Advantages of a Junior Suite over Balcony Cabin

[cjdixon4]

Will be in a Junior Suite on a Summer sailing in 2019. Aside from the increased size of the cabin, are there any other benefits to having a suite over a regular oceanview balcony? Anyone ever been disappointed with the Junior suite? Thanks for any input.

[lazydayz]

Double points

priority boarding 

That is about it on classes lower than Oasis

Worth it to me at times for extra space, storage and full size bathroom 

[Grandma Dazzles]

There are not a lot of extra benefits. You will have a bathtub - can be a minus!  I prefer not to have to climb in the bathtub to take a shower; not a bath person!  Double points are good. Coffee maker is good but not a deal breaker. Other than cabin size and bigger closet not a lot of difference. Wish RC would give these cabins a different name as they don’t get true suite benefits. 

[BEENSAILING]

12 minutes ago, cjdixon4 said:

Will be in a Junior Suite on a Summer sailing in 2019. Aside from the increased size of the cabin, are there any other benefits to having a suite over a regular oceanview balcony? Anyone ever been disappointed with the Junior suite? Thanks for any input.

If you are on an Oasis or Quantum class you can have dinner in Coastal Kitchen. Make reservations onboard. Double C and A points. How can u be disappointed with a Junior Suite on any ship - more space!

[Loves_Dogs]

Not sure what ship you are on but the JS cabins that we had were Freedom class ships. Others have mentioned priority boarding and a bathtub, which were nice, but the thing that I most liked was the walk in closets. The Freedom class ships have pretty big walk in closets which not only helped keep the cabin from being a cluttered mess, but we used it as a dressing room.

[BirdTravels]

Walk in closet was a bonus. Upgraded L'Occutane amenities. Tub. Bigger room. Coastal Kitchen. Suites check-in. Suites embarkation. 

[Andy C]

Since you may not be aware here is some useful information.  Royal Suite Class collateral materials do not inform you that Pinnacles have access to Coastal Kitchen.  The big perk on Oasis class for Junior Suites (other than the nice cabin, priority embarkation and double points) is dinner in CK.  If there are many pinnacles on your sailing your ability to have dinner in CK will be severely limited and as others have reported here maybe even zero chance of securing a table in CK.  

[BEENSAILING]

We have never had a problem making a dinner reservation in Coast Kitchen when we have been in a Junior Suite on a Quantum Class ship. Several years ago we were able to reserve on line (with Quantum). On our Anthem cruises in JS we have gone to CK host desk and made reservations - never been a problem.

[MrCruzdoggie]

We like the walk closest, it is like a separate changing room. 

[cb at sea]

I think the space is totally worth it....a JS is more the size of a hotel room, rather than a ship's cabin!  There's walking space...a sitting area....the bathroom is a bit larger, due to the tub....and the closet...very nice, indeed!  Of course, the balcony is wider, too, because the JS is wider than a normal cabin.

 

You get the comfort without the high "suite" price.  It's my preferred way to cruise!

[Clarea]

11 hours ago, cjdixon4 said:

Will be in a Junior Suite on a Summer sailing in 2019. Aside from the increased size of the cabin, are there any other benefits to having a suite over a regular oceanview balcony? Anyone ever been disappointed with the Junior suite? Thanks for any input.

 

JS Perks:

Bathtub (except for Empress)
Walk-in closet (very few on Vision class, none on Majesty, and Empress)
Dinner at Coastal Kitchen (Quantum and Oasis class only)
Priority check-in and boarding
Tea kettle and coffee maker
Bathroom amenities
Robes
Extra C&A point per night
Distintictive color SeaPass card

 

[h20skibum]

32 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

Distintictive color SeaPass card

 

Unless, of course, they screw up your check in

 

But we did enjoy the extra space and walk in closet. Not a fan of the tub. It is not a full size one like you have at home, and the bath floor and bottom of tub are at different levels. 

[cjdixon4]

12 hours ago, Andy C said:

Since you may not be aware here is some useful information.  Royal Suite Class collateral materials do not inform you that Pinnacles have access to Coastal Kitchen.  The big perk on Oasis class for Junior Suites (other than the nice cabin, priority embarkation and double points) is dinner in CK.  If there are many pinnacles on your sailing your ability to have dinner in CK will be severely limited and as others have reported here maybe even zero chance of securing a table in CK.  

Well, I won't need to worry about the Pinnacles in Coastal Kitchen... I'll be on Enchantment, LOL. 

If I like this JS experience though, I may book it on another class of ship next time!

[John&LaLa]

13 hours ago, Andy C said:

Since you may not be aware here is some useful information.  Royal Suite Class collateral materials do not inform you that Pinnacles have access to Coastal Kitchen.  The big perk on Oasis class for Junior Suites (other than the nice cabin, priority embarkation and double points) is dinner in CK.  If there are many pinnacles on your sailing your ability to have dinner in CK will be severely limited and as others have reported here maybe even zero chance of securing a table in CK.  

