First time Suite passenger! What are the best benefits? Island Princess

[asingl]

We just received our upgrade to a Vista Suite on our upcoming 17-Day transatlantic cruise! We were previously booked in a Mini Suite. This will be our first time traveling in a full suite. What are the best benefits we should make sure to partake in? We are going to be on the Island Princess traveling from Ft. Lauderdale to the UK!

 

I notice there is no thermal pool on the Island Princess. Are there still other benefits in the spa that we can partake in? First time on the Island Princess as well. Are there steam rooms or sauna rooms? 

 

I notice that we automatically receive Reserve Dining for this trip. The first night the Specialty Dining should be included? Do we have to make a reservation once we board the ship or should we head right over whenever we are ready for dinner? Any recommendations for the Bayou Steakhouse? I noticed there is no Crown Grille, our usual staple!

 

Does the breakfast in Sabatini's have any special items added to it? Or would it be a similar menu as the MDR. Just with the specialty dining ambiance? I read there are complimentary mimosas served in Sabatini's for breakfast?  I know for Princess Plus they are implementing better seats for shows as well. Are those available to suite passengers as well? And where do we get the welcome glass of bubbly at the start of the voyage?

 

Thank you for all the tips and tricks! Really excited to be enjoying this upgraded room, especially for this transatlantic with 10+ sea days!

[milolii]

Congratulations.  You will love the suite especially for all those sea days. 

We’ve never sailed on the Island, but have sailed in suites on the Royal and Enchanted.

Sabatini’s for breakfast among the top perks.

We also enjoy the laundry as we usually tour a week or so in advance of embarkation 

The room steward should arrive with the  bubbly

No special seating at shows ARAIK

extended room service menu

In cabin afternoon tea 

We chose Bayou Cafe as we love Cajun food. 
Here is the PDF  with the perks.

 

Interested  to hear how things go as we are on the Island this summer in a suite.  Please post. Enjoy your suite. 

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/products/staterooms/default-suite.html
 

 

 

 

[Kineticoh20]

Had the new aft Amalfi suite on the Island after it was installed after dry dock. 3 sliders, side and rear balconies 40feet worth. Great cabin. As for best perk hard to beat Breakfast at Sabatini's. 

[Sea Hag]

We're not suite people, but we did finally book one after the restart. For years, I'd heard people here saying the the suite breakfast in Sabatini's was the best perk of having a suite. Having tried that, I'm inclined to agree. They definitely do have other menu options there, and they're very agreeable about making something that isn't actually on the menu. Oddly, or at least I think it's odd, my favorite breakfast entree was poached eggs served in a glass bowl over crispy hashbrowns. Simple but perfect.

[AF-1]

You will need to book your first night specialty restaurant when you board.  Suites give you a little more room to move around and have lots of storage.  Enjoy you upgrade

[beg3yrs]

We got a surprise upgrade on the Island Princess last Fall and it was a wonderful experience. Unfortunately it was only for the first leg of our B2B2B but still, fabulous.

 

Upon boarding DW wanted to head to the buffet but because of Cruise Critic, I knew better! Headed for the MDR lunch and our medallions lit off the hostesses tablet highlighting us in red. We were greeted by name and whisked off to what was then Club Class, now Reserve, for lunch. What amazing and fun service.

 

After that we went to the suite to be amazed again. Just fantastic with flowers, champagne and so on. Now in all truthfulness, we sincerely believe the upgrade was because we hit 500 days on that cruise but the staff denies that.

 

As others have said, the room service menu is enhanced in the suites, you'll even see that on the TV offerings.

 

Laundry is not delayed like it is for Elites, it comes the next day.

 

You can use the Thermal Suite in the spa for no charge. Yes, there's no Thermal Pool but it's still a nice feature.

 

Of course breakfast at Sabatini's was pretty darn special. The wait staff there is selected because they're the top of their class and it shows. Mannerisms are enhanced (not that the MDR and Club Class folk are bad) and yes, you can pretty much get what you want even if it's not on the menu. The chef there will do his or her best to make you happy!

 

You'll end up making friends with other suite passengers at the Sabatini's breakfast. We felt like we were the Clampitts on holiday with the other high falutin' folk of Beverly Hills. Funny thing about those high falutin' folk, is they're just like the rest of us and want to have a nice time.

