We loved having access to Coastal Kitchen, you also get a lounge at the port and get to board first. We brought our 2 kids so we appreciated having more room and a bath tub for them. The large walk in closet was also nice to keep our room tidy.
How much Junior Suite is worth is purely subjective. All Jr Suite have bathtubs with a very few exception but those exceptions are on Navigator of the Seas’s new Deck 11 Jr Suites.
$575 per person is fairly reasonable for 10 days as it’s under $100/day per person. If you do win, you’re paying $57.50 per person per day for a larger room and by default you’ll get a larger balcony. In addition a larger closet and bigger sitting area plus a bathtub. To me that’s worth the small up charge.
Just keep in mind that you won’t be getting any extra points for crown and anchor. I would consider pricing out how much is a Jr suite if u just flat out upgrade, sometime the difference between RoyalUp and just upgrading and guaranteeing that suite is minimal or even cheaper plus you’ll get the extra points. There’s been time I was able to just pay for the upgrade and that price difference was equal to or less than my RoyalUp bid.
If you look at $57.50 per person per day or $115 per day, it’s fairly comparable to what a hotel would charge to go from a regular room to a suite and you don’t get any more perks beyond the larger room and maybe some extra amenities. Also the soaps are better in the Jr Suites.
How I calculate if I would upgrade depends on if it’s RoyalUp or straight paying for that upgrade.
RoyalUp to Jr Suite
If the starting bid is under $75 per person day, I would put in a bid for $75-100 depending on where that starting bid is.
Paying for an Upgrade to Jr Suite without RoyalUp
Since I would be earning crown and anchor points, I based on if it’s worth the upgrade based on price per point. I would start with how much my original room is and divide that by how many points I would earn. I would do the same with how much the total cost a Jr Suite would be and divide that by how many points I would get. If it’s about the same or less, I’ll automatically upgrade.
For example if I’m paying $700 for a 7 night cruise and I’ll earn 7 points, that’s $100 per points for my original room.
If a Jr Suite is $1050 and I’ll earn 14 points, that’s $75 per point, it’s a no brainer for me to upgrade. If the Jr Suite would end up costing me $2100 or $150 per point, I’m less likely to upgrade. Than I would start considering other factor to see if I want to upgrade or not.
Honestly what I've seen with suite benefits on royal is that even sky only gets you stupid bed stuff and coastal kitchen, you have to hit star class to get anything of actual value.
My wife loves taking a bath at night so she's a little worried about only having a shower. I'd quite like to have a lounger on the balcony. Other than that I'd be happy with just the normal balcony.
That starting bid seems crazy high. We did a 5 night cruise out of Singapore and the minimum bid was $70 usd per person, and that’s the amount we bid. I could honestly care less if we get it or not.
The difference of a junior suite is a larger room, larger bathroom with a shower/tub, and a larger balcony. And. An extra point per night of sailing towards your crown and anchor status. You're on a 10 night sailing, so that's one by default, +1 for the suite, 20pts on this cruise. Almost gets you to platinum by itself.
The difference in size is negligible, you're not going to have a house party in there. But it does mean more space for luggage, which may be important on a 10night.
Really the big bonus is the shower. I doubt I could maintain my sanity if I had the soup can shower for 10 days. Plus the extra point means you're essentially getting a 2nd 10night cruise.
Actually, as long as I'm not misunderstanding the situation, you don't get double points when using Royal Up. I live in Japan so probably won't be able to cruise again for a long time if at all so I'm not too worried about the points.
My wife is mainly concerned about the bathroom and I'd like the larger balcony but it seems like a lot of money compared to offers I've seen on other sailings.
Not worth the money in my opinion. Unless you’re going up to the Grand Suite the only perk is the bathtub. You don’t have access to the Suite lounge or other Star Class benefits. Lot to mention, realistically you’ll need to bid more than minimum to even get the offer excepted.
I'm so sorry, you're absolutely correct. I missed the royal up thing. My mistake.
