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

[Grimix]

On 10/10/2023 at 8:58 PM, Cruzin64647 said:

With all perks being the same in the Haven except the free alcohol in room I don’t see why anyone would pay for the deluxe owners suite at the ase current prices. I would think at what they are wanting to charge currently there would be an added incentive to book.

Because you shouldn't be booking that room because of the perks. It's all about the space and balconies! (Some say they aren't useful, but we got plenty of use out of them in ports and embarkation)

[Cruzin64647]

37 minutes ago, Grimix said:

Because you shouldn't be booking that room because of the perks. It's all about the space and balconies! (Some say they aren't useful, but we got plenty of use out of them in ports and embarkation)

IMO it’s 80/20 I think you should book it for the room (80) but as the price point jumps significantly I think so should the perks(20). I was just on celebrity in an Edge Villa and I totally booked it for the two story room with plunge pool but it was nice that at that price point you got a full mini bar with wine, beer, and liquor plus unlimited speciality dining. I’m really looking forward to trying NCL and the Haven and no matter what I’m on a ship in the ocean and you can’t beat that!! Also, thank you for the feedback on the balcony I was concerned about the wind issue so it’s good to know there are plenty of times to still get good use!

[Grimix]

1 minute ago, Cruzin64647 said:

Also, thank you for the feedback on the balcony I was concerned about the wind issue so it’s good to know there are plenty of times to still get good use!

The wind (and peoples tolerances) is different. On our southward journey I think we were traveling with the wind so I was out there with a nice breeze. On the way back north it was very windy. The side balconies were still usable, but there was a stiff breeze. It being warm I didn't mind it that much!

[Girr]

On 10/10/2023 at 10:58 PM, Cruzin64647 said:

With all perks being the same in the Haven except the free alcohol in room I don’t see why anyone would pay for the deluxe owners suite at the ase current prices. I would think at what they are wanting to charge currently there would be an added incentive to book.

There're just some cruises I can't imagine not being in an owner's suite - especially on the Jewel class ships.  We've done Panama Canal, Alaska and Norway in owners suites and any other suite IMO wouldn't have been the same for these cruises.  Yes, as some complain the front balcony can be an issue when sailing full steam, but for these leisurely cruises it was delightful - it's like being the captain of the ship without the worries.  Some love aft cabins, but me - well, I like seeing where I'm going!

 

We're not big drinkers, plus with the beverage package, we've often given the bottles away (we've been very popular with honeymooners, anniversaries, the next-door cabin neighbors who my mother consistently thought she had to entertain out on the balcony, etc.).  The additional space in the suites is also very much to our liking.  As to price, over the years we've managed to score some very good prices.

[Sthrngary]

8 minutes ago, Girr said:

There're just some cruises I can't imagine not being in an owner's suite - especially on the Jewel class ships.  We've done Panama Canal, Alaska and Norway in owners suites and any other suite IMO wouldn't have been the same for these cruises.  Yes, as some complain the front balcony can be an issue when sailing full steam, but for these leisurely cruises it was delightful - it's like being the captain of the ship without the worries.  Some love aft cabins, but me - well, I like seeing where I'm going!

 

We're not big drinkers, plus with the beverage package, we've often given the bottles away (we've been very popular with honeymooners, anniversaries, the next-door cabin neighbors who my mother consistently thought she had to entertain out on the balcony, etc.).  The additional space in the suites is also very much to our liking.  As to price, over the years we've managed to score some very good prices.

@Girr Hello, I am this Author of this Crazy Long Stream.  I wanted to comment.  The reason why I post almost exclusively on CruiseCritic.com is because most members allow for different opinions.  Especially on concepts like "A Ship-With-A-Ship" VIP sections like the NCL Haven and Celebrity Retreat. This includes type of Suite or Stateroom.  When I have posted on another Social Media Site, I am trolled and ridiculed for my choices. Here on CruiseCritic.com, folks might not agree however they are always very kind with the responses.

