Is Haven Restaurant enough?

[cltcruisers123]

Hi - previously sailed on NCL Jade for a 11 day cruise and ate at the specialty restaurants multiple times. They were great!  We weren’t in the Haven though, so didn’t have that to compare to. We will be in the Haven on the NCL Joy in a few weeks and our package includes the 2 speciality dining options, but I added 2 more without really knowing if Haven dining room would be enough variety for the other 5 nights. Debating about asking to have the 2 additional nights I paid for credited back. For those that have been in the Haven (even better if you were on the Joy) were you satisfied with Haven restaurant options and didn’t feel like your were missing out on any of the Specialty restaurants? Thank you!

[rnfulk]

I would keep the extra specialty restaurants. The Haven food is excellent, but the menu is the same every day. I think it is nice to be able to eat elsewhere to have a bit of variety.

[david_sobe]

The food in the Haven restaurant is pretty good. The menu never changes so I could not see eating there every night for dinner.  The 2 specialty dinners will definitely be welcome.  Personally I could definitely make it work.  But even though we eat in the Haven, we like to explore.  Sometimes the MDR has something we really like and eat there.  Just because we stay in the Haven, we still have lunch at The Local once or The Food republic.

You need to see the Haven menu to see if you can make it work.  If you only like 1 or 2 of their dinners, then maybe it wont work for you.   Personally, I would have no problems.  We may splurge and pay for 1 more specialty though 😁

[cltcruisers123]

1 minute ago, david_sobe said:

The food in the Haven restaurant is pretty good. The menu never changes so I could not see eating there every night for dinner.  The 2 specialty dinners will definitely be welcome.  Personally I could definitely make it work.  But even though we eat in the Haven, we like to explore.  Sometimes the MDR has something we really like and eat there.  Just because we stay in the Haven, we still have lunch at The Local once or The Food republic.

You need to see the Haven menu to see if you can make it work.  If you only like 1 or 2 of their dinners, then maybe it wont work for you.   Personally, I would have no problems.  We may splurge and pay for 1 more specialty though 😁

Haha - yeah I’m more about variety than cost these days too. If the menu never changes, I would definitely feel like I’d be missing out. Appreciate the advice!

[Av8torcrj]

We were on the joy in the haven a month or so ago. The haven staff were absolutely incredible. The menu doesn’t change. Honestly, how much fillet mignon and lobster can one eat. Nonetheless, We ate there almost exclusively except for one night at I think it was Moderna where both the staff and food was a downgrade. We didn’t even use the other dining package night and I never set foot into the buffet or know where it is. This being said, it did get monotonous and I’d say on an 11 day you will find yourself in search of alternatives particularly for lunch and dinner. 

[cltcruisers123]

My other thought on this would be snacking at the Haven on the steak and lobster then rolling on to the speciality restaurant at latest time for second dinner 🤔.

[Av8torcrj]

5 minutes ago, cltcruisers123 said:

My other thought on this would be snacking at the Haven on the steak and lobster then rolling on to the speciality restaurant at latest time for second dinner 🤔.

This will be how your snack is presented 

[cltcruisers123]

2 minutes ago, Av8torcrj said:

This will be how your snack is presented 

That’s beautiful! Probably be best snack I’d ever have too 😃

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, cltcruisers123 said:

Hi - previously sailed on NCL Jade for a 11 day cruise and ate at the specialty restaurants multiple times. They were great!  We weren’t in the Haven though, so didn’t have that to compare to. We will be in the Haven on the NCL Joy in a few weeks and our package includes the 2 speciality dining options, but I added 2 more without really knowing if Haven dining room would be enough variety for the other 5 nights. Debating about asking to have the 2 additional nights I paid for credited back. For those that have been in the Haven (even better if you were on the Joy) were you satisfied with Haven restaurant options and didn’t feel like your were missing out on any of the Specialty restaurants? Thank you!

For us, a couple of lunches (to include embarkation day) and a couple of dinners in the Haven restaurant is all we want to do. Keep your specialty dining. 
 

