New Suite Perks

I was wondering if anyone has any new information on the new suite perks that were scheduled to start September 1. We have a suite booked on our October 2, 2016 cruise and we have not received any information. Would love to know if any has any new information.

I'm following this thread. It's a great question. It's been a few years since we cruised on Carnival, but at that time there were no special perks for booking a full suite even though we were in the legendary Owner's Suite.

From a cruise critic article:

Announced in a letter, dated April 29, Carnival added: “In tandem with this change, in addition to priority embarkation and debarkation in all ports and confirmed main dining room preference, suite guests will now receive priority tender service, complimentary in-suite bottled water and one complimentary bag of laundry per voyage, as well as an enhanced turndown service”, Carnival confirmed.

We booked our first suite for Oct on the magic so we too are interested to see if there are any additional perks. I'm happy with just the larger room for our family.

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From what I recall listed on the Carnival Forum prior to its shutdown you get:

priority boarding, tenders and debarkation; enhanced turndown service (maybe the chocolates they cut out); 1 liter of water per guest;1 bag laundry per cabin...think that was it. I'll find out for sure soon we are in a GS tomorrow on the Magic...I'll try to post a follow-up if I can remember.

Cheers, happy cruising and win big!

So, if you are Diamond or Platinum, the only additional perks are more water and turn down service. Not very impressive compared to other lines.

How about a free Steakhouse dinner (Princess) breakfast or lunch in an alternative venue (Princess, RCCL, Celebrity, NCL)? How about a free bar set up (Princess)? Or how about reserved seating in the theater and by the pool (RCCL)? Some of these things cost them nothing.

Yes, the perks aren't as good as some other lines but you pay a heck of a lot less for a suite on Carnival than you do on most Celebrity, NCL or Royal Caribbean cruises. Yes, sometimes you get a deal on the other lines where the lowest category suite is equal or less than a Carnival GS but it isn't very often. BTW: Mini-suites are not suites.

Take care,

Mike

Supposedly they are still going to Announce some additional Suite perks Very Very soon is how John answered when I asked him on Sept 1st

Still not as good as RCCL. They give you double points for booking a suite.

Yes, the perks aren't as good as some other lines but you pay a heck of a lot less for a suite on Carnival than you do on most Celebrity, NCL or Royal Caribbean cruises. Yes, sometimes you get a deal on the other lines where the lowest category suite is equal or less than a Carnival GS but it isn't very often. BTW: Mini-suites are not suites.

 

Take care,

Mike

I agree with Mike on this, at least with regard to RCI and Celebrity. A few years ago we did an apples-apples comparison between an RCI GS (Independence) and a CCL GS (Freedom) - nearly identical eight day Eastern itin, both sailing from FLL within one day of each other, there were no promos involved (to artificially raise the prices) and the RCI GS was $2500 more (btw, we took that RCI cruise because we wanted to try that line). The suite perks were nice but were they worth the additional cost? Probably not. And yes, the RCI Junior Suites (JS) are not eligible for their suite amenities (unless they have changed that in the past year or so).

Edit: it would be really nice if CCL did extend double points to suite guests like RCI does.

Following this because we too are booked in a suite

I wish they would make suites ready so basically you'd have FTTF benefits since you already have the priority board and tendering, just toss in the room ready and it would save me that money. I'd be one happy camper if they did that. For the increased price you are already paying in tips and room they could toss that in.

I wish they would make suites ready so basically you'd have FTTF benefits since you already have the priority board and tendering, just toss in the room ready and it would save me that money. I'd be one happy camper if they did that. For the increased price you are already paying in tips and room they could toss that in.

That would require them to hire more Room Stewards which I highly doubt they will. It is impossible for them to have all of the suites, which are typically all in the same area, plus Diamond/Platinum/FTTF cabins. So I can see why that isn't a perk.

I would really like to see a full room service breakfast available for Suites!!

They sell out the suites as is so why would they spend more money giving perks?

That would require them to hire more Room Stewards which I highly doubt they will. It is impossible for them to have all of the suites, which are typically all in the same area, plus Diamond/Platinum/FTTF cabins. So I can see why that isn't a perk.

So, cut back on the FTTF to accommodate the suite guest. Oh... wait.... that would mean they would lose a lot of essentially free revenue from FTTF. Never mind..... what was I thinking?? ;)

Waiting to see if anyone has the info.

So, cut back on the FTTF to accommodate the suite guest. Oh... wait.... that would mean they would lose a lot of essentially free revenue from FTTF. Never mind..... what was I thinking?? ;)

Yeah. It's too bad they couldn't reduce the amount of them by raising the price. But we all know that's not happening.

Yes, the perks aren't as good as some other lines but you pay a heck of a lot less for a suite on Carnival than you do on most Celebrity, NCL or Royal Caribbean cruises. Yes, sometimes you get a deal on the other lines where the lowest category suite is equal or less than a Carnival GS but it isn't very often. BTW: Mini-suites are not suites.

 

Take care,

Mike

That has not been my experience. I have Grand Suites booked on 2 upcoming RCCL cruises in January 2017 and January 2018 on the RCCL Liberty of the Seas. The cabins are more luxurious and are 401 sq ft. + the 104 sq ft balcony, which is larger than a GS on Carnival. I priced the Breeze for the same dates and a GS on Carnival was $500 more per person. Plus, the Diamond Discount on RCCL knocks another $225.00 off the cabin, making it $1225.00 cheaper for us to sail RCCL in a GS than sail Carnival in a GS.

