First time suite. Any pre-cruise concierge request suggestions?

[reveur15]

I will be sailing in a suite for the first time next month.

 

This will be our honeymoon :D

 

What can i ask to the concierge before cruising ?

 

I know i can ask for pillows, tea & coffee but beside that, what did you ask for :confused:

 

All suggestions are welcome.

[Va. Plumber]

If you are interested in spa passes, you can request them in advance.

 

They will not bill it until you board.

 

Concierge confirmed they had been secured when we boarded.

[Casino Comp Chick]

A cooler with ice, great if your bringing soda or water with you for the islands

Edited February 10, 2015 by iimmie

[zqvol]

This may sound snippy, but ask for what you want. The main thing that they will do is help you with the red tape while you are on the ship. You want a reservation -- ask. You want special theater seats - ask. I suspect that you get the point.

 

The stuff they bring you at the beginning of the cruise is the least important part of what they do, the service you get during the cruise is what matters.

[reveur15]

If you are interested in spa passes, you can request them in advance.

 

They will not bill it until you board.

 

Concierge confirmed they had been secured when we boarded.

 

I will be on the Jade. From what i have read the Spa area for co-ed on the Jade is limited to only tile loungers and an hydrotherapy small pool. I don't think there is any hot tub there to be together with my wife.:(

Correct me if i'm wrong.

 

Also do you know if there is already blankets (throws) to use on the balcony for cold evening or if i should ask for it ?

[lovetrauma]

I had asked for the mini refrigerator to be empty and to have a pitcher of ice tea and a pitcher of flavor water in the mini refrigerator. In addition to the pillows, tea, coffee and egg crate for the pull out beds.

[herdingdogmom]

I will be on the Jade. From what i have read the Spa area for co-ed on the Jade is limited to only tile loungers and an hydrotherapy small pool. I don't think there is any hot tub there to be together with my wife.:(

Correct me if i'm wrong.

 

Also do you know if there is already blankets (throws) to use on the balcony for cold evening or if i should ask for it ?

 

I haven't seen blankets on the balcony for cold evenings before. Definitely ask for that. In the spa, the hydrotherapy tub is more like a large hot tub looking out at the front of the ship over the tile loungers. Plenty of room for you two, but also another 2-4 people also.

[reveur15]

Thank you very much for your answers.

I appreciate this.:)

[Iluvcruising2]

Congrats on your honeymoon!

 

We were on the Jade, in a non-haven suite. It was really great!

 

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/p/norwegian-jade-ncl-cruise-greece-turkey.html

[52marv]

Congratulations!

 

You can ask to have the fridge emptied so that you can bring your own bottled water and Coca Cola products and put them in there. Just put your bottles and soda in an extra suitcase and put an NCL luggage tag on it. Give it to the porter at the curb and it will be delivered to your suite.

 

For arrival day we asked for chocolate covered strawberries (extra $), chocolate chip cookies and Gummi Bears to be in the room when our kids walked in. Kids LOVED it!

 

Best Wishes and bon voyage!

[rvsullivan]

Congratulations!

 

You can ask to have the fridge emptied so that you can bring your own bottled water and Coca Cola products and put them in there. Just put your bottles and soda in an extra suitcase and put an NCL luggage tag on it. Give it to the porter at the curb and it will be delivered to your suite.

 

For arrival day we asked for chocolate covered strawberries (extra $), chocolate chip cookies and Gummi Bears to be in the room when our kids walked in. Kids LOVED it!

 

Best Wishes and bon voyage!

 

 

And be aware that if you put water/soda in a checked suitcase it may/will go to the "naughty room" and you will have to go down and retrieve it. Also bags get handled a little roughly so may break water/soda open in suitcase. Better to carry water/soda on board as a carry on.

Pre concierge has been hit or miss for several cruises. Most items can be handled by the butler/concierge at check in.

[mearsfansinboise]

Congratulations!

 

You can ask to have the fridge emptied so that you can bring your own bottled water and Coca Cola products and put them in there. Just put your bottles and soda in an extra suitcase and put an NCL luggage tag on it. Give it to the porter at the curb and it will be delivered to your suite.

