Booking Reflection for Nov., veranda vs. guaranteed suite

[floatingfun711]

Hi everyone, We are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this November and want to cruise (first time) on Celebrity Reflection. We were thinking about booking either Concierge or Aqua class. Today my husband asked me about booking the guaranteed suite at $1299. Can anyone tell me if this is a good idea and why. Thanks in advance for any help.

[need2bespoiled]

You're the second person who asked about this rate on the forum tonight. I personally think it is an excellent rest for a suite. You'll likely get an S2 or Aqua Suite. The major added benefits varry based on what is important to you:

 

More space

Bath tub

Access to blue (or, for Aqua suites, ability to east in blu) on a space available basis

One free specialty dinner

Butler, with course by course in room dining

In room specialty coffee

Larger balcony

 

Personally, I wouldn't think tiwce, it's a great rate. If possible, at those prices Id do back to back or look at 14 days in Eclipse. The only downside would be that once in a suite you'll be completely spoiled and it will be harder to sail a standard balcony.

 

Happy sailing,

Jemna

[Sloop-JohnB]

Mr Sloop & I love Concierge Class... We have done 2 cruises now with it, one S-Class (Solstice 2012 - Midship C2) and one M-Class (Summit 2013 - Sunset Aft C1). We love the perks of the Class, and we intentionally book early into the cabins that have bigger balconies. No regrets

 

For our upcoming cruise... Constellation we are going Aqua Class... All the great things that Concierge offers... And more

 

If we found a Sky Suite... Or a Suite Guarantee at a rate we were comfy with, we would certainly consider / book it

 

Prices are so darn unpredictable... Depends on time of year & itinerary. So hard to tell you EXACTLY what is a good deal

 

You are a better judge of that... Book at a rate you are ok with

 

Then watch prices.

 

Before Final Payment you have the option to take advantage of price cuts.

 

If prices go up you will be happy... If they go up A LOT then you will be very happy

 

Hope this helps,

 

Cheers!

Edited October 17, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB

[cynbar]

That's a great rate for a suite guarantee, personally I would grab it. The only downside is that you might be assigned to a handicapped accessible suite, which some don't like because it has a roll in shower. But Celebrity usually allows you to switch to another cabin in the same category, if one is available. So, keep that in mind if you're not happy with your assignment for any reason.

[countess5]

We were on Reflection last month in the Mediterranian and it was our second time, first being in the Caribbean.

 

First time we booked an Aqua Suite and enjoyed it. never used the Spa but Blu was a great place to eat and having the water everyday was a great perk

 

Second time for the Med cruise my TA suggested why don't you book an Aqua Suite GTY? The price was right and we were guaranteed the suite. 4 days later we were upgraded to a Celebrity Suite! :D WOW! 10 days at sea and all the perks of the Celebrity Suite. We also kept the unlimited acces to the Persian Garden.

 

I am sold on taking the GTY Suite since you will get no less and may get way more! :)

[wrk2cruise]

I would recommend the GTY suite if the budget allows. The room is about 1/2 again bigger and much better storage. We are on the 11/29 in AS.

 

On our sailing it's $1299 for suite GTY but there are pretty good GTY rates in all classes.

 

We are generally comfortable with doing GTY suite as I don't think there are any bad suites. I know some will disagree. We once did get an accessible S2 on Summit with GTY but it was larger than other S2's and a great location. At the price I was still very happy with it.

 

I looked at our sailing and there are numerous S2 and S1 suites available but only 2 AS as they had them on special before.

 

I'd go for it if the budget allows. Warning once you do it you won't want to go back to a regular veranda.

 

Also remember that you get 1 complimentary specialty restaurant meal with a suite so that's an added value for the money.

[floatingfun711]

Thanks to everyone for all the info. We book a S! suite for the same price as the GTY.

[hulamoon]

Enjoy your cruise and the S1.

[sperkins921]

We booked a suite guarantee for the upcoming Dec 6 sailing on the Reflection. Our price was $1400pp at the time (it's down to $1350 right now) and my reasoning was that we typically book A2 and ask for the CC courtesy bump to A1 for relatively the same price. The worse thing that could happen is that we get a AS or SS that is under the galley or pool deck. DH would sleep fantastically through the noise....me? well, give me a little liquid sleep and I would too.

 

I asked a similar question as you back when I booked the cruise a couple of months ago, as to whether it was a good gamble. We ended up in an S2. Great location for us. So we're happy. The same room would have cost us ~$2kpp more if it wasn't on sale. We've heard stories of people doing the guarantee and getting CS's and above; but it didn't happen to us. Not sure if switching to a TA that had 'group' space on the sailing killed us there or what. Either way, we're in a good cabin, on vacation, and got it for a price that felt like a song to us.

 

I did just pose a question about S1's on the Reflection, but it's not a suite guarantee, it was just research for a possible cruise in 2015 if we end up liking the ship in December.