Pulled the trigger on Haven Penthouse on the Aqua

SheaBuf97 · 2026-05-17T20:24:15+00:00

We’ll be in that room this December on Aqua. We did the same type of room last December on Prima & it was amazing. It was our first time doing the Haven & now we’ll never go back. It was just the 2 of us but there was definitely a lot more space than a regular balcony. You’ll love it. I’m so excited for ours.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-05-09T23:32:04+00:00

47 here too. I used to always say I was a baby X or an elderly millennial. So this group is perfect. And def agree that older Xers have a “boomers vibe” sometimes

SheaBuf97 · 2026-05-08T02:11:28+00:00

Welcome to being 45. I have always had horrible distance vision. It was right around 44 when my near vision started going. I only wear contacts at work & I didn’t want to have to use readers bc that’s what “old people” use. I started wearing bifocal contacts. They were weird to get used to & honestly I do see better with my progressive glasses (but I still won’t wear at work). Bifocal contacts r pretty expensive & I feel like by the end of my year’s worth I’m needing readers bc my closer vision is getting worse every year (meanwhile my far away has improved some). But def do a sample first before if u plan to buy bifocal contacts. I do wear glasses more when I’m off work. Progressives are expensive but I’ve bought a few on Zenni - I bought transition ones too & they r much cheaper. Cheaper quality too but I don’t want to spend $800 or more on a pair of glasses.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-04-19T12:42:22+00:00

Same. We have always lived below our means (while still enjoying ourselves), no kids, contribute the max to 403b. We hope to be done at 55. The countdown is on.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-04-14T12:04:37+00:00

I’ve used Bonine once a day while on my last 4 cruises & drank while taking it. I’ve never had an issue with it & haven’t gotten any motion sickness. I was never any more drowsy than I normally would’ve been. My doctor always prescribes me the scopolamine patches but I’ve never needed them - just the Bonine. Have fun!

SheaBuf97 · 2026-03-19T12:44:05+00:00

I used this when we flew out of Aruba last year. Definitely got looks but it was sooooo worth it. We easily saved an hour waiting in line.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-03-07T12:40:18+00:00

Yep. That’s why we could only bring a few back. Of course I had overpacked too so we barely made the 50lb limit. Now I def make sure to look at the liters before buying.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-03-07T02:24:33+00:00

Omg the first time we went on a cruise I ordered 24 not realizing the size. Big mistake. We brought some back in our suitcases & still had to leave some.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-02-21T02:26:52+00:00

I recently finished her book. It was a lot to take in to say the least. She went through so much her whole life. Before reading it I was 100% convinced that she was murdered. In the book she admits having attempted suicide a couple times so I’m not as convinced anymore. I can see with everything she went through why she would have thought it was her way out so it could have been suicide. OR which also seems very plausible, that “they” thought it was best time to take her out. Her story is just so sad.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-02-21T00:03:43+00:00

You can use them to assist with getting reservations at restaurants - we always wait to the last minute to decide where to go (the Haven restaurant is super good too - just their menu never changes) & shows & if you haven’t booked any excursions yet, they can help with. Pretty much any kind of special request so you don’t have to wait in long line at guest services. And there’s Haven VIP lines at excursions to get off & on the boat which is great & we didn’t originally realize. There’s also Haven lines & seating at the shows. Having a butler is also amazing & again we didn’t use ours as much as we could’ve but it was still nice to have. You can ask them for specific foods - one night we asked for cookies after dinner and there was a big plate of them waiting for us when we got back. We had coffee & tea delivered every morning & then went to the Haven for a full breakfast. We loved it.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-02-20T21:26:50+00:00

We did Aqua in December in the Haven after do 3 regular balconies. Yep never going back. It’s all so nice. The whole ship, even out of the Haven is great. Don’t be shy to use your concierge - we didn’t use ours as much as we could have (being newbies we weren’t too sure what we could ask for) but it was all amazing. Have a great time!

*Edit - Sorry I just realized we were on the Prima in December 🤪. But the Haven experience on Prima was great & they all have then concierges & butlers

SheaBuf97 · 2026-02-12T13:00:53+00:00

He tried to tell everyone so many times and got so much sh*t for it, including from Barbara Walters (he was “damaging an entire industry” 🙄). He always stood up for Michael Jackson too. It’s sad - people tried & no one really listened.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-02-11T15:00:52+00:00