 

For arrival day we asked for chocolate covered strawberries (extra $), chocolate chip cookies and Gummi Bears to be in the room when our kids walked in. Kids LOVED it!

 

Best Wishes and bon voyage!

 

We wanted to ask for special things like this when we got to our suite for the first time as well. How did you know the chocolate covered strawberries were extra? Will those options be on a list or something? Definitely want all the fun perks for the kids - like the gummi bears and cookies ... and I love chocolate covered strawberries!

[52marv]

Mearsfansinboise,

 

I spoke to the pre cruise concierge and asked him for the treats and he told me strawberries were extra. I think I saw them on the list of things you could order in the romance package. If you see something on the NCL website, they can put it in your suite, but there may be an extra charge.

 

As far being in the Haven with kids, here are tips I wrote last year after being in the Haven with my teens. Have fun!:

 

My family of four (Mom, Dad, 17 & 13 year old) stayed in the Haven. It was great, but I have a lot of non Haven tips too. Have fun on your cruise!

 

 

You can have anything in the Haven restaurant, even if it's not on the menu. We are an allergy family and the staff went out of the way to create substitutions for my daughter. A friend orders eggs benedict with steak for breakfast in the Haven as her version of steak and eggs. We try not to get crazy with ordering unobtainable things, but the staff, continually surpassed our notion of what was possible. The staff in the Haven is wonderful.

 

If you want MDR food, they will deliver it to you in the Haven or your room. We asked to have MDR menus placed in our room at the start of the cruise.

 

Ask the preconcierge, through email before you go, to put bed toppers on the kids room beds. It makes it a bit more comfy.

 

Anoop and Noemi, the concierges are fantastic. They escort you to the front of the line when disembarking at islands and on the last day right off the ship. No lines ever. They escort you to front of line for Illusionarium dinner magic show. They can get you reservations for any restaurant, show, spa excursion (except last night, Cagney's was booked solid)

 

Use the Pre-concierge service. NCL will email the name of the Pre-concierge, ours was Arthur Paris and he was wonderful. They will do whatever you ask, we arranged for spa, food & drink in room, empty mini fridge or fill it with what you like, afternoon tea.

 

The Haven has reserved seating in the theater on the left side about ten rows from the front, so you don't need to go early (they release Haven seats 5 minutes before the show). It's good seating, although if you want to sit in the center of the theater, go early.

 

Our butler was Rodney, he was wonderful. I arranged to have chocolate chip cookies and gummi bears in the room when we arrived and he kept them coming all week. Every afternoon @ 4 pm he delivered chocolate covered strawberries, canapés (salmon, shrimp, brie, prosciutto) sandwiches (your choice) and chips. If we had wanted something else, he would have brought it.

 

Lobster night is in the Buffet on the 2nd day on Getaway. Instead, on that night, @ 6 pm Rodney delivered two plates of lobster tails to our suite, perfectly cooked. My son and husband were amazed. They will also get you Lobster that night in the Haven restarant

 

Other people had breakfast, lunch dinner delivered.

 

Rodney delivered DVDs for my daughter.

 

On the sun deck, Oliver & Mary, the deck stewards bring around cookies, fruit skewers, cold towels, little cups of smoothies, drinks.

Anoop and Noemi are the Concierges. Rodney is the Butler and Ahmed is the Steward and they all go way above and beyond in making your cruise special. I asked for chocolate chip cookies, chocolate covered strawberries and gummi bears to be waiting in the room for the kids on the first day, and they brought this:

 

 

Also, lobster night is in the buffet, not the main dining room. Ask Rodney to bring lobsters to your room @ 5-6 pm. My husband and son raved about how well cooked they were. Rodney pays attention to what treats you like and then brings you more. I always ate the grapes in the fruit bowl, so he started doubling & tripling the grapes!

 

This was my view at breakfast every morning:

 

 

On sea days I sat on the upper deck of the Haven Sun Deck overlooking the ocean.

 

The seats against the railing have an unobstructed view, but they felt very hot to me.

 

 

I personally preferred to sit in the blue chairs at the end of the third row back against the white sunshade with a red umbrella to my left.https://www.flickr.com/photos/21740531@N07/13582255693/ No matter where you sit, you can see the ocean.

