First Neptune Suite- a little disappointing

[OlsSalt]

That is good to know....if we ever want to spring for a neptune. It's on my bucket list. But, it will have to be soon because who knows when P'dam will be sold. We spend a LOT of time in the Crow's Nest...could be the perfect location for us!

 

Captain said there were at least five more years for her --two years ago! He felt since CLL invested in the very pricey makeover of the Sun Garden they expected her to sail a least a little bit longer.

 

Glad we cleared up the noise issue because any of the P'dam suites on that wider hall way (four of them?) would be our choice #1 too. Neptune on Sports Deck + next door to Crows Nest is the best of the best on the this ship we think.

 

Don't forget though you do get a shallow balcony with these suites on this deck and have access to only one of the elevators or else you have to go outside or down stairs to cross the ship - (see the deck plan).

 

None of which were drawbacks because the suite in this location more than made up for those adjustments. Some how we loved the shallow balcony because it felt like we were really perched on top of everything with no obstructions.

 

Agree also, these suites are far better for longer cruises when you want the extra room and privacy space. The other Neptune suite benefits do not really add up for a shorter cruise. Look at some of the TA cruises for lower P'dam costs because this is a very pricey option if you are on a port intensive cruise.

 

Ours was Barcelona to the Black Sea, Turkey and back to Athens - very nice cruise to go into the smaller, less frequented ports and a few extras thrown in too like a cruise past Santorini and back out again that was not on the itinerary. Weather threw us a few bumped original ports but we were able to dock closer by and the excursions adapted. Not sure you can do this with the larger ships that have fewer alternate dock choices.

Edited July 17, 2015 by OlsSalt

[OlsSalt]

I don't get "breakfast in the PG" at all on the smaller older ships. It is easy to get a private breakfast table for two in the MDR on a smaller HAL ship and the food is exactly the same as in the PG.

 

igraf

 

it is kind of a "clubby feeling" - same suites passengers you got to know through other activities. Would you substitute "snobby" for clubby? I like "cozy" better. Just kind of fun to be able to meet and greet some of the same people which can get lost in the larger dining venues. Small pleasure, that is all. And the staff has your orange juice and coffee waiting without asking after the first day.

 

On our last ship which was the old Alexander Humbolt, same design - pricey suites under the exercise, forward upper viewing deck. But they roped off this area and made it off limits between 10pm and 7am. People honored this.

Edited July 17, 2015 by OlsSalt

[cruz chic]

Having the most expensive suites right under an active public deck is a design flaw of the older ships. Nothing can be done about not. Dropping down one deck, as in the improved design of the newer ships, is not going to diminish the view very much.

 

I don't get "breakfast in the PG" at all on the smaller older ships. It is easy to get a private breakfast table for two in the MDR on a smaller HAL ship and the food is exactly the same as in the PG.

 

igraf

 

It's not about the food for me. The service is so much better. Generally you don't have to ask 5 times for more coffee.

[kazu]

Having the most expensive suites right under an active public deck is a design flaw of the older ships. Nothing can be done about not. Dropping down one deck, as in the improved design of the newer ships, is not going to diminish the view very much.

 

I don't get "breakfast in the PG" at all on the smaller older ships. It is easy to get a private breakfast table for two in the MDR on a smaller HAL ship and the food is exactly the same as in the PG.

 

igraf

 

Each to their own. the PG can be a very nice place to have breakfast.

 

A good PG can give you such a wonderful start to the day. and they will do little extras that you won't get in the MDR.

 

example - let them know we wouldn't be their the next day as we had an early tour - "we open at 7:30 so if you give us your order, we'll have it done as soon as you get here" and they did!

 

second example - DH on a different tour than I and I saw him off - they saw me walking by and asked about breakfast and I said no thanks, I have to meet my tour group in 10 minutes... they knew I loved my coffee and asked me to wait for a second and I had a lovely cup of coffee to take while I waited :) Those are small ship experiences.

[LindaM]

Captain said there were at least five more years for her --two years ago! He felt since CLL invested in the very pricey makeover of the Sun Garden they expected her to sail a least a little bit longer.

 

Glad we cleared up the noise issue because any of the P'dam suites on that wider hall way (four of them?) would be our choice #1 too. Neptune on Sports Deck + next door to Crows Nest is the best of the best on the this ship we think.

