Need Help from Star Garden Villa EXPERTS!

[chloemonkey]

All of you past passengers in the Garden Villas have been SO much help to us! Believe me....I have poured over each and every photo - post more times than I am ready to admit...so I thank each and every one of you!

And now we are just a couple of weeks from our journey to the Mexican Riviera in one of these beautiful suites and I need some more help....

Is there indeed a private steam room or sauna on the outside deck area?

Should our room be ready right away? I am trying to plan on what time to arrive and would like to time it so that we do not have to wait in public areas.

Tips.....I KNOW! So many opinions or posts on this topic. But we generally tip well. And that means even if we were not "blown away" by the service. Our opinion is that these people work very hard and if the service is not outstanding, it is always possible that they were just having a rough week....So I intend to tip at the end of the trip (for butler and concierge), leave the $12/per on the shipboard account, tip a bit extra for the room steward...........what about individual room service orders? Will they always come from our own butler? Or sometimes regular staff?

Limo - this has been real tough to try to figure out! I have called NCL twice and both times have been told that they have "never heard of a limo offer......" and even the person that I spoke to at NCL when I booked the trip had never heard of it! So today I called once more and the gal offered to check with a supervisor. Thankfully she came back on the line and said that "yes" there was limo service at the end of the cruise and to just speak with the Concierge. So now I am faced with a dilema as I do not need to go back to the airport but instead just would like the limo to take us home after the cruise. But if I have to wait to speak to the Concierge and see if this is possible, it will also mean that I have no contingency plans to book our own limo if we are denied a ride back to our home. So anyone know of the best way to handle this, please let me know.

Casino - Is it possible to charge multiple Cruise Tokens in the form of "gifts" for yourself? As is if I want to spend a couple thousand in the casino can I do the gift thing and pay with a credit card and then just use the certificates in the casino? I was just trying to figure out a way to keep the onboard expenses down....and ALSO not to let DH know how much I have spent in the casino!

Any other tidbits from the past Garden Villa people would be greatly appreciated! My husband just asked me if we would have a "table" in the room......I just said "yeah...there will be a table" and didn't elaborate! We always sail in suites but I have not really shared the details of this stateroom with him as I am thinking it may be nice to just get his reaction when we enter the room.....

Only thing I wonder about now is if the passengers in the OTHER Garden Villa actually PAID or were upsells! But again, I didn't want to take the chance so it is probably money well spent...

I am really surprised at the level of uncertainty I feel at this point as this will be our FIRST NCL cruise! We have done most all of the other ones and hope that we return "converts" to say the least! But it is just difficult in planning as we do not know what to expect, etc. We have most of the other lines down pat!

So again, thank you all in advance for any light that you can shine on the above! Happy Sailing to everyone.....

[njhorseman]

According to NCL's Web site, limo service is provided to the airport.

[ImADaneFan]

Originally Posted by chloemonkey

All of you past passengers in the Garden Villas have been SO much help to us! Believe me....I have poured over each and every photo - post more times than I am ready to admit...so I thank each and every one of you!

And now we are just a couple of weeks from our journey to the Mexican Riviera in one of these beautiful suites and I need some more help....

Is there indeed a private steam room or sauna on the outside deck area?
Yes there is a private steam room. It's in a small building along the back wall with a red door. It's also where the keep the extra beach towels for the hot tub.
Should our room be ready right away? I am trying to plan on what time to arrive and would like to time it so that we do not have to wait in public areas.
It depends on when you arrive. We got to the port between 10:30 and 11:00. After we met Simone (the Concierge) we only waited maybe 10-15 minutes. We had to wait until all the other passengers were off the ship. There are snacks and drinks. The port at San Pedro does have a separate area for suite passengers to wait.
Tips.....I KNOW! So many opinions or posts on this topic. But we generally tip well. And that means even if we were not "blown away" by the service. Our opinion is that these people work very hard and if the service is not outstanding, it is always possible that they were just having a rough week....So I intend to tip at the end of the trip (for butler and concierge), leave the $12/per on the shipboard account, tip a bit extra for the room steward...........what about individual room service orders? Will they always come from our own butler? Or sometimes regular staff?
If you order room service during the hours your butler is on duty he/she will bring your orders. If he/she is off duty then the back up butler will bring your order.

Limo - this has been real tough to try to figure out! I have called NCL twice and both times have been told that they have "never heard of a limo offer......" and even the person that I spoke to at NCL when I booked the trip had never heard of it! So today I called once more and the gal offered to check with a supervisor. Thankfully she came back on the line and said that "yes" there was limo service at the end of the cruise and to just speak with the Concierge. So now I am faced with a dilema as I do not need to go back to the airport but instead just would like the limo to take us home after the cruise. But if I have to wait to speak to the Concierge and see if this is possible, it will also mean that I have no contingency plans to book our own limo if we are denied a ride back to our home. So anyone know of the best way to handle this, please let me know.
We did use the limo to take us to LAX. I have heard of other guests that were going to LAX and Santa Anna and they tooked them to both. I would guess as long as you live reasonably close to the port it shouldn't be a problem.

Casino - Is it possible to charge multiple Cruise Tokens in the form of "gifts" for yourself? As is if I want to spend a couple thousand in the casino can I do the gift thing and pay with a credit card and then just use the certificates in the casino? I was just trying to figure out a way to keep the onboard expenses down....and ALSO not to let DH know how much I have spent in the casino!
Sorry I can't help with the casino questions since we normally don't spend much there.

Any other tidbits from the past Garden Villa people would be greatly appreciated! My husband just asked me if we would have a "table" in the room......I just said "yeah...there will be a table" and didn't elaborate! We always sail in suites but I have not really shared the details of this stateroom with him as I am thinking it may be nice to just get his reaction when we enter the room.....

