Penthouse Suite with Adjoining balcony room for family of 4 on the Sun - Questions

[stiej]

My family of 4 booked the Aft Penthouse with Adjoining balcony cabin for our upcoming cruise on the Sun. My husband and I were planning on staying in the penthouse and my son and daughter (11 and 8) in the balcony room. For age purposes, they split our reservation so that my husband and son would be techinically in the penthouse and my daughter and I are listed in the other room. I asked the reservations rep when we made the booking if all 4 of us would receive the suite benefits and she said because the children were under 18 we would. However, I have read on here where several people have said they did not extend suite benefits to families that had the adjoining staterooms. Will all 4 of us be extended the suite benefits or just my husband and son? Thank you!

[DMH15]

My family of 4 booked the Aft Penthouse with Adjoining balcony cabin for our upcoming cruise on the Sun. My husband and I were planning on staying in the penthouse and my son and daughter (11 and 8) in the balcony room. For age purposes, they split our reservation so that my husband and son would be techinically in the penthouse and my daughter and I are listed in the other room. I asked the reservations rep when we made the booking if all 4 of us would receive the suite benefits and she said because the children were under 18 we would. However, I have read on here where several people have said they did not extend suite benefits to families that had the adjoining staterooms. Will all 4 of us be extended the suite benefits or just my husband and son? Thank you!

Technically, the answer would be that only you and your daughter would be given the suite perks. But the answer is maybe. Until recently the suites on the Sun only accomodated 2 but they now allow 4. I am guessing you are booking the adjoining room due to the fact you have children of different sexes and the sofa bed is not an option. I have stayed in 9076 the aft ph on the Sun and loved it. Great balcony! Since your children are so young NCL had to write your res that way but once on board you can put the kids in there.

 

Did you know you can order Suite breakfast to be served in your suite?

[stiej]

we had to book two because quad occupancy was not available for our sailing. Ugh, now I am very nervous because we were assured by reservations that we would all 4 be afforded the same perks since our kids were under 18.

[DMH15]

we had to book two because quad occupancy was not available for our sailing. Ugh, now I am very nervous because we were assured by reservations that we would all 4 be afforded the same perks since our kids were under 18.

if it were me I would feel a lot better if I had that in writing.

 

The Sun is my favorite ship. I love Il Adagio.

 

That is the Sun in my Avatar.

 

Hoping it all works out for you.

[stiej]

We are aft - 9076 and the adjoining balcony room.

[DMH15]

We are aft - 9076 and the adjoining balcony room.

 

9076, great choice Same as us. Had it in 2009 and booked for next March. BTW, there are thermostats in living room and bedroom. Took us 2 nights to figure that out!

[stiej]

im on hold with NCL now. If the policy will be extended to all of us, Im going to ask for them to email that to me.

[Vyhanek]

I've had that cabin as well. You are going to love the cabin so much!!

I think in your case you just speak with the concierge when you get on the ship. I think they will work this out for you.

 

I also think it's good that you got the adjoining cabin because the pull out sofa in the living room is really small. My kids were 5 and 7 and it was an issue sleeping. That bed wasn't normal sized.

 

But I think if you try to call NCL directly you are going to frustrate yourself even more. The reps don't have the authority to change policy like that and I think they are going to give you the technical answer which is probably "no". But when someone with the authority who understands the issue hears the problem, they are going to say..."of course".

[Shadow1526]

We’ve booked that same cabin for the end of Feb 2013. Do suite guests on the Sun have a place for breakfast / lunch as we have on other ships with Cagney’?

[2Cruise4Ever]

Yes, trust me, you and your family will all have the same benefits. It is up to the Hotel Director's discretion. But, NCL would be foolish to split you up like that.

[rvsullivan]

The problem here is not the kids, it's the fact that mom is booked in the adjoining room. Best choice is breakfast/lunch in suite if Cagney's is the choice. She is not going to have a suite room key which is color coded for the perks. You can try the concierge, but do not be surprised if turned down.

There are suites that accommodate 4 and that would be the better choice.

