Looking for opinions - Aft JS or OV? Crazy, I know

[colesc15]

Hi all. Looking for opinions from you guys. My wife and I are sailing a southern Caribbean cruise in March on vision out of Puerto Rico. The itinerary is attached. We've always done a balcony, junior suite, or even a grand suite depending on the deal. This cruise we currently have coveted corner aft junior suite 8088. The rate was higher than we paid for Symphony last year, however even when we booked, regular balconies were higher than our balcony on Symphony. 

 

I'm looking at the itinerary and how port intensive it is. I'd love the corner aft, how ever if we went to an Oceanview balcony, we'd save a little over $2,000 dollars by downgrading. We do currently have $600 on obc with the JS so if we downgraded we'd lose most of that. 

 

What would you do? Normally I'd say no way to an interior or ocean view because I love being on the balcony at sea and before bed and when waking up, but the port intensive and one sea day has me intrigued. We'd save $2,000 now but lose $600 obc so end up ahead by about $1,400 in the end. 

 

And go! 

 

 

[marci22]

If you love to sit out on the balcony keep it. If you just look out through the slider, get the OV.

[hancock]

They aft JS will require a lot of walking, as it will be farther from the elevators.  While a JS would be lovely, $2000 more for a JS on a 7 day cruise seems very high for the benefits.  I am one who looks for a good deal. It's up to you to decide

[CruiseBride926]

We are doing a port intensive cruise next year with our 2 kids in a junior suite. That’s usually smaller then we’d get when traveling with them but I’d prefer to use the money elsewhere if we’re hardly going to be in the room. That being said I couldn’t budge on the balcony.  It’s just a matter of what do you think you’d miss from booking a junior suite and are those things that will negatively impact your vacation.

[colesc15]

1 minute ago, CruiseBride926 said:

We are doing a port intensive cruise next year with our 2 kids in a junior suite. That’s usually smaller then we’d get when traveling with them but I’d prefer to use the money elsewhere if we’re hardly going to be in the room. That being said I couldn’t budge on the balcony.  It’s just a matter of what do you think you’d miss from booking a junior suite and are those things that will negatively impact your vacation.

Agreed. A balcony is only like $300 cheaper than a junior suite on this sailing so no point in going to just a normal balcony. 

[Desert Cruizers]

Myself, i couldn't justify $2,000 more to sleep in a room, while we have had JS's and love them but never a corner Aft cabin, I prefer mid ship. You will need to ask, how much time will I be in the room out on the aft balcony.

[colesc15]

I typically sit out on the balcony every night and also every morning while we're docking in Port. And with this aft balcony being a wraparound, the loungers would be nice as well 

[maxcat910]

Only you can decide whether the money is worth it to you but it sounds like you would like to keep what you have.  Personally I'd take the extra money and make my way to other areas on the ship to sit out at the times you have mentioned. We've loved having a balcony but when we don't we've found it works almost as well to go to some quiet areas in the morning and evenings to sit out on deck.  They obviously are not as convenient as just opening the balcony door, but there are quiet areas before people are up and about, and while they are at dinner or a show.

[bonsai3s]

We love the aft JS on the Vision...we had it on our Suez Canal sailing...having an extra large balcony was fantastic....great views sailing in and out of all the ports.  Agree with maxcat910, only you can decide.

Another reason we like the aft JS: only a few steps away, there's a staircase that leads you directly up to the spa and fitness center.  Note: The JS on the Vision do not have walk-in closets...if that matters to you.  Regardless, happy sailing! 😎

[Ashland]

We just had aft #8590 this past May Med/Greece 13 nights on Vision.....I always prefer at minimum the JS category. Port intensity doesn't affect my decision at all as we still use the balcony and especially those aft ones. 

Best of luck deciding if it's worth it to you for the 7 nights.

[jcl410]

The walk back on the Vision class to the aft cabins isn't too bad. The nice thing about having the aft balcony is the great view for the departures each evening. (I that's something you like to do.)

 

The other question is whether or not the extra floor space is worth it.

 

Aloha,

John

 

 

 

 

 

[vickiw0318]

Love the aft balconies.  Love sailing away and watching the islands fade into the distance.   There are a lot of ports to be sure, but I am not as tired after Caribbean ports as I am after European ones.  I am usually back on the ship earlier, cleaned up and ready to enjoy the views.  

 

I have a corner aft booked on the Enchantment for February of 2021 and I am really looking forward to it.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Give up an aft corner JS in the Caribbean?  No way.  

