2Bdr AquaTheater vs 2Bdr Grand Suite

My wife and I along with my parents are looking at cruises for early 2019. Normally we do a JS for each couple, but we have each done single bedroom grand suites on the Oasis twice which were fantastic. We are looking to try something different for this upcoming vacation. I have looked at both the 2 bedroom AquaTheater suite (Oasis-deck8) and a 2 bedroom Grand Suite (Harmony). Both are more than we typically spend, but again, we are looking for something different.

I have looked at the benefits offered with the sky class and star class rooms. After you add the additional expenses with a 2 bedroom Grand Suite that you get with the AquaTheater(drink packages, specialty dining, gratuities), the AquaTheater would be about $700 more per couple.

What it boils down to is the Harmony is a ship none of us have been on. We have cruised the Oasis before, but not this type of room with the star class benefits like the genie.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I'd go with the Star class suite with Genie. That would certainly be the "something different" you are looking for. Plus the new bells and whistles on Harmony.

Thanks Bob! The Star class suite would be on the Oasis whereas the 2 bedroom Grand Suite (Sky Class) would be Harmony. The dates that want to go, AquaTheater rooms are sold out on the Harmony.

Thanks Bob! The Star class suite would be on the Oasis whereas the 2 bedroom Grand Suite (Sky Class) would be Harmony. The dates that want to go, AquaTheater rooms are sold out on the Harmony.

Sorry, I guess I misunderstood. If you don't think the slides on Harmony are a big deal, then I'd still want to do Star clas son Oasis.

I would go Star on Oasis vs. Sky on another Oasis class ship, except maybe Symphony. The Star perks plus the Genie make a great trip even better. Plus the 2BR Aqua Theater suite is spacious and that balcony is outstanding both for the space and the view. The Ultimate Abyss and the water slides are fun though. No bad choice though.

We were in the 2bed Aqua Theater cabin on the Oasis just this past November and it was FANTASTIC. The one bedroom is definitely smaller than the master bed, but with all the benefits of the Genie and being Star class, it was worth the smaller room. And the living room and balcony made up for it. I would highly recommend going with star class and the luxury of a genie. But be warned... it will ruin you for any future cruises, as you will want to continue to book this class of cabin.

Agree...take the aquatheater, especially as you can get deck 8. It is awesome! We also decided to scale back and take better suites on "older" ships.

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We switched to the 2 bedroom aqua theatre suite on deck 10 from the 2 bedroom royal family suite for an upcoming cruise on the Harmony OTS. Our price bump was a lot more than what you have to pay but I expect it to be well worth it. Just got my questionnaire from the Royal Genie yesterday. The excitement grows.

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We switched to the 2 bedroom aqua theatre suite on deck 10 from the 2 bedroom royal family suite for an upcoming cruise on the Harmony OTS. Our price bump was a lot more than what you have to pay but I expect it to be well worth it. Just got my questionnaire from the Royal Genie yesterday. The excitement grows.

 

 

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Flannbarr, please come back and share your experience! I'm excited for you!

And OP, like mentioned already, if the slides are not a big deal, then take Star Class. That would give you an experience to remember. And the way I see it, the ATS is basically the same setup as the 2BDR family suite just with a way bigger balcony and the SC benefits. So you would still get to experience what that type of setup feels like, with added SC benefits.

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Thank you all for the responses! Sounds like the ATS is the way to go!

I concur with the others. If you can afford the 2 BR ATS then go for Star Class. It is a wonderful and very special experience. We've been in both the deck 8 (A1) and deck 9 (A2) suites on Harmony and I will say, if it is available, I would definitely go with deck 8. The room and balconies on deck 8 are WAAAY bigger than the ones on deck 9. I have never stayed (or even be inside) of the 2 BR Grand Suites so I cannot compare those.

Would entertainment be the same as the last time you were on Oasis?

We sailed in the 2br AT suite on Allure and it was our first experience on that class of ship. The experience was AMAZING. We had never vacationed like that before and we had an amazing time from the time we arrived at the port until our genie walked us right to the custom desk. The benefits we enjoyed most were the balcony in the AT suite, prime seats for all shows saved for us and unlimited specialty dining which for my kids and husband included ice cream on the boardwalk all the time.

If shows on Oasis wouldn't be of interest to you because you had already seen them all that would lessen benefit for me. Entertainment is important to us so I probably wouldn't want to sail same ship with same shows.