Encore Haven Question/Concern

[The Cruiseman 1]

One of the primary reason I would have interest in upgrading to a Haven Suite is for access to a quiet lounging deck and pool area as I am afraid since we are getting on the ship late we will be unable to get a Vibe pass.  I now read reviews talking about how many kids utilize this area and how loud it is!!  We really dont care about having a Butler as I would not even know how to utilize that feature and prefer to eat in the Speciality Restaurants anyway.  So based upon this does it really make sense to spend the money for the Haven?

Thoughts?

[Peachypooh]

You really can't count on a quiet serene atmosphere in the Haven pool area.This was my experience last week.  The sun deck will be quiet and also  the Horizon lounge most of the time (sometimes there  are  misbehaving kids and screaming from the pool can be heard.) There is a door between theHaven  bar area and the pool so that is quiet. Whether it is worth it to you

only you can answer. I thought it was still worth it due to priority embark/disembark, the option of eating in the Haven restaurant (quiet) and  having access to someone instantly if you have a problem. Plus you are still in an area with many less people.

[gmbhardy]

Frankly, I don’t think you would get your money’s worth. If you don’t utilize the butlers, eat in the Haven restaurant or are unable to use the courtyard because of noisy children paying a premium to stay in the Haven would be a waste of money. On another point, you may be able to purchase Vibe passes from the Haven concierge, even if you arrive late.

[The Cruiseman 1]

But we assume that we should not need the Vibe pass if paying for the Haven, right?  We are experienced cruisers but first time on NCL and so far not happy about all the extra charges!

[BirdTravels]

22 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

On another point, you may be able to purchase Vibe passes from the Haven concierge, even if you arrive late.

 

1 hour ago, The Cruiseman 1 said:

I am afraid since we are getting on the ship late we will be unable to get a Vibe pass.

So, what is the difference between the Vibe and the Haven sundeck which is kid-free?  The Haven sundeck is 2 inches (the width of a metal portion) from the Vibe. 

 

You get the horizons lounge (private observation lounge) if you want some quieter space to watch the sea.

[BNBR]

Don't book the Haven.  On my sailing, it was completely overrun with loud kids.  The pool area was virtually unusable.  Total waste of money.

[david_sobe]

December is not a great time to sail in the Haven (been there done that).  With school out the kids are packed in the Haven family suites.  Many times they can take over the Haven facilities.  However, the Haven sundeck does not allow children so it would be almost identical to Vibe.  That could be your tranquil spot.  Also once school resumes, things hopefully calm down.  I saw a video from the Haven from Peachypooh's cruise and the Haven pool area looked like a day care center.  One adult and 12 kids screaming, throwing balls, pool toys, cannon balls all over the place.

NCL needs to have separate Haven facilities for children and adults just like their main pool deck.  The plunge pool is not for diving, cannon balls, and children diving for toys.  Also with a hot tub packed with children you could not even use it if you wanted.

Edited December 28, 2019 by david_sobe

[gmbhardy]

20 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

So, what is the difference between the Vibe and the Haven sundeck which is kid-free?  The Haven sundeck is 2 inches (the width of a metal portion) from the Vibe. 

 

 

I know this is a pet peeve of yours so for what it’s worth, there’s a world of difference between the two putting aside the proximity thing. The atmosphere for instance is totally different. The Vibe has more of a party atmosphere. It has its own bar and servers, shot o’clock and hot tubs. The Haven sundeck is just about the most boring place on the ship and often times you have to get your own drinks, but if quiet and mundane is what you want it certainly fits the bill. 

[The Cruiseman 1]

Thanks that is very helpful!  I think we would much prefer to Vibe if we have any chance of actually buying them.  We dont get on the ship util 1 pm so afraid they may be sold out by then.  No we dont want boring but also dont want to be relaxing in a kids pool environment! 

This is on the 1/26/20 trip.

[gmbhardy]

7 minutes ago, The Cruiseman 1 said:

Thanks that is very helpful!  I think we would much prefer to Vibe if we have any chance of actually buying them.  We dont get on the ship util 1 pm so afraid they may be sold out by then.  No we dont want boring but also dont want to be relaxing in a kids pool environment! 

This is on the 1/26/20 trip.

 

As I said in my post, you should be able to get Vibe passes from the Encore Haven concierge.

[dexddd]

That sailing entry rates are $2699 pax one and two each, that is reasonable.

 

Whether you'll have quiet in Haven proper, hit or miss.  We usually sail during school breaks and summer due to our kids.  We've had pretty quiet trip with only a few kids.  Worst was a bit of Marco polo one day and family too lazy to walk to nearby bathroom to change young kids so pretty peaceful.

 

Our last trip on Escape pretty much everyday lots of kids in there. Couple families with young Boys must have thought it was their own private place as they'd sprawl out all over.  Plus last 24 hours pool closed due to incident.

[Two Wheels Only]

After a few cruises in the Haven. I've never had the "out of control children" problem. In fact, usually my kids are the only ones there except for maybe one or two random children who are older than mine. I've never seen cannonballs, Marco Polo, water guns, etc. The same is true for my one trip in the MSC Yacht Club. 

 

I understand that the problem does exist (just read the forum) but considering how many Haven guests are returning Haven guests, many people don't have the problems that are described.  My kids are in school so we usually only cruise when they are out but I usually book for the first week after school ends. Our last cruise was June 2nd so most kids were still in school. If cruising late June/early July, I suspect that there would be more kids and potential problems in the Haven/Yacht Club. 

 

 

[The Cruiseman 1]

Do we have access to a concierge with a suite cabin or do you have to be in Haven class?

