Penthouse Suites---? Your experiences?

[Toranut97]

Congrats on your upgrade!

 

My very favorite ....breakfast out on the large balcony in my fluffy robe watching as we sail through the beautiful water...seeing fish and birds while sipping coffee, or watching small boats surround us while pulling into port..what a treat!!

Jancruz1

 

....and I say "Thanks" to our fabulous TA!!!!

[SunDapple]

Never heard of any such restriction. I'm sure that they would prefer that you keep it to one restaurant, but your butler should be able to serve anything that you would like.

We've had great success with giving our butler half of his tip up front.....after that, we never hear the word no ;)

 

 

We were in 8032 and it was our butler who informed us of this restriction, last summer on Insignia. I won't have the opportunity to re-test the restriction until February 2011, when we will sail in the same cabin around the Horn in South America.

[StanandJim]

We were in 8032 and it was our butler who informed us of this restriction, last summer on Insignia. I won't have the opportunity to re-test the restriction until February 2011, when we will sail in the same cabin around the Horn in South America.

 

Odds are that you will have a different butler (even in the same room), so "the restriction" probably won't even be discussed.

 

If the weather is fair, as you 'round the horn, dinner on ones cabin balcony is a VERY hot ticket......enjoy your cruise! :D

[jpalbny]

We were in 8032 and it was our butler who informed us of this restriction, last summer on Insignia. I won't have the opportunity to re-test the restriction until February 2011, when we will sail in the same cabin around the Horn in South America.

 

That seems odd, especially because Polo and Toscana share the same kitchen space...

 

We have eaten from Polo and Toscana tons of times in our cabin (both PH and OS), and have never heard of that restriction either. Unfortunately, I can't remember for sure if we ever tried to mix courses from different restaurants within the same meal. Somehow all of the wine has clouded my memory. :o

[orchestrapal]

We were never limited to ordering from one restaurant on our recent Insignia cruise. We often mixed where we ordered our dinners from and our butler always delivered with a big :D smile.:D

By the way, what do you all who stay in suites tip your butler in addition to the automatic tips? We have always thought we tipped generously but have always also wondered,'is it too much or is it enough???:)

[Leonid]

Never heard of any such restriction. I'm sure that they would prefer that you keep it to one restaurant, but your butler should be able to serve anything that you would like.

We've had great success with giving our butler half of his tip up front.....after that, we never hear the word no ;)

 

1. Even when we book an OS, which is whenever we can and most of the time, we always order from the same restaurant...makes life easier for the butler.

 

2. Tipping half up front? what do you guys do...go down to the front desk and tell them not to apply the gratuities automatically? Tipping up front tells the butler that you have no confidence in his professional ability...amazing but not surprising.

[orchestrapal]

1. Even when we book an OS, which is whenever we can and most of the time, we always order from the same restaurant...makes life easier for the butler. Our butler encouraged us to mix and match. He seemed to get great pleasure offering what he thought were the best dishes from each menu.

2. Tipping half up front? what do you guys do...go down to the front desk and tell them not to apply the gratuities automatically? Tipping up front tells the butler that you have no confidence in his professional ability...amazing but not surprising.

I believe this referred to additional tips beyond the automatic ones.

[GrammieK]

I know I will be sorry I posted this, but we always give the butler something up front and maybe something more at the end, but NO we do not have the automatic tips removed. (Please be gentle with me - I just had a root canal)

[wripro]

Sounds like you had a lazy butler, sundapple.

[Oceanurse]

We were never limited to ordering from one restaurant on our recent Insignia cruise. We often mixed where we ordered our dinners from and our butler always delivered with a big :D smile.:D

By the way, what do you all who stay in suites tip your butler in addition to the automatic tips? We have always thought we tipped generously but have always also wondered,'is it too much or is it enough???:)

 

We also tipped extra- it seemed appropriate with dinner serving. In the middle and at the end we also tipped our butler and room staff. They were all fantastic!:D

[cruzmaven]

We loved our PH but our butler never informed us that we could order room service from the specialty restaurants. Don't know that we would have done so but it would have been nice to be given the option.

 

I know one day we asked him to help us get a last minute reservation in Polo that he wasn't able to get us, you would think he would have suggested we order in.

 

The one night we did order room service for dinner, I think I ended up with a tuna sandwich from the regular room service menu, a fillet from Polo would have a little better.;)

[wripro]

The fact that you can order in from any restaurant in a PH is clearly listed in the amenities in the brochures.

[Rickey 88]

We loved our PH but our butler never informed us that we could order room service from the specialty restaurants. Don't know that we would have done so but it would have been nice to be given the option.

 

I know one day we asked him to help us get a last minute reservation in Polo that he wasn't able to get us, you would think he would have suggested we order in.

 

The one night we did order room service for dinner, I think I ended up with a tuna sandwich from the regular room service menu, a fillet from Polo would have a little better.;)

 

It is quite clear in ALL printed Oceania documents that one of the benefits with PH suites is being able to order dinner (or lunch or breakfast) from ANY of the restaurants during regular hours. Your butler is supposed to bring you that day's menu from whatever restaurant you wish.

 

A "tuna sandwich" for dinner would have been completely unacceptable to anyone. Did you not consider making a complaint?

[cruzmaven]

I'm sure it is clearly listed in the brochure amenities, unfortunately I didn't cruise with a copy of the brochure.

 

In the documentation provided in the suite itself there was no mention, that I recall, of any options other than the regular room service menu, hence the tuna sandwich. At no time during our 14 day cruise did our butler did not bring any additional ordering options to our attention. BTW, the butler was pleasant and friendly and otherwise helpful, he just didn't for whatever reason, did not feel it necessary to remind us that other room service options were available.

