Suite Guarantee - Thoughts/Good Deal?

[Want2Cruise 701]

Our 10 night Eclipse sailing has a Suite guarantee for $5,020 total. The only suites left are 1 Celebrity and 1 Royal. What are the chances of them having Sky Suites that aren't showing or upgrading someone from a Sky to put us in. I'd honestly rather have our oversized 1A balcony rather than a Sky Suite.

 

We paid $2841 for our 1A first off hump with the classic package, 700 OBC and gratuities. Is it worth the extra $2179 for a suite plus well get the premium package now and unlimited internet.

 

Thoughts from more experienced X cruisers than us. Thanks.

[Stem to Stern]

If you love your 1A, then keep it. Once you are on board use the OBC to upgrade your drink package, buy an internet package, and reserve specialty restaurants if you don't want to do the main dining room every night. $2179 will almost get you another cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited October 27, 2016 by summit011604

[Want2Cruise 701]

If you love your 1A, then keep it. Once you are on board use the OBC to upgrade your drink package, buy an internet package, and reserve specialty restaurants if you don't want to do the main dining room every night. $2179 will almost get you another cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

That's what we were thinking, but we've only sailed as high as concierge class so we didn't know if the extra suite benefits were worth it.

[A Sixth?]

That's what we were thinking, but we've only sailed as high as concierge class so we didn't know if the extra suite benefits were worth it.

 

Luminee is pretty nice as is Micheal's Club.... but expect a Sky and decide based on that.

[kenevenpar]

I'm seeing a much higher rate, $3700 with all 4 perks, and $3100 without perks.

 

Perhaps the $2510 rate was an exciting deal, which usually does not include any perks?

[Wickets]

Don't think they would move sky up. We took a royal gty that was priced less than Celebrity suite over a sky. There were no Royals open at the time, and TA gave me hard time about upgrading. The put us in Penthouse and booked Celebrity for more money

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited October 27, 2016 by Wickets

[Stem to Stern]

That's what we were thinking, but we've only sailed as high as concierge class so we didn't know if the extra suite benefits were worth it.

 

 

We tried a corner aft S1 in January and have no regrets and thoroughly enjoyed the extra square footage, the bathtub, the Bulgarian toiletries, the butler bringing tea, and the ambiance of Luminae and Michael's Club, but it would need to be a special occasion or a super deal before we would do it again.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[wallie5446]

If you can get the time away, you could book another cruise in a 1B for the difference! :D

[JennJohnNYC]

I think policy has changed over the past couple of years. I think Celebrity is now more likely to move people around and assign the suite guarantees the lower suites. We took a Royal guarantee and the only cabin showing available was the penthouse. They moved someone from a Royal to the penthouse and assigned us their Royal suite. I thinks it's a gamble, but be prepared to be assigned the lowest possible suite, and if you would be happy with that, then go for it....the perks of Michael's Club and Luminae are very nice! Good luck!

[Wj420]

Fall 2013 we had a suite guarantee and got a Royal Suite! It was our honeymoon so the timing was perfect! That cruise was a 14 night out of Southhampton so we had lots of time to appreciate the suite. It is way out of our budget!!

Luminae, extra space and never waiting in a line are the primary reasons we book suites, when it makes financial sense.

[Want2Cruise 701]

Ok.....I'm thinking maybe I should just go for it now. Please explain all the benefits of The Suite Class, Luminae and Michaels.

 

My husband used to enjoy Michaels before it became a suite perk. They used to offer scotch tastings etc., of course for a charge. Has it changed at all? Better? Worse?

 

How is your butler different from the ordinary stateroom attendant?

 

What is the dedicated concierge? Can I book my shore excursions with them using our OBC when we board?

 

We are not reservation people. Will this be a problem in Luminae?

 

I'm hoping there is a much better room service menu for breakfast. Sometimes we like it on the balcony in the mornings. Especially on port days.

