NEW Suite Upgrades....

[John&LaLa]

Is that area new since dry dock? Above the new cabins? Does look creepy.

 

 

Yes. Those do no look appealing to me. I am sure they will 'destroy' St Tropez on Liberty in the dry dock, so those days are over.

 

Time to just move on to the Suite Class.....

 

Deck attendant said they were getting new lounges. Not sure when. It's been 4-5 months though. Someone needs to figure out what to do with the space. It could be something, just not sure what.

BTW, old lounges back by flowrider

[tcieyes]

I agree with you Carib sailor, exactly, for this lack of value one is prompted to look elsewhere. These are Seaborne and Silver sea prices, but one does not get those levels of service or experience on Royal. I have enjoyed cruising with them, until of recent they have lost their way in the dynamic dining fiasco, now this. It is unfortunate.

[John&LaLa]

That is what they did to an existing area. The St. Tropez decks on Liberty and Navigator where very popular when the ships were in the MED. It was a very nice intimate sun deck with a shaded area and 2 built in service bars. They often had private functions or events up there in the evenings on European sailings.

 

It was never used on Freedom pre dry dock. Wasn't all that big ad I recall. Good place to find a breeze out of the Sun. No bars up there.

[mark22mac]

Ok for these prices to get to minor upgrades and a butler... I can do a land vacation to Four Seasons in Society Islands or go stay all summer in Iceland, or go to Jamaica and have a butler at a resort all inclusive for a week for $3600.00 for 2. $12,000 or more per person, and many of the suites are for multi person families, so we don't qualify to even book a cabin. I for one am not happy. I think they are pricing me and a lot of others out! It is now cheaper to go to Tahiti than take a Royal cruise!

 

 

 

I wonder if they can sustain this, time will tell.

 

 

I agree! A inclusive Land vacations and maybe an inside cabin if I get the itch to cruise. 1/4 of all their ships get these perks what a disappointment.

[MADflyer]

It was never used on Freedom pre dry dock. Wasn't all that big ad I recall. Good place to find a breeze out of the Sun. No bars up there.

 

Yes, that had been mentioned. Sad that they do not pay attention to different markets as that area was widely used in Europe. Never packed, but that is what people enjoyed about it. Some would lounge there the entire day as it had both shade and sun.

 

The bars I am referring to are 'service' bars. They allowed staff to collect glasses and plates during cocktail receptions and small parties. This area was only reached by the stairs on each side.

[1ParticularHbr]

I checked our existing reservations to see if prices increased. Our L2 on Oasis 10/15/16 is now priced about $100 more than we paid. Our L1 on Harmony 2/4/17 is now $700 more than we paid. Glad we booked early.

[ChattTN]

I am not thrilled with these enhancements. We have sailed in everything from GS to the Presidential suites on RC. We recently flew private to St. Thomas on a G5, stayed at the Ritz for 10 days, drank and ate like kings. Oh yeah we stayed in a club ocean front suite. This entire trip cost me less than some of the mock bookings I just did. Pretty disappointing.

 

Must have been one heck of a mock booking to top the cost of that trip...

[actuarian]

Just out of curiosity, I decided to count the number of rooms in each category on the Anthem OTS. The Anthem has a total of 2095 rooms. Out of that number, 11 rooms or 0.5% are in Star Class, 28 rooms or 1.3% are in Sky Class and 86 rooms or 4.1% are in Sea Class. So, if you think of the top two classes (Star and Sky) as a "ship within a ship", it is a boutique size ship with 39 rooms, much smaller than any of the true luxury ships such as the Silversea or Seaborne ships. I assume that the actual counts vary from ship to ship but the percentages are relatively constant.

[mark22mac]

Just out of curiosity, I decided to count the number of rooms in each category on the Anthem OTS. The Anthem has a total of 2095 rooms. Out of that number, 11 rooms or 0.5% are in Star Class, 28 rooms or 1.3% are in Sky Class and 86 rooms or 4.1% are in Sea Class. So, if you think of the top two classes (Star and Sky) as a "ship within a ship", it is a boutique size ship with 39 rooms, much smaller than any of the true luxury ships such as the Silversea or Seaborne ships. I assume that the actual counts vary from ship to ship but the percentages are relatively constant.

 

 

Yea they jacked the prices up and hung a carrot out for these people to spend 10-14,000 to get a free drink package a few free dinners and their "own" butler. What a joke.

[mark22mac]

If I had thousands of dollars to pay for one of these suites I sure wouldn't be spending it on RCCL or any mass cruise line. I could think of many alternative vacations. One with no buffet, no drunks at the pool, no unsupervised kids, no 300lb women in string bikinis, no bingo, no chair hogs, etc.

 

 

Right on neighbor!!i totally agree with you especially about the bikinis [emoji37]. After my next 3 suites its a cheap inside cabin and I'll go to D lounge and schlep some free drinks or land vacation the pricing is way out of hand.

[LilBlackDress]

Star Class ( Royal Loft, Owners Loft, Presidential Family, Grand Loft, Sky Loft, 2 bedroom Aqua Suite).

