What are Cat. S perks?

[chefajax]

Hi to All...
We are new to HAL and plan to sail 8/21 onboard the Zuiderdam. We booked an suite in the back of the ship, but we don't know what to expect? Any help would be greatly welcomed....Dennis

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

Free access to the Neptune Lounge which is not near your cabin. But after all the goodies you eat there, think of all the calories you burn off returning to your cabin.

You will have a concierge and probably an assistant. He/she can make reservations for the Pinnacle Grill, take care of excursions, take care of your charge card, help with any billing errors (should there be one), help you if you want to have a party in your suite, take care of laundry (free laundry, dry cleaning, ironing for suite passengers).

There should be a suite cocktail party the first night of the cruise. You may be invited to another cocktail party. And there might be a suite buffet on the last sea day in the Crow's Nest. With the way HAL is cutting back, some of the above may be gone by the time you get on the ship.

:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

Oh yes, if you like, you can have breakfast there or take it back to your cabins - choice of a couple of juices, cereals, pastries, fresh fruit, sometimes cheeses and lunchmeat.

There is a coffee machine - regular, capaccino, etc.

Around 11 AM, breakfast is cleared away and an assortment of small sandwiches and cookies are put out.

Around 5 PM cold appetizers are out out - olives, carrots, other raw vegetables and a dip.

:)

[gizmo]

You will find a bottle of champagne in your cabin when you arrive.

You can order hot appetizers.

[sail7seas]

You can definitely expect to have a great time on a wonderful ship.


Enjoy.

[elmorejj]

You can have afternoon tea served in your suite, personalized stationary, a corsage for the lady and a boutoniere for the gentleman for the first formal night, a large basket of fruit, refilled as needed, priority tender tickets and debarkation if needed...jean

[Sandiz]

Hi! You will love the S suite. It shows you how some people live all the time. I will never cruise again unless it is on a Holland and in a S. suite. I want to throw something up that you might want to think about. There is a lot more motion in the front or in the back of a ship and especially in rough seas. If you have been in the back before then I guess it doesn't bother you. Almost all travel agents will tell you to pick one in the center. Have a great cruise and I know you will always be a S suite passenger from now on. Happy cruising. Sandiz

[scluvsrain]

Yes, but an aft suite on the Zuiderdam or Oosterdam means a gigantic balcony, usually a wrap-around one. The suite room may be a bit smaller than the side suites, but the balcony more than makes up for that. And think of sitting out there at night watching the moon rise over the wake of the ship. Ahhh......

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I have never had the Pleasure of an S Suite but my TA told me another thing that I had never heard mentioned on this board but now make sense to me. That you are given a copy of the next days evening menu. I always wondered ho several on this board were able to post menus when I had never seen them printed to take. I know that might not be a big deal but DH and I always look forward to our walk down to the Dining Room to see the posted menu. It is one of those cruise routines we always do.http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/family/mirror.gif

[digby]

We got the menus for the same day not the next evening on the Westerdam.

[Jacqueline]

We were just offered an upgrade from an SS to an S for a 13 night cruise for $450 pp. Did not take it....
Someday !

[swmichigan cruiser]

A few thoughts. We have been in aft suites 3 times so far on the Zuiderdam with a 4th time booked for late November and about the motion issue back there we've never had a problem with excessive motion doesn't mean we never will and for some the motion being too much is by personal taste. As for the menus we always got them in the morning for the dinner that night. After our first cruise on the Zuiderdam last September I e-mailed HAL and suggested they also send the lunch menu so people could also decide where they wanted to have lunch and they e-mailed back they liked that idea and they started doing that as well. For us the aft wraparound balconies are what makes the cruises special for us. For most others it will probabily be something different.

[vjb223]

we got a aft cabin for our next cruise on the Zuiderdam and after reading your post know we will be happy we did, I miss the shade (can't take the sun ) of the other cat S but sure we will be happy with this choice, thanks

[swmichigan cruiser]

VJB if you have one of the S suites with a wraparound balcony you will still have shade most of the time it depends on angle of the sun. Your side part of the balcony is quite large and really is pretty much the same as the balcony of a side s suite. Its in my opinion the best of two worlds an aft view and a side view. Hope this helps.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

Sometimes we get the menus in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon. Varies from ship to ship.

Last Nivember on the Maasdam we had to request that the menus be delivered to our suites. After much complaining by many suite passengers for a couple of weeks, that soon changed. When we were back on the Maasdam, the menus were being delivered once again.

However, we have noticed that we don't get the dessert menus delivered anymore to the suites.

So we check up on what desserts are for the evening as well as what is being served for lunch in the dining room when we go to the Neptune Lounge.

:)

[alexMD]

So, the aft S suite is slightly smaller than the port or starboard side S suites, but has a much larger balcony.

Let me pose this question to those of you who are so familiar with them: We plan to use the sofa bed as a bed. The sofa in the aft S's is a twin, which is fine. Does the sofa bed in either prevent you from getting to the balcony?

Reason for my question: I'm fond of the motion on a ship and would prefer an aft S suite, but was concerned that the smaller size would mean traffic problems in the suite.

Thanks for any help.

[sail7seas]

We encountered the same thing on Maasdam, KK.


It was not such a big deal but was annoying. We were so accustomed to seeing the menu early in the day and enjoy having it delivered. Maasdam was the only ship that we were on that stopped delivering it. We arranged w/ Room Service to bring us a xerox copy but they were unreliable about it.

Hopefully, next week, we shall receive the menus like usual.


l

[peaches from georgia]

The Dinner Menu was delivered to the suites each day w/out making a request for it. The Dinner Dessert Menu and the Lunch Menu was posted in the Neptune next to the coffee cups.

[chefajax]

Hi to All...
Thanks to all who wrote in. We are excited to be going 8/21 with all this information........Dennis

[sail7seas]

alexMD,


I saw your question and wish I could help but cannot. We Always have mid-ship port side "S" and have not seen the aft Suites when the sofa bed was open so do not know how much it will block traffic. The aft suite is smaller and even the larger size port/starboard Suites are noticeably smaller than the same cabin on all of the other HAL ships with those "S" suites. Therefore, I think it possible there could be a bit of congestion in the cabin when the couch is open.

If a large veranda is something you relish, you will be thrilled with your veranda.

Enjoy.

[Shirt-man]

We are just back from the ziuiderdam and had "S" suite 6167 on the rear of the ship. It was a handicaped room that was nice. Balcony was huge. We were a deck below the Neptune Lounge but it was worth the trip. Great service. the perks of the suite were worth the $200 per person we paid.
The bad part was the ship was hot and this room was even hotter. we keep the curtains closed all day and that didn't even help. If it wouldn't have been for this it would have been the best cruise we have ever taken.
Enjoy