First time in a suite! What should we expect?

[thewolffs]

Leaving Friday on the Gem and was just assigned a category SC from a minisuite guarantee!!! We'll be traveling with our 6 year old twins, so the extra space is great. We've never cruised in a suite before. What should we expect? How does the butler and concierge work? What should we tip them at the end of the 10 nights? I still can't believe we got such a great upgrade! Thanks for any info!

[gelo7]

http://db.tt/usJntOv4

[Love my butler]

Leaving Friday on the Gem and was just assigned a category SC from a minisuite guarantee!!! We'll be traveling with our 6 year old twins, so the extra space is great. We've never cruised in a suite before. What should we expect? How does the butler and concierge work? What should we tip them at the end of the 10 nights? I still can't believe we got such a great upgrade! Thanks for any info!

 

Expect the VIP treatment. You don't wait in lines and just about anything you want/need will be taken care of by the butler. Don't be afraid to ask. Having said that, don't be afraid to tip the butler and concierge when you put them to work. With a normal workload on a 10 day trip I would tip the butler $200-300 and the concierge $100-150. Feel free to adjust those number up or down as you feel they made a difference on your vacation.

[AF-1]

http://db.tt/usJntOv4

 

I assume all suites have this service; not just Garden Villa's

[garycarla]

I assume all suites have this service; not just Garden Villa's

 

No idea which "service" you are referring to, but the link provided shows what is provided in each type of suite. The first one is Garden Villa, then the poster lists some other suite types.

[AEckhardt]

I assume all suites have this service; not just Garden Villa's

 

 

Scroll to the bottom to see amenities listed for category SC and below. :) You will have a wonderful time!

[Iluvcruising2]

Leaving Friday on the Gem and was just assigned a category SC from a minisuite guarantee!!! We'll be traveling with our 6 year old twins, so the extra space is great. We've never cruised in a suite before. What should we expect? How does the butler and concierge work? What should we tip them at the end of the 10 nights? I still can't believe we got such a great upgrade! Thanks for any info!

 

We had the 2 bedroom Family Suite on the NCL Jade (non-haven). Heavenly!

 

At boarding, look for the line for suites. Don't join the normal lines. There will be somebody to escort you right on board the ship. Enjoy these videos.

 

Video tour of the 2 bedroom suite.

[YOUTUBE]POIy0VzgXGw[/YOUTUBE]

 

The Cagney's Breakfast and Lunch suite perk was awesome!

 

Lunch @ Cagney's

[YOUTUBE]jgLddY6LzvQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

Breakfast @ Cagney's

[YOUTUBE]BYgGcK5QUQY[/YOUTUBE]

 

Oh yes, Suite breakfast, if you are too lazy to go to Cagney's.

[YOUTUBE]DXVrR9kLbXY[/YOUTUBE]

 

You will have a blast. Enjoy!

Edited January 27, 2015 by Iluvcruising2

[TSUmom]

Expect to be so spoiled you will not want to cruise in anything but a suite from now on:D That is what happened to us. I booked a regular balcony for both of our upcoming cruises and within a few days changed them to suites...If financially we could not afford them I would go back to a regular balcony cabin just so I could cruise but my DH is willing to work overtime just to be in a suite...:eek:

[AEckhardt]

Expect to be so spoiled you will not want to cruise in anything but a suite from now on:D That is what happened to us. I booked a regular balcony for both of our upcoming cruises and within a few days changed them to suites...If financially we could not afford them I would go back to a regular balcony cabin just so I could cruise but my DH is willing to work overtime just to be in a suite...:eek:

 

 

Yup. We went from a Haven suite on the BA to two balconies on the Gem. I wanted to change it to a 2bdrm at the last minute but couldn't. Although we had fun, it wasn't the same experience. ( The line happened to be insane for check in, too! )Next, we have a DOS booked. I think we'd rather work a little extra or cruise a smidge less often for the suite, but that's just me. I'm officially spoiled...