It’s a set menu that does not change. 
 

can we eat there every night, sure. Do we want to eat there every night, no. 

Edited January 6, 2022 by BirdTravels

[roger001]

Haven is good.  However, as others said it is the same menu each day.  In addition to the Haven restaurant, we did Cagneys, Los Lobos, and even the Chicken Wings place one night during just a 7 day cruise.  The variety was nice.  

[fastpitchdad]

3 hours ago, cltcruisers123 said:

My other thought on this would be snacking at the Haven on the steak and lobster then rolling on to the speciality restaurant at latest time for second dinner 🤔.

 

You can also ask for more than one lobster and/or add it to any meal, in fact I think I had at least one lobster tail with every meal 🙂 

[kitty-sail]

Just got off the Joy 3 weeks ago. Although the Haven menu doesn't change, the quality is better than most other places.  Gagneys & Bistro are the only other top 2 restaurants that share the same quality as the Haven. The grilled Delmonico steak in Haven was superb.

I purchased 2 specialty dining meals, plus as Plat + we get 2 more and we didn't even use them all this time around.

Pre-Covid the Haven offered one additional specialty item each day to the menu. It was not offered this time but I assume it will be brought back once we return to normal.

If your cruise is longer than 7 days, I would consider buying additional specialty dining meals.

[SliderNc]

I'll second the keeping your extra specialty dining meals.  We are big fans of the Haven restaurant and ate there 3 nights while we were on the ship.  We enjoyed every meal there, but we also like trying other food.  Cagney's was just as good as the Haven, however, the Haven prime rib I had was much better than my wife's she had at Cagney's.  We love breakfast in the Haven though because of the coffee, the self serve options (pasties are really good) and we ate some lunch there.  We liked the tapas bar and Food Republic as well on Escape. 

[debnjoe1438]

8 hours ago, Av8torcrj said:

We were on the joy in the haven a month or so ago. The haven staff were absolutely incredible. The menu doesn’t change. Honestly, how much fillet mignon and lobster can one eat. Nonetheless, We ate there almost exclusively except for one night at I think it was Moderna where both the staff and food was a downgrade. We didn’t even use the other dining package night and I never set foot into the buffet or know where it is. This being said, it did get monotonous and I’d say on an 11 day you will find yourself in search of alternatives particularly for lunch and dinner. 

A picky eater like my husband could eat filet mignon, or some other steak every night. (Plain nothing on it) :)

 

[Old & Retired]

You will be more than happy eating 5 nights in the Haven restaurant.  You can also request many, many off menu items and they usually are able to accommodate your request.  I would cancel the additional specialty meals.

[Minoushka]

The Haven menu is good but same every night ….so boring after a while 

[JGmf]

To the original question, yes, I'd recommend canceling the extra 2 specialty dining package, go with the 2 you have as part of your booking, and rely on the Haven (or buffet or some other main dining room or room service even) for the remainder of the meals.  

 

I've been on the Haven in the Joy and there's nothing materially different from the other Haven restaurants I've enjoyed.  The food is consistently good and the service is outstanding (and either creepy or appreciated depending on your desire for anonymity).  That said, being in the Haven bubble gets tiring (for me), and the food gets repetitive, especially if you are a particular eater (like me).  The menu, while diverse, is nonetheless limited.  Hence, you need to get a break from it for any number of reasons, especially if you are eating there for breakfast and/or lunch.

 

That's my two cents.  Enjoy your cruise!

[Hutcha]

With a 7 day cruise, I would be fine eating at the haven. There are at least 5 things I'd want to try, and I'm sure 2 of them would be good enough that I'd want them again. For 11 days, I'd get the extra specialty dining if you think you'd want more variety. 

[The Traveling Man]

10 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

With a 7 day cruise, I would be fine eating at the haven. There are at least 5 things I'd want to try, and I'm sure 2 of them would be good enough that I'd want them again. For 11 days, I'd get the extra specialty dining if you think you'd want more variety. 

