Suite Life on the Royal

[The4OfUs]

Just curious does anyone have any photos of premium forward suites on the Royal? We are booked in A101 in November and would love a sneak peek!

 

CaioBella - did you find any? We're in B102 in March, and cannot find any ACTUAL photos either. :)

[CaioBella]

No actual pics of forward suites yet..We'll be on board in 6 weeks so hopefully some will be posted by then!

[The4OfUs]

No actual pics of forward suites yet..We'll be on board in 6 weeks so hopefully some will be posted by then!

 

Fingers crossed - have an AMAZING time, and maybe take some pictures to share! ;)

[Dr. Pam]

Are you saying that suite passengers get three free specialty dinners? If so, when can you book them?

 

Actually emairs...one specialty dinner was due to cruising in the suite, another dinner was from Platinum Amex Cruise Privileges and the last one was from our internet TA that we have used for the past 8 years. Our teenage children who were in the Deluxe Balcony beside us received only 2 gratis dinners....One from Amex and one from our TA.....suite benefits did not extend to them...except when we enjoyed our amazing breakfasts on out huge verandah. :)

[emairs]

Actually emairs...one specialty dinner was due to cruising in the suite, another dinner was from Platinum Amex Cruise Privileges and the last one was from our internet TA that we have used for the past 8 years. Our teenage children who were in the Deluxe Balcony beside us received only 2 gratis dinners....One from Amex and one from our TA.....suite benefits did not extend to them...except when we enjoyed our amazing breakfasts on out huge verandah. :)

 

I thought that it was too good to be true:(

[Dr. Pam]

I thought that it was too good to be true:(

 

:)Usually that is the way it goes.......

[sbinbc]

Pam - what a great review! I think it is awesome that you took the time to write such a lengthy review of your experience (and I know just what you meant about "gate lice" - I am a travel agent and I have often heard that term!)

We are sailing on the Royal on June 3rd to the Baltic and just got offered an "upsell" from the mini-suite we were booked in to an Owner's Suite and are trying to decide whether to take it. (It is an additional $699 per person, offered only to Captain's Club Elite who are in mini-suites) It really helped to read what you had to say. I must admit that having toured many ships and seen some pretty impressive suites, I was surprised that this was the biggest suite available on this ship as it does not look that big in the photos, and you have confirmed that. The suite we have been offered is in the same position yours was but on the 9th deck - I wonder if it has the balcony that is not as deep (when you look on the deck plans, it shows all the S2 suites as having the same size balcony, 158 square feet)

It seems like $699 is not a bad deal, although we won't use most of the amenities. We are already Elite, so get the mini-bar set up and laundry/dry-cleaning and as far as most of the other perks, since we are traveling with a total of 28 people (our friends and friends of friends) I don't think we will take advantage of the breakfasts or the concierge lounge except for coffees. Do you think it is worth the $699 upgrade?

Ironically our last two Europe cruises were on the Equinox! We just love those Solstice class ships, and we prefer Celebrity over Princess, but maybe this cruise will change our minds about that! We took our kids on a Med cruise on the Diamond Princess when they were about the ages your kids are now and it was a great cruise, but did not compare to our Equinox experiences.

Where in Alberta do you live? We are in Vancouver, BC.

Sheila

[capriccio]

Pam - what a great review! I think it is awesome that you took the time to write such a lengthy review of your experience (and I know just what you meant about "gate lice" - I am a travel agent and I have often heard that term!)

We are sailing on the Royal on June 3rd to the Baltic and just got offered an "upsell" from the mini-suite we were booked in to an Owner's Suite and are trying to decide whether to take it. (It is an additional $699 per person, offered only to Captain's Club Elite who are in mini-suites) It really helped to read what you had to say. I must admit that having toured many ships and seen some pretty impressive suites, I was surprised that this was the biggest suite available on this ship as it does not look that big in the photos, and you have confirmed that. The suite we have been offered is in the same position yours was but on the 9th deck - I wonder if it has the balcony that is not as deep (when you look on the deck plans, it shows all the S2 suites as having the same size balcony, 158 square feet)

It seems like $699 is not a bad deal, although we won't use most of the amenities. We are already Elite, so get the mini-bar set up and laundry/dry-cleaning and as far as most of the other perks, since we are traveling with a total of 28 people (our friends and friends of friends) I don't think we will take advantage of the breakfasts or the concierge lounge except for coffees. Do you think it is worth the $699 upgrade?

