Owners/Grand Panoramic Suites?

[Sunny_D]

Apologies if this has been asked before—I searched all over and couldn’t find anything—but I’m confused about these categories called “owners panoramic” and “grand panoramic suites”. I have been doing a lot of research and looking at future bookings for a long time and never heard of these til recently. I was on a third party website that shows all the floorplans of different RCCL rooms (looking up our own crown loft suite floorplan plan for our Feb cruise on Allure) where I saw plans for those two I mentioned above. On every hypothetical booking I’ve ever searched—including those two years or more in the future—I’ve never seen either of those available as an option to book. Are they very few in number? What ships are they on, and where on the ship are they located? For anyone who’s stayed in one in the past, how did they compare to other Star class suites? Looks like they have pretty neat, unique layouts. Any info would be appreciated, thanks.

[twangster]

31 minutes ago, Sunny_D said:

Apologies if this has been asked before—I searched all over and couldn’t find anything—but I’m confused about these categories called “owners panoramic” and “grand panoramic suites”. I have been doing a lot of research and looking at future bookings for a long time and never heard of these til recently. I was on a third party website that shows all the floorplans of different RCCL rooms (looking up our own crown loft suite floorplan plan for our Feb cruise on Allure) where I saw plans for those two I mentioned above. On every hypothetical booking I’ve ever searched—including those two years or more in the future—I’ve never seen either of those available as an option to book. Are they very few in number? What ships are they on, and where on the ship are they located? For anyone who’s stayed in one in the past, how did they compare to other Star class suites? Looks like they have pretty neat, unique layouts. Any info would be appreciated, thanks.

Pretty unique, as in one per Oasis and Allure, two of each in the fleet.  Deck 17.

Consequently they book fast and then you don't see them.  

 

The ultimate panoramic suites on Oasis were added in the amplification.  Allure was suppose to get them as well but the Allure amp never happened so the UP on Oasis are also unique.

[Sunny_D]

Thanks! So those aren’t on Symphony, Harmony, or Wonder? What type of suite replaced them on the newer ships?

[twangster]

41 minutes ago, Sunny_D said:

Thanks! So those aren’t on Symphony, Harmony, or Wonder? What type of suite replaced them on the newer ships?

Harmony and Symphony:

[Sunny_D]

20 minutes ago, twangster said:

Harmony and Symphony:

Very helpful, thanks! I’m sure they had valid reasons for removing them on the newer ships but it seems an interesting choice as I would have guessed they generated quite a bit of revenue from those two suites.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Sunny_D said:

Very helpful, thanks! I’m sure they had valid reasons for removing them on the newer ships but it seems an interesting choice as I would have guessed they generated quite a bit of revenue from those two suites.

Coastal Kitchen and the Suite Lounge were undersized originally.  

While suites earn more money per booking the larger the suite the less efficient that money becomes on a dollar per square foot basis.  Big suites consume big space.  Space is in high demand on a cruise ship.  While they charge a lot that doesn't mean those square feet are generating the same revenue as other square feet on the ship.  

It would be like building a ship with nothing but really big suites.  In the end you aren't carrying as many people and that means fewer people on board to spend money on board.  Sometimes more regular sized cabins in the same space generates more revenue in the long run. 

Sometimes to support more normal sized suites you need more space for bigger suite restaurants and lounges so you are better off getting rid of big suites that can only hold two guests without putting people on sofas.  Who want to pay all that money and half the folks in that expensive suite are sofa beds?  So in the end all that space is typically used by two people so only two wallets on board to spend money on board.

[Sunny_D]

59 minutes ago, twangster said:

Coastal Kitchen and the Suite Lounge were undersized originally.  

While suites earn more money per booking the larger the suite the less efficient that money becomes on a dollar per square foot basis.  Big suites consume big space.  Space is in high demand on a cruise ship.  While they charge a lot that doesn't mean those square feet are generating the same revenue as other square feet on the ship.  

It would be like building a ship with nothing but really big suites.  In the end you aren't carrying as many people and that means fewer people on board to spend money on board.  Sometimes more regular sized cabins in the same space generates more revenue in the long run. 

Sometimes to support more normal sized suites you need more space for bigger restaurants and lounges so you are better off getting rid of big suites that can only hold two guests without putting people on sofas.  Who want to pay all that money and half the folks in that expensive suite are sofa beds?  So in the end all that space is typically used by two people so only two wallets on board to spend money on board.

That all makes a lot of sense…never considered any of that before. Thanks so much for all the helpful info!

[TexanTwoStep]

17 hours ago, Sunny_D said:

Thanks! So those aren’t on Symphony, Harmony, or Wonder? What type of suite replaced them on the newer ships?

Voyager has a few as well!  I was lucky enough to snag one on our cruise in June.  Super excited about the floor to ceiling windows on the front of the ship

[twangster]

57 minutes ago, TexanTwoStep said:

Voyager has a few as well!  I was lucky enough to snag one on our cruise in June.  Super excited about the floor to ceiling windows on the front of the ship

The Ocean View Panoramic Suites (VP) on other classes are not the same.  No balcony for example and the big difference - NOT Star Class.  

[WAAAYTOOO]

The spaces that are currently the Grand and Owner's Panoramic Suites on Oasis and Allure were originally other venues.  I seem to recall that the OPS was originally the chapel.  I don't recall what the GPS was, originally.  During one of the early shipyard makeovers, these 2 spaces were converted into the SC suites they are now.  That was before Harmony et al were designed.  So with the redesign which resulted in Harmony, Symphony and beyond, they repurposed that spaced into more Crown Loft Suites rather than keeping those 2 enormous SC suites.

The Ultimate Panoramic Suite (the one up front with no balcony) is a completely different repurpose-ing and came along much later.  Allure was supposed to get the UPS during her amplification, but that has not happened yet.  So for now, only Oasis has the UPS.

I love the Grand and Owner's Panoramic Suites and it's a shame that they designed them out, but I'm not surprised.  I'm sure they can make more money with more CLS than they do with those 2 big SC suites.

[twangster]

19 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

The spaces that are currently the Grand and Owner's Panoramic Suites on Oasis and Allure were originally other venues.  I seem to recall that the OPS was originally the chapel.  I don't recall what the GPS was, originally.  During one of the early shipyard makeovers, these 2 spaces were converted into the SC suites they are now.  That was before Harmony et al were designed.  So with the redesign which resulted in Harmony, Symphony and beyond, they repurposed that spaced into more Crown Loft Suites rather than keeping those 2 enormous SC suites.

The Ultimate Panoramic Suite (the one up front with no balcony) is a completely different repurpose-ing and came along much later.  Allure was supposed to get the UPS during her amplification, but that has not happened yet.  So for now, only Oasis has the UPS.

I love the Grand and Owner's Panoramic Suites and it's a shame that they designed them out, but I'm not surprised.  I'm sure they can make more money with more CLS than they do with those 2 big SC suites.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/10/09/oasis-of-the-seas-deck-plan-changes-coming-after-dry-dock-complete

• Viking Crown Lounge has become the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen restaurant
• Pinnacle Lounge has become a Royal Suite (1701)
• Pinnacle Chapel has become a Royal Suite (1758)