There are a half-dozen appetizers, soups or salads on this list which I would enjoy sampling, plus more main courses than I could eat in a week.  Knowing that you already have two specialty dining credits, and assuming that your cruise is only a week in length, I would recommend dropping the additional specialty dining.  I know that I would find plenty of variety in the Haven menu to keep me satisfied every night that I wasn't in a specialty restaurant.  We have sailed in the Haven twice, the first time on a 14 day cruise and the second time on a 10 day trip.  As I recall, we were given four nights of specialty dining on the 14 day cruise and three nights on the 10 day.  These were years ago when the terms and conditions were different.  I'm pretty sure that we ate all of our other evening meals in the Haven, and I never got bored with the selection.  YMMV.

[Cruising89143]

We enjoyed the Haven for lunch a few times and a great dinner one evening. Other than that we ate all of our other evening meals in the specialty dining rooms. This was on the Bliss. NCL needs to adjust the menu in the Haven restaurant so that it changes daily. 

[Hutcha]

4 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

We enjoyed the Haven for lunch a few times and a great dinner one evening. Other than that we ate all of our other evening meals in the specialty dining rooms. This was on the Bliss. NCL needs to adjust the menu in the Haven restaurant so that it changes daily. 

Why change daily if you're only going to eat there once?? Kidding (sort of), but there is a pretty good selection for dinner. It's not like a MDR menu, where there are only 4-5 choices on it. Also, reports are that the Haven items are as good, or better, as the specialty restaurants. 

[oteixeira]

I could actually eat all 10 of those mains and be happy, so I guess I am good for 10 days.  LOL   I get that some people get bored, but if you are like me and try lots of different things, then there is enough on this menu to keep it going.  (Actually to me it is better then the pre-covid menu)

[Cruising89143]

2 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

Why change daily if you're only going to eat there once?? Kidding (sort of), but there is a pretty good selection for dinner. It's not like a MDR menu, where there are only 4-5 choices on it. Also, reports are that the Haven items are as good, or better, as the specialty restaurants. 

I personally like the way that Celebrity handles it in Luminae. Not difficult to do. With the prices that NCL charges for the Haven makes this a simple request. I personally do not care for many of the items on the menu. 

[Sthrngary]

Allow me to kick in here.  Some context.  Some folks like my wife need variety.  Others like myself really don't.  Both types of folks need to be able to enjoy meals together gaining what each other wants.  My wife and I both love the Haven Experience.  Yet to truly answer this question, we have to compare with other experiences.

 

The Celebrity Retreat:  Just like the Haven, the Celebrity Retreat are has it own Suites Only restaurant.  the difference is the menu changes nightly other then a few staples. The food quality and service were very similar as one might expect.  

Crystal Cruises: This is a Luxury Based Cruise line and we were in a Penthouse which compares to a Haven Suite.  This allowed us to utilize any restaurant including specialty dining as much as we wanted plus the main dining room.  Again, just like the examples of the Haven and Retreat; the food quality and service were great.

 

From my standpoint, having so many choices was of no real value to me on a 7 day cruise.  I would find something I really liked, and have it more then once.  Remember, variety is not my main emphasis, it is my wife. In the Haven it was the Prime Rib; Retreat it was the Salmon; and Crystal it was the veal parm.  In each case, I hat them 3-times.  My wife on the other hand tried different things yet still had some entree's more then once.  

 

The conclusion I draw from these experiences as during a 7-day cruise, the Haven Restaurant with two specialty meals was perfect for both my wife and myself.  However, if we did a back to back or a 10-21 day sailing, we would need more variety. 

 

I don't expect anyone to agree or disagree with me because this is such a personal choice.  I just wanted to answer the question with some real thought based on my previous experiences.  I hope it was helpful. 

 

Cruise well everyone. 

[Keene33]

I'm so amazed by all the wonderful information shared here.

 

Question for you, what time do the serve dinner and what happens if you prefer an item from the lunch menu at that time of day?

 

Thanks in advance.