goldfish65 Posted July 21 #26 Share Posted July 21 Interior cabin if solo. Balcony guarantee if two of us. More cruises! After having three experiences with suites...on short cruises they are not worth it because you don't have time to really enjoy the benefits, and so much more expensive. An owner's suite on a transatlantic was a splurge, but worth it, only because we had time to bask in the experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine3601 Posted July 21 #27 Share Posted July 21 Exactly, if I have to fly to port I am not booking anything under 7 days. We prefer longer cruises of 9+ nights when possible with work schedule. We have been in JS's and sure they are nice and having access to coastal kitchen on some ships for dinner is nice, extra space and walk in closet is nice but not necessary as we do not spend a lot of time in our cabin anyway. As a D+ member we do not need to go to the suite lounge (probably would rarely do it anyway). We only stop in the crown & anchor lounge for morning specialty coffee's and maybe a snack later on in the day but that is rare. The only real perk we would like is free internet but the cost to upgrade to a Suite just for free internet isn't worth it and free internet is only available on certain class ships and we prefer to sail the smaller ships. If you use the cabin as a place to shower and sleep then go for the best possible deal with more nights. I still see some great deals for sailings out of Tampa and New Orleans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelCMTX Posted July 21 #28 Share Posted July 21 I know this can be heretical in such a venue, but less frequent cruises in a suite. It wasn't cheap to do Hawaii to Vancouver in a Suite but it was our one cruise that year (and that cabin gets a little smaller with each passing day). We're still working and still need to sort out the time off - so the trade off in quality since we can't have quantity. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baileymouse Posted July 21 #29 Share Posted July 21 A cheap cabin is fine for me. I can be out & about on the ship and not hang in the room. I'd rather spend the money on experiences. I did book a balcony for my birthday because it's my birthday, haha. But I usually just get an inside room. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poocher Posted July 21 #30 Share Posted July 21 Nope, JS is minimum requirement. I cannot shower in a space tube and I don’t know what the heck the 3 in 1 combo liquid in there is. I look until I find a cruise that fits my budget in a JS for 7-10 days. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverbeenhere Posted July 21 #31 Share Posted July 21 Any room, any length of individual cruise, but almost always for 14 or more days. If an inside is almost free, I will book it. But, the wife really likes a bathtub, so we mostly pay for whatever level provides that amenity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Critic Posted July 21 #32 Share Posted July 21 My only suite experience was on a 16 night Arctic Crossing on Vision. We were upgraded from 2 oceanview cabins to a 2 BR grand suite. While is was nice, I would not have paid for an upgrade. Since restart: Oasis 7 nt. OV balcony solo, Anthem 7 nt. OV balcony solo, Anthem 9 nt. OV balcony solo, Enchantment 8 nt. OV solo, Anthem 11 nt. OV balcony, Voyager 14 nt. Spacious OV, Anthem 11 nt. OV balcony, Liberty 9 nt. Inside solo, Anthem 15 nt. OV balcony, Oasis 14 nt. OV balcony solo. Future bookings: Symphony 7 nt. CP balcony, Odyssey 14 nt. OV balcony solo, Vision 12 nt. Inside solo, Radiance 8 nt. Inside solo, Radiance 16 nt. Spacious OV balcony solo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xyzcruiser Posted July 21 #33 Share Posted July 21 longer cruise as opposed to better cabin for sure, but one thing no one has mentioned- I'd rather spend my money on specialty dining, spa treatments and other extras rather than a better cabin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruiselvr04 Posted July 21 #34 Share Posted July 21 Definitely longer rather than a suite. We don’t like to fly OR drive for less than 2 weeks. Since Royal has changed to anything above a balcony as non refundable Jr Suites may be a thing of the past for us. With prices getting so high we may be looking at more OV or insides. We’ve always said we’d rather have an inside then not go. We’ve loved a suite when we had them but honestly are just as happy in a balcony. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jobinseattle Posted July 21 Author #35 Share Posted July 21 Thanks everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Critic Posted July 21 #36 Share Posted July 21 1 hour ago, xyzcruiser said: longer cruise as opposed to better cabin for sure, but one thing no one has mentioned- I'd rather spend my money on specialty dining, spa treatments and other extras rather than a better cabin. I'd rather skip the extras and spend my money on more cruises. 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARandomTraveler Posted July 21 #37 Share Posted July 21 Longer cruise, better ship and/or better itinerary all come before the room for me. There's so many factors that come into play when narrowing down my cruise choices though. I did just take a 3-day cruise which I never thought I'd do (not enough time to enjoy everything and they go to the worst ports), but it was on a big ship (Allure) and it was a last-minute way to just go to a beach and relax. In this case, the sail date came first, then the ship (I picked Allure over the smaller ships doing 3/4 day cruises despite it costing more because the bigger ship was more important than the lower price of say, grandeur or enchantment, or even Independence, which is a perfectly good ship, but not as fun, and since I only had 3 days, ship wins). My absolute favorite Caribbean route is the southern one leaving from San Juan that goes to Barbados and St Lucia, but because they have rhapsody sailing from there, I won't even consider it. I'd rather do the eastern/western route for the umpteenth time on Wonder (better ship) than go on a great route on rhapsody. But if they put a voyager class or a freedom class down there, the itinerary would win, and I'd pick that instead of a cruise on Wonder doing eastern/western. