Suites

[sail7seas]

Maybe not so wonderful, though.

 

I don't pretend to be an expert on the spa services, because other than getting my hair cut and styled, I've never been interested in any spa-type treatments. However, I went up there with my cabinmate on a cruise last year and watched her drop a grand on spa services. One of those was a thermal suite package. She was told that only a certain number of people are allowed in that suite at any one time (because it is relatively small), and that full-cruise pass holders got first priority. Now here's my question. Let's say you have 25 to 30 "deluxe" suites on a ship, and maybe ten of them purchase this "elite suite" package. Now you've got ten people holding thermal suite passes for the cruise. Does that mean that not all of them can be in there at the same time? What happens if you go up there to use it and there are already five people (say the maximum allowed) in there. Are you sent away, despite the fact that you've paid for a full-cruise pass? Also, what happens with people in the "average joe" staterooms? I guess they won't be able to purchase full cruise passes any longer ... or maybe simply not have access to the room on many cruises (those where a large number of "elite suite" packages were purchased?

 

Just curious.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

I don't think they are going to sell so many of those Elite packages to "S" guests that they will be unable to use them at will. Certainly if it becomes an issue, they will limit the number sold. Same as HMC. They can only sell as many Cabanas as they have. The first time an "S" guest who paid for the Elite Package cannot use the Therapy or Thermal, someone will certainly figure out the "Ooops"...... don't 'cha think?

As to how many they can sell and still be able to sell to folks in other cabins, I am sure they have worked that out.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Maybe not so wonderful, though.

 

I don't pretend to be an expert on the spa services, because other than getting my hair cut and styled, I've never been interested in any spa-type treatments. However, I went up there with my cabinmate on a cruise last year and watched her drop a grand on spa services. One of those was a thermal suite package. She was told that only a certain number of people are allowed in that suite at any one time (because it is relatively small), and that full-cruise pass holders got first priority. Now here's my question. Let's say you have 25 to 30 "deluxe" suites on a ship, and maybe ten of them purchase this "elite suite" package. Now you've got ten people holding thermal suite passes for the cruise. Does that mean that not all of them can be in there at the same time? What happens if you go up there to use it and there are already five people (say the maximum allowed) in there. Are you sent away, despite the fact that you've paid for a full-cruise pass? Also, what happens with people in the "average joe" staterooms? I guess they won't be able to purchase full cruise passes any longer ... or maybe simply not have access to the room on many cruises (those where a large number of "elite suite" packages were purchased?

 

Just curious.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

Good Question!!

The hydro pools on the R and S class ships are no bigger than the whirl pools compared to the already built in ones on the Vista class ships.

Unless someone in Seattle keeps track of how many passes sold independently of the Elite packages, there certainly could be a problem.

[dakrewser]

Since we never use the hydro pool or the thermal spa, the packages don't appeal to us.

 

I can why some people would buy these packages if they like to spend a lot of time in the hydro pool. It is a savings - I think.

 

What does it cost for 2 people to use the hydro pool for a week?

 

We rarely use them, either - but it seems like a great place to watch glaciers from!

[Krazy Kruizers]

We rarely use them, either - but it seems like a great place to watch glaciers from!

 

Since we have never used them - how do you see the glaciers from them?

The Vista class ships aren't near any windows. And the R and S class - aren't they blocked by the solid rails?

Inquiring minds need to know.

[dakrewser]

Since we have never used them - how do you see the glaciers from them?

 

The Vista class ships aren't near any windows. And the R and S class - aren't they blocked by the solid rails?

 

Inquiring minds need to know.

 

Mike's picture:

 

 

Does show the solid rail, but not at the sides of the suite and, of course, straight ahead, over the bow, looks good.

 

If we can just get the steward to bring in some pea soup...

 

:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks Dave!!

[Jesterscourt]

Not to create an argument comparing Princess to HAL, but one thing I do remember was that all suites on the Caribbean Princess came with unlimited internet (from the internet cafe or library) and unlimited use of their Sanctuary which was their similar thermal suite (which, by the way, I had to myself most of the time. I guess everyone else was gambling or partying!). But seriously, it did make me feel special and I felt like I was getting my money's worth. We are already paying a premium price for suites and should not have to pay extra for those amenities, package deal or not, in my opinion.