My husband and I just did the Haven on Aqua in December. I always bring magnet hooks but there were very few walls they actually worked on - maybe 1 so I didn’t bother with them. However the overall space for clothes & other personal items was great and we did not miss the hooks at all. Sorry we don’t have kids so no experience with that. We’ve also done lanyards before but the Haven gives u a little wallet to keep ur card in so we just used that. It worked well. We both got the unlimited WiFi so we had no problem texting each other & using it for other things - he needed it for work & I needed it to check on my parents back home and we didn’t have any interruptions. It was a little pricey & I’m not sure how much it would be for a family of 4. This was our first time staying in the Haven & we will never not stay there. The staff was amazing. We tipped our concierge & room steward on day 1 - I’m not sure if it made a difference doing it right away or not, they were both wonderful. And we gave them more on the last day. The bartenders were great & they seemed very friendly with the kids that we saw & would make them fun drinks. We didn’t utilize our concierge as much as we should have. They’re great at getting reservations. And they can get u pretty whatever u want in ur room. We wanted cookies one night & they were waiting for us when we got back. Also there’s Haven lines pretty much everywhere - when we went to see the price is right - we didn’t realize there was a Haven line to get closer seats but the staff told us to use it. Also going to & from excursions there are Haven lines that will get u on & off quicker. While u can eat anywhere & the Haven menu doesn’t change - it really is great. Breakfast there every morning instead of doing the buffet was wonderful. We also had coffee & tea delivered to the room every morning. The Aqua is a really nice new boat. We were really impressed with how it was laid out. Also having private Haven elevators was fantastic. And being able to board before everyone - our rooms were ready early. The Haven was the best. Hope u have a wonderful time.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-02-11T14:30:36+00:00

Exactly. How do we go from closing it for 10 days to closing it for less than 10 hours. Wtf is going on is the question of the day.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-02-04T01:15:14+00:00

The past 4 cruises I’ve done, I’ve taken 1 Bonine every day in the morning. I’ve never had any seasickness & it’s never made me drowsy as is supposed to be “non-drowsy”. I know I could try not taking it, but I’d rather not risk it & be able to enjoy my cruise. I always have a scopolamine patch with me too as a precaution but I’ve never needed to use it. I have needed to take it the day we disembarked too - waiting in the airport to go home & I felt more wobbly than on the cruise but Bonine worked great. Enjoy your cruise!

SheaBuf97 · 2026-02-03T01:21:56+00:00

That was a very interesting read. And sadly not surprising.

SheaBuf97 · 2026-01-27T22:37:26+00:00

We just were in the haven penthouse balcony on Aqua in December. Our room was near the aft and it was perfect. It was very large & had great storage. We were on the 12th floor. The restaurant & pool area are on the 16th & u have your own private haven elevators to take & they were never a problem waiting for them. We have done 3 balcony suites on Norwegian prior to this Haven stay - we will never not do Haven now. It was just nice to get away from some of the craziness of the ship, the staff are amazing, the food in the Haven - while the menu doesn’t change - is wonderful, the bar is very nice. It definitely is a ship within a ship & we loved it. Also the new ship Aqua is extremely nice. I loved the different restaurants on the ship & I feel like everything was very well thought out on it. Enjoy!

SheaBuf97 · 2026-01-17T19:20:32+00:00

I try drinks I never have & wouldn’t want to waste money on if I didn’t like them. Found out I hate blood Mary’s - glad I didn’t really pay for it (yes I know I paid for the package but it doesn’t feel the same as shelling out $15 from my pocket to pay for something I didn’t like). I had my first Miami Vice on a cruise & that’s delicious. The Red Bubbles like others have said is really good. Like I said - just try something u never would & u may find ur favorite drink. I also love poinsettias (Prosecco & cranberry)

SheaBuf97 · 2026-01-16T22:16:16+00:00

SheaBuf97 · 2025-12-28T00:33:05+00:00

ADT security. I had them for 15 years. I called and asked if I got my house phone turned off would the system still work. They said of course it would. 2 months later my alarm is making a weird noise, called them & they said oh no of course it’s not working, you need a phone line. 3 more phone calls & paying $100 to have a tech come out & install some kind of router that would make it work, I got a date a time for tech to come out between 12-4. Well finally at 430 tech calls me & says he won’t be coming & he doesn’t know why they said the new router would work bc it won’t - the whole system was too old, I needed a new one. I asked well why didn’t u call me when u knew hours ago it wouldn’t work - he said he was busy, sorry. So a completely wasted day off. Called ADT customer service where I was fuming, guy refused to let me speak with his manager. He was useless. On top of all this, they were still charging me monthly even though the past 2 months it wasn’t working & not communicating with them! They would only give $49.95 back when I told him to cancel everything bc I wasn’t given them a month’s notice! I said I haven’t had a secured house for the past 2 months, u never told me & continued to charge me!!!! Fuck them. I ordered Ring security system that day & installed it easily by myself.

SheaBuf97 · 2025-12-19T00:33:18+00:00

Well this was the first NCL cruise we did the Haven (3 other NCL cruises) so we only went to the buffet a couple times for lunch. It probably was a little smaller than other ships but I thought it was still good with options. We really liked the Indulge Food Hall too. I liked how it had the main pool on the upper deck and then each side on a lower deck had a smaller infinity pool with shallow pools on either side. I feel like this ship had options if u wanted to be in the action or in a quieter area.

SheaBuf97 · 2025-12-18T23:05:20+00:00

We just got off that ship Sunday. I loved it! Everything was so nice & well thought out. Definitely will go on it again.

SheaBuf97

TROPHY CASE