The NCL Haven Luxury VIP Experience "Secrets" REVISED for 2022

[DaggoB]

There are people who use social media to act like they are Gods gift to the world. If he does not let you know who he is then ignore him because it just proves that you are a better person then he is. It takes all kinds to make the world go round. If it was not for you my wife never would have talked me into bidding on the Haven which we won a  year ago. She reads these boards also. 

[STARGAZERS1001]

We were recently on the Encore for 3 weeks and were in the Haven. Just some observations (our personal point of view).

 

Butler, Marivic - She is a Wonder Woman, if you are lucky enough to have her, you are in for a treat. She is kind, in and out to replenish supplies without us ever seeing her do it, saw what cookies out of 4 we were eating and started to only bring those, had 5 non-Haven guest to room and not only remembered their names after one meeting, but remembered the name of one of our daughter’s name from a conversation. She is exceptional!

 

Pearlie and Girlie - We called them the Dynamic Duo, they greet you at the Haven Restaurant. They are always smiling, came to our table at every meal, bc it was a long cruise, the Chef started having specials at lunch and dinner and Pearlie came around to see if we liked it. She even had Chef prepare fried chicken wings, not bake from Local for football Sunday in our room. They and Chef Peter made our meals so enjoyable!

 

Anjou/Mark in the Haven Lounge are so proud of their buffet. They love to chat and I would come every pm for my cappuccino to take to my balcony and they always offered to walk it upstairs for me or bring up another!

 

The only issue we had was with Conciege staff  of 3 which is sad bc the staff on Joy were exceptional. Again, this is my thoughts. I asked  one to change a dining time due to conflict and he said, you’ll have to ask the other concierge to do that and I guess he saw my confused look and said, what is your cabin # and when i gave him cabin # which is one of the owners suites, he made the change. Then we got a call 2 different times from the excursion group of changes to tickets that should have been in room. Went to concierge (same one as above) and asked about tickets and he said they should be in your room, I said they weren’t and he checked his cabinet snd both times they had not been delivered, I am talking more than 24 hrs from calls. Hubby went to same person to ask for a map of a port and was asked if we were on s ship excursion and when he said no, he was then told we only have one map snd we can’t give to you, so he asked to take a picture. Needless to say, after that, we never asked for them for any thing again. A very different service from Joy.

 

All other staff I didn’t mention were beyond wonderful and went out of their way for guests. 

[mtrancher]

20 hours ago, STARGAZERS1001 said:

We were recently on the Encore for 3 weeks and were in the Haven. Just some observations (our personal point of view).

 

Butler, Marivic - She is a Wonder Woman, if you are lucky enough to have her, you are in for a treat. She is kind, in and out to replenish supplies without us ever seeing her do it, saw what cookies out of 4 we were eating and started to only bring those, had 5 non-Haven guest to room and not only remembered their names after one meeting, but remembered the name of one of our daughter’s name from a conversation. She is exceptional!

 

Pearlie and Girlie - We called them the Dynamic Duo, they greet you at the Haven Restaurant. They are always smiling, came to our table at every meal, bc it was a long cruise, the Chef started having specials at lunch and dinner and Pearlie came around to see if we liked it. She even had Chef prepare fried chicken wings, not bake from Local for football Sunday in our room. They and Chef Peter made our meals so enjoyable!

 

Anjou/Mark in the Haven Lounge are so proud of their buffet. They love to chat and I would come every pm for my cappuccino to take to my balcony and they always offered to walk it upstairs for me or bring up another!

 

The only issue we had was with Conciege staff  of 3 which is sad bc the staff on Joy were exceptional. Again, this is my thoughts. I asked  one to change a dining time due to conflict and he said, you’ll have to ask the other concierge to do that and I guess he saw my confused look and said, what is your cabin # and when i gave him cabin # which is one of the owners suites, he made the change. Then we got a call 2 different times from the excursion group of changes to tickets that should have been in room. Went to concierge (same one as above) and asked about tickets and he said they should be in your room, I said they weren’t and he checked his cabinet snd both times they had not been delivered, I am talking more than 24 hrs from calls. Hubby went to same person to ask for a map of a port and was asked if we were on s ship excursion and when he said no, he was then told we only have one map snd we can’t give to you, so he asked to take a picture. Needless to say, after that, we never asked for them for any thing again. A very different service from Joy.

