Freedom - Balcony vs Spacious Balcony vs Junior Suite

[LuCruise]

Looking at possibly booking a cruise for 3 of us (two adults and a teenager) on Freedom and debating between a Balcony, Spacious Balcony and Junior Suite.  We typically don't book JS but it is in our budget this time.  Having said that, the JS is $1000 more than the regular balcony and $800 more than Spacious Balcony.

 

1. Is the spacious balcony actually that much bigger than a regular balcony room?  It lists it as 207 sq ft vs 188 sq ft, but do you feel the difference or more storage?
2. Is  the JS worth the extra money?  As a note, if our existing cruises go, we will already be at the next level so points always help in the long run, but not a doesn't do much at this point.
3. If we go for a Junior Suite, we can select ones mid ship or right at the aft looking at the back of the ship.  Anyone stayed in those aft rooms (e.g. 7712)?  Is movement an issue?  We often book aft section but not right at the end.  Could be a long walk though.

 

I know this is personal preference, but would love to hear feedback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by LuCruise

[firefly333]

I love the aft view so I'd choose that over anything else as a preference if money didnt matter.

 

I've seen the spacious balconys and they appear to have more space at the foot of the bed for walking thru.  I'm solo so it wouldnt be that important but extra space is nice. 

 

I kept my b2b in dec for the extra pts. .. so if a JS wasnt double a balcony, I'd get one, but on oasis class inside balconys such a good deal, good to me. Most of my bookings are oasis class.

 

On your class .. it just depends on if that next tier has anything you want. I wanted 340 for the solo discount. Upgraded toiletries nice. Nothing at 525 I care about. Pinnacle so far away. Now I dont care .. lol at least as much. 

 

I did a corner aft on liberty and long walk but motion no issue,,..depends on your weather so much. I did end boardwalk, all the way aft, long walk to end of aft on allure but I did feel some extra motion that week.

Edited December 28, 2022 by firefly333

[LuCruise]

Thanks so much for the feedback.  Good to know that you had no issue on the corner aft on Liberty, which is the same class ship.  The regular balcony rooms are actually attractive for this as we could book at the cheaper price but get a neat balcony (and not all show as obstructed).

 

We have stayed even 4 of us in a single similar size room (this cruise is 3) so we can manage.

It's just tempting to book a JS as it is still in our price range of what we would pay for a cruise.

We would already made the level we want (assume our booked cruises are a go) so double points isn't a major factor at that point.

[SilkySal]

The aft cabin you mentioned (7712) shows an obstructed view. If it were me and we had more than 2 people, I would go for a JS that is non-obstructed, especially the ones on the "hump", where you are able to see both ends of the ship. Freedom shows them on Deck 9 (if still available). IMO a "spacious" OV balcony is not that much bigger and not worth the extra money. So, in short, I would do a regular non-obstructed OV balcony or a JS, and try to get one on the "hump"! Happy cruising! Cheers!

[LuCruise]

1 hour ago, SilkySal said:

The aft cabin you mentioned (7712) shows an obstructed view. If it were me and we had more than 2 people, I would go for a JS that is non-obstructed, especially the ones on the "hump", where you are able to see both ends of the ship. Freedom shows them on Deck 9 (if still available). IMO a "spacious" OV balcony is not that much bigger and not worth the extra money. So, in short, I would do a regular non-obstructed OV balcony or a JS, and try to get one on the "hump"! Happy cruising! Cheers!

Thank  you.  I'm looking as well at the regular balcony rooms that are aft, and some show as not obstructed. The only thing I need to make sure is that our daughter is ok with a pullman vs sofa bed.  It also seems like it has a door with a window vs full glass sliding doors, which is a bit of a downside but not a show stopper.  The balcony itself looks bigger and neat shaped.

 

Or...there are regular balcony rooms too on the sides.  Some show with a star so not sure if these mean sofa bed?

 

Thanks for the feedback too on balcony vs spacious balcony as it doesn't seem like it's much difference.

Good tip if we go with a JS to book on the hump.

Edited December 28, 2022 by LuCruise

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, LuCruise said:

Looking at possibly booking a cruise for 3 of us (two adults and a teenager) on Freedom and debating between a Balcony, Spacious Balcony and Junior Suite.  We typically don't book JS but it is in our budget this time.  Having said that, the JS is $1000 more than the regular balcony and $800 more than Spacious Balcony.

 

1. Is the spacious balcony actually that much bigger than a regular balcony room?  It lists it as 207 sq ft vs 188 sq ft, but do you feel the difference or more storage?
2. Is  the JS worth the extra money?  As a note, if our existing cruises go, we will already be at the next level so points always help in the long run, but not a doesn't do much at this point.
3. If we go for a Junior Suite, we can select ones mid ship or right at the aft looking at the back of the ship.  Anyone stayed in those aft rooms (e.g. 7712)?  Is movement an issue?  We often book aft section but not right at the end.  Could be a long walk though.

 

I know this is personal preference, but would love to hear feedback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balcony...loveseat.  Spacious balcony sofa.   

