Pricing - suites LESS than balconies

[buddylover]

Right now on our Vista cruise on 9/8/18, a balcony cabin is cheaper than an ocean view cabin. :)

 

Wow, these posts are incredible!! In all our years, I have NEVER seen this - where a Suite is cheaper than a balcony and I check continually on all my booked cruises which are ES!! Lucky for all of you!! :D

[Athankfulheart]

We had booked a sailing on the Valor from SJU back in '15 and had an aft wrap. Since I wasn't going to get any price match deals, I watched the suites instead. They weren't selling very well so I eventually wound up "upgrading" to a suite ( no obstructions) and getting a $75 refund as well. It was fun to sail in a suite, and we are glad that we did. It wouldn't be worth any actual money to me - upgrading to a suite in the future and actually, I might not trade an aft wrap for a suite again. Extra interior space just isn't a big selling point for me.

[Silent Penguin]

I got a vista suite on the Legend Jan 2020 partial Canal transit for $100 cheaper than a regular balcony. I’m freaking excited!! We have never had a suite before.

 

 

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I'm excited for you!

[RoperDK]

I am the OP and was talking about a single cruise. The Legend (Spirit class) on a Jan 2020 specialty cruise (8 day partial Panama Canal transit). Today's pricing reflects a more normal trend. Suites are higher than balconies. I don't know if it was a glitch or not, but I booked an aft wrap suite for less than the price of a standard balcony. I feel very lucky indeed! Others also must have taken the plunge because all of the ocean suites are gone, along with over half of the aft wrap suites, and several of the grand suites. My philosophy on cruise pricing is to always be satisfied with the price you pay, if upgrades happen or prices go down than that is an appreciated bonus. On this particular cruise I am quite satisfied!

 

Dawn

[CirrusPilot]

I am the OP and was talking about a single cruise. The Legend (Spirit class) on a Jan 2020 specialty cruise (8 day partial Panama Canal transit). Today's pricing reflects a more normal trend. Suites are higher than balconies. I don't know if it was a glitch or not, but I booked an aft wrap suite for less than the price of a standard balcony. I feel very lucky indeed! Others also must have taken the plunge because all of the ocean suites are gone, along with over half of the aft wrap suites, and several of the grand suites. My philosophy on cruise pricing is to always be satisfied with the price you pay, if upgrades happen or prices go down than that is an appreciated bonus. On this particular cruise I am quite satisfied!

 

 

 

Dawn

 

 

 

This might be a dumb question but what do you mean by “aft wrap suite”? The corner units?

If so, I thought several times about grabbing those but my vacation planner always talks me out of it. He doesn’t like their proximity to staff stairs or something.

Just wondering if I am thinking of the same thing you are. [emoji2]

 

 

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[cruisequeen4ever]

Wow, that’s awesome! Good catch!

 

 

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[2 cruzen]

This might be a dumb question but what do you mean by “aft wrap suite”? The corner units?

If so, I thought several times about grabbing those but my vacation planner always talks me out of it. He doesn’t like their proximity to staff stairs or something.

Just wondering if I am thinking of the same thing you are. [emoji2]

 

We had an aft wrap but wasn’t a suite as far as size. The room actually felt small because of the weird angles but we LOVED the HUGE balcony. We had 8 traveling with us so the extra space was nice.

[KmomChicago]

I get the whole supply and demand-based pricing. However, I don't think any of that makes sense to me that a balcony would cost more than a suite. I could be wrong. A suite is generally 50-75% more, right? Maybe the gap can close, but not go cheaper. I feel like it's a glitch.

 

Generally yes, you are correct. However, on some of the Carnival ships there are some so-called suites that don't look as appealing as some of the so-called premium balconies. For instance, there are junior suites with obstructed views that appear to be just a slightly larger balcony room. But they are called junior suites. On the very same ship, you might have a premium balcony room, which frankly looks just about like that junior suite, but it's not called that.

 

Extended balconies, either due to width or depth, or the wraparound balcony rooms on the aft corners, sometimes go for more than the "worst" suites. Why do they classify these better-than-average balcony rooms as suites or not suites? Not sure. Presumably the designer thought it made sense at the time, but over time perhaps people have not been willing to pay so much for a mediocre suite, but willing to pay more for a truly spectacular balcony.

 

It also depends on how many suites the ship has, and how close we are getting to sailing. If they have already contacted the booked passengers and coaxed as many as possible to upgrade, and they still have 30 suites just sitting there empty, poof, you have a flash sale and perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity for the ultimate upgrade. As others have mentioned, an algorithm of supply, demand, and timing.

[RoperDK]

This might be a dumb question but what do you mean by “aft wrap suite”? The corner units?

If so, I thought several times about grabbing those but my vacation planner always talks me out of it. He doesn’t like their proximity to staff stairs or something.

Just wondering if I am thinking of the same thing you are. [emoji2]

 

 

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Hi CirrusPilot. No, it is not a dumb question. Yes, I am talking about the corner units. I think there has been some confusion because of the class of ship we are all talking about. The corner wraps on the older Spirit class ships (Spirit, Pride, Miracle, and Legend) are actually SUITES, called Vista Suites. They have two separate rooms - living area and bedroom. There is a dressing area, walk in closet, bathroom with Jacuzzi and his and her sinks. The wrap balconies are amazing. I have sailed in them over the years (including a 12 day Hawaii) at least 5 times. There are no staff stairs nearby on this class of ship. If my memory serves me well, the least desirable deck is 5 because there is only one room in that suite as they are smaller. If you ever have a chance to book one of these suites please do! The only drawback I have encountered is more vibration than cabins mid-ship.

 

Now, if you are talking about the aft wrap balcony (not suite) cabins on the Triumph, Dream, or Vista class ships then they are one room balcony cabins that are a bit different shapes depending on deck. The balconies are still amazing. Yes, they are close to a crew stairwell. While we have not stayed in the aft wrap balconies on these ships we have sailed in the adjacent L shape balcony cabins. We heard NO sounds from those crew stairwells. Maybe others can chime in on that.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Dawn

[CirrusPilot]

Hi CirrusPilot. No, it is not a dumb question. Yes, I am talking about the corner units. I think there has been some confusion because of the class of ship we are all talking about. The corner wraps on the older Spirit class ships (Spirit, Pride, Miracle, and Legend) are actually SUITES, called Vista Suites. They have two separate rooms - living area and bedroom. There is a dressing area, walk in closet, bathroom with Jacuzzi and his and her sinks. The wrap balconies are amazing. I have sailed in them over the years (including a 12 day Hawaii) at least 5 times. There are no staff stairs nearby on this class of ship. If my memory serves me well, the least desirable deck is 5 because there is only one room in that suite as they are smaller. If you ever have a chance to book one of these suites please do! The only drawback I have encountered is more vibration than cabins mid-ship.

 

Now, if you are talking about the aft wrap balcony (not suite) cabins on the Triumph, Dream, or Vista class ships then they are one room balcony cabins that are a bit different shapes depending on deck. The balconies are still amazing. Yes, they are close to a crew stairwell. While we have not stayed in the aft wrap balconies on these ships we have sailed in the adjacent L shape balcony cabins. We heard NO sounds from those crew stairwells. Maybe others can chime in on that.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Dawn

 

Thanks! Yea I think we are talking about the same stateroom. I like the idea of the wrap around balcony and I will probably buck my VP’s advice and use try one out. I was in one a long time ago when a friend had it but we never got it on our own. I am thinking it’s worth a try. :)