Advantage of Booking a Jr. Suite vs. Balcony

[party-of-5-ny]

I am ready to book our next cruise, and it will be either on the Oasis or the Allure.

I have 2 decisions to make, I can either cruise in early November, (2011), or early March, (2012). That's my first decision I need to make.

Second, I'm going between the D1 Balcony, and the Junior Suite. I thought I would splurge on the Suite, as we will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. However, I'm not really seeing a big advantage. I know the room/closet will be bigger, but are there any other perks on the ship? I've read that the suite guests do not need to make reservations for shows, but this would not apply to "Jr" suite guests. So why go for the suite??

Please give me your opinions, as far as pro's and con's of what month to cruise in, and which catagory to go with.

Thanks!!!!!

[Cruzntime]

IMHO, March allows more time for ports damaged from storms to recondition versus November. March may have more sick people though. We will be doing our first March cruise this year. We did a February once and everyone seemed to be sick so I hope mid March offers less ill passengers.

 

On the Voyager and Freedom class ships the D1 cabins were adequate but on the Oasis class D1s are nearly the size (187 sq ft) of an inside cabin on the aforementioned classes. JS are really spacious and offer 287 sq ft. (Freedom 317)

 

IMHO I'll pay $500 to upgrade but not $1000 or more for a seven day cruise. The extra room and full size tub is nice and we find we use and enjoy the JS room much more but it's hard for me to justify cost in excess of $100/day for the extra room.

 

If money is no objective, go for the extra room. Otherwise buy yourselves something nice with the extra money.

 

Congratulations on your 25th anniversary.

[waterbug123]

So why go for the suite?? [/color][/size][/font]

 

Advantages of JS over a D1:

• The JS will be noticeably larger than the regular balcony cabin. You will actually have space to move around in, more like a typical hotel room than a typical small cruise ship cabin. This is the biggest advantage in my opinion.
  
• The JS has a full bathtub. Even if you only take showers and not baths, the extra tub space is nice when you shower.
  
• You'll have a walk in closet.
  
• You can use the priority check in line.
  
• You should have individual bathroom amenities (shampoo/conditoner/lotion).
  
• You should have robes for your use during the cruise.
  
• Maybe priority disembarkation; I'm not positive though.
  
• You'll get an extra cruise credit.
  

[party-of-5-ny]

Thanks everyone,

 

I'm still not quite sure which cabin I will book, I'll have to see how they price out. I'm not sure I'd pay $100 night extra to have the space. My husband and I have only ever had a suite once, and that was because the upgrade fairy called, and offered a good price for the upgrade from balcony to suite. (Carnival).

We had a D1 on Freedom of the Seas, but from what I'm reading, D1's on the Oasis/Allure are smaller.

As far as travel dates, I'm leaning towards March. We just cruised last month on NCL, and I really didn't feel "ready" to vacation, if that makes any sense! We live in Buffalo, and by March, we're all dying to get out of the cold weather!!

Thanks again for the replies.

[Nangelina]

Go for the JS! We are going on the Allure and got a D balcony and I know I will be dissappointed by what I've read. We usually get the JS but could not justify the extra $$ this time. I like to spend time in my cabin and on the balcony and love the larger bathroom and tub. Did you check to see when spring breaks are? That may make a difference in your time selection. Like I said, go for the JS and if it's your 25 anniversary there is plenty of room for him to chase you around! Go for it!