Encore Owners Suite vs. Penthouse

[Xerxes10]

We are booked in a Penthouse suite on Encore for next March. We are considering moving up to the only remaining available Owners Suite (#838). One important consideration for me is that the bedroom be completely separate from the living area, i.e. solid walls rather than glass. Other than the second bathroom and a little more square feet, are there other significant reasons to invest the not small amount in the upgrade?

[frantic36]

A few years ago I had a Penthouse on Sojourn and after disembarking Sojourn went to Ovation where we had the Owner's Suite (#741) which is mid ship. Friends onboard Ovation had a Penthouse. In my opinion the Penthouse was much nicer and seemed more spacious on Ovation and we felt if we did this again we would just pay for the Penthouse on Ovation/Encore ships. The Owner's Suite while nice wasn't much different to the Penthouse. 

[LMB01]

We prefer the Owners suites (or signature suites) at the front of the ship - they maybe O2 vs O1.  We tried a penthouse suite as a test drive for a longer cruise and hated it - we were ready to leave after an hour!  We ended up canceling the longer cruise because we knew we could not spend 39 days in a PS.  However, I know there are many people that love them.
 

[Covepointcruiser]

Would never book the Owners Suite again on the smaller ships.   You do have a great view of the front of the ship but while you are underway the balcony is unusable.   The wind is very strong.   We even tried sitting directly on the deck but the wind still got to us.

[Mr Luxury]

15 hours ago, frantic36 said:

A few years ago I had a Penthouse on Sojourn and after disembarking Sojourn went to Ovation where we had the Owner's Suite (#741) which is mid ship. Friends onboard Ovation had a Penthouse. In my opinion the Penthouse was much nicer and seemed more spacious on Ovation and we felt if we did this again we would just pay for the Penthouse on Ovation/Encore ships. The Owner's Suite while nice wasn't much different to the Penthouse. 

I much prefer a Penthouse suite on the Encore/Ovation it is large enough for the two of us and is also good value.

Anything larger on these ships would be a waste for us.

[SDuckers]

On 11/5/2022 at 12:55 PM, Covepointcruiser said:

Would never book the Owners Suite again on the smaller ships.   You do have a great view of the front of the ship but while you are underway the balcony is unusable.   The wind is very strong.   We even tried sitting directly on the deck but the wind still got to us.

There is one Owners Suite on the smaller ships that is amid-ship, not at the front.  I think it's on 7.

[Covepointcruiser]

Yes, but beware of the cabins on the front of the small ships.

[skybluewaters]

On 11/12/2022 at 8:38 AM, Covepointcruiser said:

Yes, but beware of the cabins on the front of the small ships.

 

What's the issue with these cabins?  And when you say "front," how far back from the bow do you mean?  Thanks.

[cadburysmom]

I just spent a wonderful week in a Penthouse suite on the Ovation and loved it. 

The deck 11 location was fabulous, only a few steps away from Observation Lounge going forward and a wonderful view over the pool area going back.  Would book it again in a heartbeat.

[lincslady]

Have a look at the deck plans - the Owners Suites at the 'front' (bow) of the ship really are up front, and a large portion of  their balconies faces forwards, meaning they can be very windy and unusable at times.