Pearl Haven Questions

[ccmo]

My husband and I are big fans of Celebrity Cruises and their suite perks. We have not been on NCL for years and are interested in The Haven and how it compares. Does Pearl have a separate Haven restaurant? What about Lounge? Having our own pool sounds wonderful. Any other information would be great. I have not booked but am looking at February 2020 5 night sailing to Costa Maya and Harvest Caye. Any input on this would be appreciated also.

[PeleNipsy]

The Pearl does not have a Haven restaurant or bar.  Breakfast and lunch are instead provided in Cagneys/Moderno.  The Haven pool area is wonderful.  We usually pile as many guests into a Haven cabin as we can, so it's really nice to be able to relax/wait in the Haven pool area while our cabin mates are napping/getting ready.  We've tried non-Haven with two guests each in mini-suites, and hands down would much rather cram into a Haven cabin. 

[AC2]

Breakfast can also be served in the Haven pool area by the courtyard valet.

[dexddd]

The Pearl will have the pool area on 14 with outside area on 15.  The pool is dinky, six people in it and it would be full.  Generally very quiet though and peaceful.  I guess if I was in the Haven on the Jewel class, I'd just get any meal in suite rather than Haven, there really aren't any table to eat at like the new ships.  Even some of the suites have small table so do some research.

[PeleNipsy]

The pool is (was?) an endless pool when I was in it last.  Hard to say if that aspect is still functional, but you could turn the jets on and swim laps.  I did that a couple times when there was no one else in the pool.

[garycarla]

Been in Pearl and sister ships in Haven a few times.

 

Do NOT consider that a pool at all.  Nice quiet area of course.

 

Breakfast in that area. Sure.... but remember, they have to go down to the restaurant to get your food.

 

LOVE the HAVEN by the way.  Just understand what you get.

[ccmo]

Thank you to all for valuable information. For the price, does not seem the value is there. Am also looking at Princess and feel that may be the way to go.

[graphicguy]

Nothing wrong with Princess, but I’ve never sailed them.

 

However, I do feel like the Haven experience isn’t quite explained in its entirety.

 

The pool/lounge areas on the Jewel Class ships is small.  But, there aren’t many people in the Haven to use them, so they are not crowded like the ship’s other pool areas.

 

You get a Butler, who handles all of your in cabin needs (even serving a sit down dinner) and a concierge who takes care of all your dining, entertainment bookings as well as any customer service needs.  You really don’t have to do anything in the Haven.  Ask for it (even special snacks brought to your cabin) and it’s done.

 

That’s the real value of the Haven.  All you do is show up and have everyone else cater to your needs.

[old nutter]

The other thing most people forget about the Jewel ship Haven is the huge sun deck above the port side suites.  That area has a side rail that gives great views outside down to the water and stretches along the whole length of the Haven.  Some of the Jewel ships have also got cabanas up on that deck with great big cushions.  You can see along the port side and out across the stern as well.  And the Courtyard Valet will serve drinks and treats up there if he knows you are there as well.

[ccmo]

Good points. Thank you.

[gingersvp]

We sailed the Pearl Haven in 2017 to Alaska. The pool valet took amazing care of us and served breakfast and lunch daily in the courtyard. At the time our youngest was not quite 2 and being able to spread out in the courtyard was wonderful for us. The pool valet also easily brought us drinks through the day. We did occasionally make use of the breakfast/lunch at Moderno's but found the courtyard easier for us. We tipped him heavily at the end for all the meals he brought us. You can also have the butler bring anything to your cabin.

 

While the pool was small, it was much warmer than the deck pool (particularly in Alaska) and my tweens made use of it daily.

 

In the evenings we just shot down the elevators to the Atrium to grab drinks. The bartender definitely got to know us and would prioritize serving us. The buffet is one deck down and sometimes we just grabbed a glass of wine there. I did wish this ship had the private restaurant and lounge/bar, but I really prefer the smaller ships and still found Haven worthwhile. To each their own!

 

We've actually just booked your same itinerary for November 2020 because we enjoyed the Haven so much. My youngest will be 5 then and able to make use of the pool. It's really great not having to fight the crowds on sea days. My older two will be 18 and 14 by then. 