 

Thank you and sorry for all the questions. It's a lot to upgrade but it is our 15th anniversary so I wanted it to be special. Not just another cruise. If we do, hoping it's not a sky suite since they are not showing available. If so, I'll just have to tell DH they upgraded us and nothing I can do. :eek:

[ORV]

Ok.....I'm thinking maybe I should just go for it now. Please explain all the benefits of The Suite Class, Luminae and Michaels.

 

My husband used to enjoy Michaels before it became a suite perk. They used to offer scotch tastings etc., of course for a charge. Has it changed at all? Better? Worse?

 

How is your butler different from the ordinary stateroom attendant?

 

What is the dedicated concierge? Can I book my shore excursions with them using our OBC when we board?

 

We are not reservation people. Will this be a problem in Luminae?

 

I'm hoping there is a much better room service menu for breakfast. Sometimes we like it on the balcony in the mornings. Especially on port days.

 

Thank you and sorry for all the questions. It's a lot to upgrade but it is our 15th anniversary so I wanted it to be special. Not just another cruise. If we do, hoping it's not a sky suite since they are not showing available. If so, I'll just have to tell DH they upgraded us and nothing I can do. :eek:

 

Personally I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment if you go in hoping it's not a Sky Suite. Perhaps it would be better to say, "I'll be happy with a Sky Suite for that price as that's what I'll probably get, but it'd be great if I got something better."

 

Just my .02

[mandream]

Personally I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment if you go in hoping it's not a Sky Suite. Perhaps it would be better to say, "I'll be happy with a Sky Suite for that price as that's what I'll probably get, but it'd be great if I got something better."

 

Completely agree.

[chemmo]

Completely agree.

 

Love the suite life, love Michael's but to pay so much more than your present room hoping you don't get the room you are most likely to get...

[Gonzo70]

I strongly encourage you NOT to upgrade if you would be upset if assigned a Sky Suite. By far you are most likely to be assigned a Sky Suite anyways. There may be accessible Sky Suites that are not showing as available, but are unoccupied and will be assigned to Sky Suite Guarantees if nobody requiring an accessible stateroom books one soon. It is quite common to end up receiving an Accessible Sky Suite when booking a Sky Suite Guarantee. IMHO these are slightly less desirable than a regular Sky Suite if one has no need for the accessible features (main issue being no bathtub and the shower requires a bit of work to prevent water leaking into the rest of the bathroom). Sure it is possible you will end up receiving a higher category suite (and as such score a deal), but a Sky Suite is the most likely outcome regardless of what currently is showing as available.

[thebutlerdidit]

Michael's Club is a suites lounge that offers complimentary beverages of all types plus occasional entertainment. So it's most likely changed in that no money changes hands. If he wants a particular beverage he can ask the bartender if it's possible.

 

Count me in on the side of thinking you'll most likely get a sky suite. Although if you're really wanting to try a suite, I say just jump in and go for it. I think you'll really enjoy the perks even if you aren't placed in the suite of your dreams. At least you'll know what it's like and you can decide which way to book in the future.

[Lastdance]

That is high for only 10 nights. I have an s1 corner aft for lower and it is 16 nights to Europe TA...Celebrity has been offering an upsell to the nice cabins depending on status with Captain's Club for the higher priced suites, like from sky or AQ. However, things change continually...just make sure you are going to be happy with what you have or what might be! If the money isn't an issue...go for it. The problem is that you may not want anything but a suite again!!!!!

Edited October 27, 2016 by Lastdance

[Want2Cruise 701]

That is high for only 10 nights. I have an s1 corner aft for lower and it is 16 nights to Europe TA...Celebrity has been offering an upsell to the nice cabins depending on status with Captain's Club for the higher priced suites, like from sky or AQ. However, things change continually...just make sure you are going to be happy with what you have or what might be! If the money isn't an issue...go for it. The problem is that you may not want anything but a suite again!!!!!

 

I guess I might have more time to think. I called earlier to upgrade and the department that needed to process the upgrade was closed. My original booking is so old and with different promos.

