On this episode of Luxury Cruising, Dr. Krystal Sodaitis welcomes Ben and Rebekah Guillow as they return to share their experience aboard the brand-new Norwegian Luna. They discuss Norwegian's Prima Plus Class ships, The Haven luxury suite experience, family-friendly cruising, exclusive amenities, memorable Caribbean excursions, and why true luxury is all about seamless service and unforgettable experiences.
What does luxury cruising look like when you're traveling with kids?
In this episode of Luxury Cruising, host Crystal Sodaitis welcomes back Ben and Rebekah Guillow to share their experience aboard the brand-new Norwegian Luna, the latest Prima Plus Class ship from Norwegian Cruise Line.
The couple dives into what makes Norwegian's Haven suite complex one of the most compelling luxury cruise products at sea; from dedicated concierge service, private elevators, exclusive dining, and adults-only spaces to priority embarkation and seamless vacation experiences. They also compare Luna to sister ship Norwegian Aqua, discuss family-friendly amenities, entertainment, dining, and their favorite shore excursions throughout the Caribbean.
Whether you're considering The Haven for the first time or looking to compare luxury cruise suite experiences across cruise lines, this episode offers an honest, detailed look at what makes Norwegian Luna stand out.
Episode Highlights:
About The Guests:
Ben and Rebekah Guillow are travel advisors and content creators behind LUX Travel for Families, where they share family luxury travel experiences, cruise reviews, destination guides, and travel planning insights across YouTube and Instagram.
Memorable Quote
"Luxury isn't just about the suite, it's about removing friction and having your needs anticipated before you even ask."
Instagram: LUX Travel for Families
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@luxtravelforfamilies
About the Host:
Dr. Krystal Sodaitis is a pediatrician, executive, and life coach for neurodiverse physicians—and the passionate host behind Luxury Cruising. She brings expert insight and honest excitement to every interview, helping curious travelers elevate their adventures at sea.
📍 Website: luxurycruising.net
📧 Email: luxurycruisingpodcast@gmail.com
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/krystalsodaitis
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Looking for the perfect spa experience: Spa table
Speaker: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Luxury Cruising. I'm your host, Crystal Sodaitis, and as promised on our last episode with Rebecca and Ben, they're back to tell us about their amazing March trip on the Norwegian Luna. Rebecca, Ben, thank you again for joining me. I'm so excited. I've been waiting for this interview.
Please remind the audience, um, anything you want them to know about you.
Speaker 2: Hi. We're Ben and Rebecca Guillo. We, are a married couple. We are travel agents, and we both also have side gigs that we work on during the day. So I'm an anesthesiologist by day, and Ben is a school administrator by day. But we live to travel, and someday maybe travel will be our whole business, our whole life, hopefully.
and we met on vacation, so it's been a part of us since the beginning. Um, we also have a YouTube channel that we follow our own travels mostly, with us and our kids because we like to try to inspire [00:01:00] people that people are afraid to take their kids on fancy stuff. And guess what? People at fancy stuff, they love your kids.
So bring 'em on. They're gonna have a great time.
Speaker: I love that. And we'll definitely link the previous show in the show notes because I think we talked a lot about, like, the benefits of, taking your kids on a luxury travel experience. So, um, definitely look for that in the show notes.
So I do not know the Norwegian line as well, and so I'd just love to get a little bit of a broader view So the Norwegian Luna is a Prima Plus class ship. And so what is it about the Prima Plus class? I don't even know if we wanna talk about the Prima class and then what makes one Plus.
Um, but just give us some background-
Speaker 2: Yeah. Okay. So Norwegian, is the inventor, if you will, of freestyle cruising. And so they started building kind of mega ships around 2010. The first was the Epic, which is its own class and its own thing. Then they [00:02:00] started building ships called the Breakaway and the Breakaway Plus class ships, and that's where the Epic and those ships are where they introduced their concept of the Haven, which is a ship-within-a-ship concept similar to other lines have.
And then after that, they made a Prima class of ship, and the Prima class has a Haven also, but it's larger, and it's in a different location than what's in what we would call the Breakaway class of ship. So in the Breakaway class of ship, the Haven's in the front. Prima class ship, the Haven is in the back.
And then the ship itself in the Prima and the Prima Plus class has a totally different appearance or design. I feel like it's a shorter and a more streamlined ship. And then when a lot of other lines were going for like giant, Norwegian made Prima, um, it was actually a smaller ship than all of their previous ships.
So not the tiniest, but, um- Smaller than the Breakaway ... much smaller than the Breakaway, the Escape, the Joy, all that. So they actually were kind of scaling [00:03:00] back on the full team and then increasing their size of their suite product. So that's one thing that kind of differentiates the Prima class of ship from their other class of ships.
