Haven Questions

[sjacobs11]

On 5/9/2024 at 9:22 AM, RocketMan275 said:

The reason the Haven service charge is higher because of a higher standard of service not because of the butler and the concierge.  The reason the butler and concierge are not included is because there is a wide variance in how much passengers choose to use their services.  This allows passengers to adjust their gratuities to reflect how much they use t their services.

 

Suggest you refer to this thread:

 

You also get cabin turn-down and other extras from the room steward that other categories (other than non-Haven suites) get.

[Sailing12Away]

On 5/11/2024 at 3:07 PM, david_sobe said:

I sailed Epic twice in Haven suites but long ago.  They used to have 2 for 1 drink specials in the Haven lounge from 5 to 6pm.  During sail away they would walk all through Posh and offer rum punch and sparking wine.  Those same kinds of drinks you get at the latitudes party.  Probably cost NCL nothing but they still took it away.  The Haven also used to get giant fluffy special towels.  Those are gone too.  In the old days they also would give you a few liters of spring water.  

The big fluffy blue beach towels are still there for Haven guests in your room. Regular white towels are also big and fluffy. The cartons of water are there for free too based on your latitude status regardless of cabin type booked.

[martincol]

Looking for information on Internet... We are in an deluxe owners suite on the Prima, we currently have 150 minutes in our package. I thought I read that internet is free for owners suites? Is that documented anywhere? TIA!

[UKstages]

it is not documented anywhere because it is not true. 

[DorothyB]

4 hours ago, martincol said:

Looking for information on Internet... We are in an deluxe owners suite on the Prima, we currently have 150 minutes in our package. I thought I read that internet is free for owners suites? Is that documented anywhere? TIA!

We were in an owner's suite on my last cruise.  We were surprised to learn about the "free" sparkling water, soda, etc.  However we heard nothing about free internet.

[krazy4kruisin]

Just off the Prima 15 day Ta in the Haven. We enjoyed the pre board embarkation at the port, Private elevators, private restaurant, private bar, room service, WE ate in the Haven Restaurant all nights but 2, went to Onda & Palomar  and was not impressed, so just stayed at the Haven. The Haven menu is limited. They will make substitutes if they have the items in stock. We had the beverage package, We always had a couple of beers, carton of milk, and coke can in there. The bartender will give you a can of unopened coke & beer at your request, even 2 at a time. We are not high maintenance people. We had a great experience. Not sure if we would do it again....Loved it though!

 

 

[UKstages]

30 minutes ago, krazy4kruisin said:

They will make substitutes if they have the items in stock.

 

pleas understand that the haven restaurant is provisioned for each service. they will only have in stock the food they need to prepare menu items. so, if you want something unique made from items already on the menu, they can probably do it. if you want something completely different that would require unusual or irregular ingredients, you'd have to request that a day or so in advance, so they can make sure it gets provisioned to the kitchen for that meal service.

[david_sobe]

2 hours ago, DorothyB said:

We were in an owner's suite on my last cruise.  We were surprised to learn about the "free" sparkling water, soda, etc.  However we heard nothing about free internet.

I still live in the days of the old NCL.  I have not nor could I keep up with all the changes.  Not long ago, NCL provided a lap top in the owners suite and gave free wifi to owners suites only.

I remember the exclusive suite towels and they were taken away for years. Now someone on this thread said they are back?
Someone explain to me why NCL suites get 1 bottle of personal use water per suite.  That does not make sense.  If 2 people are sailing in the suite would it kill them to provide 2 personal use Aquafinas or box water.  Latitude water does not count. Lets pretend I am new to NCL and book a 2 bedroom suite at full price with 4 in the suite.  Are we to all fight over this personal use bottle of water?  My first NCL suite you got 3 1 liter bottles of spring water.  Not asking for that but if you provide one bottle, how about a bottle for everyone or none at all.  Who makes this stuff up?

