Need suite help by others who have sailed other lines

[cruisingcouple07]

My boyfriend and I just sailed on the Zuiderdam in an SA and we loved all the perks of the Neptune Lounge etc. We are planning our next cruise and we would like to look at other line suites so we can compare. We were slightly disappointed with the food quality with HAL and we had the a bad server as well since he was given way too many tables. Can someone help us who know of comparable SA's with other lines?

[caviargal]

Try Regent for a wonderful experience at a similar price point when comparing apples to apples.

 

RCI has nice suite but IMO too many kids on their cruises and food quality not good. If you found the servers overworked on HAL, on some lines they also handle wine service as well and service really suffers.

 

X has some nice suites but perks are not equal to HAL IMO. We use the Neptune often, have breakfast in the PG and utilize in cabin service for entertaining as well as laundry and cleaning. On most lines, you just get space.

[watchdiva]

Check out the penthouse suites and courtyard villas on NCL. The perks that come with a courtyard villa are awesome and include concierge, butler service, the private courtyard with lap pool, loungers, hot tub, steam rooms (or sauna I can't remember), private sun deck etc; breakfast and lunch at Cagney's, etc.

 

We've sailed twice in an SA on HAL and quite a few times on NCL and from our perspective, we prefer the perks/amenities that come with a penthouse/courtyard villa on NCL.

[spirit rev]

I will second what Watchdiva has to say about NCL penthouse/courtyard villa suites. We've had great service from the butlers and concierges on all our cruises with them. NCL doesn't have free laundry with their suites but the many upgrades that come with these cabins are wonderful.

[DCT61]

Ill "third" that...the best service Ive ever had in a suite was on NCL.

[scamper]

My only "worry" about NCL is that it would be something of a "step down" in terms of food quality, fellow passengers, etc. I have been curious about the villas but at the risk of coming across as a snob, I want a shipwide premium experience if I pay upwards of $500.00 per person, per day. I want fellow passengers dressed well on formal nights and I want the food to be above average. My first cruise was on NCL's Norway and back then I don't think I was as discerning about the experience as I have become. I am pretty happy with my overall experiences on premium and luxury lines and I fear I might not enjoy a mass market line, even if it is in a villa.

[AWED23]

We have enjoyed premium suites on many different lines. In general, I totally agree with Caviargirl. In just the last 3 years we have had suites with butlers on the QM2, Silver Shadow, Oceania Regatta, Seven Seas Voyager, Regent Navigator as well as 1 cruise on HAL's Ryndam and 2 aboard the Prinsendam....Hal has the concierge and Neptune lounge, which we prefer vs. a Butler..We are not room service diners nor do we drink in our room. God made the Crows Nest for drinking my Tanqueray. Personally, we prefer the Prinsendam suites, Neptune Lounge and crew to most all the rest but Regent really is the best over-all upscale experience as far as we are concerned. By the way, Butlers vary greatly from line to line and also within any line....On the QM2 we were in a Queens Grill Suite(top of their line) and when I asked the butler about shoe srevice She said she would try to find Me some polish...Also, they had brown paper towels in all public rest rooms. No class at all except the Queens Grill itself was out standinding,maybe the very best dining experience afloat!...Go figure,..:)

[BarbCT605]

My only "worry" about NCL is that it would be something of a "step down" in terms of food quality, fellow passengers, etc. I have been curious about the villas but at the risk of coming across as a snob, I want a shipwide premium experience if I pay upwards of $500.00 per person, per day. I want fellow passengers dressed well on formal nights and I want the food to be above average. My first cruise was on NCL's Norway and back then I don't think I was as discerning about the experience as I have become. I am pretty happy with my overall experiences on premium and luxury lines and I fear I might not enjoy a mass market line, even if it is in a villa.

Then, you should never, ever book a cabin on NCL...Please.

