Suite Aminity Package

[Jellyjelly]

This is my second Cruise I have been reading the boards to pick up information I read about A Suite Aminity Package that sounded pretty good. What is it and is it available to any one

[twinkletoes4445]

Here's the packages and the level of cabin you need to be in to purchase the upgrade.

 

 

Suite Amenities Package

(for all suites, excluding deluxe verandah suites) includes:

Complimentary Laundry and Pressing

Holland America Line bathrobe with monogram of choice

In-Stateroom High Tea or Daily Canapes

DVD Selection

Fresh Flowers

Special VIP Debarkation Procedures

Special VIP Debarkation Lounge

Pillows A La Carte Menu

Initial Stateroom Beverage Setup

Explorations Café Coffee Card

Pinnacle Grill Dinner

 

 

 

Suite Elite Package (for deluxe verandah suites only) includes:

Access to Hydro Pool and Thermal Suite

Initial Suite Beverage Setup

Explorations Café Coffee Card

Pinnacle Grill Dinner

Culinary Art Center Class

Premium Wine Tasting

Internet Card for 100 minutes

Daily Turndown Truffles

Deluxe Flower Arrangement

[fann1sh]

Just a note - Twinkletoes correctly and exactly quoted the HAL gift order form. I think HAL's wording is misleading, though - "for all suites, excluding..." I think it should read "for all cabins, excluding..."

 

In other words, if you're not in a SC SB SA or PS, and book the package, you'll get the first bunch of things mentioned. If you are in a SC SB SA or PS, you'll get the items on the second list.

 

Price varies according to length of cruise.

 

InThe WASide had this package on a recent Westerdam cruise - here's his review - http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=43123

[kryos]

I just hope HAL's not selling too many of these to deliver the promised benefits.

 

Let's face it ... if loads of folks on the ship have Pinnacle Grill reservations on a 7-day cruise, it is entirely possible that not everyone will be able to be accommodated, let alone anyone else who goes to book the Pinnacle and does not have this package.

 

Also, the priority debarkation. That could be a problem. What happens if 500 people have this? Can everyone truly get priority? Can everyone fit in that debarkation lounge?

 

I hope HAL has strict limits on how many of these packages they will sell to non-qualifying suite holders on a given cruise. Otherwise, they're gonna anger a lot of folks who paid for these perks by booking those luxury suites.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Jade13]

Just a note - Twinkletoes correctly and exactly quoted the HAL gift order form. I think HAL's wording is misleading, though - "for all suites, excluding..." I think it should read "for all cabins, excluding..."

 

In other words, if you're not in a SC SB SA or PS, and book the package, you'll get the first bunch of things mentioned. If you are in a SC SB SA or PS, you'll get the items on the second list.

 

Price varies according to length of cruise.

 

InThe WASide had this package on a recent Westerdam cruise - here's his review - http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=43123

 

InTheWASide ends his review that he has a mountain of laundry. Doesn't the package included unlimited laundry? I have been meaning to ask.

[sail7seas]

I just hope HAL's not selling too many of these to deliver the promised benefits.

 

Let's face it ... if loads of folks on the ship have Pinnacle Grill reservations on a 7-day cruise, it is entirely possible that not everyone will be able to be accommodated, let alone anyone else who goes to book the Pinnacle and does not have this package.

 

Also, the priority debarkation. That could be a problem. What happens if 500 people have this? Can everyone truly get priority? Can everyone fit in that debarkation lounge?

 

I hope HAL has strict limits on how many of these packages they will sell to non-qualifying suite holders on a given cruise. Otherwise, they're gonna anger a lot of folks who paid for these perks by booking those luxury suites.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

 

 

Do you really think 500 people would buy these packages?

Do you really think 200 people on a given cruise will buy these packages?

 

I don't.

I think that most people booking/cruising these days are keeping the cost as low as they can.

[Jade13]

Do you really think 500 people would buy these packages?

Do you really think 200 people on a given cruise will buy these packages?

 

I don't.

I think that most people booking/cruising these days are keeping the cost as low as they can.

 

IntheWASide is unusual. I don't think many people get the cheapest cabin and then pay a lot for upgrades.

 

There was a post months ago that showed the cost if you bought all of these amenities separately (those that can be bought). Does anyone have the a la carte prices?

[twinkletoes4445]

Just a note - Twinkletoes correctly and exactly quoted the HAL gift order form. I think HAL's wording is misleading, though - "for all suites, excluding..." I think it should read "for all cabins, excluding..."

 

In other words, if you're not in a SC SB SA or PS, and book the package, you'll get the first bunch of things mentioned. If you are in a SC SB SA or PS, you'll get the items on the second list.

 

Price varies according to length of cruise.

 

InThe WASide had this package on a recent Westerdam cruise - here's his review - http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=43123

 

You're right. It's a bit confusing, but if they did as you suggested, it certainly would make it easy to understand what they are offering, and to what level of cabin. :)

[kryos]

Do you really think 500 people would buy these packages?

Do you really think 200 people on a given cruise will buy these packages?

 

I don't.

I think that most people booking/cruising these days are keeping the cost as low as they can.

