Just Booked Grand Suite - Any Advice (Sky Class)

[jk04]

Our last cruise before the shutdown was on Symphony.  That cruise we thoroughly enjoyed the Suite Deck.  You have to use your card to open the gate on Deck 16 Forward and then up the stairs to Deck 17.  There is a bar, restrooms, and all kinds of seating.  We actually enjoyed it for Sail-away, although the ship's horn is very loud.  Our sailing was at capacity, so this was a quiet place to sit, read, and just enjoy the water.  DH made friends with the bartender and a couple of other guests! 

Edited September 14, 2021 by jk04

[Cigar King]

2 hours ago, IEHL said:

First cruise on RC. booked 1060 deck 10 on Radiance. Anything negatives I should be aware of.

Also, please what is 4 diamond drinks?

If you are Diamond (or above) in the Crown and Anchor Society, you get a number of vouchers for free drinks each day.  It sounds like this wouldn't apply to you.

[IEHL]

Thank you. That’s kinda what I thought.

[tlund]

Thanks, everyone.  Looking forward to being spoiled.  Question - Upon boarding do we go to the Suite Lounge to talk to the concierge there to make reservations for entertainment and dining or do we call a number once we get in the cabin?  I would think the concierge would be inundated with everyone wanting to make reservations when they get on board.  Any advise on that?

 

Also, can you take a drink out of the Suite Lounge during the 5-8 cocktail period or do they need to be consumed in the lounge?

 

Lastly (for now anyway), is there priority embarkation available for suites considering the COVID protocols?

 

Still so excited!!!  Doing the vacation countdown.  This will be our first cruise since February of 2020.  Before that, we were doing 2-3 each year on the various cruise lines.  Need this a lot.

[reallyitsmema]

6 minutes ago, tlund said:

Thanks, everyone.  Looking forward to being spoiled.  Question - Upon boarding do we go to the Suite Lounge to talk to the concierge there to make reservations for entertainment and dining or do we call a number once we get in the cabin?  I would think the concierge would be inundated with everyone wanting to make reservations when they get on board.  Any advise on that?

 

Also, can you take a drink out of the Suite Lounge during the 5-8 cocktail period or do they need to be consumed in the lounge?

 

Lastly (for now anyway), is there priority embarkation available for suites considering the COVID protocols?

 

Still so excited!!!  Doing the vacation countdown.  This will be our first cruise since February of 2020.  Before that, we were doing 2-3 each year on the various cruise lines.  Need this a lot.

 

You will be contacted by the concierge the week prior to your cruise.  We ask them to make Coastal Kitchen reservations for us but I typically make all my entertainment reservations myself as soon as they are available to book.  We have had no issues taking a drink out of the lounge in the past though there is a sign saying not to in some lounges.  You should reserve your checkin time in the app when it is available to do so but then suites can checkin at the port one hour before or one hour after the assigned time.

[pasodancer]

4 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

We sail in suites and have never seen a separate line for suites getting back on the ship in ports.  What ship and ports have you experienced this?

Oasis, Allure, Anthem, Freedom, Independence, etc.  Ports - Jamaica, St. Marten, Mexico, St. Thomas, Bermuda, Bahamas, etc.   There has always been a separate line for suites at ports.  Granted, we have only be doing suites for the last 10 years - so I cannot go back further than that.

[tlund]

One other questions, I typically pack to much and want to try and cut down.  What are the bathroom products provided in the suites and what's your thoughts on them (soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion)?

[reallyitsmema]

3 minutes ago, pasodancer said:

Oasis, Allure, Anthem, Freedom, Independence, etc.  Ports - Jamaica, St. Marten, Mexico, St. Thomas, Bermuda, Bahamas, etc.   There has always been a separate line for suites at ports.  Granted, we have only be doing suites for the last 10 years - so I cannot go back further than that.

 

Very interesting.  We have sailed all those ships with the exception of Independence and have never encountered a suite line when getting back on the ship.  We have definitely been escorted off the ship by the concierge in port but have never seen a separate line to reboard or it listed in our welcome aboard package.  I will have to have a discussion with the concierge on our next sailing.

[Cigar King]

8 minutes ago, tlund said:

One other questions, I typically pack to much and want to try and cut down.  What are the bathroom products provided in the suites and what's your thoughts on them (soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion)?

For me they're fine.  My wife will not use anything but her own brands, so we bring them.  You'll have to make you're own call.

