Penthouse upgrade thoughts

[exlandlubber]

Hello everyone!

We are scheduled to sail on the Splendor again this summer making it our third voyage on a ship we love. We are currently booked in a Concierge D across from the laundry room and I’m debating about upgrading to a penthouse. The PH C’s are 700 and 800 in the very front of the ship. The PH B’s are better located and obviously more money. My questions include: has anyone experienced noise from the laundry room door? (I’m kind of a wack job when it comes to hearing everything!) Are the two suites in the bow two windy/rough as this is a Northern Europe cruise? Should I just suck it up and lay out the extra cost for the PH B?  Final payment is due in about a month. Or should I hope to get lucky and be offered a cheaper upgrade cost as we get closer? I’ve looked at Suite Guru but haven’t really gotten the answers I need and this forum is always enormously helpful, so thank you in advance for any advice offered.

Kim

[RELS]

13 minutes ago, exlandlubber said:

We are currently booked in a Concierge D across from the laundry room and I’m debating about upgrading to a penthouse.

 

Our experience with the penthouse suites on Splendor (Dec/Jan 2023/24) is that they are not laid out as nicely as the Superior/Concierge suites (Dec 2022). That wall between the bedroom and the living room breaks up the flow and makes for narrow spaces. Plus there aren't as many usable drawers -- the bedside ones are very shallow and there aren't as many available in the living area -- and there are only shelves next to one of the sinks in the bathroom.

 

Keep in mind that many fewer people use the guest laundry now that Regent provides laundry services to all.

 

19 minutes ago, exlandlubber said:

has anyone experienced noise from the laundry room door?

 

I can't help you there, but given my experience with the two types of suites, I'd stay with the concierge suite.

[exlandlubber]

Thank you, RELS. You’re input could save us some serious money.

[marycruz]

1 hour ago, RELS said:

 

Our experience with the penthouse suites on Splendor (Dec/Jan 2023/24) is that they are not laid out as nicely as the Superior/Concierge suites (Dec 2022). That wall between the bedroom and the living room breaks up the flow and makes for narrow spaces. Plus there aren't as many usable drawers -- the bedside ones are very shallow and there aren't as many available in the living area -- and there are only shelves next to one of the sinks in the bathroom.

 

Keep in mind that many fewer people use the guest laundry now that Regent provides laundry services to all.

 

 

I can't help you there, but given my experience with the two types of suites, I'd stay with the concierge suite.

I wonder if Grandeur is the same way with the drawer space since supposedly they are sister ships.

[Lonedaddy]

I liked the ph suites on splendor and explorer .  I like the separation so if dw wants to go to bed early I can watch tv there and not disturb her same if I want to sleep in.  We didn’t have any issues with storage space or closet space and the total space was very nice with larger balcony.  Also ph is much nicer and roomier than a ph on voyager.   It really depends what you value in a cabin.

[exlandlubber]

We were in a PH suite this past November on the Splendor and Icelandair had “lost” our luggage. Actually the luggage just didn’t make it from our stopover in Reykjavik to Rome. Our butler was fabulous, making sure we were kept informed about where our luggage was and calling Prime 7 to inform them that my husband’s jeans were the only pants he had which made a huge difference in how we were treated. 🙂

I’m happy about what I was told about our concierge suite not being noisy, but still also love the penthouse. Ugh, money vs. comfort- always the dilemma!

[Bruce61]

One key difference if it matters to you - it matters to my wife especially on a long vacation - penthouses only have showers while all other suites above F1 have tubs and showers.

[exlandlubber]

That’s a fair point. I love the ability to take a bath but my husband also loves what he calls the “car wash shower” because of the multiple jets.

[Huggsy]

On Splendor we've done Superior (similar to Concierge) and last year treated ourselves to a PH. Sorry, not addressing your laundry door issue but FWIW can honestly say that didn't think the extra expense for the PH was justified. Not keen on the layout, the dividing wall makes the lounge look too narrow so creating a closed in and cluttered feeling. I do like a bath so l missed the bath tub. In Superior, loved the bed facing the balcony - would be my first choice.

[douginct]

Well I'll give a slightly opposing view. We were in a PH last year on Splendor and are soon going to be in one on Grandeur. Previously always had Concierge Suites.Loved the PH. Really liked the separation between Living area and bedroom. One can sleep/nap while other is in the living room. And the bathroom was fabulous. We never use a bathtub and this shower in our PH suite on Splendor was one of the best showers I have ever experienced. That alone was worth it for me.  And yes, not as many drawers, but we had plenty of storage with the walk-in closet.

Also, the PH has a much larger balcony. 

[exlandlubber]

Thank you, Douginct, I have to agree about the shower and the balcony. Here’s another consideration that I forgot to mention earlier. It has always been a big hope of mine to see the Northern Lights and we will be in Norway at the end of the cruise early in September. I know it’s a long shot but since this is a 14 day cruise, I thought I might stand a chance and could hang out in the living room without disturbing my husband. (Although I’d probably wake him up for it anyway.) I get what everyone is saying about the narrow rooms but I also really like the privacy of having the separate bedroom. Does anyone think the North Lights are even a possibility? Thank you again for all your helpful comments.

Kim

[marycruz]

13 hours ago, Bruce61 said:

One key difference if it matters to you - it matters to my wife especially on a long vacation - penthouses only have showers while all other suites above F1 have tubs and showers.

