Prima Haven - Some Almost-Curmudgeonly Musings!

[FLcruisergrl]

Found this on another site:

 

Two of the ship's 16 elevators are dedicated to The Haven complex (aft).

"The Haven by Norwegian" on Norwegian Prima spans 8 decks (suites, public areas, exclusive venues) in the aft of the liner. The NCL's luxury ship-within-a-ship, keycard-access-only area has 107x Haven suites and 2x private elevators - exclusively for Haven passengers. The aft elevators rise into The Haven public areas and interconnect decks 6 through 17. For the first time, every public area offers sea views from floor-ceiling windows. The Haven Sundeck is an exclusive sunbathing area with plenty of padded sun loungers and deckchairs and is located aft on decks 16-17.

• Deck 16's Sundeck has an infinity pool at the stern (swimming pool overlooking the ship's wake), an outdoor Spa (featuring a glass-walled Sauna Room and Cold Room), Concierge Desk, Haven Outdoor Restaurant, Haven Outdoor Lounge & Bar (offering a limited buffet for breakfast and lunch, with traditional Chinese and Western cuisine specialties).
• Deck 17's Sundeck has two Jacuzzis (outdoor whirlpool hot tubs) and outdoor Showers.
• 24-hour butler service is provided complimentary.

I hadn’t heard about the breakfast and lunch buffet in the outdoor lounge. I’m assuming the breakfast buffet refers to the standard buffet that we’ve experienced in the Haven restaurant (those almond croissants 🤤). The lunch buffet sounds interesting. What I also find interesting is that there are no actual Haven suites on the deck where the Haven area is.

 

 

[oteixeira]

There has always been some limited food on the haven pool deck, but it was more a menu then a buffet.  I have had sandwiches, fruit and yogurt, and much more out at the pool.

[FLcruisergrl]

1 minute ago, oteixeira said:

There has always been some limited food on the haven pool deck, but it was more a menu then a buffet.  I have had sandwiches, fruit and yogurt, and much more out at the pool.

Yes, I remember the lunch menu with a wrap, burger, hot dog. This sounds different and the mention specifically of Chinese cuisine is curious...

[oteixeira]

4 minutes ago, FLcruisergrl said:

Yes, I remember the lunch menu with a wrap, burger, hot dog. This sounds different and the mention specifically of Chinese cuisine is curious...

Agree, sounds like they are going to try some new things on the Prima, which I am fine with.  Hopefully not a messy buffet though, I really am one of those folks that avoid all buffets (on land and see) because I find them to be a turn off in terms of cleanliness (even when they are clean I feel like they aren't).

[Dr. Cocktail]

3 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I also noticed that this new ship NCL has piped down or went minimalist.  The Haven cabins while nice and even look larger look very RCCL.  Gone are the over the top luxury fixtures and definitely have went more minimalist.  It looks like the inside bars got scaled back which allowed the second bedroom to get more space.  The cabins look like they could be on the Oasis of the Seas.  

Totally agree .... loved the detailing on all of my varying Haven Suites ....

[Dr. Cocktail]

2 hours ago, FLcruisergrl said:

Found this on another site:

 

I hadn’t heard about the breakfast and lunch buffet in the outdoor lounge. I’m assuming the breakfast buffet refers to the standard buffet that we’ve experienced in the Haven restaurant (those almond croissants 🤤). The lunch buffet sounds interesting. What I also find interesting is that there are no actual Haven suites on the deck where the Haven area is.

 

 

Having been on Seaside, I LOVED the One Pool Bar and Buffet ..

 

Loved the bar as you  could hang/stagger off the bar just as you did in the Haven Lounge. The bartenders were just as motivated/interested in getting you that "perfect" drink as they were in the Haven.

 

They also serve a breakfast and lunch buffet by the pool daily .... the lunch buffet was particularly dangerous because of all of the fabulous grilled items they had ... you ultimately (well, I did!) end up having two lunches ... fresh grilled stuff by the pool, "formal" sit down lunch downstairs!

 

The buffet line was very small ... not that many items and a proper sink to wash your hands before you started!  For someone like myself where my avatar does incline toward my profession, it made me very happy!!!

 

I once had a conversation with one of the presidents of one of the top cruise lines (another lifetime ago ....)

 

I asked him if they actually sailed on the competition.... he looked at me like as if I was insane .....

 

"absolutely, 100%!"