 

The Owners Suite or larger upper end suites on cruise ships are very special.  As I indicated a few posts back, I stayed with my family of four in the NCL Joy H2 Haven Deluxe Owners Suite.  It was for all involved the best cruise of our lives.  Part of it was we all simply got along which is unique in my family.

 

I too love the larger suites.  My wife especially likes a larger suites although she gets on my case when they are fancy.  I also have to kind of hide the cost so she does not get mad at me. We both have come up from humble beginnings and that is a hard experience to forget.  There nothing wrong with Inside Staterooms or upper end larger suites.  All of our goals should simply be to have the best enhanced experience we can.  Life is too short. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Cruzin64647]

4 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

@Girr Hello, I am this Author of this Crazy Long Stream.  I wanted to comment.  The reason why I post almost exclusively on CruiseCritic.com is because most members allow for different opinions.  Especially on concepts like "A Ship-With-A-Ship" VIP sections like the NCL Haven and Celebrity Retreat. This includes type of Suite or Stateroom.  When I have posted on another Social Media Site, I am trolled and ridiculed for my choices. Here on CruiseCritic.com, folks might not agree however they are always very kind with the responses.

 

 

Well put and could not agree more! My spouse and I often work 60+ plus hours a week and when we cruise we tend to go in a higher end suite as that might be the only time off we can get for a while and its nice to have the space and the all included aspect but when trying to get different perspectives on other social media sites you do often get overall negative comments that do not relate to cruising. Appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!

[Sthrngary]

2 hours ago, Cruzin64647 said:

Well put and could not agree more! My spouse and I often work 60+ plus hours a week and when we cruise we tend to go in a higher end suite as that might be the only time off we can get for a while and its nice to have the space and the all included aspect but when trying to get different perspectives on other social media sites you do often get overall negative comments that do not relate to cruising. Appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!

@Cruzin64647 My Pleasure.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

[Daniel A]

On 9/14/2023 at 5:44 AM, Daniel A said:

I think I left my laptop on a shelf in the cabin.  It may have been on a shelf the steward was using to store the extra decorative pillows and cloth runner.   I never thought to look on that shelf as the runner and pillows were still there when we packed.

 

Does anyone know how to find out if it was left there?

 

On 9/14/2023 at 8:50 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Go on the current sailing's roll call and ask if anyone's in the Haven who could ask the concierge. That might be the best way...you can also file a lost and found claim here (click on lost and found category):

 

https://www.ncl.com/about/contact-us

 

Well, I called the pre-cruise concierge and asked them if they could e-mail the Breakaway Concierge and ask if they could look in the cabinet in my cabin.  I also followed @cruiseny4life suggestion regarding reporting the lost laptop at the link.

 

The laptop was delivered to me this afternoon.  The box it was shipped in was pretty beat up, but the laptop was well packaged.

 

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

[66Olds442]

On 10/9/2023 at 3:14 PM, McGarrett5oh said:

Now onto the Haven Concierge on the Prima: 

 

Watch this space.....

Was wondering since I saw you ask before your cruise; how was the internet?  I need to do a small amount of work while I'm on the cruise, but usually nothing more than browsing/entering data into websites and at most downloading a 10MB file. My last 2 NCL internet experiences make me think I'll be ok, but thought I'd ask since you were wondering something similar about the Prima.

 

Thanks!

[McGarrett5oh]

1 hour ago, 66Olds442 said:

Was wondering since I saw you ask before your cruise; how was the internet? 

Surprising very good.  Now some context:

 

I had the premium unlimited streaming internet package using an iPhone 14 Pro Max.  My son & daughter in law had just the premium unlimited package (which I believe is essentially NCL's normal  internet package with no limits).  My son had an iPhone 14 Pro on that package and we noticed a difference in the two NCL internet package in terms of speed and connectivity.  My daughter in law had an older iPhone (maybe a 10) and her experience was awful on their package.

