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My husband and I booked a suite in The Haven on NCL Gem coming up in September - I can't wait to experience it! Two other couples in our friend group are going on the cruise as well, but aren't in The Haven with us - I know we can at least have them hang out in our suite.

Very informative ty

Ty

You are very good at explaining to folks with exactly what the facts are.

We haven't tried Princess Cruise Lines. Must be good. Hopefully someday. Anyhow, after having experienced The Haven many times, I can confidently say it's worth the splurge. After staying in regular cabins, I've become spoiled by The Haven's exceptional amenities. We absolutely love The Haven-the food, the pool, everything about it. On older ships like the Breakaway, Escape, Joy, Encore, and Bliss, The Haven truly shines. These ships offer the best Haven experience. However, I wasn't as thrilled with The Haven on the Prima and Viva. The design and feel are different, and it just didn't hit the mark for us. If you can afford to spend a little extra, booking The Haven is absolutely worth it. Rooms are spacious and big and amazing. Butler service is so cool. I remember one dinner at The Haven on the Joy when the server offered me two lobster tails. I was surprised and thrilled! And the table next to us? They had three lobster tails. Amazing, right? We also love the Haven pool and the spa on these ships ( Joy, Bliss and Encore ). The Haven really elevates the cruising experience to a whole new level.

Your descriptions are very well presented. Very informative. You look like Tom Brady!

his voice is boring

It would have been nice for you to _actually define_ what "the Haven" is before proceeding.

And when you get into The Haven price point you might as well just pivot to a luxury line like Silver Sea or Regent. Our Silver Sea Alaska experience last year was literally the Haven price you showed, it was door to door, included excursions, and essentially the whole ship is your oyster! It was a great experience and we counted only 3 kids out of 500 guests. That's a win! CAVEAT: For the shorter trips Silver Sea or Regent are a no-brainer compared to the Haven, however on longer trips say 12 days or longer because of the relative lack of things to do / places to eat on these smaller ships we would pivot to a larger ship and then the Haven would be on the short list.

Great Video Tim, that 360 dining experience looks wonderful. Hopefully it is something they will do across the fleet and open it up to non-suite guests.

On the CP you get full suite benefits for much less when you book a window suite. I do this all the time. I get the same benefits as someone who booked a PS but much cheaper. The room is very large, the bathroom has marble double vanity and a jacuzzi tub. Since there is no balcony (but has 2 large windows) the price is significantly cheaper than the Vista and Penthouse suites and you get ALL the benefits.

To get reasonable have need to bid To bid need balcony My 10 day prima $5,000 Then $1,000 bid = $2,000 cost Lot to spend

You wasted your money!

I have to totally agree with you. I have had the same experience on Princess and The NCL Haven.

Great very informative vlog. Thank you for taking the time to create informative content.

I always bid slightly above the minimum. I am successful about a third of the time. I scored HUGE on Celebrity when we bid the minimum and got upgraded to an Aft Facing Balcony that was designed for Special Needs. The Bathroom was almost as large as some of my rooms, and the Balcony was MASSIVE!.. Could have easily held 10-20 people.

We upgraded to a reserve collection family suite and it was absolutely worth it. We are a family of 6 so the extra room was fantastic. Plus no need for reservations for meals save time and frustration. We took an eleven day cruise to Alaska.

I've only done music cruises on the Pearl, Jewel & now next year on the Gem...I would do the Haven but not on a music cruise...each music cruise in a regular stateroom is over double of a regular cruise stateroom, around $1700 or $1800, a Penthouse Suite like $2900...is the Haven around that price range??

Sounds wonderful

I love the Haven I've booked Penthouse Suites on 3 occasions. They have the best service ever!

Hi Tim! I just found your channel. We’ve said with Princess several times but have never tried to bid for a different room. We booked through Costco. Do you know if can bid if you booked your voyage through them?

Thank you so much for the information. You answer are exactly what I was looking for. That saves me from spending time doing a lot of research.

Hi Tim. I just discovered your Channel. Very interesting and very helpful because my husband and I want to start cruising. Can you tell me where you went on the cruise that had no tender ports. I would have some difficulty getting into these boats as I am partially disabled. Thanks.

yes..yes..and yes....going for the 5th time next year on the Bliss to Alaska...cant wait...we wont cruise any other way...

I've tried the bid process on NCL twice and didn't get it. The second time, I bid near the max and still didn't get it. This time, I've just booked The Haven!

Very thorough review BUT in the end it's clear that this is an apples & oranges comparison. Princess simply does not offer (at least when you sailed) a true "ship within a ship" package. The whole analysis can be boiled down to, "If you want hyper-pampering and a safe distance from the hoi polloi, just pay twice as much for it."

