Freedom of the Seas - Villa Suite (6414)

[mchin]

We are a family of 13 booked in the Villa Suite sailing in June 2019 and have a couple of questions for those with experience sailing in this suite.  

 

1.  How many safes  are in the suite? Does each individual bedroom within the suite have one?

2.  I know the rules regarding bringing two bottles of wine on board per stateroom.  We have 6 adults sailing.  Does the same rule apply for this suite, only two bottles of wine allowed?

3.  Is there anything stocked in the wet bar on the balcony?

 

We appreciate your help!

Edited November 26, 2018 by mchin
Spelling edit

[Clarea]

 

Correct, only two bottles of wine per stateroom, regardless of the number of guests in the stateroom.

[dawnelda]

The wet bar is not stocked... it doesn't seem to do anything besides sit there.

 

I think each bedroom has a safe but I don't really recall.

 

On our cruise, only the bigger master bedroom received daily information e.g. disembarkation instructions. The second master bedroom (where my husband and I stayed) only received the Cruise Compass so we missed out on a bunch of info. So I would ask the room steward or concierge to make sure that both bedrooms (or all adult rooms) get all documentation.

[dmfriedman]

@mchin - Nothing like resurrecting a thread from the dead, but I believe you just got off the ship yesterday.  I hope you had a great time!  I'd love to hear your feedback on the cruise, and particularly on this stateroom. 

 

We're sailing at the end of September, and although we've been on nearly 30 cruises, this will be our first on Royal.  We convinced some friends to come with us, and booked 6414 because... well, why not?  

 

So I'd love to hear more about the experience, particularly anything that might have been different than your expectations based on what you'd been told ahead of time about the specific perks of this suite.

 

Thanks!

[mchin]

1 hour ago, dmfriedman said:

@mchin - Nothing like resurrecting a thread from the dead, but I believe you just got off the ship yesterday.  I hope you had a great time!  I'd love to hear your feedback on the cruise, and particularly on this stateroom. 

 

We're sailing at the end of September, and although we've been on nearly 30 cruises, this will be our first on Royal.  We convinced some friends to come with us, and booked 6414 because... well, why not?  

 

So I'd love to hear more about the experience, particularly anything that might have been different than your expectations based on what you'd been told ahead of time about the specific perks of this suite.

 

Thanks!

What can I say about this suite other than, wow!  We had a fabulous time in the suite.  Since I really didn't have many reviews or information to use to gauge expectations, I set low with hope of not being disappointed.  We were NOT disappointed.

 

We had a group of 13, ranging in age from 6 years to 53 years.  The four bedrooms and four bathrooms worked very well.  Each inside bedroom had twin beds which converted to a queen and two Pullmans.   The livingroom couch converted to a double sleeper sofa.

 

The hot tube on the balcony was wonderful.  We all used it and was cool to sit in it when pulling out of ports.

 

The only thing that we found odd in the entire suite was no refrigerator.  There were two "chillers."  One in the living area and one in the larger master bedroom.  The only way to cool drinks or anything was to put a bucket of ice in there to bring the temperature down.

 

Here are some pics I took of the cabin.  I hope they load properly. 

[dmfriedman]

Thanks so much for the info and pictures!  Great tip about the fridge - we'll keep that in mind as we pack.  It has become less of an issue for us as we tend to fill large water bottles with ice before heading to the room, and don't drink much besides water, but this time we'll have 3 kids with us including an infant, so we'll probably bring a small softside collapsible cooler for infant needs.  

 

It's hard for me to judge from the floor plan... How much bigger is one master from the other?  Looks like it could be about 50% bigger, but I can't really tell.  Any thoughts there?

 

If there was one thing you saw or did during this cruise that we absolutely shouldn't miss... what would it be?  It's my favorite question to ask to make sure I don't overlook something when I think I've seen or done things already.

[mchin]

46 minutes ago, dmfriedman said:

Thanks so much for the info and pictures!  Great tip about the fridge - we'll keep that in mind as we pack.  It has become less of an issue for us as we tend to fill large water bottles with ice before heading to the room, and don't drink much besides water, but this time we'll have 3 kids with us including an infant, so we'll probably bring a small softside collapsible cooler for infant needs.  

 

It's hard for me to judge from the floor plan... How much bigger is one master from the other?  Looks like it could be about 50% bigger, but I can't really tell.  Any thoughts there?

 

If there was one thing you saw or did during this cruise that we absolutely shouldn't miss... what would it be?  It's my favorite question to ask to make sure I don't overlook something when I think I've seen or done things already.

We received four boxes of 12 one litre bottles of water which was very nice.

 

You are correct, the second master is about 50% smaller but has a separate vanity room.

 

If you get the invitation for the suite and pinnacle member cocktail party on the Helipad, don't miss it.  We attended it as we sailed out of St. Lucia, I believe.  It was beautiful.   Not knowing your itinerary,  if you stop at St. Thomas,  I would highly recommend the Secret Sands excursion.   We love that beach as it's more private and don't have vendors or anyone trying to sell us something every five minutes.  Beautiful white sand with a gorgeous view of St. Johns.

[lovescats5]

We will be in that suite on Liberty in March and are interested in hearing what people thought about it.  How was the concierge?  When did they get in touch with you?  Did they escort you on and off?  We have never had one so not sure what to expect.  We are looking forward to the large suite and will see how the balcony is.  I know on Liberty you cannot go out on the balcony and look over the railing at the ocean, that will be missed.  Loved your pics of the rooms.

