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

[latebloomer56]

1 minute ago, Sthrngary said:

@latebloomer56 Not all ships have Starbucks.  The bigger ones do like Encore and Joy. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Perfect, thanks like my French press at breakfast 😊. Never drink Starbucks, would bring my own from the buffet first.

[McGarrett5oh]

14 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

@McGarrett5oh Thank you for the kind words.  It is always nice to let your cruise team know what your plans are so they can better schedule their respective work.  Now I am going to say something that some might feel is unpopular.   

 

That said, I have never gotten the idea they knew much about the ports, excursions or what to do to make you time there better.  Where on other brands the butlers did know those things.  Those other brands were Premium-Plus, Luxury and Ultra-Luxury brands.  There is NO comparison on an NCL Butler to lets say a Regent Seven Seas Cruise Butler. 

 

 

Thank you @Sthrngary.  The time you spend on this thread is truly tranforming for planning and expectation setting.  I'm not really looking for help on the ports from the butler, as we will have our plans all set and fully researched.  I probably shouldn't have added "port suggestions" as an expectation.   

 

More like, "hey we rented a car in Reykjavik and we will be back at a certain time early this evening, hope to be able to have dinner in the Haven restaurant, and then we're going out again to see if we can catch the Northern Lights (it's an overnight port stay on our itinerary).  Any suggestion on best time to try to grab our dinner to keep our agenda on time?". Or "can we arrange for room service, off the Haven menu, to be delivered to the suite at a certain time that evening"  That type of thing....

 

What I'd like to do is help them help us by clearly communicating, respecting their workload, and hopefully getting our simple requests (coffee in the morning, requested basic afternoon snacks, ice tea refilled in the refrigerator, some extra towels etc.) fulfilled.

 

Again thanks for all you do and we plan to enjoy every minute of our first Haven experience on the Prima!

[Sthrngary]

8 minutes ago, McGarrett5oh said:

Thank you @Sthrngary.  The time you spend on this thread is truly tranforming for planning and expectation setting.  I'm not really looking for help on the ports from the butler, as we will have our plans all set and fully researched.  I probably shouldn't have added "port suggestions" as an expectation.   

 

More like, "hey we rented a car in Reykjavik and we will be back at a certain time early this evening, hope to be able to have dinner in the Haven restaurant, and then we're going out again to see if we can catch the Northern Lights (it's an overnight port stay on our itinerary).  Any suggestion on best time to try to grab our dinner to keep our agenda on time?". Or "can we arrange for room service, off the Haven menu, to be delivered to the suite at a certain time that evening"  That type of thing....

 

What I'd like to do is help them help us by clearly communicating, respecting their workload, and hopefully getting our simple requests (coffee in the morning, requested basic afternoon snacks, ice tea refilled in the refrigerator, some extra towels etc.) fulfilled.

 

Again thanks for all you do and we plan to enjoy every minute of our first Haven experience on the Prima!

@McGarrett5oh Now we are talking and you taught me something.  Since the Haven Restaurants don't take reservations, you may or may not get in at your desired time.  The other thing most folks don't take into considerations is when eating in the Haven Restaurant, it takes a while. Just the way they are structured. 

 

Your idea of having that dinner at a specific time with your butler in you suite is Brilliant.  I hope others read your post, well done.  Order ahead with giving your butler that heads up you referred too in your earlier request. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

 

[Mugennosora]

Apologies since this is off subject, I don't Understand why the hate for Starbucks, you can have good drinks with out any syrup and they still do have good espresso beans, some how people just think that super automatic espresso machine some how is better. then we have people compare a French pressed coffee or brewed coffee, which in another word can't tell the difference between coffee bean bath water vs espresso.  if you like American coffee then yes, the latte stuff is not for you.  but if you enjoy espresso, Starbucks aint bad at all. getting a latte without vanilla syrups should be no different than getting a latte anywhere else that may use the same region of coffee beans.  just an opinion since I always see people get all fire up over people getting Starbucks, for someone that roast my own beans and make coffee at home, the difference aint that big from any other coffee place that makes a latte. unless you are drinking coffee bath water.

