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Upgrade from Gem Balcony to Penthouse?

gidgetgoes

By gidgetgoes,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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gidgetgoes

gidgetgoes

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i was offered the chance to upgrade from our balcony guarantee room port aft on the 9th deck to a penthouse suite for $1500 total. we already have the UDP and specialty dining. we are a family of three (one 10 year old son). is this a good deal? is this worth it? first time cruising NCL. ???

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kcwingwalker

kcwingwalker

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i was offered the chance to upgrade from our balcony guarantee room port aft on the 9th deck to a penthouse suite for $1500 total. we already have the UDP and specialty dining. we are a family of three (one 10 year old son). is this a good deal? is this worth it? first time cruising NCL. ???

 

forgot to say also offered 2 bedroom for same price. so either penthouse with large balcony or the 2 bedroom.

 

I would upgrade for that price. The aft penthouse suites are fantastic. But your son will be sleeping on the pull out sofa. You will all be in the same room so not too much privacy. You will also have a longish walk to the Haven.

 

The two bedroom will give you more room and privacy. The full bath will be very nice and most also have a half bath. You will probably be in the Haven. It really depends on the ship. Do make sure that you have a balcony. On the Dawn there is a two bedroom suite without a balcony! I met a couple who were upgraded to this suite and did not know they would not have a balcony and were so disappointed.

 

Enjoy!

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Rileyz

Rileyz

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the upgrade is for the penthouse suite, not the haven. regular suite perks. the aft penthouse (only one available) is on deck 8, the 2 bedrooms are on deck 11 forward.

 

For the same price the 2 bed is hands down the better cabin.

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kjquilts Holiday Sharing Rare

kjquilts

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Take the two bedroom quickly before someone else does. We've had one on both the Dawn and the Jewel and loved the setup. Your son will have his own bedroom and bathroom, you'll all share a big living room/dining area and the master bedroom/bathroom is truly wonderful. Go to youtube and check out the NCL two bedroom suite videos.

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jvsnana

jvsnana

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The 2 bedroom was a treat, however we did have some issues with being directly under the fitness center.

For some reason a crew member thought it was just fine to do his workouts at 2 am :rolleyes: He kept dropping the weights on the floor and that was directly over the 2nd bedroom where our grandson was sleeping. We had quite a time convincing the HD that it was actually happening, as he said the fitness center was closed at that time. So on the 3rd night at 2 am while this was going on, I went up to the gym, saw the crew member who was dropping the weights, told him that we were trying to sleep directly underneath him. He apologized. I then picked up the phone that was on the gym wall and called the HD (remember it was 2 am) and he said he would make sure that it would not happen again. After that night, we did not hear any noise coming from the gym after 11pm :)

The 2 bedroom is a great use of space and having the 2nd bathroom was wonderful for all.

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gidgetgoes

gidgetgoes

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Take the two bedroom quickly before someone else does. We've had one on both the Dawn and the Jewel and loved the setup. Your son will have his own bedroom and bathroom, you'll all share a big living room/dining area and the master bedroom/bathroom is truly wonderful. Go to youtube and check out the NCL two bedroom suite videos.

wow, that is a really amazing room! damn. my husband really doesn't want to do it. sigh. i hope our balcony room will not disappoint. all that space looks awesome.

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biker@sea

biker@sea

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i was offered the chance to upgrade from our balcony guarantee room port aft on the 9th deck to a penthouse suite for $1500 total. we already have the UDP and specialty dining. we are a family of three (one 10 year old son). is this a good deal? is this worth it? first time cruising NCL. ???

I would keep the balcony and buy me another I X GTY cruise for $1500 .:hearteyes:

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gidgetgoes

gidgetgoes

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omg, i did it. my husband is very grumbly, but i told him no excursions and no spa passes, so he's somewhat appeased. we will have a giant room with all the perks plus do our own beach snorkeling. works for me! my only concern is we are below the fitness center. is that bad?

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jvsnana

jvsnana

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omg, i did it. my husband is very grumbly, but i told him no excursions and no spa passes, so he's somewhat appeased. we will have a giant room with all the perks plus do our own beach snorkeling. works for me! my only concern is we are below the fitness center. is that bad?

Congrats! Your hubby will have a grand time being spoiled.

Just make sure that you are aware of the fitness centers hours. There will be some banging/thumping noises, but only during opening hours. I would suggest from my experience that if you have noise issues, go directly to the Hotel Director with your concerns asap :)

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gidgetgoes

gidgetgoes

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Congrats! Your hubby will have a grand time being spoiled.

