Another newbie with questions - NCL Pearl forward Penthouse (SE) suites

[jazzinj]

Hi there,

 

I'm new on this board, and brand new to NCL - this will be only our 2nd family cruise experience, and our first with NCL.

 

I've been researching and reading for days! I do have a few questions:

 

1. We booked an SE forward penthouse (10502) for the 4 of us (2 adults, 2 children), for the 7 day Western Caribbean out of Miami. My TA booked this one because I requested separate sleeping areas for my 2 kids, and she was told that 10502 has a queen bed, a double sofa bed, and a single sofa bed (whereas 10500, although bigger inside, only allows a queen and a double sofa bed) - can anyone confirm this? I saw some pix that someone posted of 10502 on the NCL Jewel, and I didn't see a double and a single sofa bed in there... Apparently NCL doesn't have/allow rollaway beds?

 

2. I read all the posts about how windy the balconies are in the forward suites, so much so that you can't use them while at sea - has anyone done the western caribbean route, and is it really too windy to go out there?

 

3. I have also read that the forward suites are a lot rockier, is this true? On our one and only cruise experience we were in an aft suite on DCL, and we found it a little rocky, but more that we had a restaurant above us and moving the deck chairs made a bit of noise, also lots of stuff fell onto our balcony, and when we docked there was a lot of noise from the motors backing the ship into the dock. My son and I seemed to be the most affected by the rocking sensation, we were both seasick for the first day, I got over it in a day but he was still feeling woozy for another couple of days - I just wanted to know what to expect (and stock up on motion sickness pills, if necessary!)

 

Thanks and looking forward to experiencing NCL!

 

J

[jazzinj]

sorry, posted a new topic accidentally in my other posting.

[mike@sea]

I was on the Gem last year (sister ship, identical cabins) in a forward penthouse deck 9. Although the ones on deck 10 are slightly bigger, I doubt that they have 2 sofa beds. Maybe 1, definitely not two. As far as I remember NCL states that Penthouses are for double occupancy only. That is definitely true for the one on deck 9. The tiny sofa did not look like a sofa bed to me. Better call NCL and double check. Maybe they have changed it meanwhile.

 

Otherwise , the location as well as the cabin itself is fabulous. The balcony, although bigger on deck 9, is outsanding and extremely quiet. Loved it. As far as being "rocky", I did not notice much difference and never felt seasick, despite some rocking and rolling towards Lisbon. And that was on a transatlantic from New York to Venice. I´d get the same cabin again in a heartbeat.

[jazzinj]

We had the option of 10000 and 10502 when booking. Our TA called NCL and they told her that while 10000 is larger inside, 10502 has a double sofa bed and a single sofa bed. I looked at the pics from a post by 'Planer's Edge' of the Jewel forward penthouse (I think it was also 10502), and all I saw was a sofa and a chair, and you're right, the sofa didn't look like it could become a bed.

 

Now I'm really wondering - I think I will call NCL and double check - stay tuned!

 

J

 

p.s. Thanks for the feedback about the forward suites - one last question, what's better, deck 9 or 10 forward penthouse suites? I think there are still forward suites available on deck 9. No midship penthouse suites left on this cruise.

[mike@sea]

I prefer deck 9 due to the fabulous size of it´s balcony with great furniture by the way. # 9000 and 9500.

 

Deck 10 balcony is shorter and due to the bigger cabin size near bed (which makes room for a slightly bigger sofa ) .

[jazzinj]

Okay - I got the answer - I called NCL.

 

Apparently the 10502 suite on the Pearl got refurnished and it does have a king sized bed, and two sofa beds. 10500 and 10000 only have a queen sized bed and a sofa bed, BUT it allows for a rollaway bed. I am really frustrated with my TA because she told me that they would not allow the rollaway bed in those suites so I picked 10502, and 10500 and 10000 are 70sf bigger inside (and for us, cabin size is more important than balcony size). I can't switch anymore because the price went up since last week and I'd have to pay $250 more for the same options that I had before! That would essentially wipe out the $300 obc that I would get, so I'm not going to do it. I'm still frustrated with my TA - honestly, I researched so much online that I actually knew more than she did by the time I went to book with her, I was practically walking her through the booking. I will not use her again!

 

Oh well, lesson learned. I'm not going to let it get to me, plus I am going to focus on the fact that A) we're going on a cruise, B) Our balcony is bigger, and C) we're going on a cruise :D

[McCurler]

That is great information to know- we are looking at a cruise on the Pearl in 2013! Your attitude is awesome- enjoy your sweet suite cruise!

[joyy7403]

Okay - I got the answer - I called NCL.

 

Apparently the 10502 suite on the Pearl got refurnished and it does have a king sized bed, and two sofa beds. 10500 and 10000 only have a queen sized bed and a sofa bed, BUT it allows for a rollaway bed. I am really frustrated with my TA because she told me that they would not allow the rollaway bed in those suites so I picked 10502, and 10500 and 10000 are 70sf bigger inside (and for us, cabin size is more important than balcony size). I can't switch anymore because the price went up since last week and I'd have to pay $250 more for the same options that I had before! That would essentially wipe out the $300 obc that I would get, so I'm not going to do it. I'm still frustrated with my TA - honestly, I researched so much online that I actually knew more than she did by the time I went to book with her, I was practically walking her through the booking. I will not use her again!

 

Oh well, lesson learned. I'm not going to let it get to me, plus I am going to focus on the fact that A) we're going on a cruise, B) Our balcony is bigger, and C) we're going on a cruise :D

 

We used a TA once and the same thing happened. We knew more than she did. Never again! Now we do all of our research and have our own PCC at NCL to book it for us. He will keep watching for any other deals available. We just booked cabin 9500 on the Star for a 14 day Caribbean cruise next October. Our first suite! I can't wait!!

[jazzinj]

Okay, well I can't really fault my TA on this one - different NCL people were giving us all different information. Between the two of us, we contacted a total of 5 different NCL people. Two said rollaways are okay in 10000 and 10500, three said no. The latter were right. The standard write-up on penthouse suites have an indicator of "crib or rollaway bed", then the ones that allow rollaways will say "rollaway allowed if crib not used". In this case on the Pearl rollaway is not allowed in 10500 and 10000.

 

So I was in fact booked to the right suite. I did find out, however, that 9502, which is directly below, has a bigger cabin and a bigger balcony: 266sf balcony, and 294sf cabin vs. 208sf balcony and 281sf cabin in 10502. We switched to 9502, which has the queen bed, convertible double, convertible single, and space for a crib! That extra 13sf really makes a difference :p

[ibcw]

I would love to hear some feedback on the family suites on deck 11. We just booked one today and when I looked at the pictures on line wasn't really sure where we would all sleep. We are going with 3 adults and two small children - ages 3 and 1 years.

Thanks.