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Are we only ones who don't book suites?


WannaCruise

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11 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Not sure where you are from in Ontario but if you can fly out of the US, it might bring your airfare down a bit.  At least it makes it domestic.  

We fly out of Pearson in Toronto.  We've looked at driving to Buffalo or even Detroit but haven't yet tried that.  Next March is out of New Jersey so hoping flights are more reasonable, but following March is out of Port Canaveral so will definitely keep that option open.

Think you're Ontario too?  Where do you usually fly out of?

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9 hours ago, Andrew72681 said:

Contrary to the principle of diminishing returns, we’ve found that even the little bit of extra space in a junior suite (more often NCl’s minisuotes) makes a big difference. Having a bit more space to spread out keeps us from sniping at each other’s throats. On our Harmony cruise the difference was only 500 dollars for 7 nights. So I’d definitely pay an extra 70 bucks a day for a bit of peace. Just think of it as three bucks an hour ?

 

And even though I could pack a weeks worth of clothes in a carry on my wife and 9 year old aren’t even close to that. They need the walk in closet. 

 

That's amazing.  For 500 more in Harmony I would take that in a second.  For us, Harmony JS is double our cost (but you can see we have interior category).  Even from balcony to JS, it is $3300 more.  

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1 hour ago, WannaCruise said:

We fly out of Pearson in Toronto.  We've looked at driving to Buffalo or even Detroit but haven't yet tried that.  Next March is out of New Jersey so hoping flights are more reasonable, but following March is out of Port Canaveral so will definitely keep that option open.

Think you're Ontario too?  Where do you usually fly out of?

I use Buffalo as my gateway to the Niagara Region and the GTA.  Much cheaper than Pearson and you don't have to deal with the US Customs thing at Pearson which can be a real PITA.  Driving across is so much easier.  Granted the QEW can be a pain too.  

When flying out of Buffalo I see a lot of Canadian passports being used as ID going through TSA security lines.  

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First of all for sure you are not the only one. 

I think like everything in live people have different preference, for some the points quest is very important , for some two rooms with two bathrooms are more important , for some the big bathroom is important and some can vow the Coastal Kitchen is the best thing about suite ? . 

Its all about priority at the end , one can decide to cruise once a year or once in two/three years but to be in a suite some will prefer to cruise 5 cruises per year in regular cabin.  

We cruised in almost all the cabins , ocean view , inside with virtual cabin (for 10 day cruise) , balcony , boardwalk balcony and yes JS also (I must admit  mainly to secure the diamond level as I think soon they will increase the number of points to reach this level , but just my speculations). We got very good deal (difference was quite low between balcony and JS). can we go back , yes , I already booked one cruise in ocean view. 

We liked the fact the room was bigger , loved the walking closet which allowed us to keep the room very organized , did not care much for the bathtub , I really prefer the small phone boot shower as no water can escape t the bathroom floor so my spouse an complain ?

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1 hour ago, Traveler said:

First of all for sure you are not the only one. 

I think like everything in live people have different preference, for some the points quest is very important , for some two rooms with two bathrooms are more important , for some the big bathroom is important and some can vow the Coastal Kitchen is the best thing about suite ? . 

Its all about priority at the end , one can decide to cruise once a year or once in two/three years but to be in a suite some will prefer to cruise 5 cruises per year in regular cabin.  

We cruised in almost all the cabins , ocean view , inside with virtual cabin (for 10 day cruise) , balcony , boardwalk balcony and yes JS also (I must admit  mainly to secure the diamond level as I think soon they will increase the number of points to reach this level , but just my speculations). We got very good deal (difference was quite low between balcony and JS). can we go back , yes , I already booked one cruise in ocean view. 

We liked the fact the room was bigger , loved the walking closet which allowed us to keep the room very organized , did not care much for the bathtub , I really prefer the small phone boot shower as no water can escape t the bathroom floor so my spouse an complain ?

I wonder about this too.  There seem to be many people at diamond and they will only have more and more. With things like access to Diamond Lounge and free drinks per day (which is our motivation for reaching it) you would think that they'll have to raise the points to reach it.

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Just now, WannaCruise said:

I wonder about this too.  There seem to be many people at diamond and they will only have more and more. With things like access to Diamond Lounge and free drinks per day (which is our motivation for reaching it) you would think that they'll have to raise the points to reach it.

