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

[Sundiego]

2 minutes ago, gracebest said:

Hi, the same thing happened to me for a cruise in a few months.  I emailed with some requests and gluten/dairy free diet concerns for my granddaughter and received the canned response that I should hear from someone within 48 hours.  It’s been well over 2 weeks, and nothing yet!  Do you ever get a response?  Thanks.

Some helpful person in this thread told me to call instead which I did. The lady I talked to was awesome and sorted everything out. Only a certain percentage of reservations are open prior to sailing, I believe one of the dates was not available but once onboard, our concierge desk was extremely helpful in doing everything we needed. 

 

Denise

[estvil30]

9 minutes ago, gracebest said:

Hi, the same thing happened to me for a cruise in a few months.  I emailed with some requests and gluten/dairy free diet concerns for my granddaughter and received the canned response that I should hear from someone within 48 hours.  It’s been well over 2 weeks, and nothing yet!  Do you ever get a response?  Thanks.

We just returned from a trip on the Escape in the Haven. 

They asked us at almost every meal, " Do you have any food allergies or anything we should know ?"

They seem to be very aware of allergies and seem very responsive to requests.

And I would let your hostess know about the allergies, I'm sure you'll be taken care of....

[gracebest]

Thank you both very much.

[ClarkBHM]

Hello world! I've been slowly catching up on this thread over the matter of a few weeks. It's certainly an active one!

We're looking forward to our fourth NCL cruise this June in a 2-BR Haven suite in the Joy. We'd previously been in the 2-BR suites on the Gem (outside the Haven), the Dawn (no Haven), and most recently in the Haven on the Escape. 

Talking about the price increases, it doesn't really help that the 2-BR suites on the newer ships are in the Haven without any options outside of it. We have certainly appreciated having access to the concierge and the butler on the Gem and Dawn and didn't really miss the Haven. And while the Haven on the Escape was great, I'm not sure it's worth the $$$ difference just to have courtyard access. Nevertheless, we're in the Haven on the Joy, so I might as well enjoy it!

[CDR Benson]

5 hours ago, ClarkBHM said:

Nevertheless, we're in the Haven on the Joy, so I might as well enjoy it!

 

Welcome to the thread.

 

Of course, all cruise experiences are subjective.  But the Good Mrs. Benson and I sailed on Joy, in the Haven, this past September, and, for us, it was idyllic.  In fact, the GMB enjoyed it so much that she insisted we sail again on the same ship, in the same suite.  So we are, next year.  (This year's travels are already booked.)

 

I hope your experience in the Haven on Joy is equally as enjoyable, or more so.

 

 

 

 

[wolft927]

43 minutes ago, CDR Benson said:

 

Welcome to the thread.

 

Of course, all cruise experiences are subjective.  But the Good Mrs. Benson and I sailed on Joy, in the Haven, this past September, and, for us, it was idyllic.  In fact, the GMB enjoyed it so much that she insisted we sail again on the same ship, in the same suite.  So we are, next year.  (This year's travels are already booked.)

 

I hope your experience in the Haven on Joy is equally as enjoyable, or more so.

 

 

 

 

We are beyond excited for the Joy for several reasons. One, we have sailed in the Haven twice on the Breakaway, once in a 2 bedroom suite and the other in the forward facing suite. this time on the Joy we are in the Aft Facing Haven Suite. My wife and I actally enjoy the walk between the cabin and the Haven Enclave so we get some steps in and work off the food and drinks lol. Bringing our 16 yeard old daughter and her 17 year old friend with us, first cruise for both of them and they are so excited they send me a countdown to the cruise every day. 

[ClarkBHM]

6 hours ago, CDR Benson said:

I hope your experience in the Haven on Joy is equally as enjoyable, or more so.

Oh, I don't doubt it'll be nice. We're actually on the same Bermuda itinerary as when were on the Escape in 2019. When we were exploring options for the year, we knew that this was a relatively easy trip to plan out and since we had fun last time, we might as well go again. 

My commentary was more directed towards being forced to pay Haven prices on the newer ship if you are wanting a 2-BR suite like the older ships had.

[geo.mac]

I just saw a video of a recent haven experience on the escape, and they mentioned that on embarkation day, they were offered lunch at any specialty dining location for 50% off.  On all other Breakaway plus ship reviews of the haven, I've heard American Diner is offered as a complementary alternative to the haven restaurant.    Given all of NCL's service cuts recently I can see them moving to a discount instead of complementary.  This concerns me for my June cruse on the Encore.   Can someone who's been in the Haven recently share their experience?  Was it 50% off specialty for lunch, complementary American Diner or both?   

