If you’re considering booking a suite on Holland America, you might be wondering what makes it different — and whether it’s worth the extra cost. We’ve just experienced a Neptune Suite ourselves (and paid for it, so this is a fully honest review), and here’s everything you need to know before you upgrade.

What Is a Neptune Suite?

The Neptune Suite is Holland America’s premium suite category across the fleet — just below the ultra-lux Pinnacle Suite. You’ll find them on every ship in the fleet, including Rotterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Koningsdam, Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Westerdam, Oosterdam, Zuiderdam, Noordam, Volendam, and Zaandam.

They’re typically located in prime positions on the ship — think midship or aft, with easy access to lounges and elevators. While the layouts vary slightly depending on the ship’s class, all Neptune Suites come with:

Significantly more living space than standard cabins
Separate sleeping and sitting areas
A larger bathroom, often with a double vanity and separate bath and shower
Bigger balconies, perfect for enjoying sea views in privacy
Access to exclusive perks like the Neptune Lounge, Club Orange dining, and priority boarding

From a comfort perspective, we found the suite to be incredibly livable. There was enough space to unpack, relax, and even entertain — something that’s hard to do in a standard stateroom. The extra space, combined with thoughtful touches like upgraded toiletries and daily water, definitely made a difference to our overall cruise experience.

👉 Read our full review of our Neptune Suite experience on Rotterdam →

What’s Included in a Neptune Suite Experience?

As well as your spacious suite cabin, the Neptune Suite experience comes with a set of benefits.

Key benefits include:

Access to the Neptune Lounge — an exclusive, staffed lounge with all-day snacks, drinks, a concierge, and comfy seating. (See our review below!)
Club Orange Dining Access — a quieter area of the main dining room, with the same menu plus one or two extra options. (On select ships)
Breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill (On ships without Club Orange)
On embarkation day dinner you will receive one glass of sparkling wine per person at dinner.
Priority Embarkation & Disembarkation — including for tenders at ports.
Shuttles in Port — when available, these are included for Neptune Suite guests.
Priority Dining & Excursion Reservations
Welcome bottle of sparkling wine placed in your cabin on embarkation dayh
Two bottles of premium water placed in your cabin on embarkation day
Fresh fruit, and daily treats (varies by ship)
Unlimited complimentary laundry & pressing
Upgraded Elemis toiletries
Bathrobes, slippers, umbrellas, and binoculars for use during the cruise
Tote bag gift
Dedicated concierge service in the Neptune Lounge
Expanded Room Service Menu — you can order from the Club Orange menu to your suite during opening hours. The breakfast menu has complementary Mimosas and fresh juice.

On paper, it’s a long list of additions — but let’s take a closer look at how those benefits felt in practice.

Holland America Neptune Suite benefits and amenities list

Priority Embarkation & Disembarkation

As we arrived, we were clearly led to the priority line. Unlike Norwegian Cruise Line or MSC Cruises’ Yacht Club — which provide a dedicated host to greet and escort you — this was more of a fast-track lane to jump the queue. On disembarkation day, we were advised to visit Club Orange to arrange priority disembarkation, but we found the process so smooth and quiet that we simply disembarked on our own.

One unexpected bonus was the shuttle transfers in port — these are usually charged for, but they were included for Neptune Suite guests when available.

Concierge Service

The concierge on our sailing was excellent — attentive, helpful, and always available in the lounge. They arranged for daily water delivery to our suite, helped with room service, and assisted with any onboard needs. Compared to other concierge experiences we’ve had, this was among the best.

Note: There’s no formal butler service like you’ll find on Celebrity, but we’ve always felt that’s more gimmick than necessity anyway.

Concierge desk inside the Neptune Lounge on a Holland America ship

Club Orange Dining

Club Orange is essentially a private section of the main dining room — though on some ships, like ours, it’s housed in a completely separate restaurant space. You get the same menu as the regular dining room, but with one or two daily extras and priority seating without the need for reservations.

We used Club Orange for both dinner and breakfast — it isn’t open for lunch — and found it noticeably quieter, with more attentive service.

That said, this isn’t a fine dining venue. If you’re expecting something like Luminae on Celebrity or the Yacht Club restaurant on MSC, this is more modest. It’s a polished, quieter version of the MDR — not a full step up.