 

Oliver and Mary, the Deck Stewards are amazing! They are constantly offering smoothies, cold towels, fruit skewers, moving umbrellas, anything you want.

 

Every single staff member in the Haven is outstanding, the best cruise staff I have ever met. You are going to LOVE it!! The room even has high powered binoculars on the bookshelf in the living room! Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you. In the meantime, here are the Haven/Ship tips I culled from CC before I went that worked for us. My personal experience is in italics:

 

GETAWAY HAVEN CRUISE TIPS

 

Get to port @ 11am. Go to Terminal C. As soon as you are through security look for priority suites room on the left. They will then take you to special waiting room for suites where they have snacks and drinks. You get escorted on ship 1st.

 

Anoop Bhanu is the Concierge. Consummate professional and a very nice man. No matter what we need, always there to assist. Assistant, Ram and third member of the Concierge team, Noemi, also very helpful all week.

 

There is early suite walk-off disembarkation through Anoop.

 

Anoop met us each morning to facilitate (secret passage) getting off ship. Met us onshore to get us on tender. Always check with concierge for the plan on port days. They meet at different places to escort you off.

 

Rodney, our Butler, brought chocolate chip cookies, gummy bears and peanut M&Ms. He asked what we would like waiting when we returned from excursion and showed up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (We actually had salami, ham, bologna and turkey). Brought cheesecake brownie from Osheehan’s. Delivered DVD's and CD's; afternoon tea We pre-ordered lobster tails as appetizers in our room at 5:30 PM on the second night--the night that the buffet serves it, and they came exactly as ordered, hot and perfectly cooked, except our butler gave us double what we had ordered. We asked that menus from all the restaurants be in the cabin, to make it easier to choose when ordering room service. Asked for chocolate croissants to be delivered every morning at 7:30 AM (except the last morning), so I could enjoy one with my early morning cappuccino. Butler brought us a pot of decaf, two pots of regular, a pastry tray, and a fruit tray every morning before 7am

 

Valet served breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks everyday of our cruise in the courtyard including a relaxed last breakfast on the day of our disembarkation. Courtyard valet will serve breakfast in the courtyard earlier that day as well.

 

Butler brings treats every day @ about 4pm. Ask what you can request or be surprised. We always had fresh fruit, canapes, gummi bears & cookies for kids

 

Don’t miss breakfast & lunch in the Haven, quiet, peaceful and high service, if you want something just ask its made to order right there. Butler will bring to room but I’d rather have there in the Haven.

 

Since you're in suite tip butler and concierge. Go to Guest Services get voucher to give to them and have it charged to your onboard account. I know you can't use OBC for the DSC but I think you can use it for butler and concierge.

 

Cabins are usually not ready after lunch but you can drop your hand luggage in the cabin and lock valuables in the safe.

 

Crowds gather in the three-deck atrium — with its giant video screen — to play "Deal or No Deal," compete in trivia contests

 

Lavazza pod machine is in your room, butler gives pods for coffee or tea. It's excellent coffee. Has steam wand and pitcher, its easy to steam milk for cappuccino or latte,

 

Letters will be delivered to your room for events. Suite party is very nice, they offer tray of drinks but its open bar if you want.

 

Lack of electrical outlets in your cabin: bring along a power strip. We brought power strips for our room and the kids room and are glad we did

 

Haven Restaurant Desert: Brownie with Macadamia Nut Ice Cream it’s delicious. In the Haven Restaurant you can order the Eggs Benedict along with the filet from the steak and eggs for your own "perfect" version of steak and eggs!!

 

Ocean Blue on the waterfront- the Lobster roll, very good. crab tostada. Lobster Roll from Ocean Blue on the Waterfront for lunch WOW! ($10) Steak Tartar and Dover Sole in Ocean Blue for dinner AMAZING! ($49)

 

If you go to Moderno be careful of that salad bar. It's fantastic, but it will fill you up fast and you have 11 kinds of meat to sample. They're all great, and they are quite free about giving you seconds and thirds! Have the roasted pineapple at Moderno, it's great!

