To Haven or Not on Viva

[CharmCity2000]

Kids 2023-2024 school calendar came out yesterday so now I can plan spring break 2024.  Kids will be 16 and 13 at that time.

 

My son asked if the next cruise we went on could have some more things that he likes—go carts, laser tag, mini golf and lots and lots of free ice cream.  My requirement is the thermal spa.  With these requirements, I’ve narrowed down my choices to the Bliss, Prima, or Viva.  Please let me know if I missed an option.

 

Of the itineraries, I like the Viva leaving from San Juan the best.  So now the question is what cabin to book.  We always get a balcony because I get claustrophobic even with a porthole.  I priced Haven balcony, club balcony, and std balcony.

 

For less than the price of the haven balcony, I can get 2 club balcony rooms.  That’s 2 bathrooms and everyone not being on top of each other.  But I give up the quietness of Haven.  
 

There are no sea days on this itinerary.  It’s 7 ports in a week.  We all love the ocean and will go to the beach every day.  One day the ship leaves port at 2pm but the other days it’s 5 or 6 or as late as 8.  My son and I are early to rise,  early to bed people.  My daughter cannot miss a minute of anything and is a late to bed, early to rise person until the middle of the week when she will crash and emerge from the room around 3pm.  She will find friends on day one and be with them every minute she is on the ship.  She will not use the Haven pool or restaurant if her friends can’t.

 

From what I can tell, the Haven benefits that I would use are the easier debarking for excursions, priority check in, and probably the restaurant.  It would be nice to have a quieter pool when we are on ship but looking at the itinerary, there really only seems to be 1 afternoon where this is something we would do.  After a day in the sun and ocean, we shower, eat dinner and go to bed.  We have never made it to a show on a cruise.  I’m not a butler person and my kids don’t need to know that such a service exists.

 

Am I missing any benefits from Haven?  I’m learning towards the 2 bathrooms.  On our last vacation, the kids biggest thrill was global entry when they got to bypass the line and keep their shoes on.  I know that would like the Haven but I’m not convinced that on this itinerary it’s worth it.

 

Appreciate the advice!

[complawyer]

what's the price of the haven 2 bedroom as opposed to the 2 separate club suites.  if the price is comparable, the haven should win hands down.

 

you may not be a butler person, but they are useful. he can bring anything reasonable to your cabin throughout the sailing, i always have our butler bring m/m's, and gummie bears (im srill a kid at heart)

 

its nice to have a separate dedicated restaurant for breakfast and lunch, and the first thing i tell the butler i want is to have him bring a pot of coffee and a pot of hot water plus pastries and croissants 1st thing in the morning.

 

when he was about 14, we took our grandson on a cruise on the ncl spirit. it didnt have a haven, but you'll find the suite categories offer  the same amenities, and my grandson loved picking up the phone and ordering pizza from the butler.

 

while i'm not knocking it, going to the beach is the last thing i would want to do on a cruise.

 

we get off theship, hire a cab t take us around the port and have a great time. as long as i can take pictures, im happy. by the way, i had to take a 2nd mortgage out on my house in order to pay for all the pictures  i took on our our last 2 cruises.  (LOL)

[CharmCity2000]

2 Std balcony—7K

2 club balcony -10k

haven balcony- 11k

haven 2 bed- 14k

 

In the Haven rooms, it would be all 3 of us in 1 room. So the 2 club balcony is about comparable to the Haven balcony.  One option gets me more space and 2 bathrooms.  The other option gets me access to the Haven amenities.

 

 

[SunshineGal2022]

What about a Family Suite with a Master Bedroom and large Balcony?  You still get a butler and concierge service, a large bathroom, and 2 bedrooms.

