Suites on sale on Pride of America

[janice2348]

I have been watching price drops very carefully on NCL's site-they seem to be dropping Penthouse suite categories from a month to two weeks out. I snagged a Penthouse category SG yesterday for $2699. It was $2999. I paid $5518 for an aft balcony (7180). I only paid a difference of $296.42; well worth it.

 

The sales seem to be random-other sailing had category SE drop, but not on my cruise date of 9/24/16. It pays to watch the trend, and also to set up an email alert through cruise critic! Also make sure you click through-the price on the front page listing may not reflect all of the prices.

 

I wanted to post this in case anyone is interested in snagging one of these. I have only been watching the September cruises. Just be careful-know the price difference amount. The rep tried to charge me for my free overnight hotel stay. She had to have a supervisor correct it. It took over half an hour, but it was worth it.

[dvdgunner]

We got an upgrade today for our october cruise. Same story took 1 1/2 hours to get it done but we went from inside to mid ship balcony for $321 more. It pays to keep an eye on the prices!

[alexkrn46]

Thank you we are b0oked for June, hopefull6 we can catch a break.

[Imalismom]

Same thing happened with us. Suites went to an incredibly low price about 3 weeks before sailing. So, if you are sailing POA - keep a sharp eye on prices!

[Newcruisers5]

We got an upgrade today for our october cruise. Same story took 1 1/2 hours to get it done but we went from inside to mid ship balcony for $321 more. It pays to keep an eye on the prices!

 

Did you book through a travel agent? Did they organise the upgrade or were you watching and phoned yourself?

[dvdgunner]

I booked through a travel agent and i watched the fares myself and when i saw the rates drop i called the travel agent who contacted NCL and was able to have me upgraded. I was originally upgraded to a BF guarantee but a few hours later they assigned me to a BA on the 9th deck mid ship for free! I was surprised they already gave me the cabin number i figured that would come right before sailing!

[dexddd]

On one of the recent POA threads there is some talk from one or two people getting the upsell calls around 4 weeks out IIRC and more than one call.

[pe4all]

I have been watching the prices for my 12/24 cruise. We have 2 large balcony cabins now. (booked over 6 months ago) I would have loved to book a suite, but the prices for that cruise were/are incredibly high. (we cruise every Christmas week, so are used to high prices - but these are really high!) They are asking $12,700 for an SE suite, (we would need 2!!) and if we put all 4 of us in one suite it is $17,000. Sticking with our adjoining B6 cabins for now. Maybe the upsell fairy will call when we get closer!!:p

Edited September 1, 2016 by pe4all

[janice2348]

Did you book through a travel agent? Did they organise the upgrade or were you watching and phoned yourself?

 

I kept an eye on it and checked every day. I also set up a price drop alert here on cruise critic. I called myself.

Edited September 1, 2016 by janice2348

[janice2348]

Start watching the price about four weeks out. But being you're going on a holiday cruise they may not drop.

[easyboy]

I booked through a travel agent and i watched the fares myself and when i saw the rates drop i called the travel agent who contacted NCL and was able to have me upgraded. I was originally upgraded to a BF guarantee but a few hours later they assigned me to a BA on the 9th deck mid ship for free! I was surprised they already gave me the cabin number i figured that would come right before sailing!

It's really better not to solely rely on TA's for this.

[NutsAboutGolf]

I was one of the ones who repeated received emails and we bit for $500/person...As had been parroted repeatedly, aft balcony is the way to go...if you're never been in a suite, just do your research as some perks sound great but either may not be of other better options exist...

Priority boarding sounds great but the main bottle neck is the security line which suite guests do not get priority for. You get a special check in desk but they bring you to a lounge were you wait for a crew member to escort you to Cagneys...the couple in line next to me in the security line got on the ship before I did.

 

Priority tender is good but many people have no issues with waking up, going to pinks to get tickets then getting breakfast...I heard someone say that some NCL excursions do not require you go to pinks

 

Priority disembarkment is good but you can carry your own bags off and be off sooner

 

You get Cagneys for breakfast...Breakfast offers better coffee and steak and eggs but beyond that most of the food is the exact same as the buffet...

