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Are Suites Worth The Money?


mayacamas

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To be honest, no...

But, it really depends a lot on your own particular situation...

I have a multi-millionaire brother who booked the Penthouse Suite when he did Alaska on the Summit...but, of course, he could care less about the price differential...To most of us, there are other concerns to weigh...

 

We've cruised in everything from inside cabins to Sky Suites...

 

We original booked a Cat 4 for us and an inside for the daughters for our Summit cruisetour this past July...Then we decided to upgrade to a pair of Sky Suites...The differential in cost on the two cabins worked out to several thousand dollars on each cabin...

 

We did get a couple of very nice sized and nicely equipped suites (although the size of our originally booked #7003 is comparable to the size of a Sky Suite)...We did get Butler service and a number of assorted extras (champagne in the room, canapes and pastries delivered, a special Afternoon Tea in the Olympic)...All of this was quite nice, but worth several thousand dollars? Not really...

 

For our next cruise, we've booked a veranda guaranty rate (and are hoping for an upgrade---great if you don't have to pay for it)...I figure we're more than happy in an ordinary sized cabin, we still have a balcony, we'll do with no butler and just the ordinarty great service from the Cabin Steward...We can go get our own canapes from the buffet and buy our bottle of champagne...

 

...and with all the money we save, we'll go on another cruise...

 

In fact, this year, we're going on two cruises...and I'll take two cruises over one in a suite any day...

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That question is really a matter of such personal choice. It really depends on the price for us. If it's not that much more, we love it, and prefer it, if it's an outrageous difference we do the balcony.

Marilyn

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To be honest, no...

 

I disagree.

 

However, some of it does depend on your own preferences. If you don't plan to spend any time in your cabin, then by all means, don't spend the money. If, however, you like to spend time chillin in the cabin, or on the verandah (as most suites come with veranda) ... then it's worth it.

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As others have stated, it all depends on how you cruise. Some people enjoy staying in their room, relazing on their verandah, and having friends over for drinks and mingling. I, however, spend at max 6 to 8 hours a day in my room, most of that asleep. So for me, unless I get a great deal, could not see spending the extra money. I would rather take 3 or 4 "cheap" insides than pay for the suite...

 

Paul

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Is a suite really worth it? This really is a personal judgment call as well as a personal preference.

 

For our first Celebrity experience and my dear SO's first cruise experience, we booked a Royal Suite on Mercury for a 8 day cruise. The suite was absolutely lovely. Unfortunately, when we boarded, my SO was running a fever of 101 to 103, and the next day threw her back out during our stop in Monterey. With her under the weather, was a suite worth it - you bet it was! Our butler was great and served us meals in our suite, course by course right from the dining room menu. While I moved her around the ship in a wheelchair, we spent a lot of time in our suite. Having a large suite as well as a large veranda made it a great experience for her under the circumstances.

 

Since then, we have had a Royal Suite on Century, and in February have a Royal Suite, and have booked a Royal Suite on Millie for 12 days in the Med in October. Why? She loved the first and second, and didn't want to have any less for our next two cruises. We are both retired, were successful in our respective businesses because we really did not take time off and travel - so we would rather spend it on ourselves - rather than leave a large estate to others! Again, just a personal preference.

 

To us, a suite is a treat which we enjoy.

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Yes.

 

More space.

 

Suite Ammenities

 

Preferred treatment (priority tendering, priority boarding).

This is why the question is hard to answer... for example, which suite, on which boat, compared to which other cabins? Let's take any of the Millennium class ships for example:

 

If space is an issue, a FV has more interior space than a Sky Suite, and a bigger veranda to boot... and costs less. You lose the larger pastel towels, priority embarkation, delivered mid-afternoon snacks, and the butler.

 

A CC cabin gets you the pastel towels back, priority embarkation, mid-afternoon snacks in your cabin, etc. But you lose space compared to the Sky Suite.

 

For the reasons above, it can be a tough call on the SS. Moving up to the Celebrity Suite, you gain a load of interior space but lose the veranda entirely. Depending upon what you intended to do with it, you might miss it (when we're travelling with friends, we like to assure that we all have one good place to get together, so sometimes it matters).

