What it was like to stay in the Haven - on the Bliss June 8-15

[complawyer]

i like your question, but ncl misspelled the haven, what's it like? it should be called "the heaven"

 

there is only 1 major drawback, once you've stayed in the haven complex, it's really hard to book in a different category, unless your ship also  offers "suite category cabins"  Not club balcony

[complawyer]

by the way, the bliss is an absolutely amazing vessel!!! it's worth the price of admission, just to sit in the observation deck and chill out!

[erisajd]

14 minutes ago, complawyer said:

i like your question, but ncl misspelled the haven, what's it like? it should be called "the heaven"

 

there is only 1 major drawback, once you've stayed in the haven complex, it's really hard to book in a different category, unless your ship also  offers "suite category cabins"  Not club balcony

just means fewer but higher quality cruises - quality over quantity. . . 

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, erisajd said:

just means fewer but higher quality cruises - quality over quantity. . . 

Every cruise I've taken in steerage has been quality.  Ironically, I complain less about my cruises than some who "will only sail in the Haven."  Go figure....  Haven has a lot more "stuff," so for some there is just that much more to complain about.

[Jetswdo]

HI.  Thanks for taking the time to write about your sailing.  We are trying out Haven for the first time on our Bliss sailing last week in August.  We are in a spa suite, just under the treatment rooms; we were grandfathered in to include the spa--- I have a couple of questions:

We did book 4 specialty restaurants, planing to eat dinner in Haven for the first and last night.

That being said, should we get to Haven Lounge to get concierge to let us go through Haven elevator to go to and from dinner on the nights we are not eating in Haven?  Do people do that? Or is that not done, and we should allow 30 minutes to get to and from restaurants? Thanks.

 

[cruiseny4life]

14 minutes ago, Jetswdo said:

HI.  Thanks for taking the time to write about your sailing.  We are trying out Haven for the first time on our Bliss sailing last week in August.  We are in a spa suite, just under the treatment rooms; we were grandfathered in to include the spa--- I have a couple of questions:

We did book 4 specialty restaurants, planing to eat dinner in Haven for the first and last night.

That being said, should we get to Haven Lounge to get concierge to let us go through Haven elevator to go to and from dinner on the nights we are not eating in Haven?  Do people do that? Or is that not done, and we should allow 30 minutes to get to and from restaurants? Thanks.

 

You can ask for an escort to your specialty dining meals. Of those I know that have sailed in the Haven (from these forums and real life), I know of one real life example and one Cruise Critic example that asked for the escort. The real life example told us they were escorted through the bowels of the ship, taken to the front of the host stand, and then offered multiple "free" courses at Le Bistro that were not a part of the specialty dining package. I knew these folks for a week and I think I believe them, but also could see where they may have been exaggerating about the multiple courses they received.

 

Most of us Haveners will step out of the Haven and safely make it through the rest of the ship to specialty dining on our own. We've never once asked for an escort. And, we've never once waited more than the people ahead of us at the host stand to be seated. It's civilized onboard. But, if you want the escort, I'm not going to judge you. Just report back on if they give you extra sides, at no charge. 

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

@erisajd, thank you for such a lovely description of your trip in the Haven! I love reading about other folk's experiences. It sounds like you see the value I do in cruising Haven. Your description about the non-Haven spaces reminded me why it's Haven or nothing for me. 

 

Anyway, just a quick thank you for sharing!!

[LaCal]

Thanks for the Great Review 

 

Weve been on the Bliss quite a few times and Love Her 

 

But in November we bit the bullet and Upgraded our comp casino balcony to a Haven Courtyard Penthouse Suite….The Upgrade cost wasn’t cheap But with the comp balcony taken into account it was definitely worth it Especially since this is a Birthday cruise 🍹🍹😜

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, Jetswdo said:

is that not done, and we should allow 30 minutes to get to and from restaurants?

30 minutes?  The Bliss is not THAT big.  Are the other elevators slower than the Haven elevator?

[Jetswdo]

I found that comment about "getting extra courses" for dinner, funny----  So most people do not get escorted to specialty restaurants, just trying to understand the lay of the land.  Reviews of the Haven talk about how slow to get places do to overcrowding on elevators?  So if we just go from deck 15 to Le Bistro (as long as that was referred to)  how long should it take around 4:45 if leaving the cabin at that time?  (We will take stairs down as much as possible in any case)

 

Another thought:  We booked two shore excursions with NCL  Is it easier to use concierge to get to meeting place? Or do most people in Haven just allow 30? minutes to do that on their own? Just wondering.....

[maryjaden]

Thank you for this post. We are first time NCL cruisers and the Haven. We have always cruised with RCL in suites so it will be interesting to compare the two. Pricewise, it is about the same for us on both lines. I appreciate the information you provided.  

[Always Cruising]

On 6/17/2024 at 9:18 PM, cruiservictor said:

Thank you for taking the time to write up this interesting review. You say the concierge was Patrick. Was his last name Berido?  We had him as our concierge a number of times on the Breakaway, Gem and Escape out of NY. And we will be on the Bliss in September for the Latitudes cruise. Would be great to sail with our Patrick again. 