Edited May 15 by david_sobe

[RocketMan275]

12 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Are we to all fight over this personal use bottle of water?  My first NCL suite you got 3 1 liter bottles of spring water.  Not asking for that but if you provide one bottle, how about a bottle for everyone or none at all.  Who makes this stuff up?

Why fight over a bottle of water.  The tap water is just fine and the butler will furnish a pitcher of ice water.  I just don't get this fascination over bottled water.

[DorothyB]

25 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

 

I remember the exclusive suite towels and they were taken away for years. Now someone on this thread said they are back?

We were in an Owner's Suite in February - Pride of America.  The Master bedroom had some very, very nice plush towels.  The second bedroom had the regular NCL towels.

[gizfish]

7 hours ago, DorothyB said:

We were in an Owner's Suite in February - Pride of America.  The Master bedroom had some very, very nice plush towels.  The second bedroom had the regular NCL towels.

The brand of towels in the Haven used to be Baltic Linen, specifically pyramid excel, actually made in Lake Success, NY.  In 2017, the company was acquired by Sobel Westex. I haven't had to replace the original Baltic brand towels I bought in 2014 since they are still so awesome.  But the Sobel website does seem to offer some styles of Baltic towels.  

https://blog.sobelathome.com/baltic-linen-brand-hotel-linens/

[Girr]

Even when the DOS came with a laptop in the room I always paid for internet. 

[Sailing12Away]

On 5/16/2024 at 1:35 AM, gizfish said:

The brand of towels in the Haven used to be Baltic Linen, specifically pyramid excel, actually made in Lake Success, NY.  In 2017, the company was acquired by Sobel Westex. I haven't had to replace the original Baltic brand towels I bought in 2014 since they are still so awesome.  But the Sobel website does seem to offer some styles of Baltic towels.  

https://blog.sobelathome.com/baltic-linen-brand-hotel-linens/

Worked in Lake Success for many years and never heard of them. Google maps is showing the closest one (under either name) all the way in south Jersey.

[roddy good boy]

51 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Worked in Lake Success for many years and never heard of them. Google maps is showing the closest one (under either name) all the way in south Jersey.

They are advertising a 24 piece towel set for $19.99! And, first time purchasers get an additional 15% off. I’ve never seen a deal quite like that.🤷🏻‍♀️

[gizfish]

The only reason I knew that Baltic Linen was in Lake Success despite growing up nearby and DH working nearby was because we so liked the Haven towels that I searched the brand on line.  They had a factory, not a store there and dealt with the hospitality industry. In 2014 I paid about $28 for a pack of 6 hand towels.  At some point I purchased a three pack of bath sheets on eBay for some similarly reasonable cost.  However, that $19.99 sale seems too good to be true, and that line of towels is not the same one as the Haven. And I have no idea what to do with "finger tip" towels lol. 

[Fogfog]

On 5/9/2024 at 11:29 AM, OceanCruise said:

We have never cruised on NCL but are Elite Plus with Celebrity and usually book the Retreat. Are alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks included in the Haven Lounge similar to the Retreat? I was looking at a NCL cruise with "all included" promotion that listed a drink package as an included perk but then there was an additional $350 gratuity added on for that perk. That was in addition to the $25 pp daily service charge for suites. Then, in the FAQs, it said that none of the service charge goes to the butler (only regular service staff) so an additional gratuity should be considered for that person. I am confused because the Haven service charge is higher than a standard room service charge. 

Correct

Your Haven does not include your bev package and you will pay grats on any bev package you purchase.. There are multiple levels as well (unless you get say a "free" at sea as a perk when you book. Still you will pay the grats unless its also "perk'd"

The $25 per day pp fee does not include your butler and concierge and prior to disembarkation they also leave a letter in your room to remind you to tip both as they do not share in the daily fee.

All this before discretionary tips at the end of sailing. 

 

We just recently got off of the Prima (TA) It was a good experience.

We  used to  sail X often. Left them for MSC YC.

Tried Haven (Prima). Nice product. Adds up $$,$$$.