[sail7seas]

I never expect (or want) every cruise line to offer exactly the same features. That is why we can pick and choose which offers each of us the most of what we personally want.

 

As I have stated, the thermal and therapy are of no interest to me so if included in my Suite price, I would be wasting that feature. However, I really enjoy the Neptune Lounge and Concierge Service. We make use of included dry cleaning and laundry.

 

I've heard many times about the included internet time on Princess and have also heard how it is sometimes hard to impossible to get a computer to use and the connection is agonizingly slow.

 

We find the value for the dollar of the "S" suites on HAL ships to work for us. We know the things that matter most to us and HAL provides that.

 

Of course, Your mileage may vary. :)

 

[dakrewser]

Not to create an argument comparing Princess to HAL, but one thing I do remember was that all suites on the Caribbean Princess came with unlimited internet (from the internet cafe or library) and unlimited use of their Sanctuary which was their similar thermal suite (which, by the way, I had to myself most of the time. I guess everyone else was gambling or partying!). But seriously, it did make me feel special and I felt like I was getting my money's worth. We are already paying a premium price for suites and should not have to pay extra for those amenities, package deal or not, in my opinion.

 

I'd rather have the Neptune Lounge included than the other things which could be added on depending on the cruise - but the coffee machine in the Neptune is something I use every single day...

[Krazy Kruizers]

If we were to sail Princess we also would not be taking advantage of the Spa - have never done it and don't intend to ever use it.

 

We love the Neptune Lounge and DH always gets some kind of a coffee there.

[kryos]

I've heard many times about the included internet time on Princess and have also heard how it is sometimes hard to impossible to get a computer to use and the connection is agonizingly slow.

You heard right, believe me. Once it took me about ten minutes (probably longer) just to bring my email queue up on the screen ... never mind the additional time spent to read and/or respond to any. Princess used to give their frequent guests (I think Elite and above) free internet as a bennie. People abused the privilege by letting their kids play interactive games, working on their own ebay sites, web browsing, etc. After all, what do they care how slow the internet is? They're not paying a cent for it. I am.

 

From what I understand Princess has since modified this bennie to be limited in time ... so many free minutes. Makes sense. I don't think it was ever intended to allow people to park themselves in front of the computers for the entire cruise. Rather, it was intended as a bennie to allow frequent Princess cruisers free internet time to check their email during the cruise ... that's it. Princess had to change the bennie in order to make the internet a viable service for ALL passengers, not just the frequent cruisers.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

The hydro pools on the R and S class ships are no bigger than the whirl pools compared to the already built in ones on the Vista class ships.

Unless someone in Seattle keeps track of how many passes sold independently of the Elite packages, there certainly could be a problem.

That's exactly what I was thinking. When my cabinmate was considering purchasing a therma suite package, the spa lady gave us a tour. As I seem to recall, that room was pretty small. I doubt more than five people could comfortably share it. There were only a few loungers in there ... maybe three? So, I asked her ... what happens if this room becomes overcrowded? She told me that was impossible because they only sell so many full cruise passes, and once that quota is reached, they will only sell day passes. She said that full cruise passes had priority over day pass holders. But I still can't imagine what would happen if someone purchased a day pass, and then when they tried to use it being told the room was filled to capacity and they would have to come back later. I know that wouldn't sit well with me, that's for sure. It would sit even less well if I had a full cruise pass as a part of one of these "Elite Suite" packages and was told to come back later.

 

Hopefully you are right and Seattle has already put plans into place for this type of contingency.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[MercedMike]

Since we have never used them - how do you see the glaciers from them?

 

The Vista class ships aren't near any windows. And the R and S class - aren't they blocked by the solid rails?

 

Inquiring minds need to know.

 

The Thermal Suites are a great place to watch glaciers from. On the Vista class they have big picture windows, witn no solid rails.

 

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/therm2.jpg

 

The hydropools will not be so good. Their windows look out over the main pool on Vista class. However, on Volendam, there was a hot tub in the Thermal Suite. That is the one I jumped out of to pose in front of the glacier!;)

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[MercedMike]

You heard right, believe me. Once it took me about ten minutes (probably longer) just to bring my email queue up on the screen ... never mind the additional time spent to read and/or respond to any. Princess used to give their frequent guests (I think Elite and above) free internet as a bennie. People abused the privilege by letting their kids play interactive games, working on their own ebay sites, web browsing, etc. After all, what do they care how slow the internet is? They're not paying a cent for it. I am.

