Grand Suite to Crown Loft on Harmony worth it?

[Redsonya37]

Back story... 

Booked cruise in Feb with a balcony room. In April  I noticed I could upgrade to a Gty suite for only $300 more total for our family of 4. A week later our set sail passes updated with GTY as our room number but was given 6th floor and under class it said "Sky". I was crossing my fingers I would get a grand suite but after a lot of research here I saw most GTY suites were given Junior "sea" class rooms. While waiting (which I do very poorly) I got wrapped up in the Royal Up program and bid on a 1br loft, also a sky class. It was 1600 more total as the min bid and only L2 rooms were left that I saw.

 

Today I'm 30 days out and got our room assignment last night. We kept our Sky class status and were given a Grand suite on deck 6. Should I cancel our Royal up? Is the loft facing aft worth the 1600? (I know it's a bit bigger with two baths, but class benefits are the same). This is our first family cruise, first cruise onRC and kids are 12 and 14, so I'm a noob at this. 

[Tulsacoker]

Love Loft Suites more than Grand for two reasons. One two bathroom and its on the 17th deck along with CK And suite lounge. Only potential negative could be if you are overlooking the basketball court. Oh to to add on deck 17 its only suite guest with keyed entrance and very quiet

Edited May 24, 2019 by Tulsacoker

[suesnake2002]

With no extra perks i would cancel. Grand suites are great. And me personally not a fan of the stairs. 

[island lady]

OP, for your situation with a family of four...absolutely yes I would do the Crown loft.  The kids can sleep downstairs, and have their own full bathroom down there.  Parents have their own bedroom and full bathroom upstairs.  It is indeed very nice to have the extra room and larger balcony when traveling with four to a cabin, plus being on the same deck with the suites lounge and Coastal Kitchen is a bonus. 

 

For me, traveling as a couple, we prefer the Grand Suite due to the larger bathroom and no stairs.  Would choose that even if same price as Crown Loft.  It's just easier for two people.  For a family...CLS is perfect.  Enjoy your cruise.  🙂 

[Starry Eyes]

Congratulations on the lucky gty assignment!

 

Party of two rather than four, but we have stayed in CL and GS; we  enjoyed both.  I did like the CL better, but I do not think it would be worth that price difference to me.  There are so many other extras you could buy with that money.  Or save it for your next adventure.  You have a really nice cabin now...nicer than you expected.

[Island_Chica]

I posted just after you - we also booked a 4 pax guarantee on Harmony and were assigned a GS. I wonder if we're on the same sailing? I haven't gotten any "RoyalUp" email, but maybe I don't understand how it works?

 

As to whether it is "worth it" to upgrade, in my opinion that depends on how much you paid pp for your initial fare, how often you vacation and whether the extra $$ is a hardship or inconvenience. GS are very, very nice cabins, but aren't as spacious as some of the other offerings on Harmony. However, given the typical price differences, GS are a great deal. 

 

We are traveling with our two kids as well (7 and 9, so younger and less smelly/moody than yours - for now). We got a great rate, so I'd likely pay $400 pp more to have 2 bathrooms and the in-room dining table. For us, personally, we prefer to order room service breakfast off the MDR menu each morning and enjoy eating at our leisure and in relative peace. We've had a royal family suite before and having a dining table that accommodated all of us was amazing. 

 

Due to school, sports, and work obligations, we only travel as a family a couple of times a year. I prefer to be as comfortable as possible when we do so. But your initial cabin assignment is nothing to be disappointed about! 

[TeeRick]

We switched from a 1-BR GS to a CL on Harmony on our cruise this past January.  We were so glad that we did!  Loved the CL for many reasons mentioned here.  Deck 17 is like a secluded suite floor with direct access to CK and Suite Lounge right out your door.  Elevators right there too and they are mostly empty when they get to deck 17.  So easy on/off. This makes a big difference on a ship as large and crowded as Harmony.  Our initial GS was on Deck 8 mid-ship and it would not have been convenient to run up to 17 for water, soft drinks, coffee in the morning, whatever.  We also loved the set up of the CL and two bathrooms.  Our CL was port side of 17 so we had a direct ocean view from our balcony.  The aft CL's overlook the sports court.

[MaryBCruisin]

Trying to decide if I want to Royal Up if offered from CL to OS.  I love the CL but have not been in OS.  Anyone been in both?  Thoughts?

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, MaryBCruisin said:

Trying to decide if I want to Royal Up if offered from CL to OS.  I love the CL but have not been in OS.  Anyone been in both?  Thoughts?

 

If you intend to use the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen extensively, then the CL will be a more convenient location.

[MaryBCruisin]

Good point.  We do like the convenience to the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen, especially when we are not cruising with family/friends.

[PopeyeDaSailor]

As others have said the CL is convenient to the CK and suite benefits.  We traveled with two kids and had a GS on Deck #10 of Symphony (10254) and used the CK to eat almost every meal (never ate in the MDR all week).  My kids don't take long in the bathroom but having an extra bathroom is nice.  The thing we did enjoy about being in a GS was it's location for doing everything else.  We were literally in the middle of the ship so getting to Deck #5 where most of the action happens was fast, getting to the front of the ship to drop our 5 year old off at Adventure Oceans (Deck #14) was fast, getting to the pools was easy or just about anywhere because of our location. 

 

If you're in a CL you have to wait for elevators sometimes to get all the way up to Deck #17 (or you have a lot of stairs).  We hardly heard any outside noise in a 10254 suite since Deck #10 is nothing but rooms. 

 

Finally as others have said if you can't pick your CL suite you run the risk of over looking the basketball, mini-golf, flow rider area which can get noisy.  To me I would only book a CL suite if you can pick a side room that over looks the ocean. 

 

If you want a GS pick Decks 9-11 (Deck #12 is right under pools).  Of course any suite is better than a non-suite!

Edited May 28, 2019 by PopeyeDaSailor

[NewfieGuy1972]

I personally would EASILY pay $800 more for a CL over a GS. For me the GS only offers the great bathroom, the room itself is not that "Grand" 😉