 

All other staff I didn’t mention were beyond wonderful and went out of their way for guests. 

Thank you, this is an excellent post and I love you showed all the wonderful people trying to make your vacation an trip to remember. I think one of the things some people who haven't sailed miss prior to going is how hard the staff works to make it a good trip. If you take a minute and think, they truly try to make everyone feel valued and special.
We have had one cruise where the concierge was less than stellar. It's unfortunate because they can play such a significant role. However, just like you, adapt and overcome and it can't ruin the vacation. Thanks again!

[psac]

Hi all, 

 

Just a quick note on the Haven in the Joy from last week.  Really loved it!  We were in the Escape Haven pre-covid and loved everything. The Haven restaurant was so good that we cancelled our last specialty restaurant that trip.  Then a year ago, right after the restart we sailed in the Breakaway Haven. The bar staff was insanely good, but the restaurant was very slow and disorganized.  Over two hour dinners, and the food didn’t wow us. But we attributed that to just restarting. 
 

Thankfully, we were right. The Joy was fantastic, the Haven that we knew and loved. After our second specialty dinner was a not good experience at Le Bistro, we ended up just cancelling our two Platinum dinners and just ate the rest in the Haven restaurant. Everything was sooo good, even getting repeat meals for the week,, it didn’t matter when it was all yummy. 
 

Embarkation in NY was good, separate Haven lines for everything, and of course the Haven restaurant was open for lunch. Also they had a spa person in the Haven lounge for anyone who wanted to make reservations in addition to the concierge staff making restaurant and show ressies. Debarkation was a bit of a cluster due to a late arrival, but that wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was what it was. 
 

Butler was good, but probably should have used the Gary letter, because we had to keep asking for the cookies we wanted.  Pre-cruise concierge TOOK our requests, but did nothing with them. (See Seinfeld car rental sketch.). It was all good in the end. 
 

We were facing a dilemma for next spring between the Prima and the Joy again, and we’re going to stick with the Joy. We used the indoor sundeck too much (bad weather first and last day) to not have that on the Prima. Good dilemma to have though. 🙂

[psac]

Also adding we’ve been alternating lately between Royal and NCL just because of the convenience of the Bayonne port for us, and just for something different, but Coastal Kitchen (their suite restaurant) is a joke compared to the Haven.  🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[cruisebeachgirl703]

Would be interested in the not good experience in the specialty restaurant details. Also, who was the concierge. Thanks. Looking forward to joy haven in march 2023.

[cruiseny4life]

52 minutes ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Would be interested in the not good experience in the specialty restaurant details. Also, who was the concierge. Thanks. Looking forward to joy haven in march 2023.

Me tooooooooo!!! And my husband! We have friends outside the Haven, so I know we will be out of it more than normal, but all this news about how lovely the Joy Haven crew are is making us so excited. 

 

Thanks @psac

[CDR Benson]

15 hours ago, psac said:

We were facing a dilemma for next spring between the Prima and the Joy again, and we’re going to stick with the Joy. We used the indoor sundeck too much (bad weather first and last day) to not have that on the Prima. Good dilemma to have though. 

🙂

 

We were confronted with a similar situation after our marvelous experience on Joy.  The Good Mrs. Benson loved the ship, loved our suite, and loved the Haven.  So had I.

 

Before we departed on the Norwegian cruise, I booked an incedible opportunity for a Regent Seven Seas cruise in November, 2023.  I related in a post several pages back on this thread how the GMB gently lobbied to drop the Regent cruise and book another one in the Haven on Norwegian Joy.  I was able to pursuade her that she would enjoy the Regent cruise even more.

