What's so sweet about a suite?

[OysterD]

My friends and I have been happy in AQ and that's what we have booked for our next 2 cruises including Beyond next month, starting to get excited about that now! 

 

We were recently discussing the moveup offers that we received for our Beyond sailing and deciding whether we wanted to bother. Decided not to, main reason being there's no guarantee we both would receive the upgrades and it would be a bit crap and pointless if one of us was in AQ and the others in a suite. However, we were debating the extras that come with a suite and whether we thought they were worth it (to us), which got me thinking. 

 

There's a lot of discussion of suites on these pages, definitely a disproportionate numbers of posters sail in suites vs standard cabins or AQ, so here's a good a place as any to ask...

 

What are the main features of a suite that get you to part with the extra £€$¥ over a lower cabin, what is it you value the most? 

 

For example, is it the slightly larger cabin, access to Luminae, retreat deck (where available), lounge, butler, bath tub, butler to run a bath, extra CC points?! Or just a combination of everything? 

 

I think for me, as we were deciding whether to bother with a move up bid, it came down to (in importance, what I'd value the most first)

1. Retreat deck

2. Lounge

3. Luminae

4. Larger cabin

 

All the other features of/whats included with a suite would rank way down there to the point of me not caring whether they were included or not.

 

I will say that personally, the cabin size is largely irrelevant for sky suites/aqua suites, I'm not sure I'd value the 50% wider cabin with most of the rest of it being the same as a standard balcony/IV. However, for our move up offers the min bid for an Edge Villa was stupidly low and in that case I think the cabin size/layout/amenities would then take number 1 spot. 

[39august]

For us it's mainly Luminae. We haven't eaten in an MDR since several years ago on RCI. We quit going because of slow service and noise. We tried MDR first night of first X cruise, and it was also noisy and too crowded for us. We loved the buffet we had for lunch that first day, so began eating dinners in OVC and have everysince. That is until we tried a Sky Suite a couple of years ago. Love the sit down, personal service in Luminae. And it very, very seldom has gotten noisy. The Lounge is OK,especially for picking up extra waters and maybe a snack now and then. It is also great for mid-morning coffee if Al Baccio is slamed. We also very much enjoy the larger cabin. We are not sun bathers, so the Sun deck doesn't mean much to us, although we usually go up there on one port day for lunch. 

Edited August 19, 2023 by 39august

[bnurick]

@OysterD

 

For us, it started having no status and wanting an easy button. As time went on we enjoy the Retreat areas, Luminae (some dishes) and having a dedicated Butler handle little items along the journey, specifically when we are out on excursions for 8-10 hours and to come back and whatever we needed help with was handled. The little touches, like returning hungry and having a fruit plate in our room without asking while we shower up for supper. Asking where we like to sit at a show and walking up and two seats were reserved without asking. It all added up over the journey and we tip a lot in cash, so I am sure that helped and the staff was very very appreciative.

 

Things have changed though, as you mentioned.

 

For a port intensive cruise now, CC would be fine and we would pile on speciality dining and have no packages. The Retreat areas are for at sea days to us. The cost/benefit has gone away in our opinion.

 

For an itinerary with a lot of at sea days, The Retreat might make more sense if we can get a decent price. However, there is a big difference with E Class ships and below.

 

One thing for us is we drink bottles of wine and have a specific one picked out for each dining experience. So the package doesn’t do much for our preferences other than one martini a day.

[paulh84]

13 minutes ago, OysterD said:

My friends and I have been happy in AQ and that's what we have booked for our next 2 cruises including Beyond next month, starting to get excited about that now! 

 

We were recently discussing the moveup offers that we received for our Beyond sailing and deciding whether we wanted to bother. Decided not to, main reason being there's no guarantee we both would receive the upgrades and it would be a bit crap and pointless if one of us was in AQ and the others in a suite. However, we were debating the extras that come with a suite and whether we thought they were worth it (to us), which got me thinking. 