[European_CruiseGirl]

We are usually Haven cruisers (and our DD just loves ”the special attention” like your kids at global entry) so I can understand your feelings. With the situation though that you mention above (and the prices 😶) I’d definitely go with the two club balconies without any suite perks. Heck I’d even go with the standard balconies.  The only thing I am wondering is that it seems you are travelling as the only adult with the kids who are under 18.  This would mean that one cabin would not have an adult in it. Not sure if NCL is ok with this as they cannot book two cabins under the same reservation so although they can link the reservations they are in fact still two separate reservations. Not sure if NCL can do this and have a reservation with only an underage kid in it. However if NCL is ok with this I’d go with two cabins for sure.  Sorry if I misread and there will be 2 adults too 😊 

 

Putting basically three adult sized people (or almost 😁) in a standard Haven suite is not a good idea IMHO and the two bedroom Haven suite seems to be $14.000 whereas the two club balconies would be $10.000. Thats one heck of a price difference. Add to that the port extensive cruise where you’d be out of the ship every day, the fact that your daughter wouldn’t use the Haven area even while on ship as she’d be with her friends outside of Haven and I’d definitely  lean on the two club balconies. Particularly as then all of you would get the free at sea perks (so drinks packages, dinner packages, Wi-Fi, excursion credit) which only pax 1-2 would get in a Haven suite. If you want to enhance your cruising experience (if you feel like it) I’d suggest you look up cruisecritic member strngary’s ”Haven light” post where he explains how he creates a Haven light experience when cruising in a non Haven cabin. 
 

As I mentioned in the beginning we usually cruise Haven or if we cruise on an older ship which does not have a Haven we book a suite anyway. A couple of times though Haven just wasnt available or doable  for us so we booked a standard balcony cabin. We were very hesitant about it the first time we did it. Would we feel something extremely important was missing. Well guess what: we had a blast! A fantastic time! We booked a cabin in the aft (not aft facing, just in the aft section of the ship) two decks below Garden Café (and Great Outdoors, I believe it was Gem) and every morning ventured two decks up to have breakfast sitting at the Great Outdoors. Omg that was nice! Although I loooooove when the butler brings us breakfast to the suite those Great Outdoors breakfasts are the thing I remember most fondly while thinking of NCL breakfasts 😄 And looking at the pics and remembering our feelings while on the cruise we just simply had a fantastic time. Even without the suite…or could it be because we didn’t have a suite and needed/wanted to be more out and about  on the ship 😲 

 

So IMHO choose the two club balconies (or even balconies) and have a fantastic time if NCL just allows it. 

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by European_CruiseGirl

[dexddd]

Think you already figured it out.  We recently sailed Prima in Haven with DD in an OS.  Those Viva Haven prices are ridiculous.  Yes, the restaurant was great, bar pretty good, pool area useless due to weather, little shade.  

 

You can easily spend some of the savings on specialties. 

[vacation44]

If there is only one adult, I too, do not think you will be able to book two cabins.   If this is correct, I would go with the one club balcony.

[CharmCity2000]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

Think you already figured it out.  We recently sailed Prima in Haven with DD in an OS.  Those Viva Haven prices are ridiculous.  Yes, the restaurant was great, bar pretty good, pool area useless due to weather, little shade.  

 

You can easily spend some of the savings on specialties. 

I’ve never sailed in NCL I thought the prices were high but that just what it costs.  It’s nice to know that it doesn’t always cost this much.

[CharmCity2000]

1 hour ago, vacation44 said:

If there is only one adult, I too, do not think you will be able to book two cabins.   If this is correct, I would go with the one club balcony.

Calling NCL is on my list of things to do today. I’ve read different things. Must have someone over 21 in the room, can have kids in their own room but they have to over a certain age, can have kids in their own room but must connect to the parents room.

 

All this is to say who knows.  I’ll find out later.

[cruiseny4life]

2 minutes ago, CharmCity2000 said:

I’ve never sailed in NCL I thought the prices were high but that just what it costs.  It’s nice to know that it doesn’t always cost this much.

The Viva and Prima are brand new ships. Viva hasn't yet sailed. If looking to save a bit of money, I'd look to the Bliss and see if you can find an aft-facing Haven balcony room with master bedroom. Someone would have to sleep on the sofa, but you'd have enough space for everyone and likely save a bit over the Viva/Prima. I know itinerary is important though, so understand if the Viva it is! 