[jaclync324]

The best perk for parents of small children is the dine in your room. The butler will bring you the menus from dinning rooms and set your table with linen and you enjoy your meal and your kids can just hang in room and play. We use this on every cruise we get the two bedroom suite so we have space to relax as the cruise is the complete opposite of our life.

[ClarkBHM]

The best perk for parents of small children is the dine in your room. The butler will bring you the menus from dinning rooms and set your table with linen and you enjoy your meal and your kids can just hang in room and play. We use this on every cruise we get the two bedroom suite so we have space to relax as the cruise is the complete opposite of our life.

 

We are just off an SC cabin on the Dawn where we were sailing with a six and eight year old and agree that this was a great perk. We'd have the butler come and deliver dinner for the kids in the suite where they could take their time to eat and watch tv while we got ready for the evening. Then, when they were done, we could take them up to the kids club while we had a enjoyed a nice quiet meal together. Very useful!

[njhorseman]

Scroll to the bottom to see amenities listed for category SC and below. :) You will have a wonderful time!

 

Although it's fairly accurate, it's an old list...you can tell from the categories listed, many of which are wrong under the current system...no mention of "H" categories for example. No one should be surprised if some of the listed amenities aren't available (such as personal escort to your cabin...that hasn't been done in years, unless perhaps if you insist on it).

[Mura]

I assume all suites have this service; not just Garden Villa's

 

I'm skipping to the end so maybe I'm being repetitious but since I'm actually hunting up another question I thought I'd chime in.

 

We were on GEM in April 2010 on a TA from NY to Venice. We were in a Family Penthouse (not a Haven suite, a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite which sounds like what the OP has) and we qualified for all the suite benefits.

 

Mura

[Robynljt]

This link was referenced in the cover letter that accompanied our luggage tags:

 

ncl.com/welcomesuites

[jaclync324]

Expect to never want a regular room again that's for sure. After my DH talked me into it after getting to the pier and not waiting in line and getting whisked away to a private room with snacks and drinks I was hooked. We were walked in the employee entrance then down a private gangway it was like being treated as royalty.

[rvsullivan]

Although it's fairly accurate, it's an old list...you can tell from the categories listed, many of which are wrong under the current system...no mention of "H" categories for example. No one should be surprised if some of the listed amenities aren't available (such as personal escort to your cabin...that hasn't been done in years, unless perhaps if you insist on it).

 

I think it's ship specific. On our recent cruise, Dec., we were escorted to our suite by our Butler to drop off luggage and then to Cagney's, same as last year.

[pisenor]

Originally Posted by njhorseman

Although it's fairly accurate, it's an old list...you can tell from the categories listed, many of which are wrong under the current system...no mention of "H" categories for example. No one should be surprised if some of the listed amenities aren't available (such as personal escort to your cabin...that hasn't been done in years, unless perhaps if you insist on it).

 

 

I think it's ship specific. On our recent cruise, Dec., we were escorted to our suite by our Butler to drop off luggage and then to Cagney's, same as last year.

 

We are just off the Dawn and had a butler escort us to our suite as well. We made our own way to Cagney's after we were dropped off at our suite.

[njhorseman]

I think it's ship specific. On our recent cruise, Dec., we were escorted to our suite by our Butler to drop off luggage and then to Cagney's, same as last year.

 

We've never been escorted to our suite on...I think it's 3 different NCL ships (4 counting a ship no longer in NCL's fleet). We've been taken to Cagney's or the Haven Lounge and made our own way to our suite after lunch. I've cruised several times on the Dawn, but never in a suite.

Edited January 28, 2015 by njhorseman

[ranran87]

DW and I were on the Jewel Jan 3 - 10, and on embark we were escorted to our forward penthouse suite.

[AF-1]

Thanks everyone for correcting me or showing me that I didn't scroll down to the bottom of the suite perks page. I do now see it starts with Garden Villa all the way down to penthouse suites. Thank you and have a wonderful day; or wonderful cruise; or both.