Benefits of a JS on Liberty

[BethV114]

I have sailed on Royal several times, but the last was about seven years ago. We didn't love our experience on the Allure, and ended up heading over to Celebrity. We decided to combine a trip to see family in Texas with a spring break cruise for our eight year old daughter in April, so will be giving Royal another go with the Liberty from Galveston. My husband is hoping that we can snag a junior suite. Currently, none are available for a party of three, however, I do plan to keep checking daily. But before I commit to spending extra $$ beyond what our balcony cabin costs, I just wanted to see whether the benefits of sailing in a JS have improved at all. When we last sailed Royal, there really weren't any benefits beyond the larger cabin and double C&A points. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[clarky213]

One benefit is priority boarding if you are there when boarding starts. We were about the fifth on the ship in March.

You can also get Bath Robes for your cabin.

[MiniChunks]

Double C&A points, giant closet

[Cigar King]

It's basically a bigger room. For me that's all that matters. The small bathrooms in the room categories below JS annoy me and I don't go on vacation to get annoyed. ;-)

 

The double points, priority boarding, and sexy sea pass are meh at best.

[HicksRA]

Walk in closet, bigger bathroom with a bathtub instead of a corner shower, bigger room, priority check-in, a sparkly silver seapass card and double points are about it.

[leaveitallbehind]

I just wanted to see whether the benefits of sailing in a JS have improved at all. When we last sailed Royal, there really weren't any benefits beyond the larger cabin and double C&A points. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

There has been no change in what the JS offers since your last RCI cruise. What the others have commented on were in place then as now.

[BethV114]

There has been no change in what the JS offers since your last RCI cruise. What the others have commented on were in place then as now.

 

Ok, so probably not worth it. We do just fine with the three of us in a balcony cabin. I think I’ll use the $$ for beverage packages instead. We’ve gotten spoiled having those on Celebrity included with our fare!

[leaveitallbehind]

Ok, so probably not worth it. We do just fine with the three of us in a balcony cabin. I think I’ll use the $$ for beverage packages instead. We’ve gotten spoiled having those on Celebrity included with our fare!

 

Included at a price! If you do a mock booking removing the added perks using, for instance, residency and / or age, you will be shown a rate based on that. Often that rate is significantly lower than that with the perks options. Case in point, our Bermuda cruise in July 2016 on Summit was $600 less without the perks than with. And as we don't purchase beverage packages, the offered OBC and prepaid gratuities was worth less than the reduced fare. Which means including them would have been at a premium above their value. It doesn't always work that way but is worth checking before committing to the perks included fare.

 

As to the JS, not sure what other benefits would be included. They are not considered a full suite but do convey suite points. It really is just a larger stateroom than a standard balcony. I guess you have to weigh the cost for that.

[dreadpirate3]

Ok, so probably not worth it. We do just fine with the three of us in a balcony cabin. I think I’ll use the $$ for beverage packages instead. We’ve gotten spoiled having those on Celebrity included with our fare!

 

Check for price drops starting at 60 days out. I just upgraded to a JS for free and got a OBC refund.

[BethV114]

Check for price drops starting at 60 days out. I just upgraded to a JS for free and got a OBC refund.

 

I’ll definitely do that. Thanks for the tip!

[acstall]

Check for price drops starting at 60 days out. I just upgraded to a JS for free and got a OBC refund.

 

 

Was this after final payment?

[dreadpirate3]

Was this after final payment?

 

It was.

[acstall]

It was.

 

Wow. I upgraded after final payment and the price for the suite was less than what I paid for balcony. I got the suite but no OBC for the reduction in price. This was through my TA.

[gpz]

just off liberty 11/04 . no perks at all. would not even let me in suite lounge. told me it did not qualify. did away with concierge lounge on this ship. they have a diamond lounge and suite lounge on this ship. turned the old concierge lounge into the card room. capt said there was 52% diamonds on our cruise. diamond lounge was a zoo and as if diamond plus level did not even exist. all on board perks were for pinnacles and suites [minus jr.] only.

[OSUZorba]

On Liberty another "perk" of being in a Jr Suite is a high disembarkation group, so you can enjoy the ship for a few extra hours. Also known as, the save five minutes with priority check in to loose 3 hours at check out to punish you for not being in a full suite.

 

The one thing I haven't seen mentioned, is you get two loungers on your balcony, in addition to the two chairs and table. The Liberty just got all new outdoor furniture, too. So the two chairs now have adjustable backs and the table is a normal height eating table, as opposed to the short ones.

[OSUZorba]

just off liberty 11/04 . no perks at all. would not even let me in suite lounge. told me it did not qualify. did away with concierge lounge on this ship. they have a diamond lounge and suite lounge on this ship. turned the old concierge lounge into the card room. capt said there was 52% diamonds on our cruise. diamond lounge was a zoo and as if diamond plus level did not even exist. all on board perks were for pinnacles and suites [minus jr.] only.

You must've misheard something, about 50% of the ship were repeat cruisers, not Diamond.

[BethV114]

The one thing I haven't seen mentioned, is you get two loungers on your balcony, in addition to the two chairs and table. The Liberty just got all new outdoor furniture, too. So the two chairs now have adjustable backs and the table is a normal height eating table, as opposed to the short ones.

 

If this is true, then I might be more willing to spend the extra money to upgrade. It's really all going to come down to whether any JSs for 3 become available and what the price ends up being.

[boozrcruzr]

It's all in what you want.We just returned 11-4 from 7 days on LOS and our first JS. I will say it's worth it to us. All the extra room was perfect! No comparison to the Balcony which we always had before. Your already spending a lot of money so why not be even more comfortable. Just do what you feel fits your needs. It was super to us. Who knows...next time we may go up the next level.

[tennislvr8]

I just upgraded our balcony on the 12/16 sailing of the Harmony to a JS for $250 total. Keep watching the prices, you never know.

 

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