 

Don't forget though you do get a shallow balcony with these suites on this deck and have access to only one of the elevators or else you have to go outside or down stairs to cross the ship - (see the deck plan).

 

None of which were drawbacks because the suite in this location more than made up for those adjustments. Some how we loved the shallow balcony because it felt like we were really perched on top of everything with no obstructions.

 

Agree also, these suites are far better for longer cruises when you want the extra room and privacy space. The other Neptune suite benefits do not really add up for a shorter cruise. Look at some of the TA cruises for lower P'dam costs because this is a very pricey option if you are on a port intensive cruise.

 

Ours was Barcelona to the Black Sea, Turkey and back to Athens - very nice cruise to go into the smaller, less frequented ports and a few extras thrown in too like a cruise past Santorini and back out again that was not on the itinerary. Weather threw us a few bumped original ports but we were able to dock closer by and the excursions adapted. Not sure you can do this with the larger ships that have fewer alternate dock choices.

 

That is when we would get a Neptune...for a TA. We are in our first SY on a TA in November. That's when you can really enjoy a better cabin. Captain Tim told us five years left, two years ago....P'dam cruise from Amsterdam to Barcelona.

[kazu]

That is when we would get a Neptune...for a TA. We are in our first SY on a TA in November. That's when you can really enjoy a better cabin. Captain Tim told us five years left, two years ago....P'dam cruise from Amsterdam to Barcelona.

 

totally agree on the nicer cabin on a TA Linda. Who knows? Maybe the upsell fairy will come calling? ;)

[OlsSalt]

One other drawback for the P'dam Neptune suites - they are so large with a semi divided room plan that you cannot hear when room service knocks -- particularly when one gets hard of hearing anyway.

[Bedruthen]

We had an aft cabin on NA, underneath the Lido deck and also suffered with noise from the deck above. There is however a difference between the noise created by passengers and that created by the deck staff carrying out their duties. In our case it was noise created b the staff stacking and unstacking the sunloungers late at night and at 5am in the morning. Such activities are under the direct control of the ships management and consideration should be given to the effect on passengers occupying the cabins on the deck below. When we complained about the disturbance it was agreed that the staff would not commence placing the sun loungers until after 7.30 am, a compromise which kept both parties happy.

 

Passenger created noise is more difficult to manage given its random and unpredictable nature, but the answer in both cases is not to book a cabin under the lido deck. We had naively assumed that any noise would be restricted to daylight hours, which would not have bothered us, and maybe a late night hose down of the deck. Lesson learnt and we won't ever book a cabin underneath the lido deck again.

[ellieanne]

it is kind of a "clubby feeling" - same suites passengers you got to know through other activities. Would you substitute "snobby" for clubby? I like "cozy" better. Just kind of fun to be able to meet and greet some of the same people which can get lost in the larger dining venues. Small pleasure, that is all. And the staff has your orange juice and coffee waiting without asking after the first day.

 

I find if you sit in the same area at relatively the same time every day in the Lido you can have your orange juice and coffee waiting on the table when you come back from the buffet line. In fact, often the Lido staff will recognize you when you come in and have your hot tea and guava juice on your table before you get there.

 

It's not just the exclusive venues that get you personalized service.

 

Good to hear that the PG is good in the morning now. It was a hot mess in April 2014. That said it was the first cruise out if dry dock. Funny thing the service was fine at night. They seemed to be zombies in the morning.

 

Do you think part of that zombie-ism is the hours the servers work? They work split shifts of longer hours than most Americans/Canadians with one job. It's hard to keep that up and still be bright and perky and accurate, especially to particular clientele.

Edited July 19, 2015 by ellieanne

[cruz chic]

I find if you sit in the same area at relatively the same time every day in the Lido you can have your orange juice and coffee waiting on the table when you come back from the buffet line. In fact, often the Lido staff will recognize you when you come in and have your hot tea and guava juice on your table before you get there.

 

It's not just the exclusive venues that get you personalized service.

 

 

 

Do you think part of that zombie-ism is the hours the servers work? They work split shifts of longer hours than most Americans/Canadians with one job. It's hard to keep that up and still be bright and perky and accurate, especially to particular clientele.

