Skyloft or Aqua Theater Suite (A1)?

[zevrosenthal]

Looking for advice on which stateroom to book. Stayed in Skyloft on 12/1 cruise and loved the cabin - lots of space, 2 stories, etc. it was great though, with 4 people you don't get as much privacy since you can't really close off the bedroom.

 

Planning to cruise Oasis again around XMAS and thinking about booking A1 Aqua Theater Suite. 2 separate bedrooms, also a large balcony. I never actually saw an A1 suite. Is there anybody out there that has seen both suites and can provide your opinion and/or pros and cons of which to chose?

 

Thanks

[Cruising89143]

This was a hard decision for us. We were booked in the Sky Loft for this coming Saturday but when a ATS opened up, we made the move. The main reason we moved was that RCI allowed us to book it with only two people and that opportunity may not come up again. I would think that with four people, two bedrooms would be a huge plus. I have read that there are issues with soot on the balcony. Hope that it's not a huge issue but we will soon find out.:)

[zevrosenthal]

I'll be very interested to hear your opinion and see any pics of your ATS. We loved the Sky Loft - no issues with it at all but thought, given it will be our 2nd cruise on Oasis, we'd try a different cabin and the ATS looked cool.

[Cruising89143]

Sorry but I forgot to get back to you on this.

 

The Aqua Theater suite is nice but IMHO RCI could have done a better job with the furnishings considering that this is a suite. We had a A3 on deck ten. The cabin was a nice size and holds eight but no way would I want more than four in there.

 

There were two bathrooms. The master bath was small but had a tub. The second bathroom was a standard bath with a shower. Living/dining area was nice but tight in space.

 

The selling point of this cabin is the balcony. Unfortunately we had a terrible soot issue. RCI is aware of this and are working to correct but it made our balcony useless at times. The room steward worked each morning and evening trying to wipe down but could not keep up with it. Until RCI corrects the issue, I would steer clear of this cabin. I do have photos of the cabin in my link below of the cabin and balcony.:)

 

We are trying the Crown loft in May on the Oasis and have booked the Sky Loft in January for the Allure. Which of the two Sky Loft cabins did you have?

[mgg42]

According to the article about Oasis in today's wall street journal, the soot issue has been corrected. Something about insulating the upper portion of the stack, I don't know, I'm not an engineer:)

 

Hopefully we can hear some more recent feedback (the past week? maybe this week?) to see if it's improved.

[Cruising89143]

According to the article about Oasis in today's wall street journal, the soot issue has been corrected. Something about insulating the upper portion of the stack, I don't know, I'm not an engineer:)

 

Hopefully we can hear some more recent feedback (the past week? maybe this week?) to see if it's improved.

 

They were working on this very thing on our cruise. I do hope that the issue has been corrected. It was also affecting the Aqua Theater itself. This is a outstading area of the ship and it will be even better if the issue is corrected.

[tcrowe]

Sailed 2/20/10. Didn't notice any soot issues on our balcony or at the AquaTheater. We stayed in Sky Loft 1720 and highly recommend it. Lots of people watching on the golf course, flowrider and zip line. Noise was not an issue. Loved the music from the flowrider while sitting on the balcony. No outside noise inside the suite. We also got to go in 1718.

 

1720 has a larger downstairs area. 1718's upstairs is a bit roomier, but 1720 was not cramped. 1720 balcony looks out over the sports deck and also over the ocean. 1718 only looks out over the ocean. 1720 has a window upstairs, while 1718 bedroom is set back away from the windows. Still has a view, but further back in the room. 1720 seemed "roomier" to us. We would choose 1720 again.

[Cruising89143]

Sailed 2/20/10. Didn't notice any soot issues on our balcony or at the AquaTheater. We stayed in Sky Loft 1720 and highly recommend it. Lots of people watching on the golf course, flowrider and zip line. Noise was not an issue. Loved the music from the flowrider while sitting on the balcony. No outside noise inside the suite. We also got to go in 1718.

 

1720 has a larger downstairs area. 1718's upstairs is a bit roomier, but 1720 was not cramped. 1720 balcony looks out over the sports deck and also over the ocean. 1718 only looks out over the ocean. 1720 has a window upstairs, while 1718 bedroom is set back away from the windows. Still has a view, but further back in the room. 1720 seemed "roomier" to us. We would choose 1720 again.

 

 

We booked 1720 for the Allure and were able to tour 1718 while on the Oasis. I felt that 1718 was cramped for being a Sky Loft. From the photos that I have seen, I like the balcony of 1720 much better.

[wadeham]

Hey Tcrowe, did you post any new pic's or videos of 1720 yet?

[DEIx15x8]

From the crawl that we did on our sailing I was much more impressed with the Aqua theater suites than the Lofts. The Aqua suites seemed to have more separation of rooms to give people privacy and distance. That allows someone to stay up while others sleep and so forth. The balcony even seemed much roomier with a great wrap view that lets you have a nice ocean view, aft view, or watch the boardwalk. The Loft suite felt way to open which made it feel more like a regular cabin in the sense that there is not privacy. The size also did not feel very big as vertical space does not give any benefit since you can't use the air. Since most of the space is vertical the balcony even seemed smaller. It had good depth but nothing like the size of the aqua suites where you had a big table and everything. I think last time I checked the Aquas were even the cheaper option.

[dmsworker]

We booked an OS and a GS and just combined to an AT suite sailing on 6/26. Please, Please, Please someone tell me if the soot issue has been resolved as my mother would not be able to handle a breathing problem. Thanks!

 

PS unfortuneatley we prob wont be able to switch back since the OS's are hot items right now

[Cruising89143]

We booked an OS and a GS and just combined to an AT suite sailing on 6/26. Please, Please, Please someone tell me if the soot issue has been resolved as my mother would not be able to handle a breathing problem. Thanks!

 

PS unfortuneatley we prob wont be able to switch back since the OS's are hot items right now

 

 

It has been reported that the soot issues has been resolved. Also, the soot did not/would not affect a persons breathing. It wasn't that heavy.

[ahornb]

Sailed 2/20/10. Didn't notice any soot issues on our balcony or at the AquaTheater. We stayed in Sky Loft 1720 and highly recommend it. Lots of people watching on the golf course, flowrider and zip line. Noise was not an issue. Loved the music from the flowrider while sitting on the balcony. No outside noise inside the suite. We also got to go in 1718.

 

1720 has a larger downstairs area. 1718's upstairs is a bit roomier, but 1720 was not cramped. 1720 balcony looks out over the sports deck and also over the ocean. 1718 only looks out over the ocean. 1720 has a window upstairs, while 1718 bedroom is set back away from the windows. Still has a view, but further back in the room. 1720 seemed "roomier" to us. We would choose 1720 again.

 

Suite 1720 ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!! Absolutely no complaints!:):cool: