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I'd say it's simple supply and demand at this point.  I'm looking to sail over spring break in 2024, and there is ample cabin availability.  This is less than 90 days out at this point.  For two cabins, I can book two mini-suite balconies for $5k without any extras.  For the Harmony of the Seas on the same dates, two ocean view balconies will run $12k if booked now.

I think much of it has to do with target audience.  Royal is pulling in the families along with Disney.  Princess does not have the same amenities for that age group.  Overall familiarity in Texas itself will play a role as well as Royal has the brand recognition, especially for those with families.

Bumping this as I'm on the December 28 sailing that is now showing as Sold Out on the Celerity web site.  There was lots of availability, and I'm still seeing that on third party sites.  Does anyone have firm information on what the ship will be doing during December and January?

I'd like to stay ahead of things and move to another sailing if this one will be cancelled.

I just finished an Ovation cruise yesterday and am finding myself wishing I were back on the ship.  The shows were good, but they didn't come across as great.  The only one that required a reservation was Pixel's Cabaret in Two70.  That one was good, and I'd recommend getting there early as the show has a better impact from a lower, centralized location.

The set and costuming for The Beautiful Dream was also solid and very entertaining.  I'd recommend a pass on Live, Love, Legs as that show had an overreliance on lighting effects, and it went out of the way to choose music and songs that failed to showcase the talent of the cast.  The skimpy costumes for the women in the show could be a draw, but quite frankly the guys stole this show with their supporting work.  This is the same cast as Beautiful Dream, so they have the skills, but not the material for that show.  There were several comedians and a rock cover band for the other nights, which are likely to change in future sailings.

There were a few seats reserved in the main theater for suite guests, but these were not prime by my standards, and good seats were always available within 15 minutes of show time even with 4500 on board.  I believe there were a few reserved seats in Two70 as well, but these may have been on the upper level.

They had a matinee for Love and Marriage one afternoon in the main theater, which was fantastic for those who did do not want to stay up late for it.  There were also a stream of game shows in Two70 and music and trivia in the Music Hall and Schooner Bar.  All in all, there was plenty of entertainment throughout the cruise.  

It could be that we sailed the week after the President's Cruise, but the MDR staff was on top of it.  Great service and the food was solid the days we choose to eat there.  There were no signs of staffing shortages or shows cancelled.

The downsides that I can note is they seemed to have an issue with the hot water with the temperature going from Lukewarm to scalding the last 2-3 days and no hot water yesterday when we disembarked. In Skagway, we had to tender due to the issue with the rockslide, which resulted in delays getting off and about a 40 minute wait to get back on the ship.  I'd recommend booking a ship excursion that day if the dock is still out of commission.   

Let me know if you have any specific questions, and I'll try to get back.

I received min about 5 days in advance for my February sailing, so yes they are still doing them in the time range you stated.

Ship - Liberty of the Seas

Deck - 9

Stateroom # - 9708

Stateroom Category – 2 Bedroom Grand Suite

Starboard or Port Side - Aft

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes, quiet with  no outside noise.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - Yes, connected to another aft balcony

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – The circular structure of the Freedom class ships does somewhat block the view.  It diminishes the view slightly, but we didn't find it overly bothersome.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? -  Oversized, and one of the prime reasons for getting this suite.  There is small table with 4 chairs on one side and 4 loungers on the other.  Plenty of room for all activities.  Do note that the balcony is not completely covered, and the balcony above looks down on part of the balcony for this suite.

Was wind a problem? - No.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - No soot.  Under certain conditions, the smell of the ship exhaust was strong, and on some days it blew into the cabin even with the door closed.

Any specific problems with this cabin? - There were several nights were the vibrations from the engines were strong causing the fixtures to rattle and to literally shake us in the bed.  This only happened at certain speeds, and there were divers down for service at one port, so I don't know if this is normal or if there was an issue with one of the aziopods.   We had to be very careful to either fully close or open some doors, and the bathroom door in the children's room required an object to be jammed in the door to prevent it from rattling and keeping them up.  This alone makes me leery of booking another room aft.

Any other comments? -  Well sized for a couple with two children.  Good space and common areas.  If the vibrations weren't present, I would consider it ideal.

Yes, to all of the above.  We schedule with Rony earlier this month.   The day was a washout, and we only made part of the stops before deciding ziplining or the beach in the rain was not in the cards.  Even with the rain, Rony was willing to work with us and help us make the most of the experience.  I would recommend.  

