In the 20+ years, we have been cruising we have only stayed in a suite once. When the stars aligned before our cruise on Freedom of the seas many years ago we ended up in a Junior Suite and it was glorious.
As my boys get older we find we need more room when we travel so when I was presented with the option to upgrade our cabin on the Norwegian Joy I took it.
Haven is Norwegian’s gold standard. When you book a room in this section of the ship you are assigned a butler and you get access to an exclusive area of the ship that includes a dedicated restaurant, bar, pool, and outdoor space complete with cabanas.
While the amenities for Haven do vary by ship, we were lucky enough to cruise on a newer ship where this space was incredibly well appointed. To add to the excitement I didn’t tell my family we were staying in this area until we boarded and they were thrilled.
A standard balcony cabin on most cruise ships is about 186 sq. ft. plus a 35 sq. ft balcony. The HJ cabin on the Norwegian Joy was more than 381 sq. ft and it included a spacious bathroom with a full shower/tub combo.
My husband was thankful to have more space in the shower. The double sink was nice when we were getting ready in the morning. Norwegian provides L’Octaine body creams, body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. The kids liked this brand and are now asking for me to buy it for their showers at home.
Included in the room is a Nespresso machine where a variety of coffees and teas were offered. Our cabin steward Richard restocked these twice a day.
My kids were excited to see that there were two TVs and an area where we could enjoy a quick meal comfortably.
The couch pulled out into a double bed for them at night.
The balcony included two chairs and was spacious enough for us to enjoy some time out there.
The long counter at the front of the room kept everything we needed close.
This room was perfect for us. It was definitely a splurge but worth it. The Haven experience is something we will look to book again in the future. On top of having a well-appointed room, we enjoyed all of the additional perks included in the category.