 

There's a lot of discussion of suites on these pages, definitely a disproportionate numbers of posters sail in suites vs standard cabins or AQ, so here's a good a place as any to ask...

 

What are the main features of a suite that get you to part with the extra £€$¥ over a lower cabin, what is it you value the most? 

 

For example, is it the slightly larger cabin, access to Luminae, retreat deck (where available), lounge, butler, bath tub, butler to run a bath, extra CC points?! Or just a combination of everything? 

 

I think for me, as we were deciding whether to bother with a move up bid, it came down to (in importance, what I'd value the most first)

1. Retreat deck

2. Lounge

3. Luminae

4. Larger cabin

 

All the other features of/whats included with a suite would rank way down there to the point of me not caring whether they were included or not.

 

I will say that personally, the cabin size is largely irrelevant for sky suites/aqua suites, I'm not sure I'd value the 50% wider cabin with most of the rest of it being the same as a standard balcony/IV. However, for our move up offers the min bid for an Edge Villa was stupidly low and in that case I think the cabin size/layout/amenities would then take number 1 spot. 

We typically cruise for the ship not the itinerary, that said… 
 
On E class the size and features of the cabin and bathroom between IV and Sky Suite is significant to me, even when ignoring the Infinite Veranda debate which I actually don’t mind at all. The E class Sky Suite bathroom is really nice where two people can actually use the bathroom at the same time. We generally don’t enjoy any MDR experience so Luminae is a nice perk. We use the Retreat sun deck a lot and enjoy the better service, less people and more space. 
 

The embarking process is a tiny part of the experience and one that Celebrity typically excels at in any class, but just like I like to start a vacation at a nice hotel or resort, being able to skip the line, grab a coffee or water in the Retreat check in space is a nice way to kick off the trip. 
 

As far as pricing, I know we inevitably upgrade the drink package, WiFi and buy a dining package if we don’t have Luminae so I factor that into the cost as well. The extra suite OBC goes helps level out costs as well. 

[George C]

All our approximately ten celebrity cruises were in suites, first one was a free upgrade. Lots of great perks surprised nobody mentioned concierge who can help with lots of things. On edge class the outdoor retreat is fantastic pool , bar , great service. Indoor suite lounge is also really nice they will pour doubles if you want and if your favorite beverage isn’t currently there they will try to get it. Luminae the suite restaurant is definitely better than mdr. We also book top suites occasionally which includes 2 liters of liquor of your choice and free unlimited specialty restaurants. 

[tfred]

the 4 you listed are our top as 

 

The other overall factor is less crowds when we want  not to be rushed or hurried in the big enough crowds on board 

[danceswithphones]

The Beyond really got it right by moving Luminae to Deck 16 and adding the Retreat Sundeck as Deck 17. We were in an Edge Villa and the only time we left the Retreat areas was to go to specialty dining. Decks 15, 16, and 17 were our ship within a ship. Booked the Ascent as soon as we returned from the Beyond. 

[jelayne]

We value the extra space, Retreat Sun Deck, Retreat Lounge on E class ships, priority embarkation/debarkation and priority tendering.  For us Luminae is a negative on E class ships as the menu is limited if you remove the seafood and fish ( can’t eat those)  and  not being able to order from the MDR menu has us going to the MDR many nights.   Luminae service is excellent.  
 

We have 4 Eclass suite bookings, 2 past final payment.  
With the recent changes to the overall experience (up charges in Luminae, elimination of Butlers for Sky Suites, vaping, reduced menus) the other suite booking are teetering on the chopping block as is 1 other non suite booking. 
 

 

[paulh84]

20 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We value the extra space, Retreat Sun Deck, Retreat Lounge on E class ships, priority embarkation/debarkation and priority tendering.  For us Luminae is a negative on E class ships as the menu is limited if you remove the seafood and fish ( can’t eat those)  and  not being able to order from the MDR menu has us going to the MDR many nights.   Luminae service is excellent.  

