The Suite Life on Cruise Ships

Our upcoming cruise on the Norwegian Pearl will be a suite-our first one! We also have a suite booked on our cruise on the Norwegian Sky in August. I got to thinking about suites in general and wondering exactly what perks the "suite life" offered on the different cruise lines. I'll bet you would like to know too! :) In addition to more cabin space here is a rundown of what you can expect if you book a suite on your next cruise:

Norwegian-Not to be confused with the Haven area on many of the NCL ships, suites are found on most of the Norwegian fleet. Suite guests can look forward to perks of a butler and concierge; priority embarkation, debarkation and tendering; a private dining room with a special menu for breakfast and lunch (most often in either Cagney's or Moderno); a special keycard and luggage tags (the tags are mailed to you); a mini bar and espresso machine in your cabin; dedicated seating in the theater; complimentary 24 hour room service; a special cocktail party with the ship's officers; the ability to book shows and dining at 100 days prior to cruising, bathrobes, slippers and luxury bath products and all of the current perks Norwegian offers at the time of sailing-without gratuity charges on the UBP and UDP packages. Here is where you can find the specific suite information for your NCL cruise:
https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/cruise-accommodations/cruise-suites-and-penthouses

Carnival-A priority check in lounge and priority check in and boarding, priority debarkation and being first off at ports and for tendering, complimentary in suite bottled water, one complimentary bag of laundry per cabin and dining room preference priority are all perks for suite guests on Carnival cruises. There is no specific page dedicated to suites overall on Carnival, but they do have a "specials" page for their suites fleetwide here:
https://www.carnival.com/suite-room-sale.aspx


Royal Caribbean-In the Spring of 2016 RC released an updated list of perks that suite guests should expect. Here are the perks for the following types of suites -Royal Suite, Royal Family Suite, Presidential Family Suite, Owner's Suite, Grand Suite
Oasis Class: Royal Loft Suite, Sky Loft Suite, AquaTheater Suite & Crown Loft Suite:
Priority Check in and concierge service; prime seating in the theaters; priority tender tickets; private dining room for breakfast and lunch on Voyager and Freedom Class ships; VIP pool deck seating; complimentary in room dining;luggage valet service;spa bathrobes;pressing service on formal nights; priority departure with a special departure lounge and continental breakfast and personalized attention throughout the cruise. Guests who are in a suite on the Allure of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas or Quantum of the Seas can expect to receive extra perks for their "Royal Suite Class" status. This includes VIP status ship wide and priority reservations for activities like the Flowrider. These suites are more like the Haven Class of suites on Norwegian. More information for these specific suites can be found here:
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/RoyalSuiteClass 

Disney Cruises-Known as Concierge cabins the suites on the Disney ships have a few variations but include personalized attention and concierge services, the ability to pre-reserve activities and shows 120 days prior to cruising, H20 bath products, bathrobe and slippers, special treats daily, a music and media library and on several ships a private lounge with complimentary snacks and beverages at certain times daily. Here is a breakdown of the different perks each ship offers for folks who book a concierge class suite:
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/staterooms/stateroom-categories/ 

Celebrity Cruises- Celebrity offers an array of suites on their fleet-which all include personalized service and special attention for guests. Private dining, a concierge and butler, dedicated dining rooms for all meals and complimentary cocktails are all available for Celebrity suite cruisers. This link gives a full description of the suite varieties on each of their ships:
http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/celebrity-suite-class 

Holland America Cruises- This cruise line offers several suite rooms-each with their own amenities. These are listed as the Pinnacle, Neptune, Vista, Signature and Spa suites and they do vary. For example, the Vista suite offers a much larger cabin and a mention of complimentary services but no specifics. The Pinnacle suite, on the other hand, offers perks such as fresh fruit upon request, complimentary in room dining, mimosas with in suite breakfasts, binoculars for use during the voyage, Elemis bath products and a private lounge. Details about these different suites can be found here:http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-vacation-onboard/Staterooms.action?_vsrefdom=mca&mchxkw=c:248898000,k:holland%20america%20suites,m:be,d:c,ai:4591566272,ad:13719743227,s:b&gclid=CPGS1fPQmNICFUTjDQodn2oExg&gclsrc=ds#/cid=hal_psearch_bkws_tactical_bing_hollandamericasuites_exact_isolate_suites/rooms

Every cruise line offers their own version of Spa suites as well, which includes special spa services and access to their various spa facilities. Have you sailed in a suite or do you plan to? I'd love to hear about it! I plan to write a full and detailed report after my experience with the "suite life" in March-and share it with all of you! :) 



 

Five Things to Change Up for Your Next Cruise

Folks who cruise often may ponder different ways to change things up a bit on their next voyage. While some cruisers love the same cruise line, ship, room and itinerary, other people have a desire to try something new each cruise. I am one of those cruisers! :) I decided to come up with a list of my top five cruise desires for changing up our experience each time we cruise-and hopefully you will get some ideas for your next trip!

1. Choose a Different Cabin Category- We have tried an inside room (our first cruise), several balconies, an extra large balcony and in less than a month we will have our first experience in a suite! I would still like to experience the other room types like an oceanview, porthole, virtual balcony, indoor balcony, a cove balcony and a Haven or Yacht Club room. It is exciting to try the various cabin types and decide which one is your favorite!

2. Choose a Different Location on the Ship- Most new cruisers are placed somewhere mid ship to avoid any rocking or chance of seasickness. That is where we were on our first few cruises. However, we tried the very front of the ship one cruise and found it to be amazing (although windy) on the balcony. This next cruise we will have our first corner aft cabin. If you have always favored the aft of the ship book your next room in the front or middle of the boat. Likewise, if you tend to have a cabin on lower decks try an upper deck room. Venturing into new areas on the ship is always interesting.

3. Plan to Try One New Activity- Maybe you have never done the rock wall, mini golf or the spa on your cruises. Make a plan to do an activity that you have yet to try on your next cruise. Believe it or not I never have gambled on a cruise at the casino, so I am considering trying my luck this next cruise!

4. Participate in a Cruise Meet Up- Cruise Critic has Roll Calls for future cruisers on their website where you can virtually meet up with other passengers on your cruise before you sail. There is usually a passenger that organizes a few group events-like a sail away party, cabin crawl or slot pull. Meeting a few new friends can definitely add an interesting twist to your vacation.
 http://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/

5. Plan Your Own Excursion- Particularly if you are visiting a port you have been to many times planning an excursion can be just the thing to spice up your adventure! While some folks prefer to stay on the ship at ports they have been to, often the fun of planning some events on land for you and your fellow travelers can be a neat challenge. We are headed to Key West on our March cruise for the second time and I have planned an "Eat and Drink Around Key West" day for us. I have a list of dining, drinking and dessert spots that are coined as "must try" and we will keep notes on all the cool things we enjoy! I will definitely report back here as to how it goes! :)

Do you have any ways to change up your cruises to keep them all unique and adventurous? If so I'd love to hear from you! :)