Anthem - Grand Loft Suite Door Locks & Suite choice

[britinbrooklyn]

Hi there - New to cruising and this site but have our eyes on a GL for an upcoming cruise. We have 2 toddlers who are fairly adventurous.

One of the cabins we were looking at comes with the side balconies (10720) - it wasn't clear if those side doors have locks on them, i appreciate the slider does. Watching videos doesn't reveal any?

Additionally a lot has been said about an interior GL on 8th such as 8724 vs a corner suite. As we have kids we thought having the extra balconies to escape to whilst they sleep in the main room would be helpful - am i over thinking this and would the bigger room be better?

Anyone stayed in 8724 recently and can talk to the noise bleed from 270? I heard there was more insulation going in but not heard any confirmation. With the kids going to bed around 730pm we wanted to be sure it wouldn't be too loud for them, which may force us up to 10th.

Thx for all the great resources i have found since browsing this site!

[Lovetocruise2002]

Do not take those corner lofts! @WAAAYTOOOcan tell you more about them but they are much smaller than the middle lofts. We had 10724 and loved it. I have heard mixed reviews about ones on Deck 8. Some are bothered by the noise and some are not. Guess it depends on how early you all go to bed. Here is a blog that @GregDand I did in this past summer. We had the two middle lofts on Deck 10. There are photos of the suites in the blog.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/33005-“the-starry-neighbor-neighbour-chronicles-pining-for-the-fjords”-–-anthem-of-the-seas-july-8th-15th-2022/

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

So agree with @Lovetocruise2002 about the corner Star Lofts.  Don’t be lured by the side balconies !  They are small and utterly useless but the real drawback to the side SLS is the size of the suite itself.  Because of the geometry of the ship, the side suites are much, much smaller.  The upstairs in particular are about 30% smaller than their center suite sisters.  The bathroom is small, the vanity is in a horrible location and the entire closet and dressing area is completely missing on the corner suites.  We could not even get all of our clothes into the tiny closet in the upstairs bedroom.  What a disappointment that suite was after spending the week prior in one of the center suites. IMO those corner suites should not even be Star class and Royal must have agreed b/c they cut those suites out of future Q class ship designs.

I also agree that Deck 10 is preferable to deck 8.  Not only are the suites on 10 slightly larger than those on 8, but they are also quieter.  If you have your choice, I would recommend either one of the middle SLS on deck 10.

[britinbrooklyn]

Thanks for the feedback - so appreciated. They only have the center suites on 8 left , so hopefully the noise isn’t too much. 

[ScooterScott22]

I'll chime in since we had the GLS on the starboard side (10720) for an Alaska sailing (Ovation) a few years ago.  

We really enjoyed the stateroom.  Granted we had not done one of the larger GLS before so we did not have any perspective one how much space we could have had with the middle versions.  Space was never an issue for our party of three, since we would most commonly cruise in a regular veranda stateroom this room was nicer.  Our son did have to use the downstairs and the closet down there.  As far as noise, the was some noise from the Owners Loft Suite below just after boarding as the group opened their champagne to toast.  Otherwise it was really quiet the while time.   

What we did like was having the extra veranda's for Alaska.  Being able to get outside to look at wildlife or the scenery from the side or back and even the upstairs bedroom was nice.  With that sailing there is almost always something to see out there and you neve know when something interesting might show up (whales, seals and eagles) that you want to get outside quickly for.  

We did have one of the center GLS on deck 8 booked for sailing that was cancelled so can't give a direct comparison. 

Have fun, no  matter where you end up!

[britinbrooklyn]

It’s a done deal - 8724 booked for 2nd Jan. Thanks for all the advice. Now expect even more questions from the noobie. So excited!

[Jax]

We stayed in 10320; our son at the time liked the idea of the side balconies. Our choice was a side balcony on 10 or an interior on 8. We went with 10 due to reports of noise from 270.  But I agree with @WAAAYTOOOthe side balconies really are useless but I have always thought they may be good on an Alaska sailing.  One feature we didn’t mind was the split bathroom on the main floor. There were only 3 of us so we weren’t bothered by the smaller space. You can’t go wrong with whatever you decide. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

12 hours ago, britinbrooklyn said:

It’s a done deal - 8724 booked for 2nd Jan. Thanks for all the advice. Now expect even more questions from the noobie. So excited!

This is the same one we had in Feb 2019 !!!  It's a beautiful suite.  Be prepared for a bit of noise from 270 - particularly during the Cabaret show but you will looooove this suite.