Junior suite v balcony

[igmurray]

What are  the benefits of junior suite against a regular balcony, I understand it is not the  normal suite parks,  ie reserved  seating etc.  Do they have their own restaurant? Any other benefits apart from size

Thanks 

[EbayCruiser]

On the Oasis Class ships you get Coastal Kitchen for dinner (when available).

[firefly333]

8 minutes ago, igmurray said:

What are  the benefits of junior suite against a regular balcony, I understand it is not the  normal suite parks,  ie reserved  seating etc.  Do they have their own restaurant? Any other benefits apart from size

Thanks 

Imo other than the extra space which you could also get with the spacious balcony, the extra loyalty point. Some want to level up their loyalty level faster. I've been tempted. I'd pay a little more but mostly a JS is double when I price it. 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

41 minutes ago, EbayCruiser said:

On the Oasis Class ships you get Coastal Kitchen for dinner (when available).

On the Quantum class as well, which tends to have a higher success rate for Coastal Kitchen dinner availability.

 

As far as the room itself: for me, the biggest advantage is that on nearly all ships, the JS have a walk-in closet. They also have a tub/shower combo, which is big deal for some people, and a coffee maker.

 

And, as firefly pointed out, an extra C&A point per night. 🙂 

[cruiselvr04]

For us the big thing is the space, storage and extra C and A point.  CK is nice when available on bigger ships. I also love the tub!  
 

What we don’t like is that they are all now non-refundable.  That’s an issue when booking over a year out. They have a higher deposit to lose. 

Edited July 27 by cruiselvr04

[reallyitsmema]

23 minutes ago, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

On the Quantum class as well, which tends to have a higher success rate for Coastal Kitchen dinner availability.

 

As far as the room itself: for me, the biggest advantage is that on nearly all ships, the JS have a walk-in closet. They also have a tub/shower combo, which is big deal for some people, and a coffee maker.

 

And, as firefly pointed out, an extra C&A point per night. 🙂 

 

Which ship the OP is considering makes a big difference in their question.  Quantum class JS can also have three different configurations specific to the bathrooms.  There are those that have a single bathroom with the tub/shower combo, another that has a split bathroom with one bathroom having just a toilet and sink and the other having a sink, bathtub with no shower option, as well as a standalone shower with rainshower head, and the third combination having a full bathroom with a sink, toilet, and tub/shower combo, as well as a half bath with a toilet and sink.

[Jetdriver787]

It’s mainly just a larger iteration of a balcony room and 2 points a night for double occupancy or 3 points for single occupancy (if booked as a solo traveller.)

 

The room also has a coffee maker. The bathroom is larger with a tub. The Ovation class ships also have a split bathroom in lieu of the walk-in closet in most of the rooms.

 

Beyond that, some port departures will have suite check-in on the set-sail pass (some won’t!) Where available (Royal suite class ships,) Coastal Kitchen may be reserved for dinner only and subject to availability.

[igmurray]

Thank you for your help, sorry I should have said it's the odyssey of seas

[reallyitsmema]

19 minutes ago, igmurray said:

Thank you for your help, sorry I should have said it's the odyssey of seas

 

We have a JS coming up on Odyssey which is one of the ones with the split bathroom and is aft facing.  We like the furnishings on this class of ship over the older ships.  We also have had good luck getting dinner reservations for Coastal Kitchen in the past.  You can't make them until you board, but usually we are able to get reservations for the week.  Oasis class is harder to get dinner reservations if you are in a JS.

[TeeRick]

20 hours ago, igmurray said:

What are  the benefits of junior suite against a regular balcony, I understand it is not the  normal suite parks,  ie reserved  seating etc.  Do they have their own restaurant? Any other benefits apart from size

Thanks 

Others have summarized nicely for a JS on Odyssey.  What is the price difference between the JS and Balcony?  I'm guessing fairly substantial.  In a balcony you could buy a dining package for the specialty restaurants on board probably still much less expensive than the JS (even if you can get into CK for dinner).

[mets123]

It varies by ship and sailing date. With dynamic pricing, there is no pattern.

[orville99]

On 7/27/2024 at 1:04 PM, cruiselvr04 said:

For us the big thing is the space, storage and extra C and A point.  CK is nice when available on bigger ships. I also love the tub!  
 

What we don’t like is that they are all now non-refundable.  That’s an issue when booking over a year out. They have a higher deposit to lose. 

