Cost Between Junior Suite Vs Balcony

[DISFANS3]

Anyone know the cost difference between a Junior suite vs Balcony on Freedom or Liberty??? Is there size difference also?? Going June 08, first time on RCI....THANKS..

[dougp26364]

Cost difference will vary with the season and how well the cruise is expected to book. There is a pretty decent size differnce. Larger balcony, wider room with a sitting area that has a couch and two chairs. The bathroom will also have a bath tub where the balcony cabins only have a shower.

 

If there price difference isn't all that much, we'll always book a JS over a standard balcony. On the other hand, if the JS costs considerably more, I'm very content in a regular balcony cabin all the way down to the E class of balcony cabin.

 

One other advantage of a JS cabin is that if you are a member of C&A, you'll get an extra cruise credit for that sailing. So if it's a 7 night sailing you'll get two cruise credits instead of 1. This is significant as it takes 5 cruise credits to go from Gold status to Platinum status. If you sail two sailings in a JS cabin plus one sailing in any other catagory, you'll be platinum in 3 cruises instead of 5. If you sail exclusively in JS catagory cabins or higher, you'll make diamond level in only 5 cruises rather than 10. For some, that alone is worth the price difference.

[Jiffymom]

look on the web site and you can find the sq footage of each cabin. I too prefer the JS although any balcony is better than none.

[cb at sea]

Like the 1st poster said, prices can vary from week to week, depending on demand!

Just call RCI and ask them! They can give you prices for anything--any date!

 

I think a JS is more than worth the money you spend not to be cramped in a tiny room! I like to be able for BOTH of us to be able to move about, and you just can't do that in a regular cabin! A JS is more the size of a nice hotel room--plus your bathroom will be larger because there's a TUB!!!! Very nice!

[AFT_LOVER]

as I was told for the member cruise in Alaska come September. Even Brilliance in April which we got a D1 Aft for $600 PP a JS was $1200.

Then a E Carib on a small ship like Empress it is $50 more. But I am told it isn't that much bigger than a D1 on a small ship.

[CruisingCaraCat]

My 2 cents

One of my favorite parts of the JS is the walk-in closet. The grand suite doesn't have that so I actually prefer the JS to the GS.

[barbarah33]

I like the JS's for the extra room and bigger closet yes, but the best part to me is the larger bathroom - you don't have to leave the room to change your mind.

[cruisenfever]

$1500 more than D1 as I was told for the member cruise in Alaska come September. Even Brilliance in April which we got a D1 Aft for $600 PP a JS was $1200.

Then a E Carib on a small ship like Empress it is $50 more. But I am told it isn't that much bigger than a D1 on a small ship.

When the itinerary for the Member's Alaska cruise was first announced back in May of 2006.....the D1 balcony cabins were listed as starting from $1849 in the brochure. The Suites were listed as starting from $2249 (and this was for the GS not the JS)......which at that time was only $400 difference. When we booked our JS on May 5, 2006, our JS was $1790pp which included our Diamond Discount of $300 ($150pp). Then take another $225 off for the C&A Savings Certificate. I think that's a pretty good deal.

 

Now, I am sure those prices are much higher now, and JS cabins are not even available. The secret is to book when the itineraries are first published to get the lowest price.

[isujim]

Remember when comparing cost...........you almost have to go from itinerary release vs. itinerary release.........

 

It is getting to the point that on many cruises if you don't book immediately, as categories sell out......prices skyrocket.

 

Remember Patti on our Panama Canal cruise the jr. suites were sold out in 3 weeks from time of release.........prices then went through the roof on all other categories.

 

It is getting harder and harder to compare apples to apples............

[isujim]

Also don't forget to check any applicable coupons for particular sailings.......

 

Once we upgraded on a 10 night from a jr. suite to a grand suite by appling a coupon for only $150 difference for 10 days.

[cruisenfever]

Remember when comparing cost...........you almost have to go from itinerary release vs. itinerary release.........

 

It is getting to the point that on many cruises if you don't book immediately, as categories sell out......prices skyrocket.

 

Remember Patti on our Panama Canal cruise the jr. suites were sold out in 3 weeks from time of release.........prices then went through the roof on all other categories.

 

It is getting harder and harder to compare apples to apples............

