Are suites worth it?

[gordylad]

Amazing......you are very lucky

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

5 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I forgot to add that HAL suites are the biggest joke of all the cruise lines we have sailed. Their Signature and Vista Suites are only a larger verandah cabin with no extras, their Neptune and Pinnacle suites are super expensive, and the Club Orange experience is really a lemon compared to the Retreat. 

 

That's what I've gathered about HAL as well. We've had a suite booked at least 3-4 times with them, and always end up shifting to a more known quantity. My only (adult) experience with the company has been positive. I was able to send them a photo (of photos) from a TA family cruise I was on in the mid 60's, and they promptly gave me 1-star status and credit for the cruise!

 

 

 

Tom

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, danceswithphones said:

6147 on the Constellation in 2014 and 2016. I'm so spoiled to suites. We invited people from the Roll Call and entertained in 2016. We are booked in an Edge Villa on the Beyond. I don't regret one penny I've ever spent on a suite. 

My sister and BIL did their first suite in a villa suite on the Edge last August and loved it, and after doing 15 Celebrity cruises,, they will only book suites going forward.

[TeeRick]

23 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Tom, we had some friends who are avid RCL cruisers, and last summer they did a Royal suite and thought the virtual Royal Genie was a total joke. We have convinced them to do a Sky Suite on the Apex with us next year and I know they will be hooked and make the permanent switch to X.

So there is a Retreat type suite area on RCCL's ship to be launched soon Wonder of the Seas.  Not sure what class of suites get to use it or if they all do including Jr suites.  It is in the middle of the ship. It is called a suite neighborhood.  First dedicated suite area on RCCL according to the CC article.  But on Oasis class on deck 17 where they have the suite lounge and CK restaurant that is a dedicated area.  But the suite neighborhood I think will have a private plunge pool and be more like the Retreat on Celebrity.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=6660

[Gracie115]

On 1/28/2022 at 8:54 AM, terrydtx said:

We are taking our 12-year-old granddaughter on the RCL Allure next year from Galveston in June. We booked a Grand Suite, with basically no amenities, but we needed a summer Caribbean cruise and a port close to us, so RCL was our only choice. We do get the private suite restaurant, but it is on a reservation basis only. The cost per person for 7 nights is a lot more than a SS on a 7-night winter Caribbean cruise. We looked at an NCL Haven suite from Miami, but it was ridiculously expensive, and we would have to fly to Miami. Our granddaughter is extremely lactose intolerant, and we felt a smaller private dining venue would be better for her dietary needs which is why we wanted a suite with private dining.

 

If you booked in a Grand Suite you are able to eat all meals in the suite restaurant, Coastal Kitchen and you have access to the Suite lounge too. They did ask us what time we would like to dine each night but we weren't "locked into it."  The one time they didn't have a table ready we just had a beverage in the suite lounge for a few minutes.  It's only Junior Suites that have to make reservations for dinner in Coastal Kitchen and hope they aren't full already. 

Edited January 29, 2022 by Gracie115

[Gracie115]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

So there is a Retreat type suite area on RCCL's ship to be launched soon Wonder of the Seas.  Not sure what class of suites get to use it or if they all do including Jr suites.  It is in the middle of the ship. It is called a suite neighborhood.  First dedicated suite area on RCCL according to the CC article.  But on Oasis class on deck 17 where they have the suite lounge and CK restaurant that is a dedicated area.  But the suite neighborhood I think will have a private plunge pool and be more like the Retreat on Celebrity.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=6660

 

On the Oasis class ships, at least on the Harmony, there is already a Suite area at the bow of the boat. It includes a lounge, whirlpool, a large area with lounges, many private alcoves (no charge) and of course wonderful views of the ocean.  We enjoyed it on our TA from Barcelona last fall.

[TeeRick]

1 minute ago, Gracie115 said:

 

On the Oasis class ships, at least on the Harmony, there is already a Suite area at the bow of the boat. It includes a lounge, whirlpool, a large area with lounges, many private alcoves (no charge) and of course wonderful views of the ocean.  We enjoyed it on our TA from Barcelona last fall.

Yes we sailed Harmony and stayed in a Crown Loft on Deck 17.  Loved it too.   But the suite areas on that ship (like the one you mentioned) are in different places.  As I understand it, the Suite Neighborhood on Wonder OTS will have everything in one place like the Retreat on E-Class ships.

[babydates]

I say suites on the EC ships are absolutely worth it. We love the Retreat. The Concierge is wonderful and can get things done when no one else can. I couldn’t go on an excursion we paid for (my husband went though) because I had hurt my foot.  The day after the excursion we asked the concierge if we could get a refund for my ticket and she got it done. That is just one example of the value of the Retreat Concierge. I hardly ever found the Retreat lounge area crowded. I always found a spot on one of their couches.  I was by myself most the time reading on the sectional. But I also love being pampered on a cruise and I feel extra pampered in a Suite.  So that’s all we book now.

[cdn_tbird]

It would be interesting to merge all the “Is it worth it” threads into a single thread and see if/how the majority's opinion has shifted over time. As so many others have said, “worth” is an extremely subjective term and I still remember an “Is it worth it” thread from when I first joined CC. One of the posters was adamant that anyone that booked anything other than an inside cabin was a fool and just wasting their money because after all we all got to the same ports at the same time.

 

Our first cruise in a suite will be our 20^th anniversary. For us it’s not a matter of affordability, so when we decide to “splurge” we don’t give it a second thought. At least for the near term, we’ll probably continue to book aft cabins with the occasional suite for special occasions. We’re still relatively new to cruising so it’s about the ports and not so much about the ship. Then again, who knows maybe the suite experience will spoil us to the point that an aft cabin just won't cut it anymore. 😛

 

[SueMo]

I like to book a suite whenever there are a lot of days at sea.  Whenever it is a port intensive cruise I am happy with Aqua class.  