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, Mugennosora said:

Apologies since this is off subject, I don't Understand why the hate for Starbucks, you can have good drinks with out any syrup and they still do have good espresso beans, some how people just think that super automatic espresso machine some how is better. then we have people compare a French pressed coffee or brewed coffee, which in another word can't tell the difference between coffee bean bath water vs espresso.  if you like American coffee then yes, the latte stuff is not for you.  but if you enjoy espresso, Starbucks aint bad at all. getting a latte without vanilla syrups should be no different than getting a latte anywhere else that may use the same region of coffee beans.  just an opinion since I always see people get all fire up over people getting Starbucks, for someone that roast my own beans and make coffee at home, the difference aint that big from any other coffee place that makes a latte. unless you are drinking coffee bath water.

@Mugennosora I totally enjoyed my daily Starbucks coffee early morning in the NCL Joy Observation Lounge.  We traveling in the Haven, I was giddy getting our French Press made with Starbucks Beans.  In my business, I traveled to Europe quite often.  I LOVE the coffee in Europe. As a matter of fact, I will be take a 10-Meditaranian Cruise in November 2023 the highlight of our trip will be all the coffee will will be able to enjoy including Turkish Coffee done in sand.  A first for me.  

 

I think the hate for Starbucks is less about the company, beans or quality of the coffee.  More about it has yet another extra cost if Not in the Haven or for guest that don't have the Premium PLUS Beverage Package.  Side note, We have a Miele High End Automatic Coffee/Espresso maker at home.  My daily coffee is a strong setting cup with a shot of Espresso.  I thought you might appreciate that.  Thanks for the post.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[lsfla]

On 2/12/2023 at 4:57 PM, RocketMan275 said:

When was that picture taken?

I just checked the menu for American Dinner and the Shrimp and Grits is no longer listed.

BTW, the fried chicken is gone as well.

 We are currently on the Escape (4/16/2023) and both the Shrimp & Grits and the Fried Chicken are on the menu 

[estvil30]

We are planning our next Haven trip, and we were considering NCL Prima. 

 

After reading the reviews on this site, the Prima seems like it's still working things out. Has anyone sailed the Prima in the Haven ?

We would love to know your experience and recommendations.

[HBCcruiser]

27 minutes ago, estvil30 said:

We are planning our next Haven trip, and we were considering NCL Prima. 

 

After reading the reviews on this site, the Prima seems like it's still working things out. Has anyone sailed the Prima in the Haven ?

We would love to know your experience and recommendations.

I will be on her in the Haven starting April 30th - less than 2 weeks. I plan on doing a LIVE review so we can find out together! 

 

[Mugennosora]

57 minutes ago, estvil30 said:

We are planning our next Haven trip, and we were considering NCL Prima. 

 

After reading the reviews on this site, the Prima seems like it's still working things out. Has anyone sailed the Prima in the Haven ?

We would love to know your experience and recommendations.

we just came back from Prima a month ago, and did not like it so much, it's more of a hotel on sea than a cruise on sea. I would recommend to do Haven on Prima because it's actually at a good location of the ship easy to go to pretty much everywhere you need to especially if you don't need to use the commodore for dinning and most importantly, it's easier to book everything because each show is all booked by the time we got on board at 10:30, and the app doesn't work so well. so you will have to depend on concierge to get you into anything. even the race way is all booked by the 3rd day. luckily the rest of the cruise had really bad weather so it's all cancelled so we didn't miss much of the race track. Prima is really a good concept poorly executed.

[latebloomer56]

On 4/16/2023 at 12:18 PM, Mugennosora said:

Apologies since this is off subject, I don't Understand why the hate for Starbucks, you can have good drinks with out any syrup and they still do have good espresso beans, some how people just think that super automatic espresso machine some how is better. then we have people compare a French pressed coffee or brewed coffee, which in another word can't tell the difference between coffee bean bath water vs espresso.  if you like American coffee then yes, the latte stuff is not for you.  but if you enjoy espresso, Starbucks aint bad at all. getting a latte without vanilla syrups should be no different than getting a latte anywhere else that may use the same region of coffee beans.  just an opinion since I always see people get all fire up over people getting Starbucks, for someone that roast my own beans and make coffee at home, the difference aint that big from any other coffee place that makes a latte. unless you are drinking coffee bath water.

