Grand Suite or Jr. Suite

[twinmom38]

Hello fellow cruisers.. we are sailing on MOS January 07,07.. We are in a party of about 30, all on deck 10. My husband and I currently have a JS, but I was thinking about surprising him and upgrading to a GS. My question is this: since we are cruising with so many others that are in E1's, would it be worth the extra $$ for the GS, just for the cabin ? I understand that the suites come with many benefits, but being that we are traveling with and plan to spend most of our time with family that are not going to be able to utilize these benefits, is the cabin alone worth the extra $$ ?

 

thanks in advance,

Lisa

[1corona4u]

Hello fellow cruisers.. we are sailing on MOS January 07,07.. We are in a party of about 30, all on deck 10. My husband and I currently have a JS, but I was thinking about surprising him and upgrading to a GS. My question is this: since we are cruising with so many others that are in E1's, would it be worth the extra $$ for the GS, just for the cabin ? I understand that the suites come with many benefits, but being that we are traveling with and plan to spend most of our time with family that are not going to be able to utilize these benefits, is the cabin alone worth the extra $$ ?

 

thanks in advance,

Lisa

 

I don't know. I like the JS's, and have never stayed in a GS, but my thought is that if your friends are in E1's, it might be nice to have a cabin where they could come for a drink or visit, and the GS would be a bit better for that. Not that the JS couldn't do that, but bigger in a GS for sure. Bigger balcony, and has a better sitting area, and a Bar.(not sure if it's stocked though) Plus you would then get access to the concierge.

[twinmom38]

that is an excellant idea.. kind of a "gathering place"... thanks !!

 

Anyone else have any input ?:p

[Merion_Mom]

Are the twins going to be with you in your cabin? Get the GS. :D

[Merion_Mom]

Having the extra room is nice as a headquarters for the rest of the family, but you are right that THEY won't be able to go into the Concierge Lounge with you anyway.

 

A GS *is* a lot bigger and nicer than a JS. A JS is really just a bigger cabin with a bathtub and a walk-in closet. A GS is laid out differently, and is MUCH nicer. (the bathroom is actually LARGER than my bathroom in my house. And I have a big bathroom)

 

The bar is just a piece of furniture, however. Nothing stocked. After all, RC doesn't permit any liquor outside of their bars and onboard store. :D

 

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[bs0755]

Hi:

 

I have been "lurking" for a while... I just got around to registering--So I will jump in with my first post.

 

To me, a Junior Suite is just a glorified cabin--So if you don't go for a Grand Suite, I would go with a D (better options for balconies) or an E (best bang for the buck). We have never stayed in a Grand Suite; but we have peeked inside. It would certainly be a nice gathering/meeting spot.

[twinmom38]

Are the twins going to be with you in your cabin? Get the GS. :D

:)

 

No, they will be in their own cabin... just the DH and I !:D

[twinmom38]

Having the extra room is nice as a headquarters for the rest of the family, but you are right that THEY won't be able to go into the Concierge Lounge with you anyway.

 

A GS *is* a lot bigger and nicer than a JS. A JS is really just a bigger cabin with a bathtub and a walk-in closet. A GS is laid out differently, and is MUCH nicer. (the bathroom is actually LARGER than my bathroom in my house. And I have a big bathroom)

 

The bar is just a piece of furniture, however. Nothing stocked. After all, RC doesn't permit any liquor outside of their bars and onboard store. :D

 

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

 

 

That is the kind of info I am looking for.. thanks for taking the time !

Lisa:)

[mdeane]

Just IMHO couple of cents. We have stayed in both GS and JS. We will take the GS if there are no JS available but we so prefer the JS. We find they have plenty of room and we love the walk in closet which is not available in the GS and much more difficult to store clothes. We do not like the bar and drawers for clothes. The only thing I like better in the GS is the bathroom which is larger and nicer. Sure the Gs has a little more room but not enough for the $$$ in our opinion. We also like connecting JS and there are no connecting on in GS. I guess the bottom line is the individuals likes dislikes. Good luck. You will enjoy either.

[twinmom38]

Hi:

 

I have been "lurking" for a while... I just got around to registering--So I will jump in with my first post.

 

To me, a Junior Suite is just a glorified cabin--So if you don't go for a Grand Suite, I would go with a D (better options for balconies) or an E (best bang for the buck). We have never stayed in a Grand Suite; but we have peeked inside. It would certainly be a nice gathering/meeting spot.

 

Thanks !! And welcome to this board !!

[twinmom38]

Just IMHO couple of cents. We have stayed in both GS and JS. We will take the GS if there are no JS available but we so prefer the JS. We find they have plenty of room and we love the walk in closet which is not available in the GS and much more difficult to store clothes. We do not like the bar and drawers for clothes. The only thing I like better in the GS is the bathroom which is larger and nicer. Sure the Gs has a little more room but not enough for the $$$ in our opinion. We also like connecting JS and there are no connecting on in GS. I guess the bottom line is the individuals likes dislikes. Good luck. You will enjoy either.

 

Thank you.. yes, it will be an extra $1000.00 for the Grand Suite.. so it REALLY needs to be worth it !!

[marcmedic]

Get the GS. Bigger balcony, bigger room. The closets for us were not a big deal. There are 4 closets to hang stuff up in. The bathroom is great.

[morriscats]

This info is great. We are on Vision to Alaska and booked a GS and our friends an inside right across the hall. We figured they would be there only to sleep and change and that our GS would be a great place to get together, view the scenery from the balcony, etc. We don't have to worry about the Concierge Lounge as there isn't one on Vision. Not sure what else that would apply to us and not them???

[ckrobyn]

We have had a JS and will have our first GS on the AOS in 14 days :)

 

We really liked the JS, it had plenty of space and a great balcony. We chose the GS this time around because of the location - we managed to snag the only GS on the hump.

