cupcake1222

I appreciate all the different perspectives. Our first cruise was in a penthouse suite (room 10500). It was a 9 night cruise out of Barcelona on the Jade. This recent one was a 2 night on the Dawn out of New Orleans in a 2 bedroom suite (room 11520). In between these two cruises, we also did a 7 night on the Jewel out of New Orleans in a balcony cabin.

Although the suite perks and attention from the butler wasn't what I had anticipated on either of my "suite" cruises, I LOVED the rooms, especially the two bedroom! It was fabulous!

Thanks for all the feedback/suggestions. Maybe we will try one more time before giving up on it. Either way, we enjoy cruising and we really like NCL, so we will be cruising with them again in the future.

I don't understand - so it wasn't a big deal for you while you're actually on the cruise so corrective action can be taken, but it's a big enough deal that you'll come here and complain about it. Not sure I understand what the point is?

I'm sorry it came across as complaining. We had great weekend and lots of fun. I'll continue to cruise NCL. I just see so many posts about how wonderful the perks are with the suite, how attentive the butler and concierge can be, etc. and that wasn't the case on either of my cruises. I do think it was very strange that the butler didn't even come by to introduce himself. That doesn't seem to be the norm for most experiences in a suite. I was just stating what my experience was and it was quiet different from most. Sorry if you felt I was complaining that I didn't get something. It wasn't a big deal, just different from what I've read. : )

The butler isn't "supposed" to tell you all about the perks.

 

The perks are listed in print, in letters delivered to your stateroom.

 

The butler is supposed to ensure that the room operates as expected (you know how to use the lights, the coffee maker, the air conditioner, etc. They're not expected to direct you to Cagneys.

 

However, that's another oddity. For the past few years, when I have boarded, they've always tried to direct me immediately to Cagneys (rather than my room).

 

 

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The first time we had nothing in our room to inform us of anything. This time we did have a little card with Cagney times listed, but I already knew about the "perk" from reading here. So no, I didn't need the butler to tell me this, but it would have been nice for him to at least come by and introduce him self. We would have loved to have known how to operate the coffee maker!

I hear you loud and clear! We had our first suite cruise (our second on NCL) in 2012 and while we did get our daily snacks they weren't what we asked for. I'm allergic to most types of shell fish and since we couldn't tell what some of the savory ones were we asked for chocolate, cookies, brownies, chocolate covered strawberries or just about anything else. We got the savory ones all days but two. Our concierge was non-existent for the entire cruise except for the last day to escort us off the ship. We saw our butler twice (he seemed to deliver the snacks when we weren't around. We did however know about Cagney's and the priority embarkation and disembarkation mostly from cruise critic.

 

Second cruise in a suite is coming up on 2/1 of next year and we shall see. Since I mostly love and book the suites for the large balconies most of the other stuff doesn't bother me but I know we can always book aft balconies and get a terrific size balcony and not pay the suite price so we shall see what this cruise brings. Truth be told we probably wouldn't have used the concierge much anyways or the butler for that matter. The butler got a small tip and the concierge zilch.

I hope you have better luck on your cruise in February! We haven't tried an aft balcony yet, but that might be something to check into!

The butler with the phone ringing was our first cruise in a suite in 2010. I had read nothing about suites (we got an upsell 3 days before the cruise). I had no idea we even had a phone in our room, so no, I didn't know that was what was going on.

The cruise we got off yesterday did have a cordless phone, but there were no buttons labeled for anyone. I thought it was to take around the ship and call your room if you needed someone. Guess I didn't read enough if it is supposed to be to call your butler!! : )

It does not sound like you complained to your concierge or the hotel director about your experiences.

 

The butlers work for the concierge and if they are not doing there job, you can inform them so and they can take corrective action.

 

Similarly if the highest paying passengers are unhappy, the Hotel Director would be happy to hear about it so they also can take corrective action to fix what is wrong.

 

The best place and time to get this fixed was on the ship.

 

I hope your experiences are an isolated case.

 

I stay in the suites pretty much all the time and my experiences do not agree with yours.

No, I didn't complain to anyone. On a two night cruise, it just wasn't that big of a deal. Had we been on a longer cruise, I would have let someone know. I guess I was just a little disappointed that after two different cruises in a suite, I haven't had the experience I hear about.