People book the luxury suites, don't they? In fact, they are among the first accommodations on the ship to sell out.

 

So, yes, I do think it is entirely possible that some people who maybe can no longer afford the luxury suites (or maybe couldn't afford them to begin with) might be very likely to purchase these suite ammenity packages, if for no other reason that to at least get a "taste" of how the other half lives.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[InTheWASide]

InTheWASide ends his review that he has a mountain of laundry. Doesn't the package included unlimited laundry? I have been meaning to ask.

 

We had the laundry package for the undergarments, all the shirts we folded for ease of packing that were clean but we needed pressing done on, socks, our suits between formal nights... A couple of my mom's items. We essentially brought different clothes for each day and night with VERY FEW repeats...

 

If we didn't plan on wearing it again during the cruise, we didn't want to burden the staff with it. I know we could have... we just didn't...

 

Hope that helps...

[InTheWASide]

IntheWASide is unusual. I don't think many people get the cheapest cabin and then pay a lot for upgrades.

 

There was a post months ago that showed the cost if you bought all of these amenities separately (those that can be bought). Does anyone have the a la carte prices?

 

In our case, it was more a matter of:

 

We planned to drink a fair amount on the cruise (wine at dinner and some late night drinks in the Northern Lights)

 

We were going to do the Pinnacle Grill one night

 

We're from Seattle, so the coffee issue speaks for itself :)

 

Laundry was a huge benefit to us since we had one small garment bag and all the dress shirts and my mom's clothes... plus the suits. We just cleaned and folded them, then sent them for pressing and hanging.

 

Enough of the package was things that worked FOR US, that we took advantage of this...

 

And when we used the gift order sheet to try and compile a total, we figured (based on what we expected ship wine and liquor prices to be with that beverage setup) a savings of ABOUT $100...

[InTheWASide]

Additionally, due to my mom's mobility issues...

 

While we didn't NEED an accessible room and left it available for someone that would need it more...

 

My mom DID need a shower stall for sure, and something that would hold 3.

 

This cruise as a whole was a bit pricier than we usually go for (keep in mind its mostly been coastals in the past) and J IS a higher inside category equal if I recall... to a D category price... when we booked.

 

The J worked for us because of the square footage. We didn't just book the bottom of the barrel pricing... It was I think base of $849/pp and $599 for my mom, plus the insurance, and fuel and taxes... Insides started AS LOW AS $549 and oceanview started at $599 when we called and booked.

[Jade13]

Additionally, due to my mom's mobility issues...

 

While we didn't NEED an accessible room and left it available for someone that would need it more...

 

My mom DID need a shower stall for sure, and something that would hold 3.

 

This cruise as a whole was a bit pricier than we usually go for (keep in mind its mostly been coastals in the past) and J IS a higher inside category equal if I recall... to a D category price... when we booked.

 

The J worked for us because of the square footage. We didn't just book the bottom of the barrel pricing... It was I think base of $849/pp and $599 for my mom, plus the insurance, and fuel and taxes... Insides started AS LOW AS $549 and oceanview started at $599 when we called and booked.

 

That is interesting as I did not know some of the insides are priced higher than an ocean view. I should have said that "most people do not get inside cabins and than pay to get upgrades..." Sorry.

[Krazy Kruizers]

A few months ago I did some checking up on the Elite package since we always book Delux suites. This is the information I got and what I figured everything would cost and what we would not use.

People are being quoted different prices depending on length of cruise.

 

For a 7 night cruise, quotes are averaging $500 - $600 for the Suite Elite Package and for 11 day cruises about $700.

 

Suite Elite Package (for deluxe verandah suites only) includes:

• Access to Hydro Pool and Thermal Suite (have no idea what this costs per day)
  
• Initial Suite Beverage Setup (2 liters of hard alcohol - about $60; plus 2 bottles of wine - about $50)
  
• Explorations Café Coffee Card ($29.90)
  
• Pinnacle Grill Dinner ($30 per person = $60)
  
• Culinary Art Center Class (29 per person = $58)
  
• Premium Wine Tasting ($35 per person = $70)
  
• Internet Card for 100 minutes ($55)
  
• Daily Turndown Truffles ?????
  
• Deluxe Flower Arrangement ????

So far it doesn't look like a good deal for us as we never use the Hydro Pool or Thermal Spa, Neptune Lounge has their own coffee machine that makes lattes, etc., we don't do the cooking classes (usually last 3 hours on a sea day), I like only dark chocolate (theirs could be milk chocolate) and we already get a flower arrangement in the suite.

[welove2cruise232]

When we cruised on the Noordam in March I inquired about this package (we were in a stern VA) and was told that it was NOT available to us -- suites and above only...:confused:

[Barek]

A few months ago I did some checking up on the Elite package since we always book Delux suites. This is the information I got and what I figured everything would cost and what we would not use.

People are being quoted different prices depending on length of cruise.

For a 7 night cruise, quotes are averaging $500 - $600 for the Suite Elite Package and for 11 day cruises about $700.