Well , I think that everyone agree that RCL need to do something , there are three  options , first is to remove the DL access from diamonds or to restrict the free drinks in the lounge , (you can see they improving the 3 free  drink at any bar menu which indicates on this direction   ) the second option is to make it harder to get to diamond/diamond plus /adding new level . The third option which is the most problematic will be moving to the airline/hotel loyalty programs system which you need to maintain your status every year (the worse option).

The first option will create allot of noise and many unhappy customers but the noise will reduce after a while and it might just motivate people to get to the next level. The second t option might be the best for whoever is already diamond but it will just delay the issue not solve it , maybe limit the drinks in the lounge will solve some of the issues. I for example wish the DL will stay open for diamonds , for me its not the evening booze but the coffee machine during the day ?  .  the third option I do not see how RC will be the first cruise line to go to this direction.

And maybe they will change nothing, who knows  

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5 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

When flying out of Buffalo (twangster) or Detroit (Lovetocruise) do you drive the day before and stay overnight?

Not a rookie?...always the night before.

5 hours ago, RickinSTL said:

I think im going to change my mind on this.. I found a suite on Freedom for what it would cost us for a balcony on Symphony or Harmony lol 

 

Careful...that is how it all begins! Do it!

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6 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

When flying out of Buffalo (twangster) or Detroit (Lovetocruise) do you drive the day before and stay overnight?

Depends on flight time and how well versed you are at crossing the border.  I have family on both sides of the river so I tend to drive over the same day as the flight out of Buffalo.  There are airport hotels right across the road from the BUF airport.  Having a Nexus card helps too.  

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6 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

When flying out of Buffalo (twangster) or Detroit (Lovetocruise) do you drive the day before and stay overnight?

Correction...I misread earlier and thought that you meant do I fly out the day before a cruise.

We drive to Detroit the day of our flight.  We head out pretty early, because you never know about traffic on the Ambassador Bridge.  The odd times where we took a flight before 12pm, we stayed at an airport hotel in Detroit the night before.

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1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Correction...I misread earlier and thought that you meant do I fly out the day before a cruise.

We drive to Detroit the day of our flight.  We head out pretty early, because you never know about traffic on the Ambassador Bridge.  The odd times where we took a flight before 12pm, we stayed at an airport hotel in Detroit the night before.

Yeah..we fly out the day before.  Just meant if flying out if Detroit (or Buffalo) if you drive there the day before your flight, which would be another hotel.stay.  But especially for Detroit it's a longer drive us do would need to be a late afternoon or evening flight if driving in same day.

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4 hours ago, Traveler said:

Well , I think that everyone agree that RCL need to do something , there are three  options , first is to remove the DL access from diamonds or to restrict the free drinks in the lounge , (you can see they improving the 3 free  drink at any bar menu which indicates on this direction   ) the second option is to make it harder to get to diamond/diamond plus /adding new level . The third option which is the most problematic will be moving to the airline/hotel loyalty programs system which you need to maintain your status every year (the worse option).

The first option will create allot of noise and many unhappy customers but the noise will reduce after a while and it might just motivate people to get to the next level. The second t option might be the best for whoever is already diamond but it will just delay the issue not solve it , maybe limit the drinks in the lounge will solve some of the issues. I for example wish the DL will stay open for diamonds , for me its not the evening booze but the coffee machine during the day ?  .  the third option I do not see how RC will be the first cruise line to go to this direction.

And maybe they will change nothing, who knows  

Isn't that ironic if they prevent Diamond from entering the Diamond lounge?

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We enjoy a suite for a couple of reasons - we spent decades not being able to do any substantial traveling  (because I was in grad school and then widowed, hubby served in the military for 3 decades, etc.) and so when we got the chance we wanted to make the best of it AND I am a “nester” in that I like going out but I want a place to return to that feels good/comfy (while I am not shy at all, I am an introvert at heart and so getting away from the masses for a time to breathe is pretty important to me). 

‘BUT... my parents began cruising long before most people (in the late 60’s) - given inflation, cruises were more expensive at that early point, but they kept on cruising for decades. And although they could afford a suite, they usually took one of the inside rooms or ones without any balcony because they said they were never in the room anyway! They didn’t care how anyone else saw it, they were doing what worked for them.