 

It never gets old. 🤣

[John&LaLa]

13 hours ago, BEENSAILING said:

We have never had a problem making a dinner reservation in Coast Kitchen when we have been in a Junior Suite on a Quantum Class ship. Several years ago we were able to reserve on line (with Quantum). On our Anthem cruises in JS we have gone to CK host desk and made reservations - never been a problem.

 

Same here, just takes proactive planning

[Capt_BJ]

did JS on OASIS

 

no need to do it again

 

limited perks not worth the money

 

by chance we got a slightly larger balcony (they picked room) which was nice but a regular balc room is fine for us. With many cruises under our belt, and my time at sea, "small rooms" and packing light are something that does not concern us at all . . . 

 

if you want the perks get a real suite.

[Wally Alligator]

1 hour ago, cjdixon4 said:

Well, I won't need to worry about the Pinnacles in Coastal Kitchen... I'll be on Enchantment, LOL. 

If I like this JS experience though, I may book it on another class of ship next time!

We had a JS on Enchantment for our Halloween cruise this year.  Didn't seem much bigger than a standard balcony but was still very nice.  Aside from the slightly larger room, the only JS benefits we used were the Suite check in line at embarkation, which was empty while the other lines were each 20+ deep, probably saved us 15 minutes at check in.  Robes, slippers, coffee maker were in the room but went unused.

[finz2u]

We just returned from a cruise where we had a "regular" size balcony, and my husband finally understands how size matters.

[cruisenewb1]

Possibly more comfortable beds?

 

I’ve seen a number of reviews mention that Royal Caribbean’s beds have become very hard over the last few years, apparently because the mattress toppers have been removed for hygiene reasons.

 

It seems, from the RCI website, that on Oasis and Quantum class junior suites get “luxury pillow top mattresses”.

[bonsai3s]

We were on the Navigator from October 26th to Dec 2nd, in a Junior Suite.  Friends that came by our cabin said "Nice, looks like you got an upgraded bed and really nice pillows".  Our bed was soft (the way we like it), bedsheets always fresh, and pillows almost luxurious...we slept like babies.  Agree with everyone else...not much other perks.  But we love that extra space and the walk-in closet.  Note: A father and his young son walked by while we had our door opened...the young child (perhaps 6 yrs old) said "Dad, why is their room bigger than ours?"  The father smiled and pulled his son away from our door and said "That's a suite...ours is just a cabin".☺️

[Guest maddycat]

On our Nov. 25 Anthem sailing CK was only available to full suite passengers and pinnacle C&A members.  There were either 35 or 38 pinnacles on board.  This info was listed in the D+ info sheet that we received in our balcony cabin.  There were also 1,000 D and D+ C&A members on board that sailing.

[cjdixon4]

2 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

We were on the Navigator from October 26th to Dec 2nd, in a Junior Suite.  Friends that came by our cabin said "Nice, looks like you got an upgraded bed and really nice pillows".  Our bed was soft (the way we like it), bedsheets always fresh, and pillows almost luxurious...we slept like babies.  Agree with everyone else...not much other perks.  But we love that extra space and the walk-in closet.  Note: A father and his young son walked by while we had our door opened...the young child (perhaps 6 yrs old) said "Dad, why is their room bigger than ours?"  The father smiled and pulled his son away from our door and said "That's a suite...ours is just a cabin".☺️

Wait... did I read correctly? You were on Navigator from Oct 26th thru Dec 2nd? 

[OSUZorba]

13 hours ago, h20skibum said:

 

Unless, of course, they screw up your check in

 

But we did enjoy the extra space and walk in closet. Not a fan of the tub. It is not a full size one like you have at home, and the bath floor and bottom of tub are at different levels. 

The bath tub is great if you have kids and for the extra hanging space for swimsuits. I don't see many adults actually using it as a tub, though.

[Desert Cruizers]

We enjoyed the walk in closet, could store our luggage including the daughters and larger bathroom, plus getting double points is nice. I also put our collapsible hampers in the closet one for DH & I & one for the daughter,.

[OSUZorba]

8 hours ago, cruisenewb1 said:

Possibly more comfortable beds?

 

I’ve seen a number of reviews mention that Royal Caribbean’s beds have become very hard over the last few years, apparently because the mattress toppers have been removed for hygiene reasons.

 

It seems, from the RCI website, that on Oasis and Quantum class junior suites get “luxury pillow top mattresses”.

I think this is true on Liberty. The two JSs I've had a nice topper while the balcony didn't. I finally got the complaints about hard beds.