Ironically our last two Europe cruises were on the Equinox! We just love those Solstice class ships, and we prefer Celebrity over Princess, but maybe this cruise will change our minds about that! We took our kids on a Med cruise on the Diamond Princess when they were about the ages your kids are now and it was a great cruise, but did not compare to our Equinox experiences.

Where in Alberta do you live? We are in Vancouver, BC.

Sheila

 

Sheila - I'm not Pam but I also have been in an Owner's Suite on the Royal and wouldn't spend my money on the upsell unless they have fixed the soot and exhaust issue - and I have seen nothing indicating that they have. See my review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1956349&highlight=royal+owners+suites.

[compozer]

Sheila,

I wouldn't waste my money on it. If you are elite, you get all the perks already. Sabitini's staff was a big disappointment. It is always so much fun to talk to them and the other passengers interacting but not on the Royal. We didn't even bother to go there many mornings. And dinner in your cabin is a joke. No real room inside and with the soot constantly falling on the balcony, we couldn't use it.

 

Save your money

 

Dr. Pam

Thanks for the good review.

[sbinbc]

Thanks for your input, compozer and capriccio! From what I have read here it seems like the suite would not be worth it for the perks, but since we are travelling with a big group, it is still tempting to go for it to be able to entertain more people in our suite and on the balcony. The other appeal is that it looks from the pictures like the bedroom has an accordion door that closes it off from the rest of the suite - is this the case? That is a plus as I am a night owl and my husband is not!

The current price of the S2 suites for this sailing are $4500 more than we paid for our MB mini-suite - no wonder they are still available despite the fact that the sailing is in less than a month! Having toured many ships and viewed some fabulous suites it is hard to imagine that this is the best that a ship the size of the Royal has to offer. The living room area looks like it is particularily small for a suite.

I am wondering if the soot issue will be better on the 9th deck than it would be on the 14th, which is where Dr. Pam said her cabin was? That sure seems like a design flaw!

Sheila

[capriccio]

Thanks for your input, compozer and capriccio! From what I have read here it seems like the suite would not be worth it for the perks, but since we are travelling with a big group, it is still tempting to go for it to be able to entertain more people in our suite and on the balcony. The other appeal is that it looks from the pictures like the bedroom has an accordion door that closes it off from the rest of the suite - is this the case? That is a plus as I am a night owl and my husband is not!

The current price of the S2 suites for this sailing are $4500 more than we paid for our MB mini-suite - no wonder they are still available despite the fact that the sailing is in less than a month! Having toured many ships and viewed some fabulous suites it is hard to imagine that this is the best that a ship the size of the Royal has to offer. The living room area looks like it is particularily small for a suite.

I am wondering if the soot issue will be better on the 9th deck than it would be on the 14th, which is where Dr. Pam said her cabin was? That sure seems like a design flaw!

Sheila

 

We were on Dolphin (which is the 9th deck) and had planned to entertain our family group of 12. We had them all walk through the suite and stand on the balcony once - and that was it! Inside the suite was way too small (sitting area for only 3 or 4) and the balcony was not useable due to the soot and exhaust. Even if that had been fixed, as I said in my review, the balcony furniture wasn't conducive to having more than 2 guests (and it was a massive balcony).

[f-mattox]

I was in E729, the Owner's suite on the starboard side of Emerald deck on the April 6 sailing and the soot was as bad down low as everyone else has described it. Very disappointing. We had a bon voyage party for 8 and there was not enough room inside for 8 and not enough furniture on the balcony. How ridiculous to have 2 recliners and a table and 2 chairs on a huge balcony like that.

[compozer]

From what I have read here it seems like the suite would not be worth it for the perks, but since we are travelling with a big group, it is still tempting to go for it to be able to entertain more people in our suite and on the balcony. The other appeal is that it looks from the pictures like the bedroom has an accordion door that closes it off from the rest of the suite - is this the case? That is a plus as I am a night owl and my husband is not!