 

I bore you with these details because we came to believe that the capabilities of your equipment coupled with the Internet package you buy, make a noticeable difference in your experience.  

 

I did try my laptop - a relatively powerful but several year old Dell - a couple of times and it was able to connect and accomplish whatever it was I was trying to do, although I didn't try to upload or download any large files, but noticed that when I tried to upload the day's photos from my iphone to iCloud overnight, they did not transfer on the NCL wifi.  I did not try to do much streaming but in normal activities on the internet, video content played fairly normal with few exceptions.   Wifi calling also worked exceptionally well.  Even took a call in the middle of the North Sea.

 

Definitely a few dead spots in the Arctic Ocean and North Sea but much fewer than I had expected from other comments.    Also, the AT&T international day pass ($10 per day) was exceptional.

 

Hope this helps!

[cruiseny4life]

11 hours ago, Daniel A said:

 

Well, I called the pre-cruise concierge and asked them if they could e-mail the Breakaway Concierge and ask if they could look in the cabinet in my cabin.  I also followed @cruiseny4life suggestion regarding reporting the lost laptop at the link.

 

The laptop was delivered to me this afternoon.  The box it was shipped in was pretty beat up, but the laptop was well packaged.

 

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

Thanks for coming back to report! This is a wonderful outcome. I hope the laptop wasnt too beat up.

[Daniel A]

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Thanks for coming back to report! This is a wonderful outcome. I hope the laptop wasnt too beat up.

No, it wasn't beat up at all, but the box looked like this:

 

A word of caution - I called the pre-cruise concierge desk and asked if they could contact the Breakaway Concierge since i had just disembarked the day before but I was told by the pre-cruise concierge that he had no way to contact the ship.  I was put on hold and was then informed that the supervisor could send the Breakaway concierge a message since I knew the cabin # and where exactly the laptop could be found in the cabin.  I was advised that I did also need to file the lost property report online which I was already in the process of completing.  It was made very clear to me that under normal circumstances, they were not permitted to make direct contact with the ship.

 

[AlexandNessa]

On 10/10/2023 at 11:58 PM, Cruzin64647 said:

With all perks being the same in the Haven except the free alcohol in room I don’t see why anyone would pay for the deluxe owners suite at the ase current prices. I would think at what they are wanting to charge currently there would be an added incentive to book.

 

For us, we were already in the Haven and for some reason, there were price drops in the Haven after final payment. My travel agent was running a free DSC special at the time of my upgrade, and it only cost us $300 total to upgrade to the DOS/H2. We did it not only for the bottles of liquor but for the larger forward-facing balcony.  Would we pay thousands? No. Like you said, the perks are pretty much the same, but I've wasted $300 on worse things.

[McGarrett5oh]

Prima Haven Lounge (16th Deck) from Forward to Aft.  September 2023 

 

[Traveling Fools]

On 10/10/2023 at 11:58 PM, Cruzin64647 said:

With all perks being the same in the Haven except the free alcohol in room I don’t see why anyone would pay for the deluxe owners suite at the ase current prices. I would think at what they are wanting to charge currently there would be an added incentive to book.

 

DW and I enjoy the "Suite Life" and save for our cruises accordingly.  We have sailed once in DOS with our two grandchildren and thoroughly enjoyed all the extra space.  But, that was kind of a one and done deal.  Other Haven suites have ample room for the 4 of us (they are veteran cruisers with us).

 

In 2008, my Mom sprung for an Alaskan cruise for all her children and spouses.  There was only one request (rule) she made.....that we all meet for dinner.  Since then I have wanted to do the same with our children.  Our oldest daughter is the hospital for life, DS and his wife (his wife) don't like cruising, so that leaves our younger daughter, her husband, and our 2-veteran cruising grands. 

