Considering upgrade on Gem. Would you?

We are booked in a Balcony room on deck 10 for our sailing to the Mexican Riviera in January. I keep looking to see what would be available if we did get an upgrade offer. I keep seeing that Aft penthouse suite on Deck 10 is still available. I look at it probably everyday. I know that with a bid you get whatever they give you if your bid is accepted but I am now considering calling NCL and just upgrading on my own.

The difference in price is about $2700 total. I cringe when I see that but it may be our last big vacation for several years. Is it worth it for that price? Is the space that much better and do I really need butler and concierge service? I work in retail so I loathe asking someone else to do something that I am more than capable of doing. I wonder if I would feel like a spoiled brat. We also haven't spent much time in our cabins before as we love being out and about but would you consider it? Help a girl out!

We love sailing in suites. But it is always a trade off between spending the money on the room and [really] putting the money aside to spend while on the cruise. I would lean toward using the money on yourself during the cruise.

After upgrading to an aft penthouse on my last Alaskan cruise, my opinion is if you can swing it do it. The $2700 is a lot of money, so if you can be patient watch the prices carefully (like a couple times a day) and be prepared to jump on it if it drops. I was able to upgrade from a forward balcony to an aft penthouse on deck 9 on the Jewel for a bit over $200. You may not be able to score that good of a deal, but you never know.

After upgrading to an aft penthouse on my last Alaskan cruise, my opinion is if you can swing it do it. The $2700 is a lot of money, so if you can be patient watch the prices carefully (like a couple times a day) and be prepared to jump on it if it drops. I was able to upgrade from a forward balcony to an aft penthouse on deck 9 on the Jewel for a bit over $200. You may not be able to score that good of a deal, but you never know.

That is what my husband said. We are still about 130ish days out so plenty of time for it to drop (hopefully). It is a lot of money. Ill just keep watching!

Personally I would wait and see if it's available to bid on, and watch the price to upgrade.

I have never been in an aft suite(though I’d love to try one if my DH and I ever go without the kids), but we usually cruise in the Haven or a 2bdrm suite. IMO it is worth it. You also get all the promos with a suite, so you get more for your money.

Either way, I am sure you’ll have a fabulous time!

We bid for an upgrade on the Gem in February from a Mini to a Penthouse. We were awarded a forward Penthouse with a massive balcony. The room itself was not substantially bigger, but the Perks were worth the extra money—priority boarding, concierge and butler service, priority debarkation at ports, special restaurants for breakfast and lunch to name a few.

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We stayed in 10666 on our last cruise on the Gem in June. I loved the cabin itself. I enjoyed the aft balcony, but felt the suite "perks" were LACKING. Our butler was useless and so was our concierge. Had a much better suite experience on the Jewel.

If I had to do it all over again, I am not sure I would do the aft suite due to the price.

I would do it in a heartbeat, BUT since you said you are not the type that feels comfortable being 'pampered' if you can easily do something for yourself, it may not be worth $2700 to you. The aft views are gorgeous, but you can get those in an aft mini suite without the high price tag. To me, the suite difference is primarily a difference in SERVICE, and that means being treated like a 'spoiled brat' :') which is AWESOME if you are into it (I am!) but I get that some people are not.

So, if you don't feel as if you will take full advantage of the difference in service (having someone at the ready to fulfill your special (out of the ordinary) requests), I'm not sure you'd see it as a $2700 value.

Definitely at least try a bid before you pay for the full price upgrade. The worst they can do is say no! The minimum bid on suites is usually $400/750pp, depending on the category, so hopefully just $800 total for the cabin you want, since it doesn't sound like an owner's suite/garden Villa type room. That's a lot less than $2700!

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We are booked in a Balcony room on deck 10 for our sailing to the Mexican Riviera in January. I keep looking to see what would be available if we did get an upgrade offer. I keep seeing that Aft penthouse suite on Deck 10 is still available. I look at it probably everyday. I know that with a bid you get whatever they give you if your bid is accepted but I am now considering calling NCL and just upgrading on my own.

 

The difference in price is about $2700 total. I cringe when I see that but it may be our last big vacation for several years. Is it worth it for that price? Is the space that much better and do I really need butler and concierge service? I work in retail so I loathe asking someone else to do something that I am more than capable of doing. I wonder if I would feel like a spoiled brat. We also haven't spent much time in our cabins before as we love being out and about but would you consider it? Help a girl out!

We bid on a forward facing Penthouse Suite on the Gem this past July and we won the bid. We bid in the very poor range and we never thought we would win the bid. Best decision we ever made.

The size of the balcony was phenomenal. Fabulous vacation!!