And then the Prima Plus class is the Aqua, which came out in 2024, which we went on spring break for that, and then the Luna, which just, um, debuted March 27th of 2026. And the difference is that those are a little bit larger than the Prima class, but they're still not giant ships. So, um, they hold about 4,000 passengers, and I think the plain Prima class hold like, 3,500 passengers overall, but don't quote me on that.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 2: But then the luxury part of, Norwegian cruising is The Haven, which we've tried suites on several different lines. Um, The Haven is one of the better suite products out there because it is truly like a separate area of the ship. So you could spend your whole day inside of The Haven and not [00:04:00] leave.
it has a restaurant, it has its own bar and lounge area, and then it has a pool area. And then not on every ship, but most of them have some spa amenities. So the Prima and the Prima Plus class have like a salt room, a sauna, and a couple other small things like that, that are all inside of The Haven complex.
So theoretically, you could do a lot of that stuff without leaving The Haven at all.
Speaker: So there's a spa for everybody else.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker: And that they get their facials and their massages and their nails done and whatever- Mm-hmm
and maybe there's like some heated loungers. And then there's like a mini spa in The Haven- ... that you can go- Yeah, it's got- ... and get your salt, like, steam room and all that- Mm-hmm ... and you don't have to leave your little enclave there?
Speaker 3: Yeah. No, it's all included. So yeah, you don't have to pay extra for those.
it's nice, relaxing. And those, at least in the Prima Plus, are in an adults only area. So if you're looking to get away from kids, you wanna [00:05:00] relax, those are an adults only area on the Prima Plus.
Speaker: And that adults only area, is that the Vibe Beach Club?
Speaker 2: No, that's a separate area. So you could also theoretically buy a Vibe Beach Club pass.
That is open to everybody on the ship, and you just pay a weekly pass for that. But The Haven has, um, its area with the pool, which is open to everyone in The Haven, and then it has another adults only sundeck. They do count adults as 16 plus, so you could experience like teenagers up there.
But on the Prima Plus class ships, that's where The Haven hot tubs are. So the hot tubs are child-free on these ships in The Haven.
Speaker: Awesome. That sounds really- Yeah ... really great. I love that. Okay.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker: so we're talking about The Haven in general on the, Prima Plus class ships.
Speaker 2: Hmm. Yeah, so The Haven has a restaurant that's open for every meal, and you have included [00:06:00] room service, um, in The Haven. You also have your own normal room steward, and then you do have, twice daily turndown service, like you used to have in all cruising, but you don't as much anymore. But in The Haven you do have it twice a day.
You have a butler who's available 24/7. at night the butlers take turns, so your own butler might not be available, but someone will respond to you 24 hours a day. And then, um, the concierge team that's available to you, which, is usually on this size of ship one main concierge and then two or three assistant concierges.
So that desk is not open 24 hours a day, but on a port day and whatever, they're available immediately. I actually have a funny story from this trip. We, um, were with our in-laws, but they were in a separate room and we were getting ready to go on an excursion early in the morning, and one of our kids ran off with Ben's parents and we didn't realize he had taken his ship card with him.
So then we were in a major hurry to go on this excursion. We're tearing apart the room, [00:07:00] can't find it, so Ben's like, we're just gonna call and see what we can do." And we called the concierge and he was like, "No problem. You can leave right now." We met him downstairs in the meeting area with the concierge.
He showed up with all new ship cards for our whole group, and it was, like, five minutes or less. It was unbelievable. Yeah, it was crazy We thought we were gonna miss the excursion, but he took care of it. It was amazing.
Speaker: That's amazing. Yeah, that's exactly what you need. Like, you just get it taken care of.
There was no like, oh my gosh, we gotta get in line and get services and- Yeah ... yeah, you would've completely missed the excursion. Oh, I love that. We
Speaker 2: would've. It's crazy.
Speaker 3: And a lot of the other perks I like too are just when you're in port and you're going on an excursion, you get priority debarkation. So, you know, there could be a long line waiting to get off at a popular port.
The butler takes you right out. You get out before everybody. It's super nice.
Speaker: Yeah. I love that. So, for the Norwegian Luna, just the ship in general, what does it have that might be different from the [00:08:00] Norwegian Aqua? That was the first Prima Plus class, right?
Yeah. So how did they change it?
Did they make any improvements? How does it differ, if at all?
Speaker 4: ...
Speaker 3: one improvement that my kids really enjoyed, and this is going to sound kind of silly, but the aqua slide on the Aqua, you had to go through the buffet-
...
Speaker 3: To get to it, and it was just kind of weird. You'd be wet walking through the buffet going to the aqua slide, and you don't have to do it now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they fixed that on this one. They also made, um, a new area, It's called the Moon Climber. It's included, and it is kind of like if you've ever been to, like, a kid's indoor play place, and it has those things you can climb on. Kind of like a jungle gym, but it's like a big jungle gym thing on the back of the ship that's included for kids, and pretty much all heights can do it as long as you have an adult with you.
that's new on this ship. And then I don't think a lot else is much different.
Speaker 3: It looked about the same. Yeah, I can't think of anything else.
Speaker 2: [00:09:00] Yeah.
Speaker: And the aqua coaster, from what I've seen of it, it's basically like a rollercoaster, but instead of- Oh, it's awesome
being in a little car, it's you in the water that's, like, shooting through tubes.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Our kids love it. One of the perks of the Haven too, so that line gets really long for it. There is a line for the Haven members- Mm-hmm ... that you can cut.
Speaker: FastPass we're talking
Speaker 3: here. Yes,
Speaker: FastPass.