 

Thanks

[wolft927]

5 hours ago, geo.mac said:

I just saw a video of a recent haven experience on the escape, and they mentioned that on embarkation day, they were offered lunch at any specialty dining location for 50% off.  On all other Breakaway plus ship reviews of the haven, I've heard American Diner is offered as a complementary alternative to the haven restaurant.    Given all of NCL's service cuts recently I can see them moving to a discount instead of complementary.  This concerns me for my June cruse on the Encore.   Can someone who's been in the Haven recently share their experience?  Was it 50% off specialty for lunch, complementary American Diner or both?   

 

Thanks

I haven’t been since last March, but will be on in April and glad to let you know what we think. Will be our 3rd haven suite so can compare our experiences,, also we are on the joy

[latebloomer56]

On 2/1/2023 at 3:27 PM, ClarkBHM said:

Oh, I don't doubt it'll be nice. We're actually on the same Bermuda itinerary as when were on the Escape in 2019. When we were exploring options for the year, we knew that this was a relatively easy trip to plan out and since we had fun last time, we might as well go again. 

My commentary was more directed towards being forced to pay Haven prices on the newer ship if you are wanting a 2-BR suite like the older ships had.

We were booked on the Joy last year but had to cancel, glad we did (not why we we did of course) found out our 2 BR out side the Haven had no breakfast/lunch any longer in a specialty location. We did end up rebooking on the Pearl in the Haven (had DOS on the Gem years back, lovely) which we still had money left to get our 2 son & grandson some little extras. Understand the Pearl is the same as the Gem so think they will enjoy the Haven. Going forward though will avoid 2 BR's and if they boys come just do 2 balcony's if a newer ship.

[Treasure Hunter]

In September we were offered free American Diner ( not the ice cream  drink that was extra) or eating embarkation lunch in the Haven restaurant. Going next week and will let you know. Food is not as good as Haven restaurant and it is outside and cold leaving from NY

[wolft927]

10 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

In September we were offered free American Diner ( not the ice cream  drink that was extra) or eating embarkation lunch in the Haven restaurant. Going next week and will let you know. Food is not as good as Haven restaurant and it is outside and cold leaving from NY

Cruising in the Haven in april on Joy, we have cruise Haven several times and yet to try the American Diner, we may this time just because it is free. 

[J0Y0US]

13 hours ago, geo.mac said:

Given all of NCL's service cuts recently I can see them moving to a discount instead of complementary.  This concerns me for my June cruse on the Encore.   Can someone who's been in the Haven recently share their experience?  Was it 50% off specialty for lunch, complementary American Diner or both?   

 

They do the complimentary service because there isn't enough room in the dining room for everyone at once. This is why on the Epic they don't do a free lunch because they have space to put everyone.

 

I doubt they remove that as the specialty is not losing revenue.

 

Additionally Haven was not impacted by the stateroom cleaning updates that rolled out to all other categories. So another reason I don't see anything changing for Haven on embarkation day.

[geo.mac]

9 hours ago, J0Y0US said:

 

They do the complimentary service because there isn't enough room in the dining room for everyone at once. This is why on the Epic they don't do a free lunch because they have space to put everyone.

 

I doubt they remove that as the specialty is not losing revenue.

 

Additionally Haven was not impacted by the stateroom cleaning updates that rolled out to all other categories. So another reason I don't see anything changing for Haven on embarkation day.

Thanks for this.  But to help me understand, are you saying the Haven restaurant on the escape is larger than on the Encore, and because of this, the escape doesn't have to offer the complementary service in the American Diner?    That makes total sense if that's the case.   Interesting that sister ships are that different to impact operations in that way. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by geo.mac

[J0Y0US]

8 hours ago, geo.mac said:

Thanks for this.  But to help me understand, are you saying the Haven restaurant on the escape is larger than on the Encore, and because of this, the escape doesn't have to offer the complementary service in the American Diner?    That makes total sense if that's the case.   Interesting that sister ships are that different to impact operations in that way. 

 

Epic is larger yes as there is a larger restaurant indoors but also has an outdoor area plus less rooms in the Haven if I am not mistaken.

 

Didn't measure them but just being in the space I would say Epic could be almost 3 times larger.

[Sthrngary]

On 2/9/2023 at 11:28 PM, geo.mac said:

I just saw a video of a recent haven experience on the escape, and they mentioned that on embarkation day, they were offered lunch at any specialty dining location for 50% off.  On all other Breakaway plus ship reviews of the haven, I've heard American Diner is offered as a complementary alternative to the haven restaurant.    Given all of NCL's service cuts recently I can see them moving to a discount instead of complementary.  This concerns me for my June cruse on the Encore.   Can someone who's been in the Haven recently share their experience?  Was it 50% off specialty for lunch, complementary American Diner or both?   