 

Also...if you need a chaperone to have an over 18 in a room, I volunteer haha...no matter what option you choose, you'll have an amazing time! 

[Liljo22]

10 minutes ago, CharmCity2000 said:

Calling NCL is on my list of things to do today. I’ve read different things. Must have someone over 21 in the room, can have kids in their own room but they have to over a certain age, can have kids in their own room but must connect to the parents room.

 

All this is to say who knows.  I’ll find out later.

Per the NCL website, minors can be in their own room if its connecting or adjoining.  They also count inside cabins across the hall from a balcony as adjoining.

 

Norwegian Cruise Line's policy dictates that a minor or young adult under the age of 21 must be accompanied in the same stateroom (or a connecting/adjoining stateroom) by a guest 21 years of age or older at the time of boarding.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Liljo22

[CharmCity2000]

Thank you for sharing this with me.  I appreciate it.

[CharmCity2000]

5 hours ago, European_CruiseGirl said:

We are usually Haven cruisers (and our DD just loves ”the special attention” like your kids at global entry) so I can understand your feelings. With the situation though that you mention above (and the prices 😶) I’d definitely go with the two club balconies without any suite perks. Heck I’d even go with the standard balconies.  The only thing I am wondering is that it seems you are travelling as the only adult with the kids who are under 18.  This would mean that one cabin would not have an adult in it. Not sure if NCL is ok with this as they cannot book two cabins under the same reservation so although they can link the reservations they are in fact still two separate reservations. Not sure if NCL can do this and have a reservation with only an underage kid in it. However if NCL is ok with this I’d go with two cabins for sure.  Sorry if I misread and there will be 2 adults too 😊 

 

Putting basically three adult sized people (or almost 😁) in a standard Haven suite is not a good idea IMHO and the two bedroom Haven suite seems to be $14.000 whereas the two club balconies would be $10.000. Thats one heck of a price difference. Add to that the port extensive cruise where you’d be out of the ship every day, the fact that your daughter wouldn’t use the Haven area even while on ship as she’d be with her friends outside of Haven and I’d definitely  lean on the two club balconies. Particularly as then all of you would get the free at sea perks (so drinks packages, dinner packages, Wi-Fi, excursion credit) which only pax 1-2 would get in a Haven suite. If you want to enhance your cruising experience (if you feel like it) I’d suggest you look up cruisecritic member strngary’s ”Haven light” post where he explains how he creates a Haven light experience when cruising in a non Haven cabin. 
 

As I mentioned in the beginning we usually cruise Haven or if we cruise on an older ship which does not have a Haven we book a suite anyway. A couple of times though Haven just wasnt available or doable  for us so we booked a standard balcony cabin. We were very hesitant about it the first time we did it. Would we feel something extremely important was missing. Well guess what: we had a blast! A fantastic time! We booked a cabin in the aft (not aft facing, just in the aft section of the ship) two decks below Garden Café (and Great Outdoors, I believe it was Gem) and every morning ventured two decks up to have breakfast sitting at the Great Outdoors. Omg that was nice! Although I loooooove when the butler brings us breakfast to the suite those Great Outdoors breakfasts are the thing I remember most fondly while thinking of NCL breakfasts 😄 And looking at the pics and remembering our feelings while on the cruise we just simply had a fantastic time. Even without the suite…or could it be because we didn’t have a suite and needed/wanted to be more out and about  on the ship 😲 

 

So IMHO choose the two club balconies (or even balconies) and have a fantastic time if NCL just allows it. 

 

 You nicely summed it all up.  Except for feeling special, I'm not sure the kids will get any benefit out of Haven.  I would but it's hard to pay that much for 1 out of 3 people.  I like your thinking about 2 regular balconies if it's possible. 
 

[thatjoeguy]

I was looking at the Prima last night (sister ship to the Viva). Did you bother pricing out the Suite class of rooms? For our cruise, several of them were actually cheaper than the club balcony, and had a separate bedroom and living room, as well as much larger balconies. They come with butler, but no Haven access, so might be a nice midpoint between the club and the Haven, and the three of you would probably fit in one room.