Suite amenities list changes

[-Lew-]

 

Plus, it doesn't say The Enclave, as it is called on those ships. I am thinking that it is supposed to say that it is 'excluded on' the Royal and Regal, like it said before. Otherwise, why say it at all?

It does mention Complimentary Lotus Spa® Thermal Suite access on select ships*. It doesn't apply to Royal / Regal because neither has a Thermal Suite.

 

[shanecindy21403]

Pardon me for tacking this question on to this thread, but I didn't want to start a new one and since this is a suite amenity-related question, I hope this as good a place as any to ask: For the complimentary embarkation evening specialty restaurant offer, does one have to make a reservation? And, if so, how far in advance should this be done?

 

 

When you board just call the "Dine" line to make the reservation for that evening.

 

[cruiselvr1]

Pardon me for tacking this question on to this thread, but I didn't want to start a new one and since this is a suite amenity-related question, I hope this as good a place as any to ask: For the complimentary embarkation evening specialty restaurant offer, does one have to make a reservation? And, if so, how far in advance should this be done?

Just call the dine line. They know your calling from a suite, and you get priority. On our last cruise they had us in Sabatini's, I don't like Italian food so they changed it to CG.

[JohnS43]

So has it been definitively decided that there's no free bottled water in the suites? The only reason I want to know is that if I'm sure there is NOT, I will order the bottled water delivery ahead of time. I did that on my last (non-suite) Princess cruise and it was very convenient to have the water there in my room waiting for me and not have to try to buy some water in every port.

 

Also -- on one of the amenities lists there's a mention of a cruise card holder. Is this still being done? Again, I'd like to know because I was considering buying one for my next cruise. (I usually keep my card in my wallet, but I saw so many people wearing them on lanyards that I realized it was probably more efficient that way.)

[NavyVeteran]

So has it been definitively decided that there's no free bottled water in the suites? The only reason I want to know is that if I'm sure there is NOT, I will order the bottled water delivery ahead of time. I did that on my last (non-suite) Princess cruise and it was very convenient to have the water there in my room waiting for me and not have to try to buy some water in every port.

 

Also -- on one of the amenities lists there's a mention of a cruise card holder. Is this still being done? Again, I'd like to know because I was considering buying one for my next cruise. (I usually keep my card in my wallet, but I saw so many people wearing them on lanyards that I realized it was probably more efficient that way.)

 

You do get free bottled water in the suites - as part of the mini-bar. Since we don't drink soda, I usually change the sodas for bottled water. I keep the liquor, since we do drink that. With two mini-bars (suite and elite), we normally have plenty of bottled water to take on our excursions.

[NavyVeteran]

The new suite amenities include "Complimentary Specialty Dining Dinner on embarkation day".

 

There is no longer an asterisk or other fine print limiting this amenity to longer cruises. It should now be available on 3 and 4 day cruises - and even on 1 day cruises.

 

We will need to wait to see whether this was a "change" or a "mistake" that Princess will be correcting.

[NavyVeteran]

Priority MDR reservations are no longer on the suite list.

 

This was one of the amenities that I found very useful in the past. With anytime dining, I could call and get my desired time - even if it were in the time window when they normally don't take reservations.

 

They may think this is no longer needed because of the Club Class Dining. However, if I had a group of friends or family not in a suite, I could reserve a MDR table for the entire group. This won't work with Club Class Dining.

 

Also Club Class Dining is not available on my trans-Atlantic on the Caribbean Princess this fall. Will Princess remove priority MDR reservations from suites before they add Club Class Dining?

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Susieq0102]

So has it been definitively decided that there's no free bottled water in the suites? The only reason I want to know is that if I'm sure there is NOT, I will order the bottled water delivery ahead of time. I did that on my last (non-suite) Princess cruise and it was very convenient to have the water there in my room waiting for me and not have to try to buy some water in every port.

