The Suite Experience - Random Thoughts

[stretch44]

Having just got off FOS I am sharing some random observations and opinions instead of writing a full review (too lazy to do that). Most of these, but not all, will be about the suite perks as that is what were constantly evaluating to help decide where we cruise next year.

 

Here's the first batch. I will add more as I think of them.

 

1. First I have to admit I was wrong in earlier posts about the CL. Unlike our last cruise, the CL during happy hour on this cruise was EMPTY almost all of the time! I asked about this and was told that it was due to a very low number of D+ cruisers on this trip. He said wait until next week when that number triples. It will be jammed! What this means to me is yes, the suite guests do NOT use the CL much during happy hour. I think the suite guests do prefer a bar setup in room as a poll I did a couple months ago showed.

 

2. The new pool seating area for suite guests is awful. It is located on top of the Sky Bar and was never used by anybody.

 

3. The reserved seating area for the ice show however has improved.

 

4. We stayed in a Owners Suite. The room was well worn. Dining table was broken, TV did not work for most of the cruise, balcony door did not close properly ETC ETC. You could tell there had been some heavy partying in this room! This was the biggest dissapointment of the cruise.

 

5. The food in the MDR was better than last time and the service was much better.

 

6. Labadee was nice and the cabana was very nice. We enjoyed this private stop much more than Coco Cay which we visited last year. Barefoot Beach is nice but is rocky once your in the water so wear water shoes. The buffet was fantastic. The family in the cabana next to us commented that they thought the buffet was better here than the food on the ship. I know the food is supplied by the ship on Labadee but the quality did seem better. Speaking of cabanas, W3 and W4 are not being used because of damage.

 

7. Chops and Portifinos were great as always. We had scheduled three nights at Chops but cancelled the last one. Too much rich food! Went to the Windjammer instead and the turkey there was very good.

 

More to come.....

[Don Pedro]

Having just got off FOS I am sharing some random observations and opinions instead of writing a full review (too lazy to do that). Most of these, but not all, will be about the suite perks as that is what were constantly evaluating to help decide where we cruise next year.

 

Here's the first batch. I will add more as I think of them.

 

1. First I have to admit I was wrong in earlier posts about the CL. Unlike our last cruise, the CL during happy hour on this cruise was EMPTY almost all of the time! I asked about this and was told that it was due to a very low number of D+ cruisers on this trip. He said wait until next week when that number triples. It will be jammed! What this means to me is yes, the suite guests do NOT use the CL much during the cocktail hours. I think the suite guests do prefer a bar setup in room as a poll I did a couple months ago showed.

 

2. The new pool seating area for suite guests is awful. It is located on top of the Sky Bar and was never used by anybody.

 

3. The reserved seating area for the ice show however has improved.

 

4. We stayed in a Owners Suite. The room was well worn. Dining table was broken, TV did not work for most of the cruise, balcony door did not close properly ETC ETC. You could tell there had been some heavy partying in this room! This was the biggest dissapointment of the cruise.

 

5. The food in the MDR was better than last time and the service was much better.

 

6. Labadee was nice and the cabana was very nice. We enjoyed this private stop much more than Coco Cay which we visted last year. Barefoot Beach is nice but is rocky once your in the water so wear water shoes. The buffet was fantastic. The family in the cabana next to us commented that they thought the buffet was better here than the food on the ship. I know the food is supplied by the ship on Labadee but the quality did seem better. Speaking of cabanas, W3 and W4 are not being used because of damage.

 

7. Chops and Portifinos were great as always. We had scheduled three nights at Chops but cancelled the last one. Too much rich food! Went to the Windjammer instead and the turkey there was very good.

 

More to come.....

 

Sorry to hear your cabin was in such poor condition there is no excuse for that.

 

We have never experienced an empty concierge lounge but know that on some sailings it could happen. Sometimes when people take their children they book suites to have more room. Since youngsters are not permitted in the CL during happy hour the parents don't go. We've usually had a nice mix of suite and D+ guests in the lounge. Not too crowded but nowhere near empty.