Speaker 3: Yeah. And- Get a
Speaker: FastPass.
Speaker 3: I don't know if the Aqua has it or not. It does . Okay. We just didn't know so anyways, if you're on the Aqua, use it.
Speaker 2: Yeah. There's a Haven line
Speaker 3: there too. yeah. Anyways, the kids love that. It's super convenient- Yeah ... 'cause that line can get really long.
Mm-hmm. And it's a fun ride. That's... It's great.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. Oh, I love that. Awesome. So what about any differences, upgrades between the Haven and, you may have already said, but just to um, solidify it, Haven upgrades or improvements in the Luna compared to the [00:10:00] Aqua?
Speaker 2: I think the Haven itself was almost the same
Speaker 3: Yeah, it looked identical.
Yeah. If you didn't know you were on that ship, you couldn't tell the difference.
Speaker 2: And we actually accidentally booked the exact same room. Like, not just the same room type
Speaker: right
Speaker 2: there.
Speaker: Same number. Exactly the same.
Speaker 3: Yeah, same number.
Speaker 2: Yeah. 14806. Yeah. when I looked at the reservation, I was like, "Oh,
This is the old one." And then I was like, "Oh, no. We just accidentally booked the same room." So it was like we were the same cruise.
Speaker: Yeah, which is like going home. ... I have definitely had the experience of, preparing, like mentally I'm thinking about going on a cruise, and there's just something about like the temperature of the room, the smell of the air, the feel of the ship rocking, and at this point I'm like, "That's like home."
I just can't wait to like sleep in my little like second home. It feels so good.
Speaker 2: So fun.
Speaker: Yeah. It's amazing. All [00:11:00] right, so, um, getting onto the ship, and I've never been on a Norwegian ship at all, so tell us what is the decor like, what's the ship in general and then move to the Haven.
Speaker 2: So they have kind of like more muted tones. Um, like the atrium on these ships has like white railing and it's open. There's nothing, like glittery or gaudy on it, and I know that vibe doesn't bother me either, but it has a very kind of like muted modern look. And then, um, it actually has quite a bit of interesting art in it.
They have a lot of like really pretty wall decorations that are three-dimensional and things like that. I feel like on this ship, maybe a little different than the Aqua. Similar, but different. They really put a lot of effort into the aesthetic of it. I feel like the art was beautiful, and we're not big art people- Mm
but it was very nice to look at. Um, and then like the Haven itself [00:12:00] is a little bit dark on this ship. It has kind of dark wood tones on the walls. And the best thing in the Haven on these two ships is the bar, because a lot of Haven bars are set up like a standard bar where there's bartenders on one side and then people on the other.
These are set up in the round, so the bartenders are working in a circle.
Speaker: Yeah. And
Speaker 2: all the people are sitting around it. And we are actually not the most friendly vacation friend makers, but every time I went and sat at the Haven bar you end up talking to someone ... it's just the way that it's set up, it's so conducive to making friends and being friendly.
That's my favorite thing in there, and that has a really nice look. And then also the lounge is so large on this ship, um, that there's all kinds of cute little vignettes where you can sit, and that also, I guess if you wanted to make friends, you could make friends that way too, 'cause there were little places to sit and kind of meet other people.
so I like that about it.
Speaker 3: Yeah. The Haven's much bigger than on the Breakaway class ships. Mm-hmm. It never feels crowded.
Speaker 2: No.
Speaker 3: The [00:13:00] lounge area's so big, the bar is big, the pool decks are big. like, if you're on the Breakaway, I do feel like it gets crowded. Mm-hmm.
Especially, like, on embarkation day. I always feel like it's jam-packed there on embarkation day- Yeah ... on Breakaway class. On these it never is. Hmm. No. sometimes you'll feel like you're the only person in there.
Speaker 2: We did at the pool a lot.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Like,
Speaker 2: we were the only people.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the pool. There was nobody at the pool hardly any days on this ship.
Yeah. It was crazy. ... kids were the only ones in there playing on a lot of days, so-
Speaker 2: Yeah ...
Speaker 3: it was nice.
Speaker: Yeah, and you had said the last time too, like, that's one of the perks that you loved about being on the suite sun deck is, like, there's not a lot of people in the pool. And like, it's basically- Mm
your kids get their own private pool on a suite sun deck, which is great.
Speaker 2: Yeah,
Speaker 3: it's nice. No, if you look at our pictures on our Instagram, our kids are the only ones in there. Yeah. There's not cropping people out or
Speaker 2: anything. That's the thing, it's not like we deleted people .
Yeah. Which I would, but, it's not like we did because there were several times my daughter's just floating in the pool by herself and there's no one there.
Speaker: Right, your own private ship pool. Who could beat that? Yeah. [00:14:00] Amazing.
Speaker 2: It's amazing. And it looks out the aft on the ship, so you're like looking out at the wake, and it's an infinity edge pool.
It's so beautiful.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Ugh, that sounds absolutely gorgeous. Anything different, um, in terms of the food? I mean, just tell us about the food in general. Um-
Speaker 3: The food in general is always very good in The Haven. Mm-hmm. We both like The Haven Restaurant. We eat there several times on it.