 

You get Cagneys for lunch, but are you even going to be on the ship since everyday is a port day? Cagneys is a steakhouse, serves a steak for breakfast and many for dinner but no steak for lunch...only thing close is a burger (can get burgers and most places on the ship) and French dip in which the thinnly sliced meat is served cold and might be nothing more than deli meat.

 

Specialty dining in room for dinner is great but several issues remains, weather/wind can make dining on the balcony a bad experience...also if you're in person at a restaurant as soon as food is ready it's usually about a minute for it to be delivered to your and will be as hot as possible...order to your room, first all the food ordered must be ready at the same time, now it could be 10-15mins for your butler to get the food, bring it to the elevator and get it to your room especially if you're at the other end of a specialty restaurant

 

You save $7.95 for room service but look at the menu as see if it's worth it to you...even if you order daily that's like $80 total, a suite is far expensive...

 

You get daily dessert treats delivered which is a nice but you can get desert at dinner wherever you go

 

Outside of speciality in room dining I'm unsure what the butler actually does that a concierge & room Stewart can't ...sure they can unpack and pack for you but you'll be directing him to put what where...I had heard they'll draw a bubble bath for you, but I'm not sure if there's a free option since in the room is a bath price list where they'll bring an bottle of Champaign

 

Again some may find value to the above and if so that's great, the greatest benefit has been the larger room...Aft balcony is the way to

[dexddd]

I was one of the ones who repeated received emails and we bit for $500/person...As had been parroted repeatedly, aft balcony is the way to go...if you're never been in a suite, just do your research as some perks sound great but either may not be of other better options exist...

Priority boarding sounds great but the main bottle neck is the security line which suite guests do not get priority for. You get a special check in desk but they bring you to a lounge were you wait for a crew member to escort you to Cagneys...the couple in line next to me in the security line got on the ship before I did.

 

Priority tender is good but many people have no issues with waking up, going to pinks to get tickets then getting breakfast...I heard someone say that some NCL excursions do not require you go to pinks

 

Priority disembarkment is good but you can carry your own bags off and be off sooner

 

You get Cagneys for breakfast...Breakfast offers better coffee and steak and eggs but beyond that most of the food is the exact same as the buffet...

 

You get Cagneys for lunch, but are you even going to be on the ship since everyday is a port day? Cagneys is a steakhouse, serves a steak for breakfast and many for dinner but no steak for lunch...only thing close is a burger (can get burgers and most places on the ship) and French dip in which the thinnly sliced meat is served cold and might be nothing more than deli meat.

 

Specialty dining in room for dinner is great but several issues remains, weather/wind can make dining on the balcony a bad experience...also if you're in person at a restaurant as soon as food is ready it's usually about a minute for it to be delivered to your and will be as hot as possible...order to your room, first all the food ordered must be ready at the same time, now it could be 10-15mins for your butler to get the food, bring it to the elevator and get it to your room especially if you're at the other end of a specialty restaurant

 

You save $7.95 for room service but look at the menu as see if it's worth it to you...even if you order daily that's like $80 total, a suite is far expensive...

 

You get daily dessert treats delivered which is a nice but you can get desert at dinner wherever you go

 

Outside of speciality in room dining I'm unsure what the butler actually does that a concierge & room Stewart can't ...sure they can unpack and pack for you but you'll be directing him to put what where...I had heard they'll draw a bubble bath for you, but I'm not sure if there's a free option since in the room is a bath price list where they'll bring an bottle of Champaign

 

Again some may find value to the above and if so that's great, the greatest benefit has been the larger room...Aft balcony is the way to

 

Suites don't have to pay the room service charge unless that has changed very recently.