Granted it’s been 6 months, but on Beyond I casually mentioned to the waiter I’m not a fish or seafood eater and he offered something else every night if the menu was fish forward. They weren’t necessarily MDR dishes but I did not go hungry. I’m also pretty low maintenance…I didn’t go in seeing how far I could push them to make me special dishes. 

[jelayne]

8 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

Granted it’s been 6 months, but on Beyond I casually mentioned to the waiter I’m not a fish or seafood eater and he offered something else every night if the menu was fish forward. They weren’t necessarily MDR dishes but I did not go hungry. I’m also pretty low maintenance…I didn’t go in seeing how far I could push them to make me special dishes. 

I would usually get the filet from the kids menu but that been removed from the menu.  WhileI could afford to pay $25 for the up charge filet from the MDR I’m not inclined to pay the $900-1100 per night prices and pay extra for a meal I can enjoy. 

[bigbenboys]

We sail in Aqua or Sky Suites mostly. Next cruise sailing in CS.

 

M Class Sweet Life is my favorite. Less suites than other X ships. The Retreat is smaller and feels more like an extended family gathering. The Retreat has an actual bar. In Luminae you can order off the MDR menu. I like the location of the suites on deck 6 mostly aft. I do like having the same butler bring a small breakfast at 7am. We are fine with the size of the Aqua cabins, but more space is nice. If in Aqua while dinning in Blu you can also order off the MDR menu.

 

S Class ships Sweet Life is good. I do like the Retreat, while it is nice it is a bit larger. The Retreat has an actual bar. In Luminae you can order off the MDR menu. If in Aqua while dinning in Blu you can also order off the MDR menu. I dont like that most of the Sky Suites are under the OVC.

 

E Class ships. We have only been on Edge Class ships once. That was the Edge. The only good things is the size of the Sky Suite, the bathroom and a real balcony. E Class has to many suites. I dont like having a suite forward. Aft Sky Suites are to far from the Retreat area. Luminae you can not order off the MDR menu. Luminae get much loader than X's other 2 classes of ships. The Retreat Lounge is cold and uninviting when you have to scan your seapass card to enter. Not all Retreat Lounges have a bar. While I think the Retreat Sundeck is very nice. It is not somewhere I spend much time. The pool size is just right for me. I might use the pool area for about a hour or 2 on a port day. I'm in for 3 mins than back in the sun. Retreat Sundeck is lacking shade.

Next June we will be on Apex in a Sky Suite to Iceland. Friends picked Apex. Some here on CC give me hope that I will like Apex better than Edge.

Edited August 19, 2023 by bigbenboys
added info

[OysterD]

Lots of interesting points, some I hadn't thought of. I guess I ranked Luminae a bit lower on my list because in my head I was comparing that perk to already having access to Blu in AQ, but if comparing to concierge or below then I think Luminae would probably definitely feature higher.

 

I think I'd also place a greater value on the Retreat deck on cruises with more sea days - if you're in port 8 days out of 10 then possibly wouldn't get much use out of it. 

[jelayne]

33 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

We sail in Aqua or Sky Suites mostly. Next cruise sailing in CS.

 

M Class Sweet Life is my favorite. Less suites than other X ships. The Retreat is smaller and feels more like an extended family gathering. The Retreat has an actual bar. In Luminae you can order off the MDR menu. I like the location of the suites on deck 6 mostly aft. I do like having the same butler bring a small breakfast at 7am. We are fine with the size of the Aqua cabins, but more space is nice. If in Aqua while dinning in Blu you can also order off the MDR menu.

 

S Class ships Sweet Life is good. I do like the Retreat, while it is nice it is a bit larger. The Retreat has an actual bar. In Luminae you can order off the MDR menu. If in Aqua while dinning in Blu you can also order off the MDR menu. I dont like that most of the Sky Suites are under the OVC.