 

I'd definitely spend the $200 for the spacious balcony.  JS would depend on how much time you spend in the room and if the double points help you or not. 

[firefly333]

58 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Thank  you.  I'm looking as well at the regular balcony rooms that are aft, and some show as not obstructed. The only thing I need to make sure is that our daughter is ok with a pullman vs sofa bed.  It also seems like it has a door with a window vs full glass sliding doors, which is a bit of a downside but not a show stopper.  The balcony itself looks bigger and neat shaped.

 

Or...there are regular balcony rooms too on the sides.  Some show with a star so not sure if these mean sofa bed?

 

Thanks for the feedback too on balcony vs spacious balcony as it doesn't seem like it's much difference.

Good tip if we go with a JS to book on the hump.

Corner aft deck 9, so smaller balcony than what you can book with 3. 

 

Non sliding door.  

 

[LuCruise]

31 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Balcony...loveseat.  Spacious balcony sofa.   

 

I'd definitely spend the $200 for the spacious balcony.  JS would depend on how much time you spend in the room and if the double points help you or not. 

Thank you. In the end, we went with a regular balcony room...and just went back to a standard one mid ship.  I've tried to look at cruise deck plans to understand theh rooms.  We had the option of one that holds 3 (Royal's map shows it with a triangle) or one that holds 4 (Royal's map shows it with a star).....and so we booked one with a star.  It looks like this one has a sofa bed.  Hopefully I'm right (although DD says she is ok with a pullman).

 

Hmm...went with regular but can think about the spacious balcony.  Doesn't seem like a huge difference but maybe it does once you compare the rooms.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by LuCruise

[LuCruise]

10 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Corner aft deck 9, so smaller balcony than what you can book with 3. 

 

Non sliding door.  

 

Thank you for the photos!  It's the window door that made us go with just a regular balcony in the end.  Mind you, didn't realize it also has a porthole .

 

Is the balcony mostly in the sun?  That was one of DH's concern.

[MiniChunks]

aft balconies on Freedom class ships have a bunch of ship superstructure in the way of your view to the water. All balconies below(corners aside) have the deck below you looking directly back into your balcony from below. The aft cabins away from the corners do get sun. The corner aft balconies are nice for sun on deck 8 and 9, but 6, 7 and 10 are either entirely or mostly covered. 

 

In your situation i'd either go with JS mid-ship or the spacious balcony. 

 

There are plenty of videos and images of most of the aft balconies on this ship. Just a quick google search should show you everything i'm talking about. 

Edited December 28, 2022 by MiniChunks

[firefly333]

44 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Thank you for the photos!  It's the window door that made us go with just a regular balcony in the end.  Mind you, didn't realize it also has a porthole .

 

Is the balcony mostly in the sun?  That was one of DH's concern.

No it was shaded pretty much 100%. There is a tall divider that blocked the sun.  I also cant sit in the sun, so this was my favorite.

[LuCruise]

51 minutes ago, MiniChunks said:

aft balconies on Freedom class ships have a bunch of ship superstructure in the way of your view to the water. All balconies below(corners aside) have the deck below you looking directly back into your balcony from below. The aft cabins away from the corners do get sun. The corner aft balconies are nice for sun on deck 8 and 9, but 6, 7 and 10 are either entirely or mostly covered. 

 

In your situation i'd either go with JS mid-ship or the spacious balcony. 

 

There are plenty of videos and images of most of the aft balconies on this ship. Just a quick google search should show you everything i'm talking about. 

Thanks.  The one I was looking at was on deck 8, corner balcony.  Can still change our mind as long as it's available.

[LuCruise]

12 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

No it was shaded pretty much 100%. There is a tall divider that blocked the sun.  I also cant sit in the sun, so this was my favorite.

Thanks.  Good to know.  I like the sun (for a bit) but DH prefers the shade.

[RJ257]

5 hours ago, LuCruise said:

Thank you. In the end, we went with a regular balcony room...and just went back to a standard one mid ship.  I've tried to look at cruise deck plans to understand theh rooms.  We had the option of one that holds 3 (Royal's map shows it with a triangle) or one that holds 4 (Royal's map shows it with a star).....and so we booked one with a star.  It looks like this one has a sofa bed.  Hopefully I'm right (although DD says she is ok with a pullman).

 

Hmm...went with regular but can think about the spacious balcony.  Doesn't seem like a huge difference but maybe it does once you compare the rooms.

 

 

When selecting your room scroll down to the bottom of the page. Select View Deck Plans and the symbols are explained. Its easy to understand.

[LuCruise]

33 minutes ago, RJ257 said:

When selecting your room scroll down to the bottom of the page. Select View Deck Plans and the symbols are explained. Its easy to understand.

Thanks.  I remember in the older deck plans, it would tell you pullman vs sofa bed.  But now, it just shows "Stateroom occupancy up to 3 available" and "Stateroom occupancy up to 4 available" (and even though I'm searching on 3 guests, some of the 4 available rooms are offered.