 

Does anyone think the 5k is high for a suite? 10 nights. We will have the go BEST 4 perks with an additional $400 OBC. We never have booked a suite so I usually don't pay attention to suite pricing.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Want2Cruise 701

[thebutlerdidit]

I don't think that's high. When I booked our 7 night last November for this December our S1 priced out at about $4600 all in. Rather than additional OBC our travel agent took $200 per passenger off of the price up front, so it would have been around $5K without that reduction.

 

If I recall, S2 was $2249 pp, S1 was $2449 pp and CS was $2899 pp plus port fees when we booked. Within a month the prices had increased $500 pp for the Sky suites and the CS had increased $600 pp.

Edited October 28, 2016 by thebutlerdidit

[Stem to Stern]

Just had a thought regarding your upgrade. If you go for the suite guarantee and they rearrange other S2 passengers by offering them up sells, you could end up under the Oceanview Cafe with a fully shaded balcony. It could also be accessible which means no bathtub. I like sun and baths, so for me that would not be a $5k suite.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[chemmo]

Just had a thought regarding your upgrade. If you go for the suite guarantee and they rearrange other S2 passengers by offering them up sells, you could end up under the Oceanview Cafe with a fully shaded balcony. It could also be accessible which means no bathtub. I like sun and baths, so for me that would not be a $5k suite.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

We have never been brave enough to book guarantees....Like you we know exactly what we want from a room. If we are treating ourselves to a suit then it does need to be a wow experience.

 

Advice to OP why not stick at your balcony room for now but look at future cruises that may have good prices for suits then you could choose the exact room you want. Just as an example we booked on Reflection March 2018 as the itineraries came out, RS are now £1,500+ more than we paid...big difference.

 

OP, if you do decide to gamble on a guarantee I wish you all the luck in the world!

[Relaxinginthesun]

You only live once and until you sail in a suite yourself you will never know if the additional perks and higher level of service is worth the extra money to you. I can tell you that we have booked every cruise we have taken via a Suite Guarantee on both RCCL and Celebrity. Only once have we been assigned a higher level suite. However, each and every time we have saved hundreds to thousands of dollars over the price of picking our own cabin and we have never been disappointed in the cabin we were assigned. I will also say that the price you quote is a good price for a 10-day cruise. So my suggestion is go for the upgrade, give it a try and see for yourself if the Suite Life is for you.

[Caribbean Chris]

I am on the OP's sailing, and $5,000 is a good price with Go Best if she gets a good location she likes in Sky Suite 2. It's comparable in value to what we got by booking way in advance... and Celebrity suite prices went way up after we booked due to the addition of Michaels & Luminae to the benefits.

 

On a per-day basis, I suspect $500 with Go Best is about as low as X would go now for a Caribbean cruise out of Fla., with the "regular" (not last minute) prices much, much higher from what I'm seeing in future suite pricing.

 

It will be an especially good deal if she gets an assignment in any higher suite. Maybe not such a good deal if it's the worst S2 on the ship for her needs, which happened to me once a couple of years ago with a suite guarantee on Constellation. Still, these days you get Michaels and Luminae, terrific value for all suites.

[Lastdance]

I guess I might have more time to think. I called earlier to upgrade and the department that needed to process the upgrade was closed. My original booking is so old and with different promos.

 

Does anyone think the 5k is high for a suite? 10 nights. We will have the go BEST 4 perks with an additional $400 OBC. We never have booked a suite so I usually don't pay attention to suite pricing.

 

 

Is it 5k total or 5k pp.? Total is a great deal!!! I have never seen it that low for any of my cruises for a suite...S1?

I looked back and it is only 5,000 for the two of you? Take it! I thought it was 5K each. My TA is 9k for 16 days to Europe, but S1 corner afts are coveted on that cruise!!! The Caribbean is completely different and not for me anymore; once I got a taste for Europe,I never looked back!

Enjoy!!!!

Also, let us know your decision....

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited October 28, 2016 by Lastdance

[Want2Cruise 701]

I went ahead and did it. It's the longest cruise we've ever taken and our anniversary and plus no child with us. I wanted it to seem like more than just another cruise.

 

We'll see how it works out. Crossing fingers that even if it's an S2 it's in a good location. Thanks for all the feedback everyone.