Looking For Current Info On Getaway Haven

[Battlement]

As the title says! 

 

We've been Celebrity Retreat devotees for a while now, but are about to try the Haven on the Getaway at the end of March. Looking for any and all recent info!  To include:

 

- I've learned from this awesome board that any drink your butler brings you, or is stocked in your minifridge, is charged, regardless of drink package. Does anyone know if you can put extra beers and sodas and stuff brought from the bar in the fridge without problems? 

 

- Speaking of bars: how is the Haven bar, as a rule? The videos on YouTube make the mixologists out to be serious pros, making pretty much anything one would want. Yes, no, maybe?  Any and all info is appreciated!

 

- Does anyone have an updated menu of the food they serve by the Haven pool area? 

 

- The Haven restaurant looks great. Can you order from MDR menus as well? if so, is advance notice needed?

 

- Several reviews say the Haven restaurant serves the best food on the ship. Agree? Disagree? We have some specialty dining credits to use...what are your favorite spots?  

 

- Any tips on stuff to ask the butlers for? We plan to tip well for good service, and know how busy they can get

 

- Does anyone have a menu/description of the snack options they can leave in your room daily?  What about the snacks in the Haven lounge itself?

 

- Any and all info about this great-looking ship is appreciated!  I have scoured this board for much of this, and read a really comprehensive Haven review, but it was from 2022. Looking for something a bit more up-to-date.

 

Thank you all sooo much, in advance, for anything you can help with!  

[CocoRN]

This isn’t specific to the Getaway, but he does a phenomenal job on The Haven 😊

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2830623-the-ncl-haven-luxury-vip-experience-secrets-revised-for-2022/?do=getNewComment

 

[Battlement]

Thanks! I've read this, and it's great. Was looking for something more recent.

 

Appreciate your response!

[cruiseny4life]

On 2/8/2024 at 7:19 PM, Battlement said:

As the title says! 

 

We've been Celebrity Retreat devotees for a while now, but are about to try the Haven on the Getaway at the end of March. Looking for any and all recent info!  To include:

 

- I've learned from this awesome board that any drink your butler brings you, or is stocked in your minifridge, is charged, regardless of drink package. Does anyone know if you can put extra beers and sodas and stuff brought from the bar in the fridge without problems? 

 

- Speaking of bars: how is the Haven bar, as a rule? The videos on YouTube make the mixologists out to be serious pros, making pretty much anything one would want. Yes, no, maybe?  Any and all info is appreciated!

 

- Does anyone have an updated menu of the food they serve by the Haven pool area? 

 

- The Haven restaurant looks great. Can you order from MDR menus as well? if so, is advance notice needed?

 

- Several reviews say the Haven restaurant serves the best food on the ship. Agree? Disagree? We have some specialty dining credits to use...what are your favorite spots?  

 

- Any tips on stuff to ask the butlers for? We plan to tip well for good service, and know how busy they can get

 

- Does anyone have a menu/description of the snack options they can leave in your room daily?  What about the snacks in the Haven lounge itself?

 

- Any and all info about this great-looking ship is appreciated!  I have scoured this board for much of this, and read a really comprehensive Haven review, but it was from 2022. Looking for something a bit more up-to-date.

 

Thank you all sooo much, in advance, for anything you can help with!  

None of your questions are really specific to Getaway. In the last two years I've cruised three times in Getaway's Haven, once on Pr1m, and once on Joy. Here's what information I can provide.

 

You can place beer and soda in the mini fridge at no charge. You may not be able to get canned soda at no charge, but then again you might be able to. Various uses on Cruise Critic have reported yes and no. It varies, it seems, by bar tender so someone cruising today may have a different experience than someone cruising tomorrow if staff turns over.

 

In general , the Haven bar is the best onboard. On Getaway, specifically, be prepared to wait for drinks. The bar (two bar tenders) have to make drinks for the restaurant, the sun deck, and those at the bar. This may be the most frustrating part of cruising Haven. Pr1ma has an outdoor bar which does alleviate the wait, but Getaway doesnt. We have waited ten to 15 minutes for drinks multiple times, especially when in the restaurant. I recommend you order a drink before going to the Haven Restaurant so you have one in hand. Then immediately order another when your server comes by.

 

No menu here. Plenty of places to find it. It hasn't changed. Do a search on Google for NCL Haven Sundeck (or snack) menu. It's the one with a chicken wrap and ice cream sandwiches.