There were a few changes to the menu.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3: Um, there were a couple dishes that we liked that they took off, so that was a little disappointing. But there were some new things on there that were good. but like I said, we eat there a lot. Yeah ... we really do enjoy the restaurant.
Speaker 2: And if you compare it to some other, we have not done Celebrity Retreat.
We're getting ready to later this summer. But, um, they have a different menu every day. The Haven has the same menu for breakfast, the same menu for lunch, and the same menu for dinner every day. So some people, um, would say that's a drawback. I think one good thing about it is that they're doing every dish well.
So you almost never [00:15:00] get a dish that you're like nobody really thought about this one." You know? Mm. It feels like they're all executed well, and that is nice. Also, you don't have a dining time. So there's no dining times on Norwegian at all, but in The Haven you have no dining time, so you just show up when you feel like showing up.
We've actually never waited except for on embarkation day. In our last two Haven cruises we didn't even wait on embarkation day. Mm-hmm. But you could theoretically have to wait a little bit on embarkation day if everybody shows up at the same time. But we've never had to wait for breakfast, lunch, dinner.
You just show up and they're like, "Oh, come sit down over here." And they have indoor and outdoor seating, so that's nice too.
Speaker 3: And the outdoor seating on this class of ship is much bigger. So like on the Breakaway class it's not that big. we live in some place that's cold more than half the year, so anytime we can be outside and eat outside- Yeah
we love it. And the dining area out there it's really big.
Speaker: Nice, I know this is like a small detail, but I'm just wondering like, what are the tables like? Oh. I'm [00:16:00] picturing them as like upscale as well, not like your typical, sort of like plastic chairs, plastic table.
Yeah. Bolted down cruise line
Speaker 2: table. Yeah, no, they're upscale tables. They actually have all different size of tables. So, um, we have gone, last two Haven cruises we've done as a party of six, once with my parents and then once with his parents. Um, they have a giant table that's like a big round table that if you had a large party, which we saw some large parties while we were there.
And then they have like individual tables, but they all have tablecloths, and they have out all the whole table setting is set up before you get there with all the wine glasses and all the silverware. And, um, the service is excellent in there.
Speaker 3: It's always good.
Speaker 2: And the chairs are nice. Yeah. I mean, it's a pretty fancy dining room for a cruise ship.
Speaker: that is so nice. And you just sort of like made me realize something because when I was picturing it, I was picturing it as like typical outdoor dining, like you take your plate and you walk outside. No, you're sitting- Oh ... like at an outside restaurant and someone is coming and serving [00:17:00] you, and like- Oh, yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Oh, yeah. that's fantastic I love that. No, they have like pergolas there and everything outside. Yeah. I mean, it's very nice. Mm-hmm. And it's significantly nicer on this ship than the older-
Norwegian
Speaker 2: ships ... NCL classes. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. Well, that is the perk of being on a brand new ship is like- Mm
it's always the latest and greatest of what they've imagined. So it's beautiful. Were you on like the first or one of the first-- Where in the order of sailings were you guys?
Speaker 2: This was the first seven-day sailing. So they had a transatlantic that was however many days it was, and then they had a couple of industry sailings, like one night, two nights, whatever.
And then they had, um, a three or four-night sailing, and then this one. So this was the first seven-night Caribbean sailing of the Luna.
Speaker: any like perks, any swag, Did they celebrate it in any way?
Speaker 3: that's a disappointing subject. The way it was marketed, that this was going to be the inaugural sailing-
Speaker 2: Yeah
Speaker 3: and we thought there'd be some swag or something that they [00:18:00] would give. Yeah. And there wasn't any,
Speaker 2: The one before this had swag.
Speaker 3: Yeah. We asked about it, and they
just kinda- Yeah ... brushed it off.
And it was, like I said, that's what it was marketed as too, so-
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah
who knows? The Facebook group, everyone thought it was gonna be the inaugural sailing. Yeah. I mean, I get it. They spend a billion dollars on a ship, they need to get their coin. Yeah. But like, I wanted something special.
Speaker: yeah. I mean, like, at least give me a hat. Give me like
a bag.
Speaker 2: Yeah. You could have bought it. Now they did have, like, inaugural sailing shirts for sale, but you know, I'm not a big T-shirt wearer, so I'm not gonna buy one. If you give me one, I'll take it, but I'm not gonna go buy it.
Speaker: Yeah. No, I hear you. Um, so where did you go?
And any excursions... you mentioned sort of like priority disembarkation, embarkation. Mm-hmm. But was there anything about the experience of the excursions that was up-leveled because you were in the Haven?
Speaker 3: Not because we were in the Haven. I think all three excursions we did, we enjoyed, but not because we were in the Havens.
four excursions. I'm sorry.
Speaker 2: We [00:19:00] did, go to Norwegian's other private island, 'cause they have Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. We went to Harvest Cay, um, and they do not have a separate Haven area, but we did rent a beach villa there. It was totally worth it.
Speaker 3:
Speaker 2: Oh, tell us
Speaker: about that.