 

Yes, definitely take advantage of the first night specialty restaurant. You can make the reservation when you have your lunch in the MDR. We too enjoyed the Bayou over Sabatini's for dinner but that's just us. Never knew I liked succotash so much! The Bayou's bar often had live music and we got to enjoy that through dinner there.

 

[happy42cruise]

I always try to upgrade to a suite if at all possible.  More room, better dining (reserve/club class, & breakfast in Sabatini's), the laundry service & if you want to do your own laundry ask for the tokens from your steward. I don't think we've been on Island so can't speak to that but for the most part if you ask for something they will try to provide it. On some trips the spa has sent special discounts, the stewards are especially attentive and the beds are wonderful.  Only thing I can complain about & it's really petty, but the evening canapes are the same every night so if it is a long voyage we got tired of the selections so stopped requesting them. Enjoy!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Laundry included is the BEST perk. Getting home from a two week cruise and you only have less than a full load of laundry to do when you get home? THAT is a vacation.

 

Sabatini's is the second best perk. I don't know how different it is from the MDR menu, but having a team great you by name every day, get to quickly know what you like, how you like your bacon cooked etc, it a great thing. I am a simple guy, so I never put to test asking for special items, but they bent over backwards to get my mother anything she wanted.

[Expat Cruise]

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

Laundry included is the BEST perk. Getting home from a two week cruise and you only have less than a full load of laundry to do when you get home? THAT is a vacation.

 

Sabatini's is the second best perk. I don't know how different it is from the MDR menu, but having a team great you by name every day, get to quickly know what you like, how you like your bacon cooked etc, it a great thing. I am a simple guy, so I never put to test asking for special items, but they bent over backwards to get my mother anything she wanted.

Really, Laundry is the best perk? Sorry, that seems like all the benefits of having a suite have not been investigated.  Suites give you so much more than just Laundry. The stateroom size and features, the priority treatment throughout the cruise, upgraded room service, the free Spa services, upgraded dinning, fruit bowls, afternoon tea, in room ice, free specialty dining, extra private lounges, much better staff, all these things are at least equal and better than just free laundry.  

[KeepCalmBearOn]

7 hours ago, Expat Cruise said:

Really, Laundry is the best perk? Sorry, that seems like all the benefits of having a suite have not been investigated.  Suites give you so much more than just Laundry. The stateroom size and features, the priority treatment throughout the cruise, upgraded room service, the free Spa services, upgraded dinning, fruit bowls, afternoon tea, in room ice, free specialty dining, extra private lounges, much better staff, all these things are at least equal and better than just free laundry.  

 

Nope.

[edspec]

9 hours ago, scottca075 said:

Laundry included is the BEST perk. Getting home from a two week cruise and you only have less than a full load of laundry to do when you get home? THAT is a vacation.

I totally agree.  Our family of three generates a lot of laundry, so it is an everyday thing for me at home.  When I generally do laundry at least 2 times on a 7 day cruise since I cannot stand to have dirty clothes in the cabin. 

[Cruise Raider]

We’ve only been in a full suite a few times and the best perk for us is the morning breakfast.  However, there are many other perks to take advantage of:

 

We loved being able to take advantage of ordering from the dining room menu in our cabin.  We also loved that we could order nearly anything we wanted for breakfast.  The restaurant manager even suggested we could get steak and eggs.  I just wanted turkey sausage and they made it happen.  I also loved the potatoes with poached eggs and hollandaise in the little glass bowl.  
 

The few times we’ve been in a suite, there was a card in our cabin letting us know the details of our reservation in the specialty restaurant.  If they are still doing that, just know you can change the time and restaurant if you wish. 

 

The reserve class dining is so wonderful. There are no waits and they’ve always had one extra special dish added to the menu each night.  The dining experience is just more elegant with Reidel wine glasses, nicer linens and very awesome service.  

 

I never use the laundry services but some people love it.  I believe you can also get your shoes shined. 
 

Suite guests are usually allowed to board first and we were even offered an escort onto the ship.  it wasn’t necessary but a nice offer.  
 

There should be seats saved for you in the theater on the evenings that have production shows.  They have a cloth covering over the seat backs indicting they are for suite passengers.  I saw this on the Discovery recently .. I imagine it should also be on the Island.  
 

I believe the room steward will bring you sparkling wine after your arrival.  I understand they may give you the bottle if you request it.  We’ve usually had the beverage package so not sure about that now.  
You will receive a stocked mini bar .. not refillable but you can swap out those items for others that you prefer.  
 

