travelingirl70 Posted December 2, 2019 #1 Share Posted December 2, 2019 Currently have 1130 (A1 Aft) booked from Vancouver to Seward in 2020. Having just returned from a NCL Haven experience, the idea of the Retreat is quite tempting. The available Sky Suites are deck 6 which appear to have lifeboats just below. Starboard cabins are available (which is good because it is a Northbound itinerary). Is the Retreat a bonus for an Alaskan cruise? We won't be using the pools but may use the Retreat sundeck for viewing, if not from our balcony. We love Blu and I hear Luminae is great, but we can still eat in Blu if space is available. Would love to hear others' thought son advantages to suite vs AQ on Millennium, especially for this itinerary. Plusses for AQ - Aft cabin, Blue Plusses for Sky Suite - larger cabin, The Retreat, Luminae.... is it worth it to give up an aft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cdresser Posted December 2, 2019 #2 Share Posted December 2, 2019 I did this itinerary in July on Millenium in an aqua cabin. We were not aft and we were port (last minute decision to book so suite was not an option). We liked our cabin but we definitely missed the perks of being in a suite - especially since our cabin attendant disappeared after 2 days. We never found out what happened but we had several different fill-in attendants after that. All in all, DH and I had a fabulous time and really liked dining in blu. We concluded, however, that if we take a purely relaxation cruise then we want a suite if we can afford/get it. If we were doing a port intensive cruise then aqua or below would be fine. This was a relaxation cruise for us so a suite would have been better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunpsyche Posted December 2, 2019 #3 Share Posted December 2, 2019 We gave up our aft aqua for a sky suite last May and were very happy to have done so. We had the same Vancouver to Seward route. It was an 8 day, port intensive trip, the first of the season. Honestly, it was too cold for us to sit outside, even with blankets, for very long. We felt the suite perks of Luminea, Michaels club and our butler far outweighed aft benefits. Besides, in a suite you’ll get to up to the helipad to view the glacier up close. You’ll have a wonder time time either way! We have an aft sky suite for our upcoming cruise in 13 days, so no compromises this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmk1941 Posted January 19, 2020 #4 Share Posted January 19, 2020 We are considering this cruise for August 2021, Sky Suite. We are also considering a similar itinerary on Viking Ocean. I am having a hard time getting detailed information comparing Viking with Celebrity Sky Suites. HELP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moby Jones Posted January 19, 2020 #5 Share Posted January 19, 2020 13 minutes ago, tmk1941 said: I am having a hard time getting detailed information comparing Viking with Celebrity Sky Suites. HELP! Create two threads here on Cruise Critic. One in the Celebrity forum and the other in the Viking forum asking all of your questions. The chances are those who have experience with both lines will reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmk1941 Posted January 19, 2020 #6 Share Posted January 19, 2020 I did this in the Viking Forum. No helpful replies, most are Viking cheerleaders . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelayne Posted January 19, 2020 #7 Share Posted January 19, 2020 We did Alaska in a aft cabin and that would be our choice again. The cabin you have has a very large balcony so plentry of space and great 180+. Views with the added benefit that the ship blocks much of the wind. We were on our balcony in long sleeve tees while those on the sides or viewing from pool deck, helipad, etc were in jackets hats, etc. We have sailed in both S1 and S2 suites on M Class ships and most balconies are small and many with obstructed views, We would stick with the large enjoy tge views and Blu and save the extra $ to book a Suite on a cruise where there wasn’t much to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolabunny488 Posted January 19, 2020 #8 Share Posted January 19, 2020 WE sailed on Millie last May Vancouver to Seward and had a aft blu cabin, we had previously had a sky suite for the Xmas cruise. However couldn’t justify the price difference, we loved being back in Aq blu restaurant we personally prefer to lumineau. We enjoyed getting amazing views from our balcony rather than having to go up on deck. At the hubbard glacier we did a 360 so managed to see everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakegirl16 Posted February 15, 2020 #9 Share Posted February 15, 2020 We sailed this itinerary last May on the Millennium. Made the change on an upgrade at the last minute from an aft balcony to a Sky Suite. We loved the benefits of the Sky Suite, probably more than the room itself. Not that the room wasn't nice but that wouldn't be my reason for booking a Sky Suite again. The food and service in Luminae were outstanding. Loved eating breakfast in there and lunch during sea days. We also really enjoyed the retreat lounge, perfect for a cocktail before dinner or the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix_dream Posted February 15, 2020 #10 Share Posted February 15, 2020 One thing to keep in mind. It really doesn't matter much what side you are on - the ship sails far enough from land that you can't see much on either side most of the time. The exception of course is in the Inside Passage, which has great views on both sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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