Carnival Suite Perks

[kelkel2]

It’s been a few years since we’ve taken a cruise. I think our last was 2016. Since then I stayed away from the cruise news, I just had a lot of things going on.. but, now we’re ready to cruise again and then covid hit.

Anyways, when booking a suite on one of the ships, what’s the perks? I know it’s not the most fantastic perks but just not sure what those are!

[rvsullivan]

Not much! Priority embarkation/disembarkation, guaranteed dining time or wait listed if already full, 2 free bottles of water and a free bag of laundry for both in a suite.

[Moviela]

The suggested gratuity is higher because of the extra 10 sq ft in your cabin. There is also priority tendering, and best for last, a "Suite Guest" sticker on your sign and sail card!

[kelkel2]

53 minutes ago, rvsullivan said:

Not much! Priority embarkation/disembarkation, guaranteed dining time or wait listed if already full, 2 free bottles of water and a free bag of laundry for both in a suite.

Does priority boarding mean you get the vip area of the terminal or just boarding first after plats/Diamonds? 

[firefly333]

7 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

Does priority boarding mean you get the vip area of the terminal or just boarding first after plats/Diamonds? 

It can be done either way as can hc boarding. I've seen it both ways. New orleans might do hc first and Galveston do them after, so suites sit with the masses of priority and wait to get called.

 

My last carnival cruise was a vista gambling big deal and we had over 800 priority. Lol. The only thing that helped my Belize priority tender was we had a cold front come thru. I was the very last to get on and sat in the wind, never again. I about froze to death, 60 degrees in the wind is cold! Next time I sit under a covering out of the wind even if I wait longer.

 

Madrid Gras suites are trying out a new perk, bubbles comes with booking a suite. If it's a big hit, it wouldnt surprise me to see more perks added. It's a untapped source of higher prices and revenue due stream. 

 

Honestly from what I've seen due to so many getting free cruises from gambling, there are so many platinum and diamonds these days, it's almost not worth much as a perk to be priority. The regular guest line at customer service was faster than priority. 850 priority guests onboard is just a lot.

 

Lol but I'm booked vista again, just hope it's not another big gambling tournament cruise. So far I havent heard it is. Just saying keep your expectations low on priority, there are many more than there used to be. Just book it because it's a nice cabin, not for the perks. Priority can be almost worthless on some cruises. Enjoy your cruise.

[eastoftheboston]

20 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

Does priority boarding mean you get the vip area of the terminal or just boarding first after plats/Diamonds? 

If your terminal has a VIP area, you can sit in it. There's usually water and stuff in there, along with more comfortable seating. You also get to use the (in theory) shorter metal detector line. 

[cb at sea]

Carnival has the worst "suite perks" going....if you want a suite, you'll do better on one of the other mainstream lines.  NCL has the better suite perks.

 

[kelkel2]

18 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

Carnival has the worst "suite perks" going....if you want a suite, you'll do better on one of the other mainstream lines.  NCL has the better suite perks.

 

We’re not booking for the perks, so they’re ultimately just a bonus for us. Our kids are too young to have their own room, so we like the space of a suite. That’s our biggest perk! 

[firefly333]

I still believe more perks are coming. ..bubbles on mardi gras is just testing the waters. 

 

Like the new cheers on us rate ...finding ways to generate more $$$. 

[kelkel2]

5 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I still believe more perks are coming. ..bubbles on mardi gras is just testing the waters. 

 

Like the new cheers on us rate ...finding ways to generate more $$$. 

We’re going to be booking the Mardi Gras! So I’ll keep an eye out for this! And if I get any emails or anything I’ll let you guys know! 

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

We’re going to be booking the Mardi Gras! So I’ll keep an eye out for this! And if I get any emails or anything I’ll let you guys know! 

Oh you didnt say. Mardi gras is including bubbles for suite pax. So free soda. Lol. Hey it's something. 

 

It says it includes 10 oz juice. Maybe you little ones like juice?

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2691

[kelkel2]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

Oh you didnt say. Mardi gras is including bubbles for suite pax. So free soda. Lol. Hey it's something. 

 

It says it includes 10 oz juice. Maybe you little ones like juice?

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2691

My Littles will be thrilled! 

[kelkel2]

What about access to cabins when you board? 

[vwrestler171]

1 hour ago, kelkel2 said:

What about access to cabins when you board? 

That depends on who you ask.  OFFICIALLY, it is not included in the suite perks.  However, every time I've had a suite, they tell me that my room is ready, so it may depend on how many other Diamond/Platinum they have, or I have just been lucky.

[Doctorsbaby]

23 hours ago, kelkel2 said:

We’re not booking for the perks, so they’re ultimately just a bonus for us. Our kids are too young to have their own room, so we like the space of a suite. That’s our biggest perk! 

The space is the biggest “perk” to me & why I pay for a suite. I spend a decent amount of time in my room and on the balcony. I want a comfortable space for the 3 of us to not be constantly on top of each other. 
 

Other than that, the Priority boarding was the next important thing to me. We normally aim to get to the port after the ship has been boarding for a bit. My goal to to never stop moving from the time we get out of the taxi until we hit the deck of the ship. Priority generally has a shorter line to get to security and then dedicated check in. My daughter is 10 now, but started cruising when she was barely 2. The few, shorter lines, the better the process went.