Does the majority of CC users sail in suites ?

[pumpkin 11]

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

We have only done suites twice out of our 14 Celebrity cruises and that was to get extra space (or  balcony) for my family of 4.  Otherwise I have booked my family in FO cabins on C-class and FVs on M/S class. 

 

We do have two Xpedition Suites booked for our 2023 Galapagos cruise--mainly to have a private balcony.

 

Cat 1 Suite, Galaxy, Jun 2000 

Honestly, the Family Veranda’s on the M class are very luxurious features. I’d hang out there on my own balcony and happily get my own glass of wine from the buffet!

 

If all- inclusive is sticking around theyre  ways to make the experience just as luxurious, you just have to do more of the heavy lifting 😜

Edited July 6, 2021 by pumpkin 11

[Nebr.cruiser]

We sail in balcony cabins mostly, with a few mini-suites thrown in.  We're just not into spending the bucks for a true suite and enjoy the balconies just fine.  I can see that a suite could be addictive though, after seeing my sisters' big one last cruise!  Also toured a huge Haven suite on NCL once; wow!

 

It does seem at times that most cc posters sail in suites!

[Wedgeh]

Mostly insides, an occasional balcony if it's a good value for us.

[kjc852]

Our first cruise was an inside cabin, our 2nd and 3rd in Ocean View cabins with two young children before trying our first balcony.  Have only booked one non-balcony cruise since, that being a port intensive Mediterranean cruise in a Panoramic Cabin that had floor to ceiling windows.  We are now retired and thankfully are able to enjoy balcony cabins at the minimum.  
 

The 2020 shutdown definitely caused us to reevaluate our past and future cruising plans as we value the health we currently have and appreciate the mobility we still possess.  We already have surrendered a year and a half of our prime retirement travel years to this pandemic as so many have and welcome the return to cruising with open, albeit, cautious arms.

 

We have 17 cruises booked between Sept. ‘21 and May ‘23, 6 of which are in either a Sky Suite (Edge) or Jr. Suite (Royal) and the other 11 in balcony cabins, many of which are aft facing with more spacious balconies.  Among these cruises are two transatlantic, one transpacific (Eclipse) and a westbound Panama Canal sailing so we believe these private outdoor spaces will prove to be well worth the added cost.  
 

Seeing this beautiful world while we are still able to enjoy it!
 

 

 

 

[Yvonne]

We have never stayed in a suite on cruise ships.  I love suites in hotels but just can’t justify the cost of one on a ship.  We do stay in balcony rooms though, I love having a balcony and do spend quite a bit of time on it daily.

[terrydtx]

41 minutes ago, kjc852 said:

The 2020 shutdown definitely caused us to reevaluate our past and future cruising plans as we value the health we currently have and appreciate the mobility we still possess.  We already have surrendered a year and a half of our prime retirement travel years to this pandemic as so many have and welcome the return to cruising with open, albeit, cautious arms.

We feel the same. I retired April 1 2020 and refuse to loose anymore of our prime retirement years to non travel. We invested wisely and never booked anything  more than  balcony cabins pre retirement and now we have the resources to book and travel however we choose which includes suites and or premium cruise lines. Our next 3 booked cruises fits this criteria. 

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

When we started cruising, we did an oceanview for 4 (me, DW, 2 kids). After that we went to strictly balconies for a spell, still squeezing 4 in one cabin. About 7-8 years ago, we did a JS -- loved it -- we really value the extra space and do spend time in the cabin or on the balcony, more so than at a bar onboard. About 4 years ago, did a GS for just the two of us -- and it happened. Lately, and almost all of our future cruises are in GS or above on Royal or an SS on Celebrity. We are retired now, kids are both married with their own houses. We do one blow-out cruise with all 8 of us every August. This year in an Aquatheatre Suite , next year in a 4-bdr Villa Suite on Harmony of the Seas. 

 

I guess I'm skewing the data too. 

 

 

mac_tlc

 

Try the Crown Loft suites on RC Oasis-class ships.  About the same price as the GS.  We loved the Crown Loft.

