Neptune Suite - what should we know?

[Randyk47]

Before I developed mobility issues, I had issues with people being allowed in the Deluxe Suite Line for check-in. We were numbers 3 and 4 at the door and by the we were allowed in, went through security and got to our check-in line -- there were already about 30 people there and the lines were long.

 

Someone had allowed them to enter via the back door way before 11 AM. And when we finally got to check-in, I asked questions. These people had arrived at 10:30 and they felt sorry for them standing in line -- that hit a sour note with us. We had arrived at 10:45 and had no choice but to stand in line.

 

And then I found out -- none of them were in a Deluxe Suite!!

 

Just another incidence of different rules for different ships.

 

Sorry for the rant.

 

But I believe that everyone should go to their proper lines.

 

Given those circumstances I agree that's not right. Interestingly two out of our last three check-ins we actually went to the regular check-in as there were agents just standing there with nobody in line while there were a number of passengers ahead of us in the suite line.

[OlsSalt]

Four star mariners get priority embarkation too, so they also may not be in the suites but have access to this line as well.

[cigloo]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the advice!!!!

 

Mom is just going to love :D

[trout62]

I have not seen anyone mention the daily mini NY Times newspaper delivered to the room.

 

Does HAL still do that for suites?

 

Trout

[momatibm]

I've been picking it up in the Neptune on my last few cruises

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have not seen anyone mention the daily mini NY Times newspaper delivered to the room.

 

Does HAL still do that for suites?

 

Trout

 

It varies by ship.

Some ships we have to get one in the Neptune Lounge or Library or Lido or Front Desk.

Other ships it is in our mail box every morning.

[sail7seas]

Our cabin is usually right across from Neptune and we pick up a NYTimes each morning. If you want it delivered, the concierge will give it to your steward to bring to you but I figure he has enough to do. No big deal to go get our copy.

 

[Vict0riann]

On our last cruise, we picked up a NYTimes, and a Britain Today in the morning in the NL, in the afternoon, a "Canadian" was delivered to our suite.

[TexasMoogy]

We got off a week on the Westerdam on Aug 24.

 

Priority boarding was great. Because of my "research" on cruise critic, I knew to look for priority boarding. The port workers (there were thousands, it seemed), were herding everyone into a very long line. I looked around for a sign and spotted the Suite/High Mariner *s line. I asked the port worker, who then let us proceed to that line. It took almost no time. Plus the ticket-taker gave us a little "welcome to suite life, these are the privileges" talk. He told us how to bypass the next HUGE line that led only to embarkation photos.

 

Disembarkation at Seattle has been much improved. The luggage was color-coded, with ours being the line closest to the customs lines. We went for the taxi line. SO much easier than when we took a Westerdam bus transfer last time we were in Seattle. Our cab driver said the city had spent a lot of money upgrading the passenger port, since the city makes so much $$ off the industry.

[TexasMoogy]

The unlimited laundry was wonderful. Formal night was the second night, and my dress did not do well in the suitcase. I sent it out for pressing only, and they made a special effort to return it in time for the formal dinner.

 

The Pinnacle breakfasts were so great that we ate there every day. My husband ate the same thing every day, I think.

 

I tried an English banger on the side, just to see what it was like. I barely choked down one bite. Tasted to me like sawdust in a casing. The scrambled eggs were also inedible. They were EXTREMELY soft-cooked. Tasted raw to me. So I went back to having "choose your own ingredients omelets," which were marvelous. I am sure I could have asked for more thoroughly cooked scrambled eggs.

 

My favorite breakfast was:

mixed fruit plate

omelet with mushrooms and cheddar cheese

a couple of chocolate croissants (they are tiny) or a raisin roll

fresh-squeezed OJ

[Snowesha]

Just off the Amsterdam today. Both a bottle of Sparkling Wine and the still water were in our suite on arrival.

 

I'm on the Nieuw Amsterdam and purchased the champagne for embarkation when I had a VE guarantee. I have since upgraded to a Neptune Suite. So if it is still included what happens to the one I purchased? Anyone have any experience with this?

[sail7seas]

You'll get the bottle you ordered and you'll get the Welcome Aboard bottle from Captain and Hotel Director...... unless you cancel the bottle you bought.

 

You receive the gift bottle regardless any other liquor you may have purchased or receive as a gift from anyone else.

 

 

[OlsSalt]

After 28 days on the Prinsendam with Neptune access, add me to the chorus of cheers for the Pinnacle breakfast privilege since this ship has a particularly lovely Pinnacle setting with windows open to the morning views.

 

(Some Pinnacle restaurants are interior with no outside views so this will make it a different experience, ship to ship.)

 

It was quiet, lovely gracious and servers got to know how we liked to start our mornings - orange juice and coffee before we worked our way through the menu trying pretty much of everything.

