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Living the Suite Life


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My husband and I aren't cheap...we're frugal. We always book a balcony (I need somewhere to go in the morning when he's still snoring so I don't fantasize about smothering him ?), but we generally prefer to allocate the rest of our budget to other things. 
BUT, we're sailing with friends for their 30th anniversary in January, and we just booked a 2 BR Grand Suite to share with them. I'm afraid that after this, I won't be able to go back to steerage ?

 

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14 minutes ago, krhardy said:

BUT, we're sailing with friends for their 30th anniversary in January, and we just booked a 2 BR Grand Suite to share with them. I'm afraid that after this, I won't be able to go back to steerage

Our last few cruises have been in a Grand Suite. As I look at cruises to book and some of the increased costs from what we paid, I have been trying to justify the unjustifiable LOL.

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54 minutes ago, ConstantCruiser said:

This is one where I firmly (but kindly) disagree with @Lovetocruise2002

Suites are great but you can actually go back to a non-suite cabin without your arms falling off.  

Agreed. Although in my spoiled case all my suite experiences are paid for by someone else. (If my mom's gonna spend my inheritance, I might as well enjoy it!) But when it's my money I have no problems cramming 4 friends in an inside if need be!

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1 hour ago, dodgestang said:

Booking a suite now.....means double, double points.  so 4 points per night sailed....can't go wrong with that either ?

If it's just two people, you probably could book two connecting ocean view balcony rooms for a lot less, and still each earn 4 points per night. ?

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23 minutes ago, dswallow said:

If it's just two people, you probably could book two connecting ocean view balcony rooms for a lot less, and still each earn 4 points per night. ?

You're talking to a guy who starts his search for a cruise with "Is the royal available" and then decides if he's willing to work down the category list or just change the date.   We all have our vices.

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As a mostly solo traveler, I have gone from suites to balcony's and insides. It really depends on the offerings. Non-Oasis class ships don't really have enough perks to justify the price imho. I am not much of a drinker and I can get the Key for a better deal.

I got my first RCG GT on Allure in Oct, incredible deal booked right before Covid; we started with 3 and added 2 more people and they each paid the third persons fare. The suites have been sold out for a while but similar sailings priced show a GS at almost double what I paid for less people. I have a S2S in Jan with an interior on Indy and a jr.suite on Mariner. I feel like I will be just as snobby.....

Olivia Newton-John 80S GIF

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12 minutes ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

Thinking we would probably never do a cruise again, my mom and I booked a Grand Suite for our first one ...

And now we cannot give up the perks and tub and space.

You will struggle to go back. Lol.

We first did a suite the first cruise with kids (son turned 3 on the cruise).

He's 9 now and has never seen anything other than a suite.

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4 hours ago, ConstantCruiser said:

This is one where I firmly (but kindly) disagree with @Lovetocruise2002

Suites are great but you can actually go back to a non-suite cabin without your arms falling off.  

 

True, but you / I now know what I'm missing and, the cruise is not quite as enjoyable. 

But it can be done, except you may also find your self sneaking back more often, looking for more ways to justify the expense.

Let see buy the granddaughter a car or cruise 3 weeks in a grand suite?  umm better think a little more on that

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My lady and I started in a balcony cabin on Explorer during its inaugural year. (Hint 2000). We moved up to a Jr. Suite because of the coffin-like shower for cruise 4.  Then a Grand Suite for cruise 7. We were hooked. We can't go back. I don't even bother to suggest it to my wife anymore. 

We'll be celebrating our 50th anniversary in February 2022. So, it works for us.

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My first cruise was a ocean view cabin, it was nice and that was when the cruise bug bit me but I swore I would never again do an ocean view cabin.  Afterwards my husband and I would always book balconies. And for 2 people a balcony isn't bad we had more than enough room, but then a few years ago we did our first B2B cruise on Allure and we scored a last minute upgrade to a junior suite. We called Royal maybe 2 weeks before the cruise and this was before they started the bidding process for upgrades and Royal upgraded us to a junior suite on the 2 cruise of our B2B cruise, that is when the suite bug bit us.  We did go back to a balcony for our next cruise but I kid you not we were miserable because we were both like we should have booked the junior suite.  Now days we either book a Sea or Sky Class suite, I would love to book a Star Class suite but for now it is out of my price range it is a bit hard for me to justify spending $20,000 dollars on a singular 7 night cruise.  At that rate I can book two cruises in grand suites or even crown lofts and still have change to spare.  Going from a balcony to a suite is dangerous because it is nearly impossible to go back there is so much more space in those suites.

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It is possible to go from GS to an inside cabin; we simply spent the difference on alcohol to help forget the fact we had to sleep standing up; LOL

Seriously though, for us it all depends on the ship, amenities, number of port/sea days. We do chop and change from inside, balcony and various suites depending. Although, with all the FCC we have acumilated, we have only booked suites for out upcoming cruises but have some casino offers where we will do it on the cheap in an inside; well mayby??

Never done an ocean view as we prefer to be higher and those cabin types are all lower decks.     

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On 6/8/2021 at 1:21 PM, dswallow said:

If it's just two people, you probably could book two connecting ocean view balcony rooms for a lot less, and still each earn 4 points per night. ?

I know this is one of Matt's favorite tips but often the savings is not enough to justify not booking Sky class with some of the accompanying amenities mentioned in this thread here. For example with Drink packages pushing $500 or more a person you can almost cut those out with the availability of the lounge drinks beginning at 11AM and a very generous cocktail hour. You won't have to spend extra on VOOM which most people are going to get nowadays and how much savings in time do you get from not needing to book shows but simply walk-in 15 minutes early to prime reserved seating. Those are just three amenities to look at while comparing four in a GS2 to connecting balcony cabins. Don't get me started on how awesome it is to have a dedicated concierge. 

