Sky Suite: Middle of ship or back?

[goobylal]

We are planning on doing the 10 night Italy and Greek Isles cruise at the end of July. I have the option to get a Sky Suite in the middle of the Reflection or at the back-end of the ship. The back-end is cheaper but I figure that's because it's not as desirable. Is there a reason I should pay more for the mid-ship Sky Suite? Thanks in advance.

[kenevenpar]

Part of the reason that most seem to prefer mid-ship is there is no elevator in the rear. I would take the aft cabin every time, but that is just me.

 

Keep in mind there are two aft SS's that, if I recall correctly are on deck 6, have a very small balcony. (search for a October 2014 review in this main celebrity forum).

 

Ken

Edited January 9, 2016 by kenevenpar

[goobylal]

Thanks. I was thinking the elevators would be farther, but that's not a huge problem for us. And we'd be on the resort deck (Deck 12).

 

But just out of curiosity, why would you do aft?

Edited January 9, 2016 by goobylal

[pete_coach]

We were upgraded to an aft corner sky suite on a 12 day Med cruise on the Solstice. Cabin 2146. The huge balcony wrapped around the side and there was a big porthole window in the side as well. It was far and away the best cabin and experience we ever had.

In bad weather, you could feel the movement more than midships but it never bothered us. We were on deck 12 so we had the Oceanview Bar overhead but it was not really noticeable at all.

The amenities, the special entrance etc were fantastic. Yes, it is a bit of a walk to the elevator (or stairs) but that again, was not an insurmountable problem. The butler was fantastic and made sure we had everything we could ever want.

Yup, a free upgrade to a suite, a corner suite with private entrance, a butler that provides for you...it was a great cruise. :)

Our friends were also upgraded to an aft suite on deck 9. The only problem with that was that we (and everyone else above, including the Oceanview Bar) could see onto their balcony (or part of it). On deck 12, no one could see onto your balcony. Yes, we did get sun on the balcony.

[kenevenpar]

Thanks. I was thinking the elevators would be farther, but that's not a huge problem for us. And we'd be on the resort deck (Deck 12).

 

But just out of curiosity, why would you do aft?

 

Primarily views, you can see a lot more around you. On sea days, they are also usually less windy.

 

As stated above, there does tend to be a bit more motion and a longer walk from the elevator, neither of which bothers us.

[INSIDERS CABIN]

Just disembarked from Reflection aft Sky Suite- lots of sun; decks are stacked so not total privacy, but usually not a problem except at meal times (above!); pretty quiet, till the neighbors come out- and on windiest of days, yes, a little soot falls on the surfaces of the balcony. A beautiful view! We liked the long walk from the elevators because it kept our aft area quiet and private. Would definitely rebook.

[bigbenboys]

We are planning on doing the 10 night Italy and Greek Isles cruise at the end of July. I have the option to get a Sky Suite in the middle of the Reflection or at the back-end of the ship. The back-end is cheaper but I figure that's because it's not as desirable. Is there a reason I should pay more for the mid-ship Sky Suite? Thanks in advance.

 

I found this on another thread about Solstice aft Sky Suite.

 

"A Brief Report From Onboard Solstice"

 

We are currently on the Solstice for the 12-night South Pacific and Fiji cruise. Now I say this coming from a place of love, but we really need a break from X. We are having a great time, always appreciate the opportunity to travel and are not complainers, but we have noticed certain things creeping up that mean we need to take some time away from X.

 

On the plus side, the ship is beautiful as always. The loving care that the crew gives these ships is admirable. We are in an aft Sky Suite and the room itself is fantastic. Luminae continues to be a highlight for us with fabulous service and wonderful food. The crew, overall, continues to be fantastic, remembering names and drink preferences. Everyone is just delightful. We feel valued and appreciated, and everyone tries to make this a great experience. And of course, the Solarium, which is our favorite spot of any ship, continues to be our daily retreat.

 

On the negative side, this ship is LOUD! Now, I have been on here in the past to defend X when people would complain about the noise level (which I never thought to be excessive). But I would have to agree now. We are in our 30s. We're not grumpy 100-year old men who push our spectacles down our noses and look disapprovingly at anyone having fun. But why has the Martini Bar become a chaotic whirlwind of whistles and yelling bartenders and screeching passengers, set to the backdrop of LOUD music bellowing through the atrium? Yes, there are quieter venues to hang out, but this was always our favorite. Not now. And why has the pool area been taken over by loud bands and singing and loud activity? I can't even listen to my own music on my iPhone because the band's music drowns it out. We now spend the whole day lounging in the Solarium - luckily we love it in there.

 

The menu options don't change. We're eating the same thing in Luminae this cruise as we did on Infinity back in June. We are eating the same thing in Silk Harvest as we did last time. The Oceanview Cafe offers the same menu items on every cruise. Not much variety for those of us onboard frequently. Granted, the food is fabulous in all venues. And, yes, restaurants we eat at back home don't change menus often. But our other cruise lines of choice offer an extensive variety of options, differing on each voyage. Yes, maybe we're spoiled, and maybe we're just getting too familiar with X.

 

As mentioned before, our room is great! Really well-maintained and taken great care of by our stewards. But we have one of the Sky Suites that is located in the awkward separate little hallway area, separated from the main hallway by an exterior door. The space just outside our door is being used as a storage area for pallets of toilet paper, couch cushions, trays and housekeeping carts. It detracts from the suite experience to have all of this to navigate getting into our room and looks like where they throw everything they can't fit into proper storage areas.

We have a special place in our hearts for X....and we have a great trip booked on the Connie for Xmas 2016 to India.....but no more additional X bookings for us for a long while. Azamara will be getting the bulk of our business for the foreseeable future. X isn't doing anything wrong....we just feel as if some things have changed that have made it not such a good fit for us.

 

Still having a great time out here, and looking forward to the rest of this cruise. We certainly can't complain about having the time and money to take such great trips!

 

M&O

[hulamoon]

Sometimes those area are the storage area and loaded with tray's etc and sometimes the butlers keep the area clean, I have seen it both ways.

[koolforkatz]

We had an aft corner Sky Suite on deck 12 on the Solstice earlier this year. I loved it. We did get some noise sometimes from scraping chairs overhead, but it didn't really bother us. Certainly didn't interrupt sleep or anything.

 

Unless you have mobility issues, it really isn't that much of a walk from the elevators. For us, it's a complete non-issue.

 

On deck 12 the plus is the amazing view you have and also the privacy as no one from above can see down onto your balcony.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to book that cabin again.

[ClaudiaB]

We prefer the corner aft S1 suites and is the first thing we always book. The long walk, no problem. It's quiet back there and the view is great. We prefer the decks that have cabins above. Have had the window washing equipment and that's not a big deal either, but on the other S class ships (not Reflection as we haven't sailed her yet and am not familiar with how the decks work on that one) we like deck 11 the penthouse deck.

 

For us there are zero negatives on the corner aft suites. And now with Michael's Club and Luminae, it's a no brainer. Out of 13 Celebrity cruises we've been in those cabins 7 times.

[minnie mommie]

Only negative we had on our med cruise was the window washing equipment on the side otherwise loved the aft.

[Gordoncruickshank]

Only negative we had on our med cruise was the window washing equipment on the side otherwise loved the aft.

I think that is on deck 10. We had that a few years ago. There was some noise from it in rough seas.