Ben and Jerry Suite

[sj25]

thanks for your comments on this room, i am worried about the noise of the doors we are both light sleepers. what other perks did you get as well as the ice cream.

 

This seems to vary...cause it seem like others tell me they recieved different then I did when I was on the Freedom.

But we recieved and extra card which was gold color and that got us into the concerige lounge where we could go anytime...they had the drinks before dinner. We still went to the diamond lounge instead. This did give us special seating...some say they did not...so that varies. We did go and use the seating for suites at the pool area and showed the card and was fine. We were told if we wanted to purchase the cabana at the special private part of labadee we could of but we choose not to.....but we did ask about it. I just know this is what we had when we was on.

And of course the room is all decorated with cows. So which ship are you going on and when?

[Daghis]

We were told if we wanted to purchase the cabana at the special private part of labadee we could of but we choose not to.....but we did ask about it.

That's very good to know. I had been wondering about this myself. Thanks!

[VernRDH]

thanks for your comments on this room, i am worried about the noise of the doors we are both light sleepers. what other perks did you get as well as the ice cream.

 

We got the gold "suite" card, which basically was the key to the concierge lounge. Other than access to the lounge and the concierge, nothing else. But that was okay by us.

[Wendy&Grumpy]

We will have this Sweet on the Freedom in less than 3 weeks.

 

It's a birthday and anniversary celebration for me and I can't wait!!

 

If there's anything specific anyone would like me to check on, let me know! (And remember, I'll be on Freedom. :) )

[TravlGrl]

We'll be in this cabin for the second time, but first time on Liberty, starting Sat, Feb 16 and will report back any updates! It's been a few years since we enjoyed this cabin, so I'm really looking forward to it.

[sj25]

We will have this Sweet on the Freedom in less than 3 weeks.

 

It's a birthday and anniversary celebration for me and I can't wait!!

 

If there's anything specific anyone would like me to check on, let me know! (And remember, I'll be on Freedom. :) )

 

 

Well sure hope you have a great time...and have to let us know about your experience!

 

We'll be in this cabin for the second time, but first time on Liberty, starting Sat, Feb 16 and will report back any updates! It's been a few years since we enjoyed this cabin, so I'm really looking forward to it.

 

Have to let us know how your experience is on the Liberty ben and jerry suite.. D0 enjoy!:)

[Wendy&Grumpy]

We'll be in this cabin for the second time, but first time on Liberty, starting Sat, Feb 16 and will report back any updates! It's been a few years since we enjoyed this cabin, so I'm really looking forward to it.

 

Looks like everyone will be getting updates on two ships B & J's Sweets at the same time... we sail on the Freedom on the 17th!

 

Have a great cruise!!

[TravlGrl]

Looks like everyone will be getting updates on two ships B & J's Sweets at the same time... we sail on the Freedom on the 17th!

 

Have a great cruise!!

Excellent! Let's compare notes when we return. Happy Sailing!

[Daghis]

Darn, my cruise is still a month away. I'll be on the Independence on the 16th, but in March. That would have been awesome to have three Cruise Critic members sailing in all three of the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" cabins at the same time.

[jc24cruiser]

Personally I would put up with having a real cow in my room for the ice cream vouchers!!!

 

Where I work my p/t 2nd job the small tubs of B & J costs £5 :eek: and is the only thing on the menu that I don't get staff discount on!

 

x

[Agutaya]

Darn, my cruise is still a month away. I'll be on the Independence on the 16th, but in March. That would have been awesome to have three Cruise Critic members sailing in all three of the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" cabins at the same time.

 

That would have been great. We'll be in B&J on Liberty on Dec. 12. Will anyone else be in a B&J at thta time? On another ship, of course. :eek:

 

Personally I would put up with having a real cow in my room for the ice cream vouchers!!!

 

Where I work my p/t 2nd job the small tubs of B & J costs £5 :eek: and is the only thing on the menu that I don't get staff discount on!