 

From there, you're up to a Royal Suite to get the veranda back again. Trade offs every which way.

 

So all depends upon your style of cruising and, in no small part perhaps, the length and destinations of your itinerary. For example, I'd much rather have a veranda than not on a 14 day trans-Canal trip.

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Have been in a SS, CS and RS on Mercury, Summit and Millie. The SS was definitely not worth the money, it's only a slightly bigger room. The RS was wonderful and would definitely do it again if money was not a factor, they are very pricey. The CS was the best value, space is great, especially on a longer cruise. We didn't miss the balcony. Would definitely book it over the SS anytime. Looking for a cruise on Constellation right now that works with our schedule and has a CS available.

 

Agree though if you don't spend much time in cabin then why bother with the added expense. We do spend time in cabin so the extra space is important to us.

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I just typed a really long e-mail that gave an error message, so here is the short of it. We had a RS booked on the Millie for February at $11,500 for 2. I convinced my husband that the SS for $5560 would be fine, because we are not multi-millionnaires. We have had the RS, but am sure this is not what we paid. It is great. If I were retired, hadn't traveled while working (we're 51 & 53 now, and won't retire for many years), I would think differently. Right now, my heir needs the extra $6000 to cover all his spring semester living expenses, including car, at a very expensive private college. So, it depends where you are in life, and hopefully my husband and I will survive the SS for the week.

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Very difficult question to answer. I consider myself an experienced Celebrity cruisers having sailed 46 times with Celebrity. I've been in many different cabin categories - inside - outside - balcony - concierge class - sky suite - penthouse suite.

 

In my opinion the one big advantage to a suite is the increased size of the cabin space. I can honestly say the butler service is not an important factor for me. Perhaps if I liked to dine in my cabin in the evening and spend a lot of time in my cabin the butler would come in handy. But I prefer to spend my time in the public areas of the ship (i.e. the pool during the day and the restaurant/lounges in the evening).

 

The suite "perks" (fresh fruit daily, bottle of champagne upon arrival, a plate of barely edible evening hors'dourves, butler service) don't mean all that much to me.

 

Don't get me wrong......I loved staying in the Penthouse Suite on the Century. But that was my one and only complimentary upgrade from Celebrity. Would I pay the extra couple of thousands of dollars to stay there again? In a word - no.

 

But it truly is all personal preference.

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As many have said, personal choice.

 

We had a PH on Summit several years back. That was more of a lifetime experience than anything else. Lots of folks had a great time at the sailaway, a planned party and then dinner. Would we do it again, probably not.

 

We had an RS on Mercury after that. Very nice, especially going through the canal.

 

We are lazy on vacations, so having a late breakfast served in cabin is a big positive. We also like to be able to sit down to have it, not having to balance plates on our legs.

 

Adding to that a balcony/verendah is a must.

 

That means no CS or SS rooms. The new CC rooms offer better (if your better is a balcony or more room) than those classes.

 

Again, personal choice (hope Princess doesn't sue us ;) ).

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As everyone says it is a personal preference. I feel it depends how much time you spend in that cabin. When we are traveling alone we go for a better room because we will go back to the room in the afternoon. We have stayed in all sizes of rooms and always have had a wonderful experience. We don't need a suite to have a good time but they are beautiful. If money is no problem take a suite and enjoy.

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This is my first Celebrity cruise. I have just been on HAL on the Oosterdam in the penthouse for our 25th anniversary last May. We are planning a cruise on the Galaxy in March of '06. As I cannot persuade my DH in a penthouse again I am begging for a SS. What is the difference between the SS on the penthouse deck and the SS on the Sky deck. I have noticed the Sky deck has the food court above it and the verandah seems larger. Thanks for your help.

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We are not as experienced as some, but I would love to do a SS on our next cruise if the price was right.
To get a "righter" price on just about as nice a ship, consider a Sky Suite on the Galaxy instead of a Sky Suite on an M-Class ship. There seems little question that demand is causing X to price similar cabins on many comparable M-Class cruises at higher prices than some of their other ships.

 

Observe the configurations carefully and you'll note that on the Galaxy, total space for a Sky deck SS is a bit bigger than on the Penthouse deck for exactly the same money. Observe more carefully and consider cabins like 1203 with no corners cut on the veranda.