 

Planning a cruise for the 6 of us means two staterooms or suites, preferably adjoining one another.  It also requires selecting a cruise that meets time availability issues for DD, SIL, and the 2-grands.  A couple of months ago I was looking at prices for a family Holiday cruise.  Prices were to steep for me and cabin/suite availability was limited.  I looked at the kids school calendar and found they started and ended the Christmas break a week later than normal.  Plus, school didn't resume until the Tuesday after the break, and Friday was a only a half day of school.  I figured the kids and their school could suffer through them missing 2 1/2 days of school and confirmed with DD they could.  DD, SIL, and most importantly DW (the CIC) gave the OK to book it.  We were able to book a DOS and adjoining 2-BR suite in the Haven for a great price.....sweetened by a Kids Sail Free promo (something that is never available in the summer, fall, or spring breaks.

 

We will have the space we want and won't be tripping over one another (we get enough of that on our cross-country month or longer RV trips).  We will also have sufficient privacy.  The dinning table in the DOS will be large enough to seat us all for breakfast, which we almost always order ensuite.  It just things much easier to handle in the mornings and eliminate the frustration of getting everyone dressed and ready to either go to the buffet, the MDR, or Haven restaurants for breakfast.  

 

Will we book the DOS again?  Probably not.  There are other Haven suites that provide what we want and cost less.

[Sthrngary]

A bit off topic but hell, it happens all the time on this thread.  

 

If you are a Haven Guest and either on the ship, off the ship or in social media folk complain they should have the same access, try not to be to upset. They know not what they say to you.  They don't understand that you paid three to four times the fare for the same cruise as they did. Sometimes they do understand and don't care.  They don't understand the NCL LOVES the Haven because it provides the highest profit margin per guest of any guest on their ships. The don't understand that the Haven Suite are usually sold out first. 

 

What these folks, not all folks just a very small group want is to have everything you have paid a premium for just because they grace the same ship. 

 

This is a very rare rant for me.  I sometimes get SO frustrated that the folks that feel the Haven area, privileges and amenities should be for everyone are the same folks that wake up at 6:00 AM an attempt to reserve a lounge chair at the pool for all day without staying in them. By the way, those folks are the reason WHY I pay more for the Haven. My vacation should not include confrontations with folks that feel entitled to things that they never paid for.

 

Rant complete, and thank you. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[RocketMan275]

18 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

A bit off topic but hell, it happens all the time on this thread.  

 

If you are a Haven Guest and either on the ship, off the ship or in social media folk complain they should have the same access, try not to be to upset. They know not what they say to you.  They don't understand that you paid three to four times the fare for the same cruise as they did. Sometimes they do understand and don't care.  They don't understand the NCL LOVES the Haven because it provides the highest profit margin per guest of any guest on their ships. The don't understand that the Haven Suite are usually sold out first. 

 

What these folks, not all folks just a very small group want is to have everything you have paid a premium for just because they grace the same ship. 

 

This is a very rare rant for me.  I sometimes get SO frustrated that the folks that feel the Haven area, privileges and amenities should be for everyone are the same folks that wake up at 6:00 AM an attempt to reserve a lounge chair at the pool for all day without staying in them. By the way, those folks are the reason WHY I pay more for the Haven. My vacation should not include confrontations with folks that feel entitled to things that they never paid for.

 

Rant complete, and thank you. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

I've run into that 'very small group' elsewhere on CC.  Pretty much the same group that complain about tipping in advance calling it bribery.

 

They are so concerned that someone is getting something they are not.  They are concerned that these extras are coming at their expense

Edited October 16, 2023 by RocketMan275

[Girr]

The funny part, with a little due diligence, sometimes the Haven isn't that much more.  Actually, I've sailed in DOSs for less money than two balcony cabins (especially after you add in beverage package) when travelling with extended family (parents, myself & one grandchild).  For the money the 2-bedroom suites are also a fabulous deal.  By no means was I born wealthy, and if you look up frugal in the dictionary, you'll probably find my picture, but when it comes to travelling the days of all of us crammed inside a small truck camper are long gone.  We save up for our trips, and do a lot of research to get a "deal".    