[PeleNipsy]

On 9/19/2019 at 12:03 PM, old nutter said:

The other thing most people forget about the Jewel ship Haven is the huge sun deck above the port side suites.  That area has a side rail that gives great views outside down to the water and stretches along the whole length of the Haven.  Some of the Jewel ships have also got cabanas up on that deck with great big cushions.  You can see along the port side and out across the stern as well.  And the Courtyard Valet will serve drinks and treats up there if he knows you are there as well.

 

They have removed this to add deluxe owner's suites on the Jewel, so the Jewel is now like the Pearl.  Major bummer for the Garden Villa, which lost its outdoor area overlooking the main pool area.

[cruiseat50]

4 hours ago, PeleNipsy said:

 

They have removed this to add deluxe owner's suites on the Jewel, so the Jewel is now like the Pearl.  Major bummer for the Garden Villa, which lost its outdoor area overlooking the main pool area.

Are you serious?  You are saying that the Pearl doesn't have the sun deck at all?  I may pull my upgrade bids if so.  I booked a last minute cruise and forgot that deck 8 aft suite is above the Bliss lounge and heard it's very loud until late at night so I am bidding to get an upgrade.  It's highly doubtful as they have been sold out for a while but worth a chance in case someone cancels.  But if there is no sundeck and the balconies in the regular haven suites are so small compared to the aft I may just pull my bids and bring heavy duty earplugs.😴

[old nutter]

9 hours ago, PeleNipsy said:

 

They have removed this to add deluxe owner's suites on the Jewel, so the Jewel is now like the Pearl.  Major bummer for the Garden Villa, which lost its outdoor area overlooking the main pool area.

Are you sure we are talking about the same space.  The two forward facing Owners Villa villas on Jewel and Pearl look as if they were created from splitting the big one  that overlooked the pool area, not the sundeck that you get to from the steps out of the Haven courtyard that has cabanas on the Jade and looks over the port side and  back over the stern past the side of the funnels.  Losing that area would be a major bummer for the 2-bed suites round the main courtyard.

[PeleNipsy]

5 hours ago, old nutter said:

Are you sure we are talking about the same space.  The two forward facing Owners Villa villas on Jewel and Pearl look as if they were created from splitting the big one  that overlooked the pool area, not the sundeck that you get to from the steps out of the Haven courtyard that has cabanas on the Jade and looks over the port side and  back over the stern past the side of the funnels.  Losing that area would be a major bummer for the 2-bed suites round the main courtyard.

 

You’re right.  We are thinking about different decks.  Both the Pearl and the Jewel have the Haven-only sun deck on 15/port side that you’re thinking of.  I thought you were talking about portion of the deck on 15 that was unique to the Jewel when I read your comment the first time.  

 

Until recently, the Jewel had an extra enclosed space on deck 15 above the front portion of the Garden Villas where the Deluxe Owner’s Suites are on the Pearl.  It overlooked the main pool area and was open to all Haven suites.  On both sides of this area were additional outdoor decks for the garden villas.  So both garden villas had private outdoor space that overlooked the main pool area.  The Jewel was retrofitted recently to add the Deluxe Owner’s Suites, so now the Haven more closely mirrors the Pearl.    

[PeleNipsy]

11 hours ago, cruiseat50 said:

Are you serious?  You are saying that the Pearl doesn't have the sun deck at all?  I may pull my upgrade bids if so.  I booked a last minute cruise and forgot that deck 8 aft suite is above the Bliss lounge and heard it's very loud until late at night so I am bidding to get an upgrade.  It's highly doubtful as they have been sold out for a while but worth a chance in case someone cancels.  But if there is no sundeck and the balconies in the regular haven suites are so small compared to the aft I may just pull my bids and bring heavy duty earplugs.😴

 

We’re talking about different areas.  Both the Pearl and Jewel have a Haven-only sundeck on 15 port side.  The Haven is wonderful on both ships!  If you can get an upgrade, you won’t regret it.  Have a great trip!

[FLAHAM]

On 9/18/2019 at 7:28 PM, dexddd said:

The pool is dinky, six people in it and it would be full.  

 

Ha ha ha!  The pool is an endless-lap, swim-against-the-current exercise pool and it is outstanding.  These are the only pools in the entire NCL fleet where you can get in a real swim.

Edited November 11, 2019 by FLAHAM