 

One thing about the SS -- you get a real bathtub to soak in after a very long day's shore excursion. My wife certainly appreciates this.

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On Galaxy I would only take a SS if it's on the Sky Deck. The deck 10 SS's weren't originally SS's. They have the normal size balcony rather than the huge balcony on Sky Deck. I will also only do the full balconies, rather than the cutouts. Look at the ships diagrams on their website and you'll see a huge difference between the 2 floors.

Marilyn

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In fact, those Sky Suites on Sky Deck with small "cutouts" (like 1212 or 1218) offer broader vistas, feel less confining, have minimal loss of balcony space, and are therefore preferred by many people. A few of the suites on that deck do have much smaller balconies (like 1222)--a result of the configuration of the Oasis buffet on the deck below--and are viewed by most as less desirable. But anyone who would "only do full balconies" limits his/her choices (only six of the 24 suites on Sky Deck have "full" balconies) and is ruling out a number of suites which others actually find more attractive.

 

Another consideration is that the further forward your balcony, the less soot will be deposited on it--and its furniture--from the ship's stack.

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We were in a Sky Suite on Century on the Sport deck. The avtual room wasn't much bigger than a regular cabin but... we did have a pull out couch rather than a drop down bed. That might be an advantage if you are travelling with a third person, especially one for whom the climb may be a problem.

 

The verandah was hugh compared to what we have had on RCC. We had room for two chaise lounges two regular chairs and a good sized dinning table and still room to stand and move arround. The balcony was also deep enough that there always seemed to be some of it in the shade, something I enjoyed since I am very fair and burn easily.

 

We loved having breakfast (a full breakfast if desired) served to us out there. We did get what I think was a good deal on the suite, I'm not sure I would pay the 'book' rate to get this suite instead of a regular cabin but to me it was certainly worth a little extra. Also although I didn't think it would matter to me I did enjoy having the butler come by with afternoon tea. After being in port it was nice to go back to your room, kick off your shoes and have someone bring you tea and a cookie or two.

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Hi

We was just recently on the Celebrity Century and when we had to leave and everything was open we went up to the Sky Suites and I have to tell you from what we saw it is NOT worth it!

I believe the Sky Suites on the Century are 244 square foot interiors with a 69 square foot veranda.

 

Now, let's talk bang for the buck in real estate...

 

How about a semi-suite (two rooms with divider) that is 271 square feet with as much as a 242 square foot veranda for a bunch less money than any of the Sky Suites on an M-Class boat? That's the FV cabin on an M-Class ship. Great value in $ per square foot.

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I'm going to try to post a link to a whole thread about the Sky Suites that was on this board a few months ago. Hope this works I'm not too good with computer stuff.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=72150&highlight=sky+suites

 

This will give you info about the suites on Century. you'll still have to decide for yourself if it is worth it.

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Our first suite was a Sky Suite on Mercury 2 years ago (1218-terrific balcony). That was it for us. We then had a Royal Suite on Galaxy and are now booked in a Royal Suite on Century in 3 weeks (my 10th cruise :)!). We would like the Penthouse but that is too pricey for us right now; maybe someday (we are 33 and 27). We DO spend a LOT of time in our cabin now, so the extra space is excellent. Now, we also order dinner to the suite every night so the butler service is a perfect match. We took a Princess cruise (new Island Princess) with a balcony and decided that the suite experience on Celebrity is just worth it for us. Instead of two cruises per year, maybe we'll just do one in a suite. I think that if people can afford the difference that they should try it; for us, it completely changed the way we cruise. JMHO.

Rick

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We have been in CC cabins, regular balcony cabins, FV's and SS's. On Mercury or Galaxy, I agree with the above poster who said the cutouts were the best views--we just had 1215 on Mercury--FABULOUS balcony. I can also pass on the butler service, don't need it--BUT we book these rooms ONLY for the space--my DH like large space rooms! :rolleyes: I also love the bathroom space in the SS's that you DO NOT get in the FV's, but given the choice--I'll take the FV every time.