 

I asked him if it was incognito .... he told me it was impossible ...he would be immediately recognized by a restaurant manager/officer/crew member who had sailed on "his" line before...

 

They would simple phone the head office of the competition to book them on a sailing.

 

As pioneers of the "ship within a ship", MSC and NCL are constantly "stealing" from each other!

[All-ready2cruise]

4 hours ago, david_sobe said:

Gone are the over the top luxury fixtures and definitely have went more minimalist. 

To me, that's what I would call, understated elegance. I like it. Very much like MSC Divina. 

[HBCcruiser]

I don’t know what happened. All of a sudden I looked and a Bermuda cruise on the Prima in an aft owners suite was booked! How’d that happen? 😬😬😬

[All-ready2cruise]

I clicked the button for you... LOLOL

[HBCcruiser]

4 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

I clicked the button for you... LOLOL

 

Awesome,  Thanks! 😂😂😂

[All-ready2cruise]

1 minute ago, HBCcruiser said:

 

Awesome,  Thanks! 😂😂😂

Well, you know you wanna... 🤣

[david_sobe]

Did I read that right?  107 suites?  😲

[orchestrapal]

On 5/14/2021 at 1:53 PM, sverigecruiser said:

 

Personally I hope so but of course I understand that people travelling with children don't like it!

No children will help make this a real Haven for the rest of us!,👍👍

[Mikial]

2 hours ago, orchestrapal said:

No children will help make this a real Haven for the rest of us!,👍👍

As a family who regularly sails the Haven with kids under 16, the rules would cause us to look elsewhere and is really disappointing.  From my perspective, age restrictions are not the way to go.  Instead, they should have strict conduct-based rules that are enforced and deal with issues that way.  

 

The issue isn't age, it is behavior.  Our 12 and 13 year olds love the Haven, respect the rules, and we have only been complimented about their behavior.  In contrast, we had a cruise a few years ago where a large number of 16 and 17 year olds completely took over the Haven Courtyard, continuously ignored rules, and - essentially - took control of it for the entire cruise.  Candidly, In our sailings we have encountered far more adults that do not seem to understand that the Haven Courtyard is intended to be a quiet respite.

 

IMHO the problem is not a certain age group -- the problem is behavior and lack of parental oversight and NCL not enforcing rules.

[FLcruisergrl]

16 minutes ago, Mikial said:

As a family who regularly sails the Haven with kids under 16, the rules would cause us to look elsewhere and is really disappointing.  From my perspective, age restrictions are not the way to go.  Instead, they should have strict conduct-based rules that are enforced and deal with issues that way.  

 

The issue isn't age, it is behavior.  Our 12 and 13 year olds love the Haven, respect the rules, and we have only been complimented about their behavior.  In contrast, we had a cruise a few years ago where a large number of 16 and 17 year olds completely took over the Haven Courtyard, continuously ignored rules, and - essentially - took control of it for the entire cruise.  Candidly, In our sailings we have encountered far more adults that do not seem to understand that the Haven Courtyard is intended to be a quiet respite.

 

IMHO the problem is not a certain age group -- the problem is behavior and lack of parental oversight and NCL not enforcing rules.

Completely agree! 

[oteixeira]

24 minutes ago, Mikial said:

As a family who regularly sails the Haven with kids under 16, the rules would cause us to look elsewhere and is really disappointing.  From my perspective, age restrictions are not the way to go.  Instead, they should have strict conduct-based rules that are enforced and deal with issues that way.  

 

The issue isn't age, it is behavior.  Our 12 and 13 year olds love the Haven, respect the rules, and we have only been complimented about their behavior.  In contrast, we had a cruise a few years ago where a large number of 16 and 17 year olds completely took over the Haven Courtyard, continuously ignored rules, and - essentially - took control of it for the entire cruise.  Candidly, In our sailings we have encountered far more adults that do not seem to understand that the Haven Courtyard is intended to be a quiet respite.

 

IMHO the problem is not a certain age group -- the problem is behavior and lack of parental oversight and NCL not enforcing rules.

Don't you worry a bit.  NCL is much more family/kid friendly then it seems Cruise Critic is.  No way they drop kids without selling "family" cabins in the Haven.  😄

[HBCcruiser]

25 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

Don't you worry a bit.  NCL is much more family/kid friendly then it seems Cruise Critic is.  No way they drop kids without selling "family" cabins in the Haven.  😄

 

NCL states that the Prima Haven Sundeck, where the pool is located, is for 16+. I’m wondering if perhaps they will build a Haven family area on one of the upper decks. 🤔 There are a lot of unknowns still. 