It depends on budget for sure, but I think it also depends on what your priorities are for travel and how often you want to do it. I don’t think of it in terms of “shoulds” but rather what is realistic and what makes you happy.

Happy Sailing ??‍♀️

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On 2/16/2019 at 2:59 PM, jticarruthers said:

Im open to trying a suite but have never seen one at a price i could justify to myself. I also go by the mantra that i spend minimal time in my cabin so although the suite looks awesome im not sure i would spend much time in it,so why pay for it.

I’m with you, we get ready for dinner and sleep in the room. We just aren’t in the room enough to justify the extra charge. I’ve been looking because we are only about 10 points away from diamond but we typically have been using the kids sail free deals and it’s almost double for a junior suite than a regular room. 

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4 minutes ago, Ogalthorpe Haywood said:

I’m with you, we get ready for dinner and sleep in the room. We just aren’t in the room enough to justify the extra charge. I’ve been looking because we are only about 10 points away from diamond but we typically have been using the kids sail free deals and it’s almost double for a junior suite than a regular room. 

This has always been our thoughts too...especially when we cruise with our kids as we are out and about doing things and rarely in the cabin.  I admit though, even going from interior promenade room to balcony...we just used the balcony early mornings before they awoke, or while waiting for others to finish showering and it was lovely!.  So even though I was asking about JS, my post also applies to balcony rooms.  But for example, our Harmony cruise costs another $1400 to go from Central Park Interior (which looks like a cool unique room) to regular Ocean View Balcony.  That's quite a mark up that can be spent otherwise.  I think if we had 1 cruise booked, it would be easier to pull the plug but we currently have 5 booked so hard to justify. ?

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On a port intensive sailing(almost a port a day like a Baltic sailing), I don't mind an inside cabin at all. Much less expensive even with the D+ discount. Would not get the use from the balcony.

We like a balcony on transatlantic or transpacific sailings though with several sea days.

Have tried suites a few times. The grands were very nice, but the perks don't justify the money. Junior Suites are nice too if you can find one a couple hundred more than a balcony(not very often). 

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2 hours ago, RickinSTL said:

You all are bad influences!!!  I just booked a JS guarantee on Freedom September 20, 2020..  Sailing from San Juan PR.  It was right about the same as a OV Balcony on Harmony.. 

Oh,  how I would LOVE to find a deal like this!!!! On my next sailing a JS is $1000 more PER PERSON than an OV Balcony ?  The other sailing is $700 per person more.

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This has been an interesting thread.  I'm not sure I will ever end up in a suite.  The reason I cruise Royal vs Disney (and yes I'm Disney obsessed) is because I just can't justify paying for 1 cruise what I could pay for 2 cruises.  The same pretty much goes for suites vs non suites.  With my husband and I both teachers, we are stuck cruising peak times (and someday I will retire and cruise a cheaper Disney October hurricane cruise) we have to pay top dollar.  What we have consistently done is book early and cruise the older smaller ships.  This summer we will do our first Europe cruise, and will do so on the smaller vision.  The balconies were insane since there are fewer of them so we scored one of the 6 huge family ocean views... No balcony or double points but something a little bigger and fun.

   We are still a family that crowds 5 (3 kids age 15 to 22) into 1 hotel room and we have always done 1 cruise room with Pullmans (we've never had 5 be able to go at once so we stuff 4 into one room).  I have a hard time justifying getting 2 rooms when person 3 and 4 are so much cheaper in one room!  

   So anyway, with having to purchase air fare, I'm cheap.  I'm also only about to cruise for the 5th time and only going to make Platinum.  We are still laughing about the  fact I'm thrilled about getting robes!  I may never make diamond and it will likely change and be harder to reach anyway!  But it's always where you want to spend...I can't get through these obnoxious Illinois Winters without something to look forward to, so if rather spend less on the room and go every year.

   The other thing is that I'm about to try our first Oasis class cruise and they sticker shock of even an interior room almost killed me.  Whether I love it or not, I'm guessing I will be back to freedom class or lower where we can afford more room.  We are booked in Rhapsody for March 2020 because it was half of the Oasis trip this year.  