You will also have priority disembarkation available to you at your desired time.  You can even order room service in your cabin that last morning.  There will also be a priority disembarkation lounge for you.  
 

bon voyage .. enjoy the sweet suite life!  

 

 

 

[nattie]

We are trying Suite for the first time on Enchanted this Aug, very excited! We are Elite, so already get laundry and LOVE that perk. As Elite we also get some of the Suite perks already, but not Sabatini breakfast. Our cruise will be very port intensive, so not sure how many time we can take advantage of that.

What really made me splurge for Suite was Suite Lounge on Riviera deck (I think these are only on Royal class ships) and extra balcony space.

[milolii]

15 hours ago, Kineticoh20 said:

Had the new aft Amalfi suite on the Island after it was installed after dry dock. 3 sliders, side and rear balconies 40feet worth. Great cabin. As for best perk hard to beat Breakfast at Sabatini's. 

Awesome!  We are in the sister suite. 

[sailboat39]

We are first time Cruisers and possibly only time cruisers so we booked a penhouse suite on Majestic to Alaska. We are traveling with my brothers & wives. They are regular 3 times a year cruisers and do thier best to stretch thier dollar. They pick modest staterooms. We were wondering is there ever an opertunity from them to join us in priority embarcation or demarcation , dining rooms, shows, ETC?  

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, nattie said:

We are trying Suite for the first time on Enchanted this Aug, very excited! We are Elite, so already get laundry and LOVE that perk. As Elite we also get some of the Suite perks already, but not Sabatini breakfast. Our cruise will be very port intensive, so not sure how many time we can take advantage of that.

 

A suite is especially good on trips with lots of Sea Days. I don't think I'd book a Hawaii cruise and its 10 or 11 sea days if I couldn't get a suite. The perks plus the extra room really stand out.

 

1 hour ago, sailboat39 said:

We are first time Cruisers and possibly only time cruisers so

 

My best friend and his DW joined us on a Panama Canal Partial Transit because my BFF is huge history buff. He said it probably be his only cruise ever. That was 10 years ago and they cruise more than we do now. Be careful, cruising is an awful addiction.

[memoak]

3 hours ago, sailboat39 said:

We are first time Cruisers and possibly only time cruisers so we booked a penhouse suite on Majestic to Alaska. We are traveling with my brothers & wives. They are regular 3 times a year cruisers and do thier best to stretch thier dollar. They pick modest staterooms. We were wondering is there ever an opertunity from them to join us in priority embarcation or demarcation , dining rooms, shows, ETC?  

They will not be able to join you at suite breakfast or reserve dining. If you want to eat together you would have to use the regular dining room. That means giving up some really nice perks. When we recently traveled with a friend we told him he would have to book a reserve mini to eat with us at lunch and dinner

[MTNest93]

18 hours ago, AF-1 said:

You will need to book your first night specialty restaurant when you board.  Suites give you a little more room to move around and have lots of storage.  Enjoy you upgrade

We upgraded from a CC/RC mini-suite to a full suite for our 1st cruise in July and were able to book our included 1st night specialty dining on the app without having to pay upfront.  It showed a credit and zero due.  I've read that some people have had trouble booking it in advance, but it's worth a shot!

[AF-1]

10 minutes ago, MTNest93 said:

We upgraded from a CC/RC mini-suite to a full suite for our 1st cruise in July and were able to book our included 1st night specialty dining on the app without having to pay upfront.  It showed a credit and zero due.  I've read that some people have had trouble booking it in advance, but it's worth a shot!

I would book in app.  Thanks and have a wonderful trip

 

[JGmf]

13 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

were able to book our included 1st night specialty dining on the app without having to pay upfront.  It showed a credit and zero due.  I've read that some people have had trouble booking it in advance, but it's worth a shot!

 

As first timers to Princess, I booked our first night specialty suite dining on the web portal (aka, the app, but through the Princess website).  We got charged and paid, assuming it'd be zeroed-out later.  Well, three months later, I'll handle the due credit when I get on the ship and talk to guest services. 

 

Live and learn...

[memoak]

38 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

As first timers to Princess, I booked our first night specialty suite dining on the web portal (aka, the app, but through the Princess website).  We got charged and paid, assuming it'd be zeroed-out later.  Well, three months later, I'll handle the due credit when I get on the ship and talk to guest services. 

 

Live and learn...

There is never a reason to book these in advance I have always been able to call the dine line or go to the venue and get reservations after boarding