Suite Perk Questions

[bubs74]

We will be cruising in a full suite for our first time (honeymoon!) and want to make sure we use all of our perks. However, I still have these questions, even after scouring this site, Google, and Princess. We will be cruising the Alaska Inside Passage on the Crown on 9/5/15:

 

- For Priority Embarkation, do we still show up at out deck's boarding time or can we go earlier?

 

- We get the 1st night comped in a specialty restaurant. Our Princess 50th Anniversary booking special also mentioned that we get a night in a specialty restaurant. Does this mean in addition to the one we get with our suite?

 

- Is the comp laundry service regular speed or the faster service?

 

- What/where/when is the Elite lounge and is it worth visiting?

 

- How do we request the in-room canapes and afternoon tea?

 

- Looking forward to breakfast at Sabatini's. Is there anything special we should ask for that might not be on the main menu?

 

- Are there any other things we should know about in order to enjoy our experience the most? Unlisted perks?

 

- General question: can we bring on a box of wine opposed to bottles? :D

[dbeckett]

Have to admit we use Princess transfers as we usually use a Princess hotel before hand so never went in early. We won't be next year when we repeat Alaska as we'll be at either the Fairmont Waterfront or the Pan Pacific so easy walking and may try to go in earlier.

 

Yes to the extra speciality restaurant meal.

 

Regular speed laundry

 

Have never been to the Elite lounge - interferes with when we eat and there is only one (different) drink that is cheaper.

 

In-room canapés - there will be a selection card in your room in the evening for the next day. Tell your room steward or call room service/dining for afternoon tea (better to go to where it is though).

 

Others say you can ask for what ever you want that isn't on the Sabatini menu - never tried it for Black Pudding or Cumberland sausage though as I don't think they could come up with either.

[shredie]

Congratulations! The Elite lounge is nice, IMO. There will be free appetizers, a special one each night, along with a drink of the day for a reduced price. You might try it once to see if you like it. If not, you don't need to go back.

[Colo Cruiser]

We will be cruising in a full suite for our first time (honeymoon!) and want to make sure we use all of our perks. However, I still have these questions, even after scouring this site, Google, and Princess. We will be cruising the Alaska Inside Passage on the Crown on 9/5/15:

 

- For Priority Embarkation, do we still show up at out deck's boarding time or can we go earlier?

 

- We get the 1st night comped in a specialty restaurant. Our Princess 50th Anniversary booking special also mentioned that we get a night in a specialty restaurant. Does this mean in addition to the one we get with our suite?

 

- Is the comp laundry service regular speed or the faster service?

 

- What/where/when is the Elite lounge and is it worth visiting?

 

- How do we request the in-room canapes and afternoon tea?

 

- Looking forward to breakfast at Sabatini's. Is there anything special we should ask for that might not be on the main menu?

 

- Are there any other things we should know about in order to enjoy our experience the most? Unlisted perks?

 

- General question: can we bring on a box of wine opposed to bottles? :D

 

 

I would show up when you want. Sometimes the regular check in line is shorter then the P.E.S lines.

Boarding always begins around Noon anyway unless there is a late arrival/noro cleaning onboard etc.

[Corfe Mixture]

Suite passengers are entitled to SAME DAY laundry service though you have to ask for that service and we normally do not bother.

 

Elite only get same day service if they pay for it.

 

Occasionally if there are a lot of Elites on board, then near to the end of a cruise their service can go out to a two day service.

 

If this happens and you are in a suite, what tends to happen is that your steward will ask you if you are intending to send anything down to the laundry with the intention of getting you to send it down in smaller batches.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Corfe Mixture

[nukesubsailor]

- General question: can we bring on a box of wine opposed to bottles? :D

 

The one bottle per passenger policy states a capacity of 750 ml.

I don't know what the capacity is on a box of wine.

[ggprincess2004]

We will be cruising in a full suite for our first time (honeymoon!) and want to make sure we use all of our perks. However, I still have these questions, even after scouring this site, Google, and Princess. We will be cruising the Alaska Inside Passage on the Crown on 9/5/15:

 

- For Priority Embarkation, do we still show up at out deck's boarding time or can we go earlier?

 

- We get the 1st night comped in a specialty restaurant. Our Princess 50th Anniversary booking special also mentioned that we get a night in a specialty restaurant. Does this mean in addition to the one we get with our suite?

 

- Is the comp laundry service regular speed or the faster service?

 

- What/where/when is the Elite lounge and is it worth visiting?

 

- How do we request the in-room canapes and afternoon tea?

 

- Looking forward to breakfast at Sabatini's. Is there anything special we should ask for that might not be on the main menu?

 

- Are there any other things we should know about in order to enjoy our experience the most? Unlisted perks?

 

- General question: can we bring on a box of wine opposed to bottles?