[TeeRick]

It is estimated that about 5% of the people on your cruise post to CC.  Maybe more or less.  You can tell from Roll Call data.  Many that sail are not CC members and are one-time cruisers or infrequent cruisers.  Most of the cabins on a Celebrity ship are non-suites.  The people on the Celebrity board on CC are more typically frequent cruisers.  Many retired.  Many starting out in non-suites and then working their way up to suites and then to being suite aficionados. So yes the posts and data are very much skewed here to suites over the general population on board.  Good observation.

[DaKahuna]

We started out cruising on balcony staterooms.   On Celebrity we went from Veranda to Concierge to Aqua and then found a fantastic deal on a Sky Suite on Equinox.   My wife and I like to has a larger room and once we sailed in that first sky suite, we have not sailed in anything else on Celebrity. Just having the larger room is more comfortable to us and despite being of retirement age, I am still working and so the sky suite usually fits into our budget. 

 

On Royal Caribbean we sail primarily in Junior Suites, again for the size of the room.  I will admit that on the newer, larger RCCL ships, we do book a Grand Suite.  That was a matter of having gotten a very good deal on a Grand Suite when we had to change a cruise a few years back.  The price for the Grand Suite was $150 each more than the originally booked Junior Suite so we took it.  

 

 

[DaKahuna]

14 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Try the Crown Loft suites on RC Oasis-class ships.  About the same price as the GS.  We loved the Crown Loft.

We did not like the Crown Loft when we sailed on Alure.  

The balcony overlooks the basketball courts, wave rider, and the rope line. 

Also we found that the bathroom on the 2nd floor was smaller than the normal bathroom and ended up having some stuff in one and other stuff in the other and going back and forth between the to.  A lot of going up and down stairs.  

 

[TeeRick]

2 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

We did not like the Crown Loft when we sailed on Alure.  

The balcony overlooks the basketball courts, wave rider, and the rope line. 

Also we found that the bathroom on the 2nd floor was smaller than the normal bathroom and ended up having some stuff in one and other stuff in the other and going back and forth between the to.  A lot of going up and down stairs.  

 

There are some Crown Lofts with nice balconies and direct ocean views.

[DaKahuna]

1 minute ago, TeeRick said:

There are some Crown Lofts with nice balconies and direct ocean views.

Good to know.  Just relaying our experience.  My wife has told me 'never again' so it's now the law of the land. 

 

[Bo1953]

22 hours ago, jelayne said:

Our first 8 years of cruising were all balconies with 1 Oceanview.

In 2014 the Upgrade Fairy gifted us a suite., since then we booked suites about 50% of the time. Price and length of the cruise are tge de icing factors.

j - I have to slowly get deiced to jump over Concierge and Aqua categories (only regular balconies currently) because I know once we hit that suite there is no way I will be permitted to return to a balcony cabin!!! LOL

 

bon voyage

[Pinboy]

On 7/5/2021 at 9:41 AM, Smmessineo said:

This is just me pondering ....I am not anti-suite !  Due to the way we spend our time on a cruise, a suite would have little value for us.  But I definitely see its allure to other people .

 

Everybody's " needs and wants " are not the same , which can be observed on the 3 pages on this topic already. To chime in --- We tried a suite once and didn't find the value worth the cost.

Being non-drinkers , non-entertainers of guests to our suite, and prefer eating in a restaurant setting , we really had no need for our butler. ( He was always there if we needed anything and was " rewarded " very well --- a very nice man ). 

We do enjoy a larger balcony on the hump and purchase a Specialty restaurant package --- never had a bad cruise --- service has always been excellent. 

[chemmo]

24 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

We did not like the Crown Loft when we sailed on Alure.  

The balcony overlooks the basketball courts, wave rider, and the rope line. 

Also we found that the bathroom on the 2nd floor was smaller than the normal bathroom and ended up having some stuff in one and other stuff in the other and going back and forth between the to.  A lot of going up and down stairs.  