 

Some people just don't do enough research, and yes as mentioned, love to complain.   

[mrshorsy]

18 minutes ago, Girr said:

The funny part, with a little due diligence, sometimes the Haven isn't that much more.  Actually, I've sailed in DOSs for less money than two balcony cabins (especially after you add in beverage package) when travelling with extended family (parents, myself & one grandchild).  For the money the 2-bedroom suites are also a fabulous deal.  By no means was I born wealthy, and if you look up frugal in the dictionary, you'll probably find my picture, but when it comes to travelling the days of all of us crammed inside a small truck camper are long gone.  We save up for our trips, and do a lot of research to get a "deal".    

 

Some people just don't do enough research, and yes as mentioned, love to complain.   

Yes I’d agree with you there. If you are able to forward plan then there are certainly deals to be had. We have 2 bed Haven suite booked for a July Cruise which came in at £11,000 it’s currently almost £17000

[Daniel A]

@Sthrngary - I have to take some issue with your last post.  Those people should have access to the Haven and its various upgraded perks.  I think it's a crying shame that NCL won't let them book and pay for a cabin in the Haven so they too can enjoy the 'suite life.'  I wonder why NCL won't let them pay the fare to enjoy the Haven.  Thank goodness they take my money and let me in the Haven.  Maybe it's because I know the secret Haven handshake and password...😆

People like the ones you mention are generally losers mostly because they won't work within accepted societal processes.  Instead, they want to cry and complain that they're not being treated the same as those of us who worked long and hard to get what we have.  When they were younger, they would throw themselves on the floor and kick their legs and hold their breath until they got what they wanted.  What a shock it must be to discover that these tactics don't work for them any longer. 😭

[CDR Benson]

38 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

People like the ones you mention are generally losers mostly because they won't work within accepted societal processes.  Instead, they want to cry and complain that they're not being treated the same as those of us who worked long and hard to get what we have.  When they were younger, they would throw themselves on the floor and kick their legs and hold their breath until they got what they wanted.  What a shock it must be to discover that these tactics don't work for them any longer. 

 

On target, sir.

 

 

 

[kasimir]

I think it’s also a matter of priorities, I mean me and my wife are doing fine, but we work very hard as well. We don’t spend money on expensive hobbies or luxury clothes, cars, watches etc… 

Our luxury is traveling! We do our research to get the best deal possible, and often times the premium to fly business class or cruise in Haven, or stay in a nice hotel is not too crazy, but it is definitely worth it for us. 
 

Trust me, there are plenty of people out there that could easily afford business class flights, but would always book the cheapest seats in the plane, because for some it’s just not important. 
 

I think the folks that openly complain as mentioned by @Sthrngary are in the minority. Most non-Haven cruisers don’t care, have no idea what the Haven is or look in admiration thinking “one day I shall be in the Haven”. We used to be part of the last group, until our next cruise 😉

[Treasure Hunter]

Same here. We are still in our starter house ( added on a family room 30 years ago) and our cars are 2009 and 2015. We accidentally found out about the Haven about six years ago. My daughter was in an elevator and was invited to see a room by another cruiser. Now unless we are traveling with a big family group, that’s what we book. We are closer to the end than the beginning . Just walking past the long lines at debarking is worth it to us. And yes I charge everything I buy  to accumulate airline miles and go business class if the flight is longer than three hours . We sacrifice in other ways. I cook a lot at home. Buy very few clothes or jewelry and have given up broadway shows . I’d rather go on NCL and see Choir of Man. And the Haven restaurant is terrific ( I also love the Ruebens at O’Sheehans.) To each their own. 

[Treasure Hunter]

Why is the Prima getting such bad reviews? It looks so pretty and I think they might base it in NY year round!!!

[RocketMan275]

9 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

Why is the Prima getting such bad reviews? It looks so pretty and I think they might base it in NY year round!!!

There is a large number here on CC who are experts in maritime engineering.