Paid suite upgrades?

[fudge]

We have just left the Seabourn Encore two days ago, we are back on the ship in seven weeks time. We are booked in a veranda suite as we were last week (827)

The deals are anything from a wintergarden suite, owners suite, signature suite, penthouse spa and penthouse. 

My question is: Are any of them worth the extra cash? We are looking at an owners suite, looked on you tube they do look lovely. 

We don't spend a great deal of time in our suite but we may in the owners suite. Cost: £1300 PP

I realise this is very subjective, but any replies would be very much appreciated.

[TV Dad]

I think you answered your own question. You don't spend a great deal of time in your suite. You can better spend 2600 pounds on shore excursions, spa treatments, a down payment on another cruise, etc.. 

 

I love the larger suites and have booked them on other cruise lines (HAL, Carnival, Princess RCCL). But I found I didn't spend extra time in the suite, just because it was a larger, nicer room. Seabourn cabins are wonderful. Save your money

 

[lincslady]

I agree - unless you would like to entertain fellow passengers to dinner or a drinks party in your suite, in which case you might think it is worthwhile.

[Lilly55]

3 hours ago, fudge said:

We have just left the Seabourn Encore two days ago, we are back on the ship in seven weeks time. We are booked in a veranda suite as we were last week (827)

The deals are anything from a wintergarden suite, owners suite, signature suite, penthouse spa and penthouse. 

My question is: Are any of them worth the extra cash? We are looking at an owners suite, looked on you tube they do look lovely. 

We don't spend a great deal of time in our suite but we may in the owners suite. Cost: £1300 PP

I realise this is very subjective, but any replies would be very much appreciated.

We love the Wintergarden suite - £1300 pp sounds a great price for owners ( better to be in owners in middle of ship rather than front )

[highplanesdrifters]

2 hours ago, fudge said:

We have just left the Seabourn Encore two days ago, we are back on the ship in seven weeks time. We are booked in a veranda suite as we were last week (827)

The deals are anything from a wintergarden suite, owners suite, signature suite, penthouse spa and penthouse. 

My question is: Are any of them worth the extra cash? We are looking at an owners suite, looked on you tube they do look lovely. 

We don't spend a great deal of time in our suite but we may in the owners suite. Cost: £1300 PP

I realise this is very subjective, but any replies would be very much appreciated.

 

It really depends on which owners suite and where you're headed.. I'd skip the 700/701. Weird veranda and whirlpool right in front.  In the 800/801s and 900/901s we liked having the large front veranda, but we felt that the cabin itself was rather dark, especially the bedroom. We were traveling with friends and it was really nice on occasion to spread out in the suite for drinks and even had a pizza party. We used the dinning table a lot.  The front veranda was great for scenery and fun for sail aways,  but can be windy.

 

How long is your trip and where are you headed?

[fudge]

Thanks, Istanbul to Athens, 7 days, normally we wouldn't consider this but we thought we would treat ourselves, you are right if we go ahead we would have to make good use of it. 

[fudge]

Are the 800 900 signature suits, they are very expensive!

[highplanesdrifters]

Ooops, so sorry, major mistake.  I was thinking of the Silversea Muse.   The 800 & 900 on Encore are Fabulous.

 

You will get more anchor noise in the 700's.

[highplanesdrifters]

This should help you figure out categories.

[highplanesdrifters]

Encore Suite 801

The balcony was great for a relaxing time after excursions along with sail aways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 3 by highplanesdrifters

[johng75370]

We really liked the Penthouse Spa suite on Ovation/Encore; it's spacious, bright, and has a huge aft-facing balcony.  Because of where they are located (above all the action with only 5 cabins), you really get a different feel of the ship.  Great for hosting a cocktail party!  Despite the location we did not feel much ship motion (and that was on a transatlantic).  Depending on the cost I'd consider a PS suite.  

[highplanesdrifters]

1 hour ago, johng75370 said:

We really liked the Penthouse Spa suite on Ovation/Encore; it's spacious, bright, and has a huge aft-facing balcony.  Because of where they are located (above all the action with only 5 cabins), you really get a different feel of the ship.  Great for hosting a cocktail party!  Despite the location we did not feel much ship motion (and that was on a transatlantic).  Depending on the cost I'd consider a PS suite.  

 

Good to know, thanks.  I've toured them, but never stayed.  They always book so fast!

 

We're you in the center or edge?

[johng75370]

1 hour ago, highplanesdrifters said:

center or edge?