 

[WonderMan3]

On 5/9/2024 at 12:59 PM, BirdTravels said:

 

 

 

Personally, we tip our room steward (who is include in the daily service charge) regardless of what class of room we are sailing in (steerage to Haven). We tip our butler. And we tip our concierge. 

 

So if you are paying gratuity on your drink package which covers all the drink servers for the drinks you may order, and you're paying gratuity at the specialty restaurants, and then you are choosing to pay a gratuity to the room steward, butler and concierge on top of that, then who exactly is your standard gratuity charge going towards? I guess just the staff at the Haven restaurant if you choose to dine there or a pool attendant if you order food at the Haven pool?

[BirdTravels]

7 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

So if you are paying gratuity on your drink package which covers all the drink servers for the drinks you may order, and you're paying gratuity at the specialty restaurants, and then you are choosing to pay a gratuity to the room steward, butler and concierge on top of that, then who exactly is your standard gratuity charge going towards? I guess just the staff at the Haven restaurant if you choose to dine there or a pool attendant if you order food at the Haven pool?

 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/what-about-gratuities

 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/what-is-onboard-service-charge

 

 

[WonderMan3]

On 5/10/2024 at 1:07 PM, Sailing12Away said:

.

Celebrity doesn't include the mini bar for free unless you're in a top tier room, so no different from NCL. NCL's drink package is pretty reasonable at only ~$21/pp/day - you can decline it if you want and just get a soda plan. NCL Butler can bring you a pitcher of ice water, lemonade, fruit juice, or fountain soda for free - you can't get that in the Retreat unless you're in a 20K+ room. They charged me $5 for a bottle of water just for removing it from the fridge and putting on the counter so I can put my own water bottle in there - never had that with NCL.

 

Not my experience. In any suite from Sky Suite on up I could get sodas and waters in the refrigerator of my stateroom at no charge upon verification that I had a beverage package.(The beverage package became automatic at a certain point for suites). In upper suites you get beer added to the mix (plus a couple bottles of alcohol). This was all up to 2019 so maybe they changed their policies since Covid.

Butler on NCL will also bring you snacks throughout the day of nearly whatever you want. With Celebrity, my MIL was only in a sky suite and told she can walk herself to the lounge to get a snack (she was in a wheelchair BTW). We were in a celebrity suite and only got anything because we asked the butler about it, and he brought the exact same thing every day of the trip. NCL butlers will mix it up based on what you tell them you like. 

 

You could always get snacks brought to your stateroom from Sky Suite on up by arranging it through your butler. Things did change for Sky Suites about a year ago or so when butlers were eliminated in favor for a Retreat staff team but they have now started rolling that back and are reinstating the butlers for Sky Suites the last I heard. The butler isn't psychic so if you don't tell them that you want to switch the snacks up there's no way for them to know that. You just ask.

 

Snacks in the Retreat lounge never changed for us - ever. Some veggies, popcorn, and small canape sandwiches - that's it. With NCL depending on the ship you'll be on, if you're on one with a full Haven observation lounge there are free snacks there throughout the day that change up often and have a much wider selection than Celebrity gives you. Wait staff come through both there and the upper sun deck outdoors to take drink orders, or to get a bigger bite than the self serve snacks - never saw that with Celebrity.

 

On Edge class the snacks in the Retreat lounge varied and there was wait staff on the sundeck taking orders, bringing waters, cold towels and fresh fruit and taking drink orders. Food did have to be ordered at the dining area on the sundeck though. I can't speak to the S or M class as I haven't been on one of those with the added sundeck and I rarely ever visited the Retreat/Michael's Lounge.

 

With NCL the pool, sun deck, lounge, private bar, private restaurant - they're all in the same general location. So easy to go from your room to any of those exclusive areas without having to fight through the crowds of the regular ship. With Celebrity the restaurant was aft, the lounge forward, sun deck not accessible for MIL in her wheelchair as the elevator has been broken for 2+ years and they didn't tell us until we got on board, no pool - only a hot tub, and to get to it you had to walk through the crowds near the regular main pool area. So we went once to see it and quickly left. 

