How suite it is?

[Traveling Bob]

We are thinking of a western Carib cruise next Feb and we want to take a suite. We have been on HAL in an SC delux veranda and loved it. Also sailed on Princess many times but only in a mini suite. Our question is: How do Hal suite services compare to Princess suite services? (I'm also posting this in the HAL board yo see if opinions vary by board) Hard facts would be appreciated, but opinions are also welome!

Of course, I'm posing this question assuming that they are approximately the same price when I book.

[spirit rev]

We are thinking of a western Carib cruise next Feb and we want to take a suite. We have been on HAL in an SC delux veranda and loved it. Also sailed on Princess many times but only in a mini suite. Our question is: How do Hal suite services compare to Princess suite services? (I'm also posting this in the HAL board yo see if opinions vary by board) Hard facts would be appreciated, but opinions are also welome!

Of course, I'm posing this question assuming that they are approximately the same price when I book.

We sailed HAL once in a suite and have sailed once in a suite on Princess. Have also sailed in suites on NCL several times. Leaving NCL out of the mix since you are not asking about them - Princess wins hands down. While having a special lounge to use most of the day on HAL could have been nice, if we'd had a room further away I probably wouldn't have used it as much. There is a lounge that is reserved for suite and upper level Captains Circle folks during "cocktail hour" each day with a "drink of the day" at a reduced price available. We found Princess crew/staff to be far more responsive and friendly than the crew/staff on HAL. FWIW - if Princess sailed out of NYC in the winter we would probably switch from NCL.

[Pam in CA]

We are thinking of a western Carib cruise next Feb and we want to take a suite. We have been on HAL in an SC delux veranda and loved it. Also sailed on Princess many times but only in a mini suite. Our question is: How do Hal suite services compare to Princess suite services? (I'm also posting this in the HAL board yo see if opinions vary by board) Hard facts would be appreciated, but opinions are also welome!

Of course, I'm posing this question assuming that they are approximately the same price when I book.

Here is a link to the list of amenities for a full suite. Please note that these do not apply to a mini-suite which is the equivalent to a HAL deluxe verandah. http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/PrincessSuite_eFlyer.pdf

[john_galt]

Favorite Princess suite perk is MDR menu for room service. We did a jeans and tee shirt cruise in a Vista Suite and had every meal delivered to the room. Didn't even pack any dress clothes. Had Ultimate Balcony Dining two nights, too (pic attached). Got a courtesy visit by the Hotel Director. They really took care of us. The only thing missing was a butler. That's why we are booked on Celebrity for next adventure.

 

 

[Tak8]

I sailed HAL twice in a suite and Princess twice in a suite. Both have very good suite benefits. A few items I prefer on Princess suite life: access to thermal suite, free laundry, Sabatini's for breakfast (great way to start the day. I haven't been on since they added this perk: first night in a specialty restaurant. I'd probably use it. Enjoy.

[Gunner22aa]

Stay exclusivly in suites. Have been in several different ones on X and Princess. I don't use the butler or need one actually so the lack of one on Princess is not a deal breaker for me. Find the perks on Princess far better even after they dropped the free internet. We tend to take longer cruises and the free dry cleaning and laundry is a big plus. Love Sabatines for breakfast. To the person the cabin staff I have had on Princess have provided me with everything short of the offered unpacking and packing assistance that any butler on X ever did and in a couple of cases frankly did it better. Princess gets my vote and my business.

[barbarah33]

I have sailed in suites on Princess, HA, RCCL, CCL and X and enjoyed each and every one of them. For me HA is the best but I like having the Neptune Lounge to go to if I happen to need anything; want to change a reservation, simple glass of juice, etc. (And we carefully pick a cabin close to it so we can easily get there.)

 

You get the free laundry on both HA and Princess as well as being able to order from the dining room menu and being served in your suite and breakfasts in a specialty restaurant so to me they are both the same for those. I have been fortunate enough to always sail with friendly staff on both lines who seem willing to do whatever is necessary to keep their guests happy and smiling. Sadly I can't say the same for X where my most recent butler didn't seem to enjoy his job at all and no matter how many times we would request something we never got it. (That's actually what made us switch to HA.)

 

I think it's really the ship and the staff who will make the difference and you'll get lots of different opinions I'm sure. As I said, I prefer HA but that's only because of the Neptune Lounge; otherwise the perks are very much alike for the two lines.

 

Whatever you chose; enjoy it and have a great trip!!

[Gunner22aa]

You must have had the same butler I had on X. I actually had to track him down on day one and introduce myself. Even after that he really never seemed too interested and I even showered that day!

[PeteC22]

On some ships they've allowed all cabins to order from the dining room menu & have it delivered in the evening. It's no longer limited to suites only.

[capriccio]

On some ships they've allowed all cabins to order from the dining room menu & have it delivered in the evening. It's no longer limited to suites only.

 

When did this change? Are they putting the MDR menus in each cabin now? I know on the 2 cruises we were on this summer - the one in a suite (Sapphire Princess) had the menus every day and at least once when ordering they confirmed we were in a suite; the cruise in a mini-suite (Coral Princess) only had the room service menu and there was no mention of being able to order off the MDR menu.

[PeteC22]

When did this change? Are they putting the MDR menus in each cabin now? I know on the 2 cruises we were on this summer - the one in a suite (Sapphire Princess) had the menus every day and at least once when ordering they confirmed we were in a suite; the cruise in a mini-suite (Coral Princess) only had the room service menu and there was no mention of being able to order off the MDR menu.

 

The first time I found out about it was on the Emerald last Nov. There was no official announcement about it and no menu in the room but if you knew what you wanted they would go to the dining room & pick it up.