 

As it turns out, however, I wound up compromising of a sort, when I explored Joy's cruise schedule for 2024.  I went ahead and booked another cruise, to the Caribbean, on Joy, in the same suite, # 14778, that we had before, for February, 2024.

 

That's the kind of lure the Haven casts when everything works right.

 

 

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, CDR Benson said:

 

We were confronted with a similar situation after our marvelous experience on Joy.  The Good Mrs. Benson loved the ship, loved our suite, and loved the Haven.  So had I.

 

Before we departed on the Norwegian cruise, I booked an incedible opportunity for a Regent Seven Seas cruise in November, 2023.  I related in a post several pages back on this thread how the GMB gently lobbied to drop the Regent cruise and book another one in the Haven on Norwegian Joy.  I was able to pursuade her that she would enjoy the Regent cruise even more.

 

As it turns out, however, I wound up compromising of a sort, when I explored Joy's cruise schedule for 2024.  I went ahead and booked another cruise, to the Caribbean, on Joy, in the same suite, # 14778, that we had before, for February, 2024.

 

That's the kind of lure the Haven casts when everything works right.

 

 

 

 

I just took a look at the deck plans and realized that we will be across the hall from where you were on your Joy cruise! Now I need to go back to your review and read it even more closely. 

 

Sounds like you and the Mrs. have a couple of wonderful cruises coming up! 

[CDR Benson]

1 minute ago, cruiseny4life said:

I just took a look at the deck plans and realized that we will be across the hall from where you were on your Joy cruise! 

 

 

If by "across the hall", you mean suite #14178, then you have an excellent stateroom.  Poster vacation44 has stayed in that suite and can attest to its advantages.  For my money, the two "mirror image" suites, #14178 and #14778, are the two best locations on the ship.

 

 

[Sthrngary]

4 hours ago, CDR Benson said:

I was able to pursuade her that she would enjoy the Regent cruise even more.

@CDR BensonHello sir and love to read your posts.  Please share with your lovely bride that you did her a great service.  All my life, I have wanted to cruise on a "Luxury Brand".  I wanted to know what the difference was and evaluate the benefits.  When that day finally came, I came to a very different realization than I had ever thought.

 

The differences are subtle which make them work well.  The biggest difference is that the entire ship is like being in the Haven on Steroids. Once you leave your stateroom, everyone is treated the same.  The "Personalized Service" becomes much more visible on day two when the crew gets to know you. The atmosphere tends to be much less busy allowing for a much less rushed vacation.  The need to show our suite card for a drink is no more.  The food in the Main Dining room is as good or better than the specialty restaurants on most other ships.  The Specialty Restaurants are outstanding. 

 

If there is some things that are similar to insure your vacation is all it can be, it is some of the same preparations.  Regents most of the excursions are part of your fare. Still some get sold out so plan to book them early.  The same thing holds true for Specialty restaurants.  Book what you can early and got to the restaurant when you get on board for additional bookings. If you do their Airfare, read the blogs and the fine print.  We have share lots of information with each other over the years.  My goal is the assist you and Ms. B with setting expectations that are both realistic and can be exceeded. 

 

I have commented on this trip you will be taking on Regents in the past.  I am so excited for you both.  Just remember, the experience will be different.  All the great crew from Regents to get to know you both and don't be shy on what would make your vacation even better.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.  You both deserve it. 

 

[oteixeira]

3 hours ago, CDR Benson said:

 

 

If by "across the hall", you mean suite #14178, then you have an excellent stateroom.  Poster vacation44 has stayed in that suite and can attest to its advantages.  For my money, the two "mirror image" suites, #14178 and #14778, are the two best locations on the ship.

 

 

I am book in 14778 for a 15 day Panama sailing this spring!  Can't wait to have this room.

