Booking a suite(full)

[jerwick]

How many opt to pay the going rate for a full suite VS cat and up or do you wait and hope for an upgrade?

[Toto2Kansas]

Upgrades to full suites are very rare, they do occasionally happen, but not as often as you might think!

[geoherb]

If we wanted to spend that much on a cruise, I would opt to upgrade to a better cruiseline and not just a better cabin. For instance, I'd rather go on the Radisson Diamond's 3/22 southern Caribbean cruise for $2,708 pp (includes wine at dinner and tips) instead of spending $2,649 pp for a PH suite on the Golden's 3/20 sailing. (Prices from one of the major travel websites, so I'm sure they could be better.)

[Murphey]

I agree...sometimes you can get a better deal upgrading your cruiseline and getting more stuff that's included than shelling out for a suite on Princess/HAL/Celeb, etc. I can afford a balcony and occasional mini, but the upfront cost of a full suite is beyond us, unless we only wanted to cruise very seldom.

[Lynda90]

The suite was great as an upgrade. I would never pay that kind of money for it though. It's about 2.5 - 3 times more than I would normally spend. Definitely not worth it.

[spongerob]

I've paid for a suite once - cost really wasn't an issue, stress relief and spoiling ourselves was. I ended up getting quite an attractive price. Was it worth it? That's highly subjective. Since our cruising is somewhat limited and we incur large additional costs just getting to the port, the additional cost didn't seem that significant. On that cruise, it was definitely worth having a suite. Usually, though, mini-suites in the Grand-class configuration are more than adequate for us and certainly are a better fit for our travel budget.

[critterchick]

It depends on how large the price difference is. We are taking 2 3-day cruises in May, a Diamond repo from LA to Vancouver, then the Sun for 3 days. A full suite on Diamond started at about $1000pp, vs. $599 for a JS. Not worth it. The full suite on Sun is $699 vs. $599, so we thought we would give it a go, never having been in a full suite. We will probably use most of the difference by drinking the free booze & having our laundry done, LOL.

 

For another repo cruise in 2006 (yes, we plan ahead!), we got a PS on Island for $1100pp (7 days), vs. something like $950 for a js.

 

We've been eyeing some 10 & 12-day cruises on both Princess & RCCL. The difference between a superior oceanview & a minisuite is as much as $1700pp, which would totally not be worth it to me.

[critterchick]

Until I hit Lotto, that is!:D

[CruisinChris]

If I want a suite I book a suite. I wouldn't wait and hope for an upgrade.

[lgt]

Had a full suite this summer & loved it (what's not to love). Paid for it (I hope decent price). Didn't consider upgrading cruiselines such as Radisson as suggested above because they don't have the activities and choices in dining, etc. that Princess does, especially since we were traveling with 2 teens.

 

Linda

[karfest]

I really wanted an aft suite on the Dawn so that's what I booked. We enjoyed it very much but next time on a Sun class ship I would go with the aft mini-suite. The perks were not enough to make up the dollar difference. We spoke to others in the suites and none of them had been upgraded, they all booked them so anyone on our sailing who was hoping for an upgrade was out of luck. On the Sun, they gave the Owner's suite to someone playing bingo the first night- she was in an inside and moved to that suite right after the game!! How lucky is that:D?

Beware, though, once you have one of the suites it is awfully difficult to settle for anything less!

[doctrd]

The upgrade (especially a free upgrade) to a full suite must be extremely rare. In my case, I booked the second highest suite on the Grand, and 2 weeks before sailing they called to ask if I wanted to upgrade to the Grand Suite. That was the room I origially wanted, so was thrilled to get it. BUT it was not a FREE upgrade, had to pay the difference. If I didn't take it, I'm sure they were going to go down a list till someone did.

 

Worth it? We still talk about what a great room it was, the private butler, the hot tub on the private deck, the fully stocked bar, the marble shower and jacuzzi bathtub.

 

The extra room, the granite and marble used in the suites adds more luxury to the experience.

 

Have been on several cruises since, and as long as we have a balcony we are happy. After going with friends on the Carnival Paradise, with no balcony, my next cruise is an VS aft cabin suite on the Golden. Friends in the aft cabin cat BB right next to us, the only 2 aft rooms on that side of the ship. Looks like nice and private, with conecting decks should be great. Just to spoil ourselves as both of us are celebrating our 30th anniversary.

[Druke I]

Personally, we are very happy with a standard outside, or standard balcony, (balcony for scenic itinerary) and doubt that we would ever pay for a suite. We spend so little time in our cabins, all the extra space would be wasted.

 

I would rather go on another cruise considering the price differential.

 

Michael