NCL Haven Breakaway vs Celebrity Ascent

[psychtobe]

I posted this elsewhere but someone suggeated I try the NCL forum.

 

hello the above are two cruises we are considering spring 2024 for family of 4 with two teens ages 14 and 17.

 

The ports sound more interesting on Celebrity and we liked them on our last cruise eight years ago. But read some of the food has gone downhill and that is important to us. Would a Haven suite on NCL and thus access to Haven restaurant be a better option? we don't want to do specialty reataurants every night because with four of us that will add up quickly, but on either ship we could do them once or twice.

 

possible drawback to haven is officially no kids under 16 allowed on Haven sundeck which leaves our youngest and thus us out. but then i read that on some cruises there are lots of under 16 on that deck. not trying to be a rule breaker, but if it's a function of behavior i'm not worried about our 14 yo. more about our 17 yo lol.

 

 

thanks for your thoughts!

[drmomsc]

My husband and I were just on the Encore in the Haven last month. LOVED it. 
 

there are signs all around the sun deck stating 16 and up. I did not see any kids other than one time when a kid came up to tell his parent something. But the area around the pool is kid friendly and we saw several kids all week at the Haven pool. 
 

we did celebrity edge Retreat last year.  Liked both- slightly preferred NCL. We found the food comparable but did not like how close the tables were in the celebrity restaurant and found the retreat fairly crowded and boisterous. 

[KKB]

On 3/21/2023 at 8:07 PM, psychtobe said:

I posted this elsewhere but someone suggeated I try the NCL forum.

 

 

hello the above are two cruises we are considering spring 2024 for family of 4 with two teens ages 14 and 17.

 

The ports sound more interesting on Celebrity and we liked them on our last cruise eight years ago. But read some of the food has gone downhill and that is important to us. Would a Haven suite on NCL and thus access to Haven restaurant be a better option? we don't want to do specialty reataurants every night because with four of us that will add up quickly, but on either ship we could do them once or twice.

 

possible drawback to haven is officially no kids under 16 allowed on Haven sundeck which leaves our youngest and thus us out. but then i read that on some cruises there are lots of under 16 on that deck. not trying to be a rule breaker, but if it's a function of behavior i'm not worried about our 14 yo. more about our 17 yo lol.

 

 

thanks for your thoughts!

 I suspect the boys will like the extra activity offerings on Encore more than Ascent.

But the 14 YO not being allowed in the Haven pool really devalues being in Haven to me.

That being said, our YA children have sailed RCCL, Princess & Celebrity as teens & YAs & said every cruise was great. 

 

[wolft927]

13 minutes ago, KKB said:

 I suspect the boys will like the extra activity offerings on Encore more than Ascent.

But the 14 YO not being allowed in the Haven pool really devalues being in Haven to me.

That being said, our YA children have sailed RCCL, Princess & Celebrity as teens & YAs & said every cruise was great. 

 

Kids can absolutely use the Haven pool they simply can’t use the Haven Sundeck 

[psychtobe]

ah, thank you for the clarification.

[psychtobe]

how is the food in the haven restaurant? that would be pur primary reason to upgrade. unless the rest of the ship is an ugly boozefest we don't need a special secret corner but if that is the case we'd probably choose a different ship anyway. 

[FLAHAM]

Bear in mind that the Haven’s menu is static, night after night.

[dexddd]

9 hours ago, psychtobe said:

how is the food in the haven restaurant? that would be pur primary reason to upgrade. unless the rest of the ship is an ugly boozefest we don't need a special secret corner but if that is the case we'd probably choose a different ship anyway. 

The food in Haven has been very good.  We even skip our included specialties.  BA is a crowded ship so Haven is nice.  That being said, we had best room on ship and won't sail it or GA again.

[Two Wheels Only]

18 hours ago, KKB said:

But the 14 YO not being allowed in the Haven pool really devalues being in Haven to me.

 

The Haven pool is all ages but the Haven sundeck (1 deck above) is 16 and older.

[amygutman]

9 hours ago, FLAHAM said:

Bear in mind that the Haven’s menu is static, night after night.

I agree the Haven menu is static, but there are different options. Once you get to know the waiter and maitre d’ they get to know your particular tastes, and will make other options available at your request. 
 