 

You can order from the MDR if you want your butler to deliver a meal to your room. There are conflicting reports on if you want a meal delivered to the Haven. Personally, I just go to the MDR if they have something that interests me.

 

Best food onboard without question. Nothing, nothing comes even close. 

 

There are loads of butler threads, including a few recent posts on that 2022 thread that is updated every single day by Haven travelers. 

 

As for snacks in the room, I've never seen a "menu." I wish! Basics like M&Ms (peanut or regular), gummy bears can be stocked daily. Fresh fruit baskets. Then there are cookies, quick breads like banana and vanilla, various canapés, and mini sandwiches (we've had but, chicken salad, peanut butter/jelly, and ham and cheese), and finally chocolate covered strawberries. I'm sure others have experienced different treats being delivered. We always request our butler only bring certain ones. This sometimes happens and sometimes doesn't. 

 

 

[Battlement]

Thank you! This is very much the type of information I was looking for. I truly appreciate your time.

 

We will have 4 specialty dining credits to use on the trip. Can you recommend your favorite specialty spots? The seafood one gets rave reviews, and Cagney's and Moderno look great for carnivores like myself. The italian place, strangely, seems to get mixed reviews. 

 

Any other must-visit places on an NCL Breakaway class? The vodka ice bar? Any other hidden gems? We know Celebrity inside and out, and there are spots it took us a while to discover

[Laszlo]

Check out my video below. The bartenders on the Getaway last year were fantastic. My wife and I both had the regular drink package. I had no problems getting cans of soda (2) at a time from the Haven bar

 

 

 

 

[Treasure Hunter]

Other room snacks. Crudités with dip, cut up fruit plates, mini BLTs, cold shrimp platter for extra charge, cheese and dried fruit plate, assorted cookies. We have found that in the Haven restaurant if they have , they will make it for you. Had a great sliced chicken BLT by the pool and a shrimp cocktail instead of Shrimp Louis. Also don’t forget that you can have surf and surf ( two lobster tails) instead of surf and turf. Get my drift. I don’t remember if they had the Japanese hibachi restaurant on the Getaway ( I know they do on the Breakaway,Encore and Bliss) and it’s always great.

[dexddd]

Welcome to CC.  Note GA Haven does not have a roof over pool area.

 

Answers to many of your questions will vary wildly ship to ship and even room to room.

[GeorgiaGirl14]

I loved that the Thermal Suite is directly below the Haven on the Getaway.  It was very worth it to me to get the weekly pass since it was just a quick walk down stairs to get there.  My husband and I went every day.

[Battlement]

Thank you all for this awesome info!  This is exactly what I was looking for. Lazlo, I've actually watched your first video on YouTube at least once...gives a great view of the area. Thank you for making your videos, and I'm about to watch the others!  It's a bummer that they did away with minibar drink inclusion in packages, but I hear Celebrity has done the same (plus jacked their Retreat class prices to the moon).  It will be interesting to compare the Getaway Haven to the Retreat (usually Summit, but a few others as well).

 

Not sure if I already asked this here, but: if you had one week on the Getaway, what are some hidden gems you wouldn't want to miss? We have 4 specialty dining credits, where should we use them? 

 

Is the ice vodka bar cool, or does it simply leave you cold (pardon the puns:) ?

 

We chose an aft-facing PH suite...that balcony looks amazing!  I've heard about a shortcut to the Haven lounge....anyone have details?

 

Thanks again for all the great info!!

Edited February 11 by Battlement

[Treasure Hunter]

We have stopped sailing Celebrity. Last year we sailed in a concierge cabin, a celebrity suite and a royal suite. We do not feel it's worth it anymore. We did not feel pampered or special in any way. The retreat sundeck is jammed and very little shade. The food in Luminae is weird and on the Edge class you can not order any longer from the MDR menu. As you said the prices are thru the Moon. We are on NCL Encore next week. Princess ( a Penthouse Suite in June and Next year a new  Oceania ship. Remember you can as the Haven concierge anything. They print out my husbands NY Times crossword every morning. 

[UKstages]

15 hours ago, Battlement said:

We have 4 specialty dining credits, where should we use them? 

 

i just finished a ten day cruise on the getaway, but not in the haven.

 

i thought that this ship's cagney's was one of the better outposts of the franchise. if i had to rewind my trip, i would have booked it twice or maybe even three times. i normally don't say that about cagney's; i think it tends to be highly overrated and the quality varies widely from ship to ship. but this cagney's was quite good.