 

No crowds, no waits, no hassles - just a lovely, peaceful and gracious way to begin the day. Glad to know the menu is also available in the main dining room since doing the Neptune Lounge route is only a very occasional treat for us - but now non Lido breakfasts will be our new standard regardless.

 

Room service simply did not work for us on the Prinsendam, so we stopped trying.

[kazu]

After 28 days on the Prinsendam with Neptune access, add me to the chorus of cheers for the Pinnacle breakfast privilege since this ship has a particularly lovely Pinnacle setting with windows open to the morning views.

 

(Some Pinnacle restaurants are interior with no outside views so this will make it a different experience, ship to ship.)

 

It was quiet, lovely gracious and servers got to know how we liked to start our mornings - orange juice and coffee before we worked our way through the menu trying pretty much of everything.

 

No crowds, no waits, no hassles - just a lovely, peaceful and gracious way to begin the day. Glad to know the menu is also available in the main dining room since doing the Neptune Lounge route is only a very occasional treat for us - but now non Lido breakfasts will be our new standard regardless.

 

Room service simply did not work for us on the Prinsendam, so we stopped trying.

 

I'll second your love for the PG on this ship:D

 

Sorry to hear about your room service though. We used it for several breakfasts on P'dam when we had early tours and everything was perfect. Exactly as ordered. As well as hor's d'houevre and one evening meal that we opted to do in our room.

 

What a shame that they let you down in this department

[OlsSalt]

I'll second your love for the PG on this ship:D

 

Sorry to hear about your room service though. We used it for several breakfasts on P'dam when we had early tours and everything was perfect. Exactly as ordered. As well as hor's d'houevre and one evening meal that we opted to do in our room.

 

What a shame that they let you down in this department

 

Our room service problems finally took on the elements of comedy before they were finally over.

 

Problems with a large Neptune suite is you do not hear the knock on the door at 6am on your first day jet-lagged morning out, particularly when you ordered it for 6:30 to 7am in the first place.

 

So they called us in the room to say room service was ready for delivery - phone jarring our deep sleep at 6am - so we did not find this a happy way to have our first room service experience. But no biggie - close but not perfect. Just ordered a simple continental breakfast so it could wait until I was more fully up and ready to eat.

 

Talked to the always engaging Neptune Lounge concierge when she asked how things were going - that we hoped to get a closer delivery time the next time. She said she would look into this.

 

Next day, same thing - ordered for 6:30 to 7am and it arrived 6:05 with a follow-up jarring wake-up call to see if it had been delivered done properly - I was fast asleep when the call came, since DH had heard the door knock for this second mistimed delivery and left it sitting on the tray until I had woken up.

 

DH insists there was one more failed breakfast delivery ( too early) but I was still too sleepy in the mornings to notice.

 

Since all I wanted was a few croissants and coffee, DH started pocketing them for me at the Lido and we stopped using room service for breakfast entirely - too much of a hassle to be awakened and then get call backs etc. Once we got our sleeping schedules back on track, we started enjoying the Pinnacle for breakfast.

 

Okay, no loss at this time. But then after a busy port day we decided to have a light dinner in our lovely room and ordered some all time favorites off the room service menu that has been so good to us in the past on all the other HAL ships: a hamburger, a tuna melt, a cheese plate for me and apple pie for DH.

 

What we got after a 45 minute delay was a bare, cold hamburger with no condiments, a cold, tasteless tuna sandwich with a slice of cheese, an empty plate with no cheese on it, and an okay slice of pie. One out of four. Not good. Grim disappointment, but some you win in some you lose so we decided no more room service on this trip. No loss, as we often ate in town and had the nice Neptune Lounge extras for nibbles as well.

 

Since we were on a two segment Collectors Cruise we got the customary card at the half way point asking if there was anything that would make our remaining time spent on board more enjoyable. I took advantage of this offer to share our prior disappointment with room service and felt HAL had always done better than that in that category.

 

Then the flood gates of official concern opened up starting immediately at the front desk, to the Neptune Lounge to the even the Maitre-d' at dinner that night, each time having to explain and accept their apologies and desire we try room service again.

 

We really had no appetite to give it another try, explained it was really a minor issue and that we were enjoying the cruise immensely and felt if they had no other problems than ours, then don't worry about it. No, they assured us they were going to do everything they could to get it right and yes, there were other problems with inaccurate orders.

 

We probably would not have said anything further, until they asked for the mid-cruise feedback.

 

However, now it takes on a comic twist after this stream of reassurances, apologies and hopes we would try it again ... we then later get a mid-afternoon knock on the door and one of the Neptune Lounge staffers delivers a HAL cookbook and note, in gracious response to our room service problems.

