wdwkings

We got a Royal Up to the CLS on Harmony in May, knowing that aft facing was a risk. We would never book one but I have to say it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Especially in the morning, it didn’t seem like it impacted being out on the veranda. In the afternoons there was a bit more noise and action. Just resorted to more people watching and it was OK. Inside the room, no real noise or issues and having that two story suite was worth it. So unlike the OP’s make or break issues, were there things that were less attractive, yes, but were those issues the worst things in the world, no. Complaining about upgrades to suites, even JS, really is a first world problem.

Buyers remorse.

The pool decks will have blankets and towels for use. That is likely the pics you see of people bundled up in blankets. I guess you could bring one back to the room for use p, but if you are not using the couch as a bed there should be some linens, likely under the bed, you could use.

AOS? Adventure, Anthem or Allure. Guessing Allure since that was one of the first with a Starbucks. It is not the only one these days. Earlier in this thread someone mentioned that Starbucks was being used on the ships in the cafe. We heard that rumor, I think back in March on the Wonder. Have not been able to verify since then but the products in the cafe and Starbucks should be very similar.

Need or want, is my view. There are quite a few factors that could be impactful. We have done two different cruises to those areas and did have some Euros and Pounds. The currency was really for small purchases or the odd chance that someplace did not take cards. For us the majority was all on credit cards. Many have good conversion rates, so double check those policies as you evaluate the need to get local currencies. The main factor should be how much time you expect to be away from the ship or ship based excursions. If you are doing time before or after the cruise, have a long port time or overnight port, or are considering an excursion not booked with the cruise line those all might increase the need of local currencies.

@thethreeofus glad to hear you got the upgrade. It looks like your other questions were answered. Have fun!

The program is pretty straightforward as a way for passengers to upgrade and for Royal to maximize revenue. The program is run by an outside organization. If @twangster finds this he can provide some more in depth on that front. You should always book a stateroom that is acceptable to you and not count on an upgrade. It is an easy process to submit your bid online and see what happens. Chances of an upgrade can vary but will increase if the cruise is not sailing at or near capacity. If there are limited rooms available then even a max bid may not be helpful. We have recently had a successful bid just slightly over the minimum. So it is really more about what is available and how many bids there are as opposed to purely how much you bid. If you are successful in moving up to suites you will have full access to all the perks. The only exception is the double points. If you are on a Oasis or Quantum class and get up to Star you will even have the genie and all the perks, otherwise expect lounge access and concierge services. Hopefully that gives you a quick overview and answers the suite question, have fun and good luck with the bid.

We were on Harmony back in Late May and things were fine early in the sailing, all show performances went off as scheduled. The last day or two Grease was cancelled.

There seems to be very few undesirable locations in the suite inventory to me. The staterooms that might be of concern are those under the public decks, so deck 14, or maybe the aft/boardwalk/sports deck facing CLS. We have done a few cruises in staterooms under those public (pool) decks and there was a few instances of noise but it was usually not consistent or problematic, YMMV. Not sure the chances on getting a Crown Loft Suite with the suite GTY but that group in my opinion has the most likely locations that would be “less desirable” to some. We were able to get a Royal Up to one of those and even though a side facing CLS would have been nicer, it was still very nice. Hoping for the best for you, but thinking that location shouldn’t be a huge concern.

Probably just due to availability, likely the Star Class rooms are all booked. The Grand Loft Suites (6), Owners Loft Suite (1), and Royal Loft Suite (1) would be the rooms that have Star and with only 8 staterooms, it won’t take much to run out of inventory. We did the Ovation GLS on the inaugural Alaska cruise and they had Star Class with that sailing. As soon as they are in the US expect to have the Royal Suite program.

The breakfast seems to be the same as others have posted but lunch looks a little different from our May cruise on Harmony. Here is the lunch menu pic I grabbed.

Nice choice! Was looking over this thread and was going to chime in that we have done the crown and grand loft suites with our son and no issues with the downstairs “bedroom”. Those suites are very nice and the two story aspect is great for the views. The bigger thing I was going to mention over the other staterooms you mentioned in your original post, was a CLS would be Sky class and some of those perks are a nice bonus. Since you have the 2 br ATS you have jumped to Star class which is really nice. The room will have close to the same wow factor but that added privacy you seemed to be looking for. Happy cruising!

We have done three recently, and all were different. - Miami - November on Navigator, it was stated that times would be enforced. We checked in at our assigned time, not sure if anyone really checked and things were pretty smooth. - Port Everglades- March on Wonder, we expected the same but we arrived after our assigned time. Pretty sure that no one checked PAT but only found a minimal line and quick boarding process once in the terminal. - Port Canaveral (we are in Orlando area) - May on Harmony, had a suite so we had 10:30 and were early. They called and lined people up and no issues for us. Friends had 11:30 parked at 11:20 and still almost missed our 12:45 lunch. It appeared that everyone just showed up and tried to get on the ship. Someone posted a video of the long lines to get into the terminal. Starting to feel a little concerned that there will be a lot of people trying to get in and not paying attention to PAT for our September in Port Everglades.

The bus or rental car option seems to be the best. While a flight is short, the other logical things (boarding, security, etc.) will add time that doesn’t make this an attractive option. Flight delays are a big risk these days and I would be more concerned with that than traffic delays. FWIW , We had embarkation in Vancouver and disembarked in Seattle so flew to SEA and did the drive up. Landed around 10 am and didn’t rush but still made it to Vancouver around 2. As long as you disembark as early as possible, you should be fine.

Background - We did the sister ship Freedom in a suite back in November and have done suites on the ships with the Royal Suite program, but have not sailed with Princess. Expect that you may find similarities between the two lines and some details could be better or worse but that can be influenced by your own personal preferences. I’ll start off with the unpacking, that is listed for some places but sorry I would never take advantage of that, I like to be able to find my stuff. On the Freedom class ships, the stateroom attendants are good and do as much as they can but they are not butlers. They do a great job and likely will setup towel animals. You will have access to a suite lounge and there are small bites there in the morning and afternoon, as well as cocktails in the evening. The concierge will be in there and you will get an email from them a week or two before the cruise to setup any request. You can have them make dining reservations at that time. If you add the deluxe beverage and unlimited dining packages your cruise will be as close as you can get to Star Class on a non-Royal Suite ship. We added the UDP but a drink in the lounge before or after dinner was enough for us. The lounge and concierge are probably the biggest pluses, early boarding is nice and if you have a table in the suite you can do dining in room. Hope that helps some and have a good trip.