Only thing I wonder about now is if the passengers in the OTHER Garden Villa actually PAID or were upsells! But again, I didn't want to take the chance so it is probably money well spent...

I am really surprised at the level of uncertainty I feel at this point as this will be our FIRST NCL cruise! We have done most all of the other ones and hope that we return "converts" to say the least! But it is just difficult in planning as we do not know what to expect, etc. We have most of the other lines down pat!

So again, thank you all in advance for any light that you can shine on the above! Happy Sailing to everyone.....

Take a deep breath and exhale. You will have a wonderful time. The GV was our 1st suite and it changed my DH forever. We were so spoiled. From breakfast and lunch at Cagney's to the Concierge's escort to the reserved seats at all the shows. NCL KNOWS HOW TO TREAT THEIR SUITE GUESTS.

Be sure to come back and post a review.

[DMH15]

You should be able to discuss the limo concern with your concierge when you board. If you have to make alternate arrangements you could by cell, or in the Internet cafe, or perhaps calling or emailing a family member or close friend, since it would be several days before the end of your cruise.

Last year my sister and BIL tried to buy me OBC for my cruise, but they waited too long. But there are ways to buy casino, spa and other certificates.

Can't wait to hear how it all works out.

[chloemonkey]

Originally Posted by ImADaneFan

Take a deep breath and exhale. You will have a wonderful time. The GV was our 1st suite and it changed my DH forever. We were so spoiled. From breakfast and lunch at Cagney's to the Concierge's escort to the reserved seats at all the shows. NCL KNOWS HOW TO TREAT THEIR SUITE GUESTS.

Be sure to come back and post a review.

Thank you so much! It should be fun as we are taking my parents who usually only book balcony rooms. And can I ask you a personal question? Does the "Dane" have anything to do with the canine form of Dane? Just curious as I am a Great Dane lover....

And I WILL post when we return! I have learned so much from you guys and hope to return the favor!

[OceanDreaming2]

Here's a link to the photos my DH took when we had the Vista Garden Villa last November. Your DH will be happy with the table!

http://nclstarvistagardenvilla.shutterfly.com/

[chloemonkey]

Originally Posted by OceanDreaming2

Here's a link to the photos my DH took when we had the Vista Garden Villa last November. Your DH will be happy with the table!

http://nclstarvistagardenvilla.shutterfly.com/

I KNOW!!!! Yours are some of the photos that I have POURED over for the last couple of months now! And if we each had a dollar for every time that I have pulled them up and looked at them we would both be closer to paying for that next cruise in the GV!

We have had the Royal Suite on RCI a few times and it is a great room but we were never treated any differently. Not that I expected to be "fawned" over but seriously....to have one Royal Suite and 5 out of the 6 Owner's suites and to not have any "perks" has been a bit disappointing. But we have fun on all cruise lines and really just enjoy being together and having SUN! That and LARGE staterooms that is! DH is a BIG guy and loves his space.....

So thank you again for your great photos! I promise to post but not so sure about adding any photos as I am technilogically challenged....Just glad that I figured out how to use this site as the posts have past cruisers have been so helpful!

[hat776]

How do you think the area of the sofa compares to the area of my balcony cabin ? And is there any chance of squeezing the piano in ?

[ImADaneFan]

Originally Posted by chloemonkey

Thank you so much! It should be fun as we are taking my parents who usually only book balcony rooms. And can I ask you a personal question? Does the "Dane" have anything to do with the canine form of Dane? Just curious as I am a Great Dane lover....

And I WILL post when we return! I have learned so much from you guys and hope to return the favor!

Yes we currently have 2 Great Danes. They are both from a Great Dane Rescue. They are both house dogs...the smallest is 140# and the biggest is 180#, and our 5# cat keeps them both in line.

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

These were my photos... : http://travel.webshots.com/album/570001870dqutre

The steam room uses scented steam....I think it was lavender or mint. Also serves as a changing room for the hot tub and is stocked with many towels (10-12).

We were escorted onto the ship at 1130 or so and were the first to board. Also we were escorted off the ship through a private (crew) elevator. It was very, very well orchestrated.

When Simone asked us a few days prior to the end of our cruise about what time to schedule debarkation and limousine service, I asked if the car could drop 2 of us at Long Beach Airport and continue to LAX for the other 3, she said "That's not a problem, should I order a second car for your luggage?".

You will be treated like royalty...we've had some amazing travel experiences...even had a mind blowing private 3 building villa compound in St. Barths (adjacent to the Campbell soup family villa I believe) a couple of years ago, and nothing compares to the Garden Villa experience.

You'll have memories to last a lifetime. Enjoy!

[ImADaneFan]

Rick,
I'm so homesick for the GV after seeing your pics of John and Andreas. I believe that John was going to the Dawn when he returned after his wedding. Simone told us that she and Andreas would be returning to the Star on January 16th after their wedding. I hope so, we changed our PC from Jan 2nd to the 16th so we could cruise with Simone again.

[SeattleMother]

We took the provided limo to a motel near the airport in Vancouver after our cruise in April.

We took it home to a suburb of Seattle a couple weeks ago, and she sent an extra car for our baggage.

Neither was any problem at all.

Rachel

[georgiajersey]

I also want to thank everyone for the pix of the garden villa - we are not even sailing until June 2011 - bookings are not even listed yet, but I am driving my family crazy every time I find a new pix. We now have other family members joining us, so we have 8 cabins and hopefully some group rates and perks. I have been very spoiled with great vacations - fantastic houses on the beach on LBI in NJ and Myrtle Beach, so I am really looking forward to the "suite" treatment for my family. Luckily, I am going to the Bahamas on the Sky on 11-30 in an owner's suite, so I have something to look forward to before Alaska.