Are you still paying for double occupancy if there are 3 or 4 people in your room?

Why not book Regent, Siverseas or Seabourn instead

Since you are a solo traveler do you still pay the solo supplement on the suites

Excellent! Thanks!!

Some people say food is bor good. What did you think about the food in buffet and mdr

Wish me luck Tim. I’m going on the Caribbean Princess this Sunday and did a bid for the Grand and Owners Suite. Should know in a day or two.

Very informative video. I give this channel a 10/10

Thanks for this, very helpful. My partner and I are going on an Alaska cruise on the Sapphire Princess, had booked a (reserve) mini suite and was wondering if upgrading would be worth it. Thanks for saving us some $$! It will be our first cruise.

Thanks for the cabin tour, very helpful!

I've been on NCL. Haven is not needed. Such a waste of money.

I am going on my first cruise in 11 months and have been looking up so many questions. You answered my question about how to get coke cans for my in room drinks, lol. I don't mind paying, but the ease of just going to the lounge to grab a can than waiting for room service to bring or paying a possible high price of the in room fridge (done that after bars in hotels and have not always paid attention to listed pricing, lol) is a nice bit of knowledge. ( I know the fridge price is negligible compare the overall cost, but always feels good to not have "overpaid" for something when the alternative did not require any real effort. edit: I'm actually booked under Reserve Mini Suite right now, but will bid on Penthouse suite once opens up. I'm sure I'll be happy with the mini, but I actually enjoy lots of space and don't really mind spending a little bit more on that, but since this is my first cruise, I'm still up in the air of what I really would enjoy. I did once have NCL book at Haven, but canceled that to go to Cost Rica instead, lol. Did not regret. I'll look for your videos on NCL now. Thanks for your insightful video. 😄 Anyone do a bid for Penthouse from Reserve Mini and what were successful bids? ------Western Caribbean, 6 night, 2 port (Cozumel, Roatan, Costa M / Yes, I do know that Roatan and Coz can cancel for high winds) and in mid February. Also, wondering about 'stern' penthouse suites with large balconies?

We've been in the Haven on NCL and, while quite good, Is way too expensive compared to an even better experience on the new large MSC ships, of which our small group has been on 4 so far, all in Yacht Club class at a fairer rate. We do like NCL otherwise and but outside the Haven cabins.

Do they have "friends of Bill W?"

Is that all stuite guess

Hands down The Haven suites is superior to Princess suites. Princess is very good but in my opinion NCL is better. On the downside it’s more expensive.

Great Clip ! Do you tip your Concierge / Butler at the end of the cruise... and if so: How much ? Thanks !

We got upgraded to a suite on Royal Caribbean. It is hard to go back now. We have a transatlantic cruise on NCL in November. We booked in the Haven. There are 7 sea days, so we felt that justified the increased cost. Can’t wait.

With Princess, do the suite guests get access to the Sanctuary and spa included in the price?

No needle when bidding as long as I've been cruising since 2013. Bids win if those bidding are few or they bid less for the same category.

Please stop saying your experience with half the normal passengers is what to expect! Your images show a ghost ship! If it normally can have 4000+ passengers then at least don't gloss over that to make everything hunky dory. Glorifying a cruiseline because this cruise of yours was an exception sets others up for disappointment on their cruise now that NCL is maxing out capacities onboard!

Too many UA-cam channels talk about the Haven and act like they didn't want to get their money's worth. "Oh I didn't want to bother my butler!" YOU ARE PAYING FOR IT! If I am paying $11k+ for a cruise i want the full service. Nit a diluted butler who has way too many rooms to care for!

Some of your comments about Norwegian are too general and are NOT the same on all their ships. Children are not a big consideration on the Prima. Very limited activities for children. The water deck had no imagination for children to be excited about.

Ocean Blue in my experience was much better than Palomar on the Prima. Your experience with getting numerous appetizers and other selections might have been due to it being near the end of Covid-19 period. Recently I went to Le Bistro and they were VERY strict about only ONE appetizer and one entrée and two sides and ONE dessert. Really irritating because I like shrimp cocktail and soup and a salad then my entrée and dessert.

On the amenities list for my room which is an SN category I saw listed that I only get F&B requests 2X during a 7 day cruise. My cruise on the Jade will be a Panama Canal cruise from Panama City to Tampa FL and a 10 day cruise so im hoping I get one additional F&B requests to eat in the room because they say we have no access to the Haven restaurant or sun deck.