 

Also don't forget to check any applicable coupons for particular sailings.......

 

Once we upgraded on a 10 night from a jr. suite to a grand suite by appling a coupon for only $150 difference for 10 days.

Boy do I remember. The Hawaii cruise sold out really fast and we had a devil of a time getting the same cabin for both cruises.

 

I was surprised when the Alaska cruise was first announced and how low the prices were for it being a Member's cruise........but then again, it is a repo cruise and they always seem to be a little less.

[critterchick]

as I was told for the member cruise in Alaska come September. Even Brilliance in April which we got a D1 Aft for $600 PP a JS was $1200.

Then a E Carib on a small ship like Empress it is $50 more. But I am told it isn't that much bigger than a D1 on a small ship.

 

Whoever told you that was incorrect. The JS were going for $2249 vs. $1849 for the D-1's (Patti, how did you get that deal on a JS?). The GS was $2549, which is now the cost for a D-1 guarantee. So booking early on that cruise was a good thing to do.

 

To the OP, as others have said, it all depends on the sailing date, cabin availability and when you book. I've seen cruises where a lot of suites come back into inventory right around final payment, so people make reservations and then cancel. I think RCI has a computer doing the pricing so that as a category nears sell-out the price goes up. On our Jewel cruise in November, a lot of JS came available and, instead of discounting the price, RCI slapped a senior discount on them. (Even though we were past final payment, they gave it to us, but that's a different topic).

[cruisenfever]

Also don't forget to check any applicable coupons for particular sailings.......

 

Once we upgraded on a 10 night from a jr. suite to a grand suite by appling a coupon for only $150 difference for 10 days.

 

Remember when comparing cost...........you almost have to go from itinerary release vs. itinerary release.........

 

It is getting to the point that on many cruises if you don't book immediately, as categories sell out......prices skyrocket.

 

Remember Patti on our Panama Canal cruise the jr. suites were sold out in 3 weeks from time of release.........prices then went through the roof on all other categories.

 

It is getting harder and harder to compare apples to apples............

Boy, do I ever. Unbelieveable how fast they went. Same thing on our Hawaii cruise.

 

Since the Alaska Member's cruise is a repo cruise.......that could be the reason that the fares were so low to begin with. Have no idea what JS cabins would go for now, as they are all sold out. But I do know that when I checked the prices I couldn't believe how inexpensive the JS and even GS cabins were going for.

[clbnlv]

Patti--Right on again! We booked the day the bookings for Alaska opened up, and the difference in JS v D1 was so minor, I went for the bathtub and closet :p. Also, it wasn't announced as a member's cruise when we booked, so maybe that's another reason for the great JS price. Once they announced "Member's Cruise", prices started their hike.

[cruisenfever]

Whoever told you that was incorrect. The JS were going for $2249 vs. $1849 for the D-1's (Patti, how did you get that deal on a JS?). The GS was $2549, which is now the cost for a D-1 guarantee. So booking early on that cruise was a good thing to do.

It might be due in part because we have an excellent credit rating, are excellent customers of RCI and have a key account TA!!! ;) We booked on May 5, 2006 when it was first advertised on the website........that's how low the JS cabins were. If I remember correctly, the $2249 back then was for the GS and the JS was $1940.....a really low price. Chris and Martha booked the same day and got the same price and I believe they booked directly with RCI. I called our TA, she called RCI got the quote of $1940pp then took the C&A balcony discount off and arrived at our final price. Remember, we are just talking about cabin prices here and not port charges and taxes and the newly added Alaska tax. We are doing our own air using air miles.

 

We didn't learn it was a Member's cruise until our friends that were on the Jewel doing the Baltics returned home at the end of May.

[AFT_LOVER]

phoned us immediately when she got the 2007 member cruise listing. She had JS & D1 AFT for us to take. So we raced down to choose the Alaska/ NW Pacific itinerary. $1200 for a D1, $2200 for JS. So we took D1 AFT and the AFTs were sold out in 10 minutes with all the folks phoned on the member cruise announcement. Funny that the air costs more than the cruise. Many purchased right on the phone when the cabin they wanted was available.

 

We also booked the Norweigan Fjords in 9256 Jewel for June 2007 but that turned into $8K cruise with air, etc so my TA talked us into ditching it for the TA in April at $600 PP for a D1 AFT, so we took it........ warm southern TA to Spain.