Patrick is due to go to the Joy next week.  Looking forward to having him with us the end of July, but loved Efran on the Joy a few weeks ago.

[erisajd]

On 6/19/2024 at 1:17 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

30 minutes?  The Bliss is not THAT big.  Are the other elevators slower than the Haven elevator?

Oh no, no.  We had a forward facing penthouse and we’d leave whenever we were ready for our specialty dining.  It didn’t matter if we were 10 min early or on time, we got seated when we got there.  We took the stairs. It was simply easier with fewer people to talk down 5 flights of stairs than wait for an elevator.  
 

dont worry about timing or escorts if you’re in a haven cabin - which I think is pretentious beyond all reason - but, if it makes you happy do it.  

[erisajd]

On 6/19/2024 at 11:36 AM, Jetswdo said:

HI.  Thanks for taking the time to write about your sailing.  We are trying out Haven for the first time on our Bliss sailing last week in August.  We are in a spa suite, just under the treatment rooms; we were grandfathered in to include the spa--- I have a couple of questions:

We did book 4 specialty restaurants, planing to eat dinner in Haven for the first and last night.

That being said, should we get to Haven Lounge to get concierge to let us go through Haven elevator to go to and from dinner on the nights we are not eating in Haven?  Do people do that? Or is that not done, and we should allow 30 minutes to get to and from restaurants? Thanks.

 

I’ll be honest, if we had to do it all over again I would not have eaten dinner out of the haven 4 out of 7 nights.  The haven restaurant is too nice and too civilized. And we NEVER got escorted anywhere, that would have felt too pretentious for us.  Ymmv!!  
 

that said, there is a lot of covid on the ship the last two weeks so staying out of the public elevators might make sense.  
 

there is an ‘public’ elevator in the Haven that traverses floors 17, 18 and 19.  The restaurant is on 19.  The lounge, pool and observation area is on 18.  More cabins on 17.  Then the forward and aft facing suites are on 10,12,13 and 15 I think.  Given we were on Deck 12 we were not haven snobs since we were on the main decks most of the time. 

[RocketMan275]

17 minutes ago, erisajd said:

I’ll be honest, if we had to do it all over again I would not have eaten dinner out of the haven 4 out of 7 nights.  The haven restaurant is too nice and too civilized. And we NEVER got escorted anywhere, that would have felt too pretentious for us.  Ymmv!!  

We had four specialty dinners on our last cruise.  We will not do that again either.

[FreestyleNovice]

On 6/18/2024 at 2:06 AM, erisajd said:

..

 

PM me if you have any other specific questions but this gives you a good flavor for what its like in the Haven for a week. . .

 

Don't count on getting any messages. CC does not have a PM system. 

[cruiseny4life]

On 6/21/2024 at 8:29 PM, Jetswdo said:

I found that comment about "getting extra courses" for dinner, funny----  So most people do not get escorted to specialty restaurants, just trying to understand the lay of the land.  Reviews of the Haven talk about how slow to get places do to overcrowding on elevators?  So if we just go from deck 15 to Le Bistro (as long as that was referred to)  how long should it take around 4:45 if leaving the cabin at that time?  (We will take stairs down as much as possible in any case)

 

Another thought:  We booked two shore excursions with NCL  Is it easier to use concierge to get to meeting place? Or do most people in Haven just allow 30? minutes to do that on their own? Just wondering.....

If staying inside the Haven, I'd just leave ten minutes ahead of the reservation. We (usually, but not always) take stairs down, not the elevators. But, on a normal sea day, I've never had to wait for the elevator for more than five minutes. It's honestly not that bad. in our 29's and 41's, rotunda built, but able to cart our fat around pretty well. If you have mobility issues/walk slow, then plan for extra time. 

 

We just go wherever our excursion ticket tells us to and meet at that time. If it's off the ship, we'll just head off with the concierge. If it's in the theatre, we just go cram ourselves in the theatre and wait for our number to be called. Always hope for your excursion meeting point to be off the ship. It's much better an experience. 

[erisajd]

On 6/23/2024 at 4:44 AM, FreestyleNovice said:

 

Don't count on getting any messages. CC does not have a PM system. 

haha - thanks - thought it did obviously !!! 

[FreestyleNovice]

14 hours ago, erisajd said:

haha - thanks - thought it did obviously !!! 

 

One would think so but not on Cruise Critic, unfortunately.

 

We were alongside Bliss/you in Sitka, Bliss had just docked and lowered her gangway and there as a constant avalanche of humans on that dock towards the port buildings while we were trying to get back to Summit after an excursion. We were too early for salmon spawning but this was what it will be hehe!

[erisajd]

4 hours ago, FreestyleNovice said:

 

One would think so but not on Cruise Critic, unfortunately.

 

We were alongside Bliss/you in Sitka, Bliss had just docked and lowered her gangway and there as a constant avalanche of humans on that dock towards the port buildings while we were trying to get back to Summit after an excursion. We were too early for salmon spawning but this was what it will be hehe!

We were in a starboard forward facing cabin and spent time in port there on our balcony watching the eagles!