No, I don't think it's the hours they work. It was 8:30 or 9 am not 2:30 am. Sitting in the lido is considerably different than the pinnacle. I'm glad you enjoy it. Sitting with 1/2 the ship searching for a table doesn't bring joy to me. Living in a city of well over a million I enjoy being away from crowds whenever possible.

Edited July 19, 2015 by cruz chic

[ellieanne]

No, I don't think it's the hours they work. It was 8:30 or 9 am not 2:30 am. Sitting in the lido is considerably different than the pinnacle. I'm glad you enjoy it. Sitting with 1/2 the ship searching for a table doesn't bring joy to me. Living in a city of well over a million I enjoy being away from crowds whenever possible.

 

Well, Melbourne's population is roughly equal to the whole population of of the province of Alberta, so I've got you beat on crowded metropolitan areas. ;)

 

But isn't is nice that there are areas for everyone to find what they like on the cruise. No one area is best for everyone. It's also very nice for people who do not routinely or exclusively book suites to offer their opinions as well. And that's what I was trying to do.

[sapper1]

We cruise mostly on Vista and Signature class ships and we have found that their SS suites suit us just fine. They have lots of room and storage space, two basins and a free standing shower. Our star status gives us free laundry and priority in embarking and tendering.

 

Out of curiosity we did try a Neptune suite once and, while the room was larger, the extra value for the extra price wasn't there--at least not for us.

 

We were in a room directly opposite the Neptune lounge and while I grabbed the odd snack there, we never used the concierge or spent any time there. The cocktail party in the Neptune Lounge saw us squeezed in like sardines.

 

We ate breakfast once in the Pinnacle Grill and the next day returned to the Lido for the rest of the cruise.

 

When we looked at future cruises we decided that the extra money for a Neptune for us would just represent a little more real estate and we feel we have plenty of that in an SS suite.

[cruz chic]

Well, Melbourne's population is roughly equal to the whole population of of the province of Alberta, so I've got you beat on crowded metropolitan areas. ;)

 

But isn't is nice that there are areas for everyone to find what they like on the cruise. No one area is best for everyone. It's also very nice for people who do not routinely or exclusively book suites to offer their opinions as well. And that's what I was trying to do.

 

I do not routinely or exclusively book suites and I've stayed in many, many insides. I wasn't trying to "beat" you in population. My opinion is just as valid as yours. I do not like crowds and there is nothing wrong with that.

[OlsSalt]

But isn't is nice that there are areas for everyone to find what they like on the cruise. No one area is best for everyone. It's also very nice for people who do not routinely or exclusively book suites to offer their opinions as well. And that's what I was trying to do.

 

I agree with you. There are all sorts of private nooks and routines for everyone on HAL ships; not just one or nothing like some other ships. We did a very long cruise on the Rotterdam on one of the very lower decks - not a great location at all - noisy, smelly. But we were close to those small stern outdoor decks on those lower levels and watching the waves of our wake from that space was one of our best memories. HAL ships have lot of surprise spaces for passengers to find what they like.

Edited July 19, 2015 by OlsSalt

[igraf]

I don't have to ask 5 times in the MDR either. :-)

 

Seriously, from what was posted I would conclude that there are occasional lapses in both venues. In our case I can't recall having to ask multiple times for anything in the MDR. But then we always have an early breakfast and late fixed-seating dinners, both probably an advantage in MDR service.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

It's not about the food for me. The service is so much better. Generally you don't have to ask 5 times for more coffee.

[cruz chic]

[quote name='igraf']I don't have to ask 5 times in the MDR either. :-)

Seriously, from what was posted I would conclude that there are occasional lapses in both venues. In our case I can't recall having to ask multiple times for anything in the MDR. But then we always have an early breakfast and late fixed-seating dinners, both probably an advantage in MDR service.

igraf[/QUOTE]

I knew someone was going to say they've never had the problem but surprisingly it didn't come from the usual suspects :D. Generally I find the worst service is in the morning in the MDR. Many times I get a coffee from the explorations but I see many, many people getting frustrated trying to get coffee refills. I guess I need to sit at your table so I can get perfect service;). I have open dining at night.