Royal Suite Vacation on Summit

[jwindham]

Hello. Before I went on the Summit I scanned these threads looking for any information on the Royal Suites aboard the Summit. Having now stayed in one of these cabins, I thought I would give a summary of just what life was like in these cabins.

 

First the size is wonderful. There were three of us women traveling together. The dining area had a table with 4 chairs and it was a decent size for the meals we ate upon it. The living area had two nice sofa units in an L shape. One folded out for the bed at night. There was a computer on a desk by the balcony doors in the living room. We used that several times after we left port. There was never any need to go to the Computer area on the ship after getting it set up for us the initial visit. The whole cabin is full of doors that open up into shelves and one is a small closet in the living area. Large flat screen TVs were in both the bedroom and the living area though you could only access your account via the one in the living room. Not a big deal at all. There is a CD player mounted on the wall over the computer and a DVD player for each TV. There were also power plugs on the computer desk.

 

Two of us had the bedroom and one took the sofa bed in the living room. The bedroom had the largest night stands I have ever had in any cabin on any ship. They were twice the width of a standard one and they had two nice drawers. There was plenty of room between the beds so that you did not feel you would touch each other across the space during the night. The sofa bed was a nice size and comfortable. In the bedroom there were several cabinets too and off to the end where the balcony doors were angled, there was a nice vanity with a drawer and 2 power plugs. A normal hair dryer was in the cabinets in the bedroom.

 

The balcony had a small hot tub, really not for 2 people though the couple next to us used theirs in that capacity. There were two lounge chairs, a very large round table with 4 chairs and what we took to be a stool though someone said it was a small table. Worked as either. The balcony is not rectangular but slants in on the bedroom side so that you have the hot tub next to the bedroom with deck space between it and the railing.

 

The bathroom was wonderful. There is a Jacuzzi bath with jets up the back as well as on the sides. There were 2 lavatories with plenty of space between them and extended counter space over the end of the tub. There was a tiled stall shower with a glass door that was a nice size, not huge but better than some. Behind the door when it was open, was a whole wall of shelves.

 

There is a walk in closet at the end of the hallway between the bathroom and bedroom. Straight ahead are shelves, a large area with the safe, and three drawers on the bottom. The one side is hanging only and the other side is shelves. There is a sliding or pocket door for the closet.

 

But add to all of this, there is a butler. That was what I searched for to find information about and found very little. We had Rikki who seems to be one of the best. Nothing within reason was refused. The first afternoon we discovered that the table light between the sofas in the living room did not work. We showed Rikki. He doubled checked that it was not working and it was corrected before we came back from dinner. He brought breakfast to us the mornings we filled out the form and set it up on the balcony with a table cloth even out there. We were able to write in specific requests such as an egg white only omlet and it was done. No questions. Dinners were served in three parts. On the three nights we chose to dine in the suite, he brought the menus to us early afternoon and left a paper with all categories on it for us to list what we wanted. At the requested time, he would bring in the appetizers, soups, and salads. Later he would return with the entrees and it seemed he knew exactly how to time it so it was not late or too early. Then he would bring dessert later. One night we had a couple we knew on the ship eat with us. No problem and he left his trolley for us to use as we felt it would be better to eat around the coffee table which was lower than the dining table but much bigger. Every afternoon he came by with the Tea trolley which had sandwiches and desserts as well as coffee and a wide variety of teas. Then about an hour later he would bring us canapes. Needless to say, we did not go hungry on this cruise. Rikki even performed zip up service at the top of an evening dress after the other two had left the cabin early for dinner. Just smiles the whole time and he constantly repeated that he would be glad to help us in any way.

 

The room steward, Menino, was one of the best I have ever had too. He was there when we were not to clean up the room and always seemed easy to spot in the hallway but was not intrusive at all. Many times he opened the suite door when we were returning to the room. They replenished any supplies like shampoo or lotion in the bathroom if one was used. This included the lip balm that one of us took the second day to use on a snorkeling excursion. The first night we requested a firmer pillow to try as the two on the bed were very soft and we all had three pillows for the remainder of the cruise. As I said, there when you needed him, above average work in the cabin, and not around when you wanted quiet. Ideal to me.