I'd love a nice luxury villa. Tell us.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so we've also done it at Silver Cove. And Great Stirrup Cay. Mm-hmm ... I think you liked that one better. I liked the one better on Harvest Cay. ... so I guess when you get off, they pick you up in a golf cart.
After you check in, the golf cart takes you over there. Um, the gentleman, takes you to your cabana- ... or beach house, beach villa, and then they show you everything around it. And it was great. when you get in, there's a couch, a refrigerator. This one didn't have a TV.
I don't know whoever uses their TV.
But there is one at Great Stirrup Cay. There is a TV in there, but this one did not have that. Has a huge deck on it. I think there were four- Mm-hmm ... lounge chairs on the deck. Then you have the beach. On the beach you have your own private hammock, and then there were Six. Six beach chairs on the beach. Mm-hmm. And it's just, a 50-yard walk-
Speaker 4: Yeah,
Speaker 3: right [00:20:00] there ... to the ocean. I mean, it's great. Great Stirrup Cay, it's a much longer walk, kind of down a hill.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, 50 yards and you were in the water, and Service was good.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Um, you could order food, drinks. The waitress came around, uh-
Speaker 2: All
Speaker 3: the time ... all the time. So,
Speaker 2: I mean- Not in an annoying way.
Speaker 3: no.
Speaker 2: But she was there all the time. She was on it. And, um, this wouldn't matter for everyone, but we were right by the lifeguard stand. That's a real win.
Speaker: Oh, yeah. Always good. Yes. When you're traveling with
Speaker 2: kids- Yeah ... and the ocean, like, yeah That was a real win for us. Yeah.
Speaker:
Speaker 2: And we watch our kids. Everyone on there, we're watching our kids. Yeah. But it's nice to have the lifeguard too.
Speaker: another set of eyes- Yeah
'cause those kids they'll go under in the blink of an eye in front of you.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3: And the lounge chairs, especially the ones up on the porch there, I mean, those were definitely elevated lounge chairs. They were very comfortable, a lot of cushioning on them.
It wasn't just some cheap lounge chairs. So that was nice.
Speaker: Yeah, not just like the chaise lounges with, like, a little, ... plasticky cover on it. Yeah, it was not like that at all. or the hard plastic chaise lounges. [00:21:00]
Speaker 2: Oh, I like those.
Speaker: Yeah. So nice, upscale, c- pillowy lounges on the deck,
it's always nice. I love the cabanas that are a little bit elevated, right? Mm-hmm. So you kind of have a little bit of a ... vista. You're looking out over the water. You can see people in the water, so you can keep your eye on the kids a little bit from the water. Yeah. And you said you got food and drink.
Food and drink was included?
Speaker 3: No. It was not included.
Speaker 2: No. It is in Great Stirrup Cay, but on Harvest Cay it is not. Reportedly some deal with the government there. But, it is separate, and you pay for it with a credit card. So you can't use your ship card there because Norwegian doesn't own it, even though it's their private thing.
It is a separate vendor. But the food is all really good. Mm-hmm. And it's actually, like, really reasonably priced, honestly.
Speaker 3: And it says- if you wanna go somewhere else on the island, you just call the golf cart. Mm-hmm. He'll come pick you up. So there's a giant swimming pool there.
Mm-hmm. Our kids wanted to go swimming in it. We called the golf cart. It's there in five minutes, takes you to the pool. [00:22:00] They'll pick you back up when you're done. I mean, it's really nice.
Speaker: That sounds nice. Yeah. But it sounds like it's almost a mini excursion that Norwegian, or mini area that Norwegian rents from- Mm-hmm.
Yeah ... the Bahamians exclusively for the use of their guests, but it's still, like, a Bahamian resort, for lack of a better term.
Speaker 2: Yes. You pay separate. Yeah.
Speaker: Got it. that sounds awesome. Anything else on the excursions that you sort of upleveled for this trip?
Speaker 2: No, we did a couple of really crazy things for us. We, um, did, like, a dune buggy thing in Honduras, and we went all the way to Chichen Itza when we were in Cozumel, so that was exciting.
Speaker: That's
Speaker 2: adventurous. But yeah, we were like... It was. our kids have gotten a little older. We're about to turn five and nine, so I feel like we're really leveling up on our ability to do stuff instead of only go to the beach, which I like going to the beach, but, you know, it's fun to try to do other stuff with them, so that's been nice.
Speaker 3: And then another tour we did in Costa Maya was to a place [00:23:00] called, uh, Bacalar Seven Seas Lagoon. Or Seven Colors Lagoon. Yeah. And it's actually an inland lake, and it is the most beautiful blue water that you've ever seen. Yeah, it was crazy. I mean, it looks like you're in the Bahamas or something- Yeah
except it's an inland lake in Mexico, and it was a lot of fun. I mean- ... they, um, took us out in a place where it was shallow, and they cut up pineapple for us and put it on a raft and pushed it over to us, and it was a lot of fun. No, I loved that. It was probably our kids' favorite excursion.
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2: I think so.