 

x

Wow £5, you're making me feel better for the free ice cream. I don't know where to get B&Js near us, except in the grocery store freezer. Marble Slab Creamery is pretty good though. Yumm.

[sj25]

That would have been great. We'll be in B&J on Liberty on Dec. 12. Will anyone else be in a B&J at thta time? On another ship, of course. :eek:

 

First thought maybe you was asking someone to join you...lol I know I would do it again...but don't think my husband would...but will be curious to hear from other ships and the Freedom after we did alot of complaining to get the door fixed.

 

Wow £5, you're making me feel better for the free ice cream. I don't know where to get B&Js near us, except in the grocery store freezer. Marble Slab Creamery is pretty good though. Yumm.

 

 

oh yes delicious ice cream! :D

Edited February 10, 2013 by sj25

[TravlGrl]

Just stepped off Liberty from the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" this morning. Having enjoyed this cabin on Freedom a few years ago, and having read so many updates here, it is very clear that the benefits will change from concierge to concierge, ship to ship, and sailing to sailing. We shot an updated video and will post that over the weekend, but for now, here is the update from Liberty:

 

1. Free ice cream each day for each person in the cabin, with an updated caveat -- You are only allowed a small scoop (in the past they gave you your choice of ANY ice cream item). My DH spoke with the concierge about this, and he said this was incorrect, and the staff at the B&J shop should not be limiting us to just a single scoop. (I don't eat ice cream by the way; this is all for DH.). My DH really wanted a milkshake, even if it meant he'd give up 2 Xs on the ice cream card. After speaking with a supervisor, the B&J staff gave DH a milkshake each day. They said the rules were different on other ships (and I think we clearly know that now! ;)) Depending on who was working, they either marked off 1 X or 2 Xs for it.

 

2. Concierge Lounge access -- On Freedom, they gave us an extra card that provided access to this lounge. We did not receive this extra card on Liberty, so I went to Guest Relations to inquire and was told that my regular SeaPass card would gain us entry. That made sense to me! However, when I tried to use my regular SeaPass card, it wouldn't work in the Concierge Lounge. So, we knocked, and the concierge (Carlos) answered. He assigned us brand new cards -- the Gold cards. This meant that we now had access to any areas designated for Gold card access on the ship (preferred seating at shows, private sundeck above pool area, priority reservations at ice show, disembarkation lounge, and perhaps other areas that we just didn't know about). This could have been an "extended" benefit as a gift from Carlos, possibly for our Anniversary, since he said, "Happy Anniversary" when he gave us the new cards. We were simply to have Concierge Lounge access, and won't expect this gold card each time we're in this cabin...but I'm noting it here in case anyone else experiences the gold card as well. I could be completely wrong about this though, and perhaps Carlos extends this gold card benefit to everyone. :confused:

 

As in the past, the room was decorated with a cow theme everywhere, but a new addition for us were the big, round, soft, floofy cow pillows on the bed. I LOVED these!

 

Pics and video to come over the weekend!

[cruzeluver]

Thanks for the update. We are in the B & J Sweet on Freedom for two weeks in April and cannot wait!!

[sj25]

Just stepped off Liberty from the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" this morning. Having enjoyed this cabin on Freedom a few years ago, and having read so many updates here, it is very clear that the benefits will change from concierge to concierge, ship to ship, and sailing to sailing. We shot an updated video and will post that over the weekend, but for now, here is the update from Liberty:

 

1. Free ice cream each day for each person in the cabin, with an updated caveat -- You are only allowed a small scoop (in the past they gave you your choice of ANY ice cream item). My DH spoke with the concierge about this, and he said this was incorrect, and the staff at the B&J shop should not be limiting us to just a single scoop. (I don't eat ice cream by the way; this is all for DH.). My DH really wanted a milkshake, even if it meant he'd give up 2 Xs on the ice cream card. After speaking with a supervisor, the B&J staff gave DH a milkshake each day. They said the rules were different on other ships (and I think we clearly know that now! ;)) Depending on who was working, they either marked off 1 X or 2 Xs for it.