 

From what I understand Princess has since modified this bennie to be limited in time ... so many free minutes. Makes sense. I don't think it was ever intended to allow people to park themselves in front of the computers for the entire cruise. Rather, it was intended as a bennie to allow frequent Princess cruisers free internet time to check their email during the cruise ... that's it. Princess had to change the bennie in order to make the internet a viable service for ALL passengers, not just the frequent cruisers.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

True. On our recent 12 day Med on Princess, as Platinum members we got $100 each in internet time -- which will buy a 250 minute package. That was way more than we needed to send off a few emails. The internet on all ships is improving, I think. Many of the problems come from IDtenT errors ...

[MercedMike]

That's exactly what I was thinking. When my cabinmate was considering purchasing a therma suite package, the spa lady gave us a tour. As I seem to recall, that room was pretty small. I doubt more than five people could comfortably share it. There were only a few loungers in there ... maybe three? So, I asked her ... what happens if this room becomes overcrowded? She told me that was impossible because they only sell so many full cruise passes, and once that quota is reached, they will only sell day passes. She said that full cruise passes had priority over day pass holders. But I still can't imagine what would happen if someone purchased a day pass, and then when they tried to use it being told the room was filled to capacity and they would have to come back later. I know that wouldn't sit well with me, that's for sure. It would sit even less well if I had a full cruise pass as a part of one of these "Elite Suite" packages and was told to come back later.

 

Hopefully you are right and Seattle has already put plans into place for this type of contingency.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

In all our cruises, we have never had a problem with crowding in the Thermal Suite. There are five couches, the steam, sauna and aroma rooms, and the showers, so in theory about a dozen people could use the room at once, but we have NEVER seen that many. I can only remember about three occasions when we had to wait for a heated couch, and then only a few minutes. There is a sign which says, "If others are waiting please limit your couch time to 20 minutes." Many times DW and I are up there all by ourselves. I honestly don't know if they actually control the number of passes or if simple economics controls it. Many people consider it pretty expensive. I have never heard from anybody who was denied buying a pass because of crowding.

 

On the Vista class ships the hydropool is huge and could easily hold a dozen also. I don't ever remember there being more than three other people in there with us.

[kryos]

On the Vista class ships the hydropool is huge and could easily hold a dozen also. I don't ever remember there being more than three other people in there with us.

Oh, okay. Thanks for setting me straight on that. I guess it was because I was on a smaller ship, but it seemed like that room couldn't accommodate too many people at one time. I believe this was on the Amsterdam.

 

The thing I found really funny too ... was this woman purchased a full cruise package for that suite ... and I think she only actually used it about three times, including the day when we were going through the Panama Canal. She said she had a great view from there, which I don't doubt. Still, seemed kinda pricey to me just for a front row seat going through the canal, but hey ... to each his own.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Krazy Kruizers]

From what we were told, only 4 people could use the thermo pool at one time on the R and S class ships and that they would only allow 2 other other people in the area to use the heated chairs. The spa people asked those using the hydro pool to alternate betwen the heated chairs and pools.

 

Is this correct?

[Two if by Sea]

My gut says "we pay SO much for a suite that we should basically just have free EVERYTHING."

 

But some of the posts above make it clear why that is not a good idea, except maybe for the folks in the PS suite. If there were 70 people with full and free rights to everything on board, all it would take would be 4 or 5 of them to over-use something and presto, nobody else could use it.

 

My best time at an amusement park was one where every ride had to be paid for (think of the old Disney way with their A-B-C-D-E tickets).

 

We didn't perhaps go on as many rides as we would have in a more typical one-price-pays-for-all, but when we did want to go on one, there was NEVER a wait. Compare that to the new Disney, or most parks today, where you might have to wait an hour even on a good day for some of the more popular rides.

[kryos]

My best time at an amusement park was one where every ride had to be paid for (think of the old Disney way with their A-B-C-D-E tickets).

 

We didn't perhaps go on as many rides as we would have in a more typical one-price-pays-for-all, but when we did want to go on one, there was NEVER a wait. Compare that to the new Disney, or most parks today, where you might have to wait an hour even on a good day for some of the more popular rides.

Thank you so much for saying that! I always felt this way ... but everyone else seemed to think I was nuts.

