Royal Family Suite- worth the $?

[Soxfan05]

We recently had to cancel our cruise due to a family health issue. We're looking to reschedule but not sure what to book for a cabin. We originally had cabin 1688-1692 with 4 in each (2 adults, 2 kids). By the time we take our next cruise, our kids will be BIGGER- they're getting bigger by the day.

 

Just curious for anyone who's booked the Royal Family Suite and those who booked a quad how it worked out. Would you spend the extra $ for the suite or go with 2 adjoining doubles? I understand you can have 8 in this cabin but it sounds like it would be cramped.

 

What exactly are the perks of the suites (other than space and bathrooms)- I'm sold on that alone but hubby, not so much. Are they worth the extra cost alone?

 

We're a family of 4 with 2 11 year olds, hubby and I. Another family has 3 adults and one 13 year old and the other has 2 adults, a toddler and 6 year old.

[Hflors]

If all goes well I'll be able to tell you how it works out in about a month. We are 5 sisters booked in the RFS on Explorer in March. I will tell you that you must have a minium of 5 or atleast pay for 5. One of the sisters wanted to cancel (after final payment was made) when I first called RCCl they told me it would be no problem. So I told my sister, well when I went back to do it they said no way. If I cancelled her there was a possibliity of losing our cabin and being put into a smaller cabin. So I told her too bad. ANy way that doesn't seem to be an issue with you. Now it will only be four of us so the space in the cabin should be great. ANyway what ever you decide hope you have a great cruise.

[cb at sea]

Personally, I'd rather have 2 rooms, with the extra bathroom and the privacy that comes with them! You didn't say how old the kids are, but adjoining rooms are closer that most bedrooms in your house, so... Also, there's the extra $$ for fun things during the cruise, or college later!!!!

[Weez]

Personally, I'd rather have 2 rooms, with the extra bathroom and the privacy that comes with them! You didn't say how old the kids are, but adjoining rooms are closer that most bedrooms in your house, so... Also, there's the extra $$ for fun things during the cruise, or college later!!!!

 

Royal Family Suite has 2 bathrooms and would be a little more then 200 SF larger then the 2 bedrooms combined, the balcony is about 200Sf as opposed to about 50SF each on the balcony rooms.

[whale-watcher]

The aft RFS on the Enchantment was a fantastic cabin...spacious, private, lots of glass, and a HUGE balcony. We were a family of 5, and had more than enough room. Both bedrooms and bathrooms were private, and we loved having the common living room area, and did I mention the huge balcony??

Equally nice were all the perks that go along with the RFS, such as priority boarding and tendering, and the wonderful concierge lounge/concierge service. We are spoiled for life!!

[Soxfan05]

Thanks for all the great info. It may end up that there is 9 of us sailing this time so the RFS would be great for my family of 4 and my mom. Do the Jr. Suites get the same perks? Maybe my brother and his family could book that and we could make the RFS a gather point. The extra bathroom and space (especially the balcony) are such selling points.

 

Tell me about the lounge and what's available. Did you use it much?

[powelweb]

Redsox05-

 

My family sailed in the Jewel's RFS in 10/04 (actually left the morning after the red sox win and missed the parade), and I was disappointed with the balcony size.

 

Yes, it is probably 200 sq ft, but since we had the aft corner RFS, a lot of the space wasn't usable given the wrap-around railing that. You could fit 2 people in lounge chairs comfortably, but not much more.

 

The room itself was great- very spacious common sitting room, but the smaller bedroom would be very tight if you tried to use all 4 beds in it (unless maybe for kids).

 

Happy sailing,

Wendy

[whale-watcher]

Thanks for all the great info. It may end up that there is 9 of us sailing this time so the RFS would be great for my family of 4 and my mom. Do the Jr. Suites get the same perks? Maybe my brother and his family could book that and we could make the RFS a gather point. The extra bathroom and space (especially the balcony) are such selling points.

 

Tell me about the lounge and what's available. Did you use it much?

Jr suites do not get the same perks as RFS and other larger suites.

 

The lounges vary a lot from ship to ship, I hear. Most of the smaller ships don't have lounges, but the Enchantment gained one in the stretch -- a great space, on deck 8, right off the centrum. The lounge had lots of windows and comfortable seating areas, as well as "private" computer terminals for internet access. There was a nice continental breakfast available (coffee, juice, pastries, fruit, smoked salmon...no eggs, but perfect for us), as well as a self-service coffee machine (out of service on our trip:( ). In the evening it turns into an adults only lounge, with free wine, beer, liquor and pop, as well as a nice assortment of canapes and other snacks (chocolate-covered strawberries). We loved to relax here after feeding the kids at the buffet and before dining on our own later on.

The concierge was really pleasant, and helped us with a number of requests; he also provided the priority tender passes.

I believe that the lounge is an interior room on some of the other ships...also, only the guests actually staying in the suite can use the lounge, and again, only adults in the evening (although the concierge would always load up a plate of chocolate covered strawberries for us to bring back to the cabin for the kids...some times there were even some left when the kids returned from AO!). They also had DVDs available to borrow there (for the dvd player in the RFS)

[Weez]

Equally nice were all the perks that go along with the RFS, such as priority boarding and tendering, and the wonderful concierge lounge/concierge service. We are spoiled for life!!

