Did we set our expectations too high for our first taste of the suite life?

[Medtech2]

Ask your butler :)

 

 

 

 

.

Yeah, but what I am reading here in these many pages is that it is hit or miss whether you will even see your butler the first day. Some have said they were never shown how to work things.

 

Like I said, I can find my way around, but I would appreciate some instruction on the (in)famous Lavazza. I will want some caffeine sooner rather than later. Surely one of you could be helpful and point me in the right direction? :)

[margretha]

The "specialness" of being a suite passenger is, I think, in the eye of the consumer. We have had Patrick and found him just what we hoped to get: someone who knew everything about everything, was always good-humored, made sure we were OK whatever we were doing but he did not stand around making small talk with us or becoming our buddy or, to us - even worse - popping up at your shoulder annoyingly like Carsten or someone. We were on the ship in a suite to have more room, bathtubs, great views and fun. Some people like to have someone unpacking or taking their elbow to escort them to the door of their suite and..... To us the suite is like a better hotel room. I guess we are the type of passengers or hotel guests who just like to get on with the trip or the cruise. And the whole Cagney's wasn't open thing? As we were boarding people still seemed to be leaving, milling around the terminal area. I am always amazed how busy everyone is and don't see how we are not actually impediments to the staff as we swan around in a bar, waiting for Cagney's to recover from their last breakfast servings. We've booked again. And hope Patrick will be there to do what he does in his vigilant, discreet way.

margretha

[RickB56]

I was solo in an aft suite on the 1/26 sailing out of Tampa and Patrick pretty much ignored me.

[isdoo]

Yeah, but what I am reading here in these many pages is that it is hit or miss whether you will even see your butler the first day. Some have said they were never shown how to work things.

 

Like I said, I can find my way around, but I would appreciate some instruction on the (in)famous Lavazza. I will want some caffeine sooner rather than later. Surely one of you could be helpful and point me in the right direction? :)

 

My initial reply still stands.

 

Ask your butler :)

 

If you have not seen him, then call him/her and ask them to pop by to demonstrate it to to you.

 

That is what they are there for after all.

[Byron_1978]

I said it before here: we were not so much impressed with both concierge (Patrick) and butler (Roland). After reading all the posts here, I've come to think that either Patrick didn't care or he was being very discreet and we didn't pick up on that. As for Roland, it is possible we were not aware of all the things he did for us.

 

Maybe this is the case also for some other people here.

 

 

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[lisakoivu]

The "specialness" of being a suite passenger is, I think, in the eye of the consumer. We have had Patrick and found him just what we hoped to get: someone who knew everything about everything, was always good-humored, made sure we were OK whatever we were doing but he did not stand around making small talk with us or becoming our buddy or, to us - even worse - popping up at your shoulder annoyingly like Carsten or someone. We were on the ship in a suite to have more room, bathtubs, great views and fun. Some people like to have someone unpacking or taking their elbow to escort them to the door of their suite and..... To us the suite is like a better hotel room. I guess we are the type of passengers or hotel guests who just like to get on with the trip or the cruise. And the whole Cagney's wasn't open thing? As we were boarding people still seemed to be leaving, milling around the terminal area. I am always amazed how busy everyone is and don't see how we are not actually impediments to the staff as we swan around in a bar, waiting for Cagney's to recover from their last breakfast servings. We've booked again. And hope Patrick will be there to do what he does in his vigilant, discreet way.

margretha

 

I agree 100%. And for some people, there's no specialness to be found ....

[Tiggertastic]

That's good to hear. We were hoping our experience was unique and associated with Patrick. Your words are encouraging; we won't give up on the suite life. We too were in a lowly Penthouse and we also wondered if that had something to do with it.

 

Hi Mike, hope you are both well (we were on the Breakaway with you)

 

It seems the ball got dropped in the initial elevator - they are supposed to take you to an area together where they give you a warm welcome and then lunch. Patrick was our concierge at Christmas on the Sun and was fabulous so it seems that he needs to give a few of the staff a bit of a rocket up the you know what.

 

It isn't normally like that so don'r give up on it - although we have never had a butler show us round the suite. They have gone as far as showing us the coffee machine and then never used them for anything. We learnt to make sure the concierge knows who you are, ask then to take care of a couple of small things and they don't forget you.

 

Jan

[georgiajersey]

I agree with a lot of posters - we book suites because of the extra space and privacy, not necessarily what can be done for us. That said, we do love the extra attention and perks. Our Panama Canal cruise in the Pearl GV was wonderful, mostly due to Roland's service. It was great returning from an excursion and having plates of sandwiches ready. Pour a drink, pick a sandwich and relax. My husband's coffee and pastries were always waiting for him at 5 a.m. We ate in the suite almost every night and Roland served dinner & poured wine magnificently!

