Suite perks tips and tricks

[masterwinning]

I know their has been 18.4 million threads on Suite upsells, so if you wouldn't like to read about any upsells please stop reading. Sorry we are just excited and have never had any thing better then an inside before and this is our first time on NCL, have previously been on "the fun ships".

 

For those who have been in a suite, what tips and trick can you offer, we are in an SJ Family Suite no Balcony on Dawn for the May 8th ten day cruise. We are traveling with a 15 month old and 33 month old both will be in pack and plays.

 

What wisdom can you pass along so we can act like this is old hat to us?

[lawgirl86]

Following. We switched from a balcony to a forward romance penthouse suite for our upcoming honeymoon and have devoured all of the previous threads on suite stuff.

[masterwinning]

Following. We switched from a balcony to a forward romance penthouse suite for our upcoming honeymoon and have devoured all of the previous threads on suite stuff.

 

Congratulations on the pending nuptials, hope you have an amazing cruise to celebrate it.

[cruzsnooze]

We never used the butler, don't need cookies every day in the suite and didn't need to tip for service we didn't use. Did your suite come with any perks like specialty dining every night or a beverage package. You will have a special embarkation area and board first. You will also be able to disembark any time you wish. You can get priority tender boarding if you have any tender ports.

What you mostly get is a bigger piece of real estate which you'll need with 2 young children.

[riddle]

Having just returned from a Dawn upsell with my daughter and 2 grandkids, ages 3 and 4 I hope I can give you some insight. We had an upsell 1-1/2 years ago on the Gem in a Family 2 BR suite and I think we missed a lot of perks there because we just didn't know.

 

I don't think our ship was anywhere near full and I don't know if that is because the Dawn is going into drydock soon or some other reason. Anyway, part of the buffet was always closed down. No problem, plenty of food.

 

For your sanity, I would use the little kids eating area in the buffet as much as possible. Also use the special dining room for suite passengers for breakfast and lunch whenever possible. It does take a bit more time but it is really nice.

 

Be sure to be aware of what is available as to priority tendering, priority embarkacation and disembarkation. It is invaluable with little ones.

 

You can tell your butler what snacks you want in your suite both in the afternoon and in the evening. Be aware, that if DND is on, you may not get them.

 

Our butler always answered whenever we called his special number, as did the concierege (sp??). Our room steward was also great with the kids with 2 towel animals each night.

 

Have your room frig cleaned out so you can put your own stuff in there. You can ask for juice or whatever to be put in there for the kids.

 

We had a huge Jacuzzi tub which the kids absolutely loved. We did not have a balcony but we were in the DOS right in the front of the ship. The kids made their own little hideaway between the drapes and the windows.

 

We had a fresh flower arrangement at the start of the week. We also had 3 bottles of booze delivered which we just took back home. I don't think you get those in all suites though.

 

One cool thing is the walls are metal. The kids brought 2 toys each and one favorite is magnetic blocks. I don't know any little kids who don't love them. We discovered accidentally, no need to box them up each day, the kids just used the wall and made whatever designs them wanted.

 

The T-rex pool area was great for ours but yours might be a bit too young. We also used the kids club every night. We fed the kids in the buffet and then went to our own peaceful dinner. They have to be 3 though.

 

Don't hesitate to ask for additional bedding or whatever linens you need. Their quality is great also. Bathroom amenities are very good as well as master had bath sheets, not towels.

 

Can't say I like the suite coffee maker, I never seem to get it to work right and never used it much. Oh by the way, your butler can always deliver regular breakfast (from the suite restaurant menu) to your room. Just put a card on your door. This is especially helpful for port days.

 

Not everyone in the suite area seemed to enjoy our little kids. Many were wonderful but I think their energy and enthusiasm was just too much for some. The kids aren't saints in any case, they are just little kids. Just take it with a grain of salt and if you hear any negative comments, just ignore them. We taught the kids elevator etiquette (letting people off before getting on) and they did much better than some adults we encountered. Of the course the elevators were always interesting to them, especially the clear glass one mid ship.

 

I can't think of anything else, if you have questions, I will try to answer.

[lawgirl86]

Congratulations on the pending nuptials, hope you have an amazing cruise to celebrate it.

 

Thank you. Hope you have an awesome cruise and that the little ones have great travel adventures!

[masterwinning]

We never used the butler, don't need cookies every day in the suite and didn't need to tip for service we didn't use. Did your suite come with any perks like specialty dining every night or a beverage package. You will have a special embarkation area and board first. You will also be able to disembark any time you wish. You can get priority tender boarding if you have any tender ports.

What you mostly get is a bigger piece of real estate which you'll need with 2 young children.

 

We have share holder on board credit, UBP, and casino play credit. My daughter loves to snack, she will be using the butler for snack delivery, will just have to ask for something like fruit instead of cookies every day.

