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Suites on other cruise lines compared to the Haven?

Newfun4me

By Newfun4me,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Newfun4me

Newfun4me

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Hi All,

 

I am a pretty inexperienced cruiser, having only been on 2 Carnival cruises and 1 NCL.  The Carnival cruises were earlier in my life (10+ years ago) and the NCL cruise was in 2016.  We did the owners suite to Alaska on NCL and I really fell in love with the experience.  We are currently booked in the Haven on the Encore next summer and I can't wait.  I'm wondering about suites and the suite experience on other cruise lines.  I feel like we got really spoiled with NCL and I'm just wondering how other lines compare.  We enjoyed the space in the rooms, the priority access when boarding, the quiet restaurants, the snacks in the room, and the butler service.  I was looking at Royal Carribean this morning (thinking I might try to squeeze in a shorter cruise because, now that I've booked, I don't want to wait until summer of 2020 to go) and it looks like their suite experience isn't quite the same.  

 

For those of you that have cruised the other lines, what would you recommend we look at as an alternative? 

 

Thank you!

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Peachypooh Great Review Rare

Peachypooh

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16 minutes ago, Newfun4me said:

Hi All,

 

I am a pretty inexperienced cruiser, having only been on 2 Carnival cruises and 1 NCL.  The Carnival cruises were earlier in my life (10+ years ago) and the NCL cruise was in 2016.  We did the owners suite to Alaska on NCL and I really fell in love with the experience.  We are currently booked in the Haven on the Encore next summer and I can't wait.  I'm wondering about suites and the suite experience on other cruise lines.  I feel like we got really spoiled with NCL and I'm just wondering how other lines compare.  We enjoyed the space in the rooms, the priority access when boarding, the quiet restaurants, the snacks in the room, and the butler service.  I was looking at Royal Carribean this morning (thinking I might try to squeeze in a shorter cruise because, now that I've booked, I don't want to wait until summer of 2020 to go) and it looks like their suite experience isn't quite the same.  

 

For those of you that have cruised the other lines, what would you recommend we look at as an alternative? 

 

Thank you!

I have sailed in owner's suites on both NCL Jewell class ships and RCCL Liberty of the seas. There are differences.

NCL had 1 1/2 baths and RCCL only 1 bath. NCL brought mid afternoon snacks to your room and provided

you with 3 bottles of liquor. RCL had a concierge lounge to go for snacks and free cocktails around 5 p.m. The snacks were better on RCCL as they were hot selections too. NCL had two balconies one looking forward. RCCL only had a side

balcony. NCL were multiple rooms while RCCL was one big square room. To my husband even though the RCCL owner's suite had less square footage it seemed much larger due to the open floor plan. No butler on RCCL but that might have changed. The cleanliness of the room on Liberty of the Seas was not that great and the fold out couch not really usable while the fold out couch on NCL was great. However.....RCCL has beautiful ships and I don't think you can go wrong with either but for an owner's suite I think NCL has an edge.

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graphicguy "Live from...." Rare

graphicguy

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Have sailed the Haven 3X on NCL, and the Yacht Club 2X on MSC.

 

Can’t go wrong with either.  However, Haven’s amenities and service trump MSC’s Yacht Club.  

 

It used to be MSC’s Yacht Club was significantly less expensive than NCL’s Haven.  But, MSC has raised prices significantly on their Yacht Club to match, and sometimes exceed NCL’s Haven.

 

NCL’s Haven uses their Concierges to do just about all scheduling and problem resolution.  They can get you into sold out shows (with best seats in the house), or get you into a restaurant that’s completely booked.  They take care of any and all customer service issues without you having to wait in line at Customer Service.  The Butlers handle in suite dining (if you choose) and delivers all snacks (2X/day), replenishes all coffee, tea, etc to your suite.  All of the Haven cruises I’ve taken have been the BEST of all my cruises.

 

Haven Bar and Restaurant are both top notch.  The Haven pool and lounge area are not crowded at all.  Bartenders and waitstaff service are both exemplary.

 

MSC Yacht Club comes in a close 2nd.  From the time you are dropped off at the pier, you’ll have a butler to escort you to the waiting area, while carrying your luggage, and then escort you on to the ship.  The big draw for the Yacht Club is the Top Sail Lounge, where you can get bar service and snacks.  Sit around and read a book, visit other family or cruise friends.  Or, just have a drink while overlooking the water.