 

 

We had a decent view and still felt the same...The downstairs bathroom was never used to avoid all that up and down. We would have preferred one decent bathroom with tub and separate shower.

 

Whilst for family cruising two bathrooms can be a bonus the lack of real privacy and tiny balcony for 3/4 guests made it a non starter for us. We did love the Aqua theatre suites, though!

[ECCruise]

14 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

j - I have to slowly get deiced to jump over Concierge and Aqua categories (only regular balconies currently) because I know once we hit that suite there is no way I will be permitted to return to a balcony cabin!!! LOL

 

bon voyage

It all depends on your mindset.

I would estimate that 20-25% or so of our 80 or so cruises have been in suites.  We have gone back and forth many times over the years.  The determinations are cost (and we refuse to pay the current prices for suites on almost all lines) and itinerary.

A port intensive cruise, e.g., or Galapagos (when you are off the ship or out of your room far more than  not in daylight hours) a suite would have very little value for us, even at a moderate premium.  At sometimes $750 or more per day over a balcony we wouldn't even consider on a sailing with a good number of sea days.

Would much rather take another 2 cruises for that per diem bump.

[Glendakayself]

We have done inside, oceanview, balcony Concierge, and Sky Suite. It depends on the cruise length and pricing. We book early, watch the inventory, and watch for price drops. We were once called and offered a $250 pp upgrade to a guarantee suite from our favorite Sweet Sixteen balcony. Not knowing what suite was being offered, we turned it down. 

 

Our butler was a ghost on our one cruise in a suite on Century during the ship's last season after being sold. The room was in need of an update, but the balcony was amazing. No special restaurant or retreat, so our experience is not comparable to today's suite experience. We do not spend a lot of time on the ship in port and spend little time in the room when at sea. You have to decide if the extra dollars are worth the extra benefits for you.

[dogs4fun]

10 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

We sail in balcony cabins mostly

Same here

[phoenix_dream]

To the OP - if you want to see some non-suite people come out of the woodwork, just post a question about which is better - MDR, Blu, or Luminae and you'll see a wide variety of responses from all levels of passengers 🙂

[shipgeeks]

3 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

j - I have to slowly get deiced to jump over Concierge and Aqua categories (only regular balconies currently) because I know once we hit that suite there is no way I will be permitted to return to a balcony cabin!!! LOL

 

bon voyage

Many say the same thing about balconies.  We were upgraded to a balcony on our Alaska cruise.  We are still not convinced.  Prefer an oceanview.  But at least now we know.

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

To the OP - if you want to see some non-suite people come out of the woodwork, just post a question about which is better - MDR, Blu, or Luminae and you'll see a wide variety of responses from all levels of passengers 🙂

Or just ask a question about areas of the ship like Sky Lounge going away in favor of The Retreat and more suite cabins like on E-Class.  That usually gets the juices flowing.  😀   Or can suite passengers use Blu for dining? 

[LGW59]

11 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Or just ask a question about areas of the ship like Sky Lounge going away in favor of The Retreat and more suite cabins like on E-Class.  That usually gets the juices flowing.  😀   Or can suite passengers use Blu for dining? 

Or give huge kudos to LLP and Kelly Hoppen for the amazing design of the e-class ships

[saltsandknit]

We have sailed in suites and we have gone back to insides. We spend almost no time in the room and very little time on a balcony when we have one. It only has value if you use it. I prefer to be out and about on the ship not spending time in a cabin. 

[Bo1953]

57 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

Many say the same thing about balconies.  We were upgraded to a balcony on our Alaska cruise.  We are still not convinced.  Prefer an oceanview.  But at least now we know.

I understand, for sure....

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

5 minutes ago, saltsandknit said:

We have sailed in suites and we have gone back to insides. We spend almost no time in the room and very little time on a balcony when we have one. It only has value if you use it. I prefer to be out and about on the ship not spending time in a cabin. 

A good reason I enjoy the IV's on The Edge Class of ships... best of both, for us.

 

bon voyage