[masterwinning]

Having just returned from a Dawn upsell with my daughter and 2 grandkids, ages 3 and 4 I hope I can give you some insight. We had an upsell 1-1/2 years ago on the Gem in a Family 2 BR suite and I think we missed a lot of perks there because we just didn't know.

 

I don't think our ship was anywhere near full and I don't know if that is because the Dawn is going into drydock soon or some other reason. Anyway, part of the buffet was always closed down. No problem, plenty of food.

 

For your sanity, I would use the little kids eating area in the buffet as much as possible. Also use the special dining room for suite passengers for breakfast and lunch whenever possible. It does take a bit more time but it is really nice.

 

Be sure to be aware of what is available as to priority tendering, priority embarkacation and disembarkation. It is invaluable with little ones.

 

You can tell your butler what snacks you want in your suite both in the afternoon and in the evening. Be aware, that if DND is on, you may not get them.

 

Our butler always answered whenever we called his special number, as did the concierege (sp??). Our room steward was also great with the kids with 2 towel animals each night.

 

Have your room frig cleaned out so you can put your own stuff in there. You can ask for juice or whatever to be put in there for the kids.

 

We had a huge Jacuzzi tub which the kids absolutely loved. We did not have a balcony but we were in the DOS right in the front of the ship. The kids made their own little hideaway between the drapes and the windows.

 

We had a fresh flower arrangement at the start of the week. We also had 3 bottles of booze delivered which we just took back home. I don't think you get those in all suites though.

 

One cool thing is the walls are metal. The kids brought 2 toys each and one favorite is magnetic blocks. I don't know any little kids who don't love them. We discovered accidentally, no need to box them up each day, the kids just used the wall and made whatever designs them wanted.

 

The T-rex pool area was great for ours but yours might be a bit too young. We also used the kids club every night. We fed the kids in the buffet and then went to our own peaceful dinner. They have to be 3 though.

 

Don't hesitate to ask for additional bedding or whatever linens you need. Their quality is great also. Bathroom amenities are very good as well as master had bath sheets, not towels.

 

Can't say I like the suite coffee maker, I never seem to get it to work right and never used it much. Oh by the way, your butler can always deliver regular breakfast (from the suite restaurant menu) to your room. Just put a card on your door. This is especially helpful for port days.

 

Not everyone in the suite area seemed to enjoy our little kids. Many were wonderful but I think their energy and enthusiasm was just too much for some. The kids aren't saints in any case, they are just little kids. Just take it with a grain of salt and if you hear any negative comments, just ignore them. We taught the kids elevator etiquette (letting people off before getting on) and they did much better than some adults we encountered. Of the course the elevators were always interesting to them, especially the clear glass one mid ship.

 

I can't think of anything else, if you have questions, I will try to answer.

 

Thank you for the response, we will have to look for some magnetic blocks. What do you mean by "DND"?

[ktpc2005]

I know their has been 18.4 million threads on Suite upsells, so if you wouldn't like to read about any upsells please stop reading. Sorry we are just excited and have never had any thing better then an inside before and this is our first time on NCL, have previously been on "the fun ships".

 

For those who have been in a suite, what tips and trick can you offer, we are in an SJ Family Suite no Balcony on Dawn for the May 8th ten day cruise. We are traveling with a 15 month old and 33 month old both will be in pack and plays.

 

What wisdom can you pass along so we can act like this is old hat to us?

 

I just got off the Dawn last weekend and was in a Family Suite with my wife and our 6 (5th cruise) and 2 (2nd cruise) year old boys.

 

The six year old slept on the Murphy bed and the two year old slept on the couch bed.

 

I recommend keeping the shades closed when you are not in the room as the large windows make the room easily hot and something the AC cannot keep up with.

 

The Kids Cafe in the Garden cafe is a great place to eat with the kids and they actually stay in their seats when they are little seats.

 

The Suite breakfast and lunch in LaCucina (it was moved from Cagneys) was a nice change when you want something different.

 

It was nice to have the portable phone that is in the suite as one of us could go out with the child that was awake to do something and always be in contact with whoever was in the room with the other child. It also was good to have when the 6 year old was at the kids club in case they needed to contact us.

[pathubia]

DND=Do Not Disturb

 

The DOS suites get 3 bottles of booze, the Garden Villa get 6, the rest of the suites don't get any...But you have the drink package....

[riddle]

There is also a list of videos you can borrow from the butler. Our TV's did not work well but we really never wanted to use them.

 

Don't know if your oldest is potty trained but we brought a small folding stool so ours could reach the sink, etc.

[SuiteTraveler]

On the first day, let the butler know what kind of pillows you would like for your bed, there is a menu of options including foam and contour. The regular pillows are down. Also, we find the comforter too heavy and they have been able to replace it with a lighter blanket.