 

But when I read the note it stated they hoped we would enjoy the offered cook book .... and the plate of chocolate covered strawberries as a token of their concerns about our failed room service problems.

 

Except someone forgot to deliver the note's specifically described ....plate of chocolate covered strawberries. :cool: The cookbook was of little use since we already got copies on our prior Oostedam behind the scenes tour, and too heavy to even pack in my luggage anyway.

 

And thus was our trip-shattering problems with the Prinsendam room service on a cruise that exceeded all other expectations in so many other ways. The good point is I would have eaten all the chocolate covered strawberries so HAL actually did me a favor when they failed to deliver all those extra calories.

 

We are still well within our 95% high satisfaction rating for HAL cruising on all other levels. This experience just gets dumped into the expected 5% that can go wrong anywhere, any time, in any setting.

[kazu]

Our room service problems finally took on the elements of comedy before they were finally over.

 

Problems with a large Neptune suite is you do not hear the knock on the door at 6am on your first day jet-lagged morning out, particularly when you ordered it for 6:30 to 7am in the first place.

 

So they called us in the room to say room service was ready for delivery - phone jarring our deep sleep at 6am - so we did not find this a happy way to have our first room service experience. But no biggie - close but not perfect. Just ordered a simple continental breakfast so it could wait until I was more fully up and ready to eat.

 

Talked to the always engaging Neptune Lounge concierge when she asked how things were going - that we hoped to get a closer delivery time the next time. She said she would look into this.

 

Next day, same thing - ordered for 6:30 to 7am and it arrived 6:05 with a follow-up jarring wake-up call to see if it had been delivered done properly - I was fast asleep when the call came, since DH had heard the door knock for this second mistimed delivery and left it sitting on the tray until I had woken up.

 

DH insists there was one more failed breakfast delivery ( too early) but I was still too sleepy in the mornings to notice.

 

Since all I wanted was a few croissants and coffee, DH started pocketing them for me at the Lido and we stopped using room service for breakfast entirely - too much of a hassle to be awakened and then get call backs etc. Once we got our sleeping schedules back on track, we started enjoying the Pinnacle for breakfast.

 

Okay, no loss at this time. But then after a busy port day we decided to have a light dinner in our lovely room and ordered some all time favorites off the room service menu that has been so good to us in the past on all the other HAL ships: a hamburger, a tuna melt, a cheese plate for me and apple pie for DH.

 

What we got after a 45 minute delay was a bare, cold hamburger with no condiments, a cold, tasteless tuna sandwich with a slice of cheese, an empty plate with no cheese on it, and an okay slice of pie. One out of four. Not good. Grim disappointment, but some you win in some you lose so we decided no more room service on this trip. No loss, as we often ate in town and had the nice Neptune Lounge extras for nibbles as well.

 

Since we were on a two segment Collectors Cruise we got the customary card at the half way point asking if there was anything that would make our remaining time spent on board more enjoyable. I took advantage of this offer to share our prior disappointment with room service and felt HAL had always done better than that in that category.

 

Then the flood gates of official concern opened up starting immediately at the front desk, to the Neptune Lounge to the even the Maitre-d' at dinner that night, each time having to explain and accept their apologies and desire we try room service again.

 

We really had no appetite to give it another try, explained it was really a minor issue and that we were enjoying the cruise immensely and felt if they had no other problems than ours, then don't worry about it. No, they assured us they were going to do everything they could to get it right and yes, there were other problems with inaccurate orders.

 

We probably would not have said anything further, until they asked for the mid-cruise feedback.

 

However, now it takes on a comic twist after this stream of reassurances, apologies and hopes we would try it again ... we then later get a mid-afternoon knock on the door and one of the Neptune Lounge staffers delivers a HAL cookbook and note, in gracious response to our room service problems.

 

But when I read the note it stated they hoped we would enjoy the offered cook book .... and the plate of chocolate covered strawberries as a token of their concerns about our failed room service problems.

 

Except someone forgot to deliver the note's specifically described ....plate of chocolate covered strawberries. :cool: The cookbook was of little use since we already got copies on our prior Oostedam behind the scenes tour, and too heavy to even pack in my luggage anyway.

 

And thus was our trip-shattering problems with the Prinsendam room service on a cruise that exceeded all other expectations in so many other ways. The good point is I would have eaten all the chocolate covered strawberries so HAL actually did me a favor when they failed to deliver all those extra calories.

 

We are still well within our 95% high satisfaction rating for HAL cruising on all other levels. This experience just gets dumped into the expected 5% that can go wrong anywhere, any time, in any setting.

 

Oh my, I am still laughing at the gift of the chocolate covered strawberries that you didn't get.!!! Sad.

 

Glad it didn't impact your enjoyment of the cruise!