Does becoming Elite make you less inclined to book a suite?

Not Elite yet, but you'd better believe I would be less motivated to book a suite. Besides the perk overlap, there is no more need for the 2-Captains-Circle-credits-for-a-suite perk. I could certainly find a use for the double-minibar perk, though.

We have been elite for several years and have booked more suites as Elite than we did before. We began cruising in either a balcony or a mini-suite. We began booking full suites when we found we often could book a full suite for at or very near to a mini-suite price on a per diem basis.

 

As an example, we have a full suite later this year for a 20 day cruise on the Royal at less cost than a 10 day in a mini-suite.

 

We do not book a full suite for the perks (although Breakfast in Sabatini's is one of our favorites). We book a suite because it is the most comfortable way to cruise. We do spend time in our cabin because it is the most comfortable place on the ship. On sea days we always have lunch of the regular menu in our cabin.

 

If booking a suite does not stretch your cruise budget go for it. If it does, book the best cabin category you can within your budget.

Well said. I was trying to figure out how to say about the same things...we will look at pricing and make our decisions about suite v. mini v. balcony. When a suite comes in at less than a mini, it becomes almost a no-brainer.

What exactly is the math? How does the full suite become cheaper?

If someone books a full suite for this reason their thinking is not financially sound. Checking a random 7 day winter Caribbean cruise found the difference between a balcony cabin and a full suite to range from $93/pp/night to $192/pp/night. Hardly worth the price to gain an extra cruise credit resulting in a mini bar set up, some laundry, and tender service.

 

Most passengers book suites for space, comfort and because they have the disposable income. It is the way they travel.

It does depend on the sailing. Last year on some of the 3/4 day cruises it priced out better (fare, parking, tips, etc) to book a suite than to book two cruises or two solo cabins.

The only reason to book a suite on Princess is for the space and comfort. Princess offers little in suite benefits compared to other lines. It would be more economical to book a lower category room and pay for laundry service or use the self serve laundry. I don't think anyone who can afford a suite is worried about captains club points and a free bar set up.

 

I would like to know what is so great about breakfast in Sabatini's compared to breakfast in the MDR? If it's about the Mimosa it would also be more economical to purchase one in the MDR daily.

We have 7 cruises with Princess-5 in suites and 2 in mini-suites. The space in the suites is what has made us book a suite for the next cruise (Emerald, Rome to Barcelona in 7 weeks from now). We only book aft suites as we like aft (wake, no wind, 18 x 8ft balcony). Huge marble bathroom split in two so he can shave in one half and she shower or take a jacuzzi bath next door. Heavy curtain divides the living room from bedroom so he can be up at 4.30 and get dressed etc next door while she sleeps unaware.

So that's our reason for booking suites- the extras are all gravy;

Priority boarding regardless of card color.

One free mini bar set up worth @ $100

Free laundry

Daily canapés/fruit/flowers

MDR menus delivered on request daily. Eat in your room NOT from the limited room service menu

Cocktails etc 5 to 7 pm in Skywalkers

Captain's Cocktail Party invites (but we seldom go)

2 small bottles of Korbel for sail away

and lastly Sabatini's Breakfast. I like the MDR breakfasts but they are in a big noisy room. Sabatini's is quiet and calm. A little Italian music playing softly in the background. Usually 3 or 4 tables occupied (we go at 9 a.m) and 3 servers. They have their own kitchen and a great espresso/cappuccino machine. You can order anything that is being served on the ship that morning and if need be they will go fetch it from another kitchen if they don't have the ingredients handy. If you wanted steak and eggs you could tell them the day before so they could have a steak defrosted and seasoned.

It is a very restful elegant way to have breakfast and ease yourself into the day.

We will be Elite when we complete one cruise after the Emerald but that won't change our preference for suites. At most we can only cruise twice a year so we want to enjoy it to the max and having a big room and balcony with a dining table and teak loungers helps us do just that. The perks aren't the draw but we'll take them.