 

Thanks

@geo.mac I am the author of this thread.  My first Haven Experience was on the Getaway, many years ago.  Prior to going on, I like you asked a lot of questions especially where to eat lunch on that first day. At the time it was not the American Dinner.  It was Margaritaville. All the information I could find said, skip it and eat in the Haven Dining room.  That is what I did and during that time had a conversation with others in the Haven.  Those that Traveled NCL Haven often ONLY wanted to eat in the Haven Dining Room.  That day I had the huge pork chops they used to serve for lunch and had a great meal.

 

Over the years, that was my habit.  The Haven Restaurant for lunch on day one.  Sometimes the restaurant was busier then others.  My love for the Haven brought me back again with my two adult children in a "Plus" ship (NCL Joy).  They offered the American Diner. My family insisted on going there mainly because of the booths that look like a car.  Similar to the famulus scene in pulp fiction the movie. I reluctantly agreed.  I had the blue plate special which was Comfort food.  Roast Beef, Mashed Potato's and Green Beans.  My family had burgers and such.  My meal was fine, nobody liked what they got. 

 

Regardless of the reason or current policy, go to the Haven Restaurant for lunch. It disappoints me that they don't make this offer or charge for it now.  Not at the current prices in the Haven.  However my whole purpose in writing this stream was to enhance you and others experience in the Haven.  To allow realistic expectations so you exceed those expectations when you go on your vacation.  If your ship has an outdoor Haven Dining area, give that a try especially if the weather is good. A little hint.  Lunch takes a long time but is usually very good.  Take the time to relax and enjoy the Haven Experience.  Remember you can drop your carry on luggage in your suite even before it is ready and try the burger which I truly enjoy.  The Carrot Cake for Desert at lunch is also very good. 

 

Finally, don't expect much from the specialty restaurants on a full ship.  They are hit or miss.  Always remember everyone in the Haven Crew is there because they are the best of the best that NCL has to offer.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

[geo.mac]

54 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@geo.mac I am the author of this thread.  My first Haven Experience was on the Getaway, many years ago.  Prior to going on, I like you asked a lot of questions especially where to eat lunch on that first day. At the time it was not the American Dinner.  It was Margaritaville. All the information I could find said, skip it and eat in the Haven Dining room.  That is what I did and during that time had a conversation with others in the Haven.  Those that Traveled NCL Haven often ONLY wanted to eat in the Haven Dining Room.  That day I had the huge pork chops they used to serve for lunch and had a great meal.

 

Over the years, that was my habit.  The Haven Restaurant for lunch on day one.  Sometimes the restaurant was busier then others.  My love for the Haven brought me back again with my two adult children in a "Plus" ship (NCL Joy).  They offered the American Diner. My family insisted on going there mainly because of the booths that look like a car.  Similar to the famulus scene in pulp fiction the movie. I reluctantly agreed.  I had the blue plate special which was Comfort food.  Roast Beef, Mashed Potato's and Green Beans.  My family had burgers and such.  My meal was fine, nobody liked what they got. 

 

Regardless of the reason or current policy, go to the Haven Restaurant for lunch. It disappoints me that they don't make this offer or charge for it now.  Not at the current prices in the Haven.  However my whole purpose in writing this stream was to enhance you and others experience in the Haven.  To allow realistic expectations so you exceed those expectations when you go on your vacation.  If your ship has an outdoor Haven Dining area, give that a try especially if the weather is good. A little hint.  Lunch takes a long time but is usually very good.  Take the time to relax and enjoy the Haven Experience.  Remember you can drop your carry on luggage in your suite even before it is ready and try the burger which I truly enjoy.  The Carrot Cake for Desert at lunch is also very good. 

 

Finally, don't expect much from the specialty restaurants on a full ship.  They are hit or miss.  Always remember everyone in the Haven Crew is there because they are the best of the best that NCL has to offer.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Thank you and thanks for all of the information in this thread.  I have read it throughly in preparation for our trip in the haven on the encore to Alaska in June.  
 

Very similarly, the trip to the American diner is at the request of others (my daughter) and rather than pay a la carte or 4 specialty dining credits,  the embarkation lunch seems like a compromise I’m willing to make.  We have a day at sea the following day, and I plan to dive into the haven restaurant for all three meals.