 

Agree that the location of the reserved pool seating is awful. Nevertheless it has been a bur under many people's saddle.

[stretch44]

Sorry to hear your cabin was in such poor condition there is no excuse for that.

 

We have never experienced an empty concierge lounge but know that on some sailings it could happen. Sometimes when people take their children they book suites to have more room. Since youngsters are not permitted in the CL during happy hour the parents don't go. We've usually had a nice mix of suite and D+ guests in the lounge. Not too crowded but nowhere near empty.

 

Agree that the location of the reserved pool seating is awful. Nevertheless it has been a bur under many people's saddle.

 

I guess in our 2 RCCL cruises, we have experienced the extreme both ways. Many times on this trip we were the only ones in the CL during happy hour!

[jjb415]

On most of my recent sailings the Concierge Lounge has been dead also.

[AF-1]

My last cruise was in Grand Suite; very rarely found anyone in Concierge lounge for morning or afternoon. I guess because we had late seating for dinner; most people had their pre-drink prior to or after the early seating; never saw anyone there for breakfast; where I would go in the morning and have coffee and danish. Agree with the pool seating; way to far away from the actual pool; loved the private dining in portifinos for lunch; and dinner. Sorry to hear about the room being in bad shape; did u complain to housekeeping about all the problems?

[Hawk7]

I would have to agree with the child factor affecting occupancy. I was on the Adventure 3 months ago and was told there were only 6 diamond plus members on board. However the CL was at capacity every night with suite guests that did not have children with them on the sailing.

[cruisegirl1]

The D+ really varies from sailing to sailing. We had about 30 on our Freedom last year. I think the Western Carib. Sailings gets fewer than the Eastern side sailing.

 

M

[stretch44]

My last cruise was in Grand Suite; very rarely found anyone in Concierge lounge for morning or afternoon. I guess because we had late seating for dinner; most people had their pre-drink prior to or after the early seating; never saw anyone there for breakfast; where I would go in the morning and have coffee and danish. Agree with the pool seating; way to far away from the actual pool; loved the private dining in portifinos for lunch; and dinner. Sorry to hear about the room being in bad shape; did u complain to housekeeping about all the problems?

 

Yes we did. On the first day. It took four days for them to finally figure out is was the TV and not the remote causing the television problem (they replaced the TV). They attempted to fix the balcony door on the first day but were not successful. They actually made it worse so we just decided to "live with it". The dining room table was never fixed and again we just decided to "live with it". Probably should have continued calling but after calling a number of times it was beginning to feel like I was working more than on vacation.

[Tranquil Waters]

I think you are missing a big factor on Freedom (and all Freedom class ships for that matter). And that is the Diamond Lounge! ;)

 

Many suite guests are also Diamond or higher. I know that was the case with DH and I on Freedom last Jan. We were Suite and Diamond. As were a number of other suite people. So we had access to both lounges. And the DL is FAR superior with its open ocean views to the cramped-feel interior windowless CL.

 

I felt almost sorry for the consierge of the CL. He kept coming up to the DL to see all of his potential tips "drinking and lounging" in the DL! :eek:

[stretch44]

I would have to agree with the child factor affecting occupancy. I was on the Adventure 3 months ago and was told there were only 6 diamond plus members on board. However the CL was at capacity every night with suite guests that did not have children with them on the sailing.

 

But you would think on a September sailing there would be less children so the CL should be crowded. It wasn't.

[stretch44]

I think you are missing a big factor on Freedom (and all Freedom class ships for that matter). And that is the Diamond Lounge! ;)

 

Many suite guests are also Diamond or higher. I know that was the case with DH and I on Freedom last Jan. We were Suite and Diamond. As were a number of other suite people. So we had access to both lounges. And the DL is FAR superior with its open ocean views to the cramped-feel interior windowless CL.

