After much discussion about which cabin to choose, we finally ended up in Westerdam’s Neptune Suite 6097 (or SB6097). The cabin was extremely spacious, though I don’t have any other cruise experience to compare it to.

The Neptune Suite is the second largest cabin on the ship, behind only the opulent Pinnacle Suite. While that may sound quite large, it is really about the size of a normal hotel room, as cruise ship cabins are typically quite small.

Cabin View

Note: The 360 photos on this page behave strangely on mobile devices.

Suite Perks

Sailing in a Neptune suite on a JoCo Cruise has a number of perks, notably:

  • Extra JoCo Swag (so much swag)
  • A reception with JoCo management (except they forgot, oops)
  • Free laundry (incredibly useful)
  • Access to the Neptune Lounge (nothing too special)
  • Priority embarkation (first on the ship!)
  • Priority boarding for tenders (more on this later)
  • Priority disembarkation (didn’t use this)
  • Various upgrades to soap, sheets, etc.

Priority boarding for tenders was a nice, if unexplained, perk. We discovered how this worked by talking to another Suite guest who had travelled before. In short, Suite guests can show their room card to the tender staff and disembark at any time. Everyone else on the ship must wait their turn, and disembark when called, but Suite guests can cut the line at will.

Sleeping Arrangements

The cabin was rated for 4 passengers (though more could easily sleep in the cabin, if it were allowed).

The main bed was a king-sized bed, which could be split in two. I did not get a chance to try it before they split it, but it was comfortable when split into two beds, and I don’t think my brother or dad had any complaints.

The second bed in the room was a hide-a-bed that pulled out of the couch. I tried it in the evening, after the stewards had set it up, and quickly decided that it was the worst bed I had ever laid on. I promptly put it away and tried sleeping on the couch, which was very comfortable. Helpfully, the stewards quickly took the hint, and made the couch up as a bed for the rest of the trip.

The only comfy way to use the hide-a-bed

Balcony View

Other Cabin Pictures

Summary

The room was amazing, especially for my first cruise cabin experience. If you have the cash to spare, and want some extra room or perks, it is really quite nice. This is especially true if you expect to spend a fair amount of time in the cabin.

In future years, I suspect I will stick to Verandah, or even Ocean View rooms. While the cabin and balcony were very nice, we just didn’t spend much time there, beyond sleeping. I probably spent less than two hours on the balcony over the entire trip. There is just too much to do on the ship, and other nice places to relax.