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Our First Suite, and Our First Aft

Turtles06

By Turtles06,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Turtles06 Great Review Rare

Turtles06

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Our recent 12-night Mediterranean cruise on the Jade was our first in a suite, and our first in an aft cabin. After reading all the raves about NCL suites, and given the length of this trip, we decided to be good to ourselves and go for it here, as well as to try an aft cabin. We're certainly glad we did.

 

The suite was an AD on deck 10. It was spacious and comfortable, and the balcony was huge (two lounge chairs, two regular chairs, and a small table). We certainly appreciated the extra interior room on a trip of this length, and really enjoyed the large balcony as well.

 

For us, the two suite "perks" that made the most difference in our enjoyment of this cruise were breakfast and lunch at Cagneys and our incredible concierge, Monica. Not only was the food at Cagneys yummy, but I suspect that our being able to avoid the buffet may have been one reason that neither of us succumbed to the norovirus that is plaguing this ship. (Breakfast was the best. Lunch was a bit "heavy" after a while, and the menu a bit too limited.)

 

As for Monica, she is incredible. We had no idea before this cruise what a difference a concierge could make or really what we would use one for. Well, we soon found out! We took this cruise because of the ports, and we had arranged private shore excursions in each (except for Malta, which we did on our own). As soon as the ship was cleared in each port, Monica escorted us (and the several non-suite passengers going with us) off the ship, saving us a long wait in line to get off and maximizing the precious amount of time we had ashore. Monica was always gracious and helpful, and it's hard to think of cruising again without her!

 

Mr. T, our butler, was also available to take care of our in-cabin needs, and we did use him for several room service meals, and appreciated the canapes that appeared in the evenings. Like most of the staff, he was friendly and helpful and eager to make life on board as comfortable for us as he could. For us, though, having a concierge was far more important than having a butler.

 

As for the aft suite, we enjoyed the quiet and privacy very much, as well as the view of the wake and the splendid sailaways from the ports. We thought this would be a good cruise to try an aft cabin, since winter winds in the Med were likely to make the balconies on the forward suites pretty cold and perhaps not very useable. In contrast, we were able to sit out on our balcony a good bit. In fact, the last day was almost uncomfortably warm since there was so little wind.

 

To answer those who frequently ask about the fact that part of the balcony on these AD suites is "exposed" to the two decks above: it's only the foot or so near the rail, the rest is totally private. It was never a problem for us. Also, only once did we have cigarette ash blow down from above; again, no problem here.

 

Being in the aft meant, as we knew it would, a long walk to pretty much everything else on the ship. After a while, that did get a little old. I can't say that I've been converted to the "only aft" group, but I would certainly consider an aft again, depending on the trip.

 

We had a fantastic time on this cruise, and I'm sure that having a suite and all that went with it was a very large factor in how much we enjoyed ourselves.

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DMH15

DMH15

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Our recent 12-night Mediterranean cruise on the Jade was our first in a suite, and our first in an aft cabin. After reading all the raves about NCL suites, and given the length of this trip, we decided to be good to ourselves and go for it here, as well as to try an aft cabin. We're certainly glad we did.

 

The suite was an AD on deck 10. It was spacious and comfortable, and the balcony was huge (two lounge chairs, two regular chairs, and a small table). We certainly appreciated the extra interior room on a trip of this length, and really enjoyed the large balcony as well.

 

For us, the two suite "perks" that made the most difference in our enjoyment of this cruise were breakfast and lunch at Cagneys and our incredible concierge, Monica. Not only was the food at Cagneys yummy, but I suspect that our being able to avoid the buffet may have been one reason that neither of us succumbed to the norovirus that is plaguing this ship. (Breakfast was the best. Lunch was a bit "heavy" after a while, and the menu a bit too limited.)

 

As for Monica, she is incredible. We had no idea before this cruise what a difference a concierge could make or really what we would use one for. Well, we soon found out! We took this cruise because of the ports, and we had arranged private shore excursions in each (except for Malta, which we did on our own). As soon as the ship was cleared in each port, Monica escorted us (and the several non-suite passengers going with us) off the ship, saving us a long wait in line to get off and maximizing the precious amount of time we had ashore. Monica was always gracious and helpful, and it's hard to think of cruising again without her!

 

Mr. T, our butler, was also available to take care of our in-cabin needs, and we did use him for several room service meals, and appreciated the canapes that appeared in the evenings. Like most of the staff, he was friendly and helpful and eager to make life on board as comfortable for us as he could. For us, though, having a concierge was far more important than having a butler.

 

As for the aft suite, we enjoyed the quiet and privacy very much, as well as the view of the wake and the splendid sailaways from the ports. We thought this would be a good cruise to try an aft cabin, since winter winds in the Med were likely to make the balconies on the forward suites pretty cold and perhaps not very useable. In contrast, we were able to sit out on our balcony a good bit. In fact, the last day was almost uncomfortably warm since there was so little wind.

 

To answer those who frequently ask about the fact that part of the balcony on these AD suites is "exposed" to the two decks above: it's only the foot or so near the rail, the rest is totally private. It was never a problem for us. Also, only once did we have cigarette ash blow down from above; again, no problem here.

 

Being in the aft meant, as we knew it would, a long walk to pretty much everything else on the ship. After a while, that did get a little old. I can't say that I've been converted to the "only aft" group, but I would certainly consider an aft again, depending on the trip.

 

We had a fantastic time on this cruise, and I'm sure that having a suite and all that went with it was a very large factor in how much we enjoyed ourselves.

 

My last cruise was an aft AC on the Sun. I agree with your assessment exactly. Our concierge, Karin was excellent and made our trip fantastic. Our butler was a little lacking, but we didn't let it ruin our trip. On the Sun the breakfast and lunch is in Il Adagio instead of Cagney's (there is no Cagney's on the Sun) and I agree with you it is a wonderful place to start the day. Even with the old changing menu, lunch got old (too repetitive), and I wish with the new fixed menus in Cagney's that they would offer at least one daily special. I like long cruises, 2 weeks or so, so I can imagine the limited fixed menu might get really old fast.

 

If you decide to cruise on the Sun anytime, the AC aft is a wonderful suite with the most awesome balcony. And since the Sun is smaller than the Jade, you might not feel the walk to be so tedious. My mom and I sailed in February on a 2 week South American cruise and my mom is 75 and has trouble walking real far, and she has to walk slow. But she did feel like the aft walk was manageable for her, especially when the cabin and balcony were so worth it.

 

Thanks for sharing yoru comments, as I hope to be on the Jade next.

 

Happy cruising.

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Turtles06 Great Review Rare

Turtles06

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Did you happen to notice or meet anyone in the neighboring AD aft balcony to see if they had loungers? Or AE on deck 8 or 9 above you to see how big those balconies are ? Thanks.

 

It's my understanding that the interior of the AE suites on decks 8 and 9 are identical to the interior of the AD suites on deck 10, but that the balconies of the AEs are smaller. And sorry, I couldn't see around the partition between our suite and the aft balcony next door, although I recall reading on other threads here that those balconies are bigger than they are for the same cabins on the sides of the ship. Perhaps others can confirm this. In any event, if you call NCL, they can give you the actual specs.

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