RC makes changes to some suite cabin perks

[smokeybandit]

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/11/06/royal-caribbean-drops-suite-benefits-select-cabins

 

So after May 2, 2026:

For Icon class:

• Surfside Family suites get demoted down to Sea Class
• Sunset Junior suites get promoted to Sky Class

Any ship that currently includes internet for Sky Class Junior Suites will no longer offer that perk.

 

The internet perk thing is dumb. But I guess they're finding they're losing money on that line item?

The relegation of suites seems odd, too. I'd love to know the justification there

[twangster]

To me it's odd they claim they are making changes to standardize suite benefits across the fleet yet they continue to only have Sea/Sky/Star on newer ships.   On ships with Sky class it's inconsistent between ships with some Sky class ships having beer and wine from 11am to 11pm and some Sky class ships not having this perk.

I really wish they would actually standardize suite benefits across the fleet.  It wouldn't be that hard to put Sea and Sky class on older ships and finally provide full suite benefit standardization across the fleet.  I get that Coastal Kitchen isn't available on all ships but that is just one perk and if they really wanted to they could have added a CK during Voyager and Freedom class amplification.  

It's almost like they want to dabble with a suite product but they aren't fully committed to the suite concept.  

I have a full suite booked on a Voyager class ship which is rare for me because the suite perks on this class just don't have value to me. 

[F1guynz]

These Sky Class junior suites as described on the website had the same amenities listed that were on the standard junior suite, It was always confusing as to what you actually received as a benefit of booking this type of suite, with some of it hidden away in the fine print.

I think it was wrong for Royal to offer these as Sky class suites but not provide all the same benefits as Sky class. You are paying a lot extra for suite lounge access and not much else. 

To me this is equivalent to offering Star class without a genie and still calling it Star class, it should have always had a different name to differentiate it from full Sky class. Cloud class maybe 

 

[asquared17]

cloud class

[ZBrady]

23 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The relegation of suites seems odd, too. I'd love to know the justification there

The anecdotal justification I have seen is that there were too many children on the Suite Deck, so reclassifying the Surfside Family Suites presumably fixes that problem.

Personally, this is a plus for us if the change in amenities brings the price of a Surfside Family Suite down. 

[smokeybandit]

3 minutes ago, ZBrady said:

The anecdotal justification I have seen is that there were too many children on the Suite Deck, so reclassifying the Surfside Family Suites presumably fixes that problem.

Personally, this is a plus for us if the change in amenities brings the price of a Surfside Family Suite down. 

Could be, but wouldn't those who booked the Surfside suite just book the Sunset JS now?

[ZBrady]

10 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Could be, but wouldn't those who booked the Surfside suite just book the Sunset JS now?

Potentially, for sure. But I wonder if what is happening in practice is families are mainly booking the room for the location/configuration and the amenities are an added bonus; then after this change families will continue to book the Surfside Suites despite the change in benefits.

Could have a misread of the situation/demand, though.

[smokeybandit]

6 minutes ago, ZBrady said:

Potentially, for sure. But I wonder if what is happening in practice is families are mainly booking the room for the location/configuration and the amenities are an added bonus; then after this change families will continue to book the Surfside Suites despite the change in benefits.

Could have a misread of the situation/demand, though.

My question will be, will the cost of a surfside suite drop since suddenly there's a ton less value in having the room? Or will they still charge suite prices for non-suite perks.

 

I've got a Surfside suite for March 2026 on Star. I'll be curious to see the prices they're charging once the May 2026 stuff comes out.

[JasonOasis]

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

My question will be, will the cost of a surfside suite drop since suddenly there's a ton less value in having the room? Or will they still charge suite prices for non-suite perks.

 

I've got a Surfside suite for March 2026 on Star. I'll be curious to see the prices they're charging once the May 2026 stuff comes out.

You're still in a suite now it Sea Class instead of Sky, but they should lower the price because you won't have access to all the amenities Sky Class affords you.

 

In my opinion Royal needs to get rid of Sky Class Junior Suite designations because there is absolutely no value to the guest any longer.  They are taking away free internet, I think the next thing to go will be access to Coastal Kitchen which Royal can already limit Sky Class Junior suite customers from accessing if it leads to overcrowding.  Access to the suite lounge and suite sun deck would probably be safe only because most people in Sky Class Junior suites don't hang out in the lounge or on the suite sun deck.  As Royal continues to strip value away from this class of stateroom it has me wondering why even keep it around when all you're doing is upsetting guest booked in Sky Class Junior suites because they aren't getting what they paid for. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

16 minutes ago, JasonOasis said:

why even keep it around when all you're doing is upsetting guest booked in Sky Class Junior suites because they aren't getting what they paid for. 