 

If you ask your waiter you can get deserts from Cagney’s in Maderno and the fried bananas from Maderno for her desert in Cagneys’

 

Moderno excellent and well worth $20 cover charge. Le Bistro is good too but for the same price Moderno was a bit better value [Le Bistro had escargot which I love but other lines offer this for free in the MDR so I was sad NCL only has it in the pay restaurants]. You can't go wrong with either but if you only do 1 cover charge restaurant on the trip I would pick Moderno.

 

O'Sheehans: nice breakfast; limited eggs, delicious French toast. A basket of pastries on the table. Never crowded. Wings, fish & chips are great, try chicken potpie. Corn Beef Cabbage Soup amazing! Buffalo Wings, Burger, Corn Beef sandwich. Bar menu not as large as sit down restaurant side ask the bartenders to get something from the restaurant side and they obliged with a smile. They post the restaurant menu right by the reception podium at the restaurant. prime rib dinner on the 1st night. Monday evening was prime rib night in O’Sheehans, they also had rib bight and fried chicken night. Ice cream menu, you pay extra but the sundaes are yummy.

 

The Noodle Bar has a limited menu, but the Chef, who was very pleasant to speak with, said you can mix and match and change the menu items if you don’t see what you want. We thought Shanghais was EXCELLENT they do dumplings, egg rolls, noodle dishes. It was so good we went three times.

 

Flamingo Grill great choice for breakfast. Buffet style. Never crowded; always able to find a table. Made to order omelets, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausages, different types of egg sandwiches, fruit, pastries, bagels/rolls, lox, etc. No oatmeal - have to go to the buffet for that. Favorite spot for breakfast. Lightly used covered open-air lunch and breakfast spot. It’s on 16 I think aft nice little out of the way spot. pre-made egg mcmuffin type sandwiches, but also bagels, fruit, croissants and they do eggs/omelets to order. Never crowded great view. Just go up one flight from the Garden Café on 16 aft It was ok, we prefered the Haven breakfast

 

Don't miss the gelato stand out on the boardwalk. They change the flavors every day or so. Keep an eye out for the Cappuccino flavor. Wow!

 

Sugarcane's Mojito bar deck 8. Mojito flight a bargain at $15: 6 different types served in 2 ounce tasting glasses.

 

Best MDR service to be in the Manhattan Room and their everyday menu is different [and a bit better IMO] than Taste or Savor even though the daily specials are the same in all three. Getaway practices Freestyle dining, meaning there's no early or late assigned seating, and reservations are not allowed in the complimentary dining rooms, except for Haven passengers through concierge

 

Improved deserts since the last time I sailed with them. The German cake on the first day was awesome; the queen's dessert was also very good.

 

The Svedka Icebar is very cool there is a $20 cover it includes 2 drinks so the price is not much more than buying two drinks at a normal bar.

 

Have an MBtini. Bartender Julioi now on Getaway. Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka, Frangelico, splash of cream served in an ice cold martini glass. Right before serving, have them pour a shot of Bailey's down the side so it sits at the bottom. TO.DIE.FOR.

 

Drink a PALOMA, it's a more tart version of a mojito

 

The Humidor wonderful place to unwind after dinner with a smoke and good company. Old time ocean liner type feel with leather seats and dark colors.

 

All the specialty restaurants (Cagney's, Le Bistro, Moderno favorites) (varying cover charge, with discount/wine on first night only)

 

Lobster Tail from Carlo's Famous Bake shop YUM! a nice touch...best cannoli

 

Dragon Roll and Godzilla Rolls from Wasabi very good (a la carte)

 

Deck 17 Forward Sundeck (way forward) cabana loungers and always lightly attended and quiet even on sea days. Pass Vibe and keep going and there's clamshells and loungers. Bar servers walking around.

 

Waterfront Port side near tradewinds shop best place to enjoy view no obstructions.

 

Norwegian Getaway's sports deck also is home to a bungee trampoline.

 

Don’t miss the free fall slide. Purple slide is the fastest; yellow slide is slower. When you do the free fall slide be sure to either wear nose plugs or hold your nose; when you hit bottom water comes hard and fast from everywhere. Water slides, were pretty fun. Did these early (11:30AM), never thought the lines were too long. The longest we waited was for The Plunge, which was about 20 minutes. Part of the issue with that slide is that you need some sort of vest to get on it. When you are done, you are actually expected to go back up the stairs and return the vest. Slides are fun once or twice.