 

Whoever told you that was incorrect. The JS were going for $2249 vs. $1849 for the D-1's (Patti, how did you get that deal on a JS?). The GS was $2549, which is now the cost for a D-1 guarantee. So booking early on that cruise was a good thing to do.

 

To the OP, as others have said, it all depends on the sailing date, cabin availability and when you book. I've seen cruises where a lot of suites come back into inventory right around final payment, so people make reservations and then cancel. I think RCI has a computer doing the pricing so that as a category nears sell-out the price goes up. On our Jewel cruise in November, a lot of JS came available and, instead of discounting the price, RCI slapped a senior discount on them. (Even though we were past final payment, they gave it to us, but that's a different topic).

[cruisenfever]

LA Deborah Gorman on Jewel phoned

us immediately when she got the 2007 member cruise listing. She had JS & D1 AFT for us to take. So we raced down to choose the Alaska/ NW Pacific itinerary. $1200 for a D1, $2200 for JS. So we took D1 AFT and the AFTs were sold out in 10 minutes with all the folks phoned on the member cruise announcement. Funny that the air costs more than the cruise. Many purchased right on the phone when the cabin they wanted was available.

 

You booked this cruise while on the Jewel (you departed May 6, 2006)........the itinerary was published BEFORE you left for the cruise......must have been since we booked on May 5th. The fact that it became a Member's cruise was announced after we booked (while you were on the ship)...........in fact, we learned about it from CC folks that sailed with you once they returned. So I guess that booking it before it was announced as a Member's Cruise saved us a lot of money!!

 

So, how did we get a JS cabin for $1790pp on May 5, if the LA quoted you $2200 on the ship?? Guess the price really increased.....thought I can't believe that it jumped that much in less than 2 weeks. BTW.....airfare quoted by RCI was $579.00pp R/T from Cleveland (hardly more than the cruise cost). And don't forget, your airfare also includes your transfers from airport to pier and pier to airport.

[critterchick]

Patti, I think you booked earlier than May 5 - you were already talking on the Roll Call by April 29. We booked on April 26, and I'm sure the JS was up to $2249 (base price) by the time we booked on the 30th because, well, let's just say the cabin category we booked was higher than what you quoted. But the D-1 was also up to $1849 or thereabouts.

 

But a deal is a deal, and we did wonderfully - we booked 14 nights for the price of 7 nights the week before!:D

[cruisenfever]

Patti, you booked the day before we did (it was April 29 according to our Roll Call, BTW), and I'm sure the JS was up to $2249 (base price) by the time we booked on the 30th because, well, let's just say the cabin category we booked was higher than what you quoted. But the D-1 was also up to $1849 or thereabouts.

 

But a deal is a deal, and we did wonderfully - we booked 14 nights for the price of 7 nights the week before!:D

That's right, it was in April when we booked, thanks for reminding me. I just looked at my TA invoice, but I forgot that it takes about a week to get the paper work done and sent to me. Guess we got better deals than those folks that were on Jewel did as we booked almost a month before they did!!;)

 

I do remember when we booked, that the cost of the JS was not that much more than a GS. We were going to book a GS, but then our dear friends booked, so we are now neighbors each having a JS. If you add on the $150pp for the Diamond discount......that would bring the price to $1940. I know that when our TA checked with RCI and called me back and gave me the prices............I was in shock.

 

Regardless, we all got a great deal booking so early. This 14 night Alaska cruise is costing us half of what our Hawaii 14 night cost and we only went to three ports with 8 sea days...................figure that one out!! LOL

[ckrobyn]

My 2 cents

One of my favorite parts of the JS is the walk-in closet. The grand suite doesn't have that so I actually prefer the JS to the GS.

 

I mirror those sentiments exactly. Actually, I was quite surprised that the GS was not as functional as the JS....and cost a whole lot more! :rolleyes:

[cruisenfever]

I mirror those sentiments exactly. Actually, I was quite surprised that the GS was not as functional as the JS....and cost a whole lot more! :rolleyes:

'm with you Robyn......though the GS is larger, I could never understand why it was not as functional as a JS. They could have at least put in a walk in closet!!:D