Speaker: Oh, what's it called? Because I'm going to Costa Maya, like, sometime in the next year I think, or two. I know I've got Costa Maya on the
Speaker 2: list. It's called Bacalar, B-A-C-A-L-A-R Lagoon, um, or the Seven Colors Lagoon, and it was a great excursion. So it was about an hour drive, I mean, we rode in a van, but it was about an hour drive, and then we went out on this boat, and there's all kinds of open cenotes on this lake that you, like, look into, and then they take you to a swimming spot, and we swam and ate the pineapple, and [00:24:00] it was beautiful.
That video's coming out on Thursday, so check it out.
Speaker: that will definitely have dropped by the time this podcast is out, so- Oh, yeah, there you go ... if you're listening at the end of this podcast, go
Check out the YouTube video. Yes. Awesome.
Um, anything else about The Haven or about Norwegian Luna that we haven't covered?
Speaker 2: Oh, you know, there's one thing we didn't talk about.
Speaker 4: What's
Speaker 2: that? My favorite thing on the Prima plus class ships. The Haven has its own elevator bank.
Speaker 4:
Speaker 2: On the ship.
Speaker: Nice.
Speaker 2: So you just go to it and put your card up, and then you go wherever you wanna go, and other people don't get on it. No offense to them, but-
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, it makes getting around the ship
Speaker 2: So
Speaker 3: easy ... so easy. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah. '
Speaker: Cause it can go to any floor, not just to The Haven.
Speaker 2: That's correct.
Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2: On these ships- Oh, yeah ... it's the whole run of the ship in its own elevator bank. So there's three elevator banks on the ship. The aft one is actually The Haven elevators, and then the one they call [00:25:00] aft is probably more midship, and then the forward elevator. So everyone else uses mid and forward, and then The Haven, you could use any elevator, but your card works on the back elevator, and you just go anywhere you wanna go.
Speaker: Yeah. Not have to wait. No elevator crowding, which is always- No ... a problem.
Speaker 2: So nice.
Speaker: Yeah. That sounds absolutely beautiful. It
Speaker 2: really is.
Speaker: Speaking of elevator crowding, this made me think of entertainment. So how was, um, the entertainment and any special, like, seating or seats or anything related to The Haven?
Speaker 3: Oh. Yeah. a couple things about it. So on all Haven ships with The Haven, they save an area for Haven guests, and it's usually a designated area. Like, if you're looking at the stage, it's the front left. And the problem with this class of ship is the, theater is not very big, so they hold the seats, but they don't hold them very long.
it was weird 'cause they were like, "Oh, you need to be here [00:26:00] 45 minutes early." And we're like , "We never come that early." We get there, like, five minutes before a show- Yeah ... and they save The Haven seats for you. So they had, like, an Eagles tribute show.
Mm. We went to go see that, and we even got there early, like 30 minutes early, and The Haven area was
Full. It
Speaker 2: was full.
Speaker 3: And, um, they were just like, "Sorry."
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3:
Speaker 2: But that show only runs one night. So every other show runs, like, multiple shows per night and then multiple nights.
But that Eagles show is the cast from their bar called Syd Norman's, which is also a small venue, and that's where the servers are the singers. It's kind of neat. But they do do this Eagles show. It's only that one night, so I guess that was why there was, like, a run on it.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: But they had all new shows on this ship. So they have a welcome aboard show, which is only one night, but that's easy to go see. And then they have, um, the Eagles show one night. Then they had a show that they made called Haiko, which is, some sort of, like, [00:27:00] dance-y technology thing. So it has one of those giant screens in the back, and, like, there's a lot of interaction between the characters and the screen
Speaker 3: Our kids loved it
Speaker 2: The kids loved it
Speaker 3: It wasn't our jam.
Speaker 2: It was neat though. You could see why it was neat.
Speaker: I thought... Yeah. I do love, just to like take a little sideways kids and cruising tangent, is that it's a very safe way, safe when I mean like economically, emotionally, all that, way to introduce live theater to kids. Our kids loved the shows.
Because like, it didn't cost you anything. Yeah. Right. If they get bored 15 or 20 minutes into it, you're like, "Okay. Well, let's go."
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker: It's not like you just paid $200 for a Broadway ticket.
I do love that, and I have had the most surprising experiences with my kids looking over- Mm
wondering like, "Are you..." And they're like, "I love this." And I'm like-
Speaker 2: Yeah ... "
Speaker: Okay."
Speaker 2: So- They're so into it ...
Speaker 3: the Eagles show, they actually showed two shows that night, and my son and I were still up one night at 11.
Speaker: Mm-hmm. [00:28:00]
Speaker 3: And Rebecca and our daughter were asleep, and he's like, "Dad, let's try to go to the show.
Let's sneak out and go to the show." So just like you said, so he and I left. We did find seats in the second show, but it was in the back. And now he just wants to listen to Hotel California- ... all the time. Like anytime a song comes on, an Eagles song, he's like, "Dad, that's the show we snuck out on and-
Speaker 2: Yeah
Speaker 3: we saw the Eagles." I was like, "Oh yeah, bud." Yeah.
Speaker 2: that'll be a core memory for him.
Speaker 3: But then they also have an Elton John show too, and the Elton John show was really good. Rebecca was actually the star of the show for Elton John. I'm not joking when I say this.