 

i wouldn't recommend moderno. i'm normally a big fan. quality also varies widely from ship to ship, but on the getaway, i think it's cutbacks that have made moderno fall from grace. the highly regarded salad bar is a shadow of its former self. it's probably like that on all ships now. also, the service was spotty. i dined at moderno on the getaway twice.

 

i like la cucina, but it's not a traditional red sauce italian restaurant. i dined here twice, as well. in addition to an FAS meal, i went in there one night just for a la carte pizza and salad. the pizza was well worth it, not so much the salad, when you're paying out of pocket and it's not included in a FAS meal.

[Battlement]

Thank you for all the advice!

 

Treasure, I totally agree. My wife and MiL are Celebrity devotees, and I'm trying hard to convince them that the value just isn't there anymore. For instance, our upcoming Getaway trip is half of what a comparable suite in an Edge class would cost, and yeah, there are some extra fees for the upgraded internet and drink packages, but still: not even close. 

 

I told her that even if Haven is 70-80% "as good as" Retreat, it's still gonna be awesome...at a much lower price point. We snagged an aft-facing PH, and the balcony is insane!

 

UKStages, thanks for that great info. It's hard for me to pass up a steak house, period, especially when it's basically free(ish).  

 

I also hear that the Free At Sea meals include an app, entree, and dessert per person. In general, how strict are they about that? In a case where we wanted to share a few different appetizers, for example?

 

Thanks again!

[FLAHAM]

Who prints out The NY Times crossword any more?  Much better to do it on my iPhone.

[Two Wheels Only]

2 hours ago, Battlement said:

We snagged an aft-facing PH, and the balcony is insane!

 

Since you seem to have done your homework, I'm confident that you are booked on one of the better decks.

 

Which deck and configuration did you pick?

[TenForward]

19 hours ago, Battlement said:

 

Is the ice vodka bar cool, or does it simply leave you cold (pardon the puns:) ?

 

 

The ice bar is what you make of it... We did it on sister ship Breakaway with our group of 8 and had a blast. Loud music, 3 ice wines and lots of fun pix.  It was $20 in 2019...we were given warm hooded capes, gloves and the 3 drinks. Lasts about 45 minutes. We definitely had fun but it's kind of a one-and-done experience. 

 

As for specialty restaurants, many swear by le bistro and ocean blue. We enjoy both of those. Tepanyaki is fun and yummy. 

 

We'll be on Getaway again this April. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Edited February 12 by TenForward
Typo

[Treasure Hunter]

My husband is totally old school. He does the crossword in ink over breakfast and after being married 55 years I know better than to change him. He’s petrified that they’ll stop printing a “real” paper. We do share the spelling bee every morning on his phone. 

[Treasure Hunter]

It was just an example of the kindness extended by the concierge.

[Battlement]

23 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

Since you seem to have done your homework, I'm confident that you are booked on one of the better decks.

 

Which deck and configuration did you pick?

We are on deck 13, right rear corner of the ship (it was the only one left, I believe, so I jumped on it. I know it's a bit of a walk to the Haven proper, but I feel like the balcony size and views are worth it. 

 

Anything I should be aware of about that deck? I also hear there's some kind of "secret" shortcut to Haven...

[Two Wheels Only]

55 minutes ago, Battlement said:

Anything I should be aware of about that deck? I also hear there's some kind of "secret" shortcut to Haven...

 

 

 

It's the smallest/least deep aft-facing Haven balcony. Breakaway/Getaway match as far as size and configuration. The person who made the video didn't know what "huge" really is.

 

There's no real secret to get to the Haven. It's either forward then up or up then forward. I prefer to walk forward then go up via the forward elevators.

Edited February 12 by Two Wheels Only

[cruiseny4life]

We stayed in 13902 twice. Absolutely love it!!

[Battlement]

30 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

We stayed in 13902 twice. Absolutely love it!!

Thanks! It looks fantastic. Any tips for the ship? Stuff the butler can make happen that one wouldn't normally think of? We definitely tip well for good service! On Celebrity, I asked for this dish I wanted and the butler had it made, and delivered to the suite the next day. Is service comparable with Haven? Most people say they will make most reasonable requests happen, they just need some notice.

 

(Also, I used to date a girl from Utica...I think she lived in Whitesboro or something?)

Edited February 13 by Battlement