[oteixeira]

3 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

 

NCL states that the Prima Haven Sundeck, where the pool is located, is for 16+. I’m wondering if perhaps they will build a Haven family area on one of the upper decks. 🤔 There are a lot of unknowns still. 

HBC, we have been discussing this all thread.  The ship has 2 levels of Haven Sundeck, one with a pool, and one with the hottubs.  I am thinking the wording here is referring to the second upper deck, but no of us will know for sure until she sails.  I will argue that there is no way they lock the kids out of the area as it would cause them to lose a lot of families that pay big money for the family suites.

[HBCcruiser]

3 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

HBC, we have been discussing this all thread.  The ship has 2 levels of Haven Sundeck, one with a pool, and one with the hottubs.  I am thinking the wording here is referring to the second upper deck, but no of us will know for sure until she sails.  I will argue that there is no way they lock the kids out of the area as it would cause them to lose a lot of families that pay big money for the family suites.

Yes, I agree. My wondering is whether they will create a separate Haven family pool area above, next to the upper Sundeck. There have been so many suggestions made regarding  having an adult only Haven area, I’m just curious to see if they do it. See the deck plans for deck 17. There is a lot of space that seems dedicated to The Haven. Could be Vibe too? Again, just thinking/pondering  out loud here. 

[Dr. Cocktail]

15 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Yes, I agree. My wondering is whether they will create a separate Haven family pool area above, next to the upper Sundeck. There have been so many suggestions made regarding  having an adult only Haven area, I’m just curious to see if they do it. See the deck plans for deck 17. There is a lot of space that seems dedicated to The Haven. Could be Vibe too? Again, just thinking/pondering  out loud here. 

 

When I originally wrote my musings, I thought exactly what you and oteixeira have been saying ... there are a LOT of two bedroom Family Villas and not a lot of deck space pictured.

 

The current setup pictured would leave no one happy .... the "adult-only" crowd not happy with kids running around the bar and parents not happy with a deep-ish infinity pool. There's still a lot of deck space unaccounted for ....

[oteixeira]

BTW, my bet is the space forward of the vibe on deck 17 is going to be an expanded Vibe since the vibe always sells out on the BA and BA+ class ships and it is a money maker for NCL.  Again, just guessing at this point.

[Mikial]

10 hours ago, oteixeira said:

Don't you worry a bit.  NCL is much more family/kid friendly then it seems Cruise Critic is.  No way they drop kids without selling "family" cabins in the Haven.  😄

I am not so sure of that, as it seems like things have been moving in that direction…  The last time we sailed the Bliss, we weren’t able to enjoy sail away on the Haven sundeck because of their 16+ policy (and the kids weren’t allowed on the outside decks at all).  This seems like an extension of that… 
 

We had been waiting 6 months to book the Prima, and the 16+ warning on the website certainly stopped us dead in out tracks and ruined that idea!

[FLcruisergrl]

6 hours ago, Mikial said:

I am not so sure of that, as it seems like things have been moving in that direction…  The last time we sailed the Bliss, we weren’t able to enjoy sail away on the Haven sundeck because of their 16+ policy (and the kids weren’t allowed on the outside decks at all).  This seems like an extension of that… 
 

We had been waiting 6 months to book the Prima, and the 16+ warning on the website certainly stopped us dead in out tracks and ruined that idea!

What do you mean “the kids weren’t allowed on the outside decks at all”? The only restricted areas are the Haven sundeck and Vibe. Please explain.

[Cruise Gopher]

1 hour ago, FLcruisergrl said:

What do you mean “the kids weren’t allowed on the outside decks at all”? The only restricted areas are the Haven sundeck and Vibe. Please explain.

I think they mean the kids couldn’t go on the Haven sun deck (outside deck) for the sail away. 

[oteixeira]

11 minutes ago, SkierRobUMN said:

I think they mean the kids couldn’t go on the Haven sun deck (outside deck) for the sail away. 

Which makes sense since they have been (forever) adult only.  There is nothing new here, the upper decks of the BA and BA+ haven areas are adult only, the pool deck is not.  People are reading way to much into the one statement on their site.