As we were in aft penthouses on the Sun, we certainly weren't the "highest" on Patrick's list, but he was there every morning to greet us, make sure our plans were set for the day, gave us maps of all the ports, etc. We had two people in wheelchairs and he worked with dining room staff to make sure we had a table to comfortably accommodate us. Not much more we could have asked for. Embarkation was fine and easy, unlike the concierge on the Pearl who pointed a finger at us telling us "let's go" - it was at that point my husband wanted to ask for our very minimal tip back.

I also believe that there is a learning curve involved and after staying in a few suites, I know what to expect, what to ask for, etc.

There are also, as everywhere, different personalities - we got along wonderfully well with Virginia and Patrick, yet did not like another concierge who most people rave about - that's what makes the world go round!:)

[mianmike]

Hi Mike, hope you are both well (we were on the Breakaway with you)

 

It seems the ball got dropped in the initial elevator - they are supposed to take you to an area together where they give you a warm welcome and then lunch. Patrick was our concierge at Christmas on the Sun and was fabulous so it seems that he needs to give a few of the staff a bit of a rocket up the you know what.

 

It isn't normally like that so don'r give up on it - although we have never had a butler show us round the suite. They have gone as far as showing us the coffee machine and then never used them for anything. We learnt to make sure the concierge knows who you are, ask then to take care of a couple of small things and they don't forget you.

 

Jan

 

Hi Jan, yes we remember you. We enjoyed meeting you and David. We thought our Breakaway meet-n-greet was very enjoyable . . . one of the best.

 

Good to hear you had a good experience with Patrick. We definitely have not given up on suites. We had a pleasurable cruise. Our next cruise in a suite will be much different (and better) as we know what to expect.

 

Everyone’s input into suite perks or lack thereof has been very helpful.

 

Thanks!

[philip_eunice1]

Garden Villa on the Sun? Where is that one hidden?

 

 

Lol to funny

 

 

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[PatJim]

I really like the suite life on the Gem. We stayed in a Aft. Penthouse 8132. The concierge Florentino was awesome. Everything was great From the start to finish of the cruise.

 

 

:) That was also our experience with Florentina, in our first suite, an aft penthouse. She came to our cabin to see if there was anything we needed. So sorry she's no longer with NCL. It's never occurred to us, being in aft penthouse and forward penthouse suites, that we got "less than" because we weren't in the Haven or in a very expensive suite. We deliberately avoid booking a Haven suite (too isolated for us), and are usually happy with both the concierge and butler services we receive. So I would have to agree with those who say it's the individual concierge, and not general unwritten policy to under-serve penthouse suite guests.

For our next two cruises, we'll be in non-Haven (of course) 2-bedroom family suites, then it's back to a penthouse aft.

[AF-1]

MedTech2, if you are interested in how to run the Lavazza expresso machine, go to youtube and type in Lavazza, there are several videos showing how to use it; that way you will already be checked out on use of the machine prior to getting on ship.

[VideoTech]

We have never been disappointed with the suite experience, from embarkation to disembarkation. The system does vary some from port to port, and ship to ship. However, in every case we have had the following:

 

Separate check in area, with snacks and so on. We have always met the concierge there, and often met the butlers.

 

Escort onto the ship, directly to Cagney's. Never had to wait because Cagney's wasn't ready.

 

We have never been escorted to our cabin, and wouldn't expect to be. We always find our way there when the announcement is made.

 

We have always met our cabin steward and Butler (if we haven't already met him/her during check in), at some point during the afternoon of the boarding day, usually before sail-away.

 

They (steward and butler) have always made an effort to introduce themselves, see if we needed anything, and offered to show us how to work the Lavazza, as well as anything else in the cabin we needed help with.

 

Had all staff members stay in touch and check on our needs during the cruise itself. Contact with the concierge was generally during breakfast or lunch at Cagney's, unless we called him/her with a specific request.

 

Received a letter from the Concierge outlining priority tendering procedures, and then priority disembarkation.

 

Met the concierge at the appointed place for disembarkation, and had him/her escort us through the checkout procedure to the gangway of the ship.

 

The only exception to our overall satisfaction level was on our recent POA Hawaii cruise. There was nothing wrong with the service level, and all the above criteria were met, but there was just a somewhat different attitude. I plan to discuss this on my upcoming POA review, hopefully posting in a few days.

[Medtech2]

MedTech2, if you are interested in how to run the Lavazza expresso machine, go to youtube and type in Lavazza, there are several videos showing how to use it; that way you will already be checked out on use of the machine prior to getting on ship.

Thanks for actually answering my question! The video was very helpful. I was beginning to get a complex as to why no one would answer a simple question... :)

[AF-1]

Your welcome. Glad I could help out. Have fun.

