Best Suite Experience

Hi:

Out of the mega mainstream cruise lines (Princess, HAL, RCCL, NCL, etc...) which cruiselines offer the best suite experience.

None of the luxury lines fit our timetable and we are considering a 'regular' cruise but with a high end suite.

Who's is the best for service, amenties and a little bit of pampering?

Thanks!

Between Costa, Princess and NCL, I'll choose the Courtyard Villa (A3) on the Jewel-type ships from NCL. Primarily because of the suite design, high-end espresso machine, private courtyard and sun deck. Butler and concierge service were also very good. That said, the amenities on Princess are a bit better becasue they include laundry and dry cleaning and free Internet.

good hunting!

SteveO.

We love the Penthouse on Celebrity's M Class. The veranda alone, which is located aft and is one half the size of the entire back of the ship, is wonderful. The suite is huge with two full bathrooms, a living room, dining room that seats 8, an enormous bathroom with a deep jacuzzi tub that overlooks the ocean.

I would also recommend Celebrity Cruise Lines.

Their suites come in various sizes. A very nice size suite is their Royal Suite and the ones on the Century, Galaxy or Mercury ships are all nice (they are sister ships) or the ones on the M Class Ships are very nice.

Then there is the largest Penthouse Suites. These are enormous.

In either case you get many wonderful amenities including Butler Service.

Celebrity is a premium cruise line.

In the past I have also stayed in suites with HAL and Princess to name a few and none of these in my humble opinion come close to matching those of Celebrity.

Keith

I've never sailed with Celebrity at any level, but I do follow Keith's postings (especially on the Crystal board) and have found that he is always spot-on with his views.

I was on Princess (Island Princess) in Alaska less than a month ago and was upgraded (!!!) to a full suite. The room size was nice, but nothing was luxurious. The bath was very nice, but I never could get the water hot enough for the jetted tub. The bedding (mattress and linens) weren't as nice as what I had in a HAL inside cabin! The only perk that was nice was the free internet.

and on this occasion I really agree with him. We have cruised all the premium and all the luxury lines with a very few exceptions. My best suite experience was on an M-Class Ship of Celebrity. I believe it was the Constellation, but I would not put money on that. But the experience was because of the butler--Ricky. He is the most fantastic butler--bar none. He formerly was with the now defunct Royal Cruise Line. We had many good experiences with Celebrity until last year in Australia, I believe the Mercury. We are now never going to sail with Celebrity again, but that doesn't mean they are not really good. Try to find out where Ricky is. He will make your day! We had the largest suite--about 1500 sq. feet. Great ship.

Texas Tillie and Caroldoll, thank you both for you very nice comments.

Caroldoll, we too had Ricky as a butler a few years ago on the Celebrity Summit and like you we think he was the most outstanding butler we have ever had.

Keith

The only time I've splurged on a deluxe suite was on Holland America's Amsterdam to Alaska. I had a deluxe veranda suite, which had a veranda so large you could have held a square dance on it. I also loved the enormous, comfortable bed and the dressing area and lots of closet space.

What was really nice is that all the suites of this size were on the Navigation deck, and that deck had its own concerige and lounge that served breakfast, small items you can lunch on and appetizers at dinner. Very, very nice. I wouldn't do it again, as I sail solo, it was a 200% supplement for me. But I'll never forget that incredible cabin.

Jane

Hi:

Out of the mega mainstream cruise lines (Princess, HAL, RCCL, NCL, etc...) which cruiselines offer the best suite experience.

 

None of the luxury lines fit our timetable and we are considering a 'regular' cruise but with a high end suite.

 

Who's is the best for service, amenties and a little bit of pampering?

 

Thanks!

I know this thread is a few weeks old but I just saw it. We have cruised in the Royal Suite on Celebrity Millennium and the Penthouse on Hal Westerdam. I would highly reccommend either. We experienced excellent service on both lines. We liked the butler service on X slightly better than than access to the concierge in the Neptune Lounge on HAL. We thought the food was better on X but both specialty restaurants were fabulous.

Embarkation on both lines was very quick. Both times we were on the ship in less than 30 minutes from arriving at the terminal. HAL actually provided an escort to walk us through the whole process. We really like being able to stay in our cabin on the Westerdam on the last morning as opposed to waiting in an assigned area on X for our color to be called.

We would not hesitate to cruise on either line again. However, were able to cruise in the PH on HAL, which is over twice the square footage, for roughly the same amount for the RS on X. Whatever you decide, hope you have a wonerful cruise. If you have questions about either suite, I will be happy to help.

Kim

I've never traveled on Celebrity Cuise but i visited their site and they seem good.

All my cruises was in a suite room with at least 400 sq. feet of space. Have already tried Celebrity, RCL, NCL, Disney, Crystal, and Oceania and so far the best suite experience was in Celebrity Suite on board Celebrity Summit.

Based on my experience, Celebrity has the best Suite Room Experience even better than the luxury cruise lines like Crystal and Oceania. For me, they just give the same luxury experience as long as you are in a suite room. The best thing for Celebrity than Crystal or Oceanis is that the ship is bigger and newer. Its like taking a 8 hour plane ride using a A380 or a B787 plane than using a DC-9 plane. Besides, the room space is bigger in Celebrity than Crystal or Oceania at the same costs.

