After reading how awesome the haven experience is on NCL we decided to book a cruise and see for ourselves. We wanted to see if it was worth the literally 5 1/2 times the price of the regular suites. We went on the Escape leaving Miami on January 28, 2017. We booked the haven aft penthouse suite 14900. We chose this suite because it is larger than many in the haven area and has a much larger balcony. We realized that it was at the aft end of the ship and on the complete opposite end from the haven area, but this was a small price to pay for the larger room and balcony.

FIRST THE GOOD: 1. The embarkation and disembarkation is awesome. No lines and we were immediately on and off the ship without any hassles. 2. The private haven concierge staff is great and takes care of any and all needs 3. The aft penthouse suite was amazing and our steward, Gerome took great care of us and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the cruise. 4. Most shows had reserved seats for haven guests so there was no waiting on lines and always good seats. 5. The haven restaurant is excellent with both indoor and outdoor seating. (The only problem will be addressed later)

NOW FOR THE BAD: 1. The haven is advertised as each suite having it's own butler. The reality is that the butler has 14 rooms to take care of. When we told our butler we wanted breakfast on our balcony we were informed that he was primarily on the other end of the ship and we would have limited times to have room service. We were also informed that logistically he had a long way to go to get to our room and the food might not be warm. Other than the butler bringing us evening snacks it is basically a useless service. 2. The haven area was basically a kiddy pool. There were people with young children and they took over the haven area. For what we paid for this first class experience the haven area should be for adults only. 3. Not enough lounges on the sun deck. We could not get a chair for most of the cruise. Like in the general population, people in the haven block off chairs at 7 AM and hold them all day. This should not be allowed. The haven are needs to be expanded to accommodate all of the haven guests or limit the number of people able to purchase haven suites. 4. Even though the haven costs more than 5 times the other suites you still must pay extra to use the thermal spa. We paid almost $400 more for the week to use the thermal spa facilities. One of the big attractions in the spa are the heated stone lounge chairs along the windows in the spa. Once again there were not enough of these lounges and we could not get one except on very off hours. People put towels and books down to hold the lounges all day. This should not be allowed. 5. Finally the haven restaurant has the best food on the ship. Unfortunately the menu has not changed since the ship was put in service over a year ago. There are about 7 items on the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They never change. If you don't like everything on the menu you are forced to eat the same meal multiple time. Then menu need to have a few different items every day. Even the main dining room on the ship changes the options available. Read more