[reallyitsmema]

14 minutes ago, tlund said:

One other questions, I typically pack to much and want to try and cut down.  What are the bathroom products provided in the suites and what's your thoughts on them (soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion)?

 

Precovid it was L'Occtanne products.  Much better than what is in regular cabins but I still prefer to bring my own.

[Jimbo]

4 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

We sail in suites and have never seen a separate line for suites getting back on the ship in ports.  What ship and ports have you experienced this?

ditto

[pasodancer]

The Suite Line to get back on the ships in port is usually the "next one up"...entrance although sometimes it is "side by side" w/ the general boarding entrance.  We've used the suite line on Oasis, Anthem, Allure, Freedom, Independence, etc.  Ports - Jamaica, Mexico, St. Thomas, St. Marten, etc.   It is always there - just need to know to look for it.  

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, pasodancer said:

The Suite Line to get back on the ships in port is usually the "next one up"...entrance although sometimes it is "side by side" w/ the general boarding entrance.  We've used the suite line on Oasis, Anthem, Allure, Freedom, Independence, etc.  Ports - Jamaica, Mexico, St. Thomas, St. Marten, etc.   It is always there - just need to know to look for it.  

Even if there isn’t a separate line ,just show your card to someone and say suite.

[Booking It]

The 2nd bedroom would be awesome for us! We sleep in separate rooms in our house because we sleep much better apart.  It was a struggle to share a cabin on our last cruise. 🤣I would jump on a price like that for 2 bedrooms on Oasis! Plus all of the other perks… sounds like you will have a great cruise!

[Ashland]

8 hours ago, pasodancer said:

There should be a separate line for suites when getting back on the ship in ports....just walk up to the suite line & show your card.

I've been to many day ports and have never seen this...I'll start checking.

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, Chiliburn said:

Even if there isn’t a separate line ,just show your card to someone and say suite.

So just walk past everyone in line and go to the front...Oh my...I used to never do this when there was a line for tenders and they gave out vouchers for suites....I felt uncomfortable.

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

So just walk past everyone in line and go to the front...Oh my...I used to never do this when there was a line for tenders and they gave out vouchers for suites....I felt uncomfortable.

There usually someone up along the line.

I haven’t ever pushed in but when you see them just show you card.

[constable145]

10 hours ago, pasodancer said:

There should be a separate line for suites when getting back on the ship in ports....just walk up to the suite line & show your card.

On what ship?

 

I've sailed in suites on both Oasis and Quantum classes. Not once have I seen/used a separate line to get back on board.

 

Depending on the ship and port, the concierge can help you get off the ship quicker, but not back on.

[Biker19]

10 hours ago, constable145 said:

On what ship?

See post #37.

[luckyinpa]

on oasis in the suite lounge are there bottles of water and cans of soda? even though we would have the package would be nice to store some soda and water in the fridge for when we wake up

[SRF]

On 9/14/2021 at 11:10 AM, reallyitsmema said:

 

We sail in suites and have never seen a separate line for suites getting back on the ship in ports.  What ship and ports have you experienced this?

Same here.

 

[SRF]

On 9/13/2021 at 8:49 PM, tlund said:

So, do you order through room service off the main dining room menu or does CK provide that service?  New to us as we never ordered room service in our prior cabins.  Great idea.

 

You have a suite menu, that will be in your suite.  Plus you can order anything off the MDR menu for that meal.

 

No charge for room service in a suite.

 

The other must do, is breakfast on your balcony on a sea day.

[tlund]

Question on tipping.  We had to chose 5:30 dining when booking because my time was not available.  If we eat in CK and not the MDR, will our standard tips be allocated to the staff at CK and not the main dining room?  Also, is tipping the concierge normal?  I would think that if the concierge helps you out with some reservations, etc. that a tip may not be out of the question.  What would be an appropriate tip for the concierge?

[Cigar King]

I'd suggest that anyone who helps you should get a tip.  For meals we have moved a tip nightly model as we move around a lot.  

[Ashland]

On 9/13/2021 at 7:48 PM, AshleyDillo said:

 

We just booked a 2-bedroom GS for a sailing next year on Oasis..same exact price as the 1-bedroom in our case as well.

Ours was a L/S no cost to upgrade to our GS...DS L/S $42.00 to upgrade to his 2 bedrm. We got a great deal...original booking was RCI cancelled with KSF then 2nd booking L/S including KSF...such a deal. Harmony April 24th...so excited.