 

As we checked in, we were escorted down to a special area at the end of the line and Giovani who was the manager of Normandie personally staffed it. We were offered the first night free other than a $5 charge each for tips. Then he informed us that the second night, which was the first formal night, was 20% off. So we took that offer up too. Our TA had given us the 4th night of the cruise as a gift so now we had 3 nights booked. The food was superb. And if you are a returning guest, they offer specials directly from the chef on the subsequent nights. We had something not on the menu all three of the remaining nights. These included special appetizers, a couple of vegetarian dishes for entrees when requested, and desserts only for us. The desserts were Crepes Suzettes, Bananas Foster, and two souffles made just for us, Cinnamon and Hazlenut. Also we were offered special entrees of Chateaubriand and Lobster Thermador. On Thursday about 3:00 we decided we wanted to eat there for the 4th time. When we went down to see if there was any slot available we were told any time we wanted would be perfect. So they really do treat repeat guests very special.

 

I cannot answer to what the main dining room was like as we never went there for our meals. We either ate in Normandie or in the room. Spoiled we were. Please feel free to ask questions as I know I cannot have covered all of the perks that came with this room. Julia

[sarahc78]

Great review...but no pictures :(

[jwindham]

Sorry but it took me 2 1/2 brutal days at work and catching up at home to even do this. The pictures are still on my camera and not transferred to my PC. Hope to get there in the next day or so.

[Jennifer815]

Thanks for your review!!! I am staying in a royal suite in July on the summit!!! :D

[aloanldy]

We just got off Summit on 4/9 and we were in a Royal Suite. What a Sweet Suite!!! We had keith as our butler and what a GEM!!!

 

I tried to upload the pics from our room but kept getting a failed upload message. I'll figure it out eventually. Great write up on the cabin.

 

Charlie

[esther e]

We had Keith in September. He was the best butler we ever had, on any line! You're right: he is a gem.:) The only problem is he wouldn't fit in my suitcase!

[BarbJ52]

We just got off Summit on 4/9 and we were in a Royal Suite. What a Sweet Suite!!! We had keith as our butler and what a GEM!!!

 

I tried to upload the pics from our room but kept getting a failed upload message. I'll figure it out eventually. Great write up on the cabin.

 

Charlie

 

You may need to resize the files to get them to upload. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/newattachment.php?t=1389164&poststarttime=1302774717&posthash=e7b41aca74f8ba2df979a8839685c6da

[SingingMom1]

Thanks for the review! We are booked in a Royal Suite in June to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary. I'm so excited!!

Our almost 18 year old daughter is traveling with us. Was the bed in the living room comfortable enough for a week? ;)

[judyfssw]

We've been in Royal Suites a few times and yes, it's wonderful. We've had Rikki and so is he. I've never had a repeat butler but on our last cruise, a butler that we had in a Sky suite was there and we saw him several times. He made a special effort to come and see us.

 

I LOVE Royal Suites:D

[jwindham]

Yes, the sofa bed was decent especially for just one person.

[aloanldy]

We stayed on the pull out sofa and gave my dad the bedroom. The pull out sofa was plenty comfortable. The butler will ask you if you need any additional cushioning (egg crate, etc) we didn't need anything. I think it'll be find for you daughter.

[SingingMom1]

Yes, the sofa bed was decent especially for just one person.

 

We stayed on the pull out sofa and gave my dad the bedroom. The pull out sofa was plenty comfortable. The butler will ask you if you need any additional cushioning (egg crate, etc) we didn't need anything. I think it'll be find for you daughter.

 

 

Thank you for your responses!

It's our fault, but we've created a "princess" (as in Princess & the Pea!) .:D The additional cushioning might be a great idea from the start.

 

She has been fortunate enough to travel with us as an "only child", and because of that, never had to pull up a sleeping bag on a floor, or "share" facilities with siblings. lol