 

Pools are too small for such a large ship. Hot tubs always packed in the mornings. We only went into the pool in the late afternoon/early evening (after 2PM until about 5PM); by then, both had much fewer people and more loungers available. The main pool has a neat wave feature every few minutes, which was fun. It is a little over 6ft deep.

 

Pool is saltwater. It hurt my eyes and I could feel it on my sinuses

 

If you want to use pool, find lounger on deck 15. If you want the slides, stay on deck 16. That’s where the entry is. Slides do not empty into main pool.

 

Ropes course so much fun! NOTE: wear closed toe shoes. Line up at 9:30 for the 10:00 opening, can definitely be a long wait. Waited max 30 minutes. Plank is scarier than it looks, skipped it first time because it was so cold and windy up there! You can stay as long as you like, but don’t! Be considerate of the other people who are waiting to try below.

The zip line is short but fun; not always open, so don’t take your chances by waiting for the last sea day, aim for peak mealtimes to get on the ropes course: around 12:30PM or 1PM.

 

Mini golf always full. NCL should really regulate play. Only so many balls and clubs, and we just saw kids running around all over the place, not playing golf, but not giving up the equipment either. We waited ten minutes.

 

Climbing wall open at 2pm, line 20 deep almost immediately every time. Only open one or two sections of the wall at a time, even though it looked like there were at least 3 levels of difficulty. Only one staff member

 

If you are up early go to the Jacuzzis in Spice H20. We went around 8am and had the whole thing to ourselves for almost an hour!

 

If you want to be at Spice H20 for the fireworks go early. They close it when it gets to a certain capacity. fire works. The best seats in the house are on the sun deck on deck 17 - directly above/next to vibe. Not only did we get to see our own fireworks but apparently the Disney fantasy that left st Maarten shortly after we did was doing fireworks as well so the ships co-ordinated with each other and Disney did theirs first followed immediately by NCls. Unfortunately not everyone realized Disney was also shooting off the fireworks so many missed that part. We were up high enough to see it all.

 

Spice H20 really was a haven for us. Plenty of loungers and adults-only until 6PM. half the loungers were empty… coincidentally, the ones in the shade! No sight of any kids there, even though the arcade and teen lounge is nearby. Water in the little fountain area was cold, why I never saw anyone using it.

 

Samba dance classes, salsa, swing, tango and Meringue. Nice that in the Bliss lounge they played music to practice the dance to for the next hour after the class, i.e., the Salsa Power Hour, the Swing Hour

 

Parties each night in H20. Loved being outside dancing all ages made it much more fun. Unlike an indoor dance club that attracts the younger crowd, these dance parties were a blast and our kids could join us on the dance floor. Glow party was a complete blast as was the 80's dance night that features fireworks. NOTE: The day of the glow party look at your freestyle daily, you can decorate your own t-shirts with glow paint for free in the Grammy Experience venue. Shirts were free as was the activity. Made the night! We also enjoyed grabbing a drink before of after dinner each night at one of the outdoor bars.

 

Trivia at 9am and 5pm in the Atrium in front of the big screen

 

Illusionarium Yes they do you have to check in 25 min before the show in the Haven lounge & the Concierge Hostess then takes you down in the goods lift to directly outside of the doors on entering you pick whatever table you want.

 

In SPA give you are card to fill out when you go in for the treatment. For YEARS I have written on the card "no sales" and have not had a problem since then.

[Tricialy]

Mearsfansinboise,

 

I spoke to the pre cruise concierge and asked him for the treats and he told me strawberries were extra. I think I saw them on the list of things you could order in the romance package. If you see something on the NCL website, they can put it in your suite, but there may be an extra charge.

 

 

You can have anything in the Haven restaurant, even if it's not on the menu. We are an allergy family and the staff went out of the way to create substitutions for my daughter. A friend orders eggs benedict with steak for breakfast in the Haven as her version of steak and eggs. We try not to get crazy with ordering unobtainable things, but the staff, continually surpassed our notion of what was possible. The staff in the Haven is wonderful.