   Hey... If someone wants to adopt me and take me on their suite trip though, id be happy to abandon the family in a heartbeat though!!!!  Jane

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10 hours ago, mom2mybugs said:

This has been an interesting thread.  I'm not sure I will ever end up in a suite.  The reason I cruise Royal vs Disney (and yes I'm Disney obsessed) is because I just can't justify paying for 1 cruise what I could pay for 2 cruises.  The same pretty much goes for suites vs non suites.  With my husband and I both teachers, we are stuck cruising peak times (and someday I will retire and cruise a cheaper Disney October hurricane cruise) we have to pay top dollar.  What we have consistently done is book early and cruise the older smaller ships.  This summer we will do our first Europe cruise, and will do so on the smaller vision.  The balconies were insane since there are fewer of them so we scored one of the 6 huge family ocean views... No balcony or double points but something a little bigger and fun.

   We are still a family that crowds 5 (3 kids age 15 to 22) into 1 hotel room and we have always done 1 cruise room with Pullmans (we've never had 5 be able to go at once so we stuff 4 into one room).  I have a hard time justifying getting 2 rooms when person 3 and 4 are so much cheaper in one room!  

   So anyway, with having to purchase air fare, I'm cheap.  I'm also only about to cruise for the 5th time and only going to make Platinum.  We are still laughing about the  fact I'm thrilled about getting robes!  I may never make diamond and it will likely change and be harder to reach anyway!  But it's always where you want to spend...I can't get through these obnoxious Illinois Winters without something to look forward to, so if rather spend less on the room and go every year.

   The other thing is that I'm about to try our first Oasis class cruise and they sticker shock of even an interior room almost killed me.  Whether I love it or not, I'm guessing I will be back to freedom class or lower where we can afford more room.  We are booked in Rhapsody for March 2020 because it was half of the Oasis trip this year.  

   Hey... If someone wants to adopt me and take me on their suite trip though, id be happy to abandon the family in a heartbeat though!!!!  Jane

OP here and exactly us.  We're not teachers but do stick to school times now that our older one is in grade 8 ... so we have March break and last week of summer cruises booked. Like you, we book early (up to Mar 2021!).  The highest category stateroom we've done so far has been Spacious Balcony and we only booked that as we got a great price on a guarantee....and got lucky with the assigned room (but we loved it so did book same category on same ship next summer).

That's the thing...for the money that is being saved, we can put elsewhere and sometimes as much on another cruise or a couple days at Disney.  I'm actually amazed at the cost of "just a" JS on the Harmony cruise we have booked... for a family of 4 it is currently going for 9K CAD (never mind about fight, etc).

We are trying 2 connecting rooms this summer and next March...but they are interior category and worked out cheaper than single balcony...but that's not always the case.  Otherwise, the 4 of us in one room.  As mentioned in my post...I keep checking JS prices...and dream some day...but never pulled the trigger.

PS - We just made Platinum and get to try out those robes on Symphony in 2 weeks.  Will let you know how they are. ?

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Nope -- never stayed in a suite ..... in fact, for us, Oceanview is a step up .....

Our outlook is --- we're only in the cabin for the 3 "S's"  - there's a 4th one for the guys --- (I'll leave you all to figure out what they are)...

So, why pay for things that we may not take advantage of..... we are totally content with our interior in Steerage.

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17 hours ago, mom2mybugs said:

This has been an interesting thread.  I'm not sure I will ever end up in a suite.  The reason I cruise Royal vs Disney (and yes I'm Disney obsessed) is because I just can't justify paying for 1 cruise what I could pay for 2 cruises.  The same pretty much goes for suites vs non suites.  With my husband and I both teachers, we are stuck cruising peak times (and someday I will retire and cruise a cheaper Disney October hurricane cruise) we have to pay top dollar.  What we have consistently done is book early and cruise the older smaller ships.  This summer we will do our first Europe cruise, and will do so on the smaller vision.  The balconies were insane since there are fewer of them so we scored one of the 6 huge family ocean views... No balcony or double points but something a little bigger and fun.

   We are still a family that crowds 5 (3 kids age 15 to 22) into 1 hotel room and we have always done 1 cruise room with Pullmans (we've never had 5 be able to go at once so we stuff 4 into one room).  I have a hard time justifying getting 2 rooms when person 3 and 4 are so much cheaper in one room!  