So I don't know. They're singing and dancing at one time. The guy on the aisle comes over and he's like, "Oh, hey, you look like fun. You wanna come dance?" he's dancing with Rebecca in the aisle.
Speaker 2: Well, first of all, I said no. But my two small children are there, and Ben, and my in-law's like, " No, do it.
do it." So then we're dancing in the aisle, and he's like, "Oh, let me teach you this dance." And I'm like, "Oh, okay." So he's like teaching me a dance, and I'm just dancing in the aisle, and there's a [00:29:00] spotlight, and all these people are looking. But YOLO. And then he's like, "Okay, let's go up on the stage." And I was like, " Eh, I'm good."
and he was like, "Oh, no." So then he walks me up on the stage. So then I'm up on the stage, and these girls on the stage are like, "Let us teach you a dance." So then we're like, you know, shimmying on the stage to the Elton John song. They're like, "Okay, great. Here's your microphone." And I was like, "What's this for?"
And they're like, "Oh, you're about to sing."
Speaker: Oh my gosh. That's something that needs to be- And you sang ... on the YouTube channel.
Speaker 2: Oh. We didn't video it ' Cause they said there's no videography , so we have like some live photos of it, so you can get like a feel for it. So I have a short on YouTube about it.
But yeah, so then, um, it's an Elton John duet that he does with Kiki Dee, and, thankfully I knew it. But it was crazy.
Speaker 3: The rest of the cruise, people were coming up to, and they'd be like, "Oh my gosh, it's Rebecca from the show. You know, "I can't believe it."
And we had multiple people are like, "Wait, You're not part of the show?" They thought she was a plant, [00:30:00] and she'd be like, "Oh, I'm just a regular mom."
Speaker 2: My kids made me do it.
Speaker 3: I mean, probably 20 people came up throughout the cruise and were super excited. I mean, it was hilarious.
Speaker: That's awesome. I love that.
Speaker 2: was very fun. Yeah.
Speaker: I love that about cruising too. Like, I've had that experience too where I've done something, people are like, "Hey, it's you." And I'm like, "I'm famous now."
Speaker 2:
Speaker: And then once you step foot off the ship, like nobody knows who you are, but
Speaker 2: it's fine.
I know.
Speaker: That is so fun. So, um, anything else about the entertainment?
Speaker 2: No, it was really good. Yeah. You know, like, the Norwegian kind of started the Broadway entertainment years ago, like 2010 with the Blue Man Group, and then, um, really kind of expanded it. But then they've really scaled back and it...
personally, I found it to be a little bit disappointing. Their shows are still good, but these shows were really good. Yeah. They were really good shows. Nice high quality. So hopefully, even though they're making their own shows now instead of, you know, purchasing the rights for Broadway shows, that hopefully it's gonna continue to, like, elevate and be good.
They were really good [00:31:00] and I would see them all again, honestly.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, even like the screens behind it. Mm-hmm. What they do with the screens and it's amazing. Yeah. It's really good.
Check them all out.
Speaker: Yeah. I love a good, like, tribute show, like where I know the artist-
Me too ... I can sing along. Yeah. And I much prefer that to some of these, like, loosely connected dance singing, and I might know- Mm-hmm ... some of the songs, but not all of them. Yeah. Like, they're entertaining-
Speaker 2: Yeah ...
Speaker: but I prefer, like, a good tribute show.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I like it too.
And I think sometimes people don't think that they know all the songs. Like, Ben doesn't know as many Elton songs as I do, but you go in there and you're like, "Oh, I knew way more of those songs than I thought I did," 'cause you just forgot how many songs Elton or the Eagles sang.
Speaker 3: Yeah. we'd missed it, and it was disappointing, but Sid Norman's Poor House, they had, like, a couple '90s rock nights- Oh, yeah
that I would have liked to have seen. Mm-hmm. And those get really crowded, too. If you wanna go to a show there, you have to get there early, and unfortunately, there's no perks to being in The Haven- Yeah, for that ... for shows in Sid Norman's. Specifically.
Speaker: is that included in, like, Free at Sea? I guess that's a [00:32:00] good question, too, 'cause I know Norwegian, depending on the type of room you book, you get certain , like, amenities or perks free, like free Wi-Fi. Mm-hmm. Certain number of specialty restaurants.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: does any of that come with The Haven?
Speaker 2: No, so the Free at Sea um, is an add-on for anyone. So for a seven-night sailing, you get the two specialty dining, and you just pay a gratuity, so it's, like, 10 or 20 bucks per dinner. And then the, unlimited open bar, and then the Wi-Fi is 150 minutes, and that's for everybody.
Oh, and a shore excursion credit of $50 per port. So, um, that's included for everybody. And then you can increase that to get the, um, unlimited premium drink package, which includes, Veuve Clicquot by the glass, so probably worth it. Then it also includes unlimited Wi-Fi, and that can stream. Like, I can upload.
I don't measure speeds 'cause I'm not that Internet cool, but, you can upload, like I can [00:33:00] upload to YouTube from their Wi-Fi now, which you did not used to be able to. It was not good for many years, but now it is. And then, um, it also included your gratuities. So that actually, the Wi-Fi, which we would get anyway for our business, um, and then the gratuities, it paid for itself.
