krhardy Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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 MicDay, shaydav19, dee02554 and 11 others 6 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 14 minutes ago, krhardy said: I won't be able to go back to steerage Once you go suite, it can never be beat. Signed, Someone who fell into the suite trap HBCcruiser, Snotarni, Matt and 6 others 4 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk8erguy1978 Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairlynew Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 On the ships with Coastal Kitchen, I am firmly in the suite column. I love having access to CK and not having to reserve seats for shows. On smaller ships, it does not matter as much, although I really hate the tube showers, so I try to stick with junior suites. Pooch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 30 minutes ago, krhardy said: I'm afraid that after this, I won't be able to go back to steerage Umm...it's going to happen. Once you go suite, you don't go back. Psych yourself up lol KristiZ and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConstantCruiser Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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. Lovetocruise2002, sk8erguy1978, Tira04 and 3 others 3 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 9 minutes ago, ConstantCruiser said: Suites are great but you can actually go back to a non-suite cabin without your arms falling off. DJsMrs, Matt, WAAAYTOOO and 7 others 2 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 11 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. Some of us can. I cannot. lol #suitesnob 12thman, Pooch, MicDay and 5 others 1 5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConstantCruiser Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 11 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: emmef, Snotarni, smokeybandit and 2 others 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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! 12thman, Poolside, MicDay and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 Haven't tried anything but Suite class. Can't imagine having coastal kitchen and not being able to dine there. WAAAYTOOO and Lovetocruise2002 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgestang Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 Booking a suite now.....means double, double points. so 4 points per night sailed....can't go wrong with that either HBCcruiser, WAAAYTOOO, Neesa and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 14 minutes ago, dodgestang said: Booking a suite now.....means double, double points. so 4 points per night sailed....can't go wrong with that either Yes! Absolutely another reason to book!! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 This double points thing + suite will get me to Diamond Plus no later than March 2023. This instead of 2026. I'll take it! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk8erguy1978 Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 1 hour 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. krhardy, KristiZ, RWDW1204 and 1 other 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dswallow Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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. JimnKathy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgestang Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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. Lovetocruise2002, Pooch, WAAAYTOOO and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 7 minutes ago, dodgestang said: You're talking to a guy who starts his search for a cruise with "Is the royal available" +1 haha CruisingOz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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..... columbus_cruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr martini Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 it's just money, you can always make more of it! JasonOasis and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dswallow Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 12 minutes ago, dr martini said: it's just money, you can always make more of it! Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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. MicDay, PRebecca, KristiZ and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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. WAAAYTOOO, CrimsonCruiser and CruiseRoyalDad 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseGus Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBCcruiser Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 33 minutes ago, CruiseGus said: True, but you / I now know what I'm missing and, the cruise is not quite as enjoyable. Agreed. I would just spend my time perseverating over the fact that I was not in a suite. Yes, I have the suite-snob sickness. YOLO I say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjweber3 Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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. KristiZ, HBCcruiser, JimnKathy and 4 others 4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonOasis Posted June 8, 2021 Report Share Posted June 8, 2021 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. HBCcruiser, RWDW1204, CruiseRoyalDad and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingOz Posted June 9, 2021 Report Share Posted June 9, 2021 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. rjweber3 and CruiseRoyalDad 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseRoyalDad Posted June 10, 2021 Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 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! rjweber3, KristiZ and Baked Alaska 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dswallow Posted June 10, 2021 Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 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. WAAAYTOOO and rjweber3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted June 10, 2021 Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 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. PRebecca 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted June 10, 2021 Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseRoyalDad Posted June 10, 2021 Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 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!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus_cruiser Posted June 10, 2021 Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda R Posted June 10, 2021 Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted June 10, 2021 Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 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. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeresaMc Posted June 11, 2021 Report Share Posted June 11, 2021 I am taking a friend on her first ever cruise. She paid her half of an interior. Little does she know I upgraded to a junior suite because I am a suite snob. I bet she will be broke forever. Haha Ogilthorpe, krhardy, Ampurp85 and 4 others 3 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted June 11, 2021 Report Share Posted June 11, 2021 @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. WAAAYTOOO and Snotarni 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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