   So anyway, with having to purchase air fare, I'm cheap.  I'm also only about to cruise for the 5th time and only going to make Platinum.  We are still laughing about the  fact I'm thrilled about getting robes!  I may never make diamond and it will likely change and be harder to reach anyway!  But it's always where you want to spend...I can't get through these obnoxious Illinois Winters without something to look forward to, so if rather spend less on the room and go every year.

   The other thing is that I'm about to try our first Oasis class cruise and they sticker shock of even an interior room almost killed me.  Whether I love it or not, I'm guessing I will be back to freedom class or lower where we can afford more room.  We are booked in Rhapsody for March 2020 because it was half of the Oasis trip this year.  

   Hey... If someone wants to adopt me and take me on their suite trip though, id be happy to abandon the family in a heartbeat though!!!!  Jane

I hear you about the winters.. We're downstate in the STL Metro area 

 

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18 hours ago, mom2mybugs said:

I can't get through these obnoxious Illinois Winters without something to look forward to, so if rather spend less on the room and go every year.

 

52 minutes ago, RickinSTL said:

I hear you about the winters.. We're downstate in the STL Metro area 

Don't even start with the winters...I'm not sure that I will make it another 13 days here in my igloo.

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On Anthem, there are junior suites with a pullman bed and a sofa bed, (children do not have to share) and you get a large balcony, a bath  and a half, shampoo that smells like trees, a coffee pot, and Coastal Kitchen for dinner.  We did this with our teenage boys last Easter, then two inside rooms for Christmas.

I don't think we will book inside again...  it was VERY hard to go back. Our next trip will be in adjacent balconies.

I am now spoiled...  so it depends on the trip, where it is going, and what ship we will be on. 

 

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13 minutes ago, Mrs. RoyalMoyal said:

On Anthem, there are junior suites with a pullman bed and a sofa bed, (children do not have to share) and you get a large balcony, a bath  and a half, shampoo that smells like trees, a coffee pot, and Coastal Kitchen for dinner.

These rooms are great.  We had one on Anthem last March and we have one booked for the Anthem GC this July.

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12 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

OP here and exactly us.  We're not teachers but do stick to school times now that our older one is in grade 8 ... so we have March break and last week of summer cruises booked. Like you, we book early (up to Mar 2021!).  The highest category stateroom we've done so far has been Spacious Balcony and we only booked that as we got a great price on a guarantee....and got lucky with the assigned room (but we loved it so did book same category on same ship next summer).

That's the thing...for the money that is being saved, we can put elsewhere and sometimes as much on another cruise or a couple days at Disney.  I'm actually amazed at the cost of "just a" JS on the Harmony cruise we have booked... for a family of 4 it is currently going for 9K CAD (never mind about fight, etc).

We are trying 2 connecting rooms this summer and next March...but they are interior category and worked out cheaper than single balcony...but that's not always the case.  Otherwise, the 4 of us in one room.  As mentioned in my post...I keep checking JS prices...and dream some day...but never pulled the trigger.

PS - We just made Platinum and get to try out those robes on Symphony in 2 weeks.  Will let you know how they are. ?

Oohhh...I totally want to hear about the robes lol!   We will try our first interior next month and maybe we will like it enough to connect those.  Or heck...my youngest is 15 and at some point they can pay for their own cruise lol. Can’t wait to hear about your trip!!  Jane

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4 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

Don't even start with the winters...I'm not sure that I will make it another 13 days here in my igloo.

Hey...we’ve been as awful as you guys this year...I may never recover from our almost 100degree change in 24 hrs.  And never did I think -50 wind chill was possible in the continental us lol.  I have to wait a whole 27 days....ughhhhhhh.   Can’t wait to hear about your trip!  Jane

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2 minutes ago, mom2mybugs said:

Hey...we’ve been as awful as you guys this year...I may never recover from our almost 100degree change in 24 hrs.  And never did I think -50 wind chill was possible in the continental us lol.  I have to wait a whole 27 days....ughhhhhhh.   Can’t wait to hear about your trip!  Jane

Ok, your igloo is also awful lol. This winter has not been long, but when it arrived, it got awful really fast!

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8 hours ago, mom2mybugs said:

Oohhh...I totally want to hear about the robes lol!   We will try our first interior next month and maybe we will like it enough to connect those.  Or heck...my youngest is 15 and at some point they can pay for their own cruise lol. Can’t wait to hear about your trip!!  Jane

I like that idea...my oldest is 13 almost 14, and he gets an allowance ?

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