For me it's a personal choice, if all that is available is Starbucks I will make myself a good strong cup of Earl Grey with hot water from the buffet.

[Mugennosora]

8 minutes ago, latebloomer56 said:

For me it's a personal choice, if all that is available is Starbucks I will make myself a good strong cup of Earl Grey with hot water from the buffet.

i can appreciate that it's usually personal choices, but it seems like the personal choices are usually not based on the drink itself but the hatred of the brand itself.  not to mention the Starbucks on board is not operate by Starbucks anyways, it's just licensed to operate as alternative branded choices, If there was another brand called Peets coffee or PlanetPenny coffee would you still make yourself a strong cup of NON-Coffee anyway? not like Starbucks a famous for teas.. the coffee bean used as premium coffee on the ship that are not stated as starbucks is probably Starbucks sourced bean too. 

 

I could appreciate a good cup of earl though, it's best fresh brewed anyway 🙂 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Mugennosora

[palpieha]

On 4/15/2023 at 8:27 AM, latebloomer56 said:

Perfect, thanks like my French press at breakfast 😊. Never drink Starbucks, would bring my own from the buffet first.

 

Just to be clear, whether the ship has a Starbucks store or not, you can get a French press pot of coffee with breakfast in the Haven.

 

In addition to that, the Haven bar has an espresso machine with Starbucks coffee, so in the Haven restaurant (or lounge, pool, bar, etc.) you can order an espresso, cappuccino, latte, or my favorite an espresso martini. Those will come from the Haven bar and are included in your Haven fare (martini depends on your drink package), not from the Starbucks store (if the ship has one) which requires payment or the Plus drink package.

 

The ships that have a Starbucks store have more options, not different options.

[latebloomer56]

3 minutes ago, palpieha said:

 

Just to be clear, whether the ship has a Starbucks store or not, you can get a French press pot of coffee with breakfast in the Haven.

 

In addition to that, the Haven bar has an espresso machine with Starbucks coffee, so in the Haven restaurant (or lounge, pool, bar, etc.) you can order an espresso, cappuccino, latte, or my favorite an espresso martini. Those will come from the Haven bar and are included in your Haven fare (martini depends on your drink package), not from the Starbucks store (if the ship has one) which requires payment or the Plus drink package.

 

The ships that have a Starbucks store have more options, not different options.

We are in the Haven but no bar or restaurant. I enjoy the French press at breakfast. Not sure what is in the cabin wasn't thrilled in the past, but did use this for my tea late at night.

Thanks

[HBCcruiser]

2 hours ago, palpieha said:

my favorite an espresso martini

Yummy! My favorite too! 

[MsMaybelline]

On 4/15/2023 at 8:24 AM, Sthrngary said:

@latebloomer56 Not all ships have Starbucks.  The bigger ones do like Encore and Joy.

Good news! We are currently on the Gem and there is a great Starbucks (Deck 7 I think). I'd rather have the Starbucks than a Haven bar. We do miss the Haven lounge and restaurant on the Jewel Class ships.

[SaltyPawz]

We’ve booked our first Haven room for the Nov 25 cruise on Escape to the Caribbean.  My second cruise and hubby’s first. On the first cruise, my bestie and I sailed on Pearl to Alaska. We weren’t in the Haven, but in a family two-bedroom suite with balcony. It was wonderful! Although we had a butler and concierge, we didn’t understand their benefits, so we never used them. 

 

Since it’s my hubby’s first cruise, I’m going all out to plan a wonderful experience for him, and this thread is such a blessing. The only decisions he will have to make are what to drink and what to eat. 

 

After reading 65+ pages of this thread and watching many YouTube videos, I can honestly write that I have no questions to ask. 