I’m looking forward to leveraging all of the tips and tricks covered in this thread.   Thanks again!

[estvil30]

I agree

Our 1st day Lunch at the Haven Restaurant was wonderful way to start our vacation.

The service, the quality, and setting are A+.

And YES, they have an amazing burger for lunch !

( and the mushroom flat bread is fantastic )

[nmuller328]

2 hours ago, estvil30 said:

 

( and the mushroom flat bread is fantastic )

 Not sure which ship you're on- but this flatbread does look yummy- just wondering is this something you could get as room service snack? (Our first Haven experience is in Mar on the Getaway) 

 

[estvil30]

19 minutes ago, nmuller328 said:

 Not sure which ship you're on- but this flatbread does look yummy- just wondering is this something you could get as room service snack? (Our first Haven experience is in Mar on the Getaway) 

 

We were on NCL Escape, and they had the flatbread on the lunch menu, we had it almost every day.

And one day we had our Butler deliver lunch to our balcony, with "room service" from the Haven Restaurant.

The food and service at the Haven restaurant was exceptional.

[palpieha]

47 minutes ago, nmuller328 said:

 Not sure which ship you're on- but this flatbread does look yummy- just wondering is this something you could get as room service snack? (Our first Haven experience is in Mar on the Getaway) 

 

 

For room service in the Haven, you can order anything that is currently being served at any restaurant. If from a Specialty restaurant, you'd pay the a la carte value for that.

 

For the flatbread, you can order it while the Haven restaurant is open for lunch at no cost, other than the tip to your butler.

[Sailing12Away]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:45 AM, ClarkBHM said:

Hello world! I've been slowly catching up on this thread over the matter of a few weeks. It's certainly an active one!

We're looking forward to our fourth NCL cruise this June in a 2-BR Haven suite in the Joy. We'd previously been in the 2-BR suites on the Gem (outside the Haven), the Dawn (no Haven), and most recently in the Haven on the Escape. 

Talking about the price increases, it doesn't really help that the 2-BR suites on the newer ships are in the Haven without any options outside of it. We have certainly appreciated having access to the concierge and the butler on the Gem and Dawn and didn't really miss the Haven. And while the Haven on the Escape was great, I'm not sure it's worth the $$$ difference just to have courtyard access. Nevertheless, we're in the Haven on the Joy, so I might as well enjoy it!

Another option on the Joy is the HH cabins, the Family Villa. It's not a separate bedroom, but the space is enormous and there's a curtain that can be pulled across for privacy. Fold down murphy bed in the wall, plus a couch bed. Room itself is big and cheaper than the regular courtyard rooms by a LOT.

 

On 2/10/2023 at 12:28 AM, geo.mac said:

I just saw a video of a recent haven experience on the escape, and they mentioned that on embarkation day, they were offered lunch at any specialty dining location for 50% off.  On all other Breakaway plus ship reviews of the haven, I've heard American Diner is offered as a complementary alternative to the haven restaurant.    Given all of NCL's service cuts recently I can see them moving to a discount instead of complementary.  This concerns me for my June cruse on the Encore.   Can someone who's been in the Haven recently share their experience?  Was it 50% off specialty for lunch, complementary American Diner or both?   

 

Thanks

I'm planning on going to the American Diner for my sausage & grits in 13 days... will let everyone know if that is no longer free and we much somewhere else.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

Another option on the Joy is the HH cabins, the Family Villa. It's not a separate bedroom, but the space is enormous and there's a curtain that can be pulled across for privacy. Fold down murphy bed in the wall, plus a couch bed. Room itself is big and cheaper than the regular courtyard rooms by a LOT.

 

I'm planning on going to the American Diner for my sausage & grits in 13 days... will let everyone know if that is no longer free and we much somewhere else.

Sausage and grits?  I don't see that on the website menu.

[Beamco]

So earlier in this thread I commented that I would give you my take on the Haven experience on my first cruise post Covid. Prior to Covid I only cruised Haven, when I began to look at my return to the Haven I also found many Haven cruises were way over priced even for the Haven experience pre-covid. However I sat on the NCL website everyday and kept looking for a reasonably priced Haven cruise and was hoping it would be on a Breakaway Plus ship that I had not sailed on yet, Encore was too expensive for me but I came across a 15 day Panama Canal cruise from Miami to LA on the Joy  (departed Jan 21 arrived in LA on Feb 5) I paid roughly $3500 each for the first two guests in a Forward Facing Haven PH. My daughter came along and her fare was roughly $600. I used to try to keep the 7 days cruises I went on at a fare of $3000 per first 2 guests , so $3500 to me is/was a real bargain for a 15 day PC cruise. FYI during the last 5 days before the cruise a FF Haven cabin opened up and it was listed at $2850 per person. So if you are flexible and watch the web - deals come around all the time.

