S1 or A1 Cabin?

[cpgrneyes]

I saw some S1 photos on CC in the past week that have me wanting to be in one of those corner suites. We have a 14 day cruise to Australia and NZ booked with a total of 5 days at sea, one full day of which is cruising through a number of sounds in New Zealand.

 

We are currently booked in a prime A1 hump cabin, and are looking forward to Blu, as the MDR is not our cup of tea for more than a night or two. I understand space in Blu is on an "as available" basis and I've read varying posts about being able to eat there or not.

 

With the 2 nights of included specialty dining and being early diners, my thought is that we might be able to still dine away from the MDR most nights and enjoy the wonderful cabin.

 

The upcharge is $125/cabin a day, so not too outrageous, and that doesn't count the approximately $140 savings for the two specialty dining nights.

 

Have any of you sailed in both an Aqua and an S1? What would your recommendation be?

[Christine Frances]

Never been in Aqua but lots in Concierge - did a S1 from Santiago to Fort Lauderdale and it totally spoiled me!! The Butler, linen service and silver for room service. Cappuccino's in the afternoon and Tea Tray. The cabin is beautiful with a lot of room and great balcony. We had the option of trying Blu but never bothered. We did Qsine and the rest on the nights we were in the MDR and were very happy with the menu and service. If an S1 is in your budget go for it:D

[hillsprint]

Hi,

 

It was probably my pics you've seen from our recent Med cruise. We got a deal it was hard to refuse on the S1, and Boy were we glad we took it :)

 

With 5 days at sea, I'd say the S1 would be a real boon. We were on Deck 8 and the view up towards the front of the ship and across the whole of the stern is fantastic. Here we are sailing out of the Straits of Messina

 

 

 

The extra room in the cabin makes moving around very easy and the storage space is more than ample. The whole suite experience was just wonderful

 

One thing to watch out for is the window washing equipment which is stored next to the side porthole. It may restrict the forward view on a couple of the decks, especially where the work platform is on that level.

 

If you can book one for a budget you are happy to pay then I'd go for it. You can still pay the $5 to get into Blu, but we found that the MDR food quality was more than acceptable, and ofcourse you'll get two free visits to the speciality options as part of your suite package.

 

Hope that helps

 

Cheers

 

Michael