Yo2slick Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 I know everyone's opinion will vary greatly on this but my wife and I are debating on 1 cruise this year in a CLS or 2 cruises in a balcony room. I love the benefits of being in a suite but having a hard time justifying the cost when we could take an additional cruise. Just curious if anyone else is doing the same thing. PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 I would absolutely take the two cruises in a balcony room. We are the type that spend very little time in the room other than to shower and sleep, so paying twice the price for a suite wouldn't make sense to us. In fact, to be honest, even spending the extra for a balcony is a bit pointless since it only really gets used if one of us sitting out there while the other is getting ready! In the past, our mantra was always "cheapest room with a window", which could either be an oceanview or, on the ships that have them, a promenade view. However, during the restart, the lower prices combined with our D balcony discount meant that the cheapest with a window also happened to have a balcony and DH has been spoiled. Which probably means that if we had become used to sailing in a suite we'd likely take one cruise in a suite over two in a balcony room! KJones, Plasticbrain, Yo2slick and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 Two cruises >>>>> one cruise CLS (with benefits) > balcony Yo2slick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasticbrain Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 I mean a cruise is about the experience, I would def go for 2 cruises (like i am doing myself) I have chosen cheaper room to be avle to splurge on drinks,spa and excursions... Yo2slick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianB Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 I sail solo, but I had the itch to try the Loft suites on Oasis. During the restart, when they were trying to get people back to cruising, the CLS prices weren’t that bad…even for a solo…and I really enjoyed them. Very nice having the exclusivity of the Loft deck on Oasis. I also did the Loft and the one and two bedroom Grand suites on the Anthem. But, now that the itch has been scratched…I really enjoy my balcony cabins. More than enough room and lots of storage. Plus I choose where I want to be on the ship. Much more convenient. I’m on team ‘another cruise’! PPPJJ-GCVAB and Yo2slick 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki007 Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 2 is better than 1 Yo2slick and Bazza 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPPJJ-GCVAB Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 I am definitely Two Cruises on this one! The largest room I have had to date is a JS on Independence. Would I like to experience the suite life? Yes I would. However…I enjoy the cruising much more than the room experience. Yo2slick and Bazza 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 An alternative: two cruises in a suite on a non-Oasis class. Yo2slick, WAAAYTOOO and PPPJJ-GCVAB 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 @Yo2slick, where do you have to come from, for the cruise ? Do you have to fly ? If so, I would consider the cost of transportation into this equation in addition to the cost of the cruises themselves. Obviously, if you have to pay big $$ to get here then it might be a better deal to just splurge on the suite and just fly once....unless the 2 cruises you are considering are B2B....then, airfare wouldn't be a concern. PPPJJ-GCVAB, BrianB, KJones and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 I definitely love the Suite Life but I think splurging on a suite as large the crown loft for just 2 people isn't the kind of bang you want, especially if you're not planning to host other people. I'd downgrade to a smaller suite (Grand or maybe Owners) and book a second cruise in a balcony or something. Yo2slick and Neesa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Cruisers Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 I think it depends on how much of an undertaking getting to the port is for you, to @WAAAYTOOO's point. I guess it also depends on how much to you a cruise fare is to begin with - some people reach to pay for an interior cabin, while others could live in the $80k a week family cabin on Icon without ever missing the money. Neither is a less legitimate vacationer than the other. Assuming getting to the port isn't prohibitive for some reason, I'd take two cruises over one in a CLS unless you're getting a great deal both ways. Be realistic about what you're getting by booking a CLS. Royal doesn't really execute luxury at a high level (indeed, this level of pricing is very much a new frontier for them), remember; this is more akin to splurging for a suite at the Hilton than splurging for a suite at the Four Seasons. The room is bigger and you'll get a list of benefits that have more marketing cache than practical utility. A cruise itself is a life experience and an opportunity to make the kind of memories with your loved ones that you'll be replaying in your head on your death bed - I would choose creating more vacation memories on the aggregate than paying more for something that - unpopular opinion - at best, will probably be more forgettable than you might think, and fairly frustrating (imagine: paying Four Seasons pricing for Hilton service...) at worst. Yo2slick and Neesa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcruisers Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 Would like to do the CLS suite to experience it. Currently it's a hike to get to any cruise port so we're doing only one a year, would probably pick the CLS in the immediate term Yo2slick and PPPJJ-GCVAB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo2slick Posted January 16 Author Report Share Posted January 16 3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: @Yo2slick, where do you have to come from, for the cruise ? Do you have to fly ? If so, I would consider the cost of transportation into this equation in addition to the cost of the cruises themselves. Obviously, if you have to pay big $$ to get here then it might be a better deal to just splurge on the suite and just fly once....unless the 2 cruises you are considering are B2B....then, airfare wouldn't be a concern. Both cruises would be out of Galveston. We usually drive down but flew in last time. 2 cruises in a balcony including getting to the port is less than the cost of one CLS cruise. Just seemed crazy not to book 2 cruises and use the money on something else. Now that I add it up we could almost do 3 cruises on Harmony in Balcony rooms for 1 CLS cruise. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo2slick Posted January 16 Author Report Share Posted January 16 4 hours ago, smokeybandit said: An alternative: two cruises in a suite on a non-Oasis class. We could do that but we have fell in love with Oasis class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo2slick Posted January 16 Author Report Share Posted January 16 2 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said: I definitely love the Suite Life but I think splurging on a suite as large the crown loft for just 2 people isn't the kind of bang you want, especially if you're not planning to host other people. I'd downgrade to a smaller suite (Grand or maybe Owners) and book a second cruise in a balcony or something. OS and CLS Suite are the same price and GS is only 200pp less. Even JS is double the cost of the Balcony rooms. Neesa and CrimsonCruiser 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 6 minutes ago, Yo2slick said: OS and CLS Suite are the same price and GS is only 200pp less. Even JS is double the cost of the Balcony rooms. what ship are you looking at that the prices are that close? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 28 minutes ago, Yo2slick said: We could do that but we have fell in love with Oasis class. Well then you do indeed have quite the conundrum. In a complete "you're you, I'm me" vacuum, I'd say go with 2 cruises vs. 1 CLS cruise, but keep in eye out for future years looking for deals where it may fit financially to book two CLS cruises. Also there's always a chance of a Royal Up Neesa and Yo2slick 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo2slick Posted January 16 Author Report Share Posted January 16 17 minutes ago, CrimsonCruiser said: what ship are you looking at that the prices are that close? Harmony out of Galveston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinK Posted January 17 Report Share Posted January 17 On 1/15/2024 at 11:49 PM, Yo2slick said: I know everyone's opinion will vary greatly on this but my wife and I are debating on 1 cruise this year in a CLS or 2 cruises in a balcony room. I love the benefits of being in a suite but having a hard time justifying the cost when we could take an additional cruise. Just curious if anyone else is doing the same thing. What about 2 cruises in Jr. Suite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo2slick Posted January 19 Author Report Share Posted January 19 On 1/17/2024 at 2:37 PM, KevinK said: What about 2 cruises in Jr. Suite. Jr Suite is a little more than double the cost of the balcony. We are going to do 2 cruises and my best friend and his wife decided to book on our sailing as well. So it worked out great! FionaMG and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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