 

2. Concierge Lounge access -- On Freedom, they gave us an extra card that provided access to this lounge. We did not receive this extra card on Liberty, so I went to Guest Relations to inquire and was told that my regular SeaPass card would gain us entry. That made sense to me! However, when I tried to use my regular SeaPass card, it wouldn't work in the Concierge Lounge. So, we knocked, and the concierge (Carlos) answered. He assigned us brand new cards -- the Gold cards. This meant that we now had access to any areas designated for Gold card access on the ship (preferred seating at shows, private sundeck above pool area, priority reservations at ice show, disembarkation lounge, and perhaps other areas that we just didn't know about). This could have been an "extended" benefit as a gift from Carlos, possibly for our Anniversary, since he said, "Happy Anniversary" when he gave us the new cards. We were simply to have Concierge Lounge access, and won't expect this gold card each time we're in this cabin...but I'm noting it here in case anyone else experiences the gold card as well. I could be completely wrong about this though, and perhaps Carlos extends this gold card benefit to everyone. :confused:

 

As in the past, the room was decorated with a cow theme everywhere, but a new addition for us were the big, round, soft, floofy cow pillows on the bed. I LOVED these!

 

Pics and video to come over the weekend!

 

Thanks for the update...so did you have any bothering noises? I really do think it varies so much from ship to ship. Milkshake wow I would of loved that!

[Daghis]

Thanks for the update, Tara! I'm looking forward to seeing the new video.

 

I wish they would simply standardize on giving gold SeaPass cards as that would simplify things, plus I'd rather have the convenience of using the card I'm already carrying with me to get into the Concierge Lounge rather than having to pick up the single access card from the cabin to go in there. (Plus, if I do that, then the other person in the cabin can't get into the Lounge as easily.)

 

I'm glad that you and your husband were able to work things out with the Ben & Jerry's staff so he could get what he wanted, although some consistency would have been nice.

 

Actually, consistency is something that would be nice for this cabin across the three ships. Just because it's a certain way on Freedom or Liberty doesn't say what's going to be offered on Independence. I guess I'll find out for myself on Independence in a few weeks.

[redwell]

glad you had a good cruise, did you have bathrobes and full menu for room service. did you hear any noise from the staff door. look forward to your video. cant wait to find out what we get on our cruise on the indy

[sj25]

Thanks for the update, Tara! I'm looking forward to seeing the new video.

 

I wish they would simply standardize on giving gold SeaPass cards as that would simplify things, plus I'd rather have the convenience of using the card I'm already carrying with me to get into the Concierge Lounge rather than having to pick up the single access card from the cabin to go in there. (Plus, if I do that, then the other person in the cabin can't get into the Lounge as easily.)

 

I'm glad that you and your husband were able to work things out with the Ben & Jerry's staff so he could get what he wanted, although some consistency would have been nice.

 

Actually, consistency is something that would be nice for this cabin across the three ships. Just because it's a certain way on Freedom or Liberty doesn't say what's going to be offered on Independence. I guess I'll find out for myself on Independence in a few weeks.

 

I also will be anxious to hear how it is on the Independence...on perks that you get also if you heard any of the noise from the staff door? Have a great cruise and sure hope you get to enjoy the perks.

[Agutaya]

Thanks, Tara, for the information as we'll in that "sweet" on Liberty in Dec. Can you tell me how disembarkation was handled?

[TravlGrl]

I canNOT believe I completely forgot to address the sound issue. YES, we could hear the service room every evening, night, and into the wee hours of the morning. To be specific, it was pretty bad on embarkation evening/night, and then pretty bad last night as they were preparing for disembarkation. Additionally, around 3am each night we woke up to the noise. It was the sound of cabinets opening/closing...continuously! It could have been the actual service door opening and closing continuously, but that just doesn't seem to make sense. I really think it was enclosures/drawers/cabinets inside that service room being opened and closed non-stop. My theory is that the crew who work in the laundry room were busy stocking up all of the linens/towels for the cabin stewards so they could prepare for cabin cleanings/re-stocking. Not really sure, but the noises were EVERY night, but just lasted longer on embarkation/disembarkation nights.