[janice2348]

To each his own of course but the price was right. I waited until the price dropped to under $300 more. We are planning on taking some time off from touring so we will be spending more time in the suite. We were going to do this anyway. I will be posting a review and will say whether I thought the suite was worth it. I will post pics and a video if I can.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Suites don't have to pay the room service charge unless that has changed very recently.

 

That is accurate, if you reread what I wrote I said you $7.95 each time...I was saying that even if you ordered it in a non-suite daily it's only $80...

[NutsAboutGolf]

To each his own of course but the price was right. I waited until the price dropped to under $300 more. We are planning on taking some time off from touring so we will be spending more time in the suite. We were going to do this anyway. I will be posting a review and will say whether I thought the suite was worth it. I will post pics and a video if I can.

 

Of course! :) First and foremost you get a larger room and the ability to order specialty dining...My overall point is I think they could greatly expand on the existing perks...Simply finding a way to work with Hawaii to allow suite guests expedited security (in the way you can purchase it on some airlines) would be a great start.

 

I spoke to a number of suite owners and everyone agreed that every perk labeled as "priority" was disappointing and all misunderstood what they really mean. Everyone was surprised to hear that a non-suite couple beat me onto the ship...you're just sitting in a longue assuming it's a nightmare for non-suite guests but it really isn't...everyone was surprised to hear you can book an excrusion and basically get priority tenders...everyone was surprised to hear you self carry off your luggage before suite guests are allowed off. But as always, there's value to some as some would prefer to be escorted onto the ship even if it means waiting another 5-10mins, some may not want to do the excrusion as that offers the priority tenders or find it a hassle to get their party to pinks to get tickets, some may not want or are not able to carry their bags off the ship

[dexddd]

That is accurate, if you reread what I wrote I said you $7.95 each time...I was saying that even if you ordered it in a non-suite daily it's only $80...

 

Ok, got it.

[Kattus]

 

Priority disembarkment is good but you can carry your own bags off and be off sooner

 

 

I second that on priority disembarkation. We were rushing to be off the ship before 8:30 for a private tour with airport drop-off, and the concierge told us that they were going to start escorting guests off the ship AT 8:30:eek: Thankfully we decided to go with the crowd around 8:10, and were in the parking area waiting for our car service at 8:15. Disembarkation in Honolulu is nothing like NY!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Of course! :) First and foremost you get a larger room and the ability to order specialty dining...My overall point is I think they could greatly expand on the existing perks...Simply finding a way to work with Hawaii to allow suite guests expedited security (in the way you can purchase it on some airlines) would be a great start.

 

I spoke to a number of suite owners and everyone agreed that every perk labeled as "priority" was disappointing and all misunderstood what they really mean. Everyone was surprised to hear that a non-suite couple beat me onto the ship...you're just sitting in a longue assuming it's a nightmare for non-suite guests but it really isn't...everyone was surprised to hear you can book an excrusion and basically get priority tenders...everyone was surprised to hear you self carry off your luggage before suite guests are allowed off. But as always, there's value to some as some would prefer to be escorted onto the ship even if it means waiting another 5-10mins, some may not want to do the excrusion as that offers the priority tenders or find it a hassle to get their party to pinks to get tickets, some may not want or are not able to carry their bags off the ship

 

Sounds like everyone was surprised to hear that you could learn all this on Cruise Critic before you go. The reason to get a suite is the extra room -- everything else is gravy [but gravy makes mashed potatoes that much better :)]

[Host Jazzbeau]

Kattus - sorry to take this off-topic, but I'm reading SJMBruce's review of her April POA cruise and saw that you love coffee and are from Queens, NY. Do you know McNulty's Coffee & Tea Shop, 109 Christopher Street

New York, NY 10014? You will think you have gone to heaven! http://mcnultys.com

[NutsAboutGolf]

Sounds like everyone was surprised to hear that you could learn all this on Cruise Critic before you go. The reason to get a suite is the extra room -- everything else is gravy [but gravy makes mashed potatoes that much better :)]

 

Agree with you, just curious, do other cruise lines/terminals say in FL offer priority through security?