The only difference that matters to me is that the penthouse showers do not seem to have a shower line.  Some have said it is only in the tubs.   Where do you hang wet bathing suits?  We've only been on Mariner and loved the showers.  They had a bench and shower line and bars to grab onto.

[hamasgirl]

We tried a Penthouse C suite on Splendor in 2023 and loved it.  We started in Suite 700 the first time we booked and found it very comfortable and LOVED watching sail-in and sail-outs from our balcony at the front of the ship.  We have since sailed in suite 800 and will only be sailing in Penthouse suites 700, 800 or 900 going forward.  My husband has a tendency toward getting seasick but found no increased motion in these suites on the Splendor.

 

We loved the spaciousness of the entry to the suite.  There is a small table and chairs where we can do our work from or have in-suite dining with plenty of space away from the seating area and TV portion of the room.  And we like the size of the walk-in closet with its range of drawers and cubbies where we easily stored all of our clothes for the cruises we have been on.  We haven't had to use drawers outside of the closet.

 

The balcony is great ...large with plenty of room for a large table and two chairs plus a full size lounge chair.  We had a wonderful time cruising along the Amalfi coast while eating our dinner on the balcony on one of our cruises.

 

Overall, having always cruised in Concierge-level balcony suites prior to 2023, we won't go back.  We really enjoy Penthouse suites on Splendor and are looking forward to sailing in one next week on Grandeur.

[ChucktownSteve]

We were in a penthouse C suite on the Mariner with a two category upgrade promotion. I liked it because it was about 148 more SF than concierge for the same price. Enjoyed the butler but could live without too.

 

We followed that up with a Splendor 16 night Concierge suite which was also very comfortable.

 

Last month I booked a penthouse C on Grandeur for Feb 2026; again with a two category upgrade promo. So I'll see if I'll like that ship's penthouse better. 

 

I'm curious if there is much of a difference between the two penthouse suites (same catregory) on the Splendor and Grandeur. Though regardless of the ship, my DW, will not like a very forward accommodation.  We did that once.  I learned that lesson from her. lol

 

 

 

[exlandlubber]

Would the fact that we’ll be sailing in the North Sea have any bearing on the decision regarding 700 or 800?

[wcsdkqh]

1 hour ago, exlandlubber said:

Would the fact that we’ll be sailing in the North Sea have any bearing on the decision regarding 700 or 800?

You bet there will be a difference in the amount of motion felt at the front or rear of the ship based on the itinerary. North Atlantic, South Pacific, Trans-Atlantic crossings have a much greater chance of significant motion than you will typically see in the Mediterranean or Caribbean.

[RELS]

4 hours ago, exlandlubber said:

Does anyone think the North Lights are even a possibility?

 

Best times for Aurora are between the two equinoxes (Sept thru March), so early Sept is possible. You can check sunrise/sunset for your location at timeanddate.com to see how much actual dark you'll have. Of course, Tromso will have a better chance than Oslo.

[jeb_bud]

If you like to sit on the balcony and watch the view through the glass balcony wall you might have a problem with the forward facing PHs since they have solid steel walls. We like the layout of the Penthouse on Splendor. We have different sleep schedules and appreciate the separate sleeping and sitting rooms. Now if the TV connected to Bluetooth headphones…

 

Although it doesn’t feel like it to us we must be light packers. On our cruise in a Splendor Penthouse we had several empty drawers. Of course YMMV. 

[Tsunami74]

On the Explorer, the penthouse did not have a lounger on balcony! Just 2 chairs, table and an "L" shaped couch.

Does anyone know if the Grandeur penthouses have loungers?  I really hope so!

[A Tucson Guy]

The balconies are larger on the Penthouse B vs. the Penthouse C in most cases. I think the B cabin may have two lounges on the balcony, I hope. We moved up to the B Penthouse for the larger balcony. Please advise if anybody can confirm. Thx.

[jeb_bud]

Check the deck plan before booking a PHB. Some have large balconies and some have smaller balconies. We had a PHB with the shallow balcony. As I recall there was a table with two chairs and one lounger on our balcony. 

[Tsunami74]

1 hour ago, A Tucson Guy said:

The balconies are larger on the Penthouse B vs. the Penthouse C in most cases. I think the B cabin may have two lounges on the balcony, I hope. We moved up to the B Penthouse for the larger balcony. Please advise if anybody can confirm. Thx.

We were next to a penthouse B on the Explorer recently, and they asked us in. 

Their balcony had no lounger, only a couch,  while ours in a concierge had one (which I used a lot!!)

So apparently not all B penthouses have loungers.

[A Tucson Guy]

34 minutes ago, Tsunami74 said:

We were next to a penthouse B on the Explorer recently, and they asked us in. 

Their balcony had no lounger, only a couch,  while ours in a concierge had one (which I used a lot!!)

So apparently not all B penthouses have loungers.

I wonder if you could ask the butler for a lounger or two? Has anybody had experience with this?

[A Tucson Guy]

59 minutes ago, jeb_bud said:

Check the deck plan before booking a PHB. Some have large balconies and some have smaller balconies. We had a PHB with the shallow balcony. As I recall there was a table with two chairs and one lounger on our balcony. 

Thanks. That was the first thing that I checked and I have a cabin with the larger balcony!

[Tsunami74]

18 hours ago, A Tucson Guy said:

I wonder if you could ask the butler for a lounger or two? Has anybody had experience with this?

I wonder if other people requested loungers, and that's why our neighbor had none.