 

I didn't complain about the tuna sandwich. I don't recall there being anything wrong with the tuna sandwich, I'm sure it was a perfectly fine tuna sandwich. But had I been reminded of my options, maybe I would have been inspired to reach a little higher in my selection.

 

Since this is such a clearly listed perk, I would think the available menus would have been provided in the suite and/or our butler could have asked if we wanted to review them prior to ordering.

 

I'm not really complaining here people, just relating my experience for the benefit of the OP. :cool:

[Mura]

I have to say that all of our Oceania cruises have been in a PH or above and we also were unaware that we could order room service from any of the dining rooms! I guess is never occurred to us. On those rare occasions when we did order room service, we did it from the basic menu.

 

Now we know better!

[joan24]

I have to say that all of our Oceania cruises have been in a PH or above and we also were unaware that we could order room service from any of the dining rooms! I guess is never occurred to us. On those rare occasions when we did order room service, we did it from the basic menu.

 

Now we know better!

 

I've abeen on 4 Oceania cruises all in PH suites and not one butler ever mentioned ordering from menus other than room service. I was aware that it was offered but never thought to ask for a menu. It would have been nice during our port intensive cruises. It sems as if it would be a nice thing to do. We'll try it on the Marina.

Joan

[yarramar]

We have a PH booked on our upcoming cruise and I knew that we were able to order from specialty restaurants from the O website.

 

I have even marked the days I will be ordering in on my Itinerary (those where we are back late after a full day) and have also downloaded the menus!

I guess my only surprise will be the differing items on each menu on the day.

 

BTW, as I am new to this (Aussie), can anyone suggest what sort of tip is appropriate to give our butler when he brings our room service? Please dont tell me it is up to me to decide.

[LHT28]

BTW, as I am new to this (Aussie), can anyone suggest what sort of tip is appropriate to give our butler when he brings our room service? Please dont tell me it is up to me to decide.

 

I guess it depends on how often you ask the butler to do things for you

 

You are already paying him $4-5 pp pd for his services ;) in the auto tips or pre paid gratuities

[GrammieK]

I knew that the specialty restaurants were available as room service in PH's when we booked. Even if I had forgotten about it, I recall the butler bringing the menus to us and asking us to be sure and let him know when we wanted this service. I seem to remember that on one particular night we asked for room service from POLO after a long touring day. The butler asked us if we would we consider having dinner a little later because so many passengers had already arranged for the time we asked for. It was no problem for us - we just sat in our robes on the balcony longer. In my opinion, this is one of the best perks in PH's! Sometimes my husband has just had enough of socializing - this enables me to get on the longer and more port intensive cruises. We would be lost without it! Thanks again "O"

K

[pondnana]

We have a PH booked on our upcoming cruise

BTW, as I am new to this (Aussie), can anyone suggest what sort of tip is appropriate to give our butler when he brings our room service? Please dont tell me it is up to me to decide.

 

We never tip the butler for specific services but give him something extra at the end of the cruise - $5 a day for extraordinary service.

[SunDapple]

Sounds like you had a lazy butler, sundapple.

 

 

It never occurred to me to argue with him. I just accepted the disappointment and moved on. I am happy that I did not have to order from the basic menu however, if that had been the case I would be bitter.

If we find that we do have the same butler next year (Paolo from Brazil), although not likely, I will certainly be more demanding. ;)

[NanceVV]

Mountain Grandma, We were on an Insignia cruise in June with Pat and Chuck and had a great time with them. I would love to get in touch with them but don't think they would be reading the roll call board anymore. Could you ask Chuck to send me an email at c08ruisin@aol.com. I would really appreciate it! Thanks so much!

[DOJO466]

I have to say that all of our Oceania cruises have been in a PH or above and we also were unaware that we could order room service from any of the dining rooms! I guess is never occurred to us. On those rare occasions when we did order room service, we did it from the basic menu.

 

Now we know better!

On our TA in Mar2010 we were upgraded to PH. I knew I read somewhere on the board that we could order from the other venues. When we asked our butler to bring menus (none were provided in room at any time) he brought Grand Dining Room only.He never once mentioned to us that we could order anything but the regular menu (and yes I did the tuna sandwich) So we assumed we could only order from there. Silly us, we knew we could order from Polo/Toscana but refrained due to ? asking for too much??. We are booked in a ph on Marina in Feb11 and you can be sure we will "buttle his butt off". And now we have so many venues from which to choose.

As for tipping, we generally wait until the end and give an extra amount depending on service. I think Jim & Stan have the right idea..give some morsels up front..it may go a long way.

[mountain grandma]

Mountain Grandma, We were on an Insignia cruise in June with Pat and Chuck and had a great time with them. I would love to get in touch with them but don't think they would be reading the roll call board anymore. Could you ask Chuck to send me an email at c08ruisin@aol.com. I would really appreciate it! Thanks so much!

 

NanceVV--I will be happy to pass the word along to Chuck. You're right that he is not reading CC now since he's not as addicted as I am :). They enjoyed sailing with you also. They are booked with us on the Marina "Northern Knights" cruise in July, 2011 and we are all looking forward to sailing on her.

 

Billie

[NanceVV]

Thanks so much , Mountain Grandma! I guess I am almost as addicted as you as I find myself checking back on CC just to read through the posts. We have not decided about cruising with Oceania next year yet. We have a couple of other trip options that we are considering, although as a 4 time Oceania cruiser, I would miss not sailing with them next year. I would love to hear your feedback on Marina after your trip next year. Thanks for passing my note along to Chuck. It would be nice to hear from them.