Suite Elite Package (for deluxe verandah suites only) includes:

• Access to Hydro Pool and Thermal Suite (have no idea what this costs per day)
  
• Initial Suite Beverage Setup (2 liters of hard alcohol - about $60; plus 2 bottles of wine - about $50)
  
• Explorations Café Coffee Card ($29.90)
  
• Pinnacle Grill Dinner ($30 per person = $60)
  
• Culinary Art Center Class (29 per person = $58)
  
• Premium Wine Tasting ($35 per person = $70)
  
• Internet Card for 100 minutes ($55)
  
• Daily Turndown Truffles ?????
  
• Deluxe Flower Arrangement ????

So far it doesn't look like a good deal for us as we never use the Hydro Pool or Thermal Spa, Neptune Lounge has their own coffee machine that makes lattes, etc., we don't do the cooking classes (usually last 3 hours on a sea day), I like only dark chocolate (theirs could be milk chocolate) and we already get a flower arrangement in the suite.

 

Does anyone have the price comparison for the Suite Amenities Package? We're not in a Deluxe Verandah Suite, so this would be the one we would consider (our cabin isn't an SA, SB, SC, so we don't qualify for the Elite package - just the amenities package), but it would depend on price ...

• Complimentary Laundry and Pressing
  
• Holland America Line bathrobe with monogram of choice
  
• In-Stateroom High Tea or Daily Canapes
  
• DVD Selection
  
• Fresh Flowers
  
• Special VIP Debarkation Procedures
  
• Special VIP Debarkation Lounge
  
• Pillows A La Carte Menu
  
• Initial Stateroom Beverage Setup
  
• Explorations Café Coffee Card
  
• Pinnacle Grill Dinner

[Krazy Kruizers]

 

Does anyone have the price comparison for the Suite Amenities Package? We're not in a Deluxe Verandah Suite, so this would be the one we would consider (our cabin isn't an SA, SB, SC, so we don't qualify for the Elite package - just the amenities package), but it would depend on price ...

• Complimentary Laundry and Pressing
  
• Holland America Line bathrobe with monogram of choice
  
• In-Stateroom High Tea or Daily Canapes
  
• DVD Selection
  
• Fresh Flowers
  
• Special VIP Debarkation Procedures
  
• Special VIP Debarkation Lounge
  
• Pillows A La Carte Menu
  
• Initial Stateroom Beverage Setup
  
• Explorations Café Coffee Card
  
• Pinnacle Grill Dinner

 

Sorry I don't have that one.

[alonzo14]

Yes, I too would like to know how much has been quoted for a 7 day suite amenities package. We are in an inside category I.

[spcl4cs_gal]

Yes, I too would like to know how much has been quoted for a 7 day suite amenities package. We are in an inside category I.

 

This is what I have been told by HAL regarding the suite amenities package and I am in an inside I category as well...

 

The Suite Amenities package will cost $399.00 total for two guests on your cruise on the MS WESTERDAM. You will receive the following as part of the package:

*Complimentary laundry and pressing throughout the cruise.

*1 Holland America Bathrobe per person (you may monogram the robes on board)

*In Stateroom High Tea OR Daily Canapés - Delivered between 4:00-5:00pm.

*DVD Selection

*Fresh Flowers in your stateroom on the day of embarkation

*Special VIP Debarkation procedures - luggage is picked up in the morning versus putting the luggage out the night before.

*VIP Disembarkation lounge (will be the Pinnacle Grill)

*Pillows A La Carte Menu - Selection of pillows to use, down, feather, ect.

*Initial Suite Beverage Setup - Includes two bottles of wine and two bottles of liquor

*Explorations Cafe Coffee Card - 10 per person

*Pinnacle Grill Dinner for 1

 

They also told me that I could substitute the Coffee card for a soda card but that had to be done once onboard.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I knew someone would come through -- Thanks!!

[spcl4cs_gal]

I knew someone would come through -- Thanks!!

 

No problem! :D

[scopewest]

One comment, I did unlimited laundry on the Noordam back in 2006, and it cost me $99. Well worth it, IMO, but you could probably factor that in for the pricing individually for the suite package.

[Jellyjelly]

Thank You for the many responsis I had a suite on my first cruise with access to the Neptune lounge and it was nice. This time around I had to step down a bit. I liked the neptune. the other things I can do.In suite liquor set up ect.

These boards are great for us newbes again thanks a lot

JJ

[Jade13]

This is what I have been told by HAL regarding the suite amenities package and I am in an inside I category as well...

 

The Suite Amenities package will cost $399.00 total for two guests on your cruise on the MS WESTERDAM. You will receive the following as part of the package:

 

*Initial Suite Beverage Setup - Includes two bottles of wine and two bottles of

 

They also told me that I could substitute the Coffee card for a soda card but that had to be done once onboard.

 

What is the value of the two bottles of wine and liquer? I assume it can be brought to the dining room?

[alonzo14]

spc14cs gal: Thanks so much for the info. The note from HAL you copied says Pinnacle Grill Dinner for 1. I am assuming thought that this means 1 dinner per cruise per couple. And the Coffe Card 10 means 10 punches per person on the Coffe Card.

 

Sure wish I was in Ontario right now. It's getting hot here in Texas!!!!!!!