 

It is a good idea to place a standing order with your butler if you want certain snacks at certain times. Keep in mind, he can bring you cocktails as well as food - anything you want. Just call him and let him know what you would like. You can get cocktails and some snacks relax while the kids are napping.

 

If you want breakfast in your suite, order it from the butler the night before in order to get it delivered exactly when you want it. He can literally bring anything you want as long as it's on the ship. To that end, it is a good idea to go to the special breakfast for suite guests at least once so you know what is on the menu or ask the concierge for copies of all the menus from all the restaurants onboard and order off of these. You can get food delivered from any restaurant that is open. Kids having a bad day? No problem. They can chill out in the suite and you can order French food and chocolate fondue from Le Bistro and still have a nice dinner (extra fee for specialty restaurants that normally charge an extra fee.) Call the butler when you are done and let him know to pick up the dishes. You don't have to wait for him and can leave you suite if you want. If you want to have a party in your suite, call your butler and ask him to set up food and drinks you want to serve. I usually let the butler decide what to bring - typically some cheese plates and hot wings and bottles of wine. He'll bring extra glasses and if he has time, he'll pose for photos with your guests if you want. We had one butler who was a lot of fun and he posed for some silly photos like feeding grapes to one of our guests who was reclining on a chaise in our Owner's Suite and doing other things like that which made for great "souvenir" photos for our guests to show their friends back home. We had some of the guests pretend that our Owner Suite was their cabin and made it look like they were totally pampered on the cruise. Our guests loved it and it was just a lot of fun to make these silly photos. We gave our butler an extra $100 for making the party so much fun. I knew that butler had a great sense of humor when I turned on the sound system and he had cued up "Morning After" from the Poseidon Adventure. LOL!

 

There is a DVD player - I always bring along a selection of my own DVD's plus some we have not seen and also I download videos on my IPAD.

 

Tip the butler $10 per day per adult. If he does something special, then tip him extra accordingly. I think about the cost of the food and how much time it took him to do whatever when deciding how to tip. I tip 20% on what the food would cost in a land based restaurant and then for serving at a party, I add additional at the rate of $30 per hour - now you know how I came up with $100 for the party I described. Tip the concierge $50 for the week - many times they are so grateful for this tip that if you self disembark, they will actually help you take your suitcase off the ship! I had one nice concierge on a Med cruise who heard me breathing (I have asthma) and insisted on taking over my suitcase as we walked through the ship and she took it all the way to a taxi! All I can say is that if you are nice to these hard working people, they will do their best to be nice to you.

 

Also, you will get a cabin steward who is among the best onboard. Typically I give them extra as well. Be sure to tell your cabin steward if you need extra towels or washcloths or an extra box of tissues. They will be more than happy to provide anything extra you want. We had a great cabin steward on Epic. She had just been promoted to suites and the cabin steward for our suite had just gone home and our suite had all kinds of minor problems. There were lightbulbs that were out and the spa tub leaked and the retractable side tables were jammed. She was very upset that the previous cabin steward had left the suite in such a sorry condition, but I told her not to worry that we'd work through the problems together and get the suite in the best condition it had been in in years and ...we did! I gave her an extra $50 at the end of the cruise and she was so thrilled she burst into tears and threw her arms around me and hugged me and thanked me profusely. I got a real lump in my throat to realize how much that extra tip meant to her. But she deserved it and I also wrote a nice note to her head housekeeper about her and said what a great cabin steward she was and what an outstanding job she did making sure everything was made right. I guess the previous cabin steward either didn't notice the problems or was just kind of disconnected from his job towards the time he was going home and didn't bother to get things fixed.

 

You will have plenty of storage in your suite. It is helpful to the crew if you put your stuff up so they can clean your suite and don't have to deal with stuff that's all over the place.

 

You will also get a fruit bowl. If there are some fruits you prefer over others, communicate that to your butler so he can refill it with your preferences.

 

The concierges are great with answering questions, helping arrange ship tours such as of the galley or even the bridge in some cases, and they can also help you with dinner reservations, show reservations and also early disembarkation. If you have a problem - like one time although we attended the lifeboat drill, somehow the ship didn't know it and we got a message on the TV to attend a makeup lifeboat drill. So I told the concierge that we did attend and she sorted it out for me. They are there to make things easy for you. If your cruise card is charged incorrectly, they will help with that, they will help with any issue you have.

 

Remember this, the butlers and concierges have no choice but to be onboard the ship and they have no other options as to how to make money onboard the ship than to serve the suite guests assigned to them.

[masterwinning]

We have a rough idea on what we plan to tip, both daily and for extras, my question is when do you tip, begging of cruise, at the end, a little every day, after each service?

[masterwinning]

DND=Do Not Disturb

 

The DOS suites get 3 bottles of booze, the Garden Villa get 6, the rest of the suites don't get any...But you have the drink package....

