I booked a 299-square-foot Junior Suite during my seven-night voyage to the Southern Caribbean aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas.
Ordinarily, I don't book a Junior Suite because the price is much higher than a balcony, but the added amenities and great use of space were worth it when the total cost was just $2,596.17 for two people.
Plus, reserving the Junior Suite had perks. There is a priority check-in line at the cruise terminal in San Juan, Puerto Rico; an extra loyalty point per night, and upgraded toiletries. There are additional perks if you book a Junior Suite on a newer ship, such as access to Coastal Kitchen for dinner.
Take a look inside our junior suite.
When I entered the 299-square-foot accommodation, I was surprised by its spaciousness
One thing you'll notice walking into a Junior Suite is how much space there is to utilize.
I was booked in stateroom 1584, located on deck 10.
I was very impressed by the use of space, and it felt like a giant balcony room. Compared to a balcony, you'll quickly notice just how much more living space there is, which makes it feel far less cramped.
There is a walk-in closet that is almost big enough to be a bedroom
As you walk into the room, there is a giant walk-in closet on the right.
This closet has a door, and there are shelves and hangers to use.
I was impressed how big this closet was, because I'm guessing it could fit a crib in here without a problem. I'm not advocating putting a small child in here to sleep. But there is a lot of space.
The living room has a king size bed, but it lacks power outlets
Like almost any Royal Caribbean cabin, the bed is comprised of two beds pushed together. You can have them separated by your stateroom attendant, if you prefer.
After unpacking, my suitcase rolled under the bed, where they stayed until the last night of the cruise.
One issue is there are no power outlets on either side of the bed. This is typical of older cruise ships, when having your electronics nearby was useful. After all, Brilliance of the Seas was built 5 years before the first iPhone.
I bought a 10 foot USB cable, but the room is so big that the cable only reached the foot of the bed.
There is a large vanity and storage space across from the bed
The only power outlets in the room are located on the vanity, across from the bed.
There are a few power outlets, so I'd recommend bringing a USB power adaptor that won't get confiscated by the cruise line. This is one I recommend (and bring on all my cruises).
Another nice perk of staying in a Junior Suite is it comes with a coffee maker and teapot. You don't get these appliances in smaller cabins, and you're not allowed to bring your own.
I never make coffee or tea in my room, but I know a lot of cruisers love to take advantage of them.
There's also a flat screen television on the left side of the vanity, which is above the well-concealed fridge.
Above it is a safe for storing valuables and travel documents.
The living room felt spacious, with extra seating
Where this cabin really feels big is in the living room area, because it's expansive and has lots of seating.
A sofa offers a place to sit (or lay down), and there's a table for room service to deliver meals here. Room service is included with a Junior Suite, and that is the perfect way to start your day with breakfast.
Across from the sofa is a sitting chair and ottoman. I love to sit anywhere I can put my feet up, and it was the perfect temporary office when I needed to do so some work and the vanity seemed not comfortable enough.
If you have kids, this would be an excellent play area since there's enough room to crawl or stumble around.
The Junior Suite bathroom was a nice upgrade, with a tub
Pretty much all standard cruise cabins have tiny bathrooms, but moving up to a Junior Suite gets you a bigger bathroom.
There's a full-size tub and shower here. Not only is the tub larger, but it avoids the clingy shower curtain problem smaller cabins have on Radiance Class ships.
There are upgraded toiletries provided too, instead of the two-in-one mystery liquid.
The sink area has lots of storage too, which is something missing from bathrooms on newer ships.
The balcony was long, adding extra private room
Instead of the balcony going out further, it extends along the side of the ship.
It's a 66 square-foot balcony, which just about doubles the balcony space.
There's even a lounger in addition to the table and chairs.
The extra furniture is nice, but I wish the balcony was deeper to make it easier to move around the furniture.
Because our suite's location, I was able to see the bridge wing and watch the captain and officers guide the ship into ports of call.
Like any balcony, I loved being able to walk out and enjoy sailaway, watch the ocean waves pass by, or simply enjoy the ocean breeze.
The best reason to book a Junior Suite isn't even the room
While I loved how much more space there was in the cabin, the best reason for staying in a Junior Suite are all the extra points you can rack up.
Royal Caribbean will give you an extra loyalty point per night for staying in any suite. Since I was cruising solo, that meant I was able to stack my solo cruiser bonus point and suite bonus point to accrue three points per night.
This is one of the best strategies for moving up to higher tiers of Crown and Anchor Society. In my case, I'll get 21 points from this one cruise and catapult up above the 1,000 point threshold to keep me well ahead of Michael Poole.
I wouldn't book a Junior Suite for any sailing, but when the price isn't expensive, I think it's worth it to upgrade. There's a better chance of finding a great deal when you choose an older, smaller ship like Brilliance of the Seas.
I found the value of all the extra living space in this cabin, combined with the perks and bonus cruise points to be well worth the splurge above a balcony room.