[gmasters]

Lol to funny

 

 

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Ok guys leave this poor girl alone, but yes I was wrong it was the STAR, we have been on the Sun in the past and do know that THEY do not have Villa, and funny maybe it's because that our next cruise in October will be on SUN that it was on my mind

But still any cruise is better than Traveling in our motorhome, no cleaning, cooking, space is about the same in the bathroom so we still can't shower together ...

Thanks for the morning laugh about the Sun having a villa...

 

 

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[Kosi]

This is the thing about NCL and the perks of suites.. you just never know what you are going to get..

 

Our example is.. same ship..Jewel.. one year we booked 2 BR Haven penthouse.. wonderful treatment.. etc. Next year we booked the owner's suite.. which is not located in the Haven area.... We were never treated special like we were year before.. and our room cost way more than the 2 BR!.. It does seem like if you are in the Haven area.. not aft/forward.. etc.. you will have are more likely to have a better experience.

[lisakoivu]

This is the thing about NCL and the perks of suites.. you just never know what you are going to get..

 

Mama used to say, life is like a Fleet of Ships with Suites... you never know what you're going to get.

 

So sorry, just could NOT resist :D

[david_sobe]

Mama used to say, life is like a Fleet of Ships with Suites... you never know what you're going to get.

 

So sorry, just could NOT resist :D

Ha!

Good one

:)

[mom2tcdx2]

Our first cruise on NCL was on the Star in a forward suite. We loved the room, breakfast at Cagneys, but otherwise the service really wasn't there. Being I had only read things here I wasn't sure if some things we just misunderstood, so I didn't bring them up at the time.

 

I had read we could order from the specialty restaurants or had a different room service menu, when we asked the butler he bought us the same room service menu all cabins had (we had others with us in an oceanview). He seemed very confused when I asked about being able to pay and order from the specialty restaurant.

 

One day we had the 7 of us out on our balcony when going in to see the glaciers and when I ordered some snacks for our group, the butler basically told me I wasn't supposed to be ordering for other people. Even though they could have ordered the room service and brought it to our cabin.

 

We were escorted to our cabin when we boarded, though I don't remember any offer of having lunch at Cagney's. We did dine there for breakfast each morning after that first day, my mother did lunch there a couple times.

 

We did have Patrick as the Concierge, he was very friendly, but otherwise I didn't really use his services though as we were traveling with others who were not in a suite. Though we had problems with the OBC we had placed on the account and my inability to use my card. We boarded Saturday, stopped by daily with guest services through Tuesday. In a discussion with Patrick I mentioned to him my problems and shortly after that our OBC was posted to our account. Not sure if he helped any or not, but it was maybe an hour after talking to him.

 

We have chosen the window suite on the Dawn for November. Mostly we liked the larger room space, breakfasts at Cagney's. Hoping to see a bit better service this time as we won't be traveling with any others that are in different cabins.

[Kaboochi]

We are in a Star penthouse 5/15. I read what services are available and I am expecting to receive them I want to escorted to my room and off the ship and to have the butler explain the coffee maker etc and perform all the duties ncl lists. I am not a demanding cruiser. I just expect to receive what ncl says we get as suite cruisers. As far as Patrick goes, I hope he is not the concierge, or anyone else of his caliber. Seems like a lazy bloke. :(

[rpb718]

I just read a review of the Dawn cruise that ended a week ago on March 30th that mentioned it was the last cruise for Patrick, who was leaving on vacation and then coming back as the concierge for the Sun.

 

My question for anyone just returning from the Dawn cruise ending today on April 6th is, who is the concierge for the Dawn now?

Edited April 6, 2014 by rpb718

[bguppies]

John D'Souza was the concierge for the April 6th sailing of the Dawn and he was outstanding!!!!!

 

I'll type up a full review in here about the ship and suite experience and compare to my previous sailings on Carnival, when I finally get home and get a good night's sleep.

[weltek]

Here is why I don't think you were expecting too much:

 

NCL has repeatedly said that with the launch of EPIC and newer ships, they were trying to garner a new audience with more upscale offerings. If they want to be a serious option for those looking for more luxury, they need to provide higher end service to suite passengers. More attentive service at embarkation and disembarkation wasn't too much to ask. At any luxury hotel, it would be expected. Cruisers have reported better service on Norwegian. I don't see why your expectations would be considered out of line.

[sjde]

Two questions-

 

Everyone keeps talking about lunch at Cagney's the first day. What about on the Breakaway and Getaway? Still? Even though they have their own restaurant in the Haven?

 

Does the steward only clean the room and the butler and concierge are for all else? What is the difference in the butler's duties and the concierge's duties?