We chose this cruise because it is the only one that circles the Hawaiian Islands so you don’t have to spend the majority of your week’s vacation time at sea. Norwegian was also recommended by a couple of my friends who travel on the line yearly but only in the Caribbean area.

When I told them we booked a mini-suite, they started telling me all about the Haven on the ships they had been on. I was told you get your own restaurant with dedicated staff. You get your own pools and hot tubs that only haven members can use so they aren’t crowded. Your even had your own bars.

When we got to the ship, we were told that the ship was too small to have a Haven (by the Concierge that was giving us our introduction speech in the Haven waiting area). We didn’t have a designated dining room so as a replacement they were giving free breakfasts and free lunches to Haven customers at Cagney’s Steakhouse. (Remember that the ship was in port every day so the only days we got the free lunch was the first day while we waited for our rooms and the last day because we were leaving port early. The rest of the day we were out on excursions.) For dinner it was recommended that we PURCHASE specialty dining packages. Apparently, the specialty dining needed due to lack of an exclusive restaurant wasn’t included in our $5,599 PER PERSON guest fare. If we wanted drinks on deck after we got back to the ship each evening, we had to go to the overcrowded and understaffed bars with everyone else who didn’t pay for or expect the Haven amenities. Read more