If we were retired and wanted to cruise more often then the budget would probably lead us to book more Mini Suites.

Our next cruise after the Emerald is Celebrity Silhouette in January and there we have an aft suite so it will be interesting to compare the experience.

Norris' 2 cents

I'm just curious as to whether achieving Elite status makes some people less inclined to book a suite. I'm sure there are many Elites who do book suites, but I wonder if there are others who feel less inclined to do so because they already get some of the same perks by being Elite. Well, Elites, what say you?

We would still book suites, depending upon the itinerary and the cost.

Absolutely. With the possible exception of an attractive upsell to someone on 13 cruise credits, no-one with any financial sense would book a suite just to accelerate the journey to becoming Elite.

 

Hardly surprising therefore that the answers to the OP's question, which was specifically aimed at those who booked suites before they became Elite, seem to fall in to two groups, namely :

a) folks that do not book suites and wouldn't 'continue' to book suites once they got to Elite but do feel the need to tell those who do book suites that they are wasting their disposable income.

b) folks that do book suites and didn't (won't) stop booking suites once they got (get) their black card. As you say, it is the way they travel.

LOL. Right? I don't quite understand why someone cares what someone else spends his money on.

Each person is different. We find it is well worth the extra money, and still cruise as often as we want in a suite.:)

I agree.

We have always booked a suite simply for the increased space. The perks are nice but certainly not worth the increased fare.

Mike:)

I weigh everything together. I price in what I would have been willing to pay for the perks, and usually it comes to about 20% of the difference between mini-suite and penthouse. The remaining 80% is for the suite itself.

Once I get to Elite, the value of the perks definitely goes down. So the suite just has to be that much better of a deal before I will do it.

I weigh everything together. I price in what I would have been willing to pay for the perks, and usually it comes to about 20% of the difference between mini-suite and penthouse. The remaining 80% is for the suite itself.

 

Once I get to Elite, the value of the perks definitely goes down. So the suite just has to be that much better of a deal before I will do it.

This makes a lot of sense to me.

We started enjoying the elite perks after 150 sea days and only cruise Princess. Booking a suite would never be an issue unless we won a lottery.

Hi All

Never had a suite, do not see how I could justify spending so much for so little,

could have five weeks in an inside for a week in a suite.

yours Shogun

I weigh everything together. I price in what I would have been willing to pay for the perks, and usually it comes to about 20% of the difference between mini-suite and penthouse. The remaining 80% is for the suite itself.

 

Once I get to Elite, the value of the perks definitely goes down. So the suite just has to be that much better of a deal before I will do it.

If what you're after is the increased size of the cabin and the full bath, then the perks have nothing to do with your decision. It's not possible to "buy" a larger balcony room or mini-suite, etc. If the cost of the perks (your 20%) could be magically applied to expand a balcony cabin by many square feet, then your formula would make sense. Some people book suites for the suite itself and not the perks. I assume that those who do can afford it.

I have never booked a suite and probably never will. We have a great time in a standard cabin. Having Elite perks is nice, but I will still consider going on other cruise lines and skip the perks if the price is good on an itinerary and ship we want.

We have been Elite for a few years, and have not yet booked a suite. Although suites sometimes seem tempting we are already getting many of the perks for suites.

We can buy our airline tickets with the money saved.

Steve & Pete

I really wonder why anyone else cares why a person books a suite? If they can afford it and do so, they don't need a reason, it is their choice.:)

I really wonder why anyone else cares why a person books a suite? If they can afford it and do so, they don't need a reason, it is their choice.:)

You and I agree on that one. I suppose it might have a little to do with envy, maybe. Who knows? Only suite we ever had was on a Carnival cruise. I greatly enjoyed the extra space, and that was about all the perks that it came with.

I like the space. Any perks are just gravy in my view however some are very welcome. I have never cruised in an inside. While I'm not terribly claustrophobic, I would just go nuts with the reduced space, let alone no view of the sea. I fully respect everyone's choices though. As someone said above, when my circumstances change and I no longer have work to worry about, if we still love to cruise and want to go more often we may downsize in accommodations if necessary. I doubt I'll ever go to an inside though.