Still, we really enjoyed it. The relaxed space made mealtimes more enjoyable, the crew quickly learned our preferences, and food arrived hotter and fresher than we’ve experienced elsewhere — likely due to the smaller venue.

Club Orange dining room on Holland America with tables and servers

Neptune Lounge

The Neptune Lounge is exclusive to suite guests and offers:

Lounge seating and quiet workspace
Light breakfast and all-day snacks
Self-service coffee, tea, and soft drinks
Concierge staff to help with bookings or problems

We used the Neptune Lounge a few times during our sailing, and while it offered some helpful services, it left us a little underwhelmed overall. The concierge desk was genuinely useful — it made dining changes, shore excursion tweaks, and quick questions incredibly easy to sort without queuing at Guest Services. That alone made it worth popping in.

But the lounge itself didn’t quite invite us in. For starters, it had no windows, which made the space feel enclosed and a bit uninspiring — more like a business centre.

The snack selection was solid at peak times — with some tasty pastries and savoury bites. But oddly, the lounge closed completely at 8pm. So if you wanted a hot drink or little treat after the evening show, you were out of luck.

Another letdown was the drinks. There were no complimentary options beyond tea, coffee, and basic juices (unlike what’s offered in other cruise line lounges).

Compared to our Princess Cruises experience — which has a similar lounge — it felt less like a social space and more like an admin area. Princess hosted gatherings and created a more relaxed social vibe. We appreciated the concierge, but beyond that, we didn’t find ourselves using the space much or looking forward to returning.

Seating and snack station inside the Neptune Lounge

What’s Not Included?

While Holland America’s Neptune Suite experience includes a solid range of perks, there are a few things that feel noticeably absent — especially when you compare it to other cruise lines offering similar suite experiences.

Not included are:

Alcoholic drinks or soft drinks beyond the basic tea, coffee, and juices
WiFi (you’ll need to purchase an internet package separately)
Butler service (unlike some lines, there’s no personalised butler support)
Suite-only sun deck, outdoor lounge, or pool area
Gratuities

Drinks are a particular area where the suite experience falls short. Unlike MSC’s Yacht Club or Celebrity’s Retreat, Holland America doesn’t include any kind of drink package with your suite fare — so you’ll need to pay extra even for a basic cocktail or glass of wine with dinner. The Neptune Lounge, while useful, doesn’t offer complimentary alcoholic beverages or a full range of soft drinks like Royal Caribbean’s Coastal Kitchen or Disney’s Concierge Lounge.

And while Club Orange dining is a welcome perk, it’s still just a quieter take on the main dining room — not a true suite-only restaurant with an elevated menu.

Another noticeable omission is a dedicated suite sun deck or pool area. We’ve come to really appreciate these quieter outdoor spaces on lines like Virgin Voyages and MSC, and it was missed here. While Holland America does offer “The Retreat” as a paid cabana zone, it’s not included as part of the Neptune Suite experience.

Holland America main pool deck with no suite-only area

So… Is It Worth the Price?

We found the suite experience added comfort and convenience — but it’s missing a few key benefits when compared to other cruise lines at a similar price. That said, the cabin itself absolutely made up for it.

Worth it if:

You value space and want a larger cabin
You want a quieter and more intimate dining room

Maybe not worth it if:

You’re off the ship most of the time or out of your cabin
You’re expecting included benefits like drinks packages or WiFi
You’d rather spend the upgrade cost on specialty dining or excursions

🎥 Watch Our Neptune Suite Experience

We take you inside the suite, show you the lounge, Club Orange, and all the perks — with no sugar-coating.

Holland America Neptune Suite YouTube video thumbnail with Ben and David onboard

✅ Final Verdict

If you’re a seasoned cruiser who values space, service, and simplicity, the Neptune Suite experience on Holland America is well thought-out and delivers real value — especially on longer or port-intensive cruises.

But if you’re expecting jaw-dropping luxury or ship-within-a-ship exclusivity, this isn’t quite that. It’s elegant, practical, and pleasantly low-key — which, for many cruisers, is exactly what they’re after.

Holland America Suite Experience: What Is Included, What’s Not and Is it Worth the Price?