For the monkeys and sloth's, we visited Manawakie and were very happy.  We were off the ship early and visited before any of the large groups arrived.  That meant we had a dedicated guide at each stop, which made it far better than being in a group.

2 hours ago, luvtotravel5656 said:

Has anyone heard if Liberty of the seas fixed the Big screen on the deck? They say it has been broken since Thanksgiving.  I am on the ship Super Bowl Sunday.

I haven’t seen it working at any point this week. 

14 hours ago, fsjosh said:

If you haven't hit final payment and are keeping the spare room, how about downgrading the leftover balcony to the cheapest room on the boat to save some money? Or see if there is a room close by your new suite. 

 

But like another poster said, unless you are talking about adult children, only one adult will have suite privileges. They won't allow you to have both children in one room by themselves. 

 

I'd try to call Royal and see if theres a repricing option that would allow you to dump the spare room and not cost more money. 

 Now that's an interesting point.  Perhaps get a interior near the suite.  Would be good for storage if nothing else.  I may look into that.  Thanks!

14 hours ago, BazingAu said:

If you booked a 2 bedroom suite to begin with, wouldn't it have been cheaper than booking 2 separate balcony rooms + royalup fees since they're both based on double occupancy? Or is this still cheaper this way?

Cheaper by far.  Even with the RoyalUp fees, the cost would be $6k less than booking that suite to begin.

7 minutes ago, DragonOfTheSeas said:

Are the children still next door to your new cabin?  I do not think they will let you book children in a cabin that is not beside/across for the adults. YMMV

Not in this case, we split 1 adult and 1 child in each to keep it simple.

1 hour ago, cured said:

We tried this pre-pandemic.  We had adult kids in a boardwalk cabin and we were in an Ultimate family balcony.  We won the upgrade to a suite. When we inquired about adding the adult kids we were told emphatically NO by numerous different avenues we tried. If we added anyone other than from the original cabin, we were told it would be repriced to market rate. They didn't care if they slept there, or if we got them keys, but they could not be officially added for the suite benefits.

 

Our kids never got suite privileges, so we ended up using the suite lounge sparingly.  However, we had a fantastic cruise even though we never ate in the CK. 

 

Unfortunately, that upgrade cost us BIG BUCKS in the long run. I now have to book suites and the kids are booked in a minimum of a grand suite so that they can join us.

I'm afraid that will be my fate as well.  I've used my benefits to upgrade my family on flights from time to time, and then I made the mistake of upgrading them to a Polaris seat on one flight.  They now ask if those will be our seats every time we fly.

Thanks for the input all; I new this group would have the answers.  I'm definitely not canceling the other balcony cabin and will simply get extra keys for the other room once onboard.  Kind of a bummer about not getting suite benefits for all, but I don't mind as the what we're paying is still far less than what we normally pay for two balcony cabins.  And we'll enjoy the space and meals on the balcony....

That being said, I've decided to gamble on Option C.  They're running 50% off for a 1 BR Grand Suite RoyalUp, so I've bid for that on the other cabin.  If we win it, it will be low $$$ to get the suite benefits for all.  And if the adults need an escape :-), we can make use of the other cabin.  It could come in handy for sunsets as well as we will be aft.  All good regardless.

The background here is that we originally had booked two connecting balcony cabins for our upcoming Liberty of the Seas sailing.  This works well for us as a family of four as the children get their own space, the adults privacy, and we have two bathrooms.  I saw that many were having success with RoyalUp, so I decided to submit a low bid on a 2 BR Grand Suite.  I was blown away as the bid was accepted with a total cost of the cabins plus the upgrade being below the cost of our sailings with just two connecting cabins.

Now for the question I am hoping the more experienced travelers can help me with.  How exactly should I handle the remaining balcony cabin?  I want the four of us to use the 2 BR, and I don't want to use the original cabin as the point of the trip is to spend time together.  I also would like for everyone to have the suite benefits, if possible.  Would it be best to handle this at customer service after boarding the ship or to call Royal in advance?  I don't want to cancel the original balcony cabin, but I would like advice on the best way to have the four of us placed into the 2 BR.

Advice is appreciated.  Thanks!

I was there last Wednesday, and in Old San Juan things were surprisingly normal. There were a few large sized generators running in the area, but otherwise it was hard to tell much had happened. I would have no reservations in recommending walking to the forts using, as previously mentioned, normal precautions for any urban area while traveling.