A suite by any other name......

[kelleherdl]

Except for the Prinsendam HAL has a pretty consistent type of high-end stateroom fleet-wide. The S on the smaller ships and SA-SC on the larger ships are in size and amenities/benefits pretty much the same. Does anyone know if any other mass-market line has the same idea of consistent layouts and amenities for it's larger staterooms? I have looked at a few (like RCCL, Celebrity, Princess, NCL etc) and it seems to vary so much. Junior suites, family suites and whatever and then there is no consistency across classes of ships within a fleet like there is on HAL. It is a little harder to understand value comparisons on comparing itineraries/prices between lines when the product varies so much.

 

Maybe experienced cruise travel agents have cheat sheets that they use to compare?

 

Dennis

[fann1sh]

Back when I had a local, terrific travel agent (now retired) I quizzed him about suites on other lines. He was so knowledgeable....but he politely reminded me, "Suites are a very small percentage of the total cabins in the industry. I don't have many customers who book them."

 

It seems to me most agents have details on relative merits of various balcony cabins at their finger tips.

 

Suites? Not so much.

 

I hope Laffnvegas sees and posts to this thread with her perspective!

[kazu]

Back when I had a local, terrific travel agent (now retired) I quizzed him about suites on other lines. He was so knowledgeable....but he politely reminded me, "Suites are a very small percentage of the total cabins in the industry. I don't have many customers who book them."

 

It seems to me most agents have details on relative merits of various balcony cabins at their finger tips.

 

Suites? Not so much.

 

I hope Laffnvegas sees and posts to this thread with her perspective!

 

I have to agree. a lot of TA's don't know the difference and don't have a lot of people that book suites (unless you use certain companies and even then:confused:.)

 

In fact I was once quoted pricing on deluxe ocean view when I asked for deluxe verandah suite!:eek: I knew the pricing was wrong. I doubt if there is an easy answer to this and you will have to do research.

 

I totally agree. I was trying to research another ship that seemed to be close to our itinerary. It took forever to figure out the suites and after comparing, we booked HAL again:D

 

 

 

Good luck with your research;)

[djhsolara]

We do pretty extensive research before booking each sailing (I'm talking weeks and months) and have found that the word suite is used so randomly by other cruiselines. We know what a suite is on HAL, but on many other cruiselines it could simply mean just a larger balcony room.

 

We love the suites on HAL...and now know what comes with them. It makes it very hard to not book a suite on future sailings. We're anxious to sail in a Royal Suite on Celebrity Millennium, however they do not have a Neptune Lounge...which to me was one of the nicest amenities of the suite.

 

:) :)

[Gasdoc]

On Celebrity Millenium class vessels the Celebrity, Royal and Penthouse suites are true suites with a living area and separate bedroom. Yes there is no Neptune lounge on Celebrity but suites have a butler who takes excellent care throughout the day and High tea every afternoon. First cruise on HAL this fall, looking forward to comparing the two lines.

[Bippie]

In comparing suites between HAL and Princess, I finally decided to call both and simply ask questions. First and foremost, I wanted to know the size of the suite - both inside and on the balcony. Both lines had this information for specific cabins. I know I could have asked my TA to do this but I wanted this information in the evening when the TA was closed.

[jhannah]

The word 'suite' is simply a marketing nugget. It means nothing, IMO. HAL's veranda suites are not suites at all ... by definition. Just one room. Visit an office suite and you have multiple, separate offices. Stay at Embassy Suites and you have a living area and a bedroom separated by a wall and door that closes.

 

The S category is closest to being a suite because of its separate dressing room area. (And the Penthouse Suite, of course.) All the rest simply carry that name to get people to take notice. Sorry, but this is a pet peeve of mine. I'll hush now. ;)

[taxmantoo]

The S category is closest to being a suite because of its separate dressing room area. (And the Penthouse Suite, of course.) All the rest simply carry that name to get people to take notice. Sorry, but this is a pet peeve of mine. I'll hush now. ;)

 

No need to hush, Sir. You are right. If you take away Neptune Lounge privileges, what are you left with? An oversized balcony cabin, plain and simple. We still love them and book them, but they are definitely not suites. In fact, the mini-suites on NCL and Princess are much more of a suite (or studio) than the S cabins on HAL, which we still prefer by the way :D

[Randyk47]

The word 'suite' is simply a marketing nugget. It means nothing, IMO. HAL's veranda suites are not suites at all ... by definition. Just one room. Visit an office suite and you have multiple, separate offices. Stay at Embassy Suites and you have a living area and a bedroom separated by a wall and door that closes.

 

The S category is closest to being a suite because of its separate dressing room area. (And the Penthouse Suite, of course.) All the rest simply carry that name to get people to take notice. Sorry, but this is a pet peeve of mine. I'll hush now. ;)

 

Cruise lines, not just HAL, play a little fast and lose with the word "suite". The only true suite we've had was a Royal Suite on the old Galaxy and that truly had a two rooms, a bedroom and a living room, separated by double doors, not just a curtain. Of course this also brings up my long standing objection to the use of "superior suites" which came about with introduction of the Vista class ships. ;)

[jhannah]

Of course this also brings up my long standing objection to the use of "superior suites" which came about with introduction of the Vista class ships. ;)

That, too! "Superior" seems like a superlative to "deluxe," yet it's a lesser category stateroom on HAL.

[DutchByAssociation]

That, too! "Superior" seems like a superlative to "deluxe," yet it's a lesser category stateroom on HAL.

 

However where the terminology is used we are either showing the categories on a deck plan (top to bottom, left to right is highest to lowest) OR we are using diagrams of the rooms where the Deluxe is clearly larger OR we are showing the prices where the Deluxe is without a doubt higher.

 

I get what yu're saying, but when the terms are not pulled out of context, it's really made quite clear. :)

[Randyk47]

I get what yu're saying, but when the terms are not pulled out of context, it's really made quite clear. :)

 

Certainly it's become more clear over the years, at least with those of us who are frequent cruisers, but it was a real problem when it was first introduced. It's become clear out of use which provides the context, the terminology is still confusing. Lots of folks were pulling it out of context early on, some who maybe should have known better, some who were just confused. I happened to be on the Oosterdam early in her inaugural year and knowingly booked an SS with a full understanding of what it was and wasn't, thanks in part to my participation on this board. We just happened to be at the front office desk for another reason on the first day aboard when three or four irate couples showed up to complain about not having access to the Neptune Lounge. All were in SS cabins and, giving them at least some credit for being honest, were contending they'd been misled either by HAL or their TA. OK, can't blame HAL for the TA's error but clearly even well meaning TA's were confused early on. Shame on one that would make that mistake today but again I suppose it happens.