We sailed Princess the past 3 years in January and paid $600.00 per person less than Carnival for a great aft facing suite with a huge balcony on Princess. And we got tons of perks for all, including a free Crown Grill dinner the first night and breakfast at Sabatini's every morning and a free bar set up and ability to order a full hot breakfast via room service and order lunch and dinner off the MDR menu.

Over Labor Day 2014 we got a 2 bedroom 2 bath Royal Family Suite with a huge aft facing balcony on RCCL Navigator of the seas for 3 people for $2800 total. The 3rd person sailed free. We priced the Magic for that same date and the cost for a GS was $4200.00 for the 3 of us. They wanted $699 for the 3rd person.

Carnival's pathetic past guest rates can't compete with the $225.00 that RCCL knocks off the best price we can find on a balcony or suite. I am Diamond on both lines.

When I get off RCCL I hardly have any bar bill. They have free nightly cocktails and appetizers in the Diamond Lounge and Suite Lounge (I can access either or both) and they load 3 free drinks on my Sea Pass card that I can use at any bar between usually 5 and 8pm (another Diamond perk on RCCL).

We have sailed in Grand Suites on Carnival in the past, but actually prefer the OS layout. At one time I thought Carnival had the best deals on suites, that is until my travel agent presented suite rates on other lines and we found them to be very competitive and in many cases cheaper than Carnival.

I do have to point out that if you want a GS on RCCL on any date, you need to jump on them when they announce the deployments. The price rarely gets cheaper than that and the suites on RCCL sell out really fast. On the cruise we booked for Jan 2017 the GS category was sold out by November 2015. It jumped from $1339 per person at deployment ( before the Diamond discount was applied) to over $2200 per person before selling out.

You are right mini suites are not suites, but I don't book them. But at least RCCL gives double points on them making it easier to reach Platinum or Diamond fairly quickly. 80 days for Diamond which brings some nice perks in itself.

I also would love a Full Room Service Breakfast available to all suite rooms.

I have a Havana Cabana Suite booked on Vista. Not Havana cabin. Is this considered a suite?

Also, I sail Haven on NCL and you can get tripple points. 7 points for the week, 7 points for the suite and 7 points if you book 9 months or over in advance :)

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That has not been my experience. I have Grand Suites booked on 2 upcoming RCCL cruises in January 2017 and January 2018 on the RCCL Liberty of the Seas. The cabins are more luxurious and are 401 sq ft. + the 104 sq ft balcony, which is larger than a GS on Carnival. I priced the Breeze for the same dates and a GS on Carnival was $500 more per person. Plus, the Diamond Discount on RCCL knocks another $225.00 off the cabin, making it $1225.00 cheaper for us to sail RCCL in a GS than sail Carnival in a GS.

 

We sailed Princess the past 3 years in January and paid $600.00 per person less than Carnival for a great aft facing suite with a huge balcony on Princess. And we got tons of perks for all, including a free Crown Grill dinner the first night and breakfast at Sabatini's every morning and a free bar set up and ability to order a full hot breakfast via room service and order lunch and dinner off the MDR menu.

 

Over Labor Day 2014 we got a 2 bedroom 2 bath Royal Family Suite with a huge aft facing balcony on RCCL Navigator of the seas for 3 people for $2800 total. The 3rd person sailed free. We priced the Magic for that same date and the cost for a GS was $4200.00 for the 3 of us. They wanted $699 for the 3rd person.

 

Carnival's pathetic past guest rates can't compete with the $225.00 that RCCL knocks off the best price we can find on a balcony or suite. I am Diamond on both lines.

 

When I get off RCCL I hardly have any bar bill. They have free nightly cocktails and appetizers in the Diamond Lounge and Suite Lounge (I can access either or both) and they load 3 free drinks on my Sea Pass card that I can use at any bar between usually 5 and 8pm (another Diamond perk on RCCL).

 

We have sailed in Grand Suites on Carnival in the past, but actually prefer the OS layout. At one time I thought Carnival had the best deals on suites, that is until my travel agent presented suite rates on other lines and we found them to be very competitive and in many cases cheaper than Carnival.

 

I do have to point out that if you want a GS on RCCL on any date, you need to jump on them when they announce the deployments. The price rarely gets cheaper than that and the suites on RCCL sell out really fast. On the cruise we booked for Jan 2017 the GS category was sold out by November 2015. It jumped from $1339 per person at deployment ( before the Diamond discount was applied) to over $2200 per person before selling out.

 

You are right mini suites are not suites, but I don't book them. But at least RCCL gives double points on them making it easier to reach Platinum or Diamond fairly quickly. 80 days for Diamond which brings some nice perks in itself.

In addition on Princess, in a suite, there is a separate glass enclosed shower, the deck furniture is wood, an orchid in the room, chocolate covered strawberries. My husband likes the suite for the breakfast in the specialty restaurant and I like the suite for the walk in shower since its easier for me.

following this as well. our first suite is in October on the Magic. I was excited to get priority boarding, so anything else will be great!

I'm also very curious about the perks for a suite on Carnival

I would think, that each person in that suite, who both paided the suite cost. Each person should get the exter water and bad of laundry. If you are on the cruise with a friend. You have co mingle your Landry?