 

I felt almost sorry for the consierge of the CL. He kept coming up to the DL to see all of his potential tips "drinking and lounging" in the DL! :eek:

 

Yes I heard the DL is much nicer than the CL (I wouldn't know as I'm just a lowly suite guest not a valued D+ member):D

 

You may be right since there were so few D/D+ members there was no overflow to the CL.

[Tranquil Waters]

Yes I heard the DL is much nicer than the CL (I wouldn't know as I'm just a lowly suite guest not a valued D+ member):D

 

You may be right since there were so few D/D+ members there was no overflow to the CL.

 

Plus many of your fellow suite guests may have been up in the DL as well.... :) Leaving just you lowly suite-only guests in the CL. :p

[torpeedo]

Just got off the Explorer and the CL was again, dead most of the time. NEVER had a problem with seating etc. This has been true for us over the last year on 7 cruises we've taken so it's not just a fluke. There are generally less than 1% of the passengers who are D+ and seem to make little impact on the CL. I imagine members cruises would be different.

We were also in an OS on the Freedom in July and have to agree with you about the condition of the suite. It appeared well used and more like an old hotel room that hadn't been refurbished in a while. Dissapointing given the $$$ cost.

[pltag]

2. The new pool seating area for suite guests is awful. It is located on top of the Sky Bar and was never used by anybody.

This is NOT good! When we were on Liberty, they reserved all the terraces, as well as the area in front of the Sky Bar ...... which honestly, were way too many chairs being reserved but never used. We loved out terrace spot everyday ..... EXCEPT if the wind was blowing the "wrong" way the smoke drifting off both the Pool Bar and the Sky Bar was pretty thick! I might like the "perch" if it's not too windy. The areas being reserved seem to be very different from ship to ship .... even ships in the same classes.

[Don Pedro]

Yes I heard the DL is much nicer than the CL (I wouldn't know as I'm just a lowly suite guest not a valued D+ member):D

 

You may be right since there were so few D/D+ members there was no overflow to the CL.

 

We are D+ members who sail in a suite so we've been in both lounges. We prefer the CL as the furnishing are nicer and it has a more intimate atmosphere. Plus on the Freedom class ships it is close to our stateroom and we don't have far to go.

 

The main advantage of the diamond lounge is that it has a great view where the CL is stuck on the inside of the ship. Some DL's even have an outside seating area.

[Tranquil Waters]

Just got off the Explorer and the CL was again, dead most of the time. NEVER had a problem with seating etc. This has been true for us over the last year on 7 cruises we've taken so it's not just a fluke. There are generally less than 1% of the passengers who are D+ and seem to make little impact on the CL. I imagine members cruises would be different.

We were also in an OS on the Freedom in July and have to agree with you about the condition of the suite. It appeared well used and more like an old hotel room that hadn't been refurbished in a while. Dissapointing given the $$$ cost.

 

Isn't Freedom scheduled to go into dry dock soon? Perhaps these "worn" issues will be corrected during this time....

[torpeedo]

I hope the Freedom goes to drydock soon since we are on her again in December!!:D

It would be nice if the GS and above had some kind of special maintenance to take care of tatered couches and stains as they happen and maintain them better given the extra cost for the real estate. All the couches we've seen recently in all categories of cabins needed a good steam cleaning to remove many of unknown stains. :o

[Tranquil Waters]

I hope the Freedom goes to drydock soon since we are on her again in December!!:D

It would be nice if the GS and above had some kind of special maintenance to take care of tatered couches and stains as they happen and maintain them better given the extra cost for the real estate. All the couches we've seen recently in all categories of cabins needed a good steam cleaning to remove many of unknown stains. :o

 

Sorry, when I said "soon" I meant first of the year-ish. Not by December. But I hear you as we are on her Nov. 28 sailing.....:( or :D depending on whether I want to be half-empty or half-full. ;)

[stretch44]

Isn't Freedom scheduled to go into dry dock soon? Perhaps these "worn" issues will be corrected during this time....