Just make sure that you are aware of the fitness centers hours. There will be some banging/thumping noises, but only during opening hours. I would suggest from my experience that if you have noise issues, go directly to the Hotel Director with your concerns asap :)

thanks! will do. should be fine. i am super crazy excited and tracking down tips and ideas about suite perks now. we've never cruised Norwegian and certainly never had a suite. i am the WORST. but vacation should be good. :)

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jvsnana

jvsnana

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thanks! will do. should be fine. i am super crazy excited and tracking down tips and ideas about suite perks now. we've never cruised Norwegian and certainly never had a suite. i am the WORST. but vacation should be good. :)

Here are a few tips:

 

1. When you get to the port, make sure you find the "Penthouse/Suite/VIP check in line. Sometimes the workers will just direct you to the regular lines, but insist that you are in a Suite and find that line! You will be checked in and sent to a separate Suites waiting area where you will usually meet the Concierge and have snacks/coffee. Then you will be amongst the first to board and taken to either Cagney's or Moderno for your first Suites lunch!

 

2. Your Butler will take care of you for anything in your Suite, while your Concierge will take care of anything like dining reservations, VIP seating in the theater, priority disembarkation at ports, etc.

 

3. Also, remember that the Butler and Concierge are not in the tip pool. We tip them at the end of the cruise with a note and $$$ in an envelope.

 

4. Email the "Pre-Cruise Concierge" and let them know you have upgraded and wish to make requests for your suite. They will send you an email with requests such as a pillow menu, towel request, coffee and tea etc.

NorwegianConciergeDesk@ncl.com

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kjquilts Holiday Sharing Rare

kjquilts

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I'm so happy for you :)

 

Our very favorite suite perk is having breakfast (and once in a while lunch) at Moderno (could still be Cagney's on some ships). There is a menu to order from as well as a small but very nice buffet spread. Orange juice, cranberry juice, french press coffee, variety of teas, hot chocolate. Very nice and peaceful way to start the day. If your family likes gummy bears and peanut m&m's you can request them from your concierge. They'll bring bowls and refill as needed.

I love your itinerary and the ports are easy to do without spending a lot of $$. Here is link to a thread from 2014 where I posted about our day in St Maarten/St Martin - - several photos included. If you don't want to do the $2 bus taxi's aren't very expensive. There's lots of info on the St Martin message board.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1988119

San Juan - get off the ship, take the free hop on hop off and go see the forts. Wander the streets.

St Thomas - we loved Coki Beach / Coral World. Coral World does have an admission charge. Didn't do an excursion, took a taxi that we caught a couple blocks from the ship. I actually prefer the ones that look like open sided buses and they're inexpensive. No problem getting one for return to ship - it's very popular destination.

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gidgetgoes

gidgetgoes

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Here are a few tips:

 

1. When you get to the port, make sure you find the "Penthouse/Suite/VIP check in line. Sometimes the workers will just direct you to the regular lines, but insist that you are in a Suite and find that line! You will be checked in and sent to a separate Suites waiting area where you will usually meet the Concierge and have snacks/coffee. Then you will be amongst the first to board and taken to either Cagney's or Moderno for your first Suites lunch!

 

2. Your Butler will take care of you for anything in your Suite, while your Concierge will take care of anything like dining reservations, VIP seating in the theater, priority disembarkation at ports, etc.

 

3. Also, remember that the Butler and Concierge are not in the tip pool. We tip them at the end of the cruise with a note and $$$ in an envelope.

 

4. Email the "Pre-Cruise Concierge" and let them know you have upgraded and wish to make requests for your suite. They will send you an email with requests such as a pillow menu, towel request, coffee and tea etc.

NorwegianConciergeDesk@ncl.com

 

thank you! all of this sounds awesome. i'll definitely email the concierge, and good to know about the Butler and concierge tips, did not know that. what's the norm? thanks!

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gidgetgoes

gidgetgoes

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I'm so happy for you :)

 

Our very favorite suite perk is having breakfast (and once in a while lunch) at Moderno (could still be Cagney's on some ships). There is a menu to order from as well as a small but very nice buffet spread. Orange juice, cranberry juice, french press coffee, variety of teas, hot chocolate. Very nice and peaceful way to start the day. If your family likes gummy bears and peanut m&m's you can request them from your concierge. They'll bring bowls and refill as needed.

I love your itinerary and the ports are easy to do without spending a lot of $$. Here is link to a thread from 2014 where I posted about our day in St Maarten/St Martin - - several photos included. If you don't want to do the $2 bus taxi's aren't very expensive. There's lots of info on the St Martin message board.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1988119

San Juan - get off the ship, take the free hop on hop off and go see the forts. Wander the streets.

St Thomas - we loved Coki Beach / Coral World. Coral World does have an admission charge. Didn't do an excursion, took a taxi that we caught a couple blocks from the ship. I actually prefer the ones that look like open sided buses and they're inexpensive. No problem getting one for return to ship - it's very popular destination.

i'm actually kind of excited about just doing whatever on the islands now. the only excursion we have is with Ellis in San Juan, because we really want to see the rainforest. we were thinking sapphire beach on st.Thomas, and since there are 15k in port the day we are in st. maarten, maybe we will just stay on the ship that day. my husband will probably stay grumbly up until he sees the line we'll be passing up at embark, assuming it will be substantial. i will try to keep him in bourbon, that should help. :) thanks for the info!

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