Not sure if the Next Cruise agent was correct, but we just booked a JS on board for next June, and were charged the suite ($250/pp) deposit rate. She said that the reduced ($100/pp) on board booking deposit had been eliminated for JS and above.☺️

Edited July 28 by orville99

[lovesthebeach2]

On 7/27/2024 at 1:11 PM, reallyitsmema said:

 

Which ship the OP is considering makes a big difference in their question.  Quantum class JS can also have three different configurations specific to the bathrooms.  There are those that have a single bathroom with the tub/shower combo, another that has a split bathroom with one bathroom having just a toilet and sink and the other having a sink, bathtub with no shower option, as well as a standalone shower with rainshower head, and the third combination having a full bathroom with a sink, toilet, and tub/shower combo, as well as a half bath with a toilet and sink.

Odyssey that has the split bathroom with the tub/shower PLUS the stand alone shower is what we get and I love it.  DH uses the other one for his messy shaving. I use only the large bathroom with that fabulous shower! We’re in one of those cabins on our TA in November.

[lovesthebeach2]

On 7/27/2024 at 1:22 PM, igmurray said:

Thank you for your help, sorry I should have said it's the odyssey of seas

Our favorite!!

[ARandomTraveler]

3 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Odyssey that has the split bathroom with the tub/shower PLUS the stand alone shower is what we get and I love it.  DH uses the other one for his messy shaving. I use only the large bathroom with that fabulous shower! We’re in one of those cabins on our TA in November.

How do you know which configuration you're getting? I'm looking to book Odyssey and considering a JS, and would like to know how to tell the difference when choosing a room.

[reallyitsmema]

14 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

How do you know which configuration you're getting? I'm looking to book Odyssey and considering a JS, and would like to know how to tell the difference when choosing a room.

 

If it mimics Quantum class ships, the cabins on the hump have the split bathrooms and the JS that are more forward and are for 5 have the full bathroom and half bathroom.

 

Our upcoming JS on Odyssey has a split bathroom and is one of the aft facing JS that replaced the larger suites that are on Quantum class.  I have seen a video of our cabin which is why I know it is the split bathrooms.

[ATG]

9 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

How do you know which configuration you're getting? I'm looking to book Odyssey and considering a JS, and would like to know how to tell the difference when choosing a room.

I believe they have different codes - J3 and J4. We have been on Anthem for a b2b and changed cabins. The first on deck 8 had a half bath and a full bath with toilet and tub/shower combo. The second on deck 10 has a half bath and the other has a tub and walk in shower. We’ve decided we like the deck 8 design better. We looked at quite a few you tube videos before picking.

[Ocean Boy]

14 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Our favorite!!

Same here!

[Ocean Boy]

15 hours ago, orville99 said:

Not sure if the Next Cruise agent was correct, but we just booked a JS on board for next June, and were charged the suite ($250/pp) deposit rate. She said that the reduced ($100/pp) on board booking deposit had been eliminated for JS and above.☺️

So no reduced deposit and no refundable option. Next maybe the OBC will become history too.

[Cruise a holic]

If you cannot do a full suite, it is a good compromise-  The room is much bigger and the walk in closet is great.  Early boarding- extra points and a few other perks as previously mentioned.  For me, the extra space is the best.  

[fenton04]

We personally did a back to back on Explorer on our last cruise.  We did it for the double points to advance to diamond plus.  But honestly we were blown away (is that laying it on a little heavy).  Walk in closet, large bathroom with  tub,  large seating area with couch, two chairs and a table,   This is the first cruise that we did not request for it to be removed. Large balcony.  Junior suites are definitely on our menu for future cruises.

[Another_Critic]

Another option is 2 connected balcony cabins solo vs. 1 JS double occupancy.  2 points per night, two bathrooms.  And may be cheaper than a JS.

[lovesthebeach2]

21 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

How do you know which configuration you're getting? I'm looking to book Odyssey and considering a JS, and would like to know how to tell the difference when choosing a room.

I see @reallyitsmema replied, but I’ll add that we booked our JS on the hump, and that’s I guess why we have the split bathroom.  I really liked it last time we did it.

[reallyitsmema]

10 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

I see @reallyitsmema replied, but I’ll add that we booked our JS on the hump, and that’s I guess why we have the split bathroom.  I really liked it last time we did it.

 

It is a great location but be careful of deck 13 under the kitchen that services Coastal Kitchen.  We got that cabin on a suite GTY and it was fine other than late at night when they were either bowling or cleaning the kitchen. 

[lovesthebeach2]

13 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

It is a great location but be careful of deck 13 under the kitchen that services Coastal Kitchen.  We got that cabin on a suite GTY and it was fine other than late at night when they were either bowling or cleaning the kitchen. 

Were on deck 7.