Is the Haven really worth it?

[April42749]

So, a question:

If "you" are willing to spend "that much money" why not go on a luxury line?

[Hotspring]

24 minutes ago, April42749 said:

So, a question:

If "you" are willing to spend "that much money" why not go on a luxury line?

Where is the Broadway Show caliber entertainment?  Where is there the diversity of music and comedian venues?  Where are the race tracks, rope courses, lasar tags, mini-golf and massive number of different restaurants? Sure, you are comparing a Jewel Class ship with a luxury line, these things might be comparable, but on the mega ships, you can get all the happenings and entertainment as the rest of the ship, many on a priority basis but still retreat into your own private Haven.

[nyc2pdx]

1 hour ago, coastcat said:

Another introvert who prefers solo travel and just completed her first cruise... Although the idea of the Haven is indeed appealing, there are enough quiet spots here and there to refresh your mind and settle your nerves even if you're in the cheap seats (or in my case, in the Studios).

 

The best thing about the cruise was that the most complex question I had to answer for a whole delightful week was "would you like to see the wine list?"

 

Yes. Yes I would.

Champagne.  Two please.  🙂

[April42749]

11 hours ago, Hotspring said:

Where is the Broadway Show caliber entertainment?  Where is there the diversity of music and comedian venues?  Where are the race tracks, rope courses, lasar tags, mini-golf and massive number of different restaurants? Sure, you are comparing a Jewel Class ship with a luxury line, these things might be comparable, but on the mega ships, you can get all the happenings and entertainment as the rest of the ship, many on a priority basis but still retreat into your own private Haven.

Good points.  I'd die of boredom on a luxury line.  Luckily there are choices and we all choose what works best for us. (For me....it's a fancy bauble as a souvenir.  Most would laugh at my overpriced memento,  but it's something I'd have forever as opposed to just the memory of "gummy bears" etc....lol).

[luckyinpa]

sub question to main one

 

is haven worth it at christmas? (bliss if that matters)

 

ive been on the BA in haven during non holiday season and it was great. 'empty' basically most time i was in it. but it was warmer out. with 3 to 4 cold days in december im assuming the haven itself will be really full but also people will be in the  main part of the ship. any way to quantify or qualify if haven is worth the price during the most crowded sailing of the year. 

 

i dont wanna be standing 1 hour waiting for a table at the 'premium' restaurant i paid for.  (though i guess they can bring that to the cabin?)

[Casamigos]

The Haven is absolutely worth it...at the right price :)

 

We were on the Haven in January of this year (11 days out of New Orleans) and are in the Haven in April in 2020 and January 2021.

 

Why I think it's worth it...

 

1. My wife had a headache one night so she laid down...I wasn't down partying/drinking so went to Howl at The Moon.  I was waiting at the atrium bar for HatM to open (long line) and the Haven concierge passed by and asked if I wanted to go to HatM and if so he could walk me in to get a seat (before everyone else).  I just wanted to stand at the bar but he told me he could if I wanted.

 

2. Same 2 bartenders for the entire cruise.  I enjoyed sitting at the bar (never crowded) and having conversations with our bartenders (Kumar was great) and having them make different concoctions every day.  Didn't have to swipe for every drink either (they would essentially just keep a tab running and swipe once when I left).  In one case I didn't have my card and got a drink and just came back later to have him ring it up.  Drinks were also "better" in the Haven.  

 

3. Food, some people say it's same food, I think it's different.  At breakfast can get petite filet (I never did)???  I don't think any other area on the ship has filet for breakfast.  Also, was always served with fresh french roast coffee (similar to what you can get in Le Bistro, always better than coffee in the free dining areas or the buffett).  Every night there was a special that was different (I did the special 2 nights and one night it was smaller but they brought me a 2nd portion of it)

 

4. Extra attention...we cruised during the SuperBowl and in the Haven pool area they set up a big screen tv for the 15-20 people watching the game, provided appertizers, and then had 2 servers walking around (and since it was only 15 or so of us, they sat down and watched the game with us).  One couple had tried to go to OSheehans but it was such a mad house there they came back to the Haven.  Great time (since we were the only Patriot fans there).  

 

5. Quiet - The Haven is very quiet compared to other places on the ship.  During the day we could get a table in the pool area and read/work almost all day, going back and forth between a mostly empty hot tub, sauna, pool at any point.  I have never gotten in the main pool  or hot tub of any cruise because it is just too crowded for me (I don't like touching strangers)

 

6. Being able to get off the ship first is great when you're doing excursions so you don't have to rush through breakfast and then go get a spot in line.  Just show up at the concierge desk and they take you down the crew elevators to the front of the line.

 

With all that said, it does cost more, we try to find cruises where the Haven is 30-50% more than a balcony and that is where we think it's really worth it.  We work so much and don't get time off so when we do we do want to spoil ourselves, but if you have more time and just want to cruise then you can absolutely cruise more in other rooms.