I tend to agree with you short cruises not really being worth it! The turn around is just crazy! We booked the 2 night cruise for just the "girls" in our family. My aunt recently lost her husband, so it was great to just get away from "life" for awhile. We're about an hour and forty five minutes from New Orleans, so it was a quick easy trip. We had fun and I enjoyed it, but there is no way I'd want to do this on a regular basis!!

Let me preface this by saying I love NCL. It's our favorite cruise line and we'll continue to sail NCL. Now that being said, I've read rave reviews about the suites for years. I just got back yesterday from my second stay in a suite on NCL. I was disappointed the first time we had a suite, but I give everything a second chance. Sadly I was disappointed yet again. I just don't get it. We've had two disappointing suite experiences, while it seems that everyone else has the time of their lives!

Our first experience in a suite was over Christmas 2010 on the Jade. The upsell fairy called us three days before the cruise and we switched from a balcony to a SJ penthouse. The room was great, the cruise was awesome and we enjoyed everything---but the suite perks.

Our butler escorted us to our room, but as we were going to the room, his phone kept ringing. He opened the door to our room and showed us in, but excused himself to get the phone. I thought he'd come back, but we NEVER saw him again. This was our first experience with a suite, so my knowledge at the time was limited. I didn't know exactly what all the butler could/should do for you. When I say we didn't see him again, I mean we didn't see him or hear from him again until the day we got off the ship. We didn't get any info. on having dining set up in our room, we didn't know about Cagney's, we got no snacks delivered to the room, we didn't know anything about the priority tendering, disembarkation, etc. He came to our room the morning we disembarked to "help" us with our luggage. We had money set aside for a tip for him, but we gave it to our room steward as a bonus because he was the one who saw to our needs/wants.

I came home from the cruise, read up on suite perks and decided to try it again. We got home yesterday from a two night CTN on the Dawn in a two bedroom suite. When we arrived at the port and checked in, we were taken to the "VIP" room where we were met by the concierge. There as a butler with her and he escorted us to our room. I asked him if he was our butler for the next two days and he said no, that ours was escorting other guests and he was helping him out. We got to our room and he left. We never saw our butler the entire cruise, not even when we left yesterday morning! Again we weren't told about Cagney's, priority seating for the shows, priority disembarkation, etc. (but I had done my homework and knew this time). We also had no snacks delivered to our room. Our room steward kept telling us our butler would be around to introduce himself, but he never showed up. Now I'm wondering if it being a two night cruise had anything to do with it, but I know that can't be it.

I don't want to sound like a negative Nelly. We didn't need/want anything (other than to figure out how to use the coffee machine in our room and the room steward couldn't figure it out for us!). If it would have been a major big deal, I would have called someone, so obviously it wasn't that important. I guess I'm just disappointed because I hear all these wonderful stories about the suites and all the nice perks and it hasn't been the case for me either time.

Other than the suites, we've also sailed NCL in a balcony cabin. I think that's what we'll stick to from now on.

We leave in five days (just a 2 night CTN) and we haven't received anything. I did find the number for the precruise concierge and called to request certain pillows, but we haven't received anything from them. Not a biggie. It's just a two nighter, but I would have thought we'd get something from them.

We just switched from a family suite with balcony to the 2bedroom suite last night (Dawn, in November). Glad to read this thread! Sounds like a great room!

Carnivale--1983 out of Miami. I was a kid, but remember it well!

Some of the great work your steward did was probably actually done by the butler when you weren't there.

 

Lots of people stiff the butler for lots of reasons.

Nope, these were things the steward did that we saw or he did for us while we were there. One thing was my luggage being lost for all but the last 36 hours of our 9 day cruise. Our room steward told us where to go to fill out lost luggage paper work, gave us updates every evening, and while this was done by NCL and not our steward, he came by every evening to pick up our laundry and returned by lunch the next day. He would come by to get the laundry even after servicing the cabin. He showed us how to use the coffee machine, told us about the movies we could order (butler never did this), we asked about getting sodas for the fridge and he went and got them for us, etc. I could go on and on. Like I said, or butler walked us to our cabin, his phone started ringing, he walked out to answer it and we never saw him again until the day we left. No snacks each evening, no nothing. I've cruised alot and our room steward was by far the best steward I have ever had. I even wrote a letter when we got back telling what a great steward he was. Her was the best!!