 

On the older ships, M and S class yes, things are scattered across the ship. But on Edge class the lounge, restaurant and sundeck are all grouped in the same part of the ship. But NCL's older ships like Dawn also don't have all the Haven amenities like a Haven restaurant.

 

It honestly all depends on the Celebrity ship you're used to, and the NCL ship you're looking to try out. Not all NCL ships are built the same, and I'm sure if we had enough money to try Celebrity again on a newer ship in a fancier room our experience may be different - but that first trip didn't make us think it was better than the Haven at all. Not counting the Galapagos trip as that's a completely different beast all together, our next Celebrity trip will not be in the Retreat - not worth the price of admission at all.

 

*Edit - also forgot to add that the tip for butler and concierge on Celebrity are not included either. Butler made a point to remind us on day one, and we only spoke to the concierge once on day 3 after having many issues with MIL's room and level of service she was getting. Never saw our cabin steward until the last morning when he showed up with his hand held out for a tip with the butler. 

 

The tips that were included for Celebrity suites up until recently did include a tip for the butler which is why they were higher. We often tipped more to the butler because they went above and beyond, but a few butlers were duds and got nothing extra. Celebrity removed the included tips a year or so back so now it's all extra.

 

 

 

[WonderMan3]

12 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/what-about-gratuities

 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/what-is-onboard-service-charge

 

 

So basically what I stated except for "behind-the-scenes support staff".

[WonderMan3]

On 5/10/2024 at 11:04 PM, graphicguy said:

I have sailed on the Retreat (Edge and Apex) and the Haven (Getaway, Breakaway, Epic, Prima).

 

The Retreat fares and total costs were ALWAYS significantly higher than Haven.

 

Celebrity and NCL price differently.  The Retreat bakes service charges and tips into the fare, which as mentioned, is higher than the Haven, which has lower fares but add in service charges and tips.

 

Not always. I was a solid Celebrity cruiser from 2013 to 2019 and did one NCL Haven cruise in that time. Prices were comparable for Haven and Celebrity suites. Since Covid though Celebrity prices have increased astronomically (even above NCL and others who were also raising fares) to the point that I had to start looking at other lines like NCL and Oceania.

[graphicguy]

14 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

Not always. I was a solid Celebrity cruiser from 2013 to 2019 and did one NCL Haven cruise in that time. Prices were comparable for Haven and Celebrity suites. Since Covid though Celebrity prices have increased astronomically (even above NCL and others who were also raising fares) to the point that I had to start looking at other lines like NCL and Oceania.

Yeah.....I liked my Retreat experiences on Celebrity.  But, like you, shopping Celebrity now and I have seen the same jaw dropping fare accelerations over the last year or two.  Like it, but not at those fares, not even remotely.

 

I can still find deals on the NCL Haven.  Just have to shop a little bit.

[RocketMan275]

Just now, graphicguy said:

Yeah.....I liked my Retreat experiences on Celebrity.  But, like you, shopping Celebrity now and I have seen the same jaw dropping fare accelerations over the last year or two.  Like it, but not at those fares, not even remotely.

 

I can still find deals on the NCL Haven.  Just have to shop a little bit.

I've found 2025 fares that are 50% more than 2026 fares.  Same ship, same time, same cabin, same everything.

[graphicguy]

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

I've found 2025 fares that are 50% more than 2026 fares.  Same ship, same time, same cabin, same everything.

I usually don't book that far in advance.  I find the closer the sailings, the better the fares.  That's a generalization, but my observations.

[RocketMan275]

4 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I usually don't book that far in advance.  I find the closer the sailings, the better the fares.  That's a generalization, but my observations.

You might try looking further out.

My Jan 2025 Haven that I booked in May 2023 has gone up by 50%. 

Since Haven cabins sell out, looking futher out may have savings. 

But, I'm limited to seven day caribbean cruises so YMMV.