 

The Jersey shore is still pretty much that way. You buy a book of tickets and then each ride is so many tickets. Rarely a line for those rides. And then the "primo" rides ... slingshot, bungee, etc. ... those were cash prices. Never waited more than a few minutes for any one of them. Of course, I remember nights when I almost went broke ... but that's another story. :)

 

But the big theme parks ... I gave up on them long ago when I had an experience of being in one all day, and only getting on about five rides. The lines averaged about 2 hours for the better ones. Before I wait in line for two hours, I'd rather just pass on going on the ride, and would have were it not for friends who wanted to do them.

 

I don't much go in for amusement rides anymore, but in the end I did figure out the trick to getting one's money's worth in a theme park. Go when the skies are overcast and it looks like rain. Also, go on a weekday even though the park is only open on weekdays in the summertime ... when schools are out and theoretically it can be packed with kids any day of the week. But, if it looks like rain, a lot of people won't bother going and you can have a wonderful time if the weather holds out for you. Even if it does start raining later on in the afternoon, and your day is shot, you'll probably have gotten on more rides in the morning than you could ever have swung all day on a bright sunny one.

 

Just food for thought.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[FuzzyFace36]

We are booked on a suite on the Zuiderdam for next year (Panama Canal). We are familiar with the suites on Princess that come with full menu room service, unlimited use of the internet cafe and lotus spa (Sanctuary) which usually has a daily fee. In addition to the Neptune Lounge with concierge, and obviously, the beautiful suite and veranda, etc. are there any other perks that come with a Holland America suite that sets it apart from other cruise lines. I am particularly interested to know if use of internet is free. Thanks!

 

One of the best things about the Neptune Lounge is the ability to "graze"/snack on small amounts of food ( between around 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM) and the self-serve coffee/espresso machine. As a diabetic, I found my blood sugar levels to stay fairly constant (as well as my weight) during the HAL cruises.

 

The Concierge is great and helpful (on a rough Cruise on the Maasdam, she gave me an "Ancient Chinese Herbal Remedy" to apply to my forehead - the horrible smell of that stuff took my mind off my queasy stomache).

 

All in all, we prefer the amenities of the Verandah Suite on HAL, plus the food & entertainment, to any of the other comparable rated cruise lines we've sailed.

[Jesterscourt]

I've heard several people mention that they use the Concierge to book shore excursions and such. But don't most passengers book their shore excursions or private tours way ahead of time via internet months before embarkation? Due to the general bad reputation of cruise ship coffee, it almost sounds worth it to use the Neptune Lounge just for the cappuccino alone! But seriously, do suite passengers really hang out in the Neptune Lounge which has no windows, when they have such gorgeous comfortable suites? Also, does it matter if your suite is far away from the Neptune such as an aft suite?

[LoyHAL]

Yes, it can be a hike from the aft suites to the Neptune Lounge! We were on the Zuiderdam in September, the first time on one of the larger HAL ships.

 

I was amazed at the distances we walked! However, the aft cabin was such a treat that I'm sure it all balanced out. Sometimes the coffee got cold on the walk back, though. :D

 

LoyHAL

[dakrewser]

But seriously, do suite passengers really hang out in the Neptune Lounge which has no windows, when they have such gorgeous comfortable suites?

 

It's a lot closer to walk to the Neptune, group a coffee and snack, and walk back to your cabin than it is to go to the Lido or Explorations for a cup...

[Krazy Kruizers]

I've heard several people mention that they use the Concierge to book shore excursions and such. But don't most passengers book their shore excursions or private tours way ahead of time via internet months before embarkation? Due to the general bad reputation of cruise ship coffee, it almost sounds worth it to use the Neptune Lounge just for the cappuccino alone! But seriously, do suite passengers really hang out in the Neptune Lounge which has no windows, when they have such gorgeous comfortable suites? Also, does it matter if your suite is far away from the Neptune such as an aft suite?

 

You would be surprised to see how many people have not booked any tours until they get on the ship.

The concierge justs takes down the information on what tours you wish to book and then contacts the shore excursion as his/her earliest convience.

[Krazy Kruizers]

On the Vista class ships we always book an SA that is near the Neptune Lounge. DH loves the coffee there. Many times we will use the tray that our ice bucket sits on to take plates of snacks back to our verandah.

 

Have actually seen people get the larger trays from the Lido to use.