[stiej]

The rep told us that boarding and disembarkation together would not be a problem. The only problem we are going to have is that my daughter and I cannot dine in Cagneys with my son and husband. We went around and around with the fact that I was told by the NCL booking agent that this would not be a problem and that I was actually paying more by having 2 regular fares in 2 separate cabins than we would have paid having the 4 of us in the penthouse with 3rd and 4th passenger fare and that it is kind of ridiculous to split up a family. She told me the policy is so that two groups dont get these two rooms and have only one family really "pay" for it and the other family get the benefits. I told her I understood that but that this is obviously not that case. The ship leaves in 2 weeks and quad occupancy wasnt an option and we cant list the two adults separately in the penthouse so both adults would have the perks. I am very frustrated. I asked if we could just go back to the original two adjoining balconies we had because we arent going to get what we paid for but of course they are booked up. So, we paid an additional 4k to upgrade and we dont actually get what we were told we were paying for. She told me to call her back on Sunday and they would try to make this up to us and that she understood, etc. Im worried we are going to have issues with the two adults being in different categories. This is our first time on NCL after sailing Disney, RCI, Carnival, and HAL and we have never had this much difficulty nor have we had a rep lie to us (misinformed is what the supervisor called her) and have no recourse...Ugh...So, thats where we stand.

[stiej]

She asked me what I wanted them to do and of course I said what your representative said was going to happen - that all 4 of us would have reciprocal privileges. She said there was no way that was going to happen. That is why she said to call back tomorrow to let them know what they could do to make this "work out." We don't feel like we are getting basically what we paid for and we are going to have to deal with hassle on our vacation as a result. So, what remedy should we ask for?

[jints07]

I fully understand NCLs policy on this and get why it is the way it is, but here you have a lack of common sense if they fail to rectify this. I would think that the line would be happy enough that they are getting "Passenger 1 and 2" level fares for two rooms. Clearly a family of four with two little ones should be accommodated in this instance, especially since under different circumstances the suite would have been able to accommodate four. There is no doubt in my mind that some would disagree (this is CC after all :)), but to me this one is clear.

 

I am very interested to hear what happens, please report back after your trip as I have two children in the roughly the same age group so I feel for you and would like to know if I need to take my business elsewhere should I choose to do adjoining rooms to a suite.

 

So here's a question....I have heard (and perhaps this is not correct) that NCL has a policy that suite benefits are extended to children under 18 if the parents are in a suite....but how does this make any sense because if the children are IN the suite with the parents, then of course they get the benefit as it is extended to the entire cabin. But on the other hand, children under 18 aren't allowed to be in a cabin without an adult anyway :confused: It's as if there is a policy that exists for marketing purposes but which a customer can never actually utilize.

[stiej]

That is what our original booking rep told us that since the kids were under 18 and had to travel with an adult any way, that extending the suite amenities to us all would be no problem. Their policy is that my husband and 11 yr old are booked in the penthouse where my 8 yr old and myself are in the adjoining room. They said they could not switch the reservation to have my husband and I in one room and the kids in the other because of that. It appears that NCL doesnt have their stories together in the booking department. This was one reason I booked directly with NCL so we wouldnt have any mix-ups. We specifically asked this when we upgraded and were told exactly this would not be a problem. We feel that since NCL misrepresented this to us, we should be extended what we were told. But, we were told in no set of circumstances would this happen. Very very frustrated....

[emcelh]

Maybe the best way to resolve this is to wait until you board. The hotel director or the conceirge could make it happen. As for the reps in the call center, I doubt they have much latitude in making exceptions to policy, even when someone gives "misinformation". It shouldn't be that way but it seems to be the case with alot of companies. Airlines are the worst.

[auntierobin]

You don't say when you are traveling, but right now the Hotel Director for the Sun is Steve Jacobsen. He is very nice and I am sure that he will try very hard to come up with a satisfactory solution to your problem. The concierge is Luiggi and also very accommodating, but I would try the Hotel Director. (but don't leave Luiggi out, you don't want hurt feelings and an unhappy concierge)

 

You might ask for the Hotel Director's and oncierge's email and start a dialogue with them before your trip to get a feel for what they might be able to do for you.