Indulge in our most expansive, richly appointed environments and the ultimate complement of inclusive amenities. You’ll feel like nothing less than royalty in these palatial suites.

Suite benefits include

 

• Daily gratuities covered
  
• Ultimate beverage package
  
• Specialty restaurants
  
• Mini-bar
  
• Unlimited Voom high speed-internet
  
• Spa Thermal Room Access
  
• Complimentary in-suite movies
  
• Fitness classes
  
• Specialty bottled water
  
• Upgraded Bathroom Amenities by Hermes, Ferragamo and L'OCCITANE
  
• Linens, towels and bath robes by Frette
  
• Duxlana mattress
  
• Luxury pillowtop mattress
  
• Nespresso coffee machine
  
• In-suite handcrafted cocktail service
  
• Personalized welcome gift
  
• Specialty in-suite dining
  
• Welcome amenity
  
• Suite Restaurant
  
• Suite Lounge
  

The Star Class also has Royal Genie Services, which include

 

• 24/7 personal assistant
  
• Individualized guest preferences
  
• Dining & beverage requests
  
• In-suite dining requests
  
• Shoe shine service
  
• Laundry service
  

 

I know these amenities are new to most of us, but if they are similar to what Celebrity offers, I thought some may have and educated guess of what these amenities in red actually are.

 

My DH and I are debating between the 1 bd ATS with CP Balcony and just the 2 bd ATS

[Tunkhannock]

I see the Star tier will have a Nespresso coffee maker. Do you think the lower tiers will continue to have the current coffee maker and tea kettle?

Wouldn't that be a kick in the teeth to those in JS who lose their coffee/tea maker as part of their "upgrade"?

Royal Caribbean just responded to a post on their official FB page...they have no plans to implement the program on any other ships.

But I'm willing to bet that they'll still raise the price on the other ships.

[LilBlackDress]

Wouldn't that be a kick in the teeth to those in JS who lose their coffee/tea maker as part of their "upgrade"?

 

But I'm willing to bet that they'll still raise the price on the other ships.

There is no coffee maker listed on Sky Class either...

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[Cruisingthesuitelife]

But I'm willing to bet that they'll still raise the price on the other ships.

 

Of course they have! I have checked my upcoming cruises and out of 4 cruises booked after May next year, only one is on a ship offering this new suite class so I will put that price change aside. Of the others, all GS or above, the lowest increase since booking is $506 and the most is $2532!

[Tommy the crack]

We are going on the February 2017 harmony in a JS. We have MTD. Will this work in the Coastal Kitcken for dinner or do we need to make reservations? Thanks in advance for anyone who knows.

[John&LaLa]

We are going on the February 2017 harmony in a JS. We have MTD. Will this work in the Coastal Kitcken for dinner or do we need to make reservations? Thanks in advance for anyone who knows.

 

Everybody makes Reservations for CK.

[A&L_Ont]

Prices have always gone up, to blame the new program seems rather unfair. Every cruise I've ever booked cost more the week before embarkation than the day I booked it. For example my October Indy sailing is in an OS. I booked it for $4,500 Canadian for two people almost two years prior to embarkation. The last price on the fish lists it for $6,800 Canadian for double occupancy. Those numbers are without 13% tax being added on as well. There are no OS remaining but a GS today costs more than my OS when I booked it almost 2 years ago.

 

This ship will not have the new suite perks, this is prior to May 2016 pricing and the prices still went up. Price increases for suites are normal. I am half waiting for this new program to get blamed for the big increase at Christmas and New Years as well.

 

There might be drops in prices for suites occasionally, but you have to be watching to catch one. This is the pricing for my Indy October OS. You can see how it has steadily increased but there were also a few price drops as well. I think they key as to book early and watch the prices. If they drop, take the credit, if not just remember the earliest price is almost always the best.

[sauvichick]

I'm a bit confused:what: even though I have been following this thread since it began. Are many of you stating that the prices in the Star (and possibly Sky) categories have already increased for May 2016 and later since the info was released? And is it your booked cruises or mock bookings too? The July 2016 GS Allure sailings I am looking at are still holding in price, but I can possibly attribute it to high season. I find that the GS category doesn't seem to budge in price much. I'd also like to see the prices without BOGOHO to see if it is a deal:rolleyes:

Edited August 12, 2015 by sauvichick

[knittinggirl]

I wondered if the Pillow Top Mattresses in JS and up meant poorer quality mattresses everywhere else.

[timfan27]

Does anyone know if we are in a grand suite on one of these ships in the royal suite class, do we still get the one night of free pressing before the first formal night? Also has there been any mention if we still get 2 crown and anchor points for each night we cruise?

[A&L_Ont]

I'm a bit confused:what: even though I have been following this thread since it began. Are many of you stating that the prices in the Star (and possibly Sky) categories have already increased for May 2016 and later since the info was released? And is it your booked cruises or mock bookings too? The July 2016 GS Allure sailings I am looking at are still holding in price, but I can possibly attribute it to high season. I find that the GS category doesn't seem to budge in price much. I'd also like to see the prices without BOGOHO to see if it is a deal:rolleyes:

 

Just to further sauvichick's comment this price chart is for a GS for Allure May 29, 2016. For this random sailing I picked there has not been an increase since July 8th. I looked at a few other random dates for Allure post roll out and any ones I looked at have not had an increase since after the announcement. The latest increase I saw was August 5th. If RC wanted to give us the screws they would have jacked up the prices of all the suites well before the announcement of the new program.