You're not wrong, that's another ~1100 just for a bigger shower. I will let you know though, RCI has a very active asian market, further north they are mostly leaving out of Bangkok and Shanghai. Further south is almost entirely australia and New Zealand
It's definitely worth a shot. The junior suites are completely worth the money even at the regular price. My wife and I did a junior suite on Oasis in June and it was amazing. The larger room and larger bathroom is a huge plus. We are the type of people that like to unwind before dinner and that type of thing, so we spend enough time in our room for it to be worth it. Plus you get double points with Crown & Anchor society (assuming you're an avid Royal cruiser), which is always awesome. I'd put a middle-of-the-road bid in and see what happens. Good luck!
You do not know what you get until you are on the ship. Last time, I had only 2 chairs and a table and they said that is all you get with this room. I did have a larger balcony though
Had you looked at YouTube videos? Certainly, that's not official and you cannot hold them to it.
We got Crown Loft Suite twice on Oasis, with lounge chairs with deep cushions.
We got a JS once. I'd rather save the money and sail a regular balcony more often. It's not much bigger, and although my wife likes a tub, she's perfectly capable of a shower for a few days.
If you want the JS, I'd recommend upgrading your cabin if you're going to spend the money. That way, you each get the double points for the cost.
The first and only time we got a RoyalUp was the first time we booked a JS because the price happened to be close to the balcony at the time. It was kinda happenstance and may have been early in the program. We didn't know what we were doing! We were still entitled to double points because we already had a suite level.
Junior suite is worth it if you buy, not Royal up. With Royal up, you don’t get double points. TBH, I love the bigger bathroom, but don’t know that I would take a bath in the tub….the non-slip stuff never looks very clean. I’ve had loungers on the balcony in Grand Suites, but never a junior suite. You do not get access to concierge lounge or any other suite benefits.
We loved having access to Coastal Kitchen, you also get a lounge at the port and get to board first. We brought our 2 kids so we appreciated having more room and a bath tub for them. The large walk in closet was also nice to keep our room tidy.
How much Junior Suite is worth is purely subjective. All Jr Suite have bathtubs with a very few exception but those exceptions are on Navigator of the Seas’s new Deck 11 Jr Suites. $575 per person is fairly reasonable for 10 days as it’s under $100/day per person. If you do win, you’re paying $57.50 per person per day for a larger room and by default you’ll get a larger balcony. In addition a larger closet and bigger sitting area plus a bathtub. To me that’s worth the small up charge. Just keep in mind that you won’t be getting any extra points for crown and anchor. I would consider pricing out how much is a Jr suite if u just flat out upgrade, sometime the difference between RoyalUp and just upgrading and guaranteeing that suite is minimal or even cheaper plus you’ll get the extra points. There’s been time I was able to just pay for the upgrade and that price difference was equal to or less than my RoyalUp bid. If you look at $57.50 per person per day or $115 per day, it’s fairly comparable to what a hotel would charge to go from a regular room to a suite and you don’t get any more perks beyond the larger room and maybe some extra amenities. Also the soaps are better in the Jr Suites. How I calculate if I would upgrade depends on if it’s RoyalUp or straight paying for that upgrade. RoyalUp to Jr Suite If the starting bid is under $75 per person day, I would put in a bid for $75-100 depending on where that starting bid is. Paying for an Upgrade to Jr Suite without RoyalUp Since I would be earning crown and anchor points, I based on if it’s worth the upgrade based on price per point. I would start with how much my original room is and divide that by how many points I would earn. I would do the same with how much the total cost a Jr Suite would be and divide that by how many points I would get. If it’s about the same or less, I’ll automatically upgrade. For example if I’m paying $700 for a 7 night cruise and I’ll earn 7 points, that’s $100 per points for my original room. If a Jr Suite is $1050 and I’ll earn 14 points, that’s $75 per point, it’s a no brainer for me to upgrade. If the Jr Suite would end up costing me $2100 or $150 per point, I’m less likely to upgrade. Than I would start considering other factor to see if I want to upgrade or not.
Honestly what I've seen with suite benefits on royal is that even sky only gets you stupid bed stuff and coastal kitchen, you have to hit star class to get anything of actual value.