[shofer]

For the 2K, I'd take the OV and save the money for a JS on a longer, more exotic cruise.  That being said,  we took an OV for our 12 day Mediterranean and Baltic cruises because they were so port intensive.  Especially the Med as we were gone 8+ hours and were really pooped when we returned to the ship.  

We did get a larger hump balcony on Silhouette for our TA last November.  Unfortunately, we hardly used it do to the rough seas and cold weather.

Sue

[Ourusualbeach]

11 hours ago, colesc15 said:

I'm looking at the itinerary and how port intensive it is. I'd love the corner aft, how ever if we went to an Oceanview balcony, we'd save a little over $2,000 dollars by downgrading. We do currently have $600 on obc with the JS so if we downgraded we'd lose most of that. 

 

What would you do? Normally I'd say no way to an interior or ocean view because I love being on the balcony at sea and before bed and when waking up, but the port intensive and one sea day has me intrigued. We'd save $2,000 now but lose $600 obc so end up ahead by about $1,400 in the end. 

I’m confused.  Are you considering downgrading to an Oceanview Balcony or just an Oceanview. 

[colesc15]

15 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I’m confused.  Are you considering downgrading to an Oceanview Balcony or just an Oceanview. 

Just an Oceanview. A balcony is only like $300 total cheaper than the corner junior suite. Tortola and Punta Cana are two islands royal rarely goes to which is what drove the cost of this cruise up I believe 

[johnjen]

On 9/2/2019 at 10:17 AM, colesc15 said:

Hi all. Looking for opinions from you guys. My wife and I are sailing a southern Caribbean cruise in March on vision out of Puerto Rico. The itinerary is attached. We've always done a balcony, junior suite, or even a grand suite depending on the deal. This cruise we currently have coveted corner aft junior suite 8088. The rate was higher than we paid for Symphony last year, however even when we booked, regular balconies were higher than our balcony on Symphony. 

 

I'm looking at the itinerary and how port intensive it is. I'd love the corner aft, how ever if we went to an Oceanview balcony, we'd save a little over $2,000 dollars by downgrading. We do currently have $600 on obc with the JS so if we downgraded we'd lose most of that. 

 

What would you do? Normally I'd say no way to an interior or ocean view because I love being on the balcony at sea and before bed and when waking up, but the port intensive and one sea day has me intrigued. We'd save $2,000 now but lose $600 obc so end up ahead by about $1,400 in the end. 

 

And go! 

 

 

Considering it's that coveted corner end aft suite, KEEP IT, have a great time and drink that OBC away 'til there's none of it left!

[colesc15]

So far we're keeping the corner aft js. As much as I'd love to save over $2k, I think I'd miss the balcony too much and wouldn't feel like the typical cruise. 

[colesc15]

Has anyone who's obsessed with balconies gone to an Oceanview before? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, colesc15 said:

Has anyone who's obsessed with balconies gone to an Oceanview before? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts

 

We missed the extra room on the balcony, but would do the OV again if we had too.

[shipgeeks]

We were upgraded to a balcony once; only used it one time.  OV is always our first choice.  Love being closer to the water.

[colesc15]

6 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

We missed the extra room on the balcony, but would do the OV again if we had too.

That's how I think I'll be. And miss sitting our on the balcony before bed each night and in the morning. I watched a few videos of the ocean view cabins on vision and I wasn't real impressed. The spacious OV looked okay but there's none available

[ATC cruiser]

We just got back in July from pretty much the same cruise on Freedom. We usually only book balconies, and aft balconies when we can get them. This cruise we had to settle for an inside room because it was kind of last minute and that’s all that was available. Since this is such a port intensive cruise and we were off the ship early, we really didn’t miss having a balcony. Now change that to aft balcony and the answer would of been, yes we missed it. In our opinion aft balconies are the greatest, and you have a JS. You’ve already paid for the JS aft, plus you have $600 OBC . There is no way I’d give up the suite. Plus you get double points. 

Edited October 3, 2019 by ATC cruiser

[Merion_Mom]

6 hours ago, colesc15 said:

Has anyone who's obsessed with balconies gone to an Oceanview before? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts

 

I am not obsessed but I have a very very strong preference for a balcony.

 

In your situation, I would take the OV.  I almost always take an OV on Vision class ships, because I find the balcony cabins quite overpriced.

[Tree_skier]

I’d stick with what you have. That corner aft is fabulous.