- Flights are booked and hotel is reserved* since we are flying in the day before the cruise. 

- Transportation to/from cruise is booked. 

- My pre-concierge requests and butler letter are ready. 

- Excursions are booked.

- I’m prepared to make all available reservations -once available.  

 

Now, all I have to do is sit back, wait to pack, read more posts, and count down the days! 

 

Thank you to everyone providing comments regarding their experiences and to all the questions asked and answered. A great thank you to @Sthrngary for starting and maintaining this and @CDR Benson for providing your comprehensive experience. You’ve made this process both easy and enjoyable. I couldn’t be better prepared. 

 

*We had e-credits and rewards, so we booked our own flights and hotel room. 

Edited April 24, 2023 by SaltyPawz

[CDR Benson]

9 hours ago, SaltyPawz said:

After reading 65+ pages of this thread and watching many YouTube videos, I can honestly write that I have no questions to ask . . . A great thank you to @Sthrngary for starting and maintaining this and @CDR Benson for providing your comprehensive experience. You’ve made this process both easy and enjoyable. I couldn’t be better prepared. 

 

I take your words very kindly, ma'am.  I'm gratified that you found anything I posted here helpful.

 

Your husband is a lucky man no doubt in many ways, but in this case, for your thorough preparation.  I can see the impressed expression on his face as he sees you have every aspect of the cruise well in hand---because it will be the same look my wife rewarded me with as I guided us though the wickets of our voyage.  

 

A head's-up (which, in likelihood, you're already anticipating):  some snag, some obstacle, outside your ability to control, will arise.  At least one always does.  But the knowledge you've gained in making your preparations will enable you to handle it.

 

By happenstance, the Good Mrs. Benson and I are also departing on 25 November, this year, on a cruise to the Caribbean.  This time, however, we will be sailing with Regent Seven Seas, rather Norwegian.  (Norwegian Joy, in the Haven, is sked for 2024.)  Your voyage will be eastern Caribbean; ours will be in the western Caribbean; and the twain shall not meet.

 

But the coïncidence of timing will remind me of your cruise and my hope that you and your husband have the most idyllic of experiences.

 

Thank you, again.

 

[Greenpea2]

On 4/18/2023 at 10:50 AM, estvil30 said:

We are planning our next Haven trip, and we were considering NCL Prima. 

 

After reading the reviews on this site, the Prima seems like it's still working things out. Has anyone sailed the Prima in the Haven ?

We would love to know your experience and recommendations.

This might help... 

 

 

[bookbabe]

42 minutes ago, CDR Benson said:

By happenstance, the Good Mrs. Benson and I are also departing on 25 November, this year, on a cruise to the Caribbean.  This time, however, we will be sailing with Regent Seven Seas, rather Norwegian.  (Norwegian Joy, in the Haven, is sked for 2024.)  Your voyage will be eastern Caribbean; ours will be in the western Caribbean; and the twain shall not meet.

 

LOL.  I think we are on that same cruise, our first Regent trial after a lot of Haven cruises.  Looking forward to comparing the experience, and really hoping the increased price tag is worth it.  We really love the Haven and the go-with-the-flow vibe on NCL, but we are potentially doing a world cruise, and NCL doesn’t offer them.  Here’s hoping the cruise is an excellent one!

[Sthrngary]

23 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

LOL.  I think we are on that same cruise, our first Regent trial after a lot of Haven cruises.  Looking forward to comparing the experience, and really hoping the increased price tag is worth it.  We really love the Haven and the go-with-the-flow vibe on NCL, but we are potentially doing a world cruise, and NCL doesn’t offer them.  Here’s hoping the cruise is an excellent one!

@bookbabe as I have said so many time, you and @CDR Benson are going to have a fantastic time.  Allow me to give a reason.  For a moment, thing about the NCL Haven.  Now make the entire ship the NCL Haven.  