Now, when $$$$ is not the factor--I'd take the Celebrity Suite w/o the balcony just for the view & the extra space. These suites are getting rather $$$$ though. :(

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Let me try this one again...

I now have my file and the copy of the confirmations and bills in front of me

 

When we originally booked the Summit 13 night Alaska cruisetour with Cabin #7003, our fare on the cruisetour portion only was $4900 for two...When we changed to the Sky Suite, Cabin #6122, that went up to $7800

 

Add to this differential that you are now also tipping a butler, the difference between 7 nights in a 250 square foot Category 4 and a 250 square foot Sky Suite was around $3000...

 

Obviously, pricing varies, but I would hazard a guess that this $3000 is a pretty fair estimate of the difference in cost between these two cabins...

 

Of course, #7003 doesn't have a balcony...it does have the space and roominess of a sky suite, though...

 

I have also cruised in "ordinary" veranda cabins, which have the balcony, but don't have the size...It would have only cost me a few hundred dollars more for one of those than the Cat 4, so the difference is STILL over $2000...

 

Now, I am NOT arguing that the Sky Suite isn't nice...that I don't like the roominess, that I don't prefer the added amenities...If all things were equal, I'd take the Sky Suite every time...or, actually, I'd take the danged Penthouse Suite...Yes, it IS really nice to get all the little extras, to get the nicer and more ample room, to get the nice-sized veranda, to get the extra service and the butler...NOBODY is arguing that...I think we can all agree that we all prefer that...

 

BUT, that wasn't the question...

 

The question was "Is it worth it?"

 

And, yes, that is a different question to different people...

To those who have absolutely no concern over $2000 or $3000, those who don't mind paying the equivalent of an extra entire cruise just to get those extras, sure...it's worth it...

 

But, to a lot of people...I would venture to most people--especially those who feel they have to ask the question (You know the old saying, "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it"), well, the analysis is simply this...

 

ANY cabin you book will get you to the same ports at the same time...You will get the same dinner in the same dining room...You get to see the same shows...You get the same activities...Both the ordinary cabin and the suite have a bed and a toilet and a shower...When you are asleep, both rooms look the same in the dark...When you are in port, you aren't anywhere near your cabin...When you are eating in the dining room or seeing a show, you aren't in your cabin either...

 

You go to your cabin to sleep, to use the bathroom and to change clothes...

 

If you order room service rather than go to the dining room, you will have more room to eat in...

When you sit on your balcony, you will have slightly more room--but, basically the same chair--unless you have taken one of the larger, costlier suites...'

If you drink in your room, you won't feel like you're drinking in a phone booth...

 

But, if you eat and drink in the ship's public areas, the room will matter little...

 

You do get a butler--who you pay a nice tip to and who does a lot of little things for you--but, in an ordinary cabin, you have folks who do things for you as well...

 

You get invited to a couple of special events...but, if you're in an "ordinary" cabin, you'd never notice these go on--you have enough to do anyway...

 

The question IS...Is any of this worth $3000 more than that similarly sized Cat 4? Or over $2000 more than that smaller but very nice Veranda cabin?

 

Again, I am not arguing that none of it is desirable...It absolutely is VERY NICE...Only question is whether you should be willing to pay thousands more for it???

 

Everyone has their price differential limits...

Say you would be happy enough in a window cabin...But, you'd love a Veranda...Do you spring for it if it costs an extra $1500? $1000? $700? $300? There is some point (and it's different for all of us) where you say "Heck, yeah!" and there's some point where you say "No, I've got better uses for the money"...I just booked a Veranda for my upcoming March cruise because the differential from a window cabin was less than $300...For me, that's an easy call...For the next guy, any $300 he could save would make a difference somewhere else...

 

The $3000 difference from the Cat 4 to the Sky Suite? All I'm saying was that, in retrospect, it wasn't really worth it...Obviously, though, I can afford it...But, I also could have afforded another cruise with those funds (especially since I also upgraded the kids to their own Sky Suite)...

 

Yes, it IS extremely nice...Yes, everyone should try it once in their lives, maybe for a "special occasion"...unless you really have to scrape to do it...

 

But, if the money really matters to you, then the answer remains, no...You can have an incredibly nice cruise in an ordinary cabin and save a lot of money doing it...

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