I have stayed in penthouse suites on the Star and the Gem. They were two completely different experiences. On the Star, I was told that being in a penthouse suite did not entitle me to saved seating in the theater or early admission to the chocolate buffett. On the Gem, I didn' t expect to get either but we did. I felt like we were treated like royality on the Gem. I spoke to other suite passengers about it and was told that it depends on the concierge. I had Patrick on the Star and Kadek on the Gem. I just don't want you to get your hopes up and have them fall short of expectations like I did. I almost did not book another suite because of my disappointing experiences and too high expectations on the Star with both my concierge and my butler. I am glad I tried again because my experience on the Gem was amazing. I just hope my third try is as good! Enjoy your trip, but go in with realistic expectations. Just because people get it on oneship or with one concierge does not mean it is standard. If it is not listed as a suite amenity, it is possible, but not guaranteed.

Thank You so much for posting this!! Three years ago were offered an upsell 72 hours before sailing. We were on the Jade and had booked a BA. We took the upsell and were booked in room 10502 (Penthouse).

Maybe because we were an upsell (?), but we didn't know anything about any of the perks. I did try read up on them before we left, but the call came about 12 hours before we were flying out to Barcelona for a precruise stay.

Anyway, it was less than stellar. Our butler did escort us to our room, but kept getting calls and finally left. We didn't see him again until the morning we left. Our room steward showed us how to use the coffee machine, told us we could order DVD's, etc.

We never met the concierge, didn't get any snacks delivered to our room, we did have one bottle of water and were charged for it. I thought it was free, but wasn't sure. We also did have a bowl of fruit in our room and a flower arrangement. That was about it.

When I got home and read about all the perks, I was a little disappointed we didn't experience any of this. Oh, we did take extra money to tip the butler, but since we didn't see him the entire trip, we gave it to our room steward---he was awesome!

We still had an awesome trip and just got back from another NCL cruise on the Jewel. We had a balcony cabin and their was no difference in the way we were treated/perks going from one category to the other. I did miss the larger room, huge balcony, and tub!!

We're booked on the Dawn for this November in a family suite w/o balcony (SJ I think). I'm curious to see if the suite life will indeed be "sweet" for us on this time. Either way, we love NCL and have always had a great time cruising with them!

Thanks for this list of perks. I'm going to print them out so I'm prepared for November!

Hands down, crème brulee at Le Bistro!

Can't wait to read about the ship! We leave on her Sunday! We've previously sailed on the Jade and hope we enjoy the Jewel just as much!

We were in a penthouse on the jade (10502). We had two loungers, a table, and a regular chair.

We had a 10:30 flight and walked off with out luggage around 7am. My TA set up a transfer for us to the airport. Don't remember the company now, but driver was waiting for us as we walked off. We had no problem getting to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I did check for later flights and had those flight numbers just in case we missed our flight, but didn't need them.

Thanks for the review! We're sailing on the Jewel in 20 days. We were on the Jade three years ago and loved her! Hoping to have just as great of an experience on the Jewel!

We were offered an upsell three years ago on the Jade from a BA to a penthouse (10502). The room was quite large and the balcony was huge--loved it!! The door was hard to open and we did have to keep the drapes closed at night, but that really wasn't a problem. We're sailing on the Jewel three week from today in a BC. I'm sure I'll miss the larger room and balcony, but I'm happy to be cruising again! Enjoy!

We upgraded from an ocean view to a balcony for $76. Totally worth it to me!

Thanks for the info on the jazz brunch! I haven't seen it on the advanced dining page. I'll definitely keep my eye out for it while on board!

Curious about the jazz brunch. Our cruise is over New Years and I would love to do this, but never heard of it. Can you give me any details? TIA!

Thanks! We leave on the Jewel Dec. 29. We booked Mama's for New Years Eve. We ate at Papa's (Jade) a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Hoping Mama's will be just as good!

We'll be on the Jewel over New Year's. I did book something for New Years Eve, but only because I was afraid it might be a little harder to get what I wanted that night.