 

Their concierge isn’t bad.  It just seems they can’t get done what the NCL concierges’ can.  MSC Butlers also act as wait staff in the Top Sail Lounge.  That’s neither good nor bad.  Just the way they do it.

 

For about $4k-$5k/balcony (not per person), it’s hard to beat NCL’s Haven.  But, if you can get an MSC Yacht Club Balcony Suite for less than that, for the same itinerary and sailing dates, they would very well be worth checking out.

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CasinoCruzGirl

CasinoCruzGirl

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I’ve been spoiled on NCL Haven Suites even sailed in a Garden Villa twice. I’m branching out a bit now. I have a cruise booked on RCI Allure this May in a Crown Loft Suite. I’m excited about it. Although there is no butler room service is free and 24/7 ordering full meals at any time or snacks (no butler tip) just tip room service.  Also they have a suite Sun deck just like the Haven and a Concierge lounge with happy hour and free drinks and a restaurant called coastal kitchen just like the Haven restaurant.  Will do a review when I return with the differences. 

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cloud_nine

cloud_nine

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Star Class on Oasis and Quantum Class ships on RCI are similar to NCL Haven from what I can gather. You have your own personal genie (butler), Coastal Kitchen (the suite restaurant), Suite lounge for 24 hour drinks (beer, wine, soda) and cocktails at happy hour, Suite sundeck, fully stocked mini bar, free WiFi and included specialty dining amongst other things. 

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smplybcause

smplybcause

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4 hours ago, cloud_nine said:

Star Class on Oasis and Quantum Class ships on RCI are similar to NCL Haven from what I can gather. You have your own personal genie (butler), Coastal Kitchen (the suite restaurant), Suite lounge for 24 hour drinks (beer, wine, soda) and cocktails at happy hour, Suite sundeck, fully stocked mini bar, free WiFi and included specialty dining amongst other things. 

 

Star class also includes drink package and gratuities included. Sky gets coastal kitchen, wifi, lounge and sundeck. 

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BNBR

BNBR

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For the things you like, stick with NCL. For us, we didn't care for the Haven as the butler and restaurant had little value.  But it means a lot to you so it's a good product for you. 

 

We thought the Haven offered almost nothing we found of value. Prefer to sail Celebrity where the whole ship feels like the Haven instead of an enclosed courtyard, and all that's needed is a regular cabin for a fraction of the cost. 

 

 

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graphicguy "Live from...." Rare

graphicguy

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Posted (edited)
On 4/18/2019 at 1:44 PM, CasinoCruzGirl said:

I’ve been spoiled on NCL Haven Suites even sailed in a Garden Villa twice. I’m branching out a bit now. I have a cruise booked on RCI Allure this May in a Crown Loft Suite. I’m excited about it. Although there is no butler room service is free and 24/7 ordering full meals at any time or snacks (no butler tip) just tip room service.  Also they have a suite Sun deck just like the Haven and a Concierge lounge with happy hour and free drinks and a restaurant called coastal kitchen just like the Haven restaurant.  Will do a review when I return with the differences. 

Would love to hear your thoughts.  Every time I’ve looked at a Crown Suite, it was priced way higher than the Haven or MSC’s Yacht Club!

 

 

Edited by graphicguy
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Pitzel

Pitzel

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On 4/19/2019 at 1:23 AM, DCT61 said:

We found the Genie service in Star Class on RCCL vastly superior to the Butler service on NCL. They aren’t even in the same league. 

 

Agreed. Star Class was an amazing experience. We are sailing NCL in a Haven suite next February and I am worried that our Genie may have spoiled us for all other non-Star Class experiences.

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havenfan

havenfan

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One of the things we like about NCL are the 2 bedroom suites with a master bedroom, a small bedroom and two bathrooms.  They're perfect for my family of 4 and, on the Star and Jewel class ships at least, often cheaper than two mini-suites or even balcony cabins.  Do any other cruise lines have similar cabins for similar pricing?

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  • 2 years later...
Homeport5

Homeport5

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Would love to hear more opinions on this thread comparing the suite offerings for the lines.

 

NCL:  We have done NCL Haven with the 2 bedroom family Villa - Love the second room and second bathroom.  That second room is small but works perfectly for us.  Really like the Haven sun deck and private area for hot tub, pool and sauna.  Note:  Kids must be 16 to enter sun deck.  Really like the fact that the Haven restaurant and bar is close to our rooms.  Nice to grab a night cap and head to the balcony for beautiful nights without having to fight the bar lines.  The bar lines on NCL can be awful.  Don't really use the butler so could do without.  They deliver "snacks" every day but I'd prefer if they just left out the snacks in the lounge and it was "self serve".  The lounge is so close to the rooms it works.  Love the coffee machine in the room!  