So it's not included- Oh, yeah ... but it paid for itself.
Speaker: But worth it. Not included, but
Speaker 2: Yeah ...
Speaker: worth the additional- Absolutely ...
Speaker 2: price. For sure.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Plus you got- Awesome ... the Veuve Clicquot, and then you also can have all the aquapona you want,
Speaker: yeah.
Speaker 2: I took them.
Speaker: you drank enough aquapona to, like- Yes
cover your suite. I did. You gotta stay
Speaker 3: Absolutely. That's right.
Speaker: Awesome. So, um, the last time you were here, you had a new definition of luxury for yourselves. ... and do you remember what that luxury definition was?
Speaker 2: I think it was, like, a lack of friction maybe
Speaker: It probably was [00:34:00] ease, right? And
Speaker 3: Yes.
Speaker 2: Yeah ...
Speaker: having something anticipated for you.
Did this meet your definition of luxury?
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. This was a great cruise. We had a great butler. We had a great room steward.
The concierge on this ship was amazing, as was their whole staff, and I feel like they really anticipated all of our needs.
Speaker 3: And, oh, shoot, Raquel.
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. Oh. Raquel, the guest services manager. Guest services. We know her from our Aqua cruise, and she comes and visits us- ... when we're on a cruise.
Speaker 3: No, and she did give us a lot of special stuff.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, yeah, so, like, at the meet the captain thing, like, they weren't letting people take pictures- Oh, yeah ... with the captain.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: But Raquel was like, "Oh, no, Guillo family, you can get your picture taken with the captain,"
Speaker 2: ... So, you know, you get those invitations for repeat customers, and it's like, "Oh, come meet the captain," and it's not really that special, but my daughter saw it and was like, "Oh, they've invited me to meet [00:35:00] the captain."
So we go up there, and, you know, you're just in the line. They're just shaking your hand, and then we saw Raquel, and she was like, "Oh, can I do anything for you?" And I was like, "Oh, I'm so sorry," like, "Can my daughter please get her picture with the captain?" Because she thinks that she was personally invited to this.
So if she listens to this podcast, I'm gonna fast-forward through this part. But she thought she was personally invited, so we got to go and get our picture taken with the captain, and that was a real highlight for her, and she was so excited about it we had to cancel a dinner reservation to go. Like- Yeah
it worked out. Wow. We went and had dinner later somewhere else, but yeah. It was-
Speaker 3: No, it worked out, and she helped us out on several- Yeah. Mm-hmm ... other things. Raquel is great. So she's our favorite.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. It's really important to, you know- Mm ... be kind to the people who are taking- Mm-hmm
care of you.
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
Speaker: Awesome. So you've got another fun trip coming up. Tell us all about your Celebrity that's coming up.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we are going on our first two Celebrity cruises this summer. The first one, we're not going in the Retreat because that's just what worked [00:36:00] out, um, for us, and the kids, in the Mediterranean, but we are going on Alaska cruise with Ben's family and we are staying in, the Celebrity Suite in the Retreat.
So we're trying that out for the first time, so I'm super excited to do that. So we're gonna get our feet a little wet with Celebrity in a couple weeks, and then in the end of July we're gonna go in the Retreat and So now we'll get to compare Celebrity Retreat to not only The Haven, but also a little bit of Gen Pop with our next Celebrity cruise, which will be our first non-suite cruise we've taken Besides Disney.
Yeah. But it'll be our first non-suite cruise we've taken in what? 15 years?
Speaker 3: A long time. We do have connecting staterooms though, so
Speaker: Well, you got space, which to me is also- Yeah ... very luxurious. Like if you got- Absolutely ... you know, a little more space, two bathrooms.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
That's the win. 'Cause we were gonna do Retreat on that one too, but all the rooms that were available that would house the four of us, they didn't have like a separate sleeping area, so we were like, "Well, that's just expensive. It's not luxurious."
Speaker: Yeah. because [00:37:00] there's being like crammed like sardines into- Mm-hmm
you know, 200 square feet I don't care what label you put on it- ... that's not luxury.
Speaker 2: That's right. But yeah, so we have a separate sleeping space in the Celebrity Suite on the Solstice, which is an older ship, but did just come out of dry dock. They redid the Retreat area and several of the restaurants and created some new like experience areas, so I'm very excited.
Yeah. Well, it's an amazing class. the Solstice class is just a beautiful class. Very classic looking Celebrity ship. Um, and I've been onto one. They're lovely. We're really excited.
Speaker: Can't wait. Hope you come back and tell us all about- Oh, I know ... your experience on Celebrity and definitely comparing and contrasting the Retreat to, um, The Haven.
So-
Yeah ...
thanks Rebekah and Ben, please, um, we've talked about your YouTube channel and your- ... Instagram a little bit, but just remind everyone what they're called, which we will definitely link in the show notes.
Um, they're both called Luxe Travel for Families with no E, so [00:38:00] L-U-X Travel for Families, and easy to find on both and we hope you'll like and subscribe and follow.
Absolutely. And contact us for your travel needs .
Yes. Absolutely. Listeners, thank you again for joining us, joining me, and until next time, I wish you safe and luxurious cruising.