 

I would have no hesitation sailing in a JS again - we also appreciated the priority boarding perk as well :)

[twinmom38]

We have had a JS and will have our first GS on the AOS in 14 days :)

 

We really liked the JS, it had plenty of space and a great balcony. We chose the GS this time around because of the location - we managed to snag the only GS on the hump.

 

I would have no hesitation sailing in a JS again - we also appreciated the priority boarding perk as well :)

 

 

maybe when you et back , you can write a review ? i would love to hear what you think of the GS, after having had a JS before.

 

have a great time !!

Lisa

[rolloman]

In my opinion the difference between A JS and a Grand is not worth a thousand bucks more. NO WAY. The grand is a little bigger but has basically the same furniture. It also has a little bigger bathroom. These are minor. I actually prefer the closets on the JS over the Grand. One thing funny to note is that they get away with calling these walk in closets. What a joke. A walk in closet is not 24 inches deep. It should be false adverstising. Go with the Junior suite to save money with your specifics on this particular cruise. And if a bathtub or two cruise credits is not important go with a D1. The rest of the differences are just not enough to squable over with your circumstances.

[sandgrand]

Does anyone know the size of the sofa bed in a grand suite. We had a handicap JS on Rhapsody and the sofa bed was a small double - not really big enough for two adults. We have 5 adults traveling in GS on Grander and just hoping the sofa bed is queen size! (We saw some L-shaped sofa's in pictures of GS just curious) Thanks.

[Merion_Mom]

Grandeur and Enchantment are sister ships, identical except for the "stretch thing." :) In our GS on the Enchantment, the sofa bed was a HUGE QUEEN sized affair. We actually played musical beds all week, and I slept in the sofabed two of the seven nights. VERY VERY VERY VERY large and comfortable.

 

You will be very happy in your GS.

[fireguy091]

I'd go with the JS. Use the money you save to buy your friends a few rounds. Your room and balcony will handle 6 extra people easily. If you are traveling with 30 friends the GS won't hold them all anyway. The concierge club perk is nice but only on Radiance class ships. ( IMO ) The JS will be fine and you'll have more money to play with...:)

[twoguyscruising]

In deciding on a GS vs a JS, I think taking into account whether or not there is Concierge service on your ship. I was in a NCL suite last year with Concierge and Butler service. Let me just say WOW! Then two months later I had a Suite on Princess no Concierge or Butler. Of course we spent much more than we usually do on JS or Balcony cabins. We loved the extra size but the concierge made the biggest difference. On NCL we felt that the Concierge service created an atmosphere of a 5 Star Hotel vs the 3.5 Star ship we were on. And let me tell you sometimes being treated extra special feels good. She booked everything for us and made sure we had a very desirable table in the main dining. And when our helicopter tour was cancelled at one port she made sure we were able to do it in another even though it was sold out. (not sure how she pulled that off)

 

We are booked in a JS Aft in April for our trip to europe, for the $1000 more we could have stayed in the GS but Splendour of the Seas does not offer Concierge service. So for us we skipped spending more because of that. Also, we have always enjoyed the JS size. I am sure you will enjoy either one. Have a great trip.

[kristing63]

We are staying in a GS on Radiance in June. What exactly is the concierge service and the concierge lounge?

 

To answer your cabin question, we (family of 4) have stayed both in JS and GS (however never in Radiance Class). We really enjoyed the GS, and we have booked the same this time as well. It just has a much more open feeling than the JS, not so narrow, and the balcony is hugh! Since you are putting the kids in another room, the JS will be fine as well. You will have a great time either way!

[twoguyscruising]

Concierge service will make all your reservations for you instead of you going down to the dinning rooms to make them. They will also arrange any tours you want to add or cancel, handle all complaints, ect. They are there to give you the extra special service so when you spend that extra money its worth it. Plus they sometimes have parties (free booze) with the captain. You can also put through a request to sit at the Captains table.

[mdmourges]

Have stayed in a JS on Enchantment and Radiance and a GS on AOS and Brilliance. We really did it up last Aug and stayed in the RS on Mariner. If you really think you might do some entertaining in your room, then a GS is what you want. A JS is too small to have more than 4 - 5 people in it at one time. You can 8 - 10 in a GS (at 10 it's a bit tight) for a small party. As far as a room just for the two of you, a GS does have some nice features vs. the JS. The room and bathrooms are bigger, you get concierge service (love the espresso maker in the lounge), you get a dvd/cd player and upgraded sound system. Since you have 20 folks in your group, the concierge can help even when they may have issues. The concierge helped us set up a dinner for 26 at Chops. Have fun!

 

Mark

[rubrrick]

With the crowd that you have, might as well step up to the OS. We have had parties of 40 plus in our OS, including having guests on the balcony. Royal Caribbean does not provide anything special in suites, except for the room size. However, for a price, they will do anything that you want!!

 

Rick

[danno0613]

In my opinion the difference between A JS and a Grand is not worth a thousand bucks more. NO WAY. The grand is a little bigger but has basically the same furniture. It also has a little bigger bathroom. These are minor. I actually prefer the closets on the JS over the Grand. One thing funny to note is that they get away with calling these walk in closets. What a joke. A walk in closet is not 24 inches deep. It should be false adverstising. Go with the Junior suite to save money with your specifics on this particular cruise. And if a bathtub or two cruise credits is not important go with a D1. The rest of the differences are just not enough to squable over with your circumstances.

 

I understand that the JS have a bathtub, but does it have a shower in the bathtub or is it just a bathtub? I booked a JS on Mariner of the Seas for the May 14, 2006 cruise. First time in a Junior Suite.