Our First Suite Experience- The Norwegian Pearl

I reviewed our amazing suite experience in my first blog post after debarkation from the newly refurbished Norwegian Pearl here- http://thecheerfulcruiser.blogspot.com/2017/03/norwegian-pearl-suite-life-cabin.html
While I did describe our experience in total I did not reveal the details surrounding our first experience enjoying "The Suite Life". I will start at the beginning-embarkation day in Miami:

  After parking in the garage (C) we headed to the check in area for the Pearl. We waiting roughly 10 minutes in a line with everyone to go through the initial security and metal detectors, then we veered off to the Haven (also Suites) room immediately to our left. We were not told to go here to check in by anyone on the staff but I knew that was available to us as a perk so we went in. It was there that our names were on a list and we received our key cards, check in paperwork, etc. This was really easy and let us avoid the wait with the other 1000+ passengers in the main area for check in. We were told to sit and enjoy a snack (photo of the offerings are above) and our butler would head down to get us shortly. After 15 minutes no one came to get us-or about 10 other Haven/Suite guests. So, a lady with a Priority Escort sign came to retrieve us and led us through the crowds to a private elevator to join the line of passengers entering the ship upstairs. These folks were likely in group 1 or 2 and we just joined them in line. I asked several employees where we should go for embarkation lunch as suite guests but no one seemed to know. I knew we could go to Cagney's or Moderno but I wanted to be sure as this was our first time on this ship and in a suite. After waiting in the customer service line for 10 minutes the assistant concierge, Maira, was brought down to escort us to Cagney's. She was very apologetic and surprised our butler never came to get us. Anyhow, we got to Cagney's and enjoyed a spectacular lunch- which you can read about in my "Suite Life" blog post!

 After lunch we were told we could head to our room, which happened to be cabin 10164 in the very aft of the ship. We found our room fine and spoke briefly to our very sweet room steward, "EmJe". We hung out in our room a bit before the mandatory muster drill and figured out how to use the awesome Lavazza espresso maker. Right as we were ready to head to the safety drill our butler showed up and rang our doorbell (yes you have a suite doorbell!). His name was Erlindo. Here is a picture of him-

Just a note- I did ask if it was okay to put everyone's photos on my blog and they all said yes-so no one is pictured here without their consent! :) Erlindo offered to explain the espresso maker to us but we knew what to do already. We asked him to clear out the fridge and please put 2 pitchers of cold water in it for us to drink throughout the day. There were sodas and 2 big glasses of juice with saran wrap over them in the fridge and we did not want that stuff in there. He said nothing else, however. He did not ask us about snack preferences, if we wanted to dine in the room at all, if we needed extra pillows, etc. He was in a hurry and really seemed like he was dialing it in. We did not pipe up and ask for anything as we truthfully were not sure what we should do. We headed for the drill and assumed he would take the stuff out of the fridge and put water in it for us. Unfortunately he only took out the soda and he left the juice. He actually left the juice the entire week, although we asked him 2 more times to remove it. He did not bring the water pitchers as we requested. We ended up talking to the hotel director the next day and he made sure we had pitchers of water in our room daily- but they were delivered several days by room service! Another note about our butler- each morning around 11 he would come in the room and take any of the plates and glasses we used and leave them sitting in front of our door in the hallway. He did this with all the suite cabins on our deck! I was told by the hotel director that he was supposed to remove everything himself and not leave it outside the door. Our room steward ended up cleaning the hallway every day. So, other that bringing a daily snack-the same snack to each suite cabin he had- he was not at all what we expected for butler service. We are not pretentious people and we normally don't stay in a suite, but we really thought he would show more effort to make us feel like suite guests. Our fellow suite neighbors told us they too were disappointed in him as a butler and the couple in the cabin next door, who cruise exclusively in suites, said he was the worst butler they ever had! As for the daily snack we did enjoy it- some days more than others. We really liked the cheese and fruit plate we got one afternoon, as well as the desserts. Here are some photos of the suite treats we received:

Having a concierge was also a benefit for suite guests-and our concierge Noami was wonderful! She was helpful in escorting us off the ship at each port in private exits and elevators, as well as aiding us with on board credit issues, shore excursion planning and reservations. Having Noami welcome us warmly and help us during debarkation, etc. made the suite experience really relaxing. 
By far our favorite perk of being in a suite, besides the huge room and luxurious balcony, was being able to dine in the private dining room for breakfast and lunch every day. While we did feel a bit removed from the goings on ship wide for the first two meals of the day the ability to dine in a low key and less crowded atmosphere was truly fabulous. Plus the food was SO good! In addition to the private dining we definitely took advantage of the suite perks. We did get all the freestyle options when we booked the suite (you do not get all of them if you upgrade or move to a suite with a bid-you keep the freestyle perks you originally booked with), and we used the UBP and UDP happily! :) We ended up using the shore excursion credit of $50 for one port, and about 30 minutes of WiFi. We usually never go online when we cruise but since we had the perk of the minutes, and we wanted to check on email updates from our vet regarding our new rescue Yorkie who was boarding there we decided to use some of it! (She did great by the way!) We sat in the reserved seating section in the theater for Haven/Suite guests at every show, as it was never packed and we could wait until a few minutes before show time to get a seat. On the Pearl this seating was located in the balcony area on the left side. The view was great though! We also took advantage of the suite perk for getting off first at the ports-our concierge Noami swiftly and easily helped us off the ship each time. We also had a lovely meet and greet/cocktail party with the captain and officers one night as a suite guest. We got a complimentary photo with the captain and had a chance to visit with the officers too. Everyone on the Pearl was truly top notch and it was a pleasure meeting all of them! :)
On debarkation day I was sad and did not want to leave-but having breakfast in Moderno and Noami walking us off the ship was a stress free way to end our vacation. We have a suite on the Sky in August, so I am curious as to how our experience will be compared to the Pearl. I wonder if our butler will be different and more hospitable? I will post about our next suite life experience for sure! :)