Smart Tips and Tricks For NCL’s Haven
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Staying in Norwegian Cruise Line‘s suites-only Haven can be intimidating for some, not knowing what is included and what to expect. After staying in The Haven many times, we’ve learned some tips and tricks for NCL’s Haven that might help you.
Before Your Cruise
Before your cruise, you may be contacted by the pre-concierge, who will ask you a series of questions designed to tailor your Haven experience to your liking.
You may also receive a letter and luggage tags in the mail about two months before the start of your cruise. If you don’t receive them, contact the pre-concierge at 855-625-4283​ or email them at NorwegianConciergeDesk@ncl.com. We recommend putting your luggage tags in plastic holders like these.
When you speak with the pre-concierge, you can:
- Ask for things like the type of pillows you prefer, decaf or regular coffee, tea options, and extra towel options.
- Can pre-book dining reservations, entertainment reservations, spa services, request the mini fridge be emptied, ask for extra clothes hangers, etc.
- Advise the pre-concierge of any special events you will be celebrating onboard, such as a birthday or anniversary.
- Ask the pre-concierge when the VIP cocktail party will be (a reception with officers in the Haven Lounge), so you don’t book dinner at the same time.
Embarkation Day
Embarkation Day can be stressful, but not when you are in The Haven. The experience is tailored to be as quick and easy as possible for suite guests.
- When you arrive at the port, look for a Haven check-in area.
- You will be escorted to the Haven waiting area where there may be drinks and snacks, an introduction to the wonderful food you will be eating on the ship.
- Once onboard, you will be given a tour of the Haven and escorted to the Haven Lounge to meet the staff. Then you will be escorted to the Haven Restaurant for lunch.
- Have a list for your concierge of any dinner reservations, entertainment, and shore excursions that you didn’t or couldn’t make in advance.
- When your cabin is ready, you will find sparkling wine on ice, a fruit basket, and fresh flowers awaiting you.
- Your butler and your cabin attendant will stop by your cabin that afternoon to meet you and ascertain if you have any special requests. Have your lists ready for them.
- Have a list for your butler of any special requests you have, such as for Afternoon Treat preferences. Each afternoon around 3:00 or so, your butler will deliver trays of Afternoon Treats to your cabin. Tell your butler the things you like, any food allergies you might have, and verify anything that might have a fee. Be aware that some things you ask for might be best eaten right away or need refrigeration soon after delivery, so you may need to be in the cabin to receive them if you special-requested them. See the list below for ideas.
- Banana bread
- Brownies
- Cheese and crackers plate
- Chips and dip
- Chocolate truffles
- Chocolate-covered strawberries​
- Cookies
- Fruit and cheese plate
- Guacamole and chips
- M&Ms, Skittles, Peanut M&Ms​, gummy bears
- Meat and cheese plate
- Mini BLTs
- Mini chicken or tuna salad sandwiches
- Mini ham and cheese sandwiches
- Mini peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- Pound cake
- Shrimp cocktail
- Snack mix from the bar
- Soft pretzel sticks
- Sweet tea
- Vegetable platter with dip
Pro Tip: Bring lightweight flat storage containers such as these that will fit in your mini-fridge to keep cold any uneaten treats that you want to eat later. Otherwise, your butler will remove them early in the evening, and that’s such a waste. We like to set aside treats such as brownies or cookies to eat when we return to the cabin very late in the evening, or pop our shrimp cocktails or chicken salad mini sandwiches into the fridge for later in the day.
General Information
A few more tips for you:
- Along with the other perks of The Haven, you’ll receive NCL’s Free at Sea offers, which include:
- Unlimited Beverage Package
- Unlimited WiFi
- $50 shore excursion credit for one person
- Free specialty dining (from 1 to 3 dinners, depending on the duration of your cruise)
- Book excursion $50 discounts through the Excursion Desk at 866-625-1167 or through the website.
- Neither The Haven nor the Unlimited Beverage Package includes canned sodas, bottled water, specialty coffee, or items in your mini fridge. Exceptions are Owner’s Suites and Garden Villas.
- A reception with officers (VIP Cocktail party) may be held on the second night at about 6:15 or so. It will include snacks and drinks. Dress up or down as you like, but many will be dressed up.
- Smaller ships do not have a Haven restaurant or lounge but utilize one of the other restaurants for this for breakfast and lunch, but not dinner.
- Enjoy a movie in your cabin and ask your butler to bring popcorn.
- Some onboard credit MAY be used to pay tips for the butler, concierge, or specific crew. Ask at Guest Relations.