 

Can you elaborate on the priority boarding and tendering? I've seen it mentioned before but I've yet to find any information on it. Does it allow you to board the ship early at the inital boarding? and do you get to the front of the line during the tendering?

[Fang]

My problem with the RFS, is that you have to pay for five.

 

I was considering the RFS on our cruise on the AOS this coming July. When I asked if this cabin was available I was told it was but was reserved for families of five. I asked if my family of four was not a family? No answer.

 

I would guess that these cabins are in high demand, so RCI can put this type of restriction on them.

 

I found it less expensive to book to connecting cabins.

 

Perhaps, when and if the demand on these cabins falls off, the restriction of five people will be lifted. I kind of doubt that this will happen, so my family of four will be staying with two connecting cabins.

[Weez]

My problem with the RFS, is that you have to pay for five.

 

I was considering the RFS on our cruise on the AOS this coming July. When I asked if this cabin was available I was told it was but was reserved for families of five. I asked if my family of four was not a family? No answer.

 

I would guess that these cabins are in high demand, so RCI can put this type of restriction on them.

 

I found it less expensive to book to connecting cabins.

 

Perhaps, when and if the demand on these cabins falls off, the restriction of five people will be lifted. I kind of doubt that this will happen, so my family of four will be staying with two connecting cabins.

 

That's odd, I am booked in a RFS right now with 4, we intend on adding a fifth but we havent yet. No one ever mentioned to us 5 people were required for the cabin.

[dorothyh]

We recently had to cancel our cruise due to a family health issue. We're looking to reschedule but not sure what to book for a cabin. We originally had cabin 1688-1692 with 4 in each (2 adults, 2 kids). By the time we take our next cruise, our kids will be BIGGER- they're getting bigger by the day.

 

Just curious for anyone who's booked the Royal Family Suite and those who booked a quad how it worked out. Would you spend the extra $ for the suite or go with 2 adjoining doubles? I understand you can have 8 in this cabin but it sounds like it would be cramped.

 

What exactly are the perks of the suites (other than space and bathrooms)- I'm sold on that alone but hubby, not so much. Are they worth the extra cost alone?

 

We're a family of 4 with 2 11 year olds, hubby and I. Another family has 3 adults and one 13 year old and the other has 2 adults, a toddler and 6 year old.

 

The Family Suite is great for a large family. We had the family suite last year - myself and my husband and our five children. It is a lot of room, a huge balcony, the two bathrooms, with the two separate bedrooms you can still have privacy, and the walk-in closet is a perfect extra area for getting dressed!!

 

However I'm not sure how well it would work with multiple families. The master bedroom is huge and beautiful. The second bedroom is like an inside room, only smaller. The couch in the living room opens to a bed, but nowhere near as nice as the master bedroom, plus the lack of privacy sleeping out in the living room.

[whale-watcher]

Can you elaborate on the priority boarding and tendering? I've seen it mentioned before but I've yet to find any information on it. Does it allow you to board the ship early at the inital boarding? and do you get to the front of the line during the tendering?

Priority boarding means you can bypass the regular line during the boarding process and proceed directly to a special "priority" line, where the waiting time might be significantly less (we only waited for 2 minutes, even though we arrived at 1pm). We did not actually use the priority tender tickets, but I think it is the same process...rather than waiting in line for tender tickets, you proceed directly to the tender boarding area (although there might still be a line down there, and I would not personally feel comfortable "cutting" to the front of that line, even with priority tickets!). It would be a useful perk if you had an early non ship-sponsered tour planned at a tender port. We also had our choice of disembarkation times, but that didn't speed up the US customs and immigration process:eek:

[Weez]

Priority boarding means you can bypass the regular line during the boarding process and proceed directly to a special "priority" line, where the waiting time might be significantly less (we only waited for 2 minutes, even though we arrived at 1pm). We did not actually use the priority tender tickets, but I think it is the same process...rather than waiting in line for tender tickets, you proceed directly to the tender boarding area (although there might still be a line down there, and I would not personally feel comfortable "cutting" to the front of that line, even with priority tickets!). It would be a useful perk if you had an early non ship-sponsered tour planned at a tender port. We also had our choice of disembarkation times, but that didn't speed up the US customs and immigration process:eek:

 

Thanks :)

[Fang]

That's odd, I am booked in a RFS right now with 4, we intend on adding a fifth but we havent yet. No one ever mentioned to us 5 people were required for the cabin.

 

 

Both my TA and I were told by RCI that we could book it, BUT we would have to pay for five people, since the RFS was reserved for families of five.

[BillfromWV]

Hello:

We too have booked a RFS with a family of four. Nothing was said regarding five and we were only charged for four people. Although I would point out that this was a last minute purchase. We reserved the trip 14 days from sailing. In a week we will know what it is all about.

Bill

[Soxfan05]

Thanks for all the info. We're looking to book on a Voyager Class ship. Bill, I'll look for your posts when you return.

 

 

If we book this cabin and the other 2 families book Jr. Suites will they be able to get priority tendering etc? It might not work out if we have these perks and they don't.

[gobnu1]

I got a free upgrade from a D1 to the RFS in Sept. on the Voyager. You will LOVE it.