 

One negative with the Haven are the people who are completely spoiled a-holes.  We had a couple who went ballistic because they only drank one type of wine and the Haven ran out of the wine and they couldn't find any at other places on the ship.  The Haven finally offered to let them drink wine off of the beverage plan (probably so they would STFU)

 

 

[billslowsky]

24 minutes ago, Casamigos said:

 

One negative with the Haven are the people who are completely spoiled a-holes.  We had a couple who went ballistic because they only drank one type of wine and the Haven ran out of the wine and they couldn't find any at other places on the ship.  The Haven finally offered to let them drink wine off of the beverage plan (probably so they would STFU)

 

 

 

LOL.  Too true.

[ollienbertsmum]

58 minutes ago, Casamigos said:

 

 

.

 

With all that said, it does cost more, we try to find cruises where the Haven is 30-50% more than a balcony and that is where we think it's really worth it.  We work so much and don't get time off so when we do we do want to spoil ourselves, but if you have more time and just want to cruise then you can absolutely cruise more in other rooms.

 

 

 

Ah the 30% difference sounds fine.  I think that the cruises I have booked - maybe 6 months ahead on Med cruises, Haven has been much more expensive than that.  I didn’t realise it could be as low as only 30% more.  I will start to look when bookings first open.  

[graphicguy]

Being an a$$h0le doesn’t mean you only sail in the Haven.  You can find them in other parts of the ship, on your excursion, in line.....etc!

 

I dunno....perhaps I’m one of those people you are referring to, and I just don’t know it!

[luckyinpa]

they are waiting at EVERY  single elevator to get in IMMEDIATELY. 

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, Casamigos said:

 

 

With all that said, it does cost more, we try to find cruises where the Haven is 30-50% more than a balcony and that is where we think it's really worth it.  We work so much and don't get time off so when we do we do want to spoil ourselves, but if you have more time and just want to cruise then you can absolutely cruise more in other rooms.

 

 

Most of the time I look it's close to 100% more than a balcony. I should still pay for it if I should cruise on NCL again. We will not book something else than the Haven.

[Casamigos]

9 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Being an a$$h0le doesn’t mean you only sail in the Haven.  You can find them in other parts of the ship, on your excursion, in line.....etc!

 

I dunno....perhaps I’m one of those people you are referring to, and I just don’t know it!

 

I doubt it 🙂  I understand when people pay a lot and want to have a good vacation but they ran out of the only beer I can drink on the ship (I am a beer snob) and I just switched to something else.  These people were literally screaming because there was no more of a single specific wine...if screaming would magically make something appear then I would say scream...but they checked the entire ship (the bartender literally called every other bar on the ship, all the restaurants, even had the bar manager come up).  I understand that you really wanted something but yelling at people who make a fraction of what you do and who cannot solve your problem doesn't do anything.  Correct way to handle that issue is for them to drink something else and then let NCL know that there was an issue with logistics.  Yelling at the bartender doesn't do anything.

 

Everyone should remember, you can start nice and become an a-hole, can't start a-hole and become nice 🙂

 

I stay in Haven and love being a little spoiled but everyone should remember the people waiting on us are actual people too.  I ask people to imagine if they made a mistake at their work how would they liked to be screamed at (or in the case of tips, if you made a mistake how would you like not getting paid or paid less)

[js]

16 hours ago, April42749 said:

So, a question:

If "you" are willing to spend "that much money" why not go on a luxury line?

 

I do look forward to doing that one day but I have adult "children" that still come and vacation with us and we really enjoy the nightlife on NCL, compared to MSC, RCCL and Disney.  When i sail just my mom and me, I sail MSC Seaside in YC, that is, IMO, a step up from Haven but my family would not like the evenings.

 

[gmbhardy]

39 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Most of the time I look it's close to 100% more than a balcony. I should still pay for it if I should cruise on NCL again. We will not book something else than the Haven.

 

I would say roughly between 75%-100%. Don’t think I’ve ever seen one at only 30% more than a balcony. That would be a steal.

[luckyinpa]

except for restaurant and bar, are all the other things haven on bliss 24/7 open?

[Two Wheels Only]

26 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

except for restaurant and bar, are all the other things haven on bliss 24/7 open?

 

The pool and hot tubs close at a certain time. 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Two Wheels Only

[Barb Nahoumi]

We usually cruise in Balcony or Picture Window  Ocean Views.  Doing this gives us the financial ability to cruise every year, rather than having to save up for a few years first.  The extras that are afforded to Suite passengers are very nice, but not necessary for us to enjoy our cruise. 

 

Suite areas are not immune from being over-run by children, during peak vacation times.  

[luckyinpa]

4 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

The pool and hot tubs close at a certain time. 

 

but otherwise free to use courtyard. outside deck, observation lounge etc?

[Run14]

23 hours ago, April42749 said:

So, a question:

If "you" are willing to spend "that much money" why not go on a luxury line?