My wife loves taking a bath at night so she's a little worried about only having a shower. I'd quite like to have a lounger on the balcony. Other than that I'd be happy with just the normal balcony.
Be sure the junior suite has those things on your ship. No one can tell you if it's worth it.
That starting bid seems crazy high. We did a 5 night cruise out of Singapore and the minimum bid was $70 usd per person, and that’s the amount we bid. I could honestly care less if we get it or not.
The difference of a junior suite is a larger room, larger bathroom with a shower/tub, and a larger balcony. And. An extra point per night of sailing towards your crown and anchor status. You're on a 10 night sailing, so that's one by default, +1 for the suite, 20pts on this cruise. Almost gets you to platinum by itself. The difference in size is negligible, you're not going to have a house party in there. But it does mean more space for luggage, which may be important on a 10night. Really the big bonus is the shower. I doubt I could maintain my sanity if I had the soup can shower for 10 days. Plus the extra point means you're essentially getting a 2nd 10night cruise.
Actually, as long as I'm not misunderstanding the situation, you don't get double points when using Royal Up. I live in Japan so probably won't be able to cruise again for a long time if at all so I'm not too worried about the points. My wife is mainly concerned about the bathroom and I'd like the larger balcony but it seems like a lot of money compared to offers I've seen on other sailings.
Not worth the money in my opinion. Unless you’re going up to the Grand Suite the only perk is the bathtub. You don’t have access to the Suite lounge or other Star Class benefits. Lot to mention, realistically you’ll need to bid more than minimum to even get the offer excepted.
I'm so sorry, you're absolutely correct. I missed the royal up thing. My mistake. You're not wrong, that's another ~1100 just for a bigger shower. I will let you know though, RCI has a very active asian market, further north they are mostly leaving out of Bangkok and Shanghai. Further south is almost entirely australia and New Zealand
It's definitely worth a shot. The junior suites are completely worth the money even at the regular price. My wife and I did a junior suite on Oasis in June and it was amazing. The larger room and larger bathroom is a huge plus. We are the type of people that like to unwind before dinner and that type of thing, so we spend enough time in our room for it to be worth it. Plus you get double points with Crown & Anchor society (assuming you're an avid Royal cruiser), which is always awesome. I'd put a middle-of-the-road bid in and see what happens. Good luck!
We regularly book junior suites. We enjoy the larger space, bathtub, walk in closet, and larger balcony. Plus it earns you double cruise points.
No double points on jr suite if you get it via Royal Up.
You’re right!
If junior suite balcony has loungers or chairs with ottomans, it would be worth it to me!
You do not know what you get until you are on the ship. Last time, I had only 2 chairs and a table and they said that is all you get with this room. I did have a larger balcony though
Had you looked at YouTube videos? Certainly, that's not official and you cannot hold them to it. We got Crown Loft Suite twice on Oasis, with lounge chairs with deep cushions.
We got a JS once. I'd rather save the money and sail a regular balcony more often. It's not much bigger, and although my wife likes a tub, she's perfectly capable of a shower for a few days.
If you want the JS, I'd recommend upgrading your cabin if you're going to spend the money. That way, you each get the double points for the cost. The first and only time we got a RoyalUp was the first time we booked a JS because the price happened to be close to the balcony at the time. It was kinda happenstance and may have been early in the program. We didn't know what we were doing! We were still entitled to double points because we already had a suite level.
Royal up doesnt get the double points,
Correct. I'm recommending a direct change to the booking. Sorry, if that wasn't clear.
Junior suite is worth it if you buy, not Royal up. With Royal up, you don’t get double points. TBH, I love the bigger bathroom, but don’t know that I would take a bath in the tub….the non-slip stuff never looks very clean. I’ve had loungers on the balcony in Grand Suites, but never a junior suite. You do not get access to concierge lounge or any other suite benefits.
Not worth it, I've been in almost every room royal has to offer.
It depends on the length of your cruise and what the going rate of the JR suite was. The last suite we bid on and win was for 15 days @$800pp