 

I took a LOT of naps during this cruise, and thankfully heard nothing during the day.

 

For us, the noise was a bigger issue than the cow butt obstruction. So, I feel like the benefits are more deserved for having to endure the noise more than anything else.

 

When we sailed Freedom in this cabin years ago, we heard absolutely nothing.

 

Regarding the subject of consistency -- I AGREE COMPLETELY! It shouldn't matter which ship we're on or who the concierge is. The benefits should be consistent!

[TravlGrl]

Thanks, Tara, for the information as we'll in that "sweet" on Liberty in Dec. Can you tell me how disembarkation was handled?

We self-disembarked since I needed to get to the office for work today. It was a smooooooth process.

 

The self-disembarkers were to start leaving the ship at 7:30am from Studio B. However, we left our cabin at 7:15am, started walking down to Deck 3 (where Studio B is), and were already motioned to keep going down to Deck 1 to leave the ship. We were off the ship by 7:25, through Customs by 7:45am, picked up our shuttle immediately, and were in our car and on the freeway by 8am.

 

There is a Disembarkation Lounge for Gold card holders, but since we were self-carry, we didn't need to use that benefit.

[TravlGrl]

glad you had a good cruise, did you have bathrobes and full menu for room service. did you hear any noise from the staff door. look forward to your video. cant wait to find out what we get on our cruise on the indy

Yes, we had two bathrobes and they were nice and thick! The room service menu, IMHO of course, has never been very good on RCCL compared to other cruise lines. We didn't order room service simply because the menu is so limited.

[fish6]

Thanks for the update...so did you have any bothering noises? I really do think it varies so much from ship to ship. Milkshake wow I would of loved that!

My friend and I were in this cabin on the Liberty from Jan 24-28th. As for the noise.....YES it was there and let me tell you we were not happy campers. The first night wasn't too bad as we were so exhausted that we finally fell asleep after 1 am. The second night however was a different story as it kept going all night and I think I might have slept a total of ~3 hours. Here is the problem.....there is a heavy steel service door at Ben and Jerry's where all staff access to go up and down the service stairs or elevators. This steel door is accessible even after Ben and Jerry's shuts down. We finally complained to Guest services on the 3rd morning and asked if they could tighten the hinge on the door so it would close SLOWLY and not bang shut. They could not fix it for us on the 3rd day but did give us a key to another cabin in order to at least get some sleep at night. By the last sea day they finally fixed the hinge so the door wouldn't quickly slam shut. The only problem with the last night is that the service stairwell is located right next to this cabin so we had to deal with staff carting luggage all night :rolleyes:

 

The amenities were great....as we often went to the lounges for specialty coffees and the ice cream was good too. However, I don't think I would ever book this cabin again in fear of "the slamming door".

[jeditden]

My wife and I had the "Sweet" on Liberty in November. Did anyone staying in it notice if they left a small wind up cow in there? My wife decided to donate it to the decor.

[TravlGrl]

My wife and I had the "Sweet" on Liberty in November. Did anyone staying in it notice if they left a small wind up cow in there? My wife decided to donate it to the decor.

Yes, it was still there as of this morning! It made my husband want to shop for a "cow thing" to add to the collection, but I put my foot down on that. :rolleyes: I have a pic of it, and when I offload my pics this weekend, you can tell me if it's the same one she left.

 

We actually had a couple of leftover Xs on our free ice cream cards, and hid them behind the safe. If anyone is sailing soon, check behind the safe!

 

CORRECTION! He left the extra ice cream card underneath the cow kleenex container on the top shelf!

Edited February 22, 2013 by TravlGrl