Haven dinner menu on a long cruise

[rattla]

Am I right in thinking there is just the one Haven menu, even for a longer cruise?

We are going on a 16 night itinerary, and from the menu I am seeing I would imagine that it’s going to require multiple repeats, which seems a shame if paying the extra for the Haven are the better dining experience?

We will do a few speciality dinners, but I do have a seafood Intolerance, so that limits my options somewhat, and even deserts seem limited to about 4-5 options?

Do they have any daily specials etc or maybe offer more options on a longer cruise?

[dcipjr]

Yes, the Haven dinner menu is always the same, though I've heard talk of specials recently (maybe someone can confirm).

 

They will bring you dishes from the MDR and other restaurants upon request—though I've never bothered, I just go to the MDR since I like to switch things up anyway.

 

Personally, I find the Haven dinner menu to be a bit luxurious for my tastes...just as I couldn't eat in a specialty restaurant every night of the cruise, I wouldn't eat off the Haven menu either—they'd have to roll me off the ship.

 

I actually find it a bit baffling that some folks who are in the Haven only eat there. And sometimes the wait staff acts surprised if you don't come to the Haven restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I like the variety, so I eat elsewhere sometimes too—having options appeals to me.

 

Speaking of options, keep in mind that you can also eat in your stateroom via your butler, who will bring you food from any restaurant. If you've booked a suite that has a living room with a dining area, it's a truly wonderful experience. 

 

Case in point: we got back late one night from our outing in San Juan, PR, and really wanted some wings, burgers, and pub fare, but our kiddo was asleep. Our butler brought it and served it to us at our dining table, and my wife and I ate together and then walked over to view the sailaway from our balcony. A perfect evening, and that alone practically made the suite cost worth it.

[Russiamomm]

We were on the Breakaway in the Haven for a 16 night TA in April.  They did have one or two specials almost every night for dinner.  They were quite good. Also keep in mind that the Haven restaurant is very flexible.  They will mix and match, customize, etc.  you can also request from another restaurant, but may have to work that out in advance.  

[cruiseny4life]

I haven't experienced evening specials, but the longest itinerary I've been on is nine days. I know @Sailing12Away reported evening specials on her longer Panama Canal transit. 

[rattla]

Ok, so sounds like there could be a possibility of some specials as it’s a longer journey then as seems there may have been on the TA and Panama Canal journeys 😊👍

[Sand and Seas]

Great information here!   One thing we haven't done yet is sail with a Haven that has a 'poolside' lunch menu.  Can any confirm if that is still available on some ships?  What is that menu like?

[cruiseny4life]

15 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

Great information here!   One thing we haven't done yet is sail with a Haven that has a 'poolside' lunch menu.  Can any confirm if that is still available on some ships?  What is that menu like?

It's on Joy! At least it was in March. We saw snack service on the sundeck, but didn't partake of it ourselves. I've never seen it on Getaway, though I've only cruised her three times so who knows. But they were all after the pandemic. 

[Pitzel]

7 hours ago, Russiamomm said:

We were on the Breakaway in the Haven for a 16 night TA in April.  They did have one or two specials almost every night for dinner.  They were quite good. Also keep in mind that the Haven restaurant is very flexible.  They will mix and match, customize, etc.  you can also request from another restaurant, but may have to work that out in advance.  

I was going to say the same thing. As long as the ingredients are available and you are willing to do some planning ahead (asking the waiter or maitre d earlier in the day or the day before), you can get many things made for you in the Haven restaurant. Feel like a lobster roll and fries or a steak sandwich for dinner? You can probably get that. Want a different sauce for the chicken to mix it up? An entree salad? You can get those, too.

My favorite ask that we have made in the past is to have Indian brought to us for dinner, which made for a lovely change of pace compared to most of the Western menu options. We had to arrange for this in advance, but it was worth the effort!

[Sailing12Away]

Yup, our Panama canal trip there was a special daily for lunch & dinner (not sure about breakfast, don't think we ever ate up there for breakfast) for both the app & main. Don't get your hopes up too high though, it was usually just a course from the MDR options that day. It was still nice though to be able to mix things up.

 

My only complaint with Haven dining is having to pre-plan so many things in advance. I don't know what I want for dinner at 2pm. Many times I just ordered off of the kids menu because I'm a PITA and don't like fancy stuff.

[cruiseny4life]

9 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

Yup, our Panama canal trip there was a special daily for lunch & dinner (not sure about breakfast, don't think we ever ate up there for breakfast) for both the app & main. Don't get your hopes up too high though, it was usually just a course from the MDR options that day. It was still nice though to be able to mix things up.