 

The food and service are truly an enhancement.  Still, if I were both of you, I would read the Regent Blog for hints.  Still strategy like the Haven.  I am jealous of the memory you both will have. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[CDR Benson]

52 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

LOL.  I think we are on that same cruise, our first Regent trial after a lot of Haven cruises.  Looking forward to comparing the experience, and really hoping the increased price tag is worth it.  We really love the Haven and the go-with-the-flow vibe on NCL, but we are potentially doing a world cruise, and NCL doesn’t offer them.  Here’s hoping the cruise is an excellent one!

 

If you're sailing on Regent Seven Seas Mariner out of Miami on 25 November, then we are, indeed, embarking on the same cruise.

 

We loved the Haven on our Norwegian Joy cruise last September; hence our re-booking of the same suite on Joy for next year.  But, a year ago, when Regent offered a two-level upgrade for a steal, I had to take advantage of that for this year's cruise.  (Not being John Beresford Tipton, one all-out cruise per year is all I'm comfortable with.)

 

As you say, here's to a grand old time for all of us.

 

 

[bookbabe]

34 minutes ago, CDR Benson said:

 

If you're sailing on Regent Seven Seas Mariner out of Miami on 25 November, then we are, indeed, embarking on the same cruise.

 

We loved the Haven on our Norwegian Joy cruise last September; hence our re-booking of the same suite on Joy for next year.  But, a year ago, when Regent offered a two-level upgrade for a steal, I had to take advantage of that for this year's cruise.  (Not being John Beresford Tipton, one all-out cruise per year is all I'm comfortable with.)

 

As you say, here's to a grand old time for all of us.

 

 

Yup, that’s the one.  DH joined me in retirement recently, and he’s on the never-ending quest for the perfect cruise line for a world cruise.  This fall has us on Viking Mars, NCL Pride of America and then RSS Mariner in the space of three months.  Since the restart, we’ve done five NCL (including one Sixthman charter) and one Viking.  I really wish NCL did world cruises, it would make DH’s “perfect cruise” search a lot easier.  It’s getting tough to fit the cruises I want to do into his “let’s try this one” schedule.  I could do four or five months in the Haven, that would be a great way to see the world.

 

[CDR Benson]

31 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

Yup, that’s the one.  DH joined me in retirement recently, and he’s on the never-ending quest for the perfect cruise line for a world cruise . . . I could do four or five months in the Haven, that would be a great way to see the world.

 

 

By the time we shift flags in November, I'll have retired a third time.  (A generous salary for easy work, but I'm just ready to have all my time be my own; my Depression-era father would've said I was out of my mind.)  But we discovered something on our first couple of cruises.  For us, cruise-fatigue sets in after about ten days.  Despite getting treated like admirals, after two weeks, we're ready to climb into our own bed.  And the cats are happy to see us back.

 

So, while the idea of an extended world cruise is inviting to us, we know we'd weary of it.  Instead, we'll probably just increase the number of one- or two-weekers we do a year.

 

However, if we were to do an extended jaunt, a few months in the Haven would be the way to do it.  (In fact, the Good Mrs. Benson would insist.)

 

 

[DaisyGoldberg]

On 4/14/2023 at 11:09 AM, UKstages said:

the difference is that the butler serves haven guests, and generally provides that service in the haven. while it's true he or she can get you your favorite dessert and bring it to you in the haven as part of a meal service or a separate treat, and while it's true he can pick up your leftover dessert from your specialty dining restaurant and deliver it to your room (it's actually simpler to just take it yourself in a doggy bag)...

 

I wish they'd let us take it in a doggy bag. Annoying to want to take a dessert back to the room and have them insist the butler will bring it, then go back to the room and wait when we could have just done it ourselves.  Sometimes in the desire to serve they complicate things!

[RocketMan275]

15 minutes ago, DaisyGoldberg said:

 

I wish they'd let us take it in a doggy bag. Annoying to want to take a dessert back to the room and have them insist the butler will bring it, then go back to the room and wait when we could have just done it ourselves.  Sometimes in the desire to serve they complicate things!

The first time we wanted to take the remnants of a wine bottle back to our room, it was allowed.

The second time, we were told the butler would have to bring. Only problem was, we didn't get the remnants until we were in bed.