 

 

You are entitled to priority embarkation and will be among the very first to board, so go ahead and get to the pier at your convenience. I don't know it the Crown is sailing out of Seattle, San Francisco or Vancouver this year...but the situation in Vancouver may include some long lines clearing US ICE before you board.

 

Suite same-day laundry service is usually not completely comped. Check with your cabin steward to see what the policy is on the Crown now.

 

The Elite lounge is in Skywalkers and is from 5 to 7 most evenings. When you board, among all the information, should be an invitation to the lounge, showing the hours, the canapes, and drinks of the evening. On some of the ships, the servers are happy to bring you any of "drinks of the evening" on any evening, not just the one that is featured that night. On others, it is strictly limited to the drink just for that evening. Grrr.....you have to ask your server. Just a warning - the Breeza Marina is very strong.

 

Also in your cabin, will be a card to order canapes, you place it on your door the evening before, or before the deadline to order the morning of. Ordering the full afternoon tea can be done by calling room service, they request 6 hours notice for the service - meaning you want the tea sandwiches, scones, pastries. If you just want a pot of tea, call room service and hopefully it will show up pretty promptly.

 

We love breakfast in Sabatini's, and haven't seen the need to go beyond the menu items...but we are fans of the poached egg over the roasted potatoes with Hollandaise. We are so fond of that breakfast that when sailing in a suite, we do not book shore excursions that require us to leave too early to enjoy a leisurely breakfast there.

 

If you have read the list of suite perks on the Princess website you are pretty well versed on what is offered.

 

Suggest you bring on bottle, rather than a box, of wine....

And have a marvelous honeymoon. Bon Voyage.

Edited August 12, 2015 by ggprincess2004

[azbirdmom]

Congratulations! One wonderful suite perk that isn't mentioned very often is that you can order anything off the dining room menus. Room service will dress up your table with a table cloth and set up your meals. All of it comes at once, they won't hang around to serve you. But if you're on your honeymoon, having a nice dinner in your suite is a wonderful perk.

[Shelly97060]

If you don't see menus for Main dining room, you can ask your Steward if they can bring them daily - that way you get the menus for the next day and you can use them to either plan your meal or order room service.

 

Another great perk, in my opinion, is that you can enjoy a room service breakfast on the last day. Having a nice hot breakfast in your cabin before starting the travel day home is wonderful.

 

Enjoy your cruise and congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

[caribill]

We will be cruising in a full suite for our first time (honeymoon!) and want to make sure we use all of our perks. However, I still have these questions, even after scouring this site, Google, and Princess. We will be cruising the Alaska Inside Passage on the Crown on 9/5/15:

 

- For Priority Embarkation, do we still show up at out deck's boarding time or can we go earlier? Even if not in a suite, the boarding times by deck are only a suggestion. If you wish, you can start checking in around 11 AM and boarding will usually start by noon.

 

- We get the 1st night comped in a specialty restaurant. Our Princess 50th Anniversary booking special also mentioned that we get a night in a specialty restaurant. Does this mean in addition to the one we get with our suite? Yes. The booking special one may have a card in your cabin with Princess having selected the day/time/restaurant. However, if you wish to change what was selected, you can contact the specialty restaurant and change this. Do it early in the cruise when it is more likely the day/time/restaurant you want is available.

 

- Is the comp laundry service regular speed or the faster service? Same day service if turned in by your cabin steward by 9 AM.

 

- What/where/when is the Elite lounge and is it worth visiting? There should be a card in your suite (among many other pieces of paper on embarkation day) that will list the schedule and location for the lounge. Changes are it will be in Skywalkers (aft elevator only) from about 5 PM-7 PM almost every evening.

 

- How do we request the in-room canapes and afternoon tea? There will be a card each day to request the canapes. Must call room service (by a deadline in the morning) for the afternoon tea. If you have it in your suite, there will be more than enough food than you can probably consume. As someone above suggested, try it at least one day in the dining room (probably around 3:30 PM).

 

- Looking forward to breakfast at Sabatini's. Is there anything special we should ask for that might not be on the main menu?

 

- Are there any other things we should know about in order to enjoy our experience the most? Unlisted perks? If you are tendering to shore, there is usually a large number of people who want to tender early and they have to go to a dining room to get an assigned tender ticket and wait for their tender to be available. As you are in a suite, you can bypass that and just go to the area where tenders are being loaded and go to the back of the line that is currently there. This perk is only for going to shore. To return to the ship, you wait in line with everyone else.

 

- General question: can we bring on a box of wine opposed to bottles? :D

 

see above in red

[Gabby1162]

I'm glad I found this thread. We also booked a suite for our honeymoon in November! Congrats!

[bubs74]

Room service breakfast opposed to the buffet on the last day?! Woo hoo! That one with surely be used! Thanks!