[seaproponent]

We've sailed "S" class on HAL and enjoyed it greatly -- nice rooms, nice perks. But our favorite suite of the mid-class lines was on Celebrity. We sailed in a Royal Suite (catagory "RS") on the Infinity to Alaska 3+ years ago. These are truly "suites", rather than larger rooms. They have a separate bedroom, and a private hot tub on your deck; in additon, there's a very plush dining area which can seat 4-6 people as I recall -- great if you're traveling with friends and want to entertain. We also thought the food on Celebrity was a cut above that on HAL.

[Straughn]

I have sailed on NCL (never again), Celebrity and RCI in their larger suites and I wholeheartedly agree with the comments about Celebrity, the space, the floorplan and the butler. I can't compare it to HAL because I am taking my first HAL cruise in a few weeks. I can tell you that the butler service on X was outstanding with the coffee and tea showing up at the requested time every morning, the afternoon tea service and the overall catering to your requests. I also found that the Celebrity crowd adhered more to the dress code than on RCI and NCL. There were a few renegades, but not in the proportions I found on the other two lines. Stay away from NCL if you want anything that resembles an upscale cruising experience. My only NCL cruise was also on the Norway- I thought the ship was fascinating, but the service and level of concern about passenger care was poor.

[DrivesLikeMario]

My boyfriend and I just sailed on the Zuiderdam in an SA and we loved all the perks of the Neptune Lounge etc. We are planning our next cruise and we would like to look at other line suites so we can compare. We were slightly disappointed with the food quality with HAL and we had the a bad server as well since he was given way too many tables. Can someone help us who know of comparable SA's with other lines?

 

I've had full suites on Princess, HAL, RCI, Carnival and NCL (new ship). Princess' full suites are the most comparable to HAL's Vista Class ships.

 

With Princess, you also get free laundry & dry cleaning but you also get free internet access. But, you don't have the Neptune Lounge. Many of the other suite perks are the same as HAL's. With RCI, you get the Concierge Lounge (very similar to Neptune L.) and it includes free made-to-order cocktails every evening. Princess' suites are set up totally differently from HAL's (Princess' are choppy but very elegant & HAL's are more wide-open).

 

Frankly, the NCL owners' suite we had was by far the best we've ever, ever had. We had a butler, concierge, our own private pool & spa area, our own huge sun deck to lay out in, two balconies, a shower with a view and a flat-screen TV, a cappuchino maker that the butler tended every day, a 3' flower arrangement, 2 huge flat screen TVs (1 in family room; 1 in master bedroom), and all kinds of other suite perks! The only problem was - it was NCL!!! :p Just not our cup of tea. Service was very spotty.

[sail7seas]

We love the "S" Suites on HAL and the Neptune Lounge is exactly what we seek on the ships. We have never enjoyed Butler Service we had on "X" and far prefer Concierge and excellent steward service on HAL. Just our personal preference.

 

The physical layout of our last suite on Princess was nice. I thought it a great cabin with the 1 - 1/2 baths with huge marble bath. I loved it was a true suite with doors between bedroom/living room but the service and experience we had was so negative we don't plan to ever return to Princess. Maybe it was just 'bad luck' the crew we encountered but it wasn't good. That was about our fifth Princess cruise.

 

I do not care to entertain guests for dinner when cruising. For cocktails, great, but I don't want any dinner parties. HAL Suites and the verandas are plenty large to enjoy cocktails with friends.

 

We even prefer HAL's "S" Suites in some ways to the Penthouse. We have stayed in the Penthouse and certainly enjoyed it but there are things about the "S" I like even better....:) but things that are way better in the "PS" as well.

[Prada Cowboy]

We sailed many, many times on NCL in Owner's Suites, Courtyard Villas and Garden Villas. They really had a great product...as I said had! I sailed last year alone 6 times with them and I saw how the quality fades away (since April). My last Garden Villa in December on the Gem is where we all said it was the last time we would sail NCL. If you do not like the food on HAL...you will absolutely NOT like it on NCL! Service is very spotty! The Suites look very nice, but are very uncomfortible! Value for money isn't there!

Why do you want to pay a high price for the Ritz Carlton and then stay in a cheap Holiday Inn???