 

Celebrity:  Trying for this first time in 2022.  Celebrity didn't seem to have any 2 room suites that were in the same category as the Family Villa with NCL.   The Royal Suite in some ships does have a second room but kids have to sleep on pull out couch.  Only one bathroom.  Did have what I think will be a larger balcony. Seems like the restaurant and lounge are a ways away from the suites.  Suites scattered all over the ship.  Looking forward to trying Celebrity.

 

Princess:  Nothing that we can find that compared with NCL.  They need to upgrade their suite game.

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  • 5 months later...
Homeport5

Homeport5

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On 10/11/2021 at 11:46 AM, Homeport5 said:

Would love to hear more opinions on this thread comparing the suite offerings for the lines.

 

NCL:  We have done NCL Haven with the 2 bedroom family Villa - Love the second room and second bathroom.  That second room is small but works perfectly for us.  Really like the Haven sun deck and private area for hot tub, pool and sauna.  Note:  Kids must be 16 to enter sun deck.  Really like the fact that the Haven restaurant and bar is close to our rooms.  Nice to grab a night cap and head to the balcony for beautiful nights without having to fight the bar lines.  The bar lines on NCL can be awful.  Don't really use the butler so could do without.  They deliver "snacks" every day but I'd prefer if they just left out the snacks in the lounge and it was "self serve".  The lounge is so close to the rooms it works.  Love the coffee machine in the room!  

 

Celebrity:  Trying for this first time in 2022.  Celebrity didn't seem to have any 2 room suites that were in the same category as the Family Villa with NCL.   The Royal Suite in some ships does have a second room but kids have to sleep on pull out couch.  Only one bathroom.  Did have what I think will be a larger balcony. Seems like the restaurant and lounge are a ways away from the suites.  Suites scattered all over the ship.  Looking forward to trying Celebrity.

 

Princess:  Nothing that we can find that compared with NCL.  They need to upgrade their suite game.

We loved the Celebrity Royal Suite experience.  They do have a suite restaurant and suite lounge.  We really enjoyed the self serve refrigerators in the lounge.  Super easy to go grab a water/beer/soda.  Liked that the brought some of the "talks" into the suite lounge.  Example:  future cruise team came in a presented.

 

Perks for Royal Suite:  Learned (at end of the cruise) that we should have been given PJ's.  Never received.  Also learned that we could have asked for a roll away bed which would have worked out better than the couch for the kids.  Also learned that there was a special place to "drop off" luggage.  Apparently our pre-boarding concierge wasn't very good.  Sad.  Our fare with Royal Suite included two bottles of alcohol, stocked and re-stocked mini refrigerator (no additional charge).  We also had access to all restaurants on board (no additional charge) to include the coffee place.

 

Celebrity's Coffee Cafe has OUTSTANDING pastries and desserts.  I think they use real butter!  They were really good. NCL's pastries look great but taste awful.  Loved the fact that they have cookies available all the time and they are complimentary.  Just try to find a cookie on NCL...hard to find.

 

Luminae restaurant was OK.  NCL's suite restaurant offers more standard food like surf and turf, cocktail shrimp.  Luminae's menu changes nightly and is...weird...  Also small servings (which I liked by hubby was not pleased).  We think the NCL suite restaurant's food offerings is way better than Luminae.  Learned too late that one could order off of the main dining room menu while dining in Luminae.  The wait staff does not make that clear.  Also - Luminae is not open on port days.  NCL, open all three meals for all days.

 

Room location - we LOVED the fact that the suite experience on Celebrity had rooms mingled in with all rooms.  With NCL Haven, you are tucked away in a specific area that is hard to get to.  NCL Haven is up on deck 15 (or higher) at the front of the boat.  Not great for sea sickness and impossible to get to post shows.  On Celebrity, the Royal Suites are in the middle of the boat, close to everything!!  When traveling with family members who did not choose a suite, it was much easier to meet up and mingle with everyone.

 

Murano - excellent.  Try it!

 

The Retreat - special space outside to hang out.  Be careful as not all boats have this area.  This is the perk that is drastically different between boats.  Some have pools, some have hot tubs (no pools) some have nothing...no Retreat.

 

Spa - no access to the spa for being a suite guest.  No perks for the spa.

 

 

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