Up until recently I had been vegan (35 years!). After discussing this with our waiter on the first night on our first Haven on the Gem, magical vegetable preparation started appearing for all my meals.

 

Now that I am a pescatarian, I have many more options, but the waitstaff still goes out of the way to make each meal special. They also have off menu options for our son. You can even tweak dishes that you like. For example, if you like shrimp cocktail, ask them for section instead of the standard three.

We have found this to be true across all of the Havens on all of the NCL ships. Everyone’s experiences are different, but don’t let a fixed menu necessarily be a deciding factor, unless that is truly the most important thing and making your cruise decision.

 

Warmest, Amy

[graphicguy]

Have sailed both Haven (Away Ships) and Retreat (Edge and Apex).  Both are a premium experience.  They just go about it differently.  Retreat on Celebrity offers private pool, concierge, bar areas….as does the Haven on NCL.   Both lines make use of multiple concierges. 

 

Where they differ, NCL has a Butler, which does room service and brings snacks.   The Concierges take care of booking meals in Specialty Dining (sometimes when it seems like the restaurants are totally booked) booking Excursions, getting “best seat in the house”  in entertainment venues (excluding Comedy Clubs and Piano Bars), takes care of any billing or WiFi snafus.  

 

Concierges on Celebrity consist on two types.  The ones in the Retreat Lounge duplicate what your personal Concierge does (who is a combination Butler and Concierge).  The Personal Concierge will take care of reservations, billing issues, laundry, any in suite needs (except steward duties).

 

Both offer very nice spaces to relax.  I know in the Haven you don’t even have to go to the Spa to get a massage, if you don’t want to.  They have a room for a massage in the Haven.

 

The Celebrity pool area tends to be crowded on occasion.  Never had that problem in the Haven pool area.

 

Luminae private dining room in the Retreat has a rotating menu.  Food is very good.  Haven has their own private restaurant.  But, as was mentioned, the menu is static.  But, the food is very good, and you can make a special request to get food off the MDR menus served in the Haven Restaurant if you’d like.

 

Cabins are very nice in all categories for both.

 

Both are great experiences.  They differ in some areas, but the differences are minor.

Edited March 25, 2023 by graphicguy

[floatplan]

I would choose Celebrity Ascent. I have not been on it, but I have been on Edge. They improved the Luminae restaurant by moving it to the front of deck 16 with windows on 3 sides.

 

I've recently been on Breakaway. I see it as a 10 year-old ship that was a mediocre first try. The Haven area is small. The restaurant is small and has the windows on the small side making it feel like it's an inside room. They use the pool area for more restaurant space and that is the "outdoor" dining. 

 

NCL corrected that on Breakaway Plus ships (e.g. Escape) where the Haven area is about 2x larger adding a big Horizon lounge, Library and more. The Restaurant is 50% larger with much more windows along the long side. There is also a true outdoor Haven eating area on the side of the shop. The outside sundeck area is at least 50% larger.

 

I point out these Plus changes to note why the older B ship sucks.

 

The pool area outside the Haven also sucks on Breakaway compared to B Plus that is  larger and not chopped up into sections.

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by floatplan

[PTC DAWG]

Kids go NCL, adults go Celebrity. 

[PTC DAWG]

37 minutes ago, floatplan said:

I would choose Celebrity Ascent. I have not been on it, but I have been on Edge. They improved the Luminae restaurant by moving it to the front of deck 16 with windows on 3 sides.

 

I've recently been on Breakaway. I see it as a 10 year-old ship that was a mediocre first try. The Haven area is small. The restaurant is small and has the windows on the small side making it feel like it's an inside room. They use the pool area for more restaurant space and that is the "outdoor" dining. 

 

NCL corrected that on Breakaway Plus ships (e.g. Escape) where the Haven area is about 2x larger adding a big Horizon lounge, Library and more. The Restaurant is 50% larger with much more windows along the long side. There is also a true outdoor Haven eating area on the side of the shop. The outside sundeck area is at least 50% larger.

 

I point out these Plus changes to note why the older B ship sucks.

 

The pool area outside the Haven also sucks on Breakaway compared to B Plus that is  larger and not chopped up into sections.

 

“Sucks’? Are we 12?