[CDR Benson]

33 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@CDR BensonHello sir and love to read your posts.  Please share with your lovely bride that you did her a great service . . .  I am so excited for you both.  Just remember, the experience will be different.  All the great crew from Regents to get to know you both and don't be shy on what would make your vacation even better.  

 

 

 

 

Thank you, sir, for your kind words and the benefit of your experience.  The opportunity to do a Regent cruise arose at the perfect juncture.  It will be our third cruise, and for that one, the Good Mrs. Benson and I decided that it would be our cruise of indulgence; that the destination didn't matter, for we would simply bask in the luxuries of the ship.  And the Regent cruise seemed perfect for that.

 

This was all before we'd sailed in the Haven on Norwegian Joy this past September, and now that the GMB knows first hand how indulgent cruising at that level is, she no longer cares where we go ever again, as long as we travel in that style.  Hence, the Caribbean cruise in '24.  I sailed in the Caribbean enough times with the Navy that the area holds no allure for me.  But, it's where Norwegian Joy is going in '24, and I've landed the same Haven suite.  So, we'll probably never set foot in any of the port stops.  At least, as far as the GMB is concerned, so long as the Haven bar doesn't run out of chocolate martinis.

 

 

[psac]

9 hours ago, cruisebeachgirl703 said:

Would be interested in the not good experience in the specialty restaurant details. Also, who was the concierge. Thanks. Looking forward to joy haven in march 2023.

 

8 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Me tooooooooo!!! And my husband! We have friends outside the Haven, so I know we will be out of it more than normal, but all this news about how lovely the Joy Haven crew are is making us so excited. 

 

Thanks @psac

Patrick was the concierge on the Joy, and he was fine. We do a lot of planning ahead, so we didn’t use them a whole lot except for the entertainment sheet when boarding and the priority elevator (port and shows) as needed, but they were always there if we had needed anything else, which is all you ask for!  
 

For the specialty restaurants, we did La Cucina on day 1 because the Haven restaurant seems to be busiest that night on past trips, because everyone wants it that first night. We’re from NY, which has a reputation for good Italian food, and in general we’ve had some pretty good meals there in the past. The appetizers and pastas (mid course) we got were all VERY good.  My entree (osso bucco) was also very good, but my wife got the frutti di mare, and she said the red snapper tasted “off.”  You want fish to be on, not off. 😁. The shellfish that also came with the dish she said was fine, and with the other courses, overall she was satisfied, and we would go again and just avoid that entree. (We said after the  trip probably for our next Joy cruise to maybe book La Cucina twice and be selective in our choices.).  I’ll also add they sat a couple right next to us (which was weird since it was pretty empty, but fine), and the wife got the filet and it looked PERFECT (and she kept raving about it to her husband), and in our group online a few people said they got that there and it was really good, so go get the steak at the Italian place, go figure. 
 

For our second specialty we did Le Bistro, and again the apps and soups were really good. The escargot was stellar, really tender. Then the mains told a different story. My wife’s coq au vin (chicken) was okay, but not very tender (it should be slow cooking for a long time and melt in your mouth.,,it didn’t), and my veal chop was literally in-edible.  The parts that weren’t fat were gristle. I cut through and I think I had less than half a bite of veal.  I can’t fault the waiter, he came by and asked how it was, but we had just finished taking our mandatory pictures of the food and hadn’t actually tasted it yet.  It all looked good!  But then when we got into it, it was too late and it was a long while before anyone came by, and by that time they did offer to get something else, but we were just done and didn’t even try dessert.  We did post about it online and someone else said they had the same exact experience — great starters, disappointing mains. Other people said they had a great dinner there, so hope your experiences are better than ours!!  Especially with the package, try for yourself. 

Again, though, the Haven restaurant was stellar, so we just cancelled the two platinum dinners and stuck with what we knew would be good!

 

Also online for our cruise week a lot of rave reviews for teppanyaki, which we loved on the Breakaway, but when we went to the hibachi on the Oasis of the Seas a couple of months ago, we literally had to get up and leave before it even started because the woman sitting right next to me (shared hibachi seating of course) started hacking up a lung, like a really bad congested cough, as soon as she sat down. Ummm,, no thank you. So we were scared off hibachis for a while!!!