 

EDIT: to further sauvichick's comment highlighted in red the only fares that can increase are ones that are mock bookings or ones that an individual has yet to actually book. There has been the odd time when I have waited a week to only see it go up in price, but that's they "price" I paid for my foot dragging.:) I have never had my actual booked cabin increase in price, but the ones in my category sure have.;)

[A&L_Ont]

Does anyone know if we are in a grand suite on one of these ships in the royal suite class, do we still get the one night of free pressing before the first formal night? Also has there been any mention if we still get 2 crown and anchor points for each night we cruise?

 

They also haven't mentioned luggage valet. No one knows for sure but I would be surprised if these exsisting perks disappeared.

[Cindy]

Prices have always gone up, to blame the new program seems rather unfair. Every cruise I've ever booked cost more the week before embarkation than the day I booked it. For example my October Indy sailing is in an OS. I booked it for $4,500 Canadian for two people almost two years prior to embarkation. The last price on the fish lists it for $6,800 Canadian for double occupancy. Those numbers are without 13% tax being added on as well. There are no OS remaining but a GS today costs more than my OS when I booked it almost 2 years ago.

 

There might be drops in prices for suites occasionally, but you have to be watching to catch one. I think they key as to book early and watch the prices. If they drop, take the credit, if not just remember the earliest price is almost always the best.

 

I would agree with that...I'm an early booker, and the cost of my suites in the past has as much as doubled between booking and sailing. I'm currently booked in an OS on the Liberty for November 2016. I made the booking on-board for a GS for a random date, and then slid it over when the itineraries for the date I wanted opened up. A couple weeks after that there was a price drop, and I moved to the OS I coveted. (I was also thinking there would be some new perks, but I've already beaten that horse to death.:o) Although the price is still within the range I would consider reasonable, it's gone up a couple times already, and that has nothing to do with announcements or improvements or anything else...it's just normal RCI suite pricing progression.

 

The only time I've seen an exception to that "rule" was when we cruised on Oasis in an off week. We moved from a GS to an L1 after final payment, and then when they opened the big suites up for booking by couples we moved to one of the Deck 9 Aqua Theater Suites (A2) for $15.00. That was an incredibly fun experience, but certainly not the norm, nor something I would count on happening again.

[mark22mac]

Prices have always gone up, to blame the new program seems rather unfair. Every cruise I've ever booked cost more the week before embarkation than the day I booked it. For example my October Indy sailing is in an OS. I booked it for $4,500 Canadian for two people almost two years prior to embarkation. The last price on the fish lists it for $6,800 Canadian for double occupancy. Those numbers are without 13% tax being added on as well. There are no OS remaining but a GS today costs more than my OS when I booked it almost 2 years ago.

 

 

 

This ship will not have the new suite perks, this is prior to May 2016 pricing and the prices still went up. Price increases for suites are normal. I am half waiting for this new program to get blamed for the big increase at Christmas and New Years as well.

 

 

 

There might be drops in prices for suites occasionally, but you have to be watching to catch one. This is the pricing for my Indy October OS. You can see how it has steadily increased but there were also a few price drops as well. I think they key as to book early and watch the prices. If they drop, take the credit, if not just remember the earliest price is almost always the best.

 

 

So true about booking early we'll be on Allure in April 2016 1 month prior to the program but oh well I don't use Internet while cruising anyway. Booked a GS for 3 of us for $5017. The GS are sold out now and for a JS they want over $5700.

[TheInnocentAge]

I'm a bit confused:what: even though I have been following this thread since it began. Are many of you stating that the prices in the Star (and possibly Sky) categories have already increased for May 2016 and later since the info was released? And is it your booked cruises or mock bookings too? The July 2016 GS Allure sailings I am looking at are still holding in price, but I can possibly attribute it to high season. I find that the GS category doesn't seem to budge in price much. I'd also like to see the prices without BOGOHO to see if it is a deal:rolleyes:

 

For what it's worth, I did a quick comparison using three cruises I had already booked, and here's what I came up with. If you're only talking about the price differences between now and the press release two days ago, I haven't noticed any difference. But, they have risen to varying degrees over the past two months.

 

For example, a Crown Loft Suite (L1) on the Harmony was booked in early June without any C&A discount for under $4800 (including taxes, fees and port charges), but this morning that same cabin is now $6171, or about a 28% increase in two months.

 

An OS that we booked way back during the original BOGOHO (early May of 2014 when the deals were really good) was just over $4000 then, had more than doubled in price at one point, and today is priced at $6571, or a 62% increase.

 

You mentioned the GS, and our Oasis booking has gone from $3900 (booked last year) to today's price of $5982, so about a 53% increase.

 

I think this was more a result of Royal's typical price increases after the early booking bargains.