Suites!

[luving2cruise]

Ok I have been on five cruises and I would love to cruise in a suite! Do people really pay this prices or is there a trick that I dont know about?:p

[kujobie]

They ain't cheap. But my trick was to get one for our honeymoon and the in-laws paid for it.. :)

[firefly333]

Sometimes folks lately have gotten upsells from prime balconys. Seems like the first ones they ask if they want to pay to upgrade are those 9A wraps, those in a 6E family quad, extended balconys, then others that are not as good of categories.

 

Cant be counted on, but in this economy, Carnival seems to be trying it as a new marketing tool. Yes, you can get a call to pay a little less to move into a suite, but Id say these calls are few and far between.

[luving2cruise]

Thanks! Just wanted to make sure that I was not missing somthing! I have learned alot from these boards!:)

[Frick_&_Frack]

We pay the price (except when we are lucky enough to allow a military discount which is rare). But, for us, the space is what we want so that I can work when I have to and not impact DH's vacation. It's worth it having the large balcony too.

 

It's definitely a personal choice.

[BND]

We also use a military discount for our Cat 11's although we'd still book one without the discount. We like the space and the bathroom (double sink and glass door on the tub, so no sticky shower curtain to deal with).

[KULPN]

Ok I have been on five cruises and I would love to cruise in a suite! Do people really pay this prices or is there a trick that I dont know about?:p

We only had a suite once on RC VOS after booking a balcony. It was wonderful but we need to cruise cheaper so make do.

[tektron]

I completely agree, it's a personal choice. It depends on whether or not you plan on spending a lot of time in your room. I'm not the type that spends all day on deck or in the casino, and at the same time I can get claustrophobic so I like a larger room with more private balcony space.

 

I was in a Cat 11 suite on the Triumph last year. I got something like 30% off due to problems with the prior cruise on the Legend. That suite was so nice, quiet and spacious I booked another Cat 11 for next week's Spirit cruise. I got a call last month from Carnival who 'upsold' me into a Cat 12 for only $200/pp more. I calculated it's about a 35% discount.

 

I wouldn't book a suite for a port intensive cruise (e.g. the Victory), but think it's worth it for a cruise with several at-sea days. Again, it's a personal choice... depends on your budget and what you plan on doing with your free time.

[BND]

Suite location is also always good. You never have to worry about being under or over a theater, club, pool, etc. Other than the aft ones, they are usually located mid-ship, mid deck level. It's not so much about how much time spent in the cabin, which isnt' a lot, but about the time we actually do spend is in a nice, roomy cabin. We've also only cruised in suites, so we're used to that.

[serene56]

The aft suites on the Spirit class ships are so much worth the month- The balcony is huge. I mean gigantic. The room itself is broke up in sections where the sleeping area IS away from the sitting area---not so for the main suties located midship which are just one big room.

This is true for every deck except deck 5-- this cabin just is not worth the money for a suite

[aggieastrosfan]

We've only been in a suite once, and we got a free surpise upgrade to a 12 years ago on the Elation. We booked our first suite on the Ecstasy in December - DH wanted a balcony. We recently upgraded it to a 12 when it was so cheap, it didn't make sense not to.

 

Other than that, we usually try to cruise in the wraps whenever possible. Little cheaper than suites, and we feel the balcony of them trumps the size of the larger cabin. But it does make cruising expensive! :o

[stlrboo]

We had a Cat 11 suite upgrade from an 8E (I think) on the Triumph in 2004 for $50.00 pp..

Seemed like a no-brainer since we were getting married on the cruise.. ;)

 

We have since found the 9A's (aft wrap) and spend little time in the cabin, but a lot on the balcony:D LOVE 'em...

 

We booked a Cat 11 aft/wrap on the Legend, as there are three of us (adults) and were able to get the 'military' discount!

Other than that, we book the 9A aft wraps whenever the opportunity presents itself!:)

 

Again, CCL doesn't offer much with their Suites, as far as VIP stuff.. except of course on embarkation..

RCI has a few extra perks for JS's and above.. BUT, we prefer CCL...

 

If you can afford one, and get a good deal, give one a try.. They are kinda' 'classy'..:cool:

[misguidedangel]

I had a sutie on the Conquest this past February. I LOVED IT!!!! It was well worth booking it. I went with my mother and 11 year old neice. We had more than enough room for everyone and all of our clothes and goodies, ok, MY goodies....

 

The balcony is huge and the storage space in the dressing area is huge!!! I used two shelves for my clothes and the rest was crammed full with what I bought!!