We had the center cabin, which is the one handicapped PS cabin.  Loved how "centered" the view from the balcony is, and apart from not having a bathtub (but having a very large shower space) did not see much difference from the other PS cabins.  We've been shocked at how quickly they book (and some of the prices for them as well!), but we have an Encore booking next spring where the prices and availability worked for us to get the center-right (not end).  

\

Edited September 3 by johng75370

[highplanesdrifters]

2 hours ago, johng75370 said:

We had the center cabin, which is the one handicapped PS cabin.  Loved how "centered" the view from the balcony is, and apart from not having a bathtub (but having a very large shower space) did not see much difference from the other PS cabins.  We've been shocked at how quickly they book (and some of the prices for them as well!), but we have an Encore booking next spring where the prices and availability worked for us to get the center-right (not end).  

\

 

Looks fab! Thanks for sharing.

[kej1]

Love the PH Spa suites especially on the Sojourn class which has floor to ceiling windows.  You do have to climb stairs to get there but if you are ok with it, that’s part of what makes it pretty private ( only 4 rooms) and got to know the spa team really well since you walk by them all the time to get to the stairs.  We brought  them cookies from TK grill after dinner as we walked by which they really appreciated.   Back on board the Sojourn in March/ April in a PH Spa suite.  Can’t wait.  But what will we bring the spa team from Solis?  

 

I will say the photos of the suite shared by @highplanesdrifters looks wonderful!  That looks like a big win too!  hope to try it one of these days.  

[Hlitner]

I do not think this is a one answer fits all question.  It depends on how

much the extra money means to the cruisers and whether they normally spend sufficient waking time in their suite.  DW and I prefer to be out and about so find little value in a large suite.  We have friends who spend a lot of time in their suite and they want the largest suite and balcony.  When we have booked larger suites, we found all that extra space was nice but usually unused.

 

Hank

[fudge]

On our last cruise (just back) we got friendly with with a lovely couple. One evening we dined together, the lady on the desk asked us for our suite numbers, they were in suite 900, when I looked on line its enormous, its a signature suite I think. They were sailing for two weeks so I guess it was worth it.

I suppose its all relative, £2600 does seem a lot to add on though, but thanks everyone for your thoughts.

[fudge]

5 hours ago, kej1 said:

 But what will we bring the spa team from Solis?  

A 32 oz steak?

[SDuckers]

14 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I do not think this is a one answer fits all question.  It depends on how

much the extra money means to the cruisers and whether they normally spend sufficient waking time in their suite.  DW and I prefer to be out and about so find little value in a large suite.  We have friends who spend a lot of time in their suite and they want the largest suite and balcony.  When we have booked larger suites, we found all that extra space was nice but usually unused.

 

Hank

We like the Penthouse suites and that's usually what we book.  Dh tends to wake in the middle of the night and likes to be able to get up and read or play on his iPad.  The larger suites, with the bedroom more separate from the living area allows him to do that without waking me up.

 

We booked an Owners suite (front) for the transatlantic crossing this past spring and really liked having the extra space given that the cruise was almost entirely sea days.  On cruises with more ports I am not sure I'd see the value of the extra space.  Also those front cabins get a lot of noise when anchoring.  On the crossing, we only had that for our one stop in Madeira and on arrival in Barcelona so it wasn't that bad.  On a more port-intensive itinerary it could get pretty annoying I think.

[tv24]

We have been warned that the big suites in the front of the ship have balconies that cannot be used at sea due to the wind factor.  We once paid for an upgrade to Wintergarden and loved it, but we do like to spend a lot of time in our suite.

[commodoredave]

On 9/4/2024 at 10:59 PM, SDuckers said:

We like the Penthouse suites and that's usually what we book.  Dh tends to wake in the middle of the night and likes to be able to get up and read or play on his iPad.  The larger suites, with the bedroom more separate from the living area allows him to do that without waking me up.

 

We booked an Owners suite (front) for the transatlantic crossing this past spring and really liked having the extra space given that the cruise was almost entirely sea days.  On cruises with more ports I am not sure I'd see the value of the extra space.  Also those front cabins get a lot of noise when anchoring.  On the crossing, we only had that for our one stop in Madeira and on arrival in Barcelona so it wasn't that bad.  On a more port-intensive itinerary it could get pretty annoying I think.

We like the penthouse suite on Odyssey and Sojourn for the same reason- DW can sleep in when I wake up early. Having said that, I would never pay full price for one. It’s either a paid upgrade, or upfront if cruise is heavily discounted.