- Your cabin may be decorated for birthdays and anniversaries for free in Haven. You can ask your pre-concierge or your concierge onboard.
- You can keep the slippers provided in your cabin, but not the robes.
- Served by the Haven pool in the afternoons will be M&Ms, cookies, tea, etc. You can also order from the Haven Pool menu. Mimosas and water with lemon and mint leaves will be served on the Haven sundeck.
- Some Havens have a library, which is a very quiet place you can sneak away to.
- Some Havens have an observation lounge (Norwegian Bliss, Joy, and Encore) that provides an all-day buffet with wonderful snacks.
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The Haven Restaurant
The Haven Restaurant is exclusive to Haven guests and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- The Haven Restaurant has a breakfast buffet each morning, in addition to ordering from the menu.
- If you don’t see something you’d like to eat on the menu, make a special request. Depending on the request, you might need to make it a day ahead of time so the chef can obtain the ingredients.
- Check for daily dinner specials in the Haven Restaurant at the maître d’ desk (some ships have and some don’t). This will help you decide when you want to eat at specialty restaurants.
Concierge
Your concierge is there to help you with reservations, problems, priority embarkation and disembarkation, priority tendering, and priority seating at shows.
- Meet the concierge in the Haven Lounge at ports to get off the ship faster and disembark at the end of the cruise.
- Look for a Haven crew member with a sign outside the ship when you return from excursions to walk you to the front of the embarkation line.
- You may be escorted to shows or directed to an area reserved for Haven guests.
Butler
Having a butler is one of the best perks of The Haven. They will do everything they can to make your cruise the most wonderful experience possible. Your butler typically handles any of your requests related to food, reservations, or special pampering.
- You can leave a note with requests in your cabin for your butler.
- In your cabin will be a portable phone to use onboard the ship to contact the butler for requests.
- Ask for menus from all the restaurants. You can have your butler bring food from the various specialty restaurants to your cabin, but you may pay the a la carte fee or use your Specialty Dining Package.
- Restaurants can contact your butler to have your dessert delivered to your cabin if you are too full at dinner to eat it at dinner​.
- There is free room service from the room service menu, which will be delivered by your butler, or you can order from the Haven Restaurant menu. (Write in requests from the Haven Restaurant menu on your room service ticket.)​​
- Have dinner or breakfast served by your butler in your cabin.
- ​​​​​​​Have your butler prepare your whirlpool tub. It takes about an hour to fill (there is a special bath menu for a fee like rose petals, etc.). Bring your own bath bombs.
- Have your butler empty the refrigerator or chargeable items and replace them with ice water, etc.​
- Drinks brought to your cabin by the butler from the bar are now charged, even if you have the Unlimited Beverage Package.
- At any time, you can request that your butler bring you something special, such as:
- Pizza
- Popcorn
- Carafe of coffee, creamer, or decaf, (if you don’t want the espresso in your cabin)​​​ ​​
- Hot chocolate
- Something to help with seasickness
- Hot soup and crackers if you’re feeling under the weather
Cabin Attendant
Your cabin attendant is your go-to person for anything related to your comfort in your cabin. You can request:
- A fan
- A bed topper
- Extra or different pillows
- More blankets
- A blanket instead of your duvet
- Lap blankets
- More clothes hangers
- More towels
Tipping
The following are tipping recommendations if you would like them, although the range is quite broad depending on how much you’ve used your team and your own personal circumstances:​​.
- Butler: ​$100 per week or $10 per person per day​.
- Concierge: ​$50 per week or $5 per person per day.
- Cabin Attendant: ​$30 per week or $5 per person per day. Some tip and some don’t because the cabin attendant is included in daily gratuities. We usually tip the cabin attendant the same as we do the butler.
Food and Drink Recommendations
Here are some of our favorite things to order:
- For cocktails in the Haven Lounge, try: BBC (Baileys Banana Colada​), Frozen Mojito
- For breakfast in the Haven Restaurant, try: Tahitian Vanilla French Toast, Traditional Eggs Benedict
- For lunch in the Haven Restaurant, try: Sesame Crusted Fish Sandwich, Steak Frites
- For dinner in the Haven Restaurant, try: Double-Cut Pork Chop, Roasted Prime Rib Au Jus
Final Thoughts on Tips and Tricks for NCL’s Haven
Being a suite guest is truly a special experience. I hope these tips and tricks for NCL’s Haven help you enjoy it even more.
Happy cruising!
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