..probably b/c most people won't know that its not a real suite....but since the word "suite" is in the title, they will continue to charge $$$ for them,

[dmattinson]

Glad I'm sailing in 2025 on Star in a Surfside family suite and will still get the benefits.  If they changed it before then, I would likely have cancelled it and moved my booking to another, older ship and book a suite that gets the benefits.  I'm not fond of the location, but we juggled accessible accommodations availability and price of a suite in the decision.  The perks of being D+ AND having Suite perks made the pricing worth it, but without the suite perks, over $500pp/day wouldn't sit well any longer.

[TheoneandonlyMICAH]

On 11/6/2024 at 8:32 AM, smokeybandit said:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/11/06/royal-caribbean-drops-suite-benefits-select-cabins

 

So after May 2, 2026:

For Icon class:

• Surfside Family suites get demoted down to Sea Class
• Sunset Junior suites get promoted to Sky Class

Any ship that currently includes internet for Sky Class Junior Suites will no longer offer that perk.

 

The internet perk thing is dumb. But I guess they're finding they're losing money on that line item?

The relegation of suites seems odd, too. I'd love to know the justification there

This is a bummer. I was getting ready to book a surfside family suite on either Icon or Star for summer 2026 when the itineraries were released next week. This room checked all the boxes for us. Suite benefits for me and my wife and my daughter who is 10, wanted to be in the heart of Surfside. 

Oh well. 

 

@smokeybandit You wouldn't happen to be going on the Oct 2025 group cruise, would you?  I missed meeting up with you on the June 2024 sailing of Adventure of the Seas. Im hoping to meet you this time in the suite lounge. 

[smokeybandit]

1 hour ago, TheoneandonlyMICAH said:

This is a bummer. I was getting ready to book a surfside family suite on either Icon or Star for summer 2026 when the itineraries were released next week. This room checked all the boxes for us. Suite benefits for me and my wife and my daughter who is 10, wanted to be in the heart of Surfside. 

Oh well. 

 

@smokeybandit You wouldn't happen to be going on the Oct 2025 group cruise, would you?  I missed meeting up with you on the June 2024 sailing of Adventure of the Seas. Im hoping to meet you this time in the suite lounge. 

Nope. Cruising in october 2025, but no group cruise.

[NRD]

Everyone is tired of kids running around in suite lounge and the deck area assigned to suites. 

[TheoneandonlyMICAH]

1 hour ago, NRD said:

Everyone is tired of kids running around in suite lounge and the deck area assigned to suites. 

I can see this. However, there is that grey area of, how much of this is the parents' fault and how much is the kids' fault. As a parent of a 10 year old, I ensure my kid is not "that kid".  But I understand your point. I just think it would have been good to include the Surfside family suite among the suite level rooms. It may open up those families to booking suite level rooms in the future and generating more revenue for Royal. 

[twangster]

On 11/9/2024 at 10:19 AM, NRD said:

Everyone is tired of kids running around in suite lounge and the deck area assigned to suites. 

I understand the basis of your comment yet Royal is a family brand. 

It's like first class on an airplane doesn't mean no kids or screaming babies.  Disappointing when it happens but if the screaming baby is properly in first class for whatever reason, then it is entitled to be there. When I book first class no where did it ever state first class will be void of kids.  That should never be assumed.

The suite areas on a cruise ship is no different.  People with children can and do book suites.  Suite areas can have policies which are up to the crew to enforce.  

If you really want to cruise without the possibility of a child, even a soft spoken child politely making a comment you might hear, Royal is not the cruise line to ensure you'll never hear a child, ever, in a suite area.  

Suites of all kinds are booked with people with kids including Star class suites, and those children are entitled to be in suite areas as long as they follow policy.

[BrianB]

I’ve been hearing that they are strongly considering amending the Suite Designation Policy to the following…

‘Any cabin will become a suite with all of the benefits associated with the highest suite level on any ship if that specific cabin is occupied by any passenger who’s first name begins with ‘B’…and ends with ‘N’…and has three letters in between, the last two of which must be vowels.’

Figure if I repeat this enough, it will take off!