Epic's Villa courtyard becomes 'The Haven'. The as yet unnamed ships, measuring 144,017 tons and carrying 4,000-plus passengers, will launch in spring 2013 and spring 2014.

Their luxury ‘Courtyard’ facilities on-board Norwegian Jewel, Gem, Pearl and Jade and Epic are to be renamed ‘The Haven’. This is the suite-only area, which on Jewel-class ships includes a private pool, butler service, and sun deck. On-board Norwegian Epic also features an exclusive restaurant.

The transition of the Courtyard to The Haven is primarily cosmetic. Norwegian will, however, introduce service enhancements, such as 24-hour butlers and poolside valets to take drink orders

It's on the Project Breakaway twins where ‘The Haven’ will have some differences:

There will be 18 less suites on-board Project Breakaway than there are on Epic. Located on Decks 15 and 16 forward, the new Haven concept will share the same general design as its Epic counterpart.

The facility will include a private restaurant, a cocktail bar and a concierge desk. In the centre will be a two-story courtyard with pool, two whirlpools and a private sun deck, along with a pair of private massage rooms and a sauna. Haven inhabitants also have direct, private access to the ship's spa and fitness centre.

In breakaway’s Haven there will be no 5,000-square-foot garden villas as featured on Norwegian Epic. Instead, the largest accommodation will be two “Deluxe Owner's Suites" featuring a living room and dining area with wet bar, wrap around balcony and oversized bathroom. There will be 21 "standard" villa’s, of a similar design featured on all NCL ships with a Courtyard (a two bedroom, two-bathroom suite, now called the "family" villa). Finally The Haven will have 17 Courtyard Penthouses. (The square footage is not yet available for any of the accommodation grades).

NCL also announced a pair of Project Breakaway suite categories found outside The Haven complex: On other decks throughout the ship, there are eight aft-facing penthouses and 10 forward-facing penthouses featuring living and dining area, and bathroom.

The Spa Suites introduced on Norwegian Epic will also feature on-board Breakaway. There are 16 Spa Suites with special decor, king-size beds, dining areas, an in-suite whirlpool and spa-style showers. The Spa Suites will feature easy access to the adjacent spa and fitness centre, as well as complimentary access to the thermal spa suite.

(Source: "Norwegian")

[ 07-19-2011: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by LeBarryboat:
Yes, I was informed by Norwegian Cruise Lines while planning for our Hawaiian gig coming up soon, that no longer is "NCL America" used or even "NCL", it's "Norwegian Cruise Line" or just "Norwegian".

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quote:

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Originally posted by Fairsky:

Should we expect yet another logo change then? If they don't want to be called "NCL" then they've got a communication problem with their own logo.

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www.thehaven.ncl.com/

There are images here:

www.ncl.co.uk/project-breakaway

[ 07-20-2011: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Atlcruiser:
NCL does suites better than just about any other cruise line. Even better than some of the so called premium lines.

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Do they? I'm not a 'suite' man so I cannot compare!

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Do they? I'm not a 'suite' man so I cannot compare!

In what way are they better?

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The few that stand out are

being met at the luggage check in curbside and escorted through security to a private check in room then escorted to your cabin by a crew member. No waiting at all.

Butler service

Breakfast and lunch in Cagney's. Food here was very good and included.

Certain categories receive a set up of liquor and mixers.

There are more but those stand out over what we have received on HAL, RCI and Carnival. We will be trying Princess down the road and they have some nice perks. IMHO overall RCI still has the better suites for space.

[ 07-21-2011: Message edited by: Atlcruiser ]