Suite Yes or No ?

[sixthree]

I'm going on my first cruise in a couple of weeks, and have an Ocean view room on a 5 day cruise. Reading all of the great reviews here, I wish I made it a 7 day and got a balcony.

My question is, on my next cruise, should I go for it all with a suite, or will a balcony room do me fine ?

 

Are the suites worth it ?

[wallie5446]

You will get many different thoughts on this one. We have done inside 1 time, balcony 1 time, and all the rest ocean view outside, and a few of thoes with a blocked view. We go with a lower cost cabin so as to have more dollars to use on other things. But if the overall cost was not an issue, a Suite would be great !

[divaofdisney]

We have cruised with an inside room, oceanview, and a balcony. And for our upcoming cruise we have booked our 1st suite. We are so excited. Once you find yourself in a balcony and above there is just no going back. Being able to experience a cup of morning coffee on the balcony and sitting outside at night listening to the gentle waves and seeing the clear night with every star out, is just an experience to savor and remember for years. This has been a memory close to my heart and no amount of money can touch. Good luck deciding.

[critterchick]

Our first cruise was an oceanview, too. Our second was a balcony, and we have never gone back to "just" a view. We love the Junior Suites (which aren't "true" suites in that the only perk besides the bigger room and full bathroom is priority boarding), but whether to spend the extra dough would depend on the price and itinerary. A balcony is a "must" because we love to have a cup of coffee or a cocktail out there, or just sit & watch the sea & stars without a crowd. The extra inside space of a JS is important to us on cruises with lots of sea days, but for, say, Northern Europe, where the price difference can be $800 per person and you're spending lots of time in ports, it's probably not going to be worth it, unless, of course, we win the lottery.

[sixthree]

I am definetley kicking my self for not getting a balcony from the get. When we board in a couple of weeks, I'm going to see if we there are any upgrades available.

[critterchick]

Why don't you ask your TA if you can do it now? Even though you've made final payment, I'm sure RCCL would be happy to take extra money from you.

[chika]

We are going on our first cruise in July and we originally booked an inside...then went up to oceanview...then after much thought we booked a suite...in my opinion Alaska is the place to have a balcony...besides with so much daylight we will be getting our monies worth!

 

As suggested above call your t/a and see what is available.

[sailor moon]

Once we tried a J/S, we have been unable to go back to an oceanview. We had a G/S on Rhapsody but then there were 4 of us and we needed the space. We have a G/S for Alaska and there will be only 3 of us. When there is only 2 of us, DH thinks a J/S is sufficient - I think otherwise :)

[over the edge]

On our first cruise, we had an ocean view. We had a blast, but....last month we went on the Voyager and had a JS with an aft balcony! Well......you know what I'm going to say!!! We may not always have the aft, but we will always have the balcony. I agree with what everyone says, it is the best to sit there at night and watch the stars or in the morning and see the beautiful ocean with beverage (wine, coffee) in hand. When we booked, the large ocean view was $989 and the E2 balcony was $999. We will stay in a D1 next year and I found that the difference in the ocean view and the balcony at the time we booked was less than $100 per person. Possibly less. I really forget the exact amount right now, but I know it will be well, well worth the dollar difference. If you keep a close eye, you will find cruises where the ocean views and balconies are very close in price! Best of luck!! And just my personal feeling, go for the aft!!! Awesome balconies! Like having a second room! Just my opinion, of course. :)

[wwinfl91]

We haven't actually done the suite thing but we have went from an inside cabin on our first cruise, to outside cabins and then to verandah cabins our last couple of cruises. We are in an outside cabin for our next cruise and then another verandah cabin for the next.

 

We did the outside for the next one because it is a transatlantic in early May and we decided we wouldn't be using the balcony enough to make it worthwhile. On the next cruise we are doing Alaska for the first time and we do two inside passages (14 day cruise) and a day at Glacier bay and decided that would justify the balcony.

 

I'm not sure we could go back to an inside cabin, it is tough to know whether it is day or night, but I suspect we will keep bouncing between outside and verandah cabins depending on the cruise and the price.

 

If price is no problem then I would agree with several of the earlier posters and say go for the verandah or the suite. More room, fresh air whenever you want it, and more perks.

 

But if money and price matters and you may be able to take another cruise or a longer cruise with an outside cabin go for the outside cabin. You eat in the same dining room and have access to almost everything else that the higher priced cabins do.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[Max Circus]

As others have commented, once you have a balcony you won't want to book a cruise without one. They add such a different dimension to your cruise. On Navigator last year, I would go up to Windjammer in the morning and bring back stuff for breakfast. My wife and I would sit out on the balcony with coffee - just a great feeling!! Ordered room service once but it wasn't as good - i didn't find the food very appealing.

 

We have booked a Grand Suite for JOS 1/14/06. I expect that to be excellent since the balcony is about twice as big as NOS.

[mrchips14]

If the money is not a problem, then go for at least the balcony.

 

We have had outside's, balconys and Junior suites, we have our first grand suite comming up in 2 months.

 

We like the junior suite, bath with tub and the sitting area. Love to call room service in the AM and have breakfast out on the balcony. Only booked the GS this time because there were no balcony rooms available (and not even $200 more total, for GS over JS. )

 

No matter what you book, have a great cruise.

[sixthree]

On my next cruise, I will definitely book no less than a balcony. I can only imagine how wonderful it must be just to sit out there to watch the sun set/ rise. Are there good solid walls between balconies ? Is there much privacy ?