[LawDog61]

Does nyone have any pictures of C755 from Sapphire or similar class ship? Thanks.

[OnlineMom]

Favorite Princess suite perk is MDR menu for room service. We did a jeans and tee shirt cruise in a Vista Suite and had every meal delivered to the room. Didn't even pack any dress clothes. Had Ultimate Balcony Dining two nights, too (pic attached). Got a courtesy visit by the Hotel Director. They really took care of us. The only thing missing was a butler. That's why we are booked on Celebrity for next adventure.

 

 

 

What a fun idea! We usually enjoy the dining room... But the thought of 6 or 7 MDR meals on the balcony of our VS on the Crown next Spring actually sounds nice!

[john_galt]

For LawDog61, I have plenty of Vista Suite pics. Friend me and I'll send as many as you would like.

[cruiserjanet]

When did this change? Are they putting the MDR menus in each cabin now? I know on the 2 cruises we were on this summer - the one in a suite (Sapphire Princess) had the menus every day and at least once when ordering they confirmed we were in a suite; the cruise in a mini-suite (Coral Princess) only had the room service menu and there was no mention of being able to order off the MDR menu.

 

We were recently in a suite on the Golden. We had no MDR menus in our cabin nor anything close to the MDR menu on a list that we could order from. Also, nothing mentioned in the suite amenities list, or in the cabin itself about being able to order from the MDR. Back in 2007 when we had a suite on the CB, we did get the menus from the MDR every night and it was mentioned that we could order from there. We knew they had taken away some amenities from the suites and it looked like this was one of them. Also, the closet in our suite was not a roomy walk-in closet. My DH and I are not large people (he's tall) and only one of us could fit in there at a time and barely at that.

[Gunner22aa]

What ship and what suite? The ammenities list for suites still lists dining in the room off of the MDR menu as an item. The only perk that they pulled was the free internet to my knowledge and added a freebee dinner in one of the speciality restaurants on sailaway evening.

[Gunner22aa]

http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/PrincessSuite_eFlyer.pdf

 

If it doesn't work copy and paste into your browser

[john_galt]

I was warned that I would need to ask for the MDR menus. When I met the room steward for the first time, I looked him square in the eyes and explained that I would need these delivered daily. I handed him an envelope with enough of a tip to get his attention. I've never done this before but it had the desired effect.

 

I loved having the meals delivered to the room! They always told us it could be thirty minutes but it was never more than ten.

 

I may never eat in the MDR again! :)

[capriccio]

 

I loved having the meals delivered to the room! They always told us it could be thirty minutes but it was never more than ten.

 

I may never eat in the MDR again! :)

 

We agree! We still go to the specialty restaurants but may go to the MDR for dinner only once or twice a cruise. And we can avoid dressing up for formal night but still get the meal!

[bhopal21]

We have always sailed in suites on Princess and never once have had to ask for menus.:confused:

 

They have always been changed out daily by our stewards.

 

Mike:)

[CruisingJs]

We were recently in a suite on the Golden. We had no MDR menus in our cabin nor anything close to the MDR menu on a list that we could order from. Also, nothing mentioned in the suite amenities list, or in the cabin itself about being able to order from the MDR. Back in 2007 when we had a suite on the CB, we did get the menus from the MDR every night and it was mentioned that we could order from there. We knew they had taken away some amenities from the suites and it looked like this was one of them. Also, the closet in our suite was not a roomy walk-in closet. My DH and I are not large people (he's tall) and only one of us could fit in there at a time and barely at that.

 

We've been in suites on the Golden twice and did have to tell our room steward that we wanted the dining room menus delivered each day. Maybe they just stopped doing it automatically.

[cruiserjanet]

What ship and what suite? The ammenities list for suites still lists dining in the room off of the MDR menu as an item. The only perk that they pulled was the free internet to my knowledge and added a freebee dinner in one of the speciality restaurants on sailaway evening.

 

Golden, C750. Please show me where that amenity is because I don't see it on the current list. I see where it says "Extended room service menu with full breakfast, lunch and dinner offerings" but that's not MDR. We got that menu and it wasn't MDR.

Free internet was pulled but those who booked the suite before July 15 still had it. We had to actually as Passenger Services to credit it to our bill each time we bought another package. They weren't doing it unless we specifically asked and only then did they say they would look into it. We got a call back saying they had looked into it and it would be credited to our stateroom account each time we bought a new package, which it was.

The free dinner in the specialty restaurant was definitely for sailaway night only and they weren't budging on that, even for one night.

[cruiserjanet]

We've been in suites on the Golden twice and did have to tell our room steward that we wanted the dining room menus delivered each day. Maybe they just stopped doing it automatically.

 

The menus were never offered to us nor was there anything verbally mentioned to us about them. In 2007 (the last time we had a suite), we had them in our room every night.

[worldtraveller]

We were in a suite on the Pacific in December. Received the breakfast menus each evening for the next day but not the dinner (or lunch when applicable). We just went to the MDR and asked to see it if it wasn't posted when we wanted to make a decision.

[Traveling Bob]

Its a difficult choice. Ordinarily, ports and price would decide it for me but Princess has a southern Carib (Carib Princess) and HAL has a western Carib (Nieuw Amsterdam) both at the same time, both with ports that interest me and at similar prices!

However, all of HAL's lowest price full suites are already taken and they are offering a guarantee at the low price, so I figure that it is possible to get an upgrade to SB or SA. Princess only has support beam obstructed balconies available at the VS price. So, its going to be HAL for Valintine's Day; can't pass up a delux verandah for $2,175.

Thanks for your input.