 

Now that I am back and spent 15 days in the Haven my impression is the Haven has lost nothing post COVID and the value is absolutely still there if you look for it. I was worried based on all the comments I read here and my concerns turned out to be completely unfounded. I upgraded to the FAS+ - I don't know if I drank enough to make it worth it but I do know I could have had top shelf liquor all day all 15 days if I wanted . As it is we ordered over 25 bottles of wine - had bottles of great Rose at lunch, very solid Cabs, Blends and Pinot's - I drank Woodford, Grey Goose, Titos JW Blue and tried a few single malts etc. The top shelf liquor brands never ran out- We had Starbucks , Specialty Coffees, bottled water etc. We always found something great to drink when we wanted it. Any wine by the glass was available on the + package, with 3 of us drinking more often than not they just opened a bottle for us but didn't place it on the table. Some popular bottles of wine did run out before the end of the cruise. Like @Sthrngary I like paying before I board and not worrying the rest of the cruise and the + package really hit the mark for me. The added $50 per tour helped, the unlimited internet use was enough for us - all in all the + was good but even with trying a lot of different drinks I probably did not hit the quantity mark needed to justify it. I may not do it next cruise but the peace of mind way of thinking may win out again. 

 

For 15 days I had fantastic service on all accounts from the Haven staff, Butlers, Concierge, Wait Staff, Wine Steward, etc.  the list goes on and on. My wife got real sick from over 20 hours of rough seas at the start of the cruise and our Butler did everything he could to make her comfortable - we did room service for breakfast , he brought her light meals when my daughter and I went out for dinner, he brought her Ginger Ale and Green Apple juice, again the service went above and beyond and I can't say enough good things about service throughout the ship.

 

We had 3 nights of specialty dining plus 2 from the + package 5 nights total- we then bought 5 nights for my daughter. We ate at Le Bistro our favorite and it still is, then we used a dinner voucher at Food Republic 4 items per and 12 items were way to much food, we ate at Tepanayki next it was also way to much food. I had the seafood dish, the shrimp were truly colossal, the scallops and grilled calamari also were great. We had them back way off on the garlic in our dishes and this made the food much better there to our tastes. The garlic we didn't eat others asked for it in their meals so to each his own. We asked they accommodated and we enjoyed Tepanayki more than we ever have. We then ate at Cagney's none of us had steak and it was a strong dining experience. I had a Veal Chop, was it steak house quality - NO - but it was very well prepared and a good meal. The list price for the Chop was $45, the Chop House on land that I like to go to for Veal Chop is $110 right now, at $110 it melts in your mouth for $45 it was not melt in your mouth good but still a great meal. If you are looking to compare Cagney's to your favorite land based Steak/Chop house you will be disappointed but all in all it was a great dining experience. We also ate at Ocean Blue and really enjoyed our meal but as another thread stated the specialty restaurants are preparing their foods in a manner to be very middle of the road, little seasoning etc. for me that is fine and it fits my expectations and I am a very picky eater. This stood out the most at Ocean Blue.

 

The Joy did not offer Food Republic at 50% off on the first night, we like it so we used it as one of our specialty dinners, we also ate lunch at the American Diner - had some appetizers, burgers, sandwiches nothing memorable but it was fine and we did not want 15 lunches at the Haven with the same menu every day. In fact by day 13 we would sit down for lunch and stare at the menu and try to figure out what to eat - again. For dinner they had a special every night in the Haven, however while it offered something different from the same menu every night they were simply taking one item off of the Main Dining room menu and offering it as a Haven Special. We tried them a couple of nights they were good but my review back to NCL was that I felt it harmed the Haven brand because preparation did not compare to the preparation on the other Haven dinner offerings. But all in all a different choice was welcome. 

 

For those that asked in other threads they no longer offer Captain Morgan it is Bacardi Spice - I was told it was fleet wide. 

 

If you have questions ask I will try to answer - but for me (a very opinionated person) the Haven experience is all that it ever was and maybe even better. So much so my wife and daughter pre cruise were not sure they even wanted to cruise again, by cruise end the 2 of them were looking for a Haven deal to Alaska! For me that is a huge win.

[trivia addict]

Thank you all for your input and to the original author of this thread.

Currently we are looking at, and deciding if we should book a Haven experience on the Joy to replace a Celebrity cruise that is becoming way too expensive for what we would be receiving.