Gem Penthouse Suite questions

[saretaj]

Just booked 2 suites today - #9502 and #9002, Gem leaving August 23rd.  I have only sailed balcony cabins prior.  We're all so excited!!!  It will be myself (44) and my 6 year old daughter in one room and my 21 YO daughter and her 24 YO BF in the second room (he is a good guy, we have known him 5 years so we are not bringing a random person lol)

 

1)  Has anyone stayed in these suites?  I of course googled but would appreciate real life opinions.

 

2) This will be the first time having a butler / concierge.  I totally understand tipping is all over the place but do you tip per day or at the end?  I want to be sure I bring enough cash.

 

3)  Can I really chance not booking specialty dining and wait to have the concierge do it?  That sounds awful, I know, but I am still debating what days and places we want to go.  I will obviously try to book what we are certain about ahead of time.

 

4) Any tips?  I splurged and we are beyond excited to have these extra amenities (which we will not abuse) but I am still uncertain exactly what is "normally" asked of a Butler.

 

Thank you all in advance!

[DiverJohn]

I tip all at the end of the cruise, ask the butler for three envelopes, leave the room stewards on the table and hand butler / concierge their envelopes while waiting to debark. Best tip would be that the cordless phone in your suite will work all over the ship as long as charged , so anyone can reach you by calling your suite or you can call anyone else’s room from the pool bar casino etc.  ( same for daughters suite ).  Second best is that all movies on the tv are free in a suite so your 6 year old can enjoy while falling asleep / sitting in room. Your concierge should be Anoupe , he will be giving you your cards in the suite / haven waiting area, if you let him know what you are looking for for dining ( the sooner the better) he will try his best to get for you, have had him on 14 day panama cruise as well as on the gem at the end of June . 

Butler gets you what you need for the room, extra / firmer pillows, ice , brings you daily snack plates as well. If you would like to have towel animals for your daughter make sure to ask either your butler or room steward as they have stopped automatically making them every night. 

Sure there are many other things others will add ,  enjoy your cruise and welcome to the suite life !!!!

[fiftyguy]

Very nice suites. You’ll have very large balconies which will be great for the sail in to Bermuda.

your butler should be able to get some great snacks for your 6 yr old - m & m’s, gummy bears, chocolate chip cookies etc. You might want to ask for a pitcher of juice.

As far as snacks for yourself you can ask for anything and the butler will get it if he/she can. We ask for BLT’s, cheese/cracker plates, fruit plates etc.

If you’re tired and don’t want to go out you can have dinner in your room. Give your butler a couple of hours notice as a courtesy. Same would apply for breakfast if you want an early start while in Bermuda. 

I would base tips on how much you use the butler, concierge. I tend to tip butler more since we use them more often. I would give what you can afford. You’ll hear about per person/per day amounts, but do what your comfortable giving. If you don’t want to give cash you can add tips to your ship account by going to guest services. You’ll need to have the full names of your butler and concierge.

You’ll love having breakfast (and lunch) in Moderno’s which is only for suite passengers.

 

Have a great time. 

[saretaj]

Thank you for all of this information!  I can't wait!

[Turtles06]

A bonus to those forward-facing suites is the darkness on the balconies at night, because there are no lights in the bow and curtains in the suites must be closed at night if lights are on in the cabins.   (All of this of course is to preserve  the night-vision of the crew on the navigation bridge.) This makes for incredible star-gazing!

 

Enjoy your suites!

[bonvoyagie]

We like the aft suites - but I hear the forward suites are good too. I know that others have said that you need to keep your curtains closed - I think that only applies to the deck 10 suites that are directly under the bridge.

 

We have never pre booked dinners as on these ships they don't fill up that fast - We usually have met the concierge at breakfast and asked if he could get us into one of the restaurants around x time - they have always come through.

 

We do enjoy having breakfast in both Modernero and our suite. Depending on your itinerary you might better enjoy the local port for lunch.

 

We do not ask that much of the butler - they seem to replace the fruit bowl, keep the coffee pods stocked - and get us just about anything we ask for. Every afternoon there is a new snack - we just take what is given.

 

We tip at the end of the cruise - usually going to the guest services desk and filling out a voucher that goes against your onboard account. You just give them the employee name and how much you want - they fill out a form - you get a copy for you and to give to the employee. Also fill out a vacation hero card if they really make your day.

 

Best of all - enjoy your cruise. 

[Turtles06]

3 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

We like the aft suites - but I hear the forward suites are good too. I know that others have said that you need to keep your curtains closed - I think that only applies to the deck 10 suites that are directly under the bridge.

 

We’ve only been in a Deck 10 forward-facing suite (which was great), so I can’t say for sure what the rule is for Deck 9 re keeping the curtains drawn, but it’s only at night, and only if you have a light on inside, and so it’s no bother at all.  With a light on inside, you couldn’t see anything with the curtain open anyway.

[Jim40]

We were in 9002 last year on the Gem in Oct out of Quebec City to New York . Huge balcony , Bed was most comfortable on any cruise I've been on , the door to the balcony is watertight door and wife said the make up area was to dark . the room was great and the expresso machne is excellent .