the Oasis class ships

 

since I am not a fan of blu or the persian garden, which we used once each time we sailed  on Aqua class, Imo not worth extra at all   Save your money book a balcony cabin and dine in specialty restaurants   You can pick a better location for your cabin also.

 

The Haven is very expensive but you get so much more

[DogLover]

kkmiausa:

When staying in the Royal Suite, you will have a shoreside concierge contact you about 2 weeks prior to sailing. At that time, he or she will take down all your requests, including dining in the specialty restaurant reservations, in room liquor order, etc. There are many reservation times kept open for suite passengers. Do NOT book them online in advance as you will indeed incur a charge that requires payment. If you don't hear from Celebrity at that 2 week mark, call directly ... sometimes they get super busy.

 

We only eat breakfast in our suite sometimes, so I cannot recall if one can order from any menu for suite dining but I'm sure you can get those answers from the shoreside concierge as well.

 

We have also cruised Regent, the Voyager in Sept. 2015 to the Baltics and really enjoyed it. Was so nice to order a drink and not need to present a key card. On Celebrity, even with the drink packages, they require the Sea Pass card presented to swipe when getting a drink. Only exception is in Michael's Club (which will be called the Retreat when ships are Edgified) and in Luminae. Also prefer the smaller sized ships on Regent. That said, our cruise experience thus far with Celebrity Suites have been excellent.