[Zimomiller]

You are receiving the stated party line from NCL re the rules.

 

You will get nothing different up front. It is important for them to follow that guidance for PR and consistency purposes.

 

Just do a search on this topic here at CC and you will be amazed at how many of these threads exist and how many people absolutely lose their minds when they think that anyone may receive any suite benefit in a situation like this.

 

We have sailed with our kids in connecting cabins to our suite many times (ie all the kids were < 18 and Dad booked in the non-suite ) and our experience has been that the concierge has the option to allow suite perks to the entire family.

[stiej]

We cruise 2 weeks from today.

[jakesnana]

I don't understand why you had to book an adult in each cabin, especially since you have ADJOINING cabins. Is this an NCL policy?

 

Other cruiselines allow you to book your children in cabins next to you or across the hall from you, without having to put an adult in each cabin, which makes much more sense.

 

Not only is there a chance that you and your daughter may miss out on Suite Perks, you will also not receive the additional Latitudes points for being berthed in a suite, your son will.

[stiej]

It was NCL's policy to have an adult over 21 in each cabin with a child under 18.

[Gregor4500]

If NCL is listening they should create a new fare for connecting rooms to suites. Why have connecting rooms if not to actually enlarge the suite. Call them "expanded suite" rates. They could charge a little more and everybody wins.

 

But as for this instance, if it were me, I would email the HD today. Letting him know how looking forward to sailing on "his" ship you are, except for this concern. I'd be shocked if your family of 4 don't get to dine together.

 

Good Luck, Gregg

[JessLCH]

We had this exact situation on Pride of America in 2009. We had a suite and a connecting balcony. Technically my daughter and I were booked in the suite and husband and son in the balcony. When we checked in we were told no problem for suite perks for all. (The suite COULD accommodate 4 but we wanted 2 cabins). My husband requested a new silver key card indicating suite perks and the concierge got it changed for him. Had no problems dining at Steakhouse for breakfast and lunch.

 

I am following this closely because I was considering booking the exact same suite and connecting balcony on Sun.

[SuiteCruiser]

We were ready to do the same with the OS and the connecting balcony for the kids (13) and were told by several people on here that they had been denied, so we put the kids in the suite and had a roll away and the cot. The reasoning is that even though they are getting more money out of you for the other cabin, most ships sail full, so they're actually losing money as you'd pay for 3rd and 4th AND they'd sell the balcony. As well, there will always be people working out every way to get around it and cheat, so sadly, they have the rules.

 

Of course, the concierge and HD have discretion to bend those rules. On the other hand, it would annoy me greatly to be told no, then have others told yes, either way someone is put out.

[DMH15]

We had this exact situation on Pride of America in 2009. We had a suite and a connecting balcony. Technically my daughter and I were booked in the suite and husband and son in the balcony. When we checked in we were told no problem for suite perks for all. (The suite COULD accommodate 4 but we wanted 2 cabins). My husband requested a new silver key card indicating suite perks and the concierge got it changed for him. Had no problems dining at Steakhouse for breakfast and lunch.

 

I am following this closely because I was considering booking the exact same suite and connecting balcony on Sun.

But, you do realize because it happened once it might not next time? Would you be upset? Like I posted to the OP I would try and get it in writing.

 

I agree the Sun aft suites are amazing.

 

IMHO, I do agree that the minor children in a non-suite room, when connected to a suite should receive the suite benefits. But I do believe as desirable as these rooms are look at in in NCL's way. That roommwould probably be sold anyway, it is very popular. So NCL is actually losing money this way. If you booked all 4 in a suite they would still probably sell that balcony to another person or persons. This is just my own idea, NCL should amend the policy to include only minor children or elderly parents in rooms connecting to the suite to the suite perks for a small upcharge, hence making the suite larger, adding a bedroom. Say, $10-$15 a day per add-on. For a 7 night cruise that would be $70-$105 per person for the peace of mind of knowing the suite perks are allowed to all. This would be perfect for ships like the Sun which has no 2-bedroom family suites. (Note: Not applicable to Uncle Joe or Bob from the country club who doesn't want to ante up, just the kiddos and grandma). NCL, are you listening?