 

So simple that I tried to over think it. Keep it simple stupid.

[pathubia]

So simple that I tried to over think it. Keep it simple stupid.

 

LOL, don't worry about it!!

 

We always tip at the end of the cruise. If you think of it, pack a couple of thank you cards....

[watchdiva]

We tip the evening before the last sea day. In other words, if our cruise ends on a Sunday we do our tipping Friday evening. We bring along note cards and we write a thank you note and include their tip with that. Equally important is filling out Hero cards which we always do also. These cards are important for the crew because they get recognized for their hard work by their bosses and upper management.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[esm54687]

another secret (not just for cruising) is to tip a little at the beginning, then maybe in the middle and then balance at the end.... this way they know you appreciate them and it goes a little farther.

 

Think of going to a bar and getting the first drink you hand the bartender a $20...... you will not wait for a drink all night.

[davesgirl51]

another secret (not just for cruising) is to tip a little at the beginning, then maybe in the middle and then balance at the end.... this way they know you appreciate them and it goes a little farther.

 

Think of going to a bar and getting the first drink you hand the bartender a $20...... you will not wait for a drink all night.

 

Not to hijack, but I tipped our cabin steward on day 1 for something special. Never saw him again. Had to find him to get towels and make bed. But that only happened once in 53 cruises.

 

We tip at the end.

 

Nice to see comments about people graciously tipping their butlers for all the work they do. 😀

[masterwinning]

Not to hijack, but I tipped our cabin steward on day 1 for something special. Never saw him again. Had to find him to get towels and make bed. But that only happened once in 53 cruises.

 

We tip at the end.

 

Nice to see comments about people graciously tipping their butlers for all the work they do. 😀

 

I bow down to your cruising greatness, 53 is awesome, with a mere 9 more planned, have you guys done any of the long duration 15+ day trips?

[GeezerCouple]

DND=Do Not Disturb

 

The DOS suites get 3 bottles of booze, the Garden Villa get 6, the rest of the suites don't get any...But you have the drink package....

 

I think the OS also get 3 bottles of booze.

 

And these 3 categories also get unlimited soft drinks and bottled water.

That was very nice.

 

(Except we are Diet Coke aficionados, and NCL is a Pepsi-product outfit. But we still enjoyed a lot of the other beverages.)

[BirdTravels]

Tip: Take advantage of the Breakfast and Lunch in Cagney's. But,,, also have your butler server you breakfast in your room on shore days (your butler can bring you anything from the Cagney's menu and more). Don't be limited to the few checkbox items on the breakfast card. Write whatever you want down and your butler will bring it.

 

Our breakfast cards look like: 2 eggs over medium, filet steak medium, bacon, breakfast potatoes, fresh fruit, diet pepsi. Or egg white omelet with spinach and tomatoes, vanilla french toast, fresh fruit, cranberry juice.

Edited April 28, 2016 by BirdTravels

[psbtrvlr]

We never used the butler, don't need cookies every day in the suite

 

When did they switch to cookies everyday? That's a bummer. We enjoyed the different stuff we got everyday. (Only 1 day was cookies.)

[GeezerCouple]

When did they switch to cookies everyday? That's a bummer. We enjoyed the different stuff we got everyday. (Only 1 day was cookies.)

 

Ask for other things.

 

Or... ask for "different snacks each day" ;)

[riddle]

Wish I had known we could drink the stuff in the mini bar and the bottles of water without extra charge. I wish there was a list of what all the suite could provide.

 

One thing I wish they had was a pamphlet on how to use the coffeemaker. That thing compounds me every cruise in a suite.

 

Afternoon and evening snacks are to your liking. Just let the butler know what you want. One evening I asked him if we could have X the next evening. In about 5 minutes he was at our door with what I had asked for the next evening. They do try to please.

 

We traveled with 2 small kids but it was still their job to clean up their toys. No reason for it to be any different than at home. Good habits are to keep.

I don't like to make the personnel's jobs any tougher than they are. We are not neatniks but I also don't want to be a slob just because I am on vacation.

[pathubia]

Wish I had known we could drink the stuff in the mini bar and the bottles of water without extra charge. I wish there was a list of what all the suite could provide.

 

One thing I wish they had was a pamphlet on how to use the coffeemaker. That thing compounds me every cruise in a suite.

 

Afternoon and evening snacks are to your liking. Just let the butler know what you want. One evening I asked him if we could have X the next evening. In about 5 minutes he was at our door with what I had asked for the next evening. They do try to please.

 

We traveled with 2 small kids but it was still their job to clean up their toys. No reason for it to be any different than at home. Good habits are to keep.

I don't like to make the personnel's jobs any tougher than they are. We are not neatniks but I also don't want to be a slob just because I am on vacation.

 

Is this true, no charge for mini bar items if you are in a suite?