[wrk2cruise]

On 1/26/2022 at 1:49 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

But if you simply want to convert your nonrefundable to refundable OBC by way of using the slots, would this strategy work? I saw this on a Celebrity thread a few months back, but didn't have any extra nonrefundable OBC to try it with.

 

1. Put your seapass card in the slot machine.  Your pin is your birth month and day.  

2. Go to “personal banker”, then “transfer funds”, then “room charge”.

3. Input amount of OBC.  

4. You will see this amount appear on the slot machine.  

5. Press cash out, collect ticket, bring to cashier.  

 

I think they have closed this loophole.  Option not available on Connie.  The ability to charge to your room from the screen has been removed.

[cgolf1]

I will toss our opinion in. We sailed on Disney's Retreat level rooms, but in a room that would be comparable to a Jr Suite on Royal. We did this twice, once because we got a great deal and the second so my mom could sail that level with us. Unfortunately my mom missed the 2nd trip and it was too late to downgrade.

 

For us the extra services were not needed and we didn't use the concierge hosts for anything. It isn't a level of service we needed. The lounge with food out through the day was nice and the same with happy hour too, but for us the extra cost just wasn't worth it. Not saying this to make us look bad but our we are simple people apparently. So we happily ended up booking insides 90% of the time unless we can get a forward facing oceanview or win a move up bid.

 

So for us the benefit wasn't there, but I did notice families that took advantage of the extra services so it was very worth it for them.

[bboop51]

On 1/25/2022 at 9:57 AM, CruiseRQA said:

We are just off the Apex and were in a suite (sky suite) for the first time.   Our last cruise (pre-COVID) was aquaclass on Edge.   We previously have sailed Celebrity in standard veranda rooms. 

 

Overall we enjoyed our cruise very much but in thinking ahead wonder if the Suite and Retreat experience was a good value.   I know the majority of people here will say yes.    Let me opine on each aspect of the suite life.

 

1.  The room.   Was very nice but not all that large or substantially better than our IV room on Edge.   Enjoyed the nice bathroom.   But overall, for the price, the room isn't a value worth the price

 

2.  The Retreat.   The reception area and bar are nice spaces but again, food and drink are everywhere on the Apex and places to hang out inside are plentiful so in and of itself not a value worth the price.  The retreat concierge was nice but really didn't do anything for us that I couldn't do on the app.   Eden was sold out by day 2 of our cruise and she put us on some "list" but that was the last I heard of that.

 

3.   Pool area.   The pool and hot tub area were nice but were the most crowded space on the whole ship.   We spent some time there but truthfully found the solarium a less crowded and quieter space.    We did enjoy the non-pool side of the retreat which which was almost vacant most of the time.

 

4.  Luminae.   Now this we enjoyed.   The service was very good and a bit better than in Blu.   The food was great and I thought a notch above what we had 2 years ago in Blue.   Breakfast menu could have used some unique daily items as it was the same menu everyday.

 

In summary, if one's financial status is such that price is not really a concern I would book a suite every time.   On the other end of the spectrum if your financial situation is a bit tighter I certainly wouldn't stretch my finances to have a suite.   It won't improve your cruise experience that much.   We reside financially  somewhere in-between and so we may or may not choose a suite again.    I don't think the value added is generally worth the price but I will consider it depending on pricing.    And the stock market!

Finally, someone else who agrees that the Suite was not worth it. We just got off the APEX on January 29th.  Without bemoaning all of my issues. I thought it was a total waste of money.  Our Suite attendant / butler was useless, the cabin was not large enough to warrant the difference in price,  the Retreat was nothing special and although Luminae was very good, I did not think it was better than Blu. We'd never waste our money again on a Suite. Back for as I heard some old crow (in the retreat)  refer to the non Suite guests as ...the unwashed masses.  I wish I could say sounded like she was kidding 😕. 

[shipshape sam]

On 1/25/2022 at 10:17 AM, miched said:

I don’t think there is any right or wrong answer.   For us it also depends on perceived value or value added.  

 

We feel the same about the cost.   Sometimes we can’t justify the the additional cost.   If it is in reason than we may go for AQ or a suite and it all depends on the ship.  Everything has to be evaluated at the time.  
 

The highest we would spring for is a SS.  I could never afford or justify the Iconic Suite and if I could I still couldn’t justify it.   It is hard to believe that those sell out.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

I agree with you about perceived value.  I think of what I want to do on a cruise and being a low maintenance cruiser, we seek out a lounge  chair in the shade away from the pool area, DW to read and me with AirPods to listen to music and take a nap.  My philosophy has been that my room is to drop off my stuff, a place to crash at night and to clean up in between what we want to do, so for us a balcony cabin works as that gives us access to the outside from our cabin.

 

I will say that I would not want to be quarantined in an oceanview or inside cabin.  We typically get  CC cabin if it is  price close to a regular balcony cabin.  We then treat ourselves to the speciality dining most nights.  Did do AQ once and it was an effort to force ourselves to utilize the spa.  BLU was okay.  Not a huge fan of eating healthy on a cruise.  

 

To be fair, I too do not use the internet as I put my computer/phone in safe.  Now with the cruise lines promotion of access to things through your phone, we signed up for the app and carried our phones everywhere. The times they are a changing.

 

Thus, it is an individual decision.  There are only 24 hours in the day, so you have to be somewhere for each of the 24 hours, guess your cabin/room is one choice.  I think suites with Butlers would be something I would like to experience someday if I have the time can't think of a better way to spend it.