 

E Class ships. We have only been on Edge Class ships once. That was the Edge. The only good things is the size of the Sky Suite, the bathroom and a real balcony. E Class has to many suites. I dont like having a suite forward. Aft Sky Suites are to far from the Retreat area. Luminae you can not order off the MDR menu. Luminae get much loader than X's other 2 classes of ships. The Retreat Lounge is cold and uninviting when you have to scan your seapass card to enter. Not all Retreat Lounges have a bar. While I think the Retreat Sundeck is very nice. It is not somewhere I spend much time. The pool size is just right for me. I might use the pool area for about a hour or 2 on a port day. I'm in for 3 mins than back in the sun. Retreat Sundeck is lacking shade.

Next June we will be on Apex in a Sky Suite to Iceland. Friends picked Apex. Some here on CC give me hope that I will like Apex better than Edge.

Apex is much the same as the Edge.  The Retreat Lounge had a bar but no seating, just walk up and order if you don’t want to wait for a server.  The Apex had a few large sun umbrellas over some of the loungers  which the Edge did not when we were on it.  Luminae the same.  If you want an enhanced Retreat and Ship experience it is theBeyond.  Luminae on deck 16 , larger with more windows. 
Retrat Sun Deck is 2 levels, more shaded areas more and seating.  There is more seating in the Sundeck bar area. 
 

The Sunset bar is amazing.  Large lots of covered seating just a great spot.  Martini bar has more bar seating than either Edge or Apex.  Le Voyage is a new specialty that we enjoyed more than Eden.

You can probably tell Beyond is our favorite.

Edited August 19, 2023 by jelayne
Typos

[txtechmk]

For us, it's eating in Luminae, and relaxing in the Retreat Lounge.  We like the quieter, more peaceful atmospheres.

[bigbenboys]

@Jelayne, Thanks. I'm looking forward to trying the prime rib at Le Voyage. See if it is better than what I get in Luminae from the MDR on M and S ships. We like The Porch and sushi on five, so looking forward to trying Raw on Five. I stay away from most fish but salmon or fish and chips. E Class now has a different seafood tower that I'm looking forward too. Love raw oysters and cooked large prawns. I'm hoping that because our 1st Edge was only 7 nights. That I will have more time to enjoy the ship with Apex sailing being 11 nights.

[jelayne]

13 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

@Jelayne, Thanks. I'm looking forward to trying the prime rib at Le Voyage. See if it is better than what I get in Luminae from the MDR on M and S ships. We like The Porch and sushi on five, so looking forward to trying Raw on Five. I stay away from most fish but salmon or fish and chips. E Class now has a different seafood tower that I'm looking forward to. Love raw oysters and cooked large prawns. I'm hoping that because our 1st Edge was only 7 nights. That I will have more time to enjoy the ship with Apex sailing being 11 nights.

LeVoyage doesn’t have prime rib on their menu. That is a new specialty restaurant that is only on the Beyond and will be the Ascent.  I can’t eat fish or seafood but when we were on the E class ships folks seem to love Raw on 5.
 

[mahasamatman]

We've never sailed on a ship with a Retreat Deck, and don't use Michael's Lounge because it's just a crowded, dark, dingy room. For us, it's Luminae and space.

[PTC DAWG]

To answer the original query, everything. 

[jelayne]

8 hours ago, OysterD said:

Lots of interesting points, some I hadn't thought of. I guess I ranked Luminae a bit lower on my list because in my head I was comparing that perk to already having access to Blu in AQ, but if comparing to concierge or below then I think Luminae would probably definitely feature higher.

 

I think I'd also place a greater value on the Retreat deck on cruises with more sea days - if you're in port 8 days out of 10 then possibly wouldn't get much use out of it. 

We cruised AQ 90%  of the time before booking mostly suites we prefer Blu to Luminae.  

[miched]

 Nothing really with the cutbacks.   We been in suites and AQ.  Mostly sail in AQ as we can’t justify the price difference.    
 

people say once in a suite you can’t go back.  BS.