 

I am wondering if the soot issue will be better on the 9th deck than it would be on the 14th, which is where Dr. Pam said her cabin was? That sure seems like a design flaw!

Sheila

 

The living room area is smaller than other ships. There is a loveseat not a sofa like I other suites. And there is only one side chair so it only seats three. You can pull up the desk chair. I was so disappointed because we love to order to order MDR dinner but there is hardly any room. You have to set dishes on the desk. And then the bar area is just a counter - it is not a wet bar.

And like someone else said, the table on the balcony only has two chairs. Right away I asked for another chair so we could eat lunch out there (our son was with us) and we were told no, that it was a safety issue - WHAT!!!! The ph suites on some Riviera decks have four chairs and they are not very deep. That was before we realized the soot problem would not have allowed us to eat out there. That balcony is just huge and would be so neat for parties, etc, so I really hope they solve the soot problem but even if they did, I don't like that cabin layout.

 

The door between the rooms is nice especially with a child along. There is wasted space on the other side the way they have the closet setup. And if you open the bathroom door, half the time you end up hitting your hitting someone with it. No one has mentioned the ac problems. Our bedroom was freezing while the living room stayed above 80. Hopefully they fixed it. Our trip was over Christmas and we were in R730.

[Woobstr112G]

Pam - what a great review! I think it is awesome that you took the time to write such a lengthy review of your experience (and I know just what you meant about "gate lice" - I am a travel agent and I have often heard that term!)

We are sailing on the Royal on June 3rd to the Baltic and just got offered an "upsell" from the mini-suite we were booked in to an Owner's Suite and are trying to decide whether to take it. (It is an additional $699 per person, offered only to Captain's Club Elite who are in mini-suites) It really helped to read what you had to say. I must admit that having toured many ships and seen some pretty impressive suites, I was surprised that this was the biggest suite available on this ship as it does not look that big in the photos, and you have confirmed that. The suite we have been offered is in the same position yours was but on the 9th deck - I wonder if it has the balcony that is not as deep (when you look on the deck plans, it shows all the S2 suites as having the same size balcony, 158 square feet)

It seems like $699 is not a bad deal, although we won't use most of the amenities. We are already Elite, so get the mini-bar set up and laundry/dry-cleaning and as far as most of the other perks, since we are traveling with a total of 28 people (our friends and friends of friends) I don't think we will take advantage of the breakfasts or the concierge lounge except for coffees. Do you think it is worth the $699 upgrade?

Ironically our last two Europe cruises were on the Equinox! We just love those Solstice class ships, and we prefer Celebrity over Princess, but maybe this cruise will change our minds about that! We took our kids on a Med cruise on the Diamond Princess when they were about the ages your kids are now and it was a great cruise, but did not compare to our Equinox experiences.

Where in Alberta do you live? We are in Vancouver, BC.

Sheila

 

The OS suite on the Royal is a colossal and obscene waste of money for what Princess calls the best suite on the ship. I had D726 and paid major $$$$$. Biggest issue was the soot making the huge balcony almost totally unusable. The size (or lack thereof) made it very hard to enjoy ordering MDR food and eating it in your suite. The small "coffee table" was all you had. We stacked plates on the wet shelf (bar) and set them on he floor. Save your money.....

 

Bob

[Woobstr112G]

The OS suite on the Royal is a colossal and obscene waste of money for what Princess calls the best suite on the ship. I had D726 and paid major $$$$$. Biggest issue was the soot making the huge balcony almost totally unusable. The size (or lack thereof) made it very hard to enjoy ordering MDR food and eating it in your suite. The small "coffee table" was all you had. We stacked plates on the wet shelf (bar) and set them on he floor. Save your money.....

 

Bob

 

Didn't catch this before time out. I meant to refer to how the small/minuscule size of the sitting area impacted the ability to enjoy the perk of ordering/enjoying MDR food in your suite.

 

Bob

Edited May 8, 2014 by Woobstr112G