 

For my DW and I this is something we've put a lot of thought into.  The biggest reasons that we stick with NCL/Haven are:

1) We love the entertainment of the big ships, which we haven't found on luxury lines

2) We love the respite of the Haven for a lot of time, but we do enjoy getting out and socializing/blending into a crowd 

3) We are in our mid 30's, and we don't want to be the only sub-65 cruisers.  We enjoy socializing with older cruisers, don't get me wrong, but from what we've heard from friends the mood is pretty different

4) We have platinum status on NCL, which doesn't provide a ton of benefits, but they do matter and it helps.  

5) We've honestly been really happy with the Haven and haven't (yet) been motivated to start looking.  That said, you never know...

 

8 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

is haven worth it at christmas? (bliss if that matters)

 

We've not done a Christmas cruise, but we have done a Thanksgiving cruise and I'd imagine there's a lot of similarity between the two.  I will say, without exception, we won't do a holiday cruise outside of the Haven again.  It's night and day.  The longest we've ever had to wait for a table at the Haven restaurant is about 10 minutes, and even then it was pretty easy because we just grabbed a drink at the Haven bar.  The main dining area outside of the Haven was always packed, and on the holiday itself it was a dumpster fire.  You couldn't pay me to take a holiday cruise in a standard cabin again.  

[zebrazeb]

We did a xmas cruise two years ago on Escape.  Upgraded (bid and won) to Haven, without knowing exactly what we were getting.  First time in Haven.  loved it.  xmas is definitely busy, and not sure I could "manage it" without having Haven area.  We DO have an 8 year old boy, so really need the activities, and everything else this is on a larger ship.  This xmas we are going on Getaway.  Different Haven area, not enclosed as Escape was, but imagine it will still be amazing.

 

Why do we spend the extra money.  Well, I am worth it 🙂   Need to get away from work, and not have to worry about standing in line.  I remember the tender line, that we just came to front.  Instead of waiting an hour plus in the heat/humidity, we were showered up, and ready to have more fun.  The Haven restaurant and bar area is so nice, again, to just get a drink or a nice meal.  Just feel better walking into a restaurant for any meal, and being served.  Going to any show, and knowing we have a seat up front.  so, paying for the perks, and simply enjoying them.  Just makes the vacation so much better for us.  We do use the buffets sometimes, especially for lunch or a quick bite, so like the choices.

 

And lets not forget the HUGE room.  we did, and so far are doing a forward facing corner room.  It is a two room suite, so separate sleeping room for us and son.  huge bathroom, double sink, separate huge shower, and separate bathtub.  nespresso coffee maker in room.  Did not really use the butler, so that was more of an annoyance than a help.  maybe use them more next time.  The separate rooms, in case we wanted to sit in one room, or nap in another. 

 

The feel of using our card to walk into the Haven area, felt a bit secretive, and special.  

 

I think (and hope) we treat everyone very well, and appreciate them taking extra special care of us.  We did see a few of the A&& hole types.  One "gentleman" argued with the server about his special water being free, and part of his all-inclusive plan.  The poor server (and others belittled) was just doing his job.  I finally told the guy to please stop, we are trying to enjoy OUR meal.  one it was really sad to act that way, and two, bring it up with manager or someone who could actually try to help.  even though this guy was obviously beyond help (know it all type).  Also, we had to scold some kids, as their "parents" felt safe to just let their kids run wild, and do whatever they wanted there.  Hot tub jumping, etc.  

[luckyinpa]

10 hours ago, Run14 said:

 

 

 

We've not done a Christmas cruise, but we have done a Thanksgiving cruise and I'd imagine there's a lot of similarity between the two.  I will say, without exception, we won't do a holiday cruise outside of the Haven again.  It's night and day.  The longest we've ever had to wait for a table at the Haven restaurant is about 10 minutes, and even then it was pretty easy because we just grabbed a drink at the Haven bar.  The main dining area outside of the Haven was always packed, and on the holiday itself it was a dumpster fire.  You couldn't pay me to take a holiday cruise in a standard cabin again.  

 

where did you eat on thanksgiving?

 

do the MDRs have a separate haven line?

[davy jones]

On 9/29/2019 at 9:46 PM, April42749 said:

So, a question:

If "you" are willing to spend "that much money" why not go on a luxury line?

We are not haven travelers, but luxury lines may not be good choices for families with kids and teens.

[davy jones]

1 hour ago, luckyinpa said:

 

do the MDRs have a separate haven line?

I have not seen a separate haven line.  However, the computer could move haven passengers to the front of the line.

[StackSkipton]

20 minutes ago, davy jones said:

I have not seen a separate haven line.  However, the computer could move haven passengers to the front of the line.

There is not a separate line but concierge can generally get reservations long after they are showing unavailable in NCL apps. 
 

Not sure if computer bumps Haven but in Haven you quickly learn to not show up anywhere that you don’t have a reservation to without talking to concierge first. 

[ColeThornton]

36 minutes ago, davy jones said:

I have not seen a separate haven line.  However, the computer could move haven passengers to the front of the line.

 

 

Do you know that for sure or are you just speculating?