[Two Wheels Only]

16 minutes ago, The Cruiseman 1 said:

Do we have access to a concierge with a suite cabin or do you have to be in Haven class?

 

What ship/stateroom did you book?

[smplybcause]

38 minutes ago, The Cruiseman 1 said:

Do we have access to a concierge with a suite cabin or do you have to be in Haven class?

 

Encore doesn't have non-Haven suites. Unless you're talking about mini-suites which are not suites even though it's part of their name. 

[pcakes122]

3 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

As I said in my post, you should be able to get Vibe passes from the Encore Haven concierge.

Only if you are in a Haven cabin.  Wasn't the original question should we book the Haven or no Haven with Vibe?  (Not both.)

[pcakes122]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

So, what is the difference between the Vibe and the Haven sundeck which is kid-free?  The Haven sundeck is 2 inches (the width of a metal portion) from the Vibe. 

May just be a metal partition between the two, but in my experience they are a totally different atmosphere.  Vibe is much more lively and the Haven sundeck is much more tranquil (my preference.)

[kitty-sail]

4 hours ago, david_sobe said:

NCL needs to have separate Haven facilities for children and adults just like their main pool deck.  The plunge pool is not for diving, cannon balls, and children diving for toys.  Also with a hot tub packed with children you could not even use it if you wanted.

Going on the Encore Haven next year. Your comments don't give me a good feeling about my cruise. I've enjoyed past Haven experiences. Never had pool area over run with roudy kids.  What do I have to look forward to.

 

[ColeThornton]

9 minutes ago, kitty-sail said:

Going on the Encore Haven next year. Your comments don't give me a good feeling about my cruise. I've enjoyed past Haven experiences. Never had pool area over run with roudy kids.  What do I have to look forward to.

 

 

 

Don't be put off by a negative comment or two.  That's not the norm.

[smplybcause]

15 minutes ago, kitty-sail said:

Going on the Encore Haven next year. Your comments don't give me a good feeling about my cruise. I've enjoyed past Haven experiences. Never had pool area over run with roudy kids.  What do I have to look forward to.

 

 

I've seen reports of that on other ships. It's not ship specific, it's sailing specific. If it's a time when there's a ton of kids on board there's likely going to be a ton in the Haven. 

[Peachypooh]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Don't be put off by a negative comment or two.  That's not the norm.

I agree up to a point. We have sailed the Haven 7 times the first 6 on the Jewell class ships. Never ever had a

problem with kids running, jumping and screaming. Always a serene atmosphere. I think because the Encore

sailing I was on had 3/4 passengers free and it is a ship with all the bells and whistles it ended up the way

that it did. Perhaps if someone picked a sailing that did not offer that perk and definitely not when the kids are out of

school or holiday time and perhaps not as big a problem.

[erdoran]

2 hours ago, smplybcause said:

 

I've seen reports of that on other ships. It's not ship specific, it's sailing specific. If it's a time when there's a ton of kids on board there's likely going to be a ton in the Haven. 

Agree 100%. We avoid holiday sailings and try for off season - easier on the wallet - and in our two most recent cruises there were very few kids in the Haven (I think maybe none at all on our April 2019 Jade TA).

 

The issue is nothing to do with Haven or ship, it’s totally WHEN you sail and who is booked.  You can control WHEN but not WHO.  I’ve read horror stories here about kids in the Haven, and have read about well-behaved kids in Haven.  

 

It’s beyond upsetting when you have paid top dollar for peace and quiet and access to a pool/hot tub that’s uncrowded and instead you have kids running wild.  Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee that won’t happen.  Load the odds in your favor by sailing when school is in session is about the best you can do - or like you began with, there’s always Vibe which I guess is kid-free?  

 

Keep in mind your fellow cruisers are also the luck of the draw.  We’ve been blessed with lovely folks (well, a couple of massive jerks but NOT on our roll call) but every now and then you read a story about adults behaving badly.

 

The above goes IMHO across all cruise lines and cabin classes!

[Sauer-kraut]

Jan 26th won't be kid central, everyone is back in school.  The whole ship will have a different feel.

Edited December 29, 2019 by Sauer-kraut

[AlexandNessa]

We don't sail Encore till the Spring, but i imagine it's just like the Bliss Haven where we disembarked 12/13. The Bliss sundeck was awesome. We had great service. No trouble at all getting drinks or lunch. And we had very friendly fellow guests. We lived up there during the day. 

 

We did dub the Horizon Lounge the "Morgue," however. Pretty much a waste of beautiful space on our sailing. People only went in to get a few snacks and then promptly returned to the Haven, the lounge, or the sundeck. I imagine it gets much more use in Alaska, as intended. 

 

We did have a handful of kids on our sailing who seemed to enjoy the courtyard pool and hot tub, and some fogeys did complain that the Haven wasn't a haven as a result, but they did their complaining from the sundeck... 

[ashleyriley]

Here's my experience: We have been on two Haven sailings. One on the Jade in Europe and one on the Breakaway to the Caribbean. Both times, the Haven pool area was overun with kids. On the Jade we saw kids cannonball into the tiny Haven pool then proceed to take soaking wet pool hands and dig into the cookies and snacks that are by the pool. On the Breakaway,  kids were using snorkels and flippers in the pool, splashing everyone all around. Also,  jumping and swimming into both hot tubes. I would have loved to use the pool and hot tubs but was not able to because of the inconsiderate parents of the children. I guess you just have to go into booking the Haven knowing that this type of scenario is a very real possibility. This will not deter me from booking the Haven again as we enjoy so many other perks, food and service. I just wish NCL would take a stand against the behavior that could diminish the other guest's experience but it seems like they are afraid to say anything .