Edited November 21, 2022 by psac

[Sailing12Away]

4 hours ago, oteixeira said:

I am book in 14778 for a 15 day Panama sailing this spring!  Can't wait to have this room.

You're welcome 😛 

 

*For those not in the know, that was my room until I upgraded to another HH for that sailing, and told O to go and snag it as an upgrade from his current room. 95 days to go!

[oteixeira]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

You're welcome 😛 

 

*For those not in the know, that was my room until I upgraded to another HH for that sailing, and told O to go and snag it as an upgrade from his current room. 95 days to go!

Yea yea, you gave it up!!  Mine.   :)

[AtlantaAlly]

Are there any Haven benefits at GSC? 
 

I don’t believe there is a Haven only area because they offer the Silver Cove for a fee to everyone. But are there priority tenders for return to the ship? Anything else of note?

[mtrancher]

9 minutes ago, AtlantaAlly said:

Are there any Haven benefits at GSC? 
 

I don’t believe there is a Haven only area because they offer the Silver Cove for a fee to everyone. But are there priority tenders for return to the ship? Anything else of note?

Priority getting off the ship and priority getting back on.  That's it. Oh, and able to reserve cabana's at the island earlier.

[AtlantaAlly]

7 hours ago, mtrancher said:

Priority getting off the ship and priority getting back on.  That's it. Oh, and able to reserve cabana's at the island earlier.

How does the priority on/off work? Is there a separate line? Or do you have to get tickets? 

[ggTexasGal]

3 minutes ago, AtlantaAlly said:

How does the priority on/off work? Is there a separate line? Or do you have to get tickets? 

If in the Haven/Suites, the Concierge will likely explain the procedure when you check-in during embarkation.

If you have further questions, be certain to ask the concierge, since, things can might be done a little differently from ship to ship, and/or from port to port.

[cruiseny4life]

22 hours ago, CDR Benson said:

 

 

If by "across the hall", you mean suite #14178, then you have an excellent stateroom.  Poster vacation44 has stayed in that suite and can attest to its advantages.  For my money, the two "mirror image" suites, #14178 and #14778, are the two best locations on the ship.

 

 

Not quite the same suite. We'll be across the hall and down about two rooms. It's a Haven Suite, not Haven Penthouse Suite. Same basic location, no noise above/below, and in a great part of the ship.  

[mtrancher]

4 hours ago, AtlantaAlly said:

How does the priority on/off work? Is there a separate line? Or do you have to get tickets? 

as TexasGal wrote, the concierge will explain it to you. For us it meant meeting in the Haven lobby/bar area and being escorted down to the tenders via a back elevator. We could get priority disembarkation at any port whether tender or pier.

[vacation44]

On 11/21/2022 at 10:14 AM, CDR Benson said:

 

 

If by "across the hall", you mean suite #14178, then you have an excellent stateroom.  Poster vacation44 has stayed in that suite and can attest to its advantages.  For my money, the two "mirror image" suites, #14178 and #14778, are the two best locations on the ship.

 

 

Yes, we love that cabin!!!   We are hoping to change to it when we sail the Joy again in 2024, but right now we are still in a club balcony suite.   

[CDR Benson]

7 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

Yes, we love that cabin!!!   We are hoping to change to it when we sail the Joy again in 2024, but right now we are still in a club balcony suite.   

 

We feel the same way about its starboard twin, # 14778.  That's why we reserved it on Joy for a Feb.-Mar., 2024 cruise.  Fingers crossed that you can move to # 14178 for your '24 cruise.

 

[umpisoccer]

We are sailing on the Getaway Nyc for xmas and are staying in the Haven for the very 1st time.  Will NCL offer us to eat for free on embarkation day at the American Diner as well as the Haven Restaurant?  Thank you.