 

 

All of our suite stays have been on ships without a Haven restaurant, but once while we were at Cagney's for lunch, I asked for tarter sauce to go with the fish - it took quite a while and I felt terrible when I found out the poor waitress had gone to the buffet to look for it - I just figured they'd have it since they served fried fish on the menu. Service is unbelievable!

 

We've always gotten chocolate covered strawberries in all of our suites, they always have a card that says they are a gift from the Captain and haven't been charged. Maybe if you actually "order" them it is different. I can't say for sure that they always came on the first day.

 

We always have the mini-fridge emptied, but it seems like most often they wrap the items up in a pillowcase and stash them in one of the cabinets until you leave, I guess it's easier for them to do that.

 

The suite life is great!

[perkydebrajean]

We asked for certain types of pillows. For the fridge to be emptied. We requested extra coffee and cream because we are big coffee drinkers. We also requested cookies and a pitcher of iced tea to be delivered for sail away.

 

Everything we had requested was done.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[mearsfansinboise]

Mearsfansinboise,

 

I spoke to the pre cruise concierge and asked him for the treats and he told me strawberries were extra. I think I saw them on the list of things you could order in the romance package. If you see something on the NCL website, they can put it in your suite, but there may be an extra charge.

 

Thanks - I'll keep an eye out; good info.

[Copper_beeches]

We upgraded shortly before we sailed ( like 30 days) I requested foam for the beds, the mini bar to be emptied, and for memory foam pillow. The mini bar was emptied ( we discovered later into a small cupboard on the wall right next to it which was a slight frustration as I specified I wanted it emptied because we were sailing with teens... Who would never touch it, but still...) but not the rest. It didn't matter. As son as we met Mansur, our butler, we made those requests and they were taken care of within the hour...

 

 

For what it's worth, we had chocolate covered strawberries as our afternoon treat the first day... No charge.

 

Not all things are possible, make your needs and wants known, what can be done, will be!

[browniegirl]

52Mary - Wow, I have to say I am super impressed with your post!!! I have stayed in suites several times but I have never written anything so informative, thank you. Even I am learning from your post, thank you so much!!!! I am not on the Getaway until 2016, but I copy and pasted your info into a word document to refer to later!!!!

 

Leah

[52marv]

You are more than welcome browniegirl. I cut and paste good ideas, add my own and then put it all together so it can help other cruisers get the most out of their vacation.

 

Other cruisers have helped me a lot.

 

Have a great time on your cruise!

[Cruisin&Relaxin]

I will be sailing in a suite for the first time next month.

 

This will be our honeymoon :D

 

What can i ask to the concierge before cruising ?

 

I know i can ask for pillows, tea & coffee but beside that, what did you ask for :confused:

 

All suggestions are welcome.

 

If you are interested in attending the Chef's Table, ask the pre-cruise concierge to alert the ship concierge that you want to attend.

 

The pre-cruise concierge can't book it, but letting the ship concierge know in advance will practically ensure you get in as the concierge controls the list of attendees.

[browniegirl]

What is the chefs table?

[Starrgazer50]

I asked for a fruit platter and vegetable platter snack on alternating nights instead of cookies.

 

I even brought microwave popcorn for movie nights and the butler took care of that for me.

[sc2011]

What is the chefs table?

 

It's a tasting menu 9 course dinner with wine pairings. It's typically only done one night of each NCL sailing as long as there are 12 people who sign up. It is a wonderful 3-4 hour evening with the executive chef and other top staff from the ship. The servers are the best on the ship. There is champagne served before dinner and after dinner drinks at the end. Every course is amazing and explained fully. The next day you get a tour of the kitchen facilities. We did it for the first time in December on the Sky. Of all of our cruises it was without question our favorite night spent on an NCL ship. Loved it. It's $99 per person. Sign up with concierge or restaurant reservations desk (if not in a suite). You'll be notified if it's a go. We asked pre concierge before the cruise to put us down for it based on what we'd learned here on cruise critic. When we got on the ship Omar (the concierge) immediately confirmed he knew we wanted to attend.

[browniegirl]

Wow that sounds amazing!!! Thank you! !!

[JuniorCruiser]

We will be sailing on the Gem next month in a suite and this is the first I have heard of a pre-cruise concierge. Can someone please explain this to me. How do you get in contact with them? Thank You for the help :) ~~Debbie~~