[wmw1490]

It's really a personal choice as some try to optimize to get the lowest cost cruise and don't see value in the suites. For us, we do a lot of room time and we shop around to get the best possible deal. There may be upgrades offerings/deals along the way that some have mentioned, but those appear to be a crap shoot. What we do is pick a time, find a cruise and try to make it work. For example, we had vacation time available in early December and were looking at 5 day cruises in cat 12 suites. It turned out the Glory had a cat 12 available for a 7 day cruise that was cheaper than some of the 5 day cruises. http://picasaweb.google.com/wmw1490/CarnivalGloryDec6132008#

 

Now that my wife is spoiled on cat 12s that is all she will do. My mistake was setting the bar so high. :rolleyes: Here are some photos of Inspiration suites too. Once you get used to the extra room it is hard to take anything less. The perks are the VIP boarding and that is about it. The beds are the same, service is the same, etc, etc. What you are getting is the extra space in the room/balcony.

 

Again, there are some deals but you need to have flexibility on departure dates to get one in advance. We don't take chances on upgrades and pay the going rate. Good luck on your decision.

 

http://www.dd-farm.com/cm/thumbnails.php?album=13

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok I have been on five cruises and I would love to cruise in a suite! Do people really pay this prices or is there a trick that I dont know about?:p

[jetwet1]

We seem to book Cat 11's most of the time, it's a personal choice, we prefer cruises with lot's of sea days and the extra room works well for us.

 

Saying that however, we were on the Pride back in Oct, we had booked a 9A then been upsold to an 11 (for $200pp), people we got to know had "our" old 9A, we took a look and honestly, other than the bathroom it was the same cabin. The other thing thats suites get you is priority boarding, which out of Long Beach can be a very good thing.

 

One other note, because you are booking a suite it does not mean they are in prime locations, there are two suites on the Spirit class to avoid at all costs, they ar 4226 and 4235, the balcony is smaller than a regular cabins and there is a stairway running past the bedroom window !

 

Other than those two cabins on that class, I would be more than happy with a suite.

[BND]

jetwet1, the suites you listed as having stairwells running past them are aft suites. As I said, suites, except for AFT are in good locations-mid deck, mid-ship, etc. I don't think anyone said AFT suites are all in good locations. Although some people are so obsessed with Aft suites, they would probably not care about the stairwells.

[islandgals]

We are travelling on the Carnival Liberty this month and were called Boxing Day morning and offered an upsell from balcony to cat 11 for $200. we took it and I have since seen pics on utube that look great. we are very excited.

[KAWS]

Sometimes the suites aren't all that much more (if you book far enough ahead).

 

Case in point is the RCCL cruise I'm taking in October. We are three in a cabin and it only cost $130 pp for the first 2 people more. The third person rate was the same. I totally thought it was worth it considering in the Junior Suite with them, you also get double cruise credits so the cruise counts as 2 instead of 1 and for only $260 more. Can't buy a cruise and airfare for us for that!

[stlrboo]

jetwet1, the suites you listed as having stairwells running past them are aft suites. As I said, suites, except for AFT are in good locations-mid deck, mid-ship, etc. I don't think anyone said AFT suites are all in good locations. Although some people are so obsessed with Aft suites, they would probably not care about the stairwells.

Aft suites are probably considered to be 'in bad locations' since they are all the way aft, and not mid-ship where everything is 'happening'..:rolleyes:

 

Personally, the DW and I LOVE the aft, and are sailing in our first Cat. 11 aft/wrap in June of this year!:D Other than that, we prefer the 9A aft/wraps on the Conquest class ships.. (Destiny included)...:)

 

If you get a good deal on any Cat. 11, book it... We opted into one from an 8E, and loved it, even tho' it was mid-ship..:p

Wife loved the VIP status... :o;)

[BND]

Actually the reason suites are considered to be in good locations is because they normally have no public spaces above, below or right next to them so they are quieter. They also tend to be mid-ship, mid-deck level where the motion is less. I never said aft suites were bad. That's all I meant.

[gtalum]

One trick to gettign a decent price on a suite is to find a sailing where they offer the category "ST- Suite Guarantee". They're much cheaper than even a Cat 11, and there's a good chance you'll get a Cat 12.

[islandgals]

ours is mid ship with a floor of cabins above and below. seem to be a quiet location and fairly close to the elevators, which we like. the carnival guy gave us a choice of 3 and time to look up the locations.

[BND]

I always go to online TA sites, and look up the cruise I want and see which suites are available. We then call our TA (personal friend) and tell him our choices (we rank them) and he books for us. We've always gotten our first choice of cabin/suite.

[luving2cruise]

Thanks! Lots of good input!:)