Who made the comment about being able to return to suite class without ARMs falling off! I contest that statement and say legs may follow!

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1 hour ago, CruiseRoyalDad said:

I know this is one of Matt's favorite tips but often the savings is not enough to justify not booking Sky class with some of the accompanying amenities mentioned in this thread here. For example with Drink packages pushing $500 or more a person you can almost cut those out with the availability of the lounge drinks beginning at 11AM and a very generous cocktail hour. You won't have to spend extra on VOOM which most people are going to get nowadays and how much savings in time do you get from not needing to book shows but simply walk-in 15 minutes early to prime reserved seating. Those are just three amenities to look at while comparing four in a GS2 to connecting balcony cabins. Don't get me started on how awesome it is to have a dedicated concierge. 

Who made the comment about being able to return to suite class without ARMs falling off! I contest that statement and say legs may follow!

Financial dynamics change a lot depending on how many you're traveling with, too. I'm always solo, so even if you try to discount certain freebies they represent only half of the freebies someone traveling with another person could consider. I do wish it was easier to do some price comparison shopping for bookings, like saying "show me my total cost not just the cabin cost" so I can see combined costs of all the addons I will always buy, that maybe would be included in some options. But that's not their goal, really. They want people buying those cabins who are NOT cost conscious!

The only thing I did want to point out is what they often consider prime seating is definitely not what I consider prime seating. Though again, as a solo traveler, seating anywhere I prefer is usually not a big deal since I just need one seat. ?

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Just re-booked for Oct 2022 Greek Isle cruise after ours was cancelled for the second year in a row. That's the downside. The upside is that we decided to take the FCC which will allow us to move from a JS to a GS for only about $800 more total. Not a bad deal. We did hate to lose our corner aft JS balcony. It was huge. I guess they're are bigger problems than that. 

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On 6/8/2021 at 10:59 AM, dodgestang said:

Booking a suite now.....means double, double points.  so 4 points per night sailed....can't go wrong with that either ?

Just a heads up that this only applies to cruises booked by June 30, 2021 and departing before Sept 30, 2022.

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1 hour ago, dswallow said:

Financial dynamics change a lot depending on how many you're traveling with, too. I'm always go solo, so even if you try to discount certain freebies they represent only half of the freebies someone traveling with another person could consider. I do wish it was easier to do some price comparison shopping for bookings, like saying "show me my total cost not just the cabin cost" so I can see combined costs of all the addons I will always buy, that maybe would be included in some options. But that's not their goal, really. They want people buying those cabins who are NOT cost conscious!

The only thing I did want to point out is what they often consider prime seating is definitely not what I consider prime seating. Though again, as a solo traveler, seating anywhere I prefer is usually not a big deal since I just need one seat. ?

True the dynamic of a solo traveler definitely changes the cost. I completely agree with your cost comparison reference. That's why I spreadsheet the "extras" I'm likely to buy and compare against the amenity list for chosen suite class. There are some real "savings" if you approach suite classes from different levels of all inclusive and compare to the pay as you go model. What a lot of people likely never take into account is that total cost scenario. Also, some of the costs IMHO cannot be quantified apples to apples. Here's one, even if I decline to do ANY specialty dining, which I just can't do, but if I did, Coastal Kitchen fills that niche quite well with more intimate take on that main dining menu. If you decline any specialty dining in the standard category it's main dining room all the way. Do we like the main dining room? Yes! Do we LOVE CK? YES!!!

 

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On 6/8/2021 at 10:19 AM, krhardy said:

My husband and I aren't cheap...we're frugal. We always book a balcony (I need somewhere to go in the morning when he's still snoring so I don't fantasize about smothering him ?), but we generally prefer to allocate the rest of our budget to other things. 
BUT, we're sailing with friends for their 30th anniversary in January, and we just booked a 2 BR Grand Suite to share with them. I'm afraid that after this, I won't be able to go back to steerage ?

 

I sailed with my family in a two bedroom aqua theatre suite on Allure; but, I always go back to interior.

The experience was wonderful; but, it was easy for me to transition. 

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On 6/8/2021 at 11:39 AM, dodgestang said:

You're talking to a guy who starts his search for a cruise with "Is the royal available" and then decides if he's willing to work down the category list or just change the date.   We all have our vices.

A suite with double points is 4 points per night, a balcony is 2 points.

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I think op will be fine.

I too wish there was a way, other my current system, to compare cruise offerings. Since I mostly travel solo, a suite is almost always a moot point for me. I cannot always justify $3000+ when it is just me, not that it is unaffordable. It is just I could always spend the money elsewhere, plus I won't be in the room that much and its just me. Now maybe that's because I haven't stayed in a suite on RCG.

Update:

I also want to add I am staying in a Jr. Suite on Mariner, hardly any perks, and will earn 6 C&A point per every night. 30 in total for the whole cruise, which will get me 2 points away from Diamond. I wish I could squeeze another cruise or justify upgrading my Indy promenade interior up to a suite. The suites are more than a whole other cruise.

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@TeresaMc That's how my 2 bedroom GS happened. Originally was going to do 2 jr.suites, saw the suite was a few hundred more. Three of the five people in the room have never been on a cruise, one has never been on a plane, and my brother has only done river cruises.  A suite is a heck of a way to introduce someone to cruising. Pizza Yes GIF

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