Decisions--Jr. Suite or 2 Adjoining cabins on Monarch??

[karessamom]

What is the total room sq footage of a jr. suite?? The book says 264 and 70sqft for the balcony. Does the 264 include the balcony or is that separate?? I called RCCL and they said it was separate but i've heard otherwise so not sure. We've booked 2 adjoining cabins, however if we get a jr. suite that would actually be bigger than the 2 adjoining caibins (by 20 sqft and with out the wall) and it would only cost us about $150 more. my point though is this--if the square footage includes the 70sqft balcony then the room is actually only 194 sqft which would be better to get the 2 adjoining cabins in that case. We are a family of 4 (13yo dd and 5yo son) How big is the bathroom in a jr suite--it says there's a bathtub --is it a real tiny one or fairly reasonable??

[Merion_Mom]

The balcony square footage really IS separate. They aren't lying to you. :)

 

Having stayed in a JS on the Sovereign, which is the twin of Monarch, I would say get the two adjoining (connecting if possible) rooms. My two kids slept in the twin beds, and I slept on the sofa bed, and there is NO way your 13 and 5 year old can share that bed.

 

It's larger than a twin but smaller than a double! (I know this for a specific fact because I had them put an egg crate topper on it; the twin wasn't as wide as the bed, but the double-sized one was too wide for it!)

 

There is NO WAY you can fit a cot in there, either.

 

Oh, the bathroom: It's larger than the bathroom of a regular cabin, but not LARGE. Yes, there is a bathtub, but this is not some grand bathroom. We really liked ours, but the Sovereign has been totally refurbished. They just spruced up the Monarch a little. I haven't been on it, but this is my impression from the reports of others.

 

Get two cabins.

[teresapink]

I haven't been on the Monarch only Navigator and Voyager. Both times we had connecting JS and D1.....given the choice I would say def 2 adjoining rooms....2 bathrooms....more seating, drawers etc. The JS is only wider which allows more walking space and the bathroom is slightly larger but no one takes a bath in there anyway! It would def be too crowded for 4!

 

T

[cruisin from florida]

'nuf said.

 

We cruise with our guys adjoining or nearby (two doors down was the farthest.)

They are all in their teens. It was LOVELY not sharing a cabin with them.

 

Maybe someday we'll do one of the giant suites (lotto=$82million tomorrow night) but in the meantime we'll do multi-cabins.

[teresapink]

This site may help.....

 

http://www.smillay.cruisesinc.com/travel/cruises/virtual_tours.jsp?pg=0

 

T

[cb at sea]

Get the 2 adj rooms--having 2 baths is so much better than 1 for a family. You won't be sorry. A JS is great, but still, there's no privacy for the parents or kids. It's much better for a couple only.

[CruisinDawn]

Get the 2 adj rooms--having 2 baths is so much better than 1 for a family. You won't be sorry. A JS is great, but still, there's no privacy for the parents or kids. It's much better for a couple only.

 

Agree 100%, even I would give up the balcony for a second bathroom, second TV and a wall between the cabins. We only travel with 1 child but if we had a second I think it would push me into 2 cabins over a JS on a longer cruise but heck this one is short so I might go for the 2nd cruise credit over comfort for a few days. :D

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[mohavemommy]

As somebody who has a family of 4 and cruised on the Monarch... I can tell you that they will not book a family of 4 in the Junior Suite. You must stay in the ocean view cabins or go up to a Grand Suite.

[bartelbee]

You might want to call RCCL and check, but I was told that the JS cabins on Monarch only hold 3 passengers. We wanted to take the 2 kids and were told that you have to book the GS or higher if you want a balcony with 4 people.

[grapevine]

I would probably go with the adjoining rooms. We have cruised on the Monarch twice, once with kids and once without. Which we love, btw. On the Mexico itinerary, our kids stayed across the hall which ended up around the corner because of the door. The only hard thing about it is getting their nice, evening clothes out every night since you are not in the same room. A mom had the idea to put little tags on each set of clothes to mark which day they were supposed to where them so that might work.

 

We have also cruised in Junior suites and Grand suites with the kids, and even upgraded to a family suite once which had a huge balcony and their own half bath. It was very nice and plenty of places to sleep but you still don't have total privacy because they can walk in the door even though it is locked anytime! Plus you will have more closet space!

[karessamom]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I guess that answers that about booking 4 in a jr. suite. I wondered why when I looked it up i could go with 3 but couldn't with 4. I'm sticking to what i've got! I can't afford the large suite. and from what everyone is saying it isn't as big as it looks anyway.