 

I was thinking the same thing but after talking to the Hotel Manager at the Captain's Party it looks like all they will have time for is installing the big screen over the pool, adding the cupcake factory (eliminating the barber shop) and a few odds and ends. No room upgrades. He said there just isn't enough time to do anything more. He is pushing to have the carpet removed from the pool deck but isn't anticipating that will be in the budget.

[GSuitesailing]

Would you mind sharing which OS you were in?

[Cruising89143]

We had OS #1648 last month on the Freedom and other than a small spot on the sofa along with a few minor runs in the fabric, the cabin was in very good condition.

[torpeedo]

We were in 1340. The outside furniture is new wicker type with big padded loungers which were terrific. The couch was stained and had some threads hanging off it. Some chair pads were stained as well.. All it would take would be a good steam cleaning or even some patch work cleaning. The bathroom was very clean with nothing chipped or dented.

[stompy]

I think you are missing a big factor on Freedom (and all Freedom class ships for that matter). And that is the Diamond Lounge! ;)

 

Many suite guests are also Diamond or higher. I know that was the case with DH and I on Freedom last Jan. We were Suite and Diamond. As were a number of other suite people. So we had access to both lounges. And the DL is FAR superior with its open ocean views to the cramped-feel interior windowless CL.

 

I felt almost sorry for the consierge of the CL. He kept coming up to the DL to see all of his potential tips "drinking and lounging" in the DL! :eek:

 

This may seem like a silly question but is the Diamond Lounge open to D+ folks ?

 

I imagine it is but not sure if D+ folks would use it or the CL instead...

[Tranquil Waters]

This may seem like a silly question but is the Diamond Lounge open to D+ folks ?

 

I imagine it is but not sure if D+ folks would use it or the CL instead...

 

Yes, DL open to D and D+. From what I have seen on our cruises the majority of D+ use DL - at least on Freedom Class ships (where the CL is a closed space and the DL is open with a view of the sea). But I am sure there are a few that still like the idea of the excusive nature of the CL.

 

As I said, when we cruised the last 2 times the consierge of the CL kept coming to the DL and talking to the suite guests there to see if he could do anything for them. (I read that as he was missing his tips).

[stretch44]

.....cont.

 

8. Adventure Ocean once again did a fabulous job. My kids loved it! It was hard to make them spend time with us. Only complaint here and it is minor, is that I wish the clubs were not broken apart into sections (morning, afternoon and evening). it would be nice to be able to drop them off and pick them up on my schedule, like they do on Disney.

 

9. RCCL suffers from a lack of communication.

 

Example: Last year we took advantage of getting our breakfast from the buffet and sitting in Portifinos to avoid the crowds. A nice suite perk. On our first morning this year we planned to do the same thing so we got all our food from the buffet and headed for Portifinos only to find out that they now serve breakfast there! We felt silly with all the food we just got while everyone else ordered from the menu. I asked the waiter when this started and he said 3-4 months ago. Of course the FOLLOWING morning there is a note delivered to our room explaining the change. It would have been nice to get this the FIRST morning.

 

Example 2: Out toilet stopped working so I called maintenance and was told someone would be right up. I told them we would wait in the room since they were coming right up. One hour, 2 hours passed and nobody came. Called back and was told it was a system wide problem and they would have it fixed soon. That's fine and I understand these things happen but a phone call telling us what had happened would have been nice since they knew we were waiting.

 

10. The ship's public areas are well kept and very clean.

 

11. Unlike last year, the galley tour is now included as a suite perk. In fact, the one we went to was just for suite guests. There was another for Diamond members.

 

12. Room service was hit or miss. Ordered dinner on the first night from the MDR and was told it would be delivered 40 minutes or less. I was surprised that it could be delivered so fast as this was a big order for 4 people and being the first night, I knew things are slower. Yet 30 minutes later there it was! Ordered room service breakfast, once again were told 40 minutes or less, it arrived 65 minutes later. Too late for us as we had a tour scheduled.

 

....more to come