 

Our last cruise was in a suite and most times we ordered from the MDR or Blu when in Luminae because the menu didn’t appeal to us.  We could do that on the M Class 

 

The perks are nice but if you are Elite or above and have a premium drink pack there is too much redundancy.  
 

If I book another cruise it would be in AQ.  We don’t need the extra cabin space,  and dining Luminae.  Blu is fine.  For the price difference we could get a dining pack if we desired 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[neverlaysup]

With the current pricing.....not that much as I would rather spend the same or less for a Ultra Premium Cruise line like Regent, Seabourn, Crystal....... That being said, the E class ships have a great Retreat Deck and Retreat Lounge. Luminae is nice to dine in because it's smaller and quieter than the MDR. JMHO.

[George C]

8 minutes ago, neverlaysup said:

With the current pricing.....not that much as I would rather spend the same or less for an Ultra Premium Cruise line like Regent, Seabourn, Crystal....... That being said, the E class ships have a great Retreat Deck and Retreat Lounge. Luminae is nice to dine in because it's smaller and quieter than the MDR. JMHO.

Agree pricing has went nuts recently, I think MSc yacht club is a great alternative nicer suite lounge with live music, great outdoor area with pool and a much larger menu for lunch along with bar .

[hcat]

7 hours ago, miched said:

 Nothing really with the cutbacks.   We been in suites and AQ.  Mostly sail in AQ as we can’t justify the price difference.    
 

people say once in a suite you can’t go back.  BS.

 

Our last cruise was in a suite and most times we ordered from the MDR or Blu when in Luminae because the menu didn’t appeal to us.  We could do that on the M Class 

 

The perks are nice but if you are Elite or above and have a premium drink pack there is too much redundancy.  
 

If I book another cruise it would be in AQ.  We don’t need the extra cabin space,  and dining Luminae.  Blu is fine.  For the price difference we could get a dining pack if we desired 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

agree... We had a Sky Suite on BEYOND but  definitely thought BLU was much better in all ways..The  Retreat area inside was underutilized space, and outdoors it  was crowded.  Our Butler was annoying.

 

it was nice to have a larger cabin but the  bathroom layout was odd and the big slippery  tub was a hazard 

 

  Best perk was early boarding and esp departure!    We will happily manage in AQ Class on Ascent..hoping BLU is still excellent!

[zitsky]

I like the Retreat.  It’s the only place I can get a banana split.  🙃

 

That’s called Customer Retention 101, kids.

[retired dude]

22 hours ago, OysterD said:

My friends and I have been happy in AQ and that's what we have booked for our next 2 cruises including Beyond next month, starting to get excited about that now! 

 

We were recently discussing the moveup offers that we received for our Beyond sailing and deciding whether we wanted to bother. Decided not to, main reason being there's no guarantee we both would receive the upgrades and it would be a bit crap and pointless if one of us was in AQ and the others in a suite. However, we were debating the extras that come with a suite and whether we thought they were worth it (to us), which got me thinking. 

 

There's a lot of discussion of suites on these pages, definitely a disproportionate numbers of posters sail in suites vs standard cabins or AQ, so here's a good a place as any to ask...

 

What are the main features of a suite that get you to part with the extra £€$¥ over a lower cabin, what is it you value the most? 

 

For example, is it the slightly larger cabin, access to Luminae, retreat deck (where available), lounge, butler, bath tub, butler to run a bath, extra CC points?! Or just a combination of everything? 

 

I think for me, as we were deciding whether to bother with a move up bid, it came down to (in importance, what I'd value the most first)

1. Retreat deck

2. Lounge

3. Luminae

4. Larger cabin

 

All the other features of/whats included with a suite would rank way down there to the point of me not caring whether they were included or not.

 

I will say that personally, the cabin size is largely irrelevant for sky suites/aqua suites, I'm not sure I'd value the 50% wider cabin with most of the rest of it being the same as a standard balcony/IV. However, for our move up offers the min bid for an Edge Villa was stupidly low and in that case I think the cabin size/layout/amenities would then take number 1 spot. 

nothing