 

Also -- on one of the amenities lists there's a mention of a cruise card holder. Is this still being done? Again, I'd like to know because I was considering buying one for my next cruise. (I usually keep my card in my wallet, but I saw so many people wearing them on lanyards that I realized it was probably more efficient that way.)

 

The cruise card holder has been removed. I saw it at one time but I can't find it anymore. :confused: :confused: :confused:

[cflutist]

Complimentary cruise card wallet is on the bottom of the middle column.

 

The last three that we got were black leather wallets with the Princess Seawitch embossed on them.

[Susieq0102]

I am so frustrated about the amenities - or lack of now.

 

My DH and I are going on our first overdue vacation/cruise (married 43 years). We will be on the Star this September to Alaska and splurged with a suite for the cruise. The reservation was made a year in advance.

 

Princess has changed the amenities since the reservations were made - and not to our advantage. As far as I can tell we lost breakfast at Sabatini's and the Lotus Spa. There are a few more but less significant. They seem to be replaced with ice 2x daily, stationary, and an umbrella. Some of the amenities are still available on some ships, but not the Star.

 

Does the new list go into effect immediately??? If so, not a happy camper. We will have lost some great amenities but the cost of the suite did not change. It is seriously making me reconsider the cruise. :(

[Susieq0102]

Complimentary cruise card wallet is on the bottom of the middle column.

 

The last three that we got were black leather wallets with the Princess Seawitch embossed on them.

 

Seawitch, thanks for your response.

 

I knew it was there before and then gone. Princess has conflicting amenities on their site. One list does have the wallet where the other one doesn't.

 

http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/PrincessSuite_eFlyer.pdf

(listed)

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/staterooms/suites/suites-services-and-amenities/ (not listed) :confused::confused:

[cheeseclan]

SusieQ:

 

you have not lost breakfast in Sabatinis nor the lotus spa. They are still on the list. We are on the regal in a few days. I plan on giving info when we get back.

[Ron the Rev]

Looks like they removed the luggage valet and the bottled water in the .pdf that I just downloaded.

 

I have an email into Customer Relations asking why they removed the corsage on the first formal night. Paying more than $21K for a cruise and Princess can't afford 2 carnations. :mad:

 

Also asked how they will implement Club Dining on the Pacific Princess since that ship has only Traditional Dining.

 

Please let us all know how you got on with Princess regarding Pacific Princess. We are on it June 2017. Thanks:)

[Susieq0102]

SusieQ:

 

you have not lost breakfast in Sabatinis nor the lotus spa. They are still on the list. We are on the regal in a few days. I plan on giving info when we get back.

 

Cheeseclan, the lists that I have aren't the same as yours, I think. The old list included those but the new ones do not. Do you have a link for the amenities? Thanks for your help.

[cynbar]

We are just off the Caribbean Princess yesterday in a Penthouse suite. The cruise card holders were there, very nice. The only bottled water we got was the 2 bottles included in the mini bar set up (no problem calling to have the liquor switched out for our chosen brand.) We did get rose corsages on the 1st formal night, and we did get same day laundry service as long as we checked off that box and put the bag outside our suite early (I think the cutoff is 9 am but do it earlier, one morning it was out about 8:45 but wasn't picked up in time so it came back the next day.) Laundry service was very good, clothes were pressed and most came back on hangers, no problems with shrinking or fading.

 