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickles_1 Posted July 22 #38 Share Posted July 22 (edited) We usually do 7 day cruises, but we have a 4 day on Utopia coming up. It's the shortest that we've done. We didn't make up our mind on vacation until March of this year. The price was really good and it's a new ship, so we went for it. I figure some vacation is better than no vacation at all. Edited July 22 by Nickles_1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamilyCruiserUK Posted July 22 #39 Share Posted July 22 Longer cruise, best itinerary cheapest room possible. We will not entertain less then a 7 day cruise, cant be bothered with traveling, packing etc for less then a week. Cheapest room, inside for us. Once outside room door everything is the same for everyone no matter what room you choose. Itinerary, id rather go on a 7+ cruise to different ports rather then pay a lot of money for a short cruise going to the same private island over and over. So yeah nice cheap room gives me more money to go on more then 1 cruise a year on different cruise lines on different itinerarys. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamilyCruiserUK Posted July 22 #40 Share Posted July 22 22 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said: Longer cruise, better ship and/or better itinerary all come before the room for me. There's so many factors that come into play when narrowing down my cruise choices though. I did just take a 3-day cruise which I never thought I'd do (not enough time to enjoy everything and they go to the worst ports), but it was on a big ship (Allure) and it was a last-minute way to just go to a beach and relax. In this case, the sail date came first, then the ship (I picked Allure over the smaller ships doing 3/4 day cruises despite it costing more because the bigger ship was more important than the lower price of say, grandeur or enchantment, or even Independence, which is a perfectly good ship, but not as fun, and since I only had 3 days, ship wins). My absolute favorite Caribbean route is the southern one leaving from San Juan that goes to Barbados and St Lucia, but because they have rhapsody sailing from there, I won't even consider it. I'd rather do the eastern/western route for the umpteenth time on Wonder (better ship) than go on a great route on rhapsody. But if they put a voyager class or a freedom class down there, the itinerary would win, and I'd pick that instead of a cruise on Wonder doing eastern/western. Not sure if you can book it from the US if thats your location but P&O do the southern Caribbean from Barbados, great itinerary and their new more modern ships. Granted wont have the water slides and ice skating and diving shows but for a modern ship to see something different then coco cay its well worh it. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baowen Posted July 22 #41 Share Posted July 22 Longer cruise for sure! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted July 22 #42 Share Posted July 22 After booking nothing but suites for last 20 or so cruises it would be hard to go back . 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisegirl1 Posted July 22 #43 Share Posted July 22 Generally a longer cruise. I'm perfectly happy with a balcony cabin. M 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BND Posted July 22 #44 Share Posted July 22 Often and longer in JS. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean Boy Posted July 23 #45 Share Posted July 23 On 7/21/2024 at 8:00 AM, cruiseguy1016 said: We've never stayed in a suite so I don't know how nice that would be. However, we stay in balcony cabins and are satisfied with that choice. I would rather spend my money on a longer cruise. That is how I see it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locksley10 Posted July 23 #46 Share Posted July 23 Thank you Suite people for subsidizing my cheap little room. I could never afford to cruise 8 weeks a Year without you. 😘 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyFan33579 Posted July 23 #47 Share Posted July 23 I usually stay in a balcony, but I would definitely pick a longer cruise(s) over a nicer cabin. I rarely spend more than 30-45 minutes in my cabin except for when I am sleeping. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare shipshape sam Posted July 23 #48 Share Posted July 23 On 7/21/2024 at 5:14 AM, jobinseattle said: What is more important to you as far as finances go. A shorter cruise (3,4 or 5 day) and a fancier room (Suites, Specialty dining, etc..) or a longer cruise (7 day or more) in a not as fancy cabin. I personally don't have an unlimited amount of money so I was thinking about alternating each year. Curious what others do? We tend to cruise longer sailings as then our travel costs are spread over more days, lowering our cost per day.. Also, for us, our cabin is a place to store our stuff, change clothes, clean up, and sleep. We do like balconies, but are planning to try an oceanview cabin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseaholic777 Posted July 23 #49 Share Posted July 23 I always book 8 days or more. When you add in flying or a long drive with a hotel room. It's a much better deal to go longer. As far as rooms go I will take whatever room is the best deal. I would rather go on 3 cruises, than book a great room on 1 cruise. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCaver Posted July 23 #50 Share Posted July 23 12 hours ago, locksley10 said: Thank you Suite people for subsidizing my cheap little room. I could never afford to cruise 8 weeks a Year without you. 😘 I can't afford 8 weeks a year, but those with the $ to stay in those suites do indeed keep the cruise line afloat for us cheapskates. (see what I did there?) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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