I'm miles from any top tier club membership, lol. It'll be a long time before I join at the rate we cruise. I was Gold on on Carnival until they switched things up and I got booted back down a level I think. It really doesn't drive my cruising choices. We picked Princess for the next one as the itinerary/date worked out for us.

A suite would be nice, but why? It isn't worth the extra money . I'd rather use the money for another cruise.

My way of thinking too:D

I don't imagine we will ever book a suite. Well I guess if I won a lottery I would splurge once.

But if the Princess Upgrade Fairy wants to put us in one some time, I won't complain. ;)

We have sailed in a suite on 5 cruises, three in a Window Suite, one in a Penthouse Suite on an upsell offer and once in a Vista Suite during the 3/4 day West Coast cruises where you received FCC for you entire cruise fare. The first 2 Window Suite cruises were a B2B Alaska to get cruise credits 11, 12, 13 and 14. We then made Elite taking a 3 day coastal back to LA. We did that because we were planning on taking some longer cruises and wanted the free laundry [emoji3]

Breakfast at Sabatini's is a very nice perk and you get a second mini-bar which we trade for two coffee cards. On the ships we have been on, priority dining reservations did not allow us to book a table at 7:00 so it was still before 6:00 or after 7:30. We have been unimpressed about ordering off the MDR menu from Room Service because the food has been cold and this is on at least three different ships. For us, a mini-suite or even a deluxe balcony on the Royal/Regal have sufficient space and seating are on a long cruise and a balcony is fine for shorter cruises. We will consider an upsell offer from a mini if we get one again.

If people have the money and want to book a full suite, enjoy! Just not of value at full fare for us.

Sabatini's has a different menu from the MDR and everything is cooked to order. The food comes out hot and fresh, the service is fabulous (the waitstaff work as a team and actually have time to chat if one is so inclined, which we are) and the atmosphere is usually quiet and peaceful.

 

We had only booked one full suite before turning Elite, but I hope we can continue to afford them in the future. We have lost Golden Princess and her Window Suites, which I adore - we just disembarked today from 10 days in one and I loved having a comfortable sanctuary onboard, only once missed having a balcony, but the Promenade Deck was right upstairs, so not a big deal. Plus everything we prefer to do was located on Decks 5-7, so we seldom had to go far (the exception being when we wanted Pizza or Trident Grill fare for dinner).

 

The perks are very nice, but what I really enjoyed most was the space and feeling of isolation that we had when we went to our cabin and closed the door. We've seen most of the shows/acts, don't play the games offered and don't feel compelled to meet new friends onboard anymore, so it works brilliantly for us.

I'll be enjoying the Golden Princess in November 2016 on a 3 night Coastal cruise, and am in the Handicapped Accessible Window Suite. Looking forward to finding out how the ship is.

My husband uses a scooter and if an accessible cabin is not available, we sometimes have to take a suite to get the extra space. I DO enjoy the perks even tho we are Elite. Space is the main reason we book suites.

The answer to the OP's question of whether or not folks who booked suites before they became Elite would, having become Elite, be less inclined to book a suite would appear to be a definite

NO

I say this on the basis that, whilst a number of folks have used this thread to tells us that suites are not worth the money, no-one who has actually booked a suite before they became Elite has come on to the thread to say that, having obtained entitlement to Elite perks, they no longer feel inclined to book a suite.

The answer to the OP's question of whether or not folks who booked suites before they became Elite would, having become Elite, be less inclined to book a suite would appear to be a definite

NO

 

I say this on the basis that, whilst a number of folks have used this thread to tells us that suites are not worth the money, no-one who has actually booked a suite before they were Elite has come on to the thread to say that, having obtained entitlement to Elite perks, they no longer feel inclined to book a suite.

I completely agree.

Mike:)