We liked a lot of things about our suite, but the amenities fall far short of what you get on NCL or Celebrity. Our suite was lovely, roomy and well maintained and the marble bathroom was fantastic. Our steward was top notch, not sure if they assign the better stewards to suite but he was great all cruise. However, some things fell short. Sabatini's was nice for breakfast, elegant atmosphere and wonderful service, but it never opened before 7:30 so was of little benefit to us on our port intensive British Isles cruise ( we went 3 or 4 times out of 12 mornings, most of our tours departed at 8 am.) There was no benefit in Anytime dining, we made reservations some nights but were often shown to poor tables and had to ask for something else. Room service meals sounds like a nice perk, but in our experience the coffee table is just too small to enjoy this. We had a full breakfast a few days, but had to juggle plates and cups and the table is low, it was like trying to eat in the TV room at home --- so we never used it for lunch or dinner. Other lines would wheel in a cart if we had no appropriate table in our suite -- not here, the food was brought on covered dishes and dropped off, no set up at all. We missed the suite lounge on Celebrity, the bars on the CB were really crowded before dinner and it was hard to get a seat and harder to get service. We didn't miss the butler , but did miss a concierge when our stop in France was cancelled and Belgium was the substitute (had to cancel our planned excursion and choose something else, lines were long at Shore Excursion desk.) Anyway, although we had a great cruise, not sure we would spend extra for a suite again. We have usually had mini suites in the past and I just don't feel we got a lot more for the extra cost.

[compozer]

Priority MDR reservations are no longer on the suite list.

 

This was one of the amenities that I found very useful in the past. With anytime dining, I could call and get my desired time - even if it were in the time window when they normally don't take reservations.

?

 

We have not been able to get a MDR reservation for the past four years. It has gotten worse since they require your free specialty restaurant be the first night - a few ships have waved that but not many - by the second evening, all the alloted number of reserved tables seem to be gone. We were in the grand suite for a month and could not get a nightly reservation in the MDR because there were so many elites that knew "someone" and they received all the reserved table reservations. We are elite but that didn't help us. We wanted a window table and were never able to get one. Thank goodness we had a dining room table in our cabin. We were happy having dinner with friends in the cabin but it did cost us a small mint in tips.

 

On our five week cruise on the Island (after dry dock), we were not able to get a nightly reservation because all the allotted number of reservations were gone. With the addition of the new cabins, traditional dining took over 30% of the anytime tables. That was a very frustrating cruise.

 

On another ship last spring, we did manage to get a table reservation. On the fourth night, one of the head waiters came over and asked us to leave because an elite couple wanted our table. We finally said we had that table for four nights and mentioned the four of us were in suites and also elite. We finally got him to back off - still can't believe he tried to kick us out. Then he had the waiter clear the six top next to us and gave it to the couple. They set it up for them for the next week and this couple NEVER returned. I felt so sorry for the waiters, they lost out on tips from that table for a week. I really am getting tired of people, especially, elites demanding services because they think they deserve them. The stories I could tell you about people trying to cut in front of the dining room lines.

 

Getting back to the suite perks. I am really disappointed in the way Princess has cut the perks yet the prices haven't changed. And now they want to add special perks to some mini suites! I have always felt that the term "mini-suite" should be changed and take off suite from it. There are so may people that really think they are suites and should get the suite benefits. I also notice that there are unsold suites on many voyages this past year. We always booked at least 1 1/2 years early or they would be sold out. That isn't the case now - so many are sold as upsells. That really isn't fare for the people that paid the full fare.

 

Getting close to checking out the other lines.

[bhopal21]

e have always had same day laundry service as a suite benefit and, to the best of my knowledge it was never taken away.

 

However, unless you ask for same day, it will come back next day.

 

If you want it back the same day then you must get your steward to take it down early and it will normally be back before dinner.

 

Sometimes near the end of the cruise our steward has warned us that because of the number of Elites on board, they are no longer getting next day service and same day service might be difficult to achieve for us.

 

We have had the same experience as long as laundry has been a perk.

 

Mike:)

[AF-1]

I thought I read somewhere that if Sabbatini's is not on your ship, you have breakfast in Crown Grill. And for dinner in MDR they have a section for suite guests. Is this correct or did I not read other posts correctly? Thanks

Edited May 21, 2016 by AF-1

[CruisinChris]

I'm betting that breakfast for suites in Sabatini's (or Crown Grill) will be discontinued as the Club Class is introduced because the special dining area for Suites and Club class is breakfast, lunch and dinner.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

I'm betting that breakfast for suites in Sabatini's (or Crown Grill) will be discontinued as the Club Class is introduced because the special dining area for Suites and Club class is breakfast' date=' lunch and dinner.[/quote']

 

I have been wondering about that too, however it only says breakfast & lunch on sea days:

Exclusive Club Class dining on the main dining room for dinner every day, as well as breakfast and lunch on sea days.

