Suite perks?

[Tampa Girl]

On 10/17/2021 at 3:58 PM, highscar said:

I understand the Neptune suites now have coffee makers.  

Yes, although they have had them for many years.  Our first Neptune was at least ten years ago, and they had them then.  The coffee is so..... good in the Suites.

[kazu]

6 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

Yes, although they have had them for many years.  Our first Neptune was at least ten years ago, and they had them then.  The coffee is so..... good in the Suites.

 

10 years ago?  I don’t remember the coffee machine in the NS 10 years ago.  In the Neptune Lounge, yes, but not in the rooms???

I thought they were added just a few years ago with the Bose speakers at the same time. 

 

I went to look - time does fly by - 5 years ago in 2016 was when they started https://www.latimes.com/travel/cruises/fl-holland-america-line-news-20151029-story.html

[Caribbean Chris]

5 hours ago, twodjs said:

….Maybe a different manager, but we had super service from our wine steward and the meal service, both breakfast and dinner was spot on. The chef behind the glass even prepared a special indian dinner for us one night. And they did know our names. So sorry you didn't enjoy a similar memory. 

Our experience aligned with yours. The wine steward service was the best we’ve ever had on a ship, and I’d been disappointed in the MDR wine steward service in recent years.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Caribbean Chris

[twodjs]

1 hour ago, Caribbean Chris said:

Our experience aligned with yours. The wine steward service was the best we’ve ever had on a ship, and I’d been disappointed in the MDR wine steward service in recent years.

We did two Alaska cruises this fall. On the first one there were no wine stewards in the MDR. The wait staff was tasked with taking wine orders. A little wierd? On our more recent cruise, some wine stewards, I think, did reappear. We're back on K-dam during Thanksgiving week. I'll post about the wine service in Orange Club. With a few weeks to iron out the kinks, I'm expecting we'll be back to a great experience!

Edited October 18, 2021 by twodjs

[kazu]

13 minutes ago, twodjs said:

On our more recent cruise, some wine stewards, I think, did reappear.

 

That is really good news if the wine stewards are coming back 🙂 

[atexsix]

On the coffee makers.  Not to be a spoil sport, but they kind of gross me out, in hotel rooms too.  They get grody and no telling how often they are cleaned or replaced.  I've tried a few times in the finer hotels and what comes out does not look at all appealing.  

 

However, one exception, the Fairmont Olympic in Seattle, they have their own blend of coffee specially made....I've put in hours of search time on the net trying to find it or something similar, to no avail. 

 

 

[njpln]

22 hours ago, atexsix said:

We were trying to decide between a Neptune or Celebrity in which we really liked the idea of a dedicated restaurant/lounge, prices/itinerary were roughly the same.  However, we recently found out that Cunard will have the Queen Elizabeth over here on the west coast next summer, and that's been on our bucket list for awhile, but I'm not sure if the grills continue to be as legendary as everything I used to hear about the QE2, I haven't done much research. 

We have cruised in the grills and the private lounge and dining rooms are wonderful.  If you enjoy dressing up and dancing, you will love Cunard.

[atexsix]

18 minutes ago, njpln said:

We have cruised in the grills and the private lounge and dining rooms are wonderful.  If you enjoy dressing up and dancing, you will love Cunard.

Thanks, wonderful to know.  From the reviews I read, a lot of HAL people sail Cunard. 

 

Do the grills still prepare special requests if ordered at lunch?

[zgscl]

6 hours ago, atexsix said:

On the coffee makers.  Not to be a spoil sport, but they kind of gross me out, in hotel rooms too. 

We were not a fan (to be fair we don't drink coffee), but they also take up like half of the desk  too. We actually unplugged it and shoved it in the window so that we could have more desk space. 

[atexsix]

10 hours ago, zgscl said:

We were not a fan (to be fair we don't drink coffee), but they also take up like half of the desk  too. We actually unplugged it and shoved it in the window so that we could have more desk space. 

Agree, they do get in the way.  I think they will make hot water too if you travel with those little instant coffee packets or need hot water for soup.  If it's a Keurig, you operate it without adding the cup.