The costs are not the same between Celebrity and Crystal. I priced out a South America cruise on both those lines and the cost for Celebrity was more than double the cost of Crystal. And, as I've said before, once you step out of your suite on Celebrity, you're still on a mass market line with mass market food. Not bad, but certainly not special.

All my cruises was in a suite room with at least 400 sq. feet of space. Have already tried Celebrity, RCL, NCL, Disney, Crystal, and Oceania and so far the best suite experience was in Celebrity Suite on board Celebrity Summit.

 

Based on my experience, Celebrity has the best Suite Room Experience even better than the luxury cruise lines like Crystal and Oceania. For me, they just give the same luxury experience as long as you are in a suite room. The best thing for Celebrity than Crystal or Oceanis is that the ship is bigger and newer. Its like taking a 8 hour plane ride using a A380 or a B787 plane than using a DC-9 plane. Besides, the room space is bigger in Celebrity than Crystal or Oceania at the same costs.

The issue with Celebrity is that it is not a luxury cruise line so if someone wants a luxury cruise line experience Celebrity is not the cruise line for them.

I have stayed in mainly suites on Celebrity, particuraly the Royal Suite but on my last cruise with Celebrity I stayed in the Penthouse Suite. Yes, a beautiful suite and we had an outstanding butler. But outside of the specialty restaurant the rest of the cruise had the feel of a mix between a premium and mass market cruise line.

On Crystal whether you are in a suite or a regular sateroom the entire experience is luxury because all of the other amentiies on the ship are luxury.

Keith

Hi all my daughters & I are booked on Celebrity Millennium penthouse 6147 on 4-26-2009 has anyone been in this suite & can anyone tell me the extras we can expect since this is our first time in a suite or a celebrity cruise?

Thanks

John

I've been in a similar suite on the Summit.

The suite is wonderful. We greatly enjoyed the suite itself which is clearly one of the largest suites availably on any cruise line and the verandah was enourmous and we enjoyed that as well. We had dinner in the room on a few evenings; once on the verandah when leaving a port late at night and a couple of times in the dining room of the suite. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast there each and every day.

You also have a large refrigerator which the butler can stock with almost anything you can think of.

It was great.

Keith

Thanks for the help, there are 4 of us how is sleeping?

We've been in the PH numerous times on Millennium and it's a great suite. The only problem is the sleeping arrangements. There is only one bedroom and the others will sleep on a pull out sofa in the living room---and sorry to say it's not a comfortable bed. I really have no idea why they have such a luxurious suite and only one bedroom. There is a 3/4 bath right next to the kitchen which has a small shower. The real plus of that suite is the HUGE balcony. It's fantastic. More than enough chairs and lots of sun space for tanning. There's also a large umbrella table where you can have any of your meals brought in. But, not much else is included, so you'll still have to pay for your bottled water and soda.

If you want anything in terms of food, just ask. I love mangos and our butler provided that for me every day. We also had shrimp cocktails and fresh cheese and fruit every evening. Just ask, and if they have it, they will keep it for you in the kitchen.

We love the Penthouse on Celebrity's M Class. The veranda alone, which is located aft and is one half the size of the entire back of the ship, is wonderful. The suite is huge with two full bathrooms, a living room, dining room that seats 8, an enormous bathroom with a deep jacuzzi tub that overlooks the ocean.

wow I need to book this room.

Good luck---they are the first booked for every cruise as there are only two of them on each ship. We've found they book as early as 18 months out.

We've been in the PH numerous times on Millennium and it's a great suite. The only problem is the sleeping arrangements. There is only one bedroom and the others will sleep on a pull out sofa in the living room---and sorry to say it's not a comfortable bed. I really have no idea why they have such a luxurious suite and only one bedroom. There is a 3/4 bath right next to the kitchen which has a small shower. The real plus of that suite is the HUGE balcony. It's fantastic. More than enough chairs and lots of sun space for tanning. There's also a large umbrella table where you can have any of your meals brought in. But, not much else is included, so you'll still have to pay for your bottled water and soda.

 

If you want anything in terms of food, just ask. I love mangos and our butler provided that for me every day. We also had shrimp cocktails and fresh cheese and fruit every evening. Just ask, and if they have it, they will keep it for you in the kitchen.

Thanks for the help, am going to sail for 12 days from hnl to canada with 3 daughters, guess who will get couch! can they setup cot?

John

We had a cot brought in the Royal Suite when one of our boys cruised with us on Infinity. There should be no problem setting one up in the living room of the Penthouse.

royal caribbean has 1/2BR lofts (duplexes) and a 4BR

norwegian has 3BRs

the world has 3BRs and possibly a 6BR

We have been in the RS on Mariner. That was nice. Very big, large veranda and an extra full bath off of the living room (shower, no tub). Have stayed in the RS on Grandeur. That too was big, although not as big as the one on Mariner. The veranda was half the size and overall the room wasn't as nice as Mariners. We stayed in an Owner Suite on Regatta (Oceania). It was on the back of the ship and was too noisey for me. Room was nice however and came with butler service which was nice. We also stayed in a Medallion suite on Silver Whisper (Silver Sea). Not the biggest on the ship but nice and the bedroom shut off from the rest of the room. They also provide non-stop Pommery (champagne), as well as all other drinks. That was quite nice.

Mark

just noticed regent has 2BRs as well

Any word on the Carnival, Ecstasy penthouse suites?