 

My only complaint with Haven dining is having to pre-plan so many things in advance. I don't know what I want for dinner at 2pm. Many times I just ordered off of the kids menu because I'm a PITA and don't like fancy stuff.

I do agree with you about the fancy stuff. I should take a look at the kid's menu next time! I do enjoy me some of the meals the Haven has (ok a lot of them), but not the lunch menu. It definitely leaves a lot to be desired. I suppose I should track down that light lunch menu that goes around the courtyard/sundeck. 

 

I had forgotten the special was generally a MDR dish. You mentioned that way back when. Thanks for that reminder! 

[dexddd]

We did a TA last fall and there were a couple nights with specials like prime rib.  I love it and hardly ever get it but I passed for doing lengthy surgery removing fat for the standard two filets with less cutting.

[rattla]

So to update in this topic, we are now halfway through our 16 night cruise and noticed that they are advertising a special in the Haven for Dinner tonight.

 

[cruiseny4life]

49 minutes ago, rattla said:

So to update in this topic, we are now halfway through our 16 night cruise and noticed that they are advertising a special in the Haven for Dinner tonight.

 

Nice! I'm hoping for a few specials on our 11 night Pr1ma cruise. Question for you - do you know if this is the same special as being served as a meal in the main dining room or on the buffet? I've heard the specials are really just main dining room meals. It doesn't matter to me! A special is a special, regardless where it comes from (to me). Thanks for posting this!

[rattla]

8 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Nice! I'm hoping for a few specials on our 11 night Pr1ma cruise. Question for you - do you know if this is the same special as being served as a meal in the main dining room or on the buffet? I've heard the specials are really just main dining room meals. It doesn't matter to me! A special is a special, regardless where it comes from (to me). Thanks for posting this!

Good question, I’ve just popped down to check out the MDR dinner menu and yes appears it is a dish the main dining room have tonight 😊

[cruiseny4life]

22 minutes ago, rattla said:

Good question, I’ve just popped down to check out the MDR dinner menu and yes appears it is a dish the main dining room have tonight 😊

Thanks so much for confirming this!! It sounds yummy, minus that mustard sauce. 

[rattla]

On 9/22/2023 at 5:04 PM, cruiseny4life said:

Nice! I'm hoping for a few specials on our 11 night Pr1ma cruise. Question for you - do you know if this is the same special as being served as a meal in the main dining room or on the buffet? I've heard the specials are really just main dining room meals. It doesn't matter to me! A special is a special, regardless where it comes from (to me). Thanks for posting this!

Tonight’s special

[cruiseny4life]

On 9/23/2023 at 12:44 PM, rattla said:

Tonight’s special

I'm loving those fat noodles! 

[rattla]

I had it, was really tasty 😊

[UKstages]

this is just a branding and marketing thing, but anybody other than me think it's weird that they "advertise" the special in the haven in the same acrylic frame and using the same style photos and typeface that they use for advertising the specials in the local and the buffet?

 

just seems very pedestrian to me and against the haven brand.

 

(i enjoy the buffet. i enjoy the local. i'm just saying the sign seems out of place in the haven. i'd expect to see a small understated placard on the table or a sign at the entrance in a lucite embedment in the same typeface as the haven menu, with a black or gold border around it.)

[Laszlo]

We did a 12 night back in January on the GA. We had 9 dinners in the Haven. Yes the menu is the same but we also had at least two specials every night which were different every day

[AlyssaJames]

22 minutes ago, UKstages said:

this is just a branding and marketing thing, but anybody other than me think it's weird that they "advertise" the special in the haven in the same acrylic frame and using the same style photos and typeface that they use for advertising the specials in the local and the buffet?

 

It jumped out at me and I thought that the placard was from (whatever the pub is called now, which is where I used to always get the prime rib special on the last night of my cruise). Does look weird. But I'm also a person who noticed that a lot of the 'special' Haven restaurant's foods were the same as food elsewhere on the ship, just with different plating. 

[Sand and Seas]

Thanks @rattla for posting these pictures. 

 

I would be happy to order either of the two 'special's pictured above, even if it's the same item from the MDR.   The Haven will freshly plate my order and customize it if I wish.  In the MDR, they just do not have the resources so the MDR server will just pick up one of the dozens of pre-plated 'specials'. 

 

And, the Haven restaurant has such great service and that always makes the meal special.

[goldmom]

When we were on the Joy recently, there were lunch and dinner specials.  No big sign.  The server would tell everyone what the specials were.  I'm sure they were food from the Main Dining Room, but it was nice to have some variety.

[rattla]

[rattla]

I had it, was really tasty 😊