I was planning on sharing all my handy tips from our family of 6’s recent Norwegian Jade Cruise. But as I began writing, I realized the biggest tip I have is…
Get a Suite.
That’s it.
Ha!
We are frugal and don’t like to go crazy on vacation but hands-down the suite we got was the best decision we made. The best!
7 Reasons You Should Splurge for a Suite on Your Cruise
- Room to Stretch. Our suite had 4 rooms to it and had a crazy amount of storage and space. Our suite didn’t get junked up or cluttered and we had space to be quiet during naps for our little guy.
- Priority Embarkation and Disembarkation. When we first arrived at the port in Houston, we had NO clue what we were doing. We got in line with everyone else but our agent told us we were “VIP” much to our surprise and laughter, (like really…didn’t this sweet young lady know that we are not exactly VIP type peeps)! We were escorted to a little room off to the side where we met our Concierge, (Omar), coffee, water, fruit, and desserts abounded. We sat down and Omar asked us if we were ready to board. “Why yes, yes we are lad!” We were taken directly to the front of the line and escorted onboard. Once there we were taken the specialty dining room to eat and relax until our suite was available. At the end of our trip, we were at the front of the line to disembark the ship. I will confess, I heard plenty of grumbling from other passengers as we passed them but that is a benefit for suite guests.
- Access to Special Dining. For all meals, the buffet is open to everyone. But if you’d rather sit at a restaurant and order from a menu for breakfast or lunch, you are able to as Suite guests. On the Norweigan Jade, the restaurant is in the same space that Cagney’s Steakhouse is and the menu stays the same all week long (at least as far as we could tell). It was nice to not have to navigate the buffet with so many children. The menu is not large but we ordered a few things that were available on the buffet and the awesome staff brought up our requests to our table.
- Priority Tendering. We didn’t have to get tickets to pick slots for leaving the ship. As suite guests, we simply met in the designated lounge and they brought us off on one of the first tenders or slots available. This was a very nice perk and gave us maximum time off-ship at the ports.
- Butler Service. I almost hesitate to mention this because our butler didn’t do a whole lot for our trip. Ha! But you get a butler when you have a Suite. They bring goodies to the room, (cookies, sandwiches, fruit, chips, etc.) and movies to borrow. I’m sure the butler probably does more, but we didn’t need his services. (we mostly interacted with our Concierge and Steward).
- Concierge Service. Our Concierge was wonderful and set up all of our reservations at the Specialty Dining Restaurant. He handled it all for us and we didn’t have to coordinate ourselves.
- Little Extras. We had a cappuccino machine that made delicious coffee, (way better than the coffee in the buffet). There were also other little touches, such as a complementary bottle of wine, bathrobes, slippers, and bath salts. Nice touches.
- Priority Customs and Baggage. I was shocked when we got to the big room with all the baggage, our bags were in a seperate area and we were able to jump to the front of the line for going through Customs. Awesome perks.
All this to say, I highly recommend you book a suite if you are able to do so! With little ones in tow, the perks of being a suite guest save not only frustration but also plenty of time!
When we got to our suite, I did a quick Facebook Live video tour of our room…here it is:
I’d love to hear a comparison from suite to staterooms if any of you have sailed both ways before. Were all the perks worth the added expense to you?