What are the suite perks? What can onboard credit be used for?

[Loritd]

We are considering booking a suite what are the perks?  I know we can board first; can we access our cabin as soon as we board?  It would be nice to drop off our carry-on luggage immediately instead of carrying it around with us.  On Princess guests booked in suites get double points towards the loyalty levesl, does Carnival offer the same benefit? Do suites get twice daily room servicing? We were on the Valor last month in a balcony and our cabin steward told us only once a day and only in the mornings. Or is the additional cost of tips because the room is larger? It states on the web site we get priority dining times; how does that work? We will be traveling with our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren can we get priority dining for 6?  Also, we have a rather large amount of onboard credit.  Can it be used for internet, 6 packs of sodas and tips before sailing or just to prepurchase shore excursions?  I appreciate answers to these questions and any tips and advice on suites. Thanks, Lori

[Port of New Orleans]

Carnival does offer a lot of advantages for booking a suite. Like you mentioned, you are the first to board the ship, and there are also priority lines for you at places like Guest Services and Carnival Adventures (their shore excursion desk). There is also priority tender disembarkation if your ship sails to a port that a tender is required to get ashore. Unfortunately you won't receive double VIFP (Very Important Fun Person) points for your cruise. I'm also not sure if your room will be cleaned twice. The last cruises I have travelled on, my family got a balcony so I don't know if your room is cleaned twice. I want to say it is, but don't take my word for it. As for the priority dining times, just call Carnival or go to your booking reservation and click for the dining time you want (the options are: 6:00 PM, 8:15 PM, or Your Time Dining [so anytime]). Finally, the onboard credit can be put to many things. It could be used to purchase drinks, food, shore excursions, and various packages (including internet and drinking packages). Hopefully this helps and enjoy your Carnival Cruise!

[cruisinqt]

You can access your cabin early but only to drop off your bags. They will still be cleaning cabins. Our cabin stewards have always asked us what time we preferred to have our room cleaned, morning or evening. Suite guests may get more choices I'm not sure. Be sure to link your accounts together so you’ll be together when making reservations. 

[staceyglow]

You can use the OBC to pay for literally anything on the ship.

[mondello]

@Loritd OBC used to be only used onboard the ship. Pretty sure they have relaxed that and now allow OBC to be used for pre-cruise purchases. As stated above, all charges onboard will be charged to OBC before they start charging your credit card.

[Pellaz]

3 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

You can access your cabin early but only to drop off your bags. 

 

I thought it had been established recently here on CruiseCritic that suite guests were the ONLY guests who could drop off their luggage AND occupy their room early?  

[cruisinqt]

29 minutes ago, Pellaz said:

 

I thought it had been established recently here on CruiseCritic that suite guests were the ONLY guests who could drop off their luggage AND occupy their room early?  

On the Panorama last month the cabin steward wouldn’t allow us to stay even though we had a suite. He said the cabin still needed to be cleaned. But maybe that wasn’t normal since we don’t normally do suites. Im just going by my personal experience recently. 

[ShakyBeef]

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3593/~/suite-amenities-and-perks

 

 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

12 hours ago, Port of New Orleans said:

... I'm also not sure if your room will be cleaned twice. The last cruises I have travelled on, my family got a balcony so I don't know if your room is cleaned twice. ...

 

Just once

 

Tom

[hard_eight]

Really wish Carnival would do double points for suites. I'd be platinum by now. Makes no sense that the suite fare gets the same loyalty credit as an inside cabin for much less cash.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

1 minute ago, hard_eight said:

Really wish Carnival would do double points for suites. I'd be platinum by now. Makes no sense that the suite fare gets the same loyalty credit as an inside cabin for much less cash.

 

For MANY years Carnival has teased at updating the VIFP program. I've always wondered why they break down points in two ways:

 

   Cruise Day Points   &   VIFP Points

 

It's as if they initially set it up to (somehow) get additional VIFP points, over the standard Cruise Day Points. If not, then why have the second heading, which is ALWAYS the same number?

 

There was talk that they might partner with other companies to generate extra points, and speculation that onboard spend, cabin category, or promotional sailings/bookings might generate more VIFP points.

 

In the end... crickets...

 

Tom

[serene56]

7 minutes ago, hard_eight said:

Really wish Carnival would do double points for suites. I'd be platinum by now. Makes no sense that the suite fare gets the same loyalty credit as an inside cabin for much less cash.

 

there is a huge price difference on suites on other lines vs carnival      

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

13 minutes ago, serene56 said:

 

there is a huge price difference on suites on other lines vs carnival      

 

About the MAX (and it's the extreme end) you'll pay for a week on Carnival is for the Presidential Suite (about $10k). On NCL, Celebrity, and Royal, you can pay that much per person for multiple top level suites. If you want a Royal Loft Suite or an Iconic Suite, expect to pay (for two) ~$30-50K+ for the experience... gulp...

 

Tom

[staceyglow]

6 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

About the MAX (and it's the extreme end) you'll pay for a week on Carnival is for the Presidential Suite (about $10k). On NCL, Celebrity, and Royal, you can pay that much per person for multiple top level suites. If you want a Royal Loft Suite or an Iconic Suite, expect to pay (for two) ~$30-50K+ for the experience... gulp...

 

Tom

Yowsa! I like Carnival a lot, but if I am going to pay for anything more expensive than a regular Carnival cabin, I am going to hop on one of the luxury brands. I only use my cabin to sleep, shower, and occasionally sit on the balcony (if we even have one). 

 

[Loritd]

Thanks for all the info.  I will leave the decision to my hubby.  If he wants to try a suite this trip is as good as time as any.