[jsmac3]

Congratulations! One wonderful suite perk that isn't mentioned very often is that you can order anything off the dining room menus. Room service will dress up your table with a table cloth and set up your meals. All of it comes at once, they won't hang around to serve you. But if you're on your honeymoon, having a nice dinner in your suite is a wonderful perk.

 

For those using this service what do you normally tip?

[jasbo49]

Another great perk, in my opinion, is that you can enjoy a room service breakfast on the last day. Having a nice hot breakfast in your cabin before starting the travel day home is wonderful.

 

Does this mean Sabatini's doesn't serve breakfast the last morning?

 

Jim

[BarbaraP]

If you don't see menus for Main dining room, you can ask your Steward if they can bring them daily - that way you get the menus for the next day and you can use them to either plan your meal or order room service.

 

Another great perk, in my opinion, is that you can enjoy a room service breakfast on the last day. Having a nice hot breakfast in your cabin before starting the travel day home is wonderful.

 

Enjoy your cruise and congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

 

You can also have the full dining room lunches on sea days delivered to your cabin. The first time we sailed in a suite our Steward forgot to tell us until halfway through the cruise.

[NavyVeteran]

Does this mean Sabatini's doesn't serve breakfast the last morning?

 

Jim

 

That is correct. Sabatini's does not serve breakfast on disembarkation day. This also applies to turnaround day if you are on a B2B.

[NavyVeteran]

You can also have the full dining room lunches on sea days delivered to your cabin. The first time we sailed in a suite our Steward forgot to tell us until halfway through the cruise.

 

The full lunch or dinner dining room menu is only available during the exact hours that the dining room is open. At other times, only the room service menu is available.

 

When you call room service, make sure to tell them you are in a suite - they may not recognize it immediately from their caller id with the cabin number. In some cases, they may transfer you to another person to handle the order.

[CruisingJs]

Sabatini's does not serve breakfast on disembarkation day.

 

For your specialty dinner on the first night be sure to make reservations when you board by calling the dine line or stopping by the restaurant.

 

When we order dinner in the suite, I usually tip $4-5 depending on how much we order.

 

I usually take a 3 liter box of wine and haven't been charged corking fees yet but Princess certainly can charge you for anything above 750 ml per person. I wouldn't mind paying for it since I like the convenience of having wine in the cabin.

[RoobyDoo]

Does this mean Sabatini's doesn't serve breakfast the last morning?

 

Jim

 

It might depend on which ship you are on. We were on a suite on the Pacific Princess last month in Alaska, and Sabatini's was NOT open on disembarkation morning. :(

However, I've read other threads where some posters reported that Sabatini's was open on the final morning of their cruise (but I can't recall which ships they were on).

[bcnvcanada]

Fresh squeezed orange juice and espresso, berries for breakfast. Love ordering

room service for dinner and eating out on the balcony. This is probably our favourtive perk. Also you will get a choice spot in the dinning room. Love the cruise card holder also. Off times a nice umbrella in the room to use.

Also you are entitled to use the thermal suite in the spa. Must sign up early

as they only have so many spaces. Enjoy your suite.

[2 to cruise]

Does this mean Sabatini's doesn't serve breakfast the last morning?

 

Jim

 

 

For passengers in a suite, you will find a breakfast menu on your bed the evening before disembarkation. You will be able to order a full breakfast that morning. It is only for suite passengers.

 

Another nice thing to do, is to have the Balcony Dinner....

 

Cheryl

[mysaddlebred000]

breakfast use to be good the last morning but the past three years, we have found something wrong every order - they have not gotten the order incorrect, items are missing and it has come cold. Decided we will just run up to the buffet from now on.

 

We have dinner in our cabin many times over a cruise. What we do is first order an appetizer - have it on the balcony with a glass of wine. After they deliver that, we order soup, then main course and finally dessert unless it is a cake or something that isn't frozen. We prefer this way but it ends up costing $$$ in tips. When we have had the grand suite, we usually invite two or three other couples down and enjoy dinner in our cabin - now that does rack up the tips but it is worth it to us. Many of our friends will jump up and take care of the tip which we appreciate very much.

[caribill]

breakfast use to be good the last morning but the past three years, we have found something wrong every order - they have not gotten the order incorrect, items are missing and it has come cold. Decided we will just run up to the buffet from now on.

 

 

Or you can have breakfast on disembarkation day in the dining room.

[crochetcruise]

For passengers in a suite, you will find a breakfast menu on your bed the evening before disembarkation. You will be able to order a full breakfast that morning. It is only for suite passengers.

 

Another nice thing to do, is to have the Balcony Dinner....

 

Cheryl

 

THANK YOU for verifying that information!

[timtrek]

Don't forget afternoon tea! Sometimes the line for the Afternoon Tea gets very long, and as a Suite Guest you can have it delivered to your Suite. It was amazing sitting on our Balcony having tea and sailing through Glacier Bay. It is presented beautifully in the Suite and is very relaxing.