 

I am hoping for suites, it's just another option and not taking away the breakfast in a speciality restaurant.

 

 

 

[IECalCruiser]

I'm betting that breakfast for suites in Sabatini's (or Crown Grill) will be discontinued as the Club Class is introduced because the special dining area for Suites and Club class is breakfast' date=' lunch and dinner.[/quote']I'm betting the "specialty dining mimosa breakfast," the new name for Sabatini's breakfast, will reman a full suite perk. The Club Class breakfast and lunch is only only on sea days. If we are ever in a full suite again, we would opt for the "specialty dining mimosa breakfast any day,

[deise17311]

We have not been able to get a MDR reservation for the past four years. It has gotten worse since they require your free specialty restaurant be the first night - a few ships have waved that but not many - by the second evening, all the alloted number of reserved tables seem to be gone. We were in the grand suite for a month and could not get a nightly reservation in the MDR because there were so many elites that knew "someone" and they received all the reserved table reservations. We are elite but that didn't help us. We wanted a window table and were never able to get one. Thank goodness we had a dining room table in our cabin. We were happy having dinner with friends in the cabin but it did cost us a small mint in tips.

 

On our five week cruise on the Island (after dry dock), we were not able to get a nightly reservation because all the allotted number of reservations were gone. With the addition of the new cabins, traditional dining took over 30% of the anytime tables. That was a very frustrating cruise.

 

On another ship last spring, we did manage to get a table reservation. On the fourth night, one of the head waiters came over and asked us to leave because an elite couple wanted our table. We finally said we had that table for four nights and mentioned the four of us were in suites and also elite. We finally got him to back off - still can't believe he tried to kick us out. Then he had the waiter clear the six top next to us and gave it to the couple. They set it up for them for the next week and this couple NEVER returned. I felt so sorry for the waiters, they lost out on tips from that table for a week. I really am getting tired of people, especially, elites demanding services because they think they deserve them. The stories I could tell you about people trying to cut in front of the dining room lines.

 

Getting back to the suite perks. I am really disappointed in the way Princess has cut the perks yet the prices haven't changed. And now they want to add special perks to some mini suites! I have always felt that the term "mini-suite" should be changed and take off suite from it. There are so may people that really think they are suites and should get the suite benefits. I also notice that there are unsold suites on many voyages this past year. We always booked at least 1 1/2 years early or they would be sold out. That isn't the case now - so many are sold as upsells. That really isn't fare for the people that paid the full fare.

 

Getting close to checking out the other lines.

 

This seems very bizarre to me - if anyone asked me to move my table because someone else wanted it I would go crazy - elite or not - this is not acceptable whatsoever - I hope you raised hell

[IECalCruiser]

...However, some things fell short. Sabatini's was nice for breakfast, elegant atmosphere and wonderful service, but it never opened before 7:30 so was of little benefit to us on our port intensive British Isles cruise ( we went 3 or 4 times out of 12 mornings, most of our tours departed at 8 am.)...

That can be an issue. I think that Sabatini's should open at least at 7:00, just like the DR, on port days.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

That can be an issue. I think that Sabatini's should open at least at 7:00, just like the DR, on port days.

 

I wonder if this is ship specific? We were on the Coral in February, and they opened at 7:00am on port days and 7:30am on sea days. I can't remember what they did on the Emerald in November of last year, just to compare since there was only two port days.

 

I know we had to skip it one morning ourselves as had to meet up with the tour group too early to eat in Sabatini's and ended up ordering room service the night before.