[Krazyfuntimes]

What was the cost per guest in this cabin? Trying to decide if this would be better than multiple suites for our large family. Thanks!

 

[mchin]

8 hours ago, lovescats5 said:

We will be in that suite on Liberty in March and are interested in hearing what people thought about it.  How was the concierge?  When did they get in touch with you?  Did they escort you on and off?  We have never had one so not sure what to expect.  We are looking forward to the large suite and will see how the balcony is.  I know on Liberty you cannot go out on the balcony and look over the railing at the ocean, that will be missed.  Loved your pics of the rooms.

The concierge, Fabio, was awesome.  He contacted me middle of the week prior to sailing and we corresponded through out the rest of the week to ensure all our reservation specific needs were met.  Once on board, he went was very personable and engaging and made sure all we were happy and continued to adjust reservations for us as needed.  He did not escort us on the ship, but did escort us off.  We missed not having the direct "over the water view" with this balcony; however, the size of the balcony and the views were still spectacular.  I'll post a couple of views looking out from the balcony so you can see the perspective.

[mchin]

8 hours ago, Krazyfuntimes said:

What was the cost per guest in this cabin? Trying to decide if this would be better than multiple suites for our large family. Thanks!

 

I paid $6,400 for passenger 1&2 and then $496 for the remaining passengers.  Keep in mind that I booked in May 2017 for a June 2019 sailing.  So not sure these costs are still current.  If you plan to book, you need to plan well in advance since there is only one of this type of cabin on the ship and as soon as the sailing opens for booking it will book quickly.  

[mchin]

5 minutes ago, mchin said:

The concierge, Fabio, was awesome.  He contacted me middle of the week prior to sailing and we corresponded through out the rest of the week to ensure all our reservation specific needs were met.  Once on board, he went was very personable and engaging and made sure all we were happy and continued to adjust reservations for us as needed.  He did not escort us on the ship, but did escort us off.  We missed not having the direct "over the water view" with this balcony; however, the size of the balcony and the views were still spectacular.  I'll post a couple of views looking out from the balcony so you can see the perspective.

As promised, a few pictures from the balcony.

 

[dmfriedman]

12 hours ago, mchin said:

We received four boxes of 12 one litre bottles of water which was very nice.

 

You are correct, the second master is about 50% smaller but has a separate vanity room.

 

If you get the invitation for the suite and pinnacle member cocktail party on the Helipad, don't miss it.  We attended it as we sailed out of St. Lucia, I believe.  It was beautiful.   Not knowing your itinerary,  if you stop at St. Thomas,  I would highly recommend the Secret Sands excursion.   We love that beach as it's more private and don't have vendors or anyone trying to sell us something every five minutes.  Beautiful white sand with a gorgeous view of St. Johns.

 

Wow, the water is definitely a nice perk, and something that will have me hold off on pre-ordering any for now.

 

That separate vanity room in the smaller master -- looks like decent space for getting dressed, etc.  Does it have any storage, or is that just in the closet and main room?  Trying to think about it functionally.

 

As for itinterary, ours is almost the same, but instead of St Thomas, we go to St Maarten.  Will definitely keep Secret Sands in mind for our next visit to St Thomas though!  And that cocktail party sounds great - we normally tend to skip these, so this is exactly why I appreciate tips like this.

 

@Krazyfuntimes - The cost varies widely depending on sail date and, of course, season.  For ours in late September, it was about $3,300 per person for Pax 1 and 2 (before our casino discount), and all remaining passengers were $284 each.  (This included taxes and fees, but did not include gratuities, just so you can compare apples and apples with your own pricing.)  It may also have helped that we only booked this in March, and the sailing was still wide open.  In fact, there are more than a dozen suites STILL available on our sailing, and we're inside 90 days now.  Suites like this, in particular, will almost always be less expensive during off-season sailings (outside of summer and holiday breaks).

[mchin]

On ‎7‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 11:17 AM, dmfriedman said:

Wow, the water is definitely a nice perk, and something that will have me hold off on pre-ordering any for now.

 

That separate vanity room in the smaller master -- looks like decent space for getting dressed, etc.  Does it have any storage, or is that just in the closet and main room?  Trying to think about it functionally.

 

As for itinterary, ours is almost the same, but instead of St Thomas, we go to St Maarten.  Will definitely keep Secret Sands in mind for our next visit to St Thomas though!  And that cocktail party sounds great - we normally tend to skip these, so this is exactly why I appreciate tips like this.

 

@Krazyfuntimes - The cost varies widely depending on sail date and, of course, season.  For ours in late September, it was about $3,300 per person for Pax 1 and 2 (before our casino discount), and all remaining passengers were $284 each.  (This included taxes and fees, but did not include gratuities, just so you can compare apples and apples with your own pricing.)  It may also have helped that we only booked this in March, and the sailing was still wide open.  In fact, there are more than a dozen suites STILL available on our sailing, and we're inside 90 days now.  Suites like this, in particular, will almost always be less expensive during off-season sailings (outside of summer and holiday breaks).

The vanity area has a closet with drawers for storage in the bedroom.  My sister and her husband stayed in that room and didn't haven any issues with the layout and storage.