Royal Caribbean cruises are popular for their lively, large ships, offering activities and amenities beyond what a standard cruise would offer. Because of this, a Royal Caribbean cruise is a fantastic option for a family vacation. Regardless of the ship’s itinerary, you’ll never be bored.
If you are sailing on Royal Caribbean and are looking for a level-up to your stay, you may consider booking a suite. In addition to the stateroom that you book within this category, you’ll have access to other Royal Caribbean suite benefits including priority boarding, a concierge, and an exclusive restaurant (some of these don’t apply to junior suite guests).
During our family vacation on Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas, our family opted to upgrade to a Grand Suite. We loved the extra space in addition to the additional perks and will continue booking suites whenever possible. Booking a suite is a great way to add some luxurious amenities to your cruise, while also getting more spacious accommodations so that you can spread out.
Disclosure: I’ve traveled on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line at no cost several times. We paid our own way, including the upgrade fee, for our sailing with the suite. This post contains affiliate links and a purchase/click through one of these links may result in a commission paid to us at no cost to you.
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Royal Caribbean Suite Benefits and Perks
Royal Caribbean Suite Options
Royal Caribbean offers a selection of different suite types. Within the suite category, there are three subcategories. These subcategories are Sea Class, Sky Class, and Star Class.
Suite types may vary by ship but include:
- Junior Suite (Sea Class): these are closest to a traditional cruise stateroom but with a few extra benefits. However, junior suite perks are different – they come with some but not all of the benefits that the other suites offer. This class is good for those looking for more space in their stateroom but who don’t need or want some of the other perks.
- Grand Suite (Sky Class): this is the class of room that we had for our sailing. Grand suites are larger than a stateroom, with a separate living area separated by a curtain. These suites have one bathroom. In my opinion, this is the best option for a good combination of value and perks.
- Ocean View/Panoramic Suite with no balcony (Sky Class): These suites have a great view, but no balcony. A balcony is a must-have for my family, so we haven’t considered this type of suite. It does have all of the Grand Suite benefits, however.
- Owner’s Suite (Sky Class): The owner’s suites are larger than a Grand Suite and are more luxurious. These are a great option if you need even more space than the Grand Suite offers.
- Royal Suite (Star Class): The Royal Suites offer even more benefits and space to guests.
- Villa Suite (Star Class): These ultimate suites offer multiple bedrooms and Star Class amenities. There are many different types of Villa Suites, depending on the specific ship you are sailing on.
Booking a Royal Caribbean Suite
When you purchase your cruise, you’ll see the various stateroom options that are available for your sailing party. At that point, you can choose to book a suite rather than a traditional stateroom. Available options will vary depending on the specific ship you are sailing on and current availability, but you should be able to see everything available at the time of booking.
Another option to get a suite is to bid on a RoyalUp upgrade. To do this, you would book a regular stateroom, and if you get an offer, you can try to bid for a better room.
If this is an option for you, you’ll receive an email. Alternatively, you can also check your sailing on this website. Keep in mind that RoyalUp only works for 1-2 categories up from the room you have booked, so you won’t be able to jump from an inside stateroom to a Royal Suite, for example.
When we had a Grand Suite, it was because we had won a RoyalUp upgrade. In our case, we booked a balcony stateroom and had the option to bid for a Junior Suite or a Balcony Suite. You’ll see the various suites available for bidding when you go to the website. There will also be a minimum and suggested bid amount.
Whether you win your bid will depend on several factors including other bids and suite availability. Generally speaking, you’ll have a higher probability of winning your bid if you bid a higher amount. It can take weeks to find out if you win.
Keep in mind that the RoyalUp bids are binding. If you win your bid, your stateroom assignment will immediately be moved to the new category – you won’t have the option to say no. Because availability varies, it’s best to book the suite you want when reserving your sailing, because RoyalUp isn’t always an option.
We decided that we wanted the Grand Suite, and ended up bidding the maximum.
If you are considering doing this, you’ll need to do some price comparisons to see if it’s better to book two standard staterooms or a Grand Suite. While a Grand Suite is larger than a traditional stateroom and comes with some fantastic benefits, two staterooms may be a better idea. There are some significant benefits from having two staterooms, including having two bathrooms.
Benefits of a Royal Caribbean Suite
Benefits do vary a bit by ship and class, but in general, here’s what to expect:
Priority Boarding
You’ll be able to skip the (usually) longer main check-in line and go to the priority boarding area. During our cruise, we were lucky because all of the lines were pretty short so we didn’t get much of an advantage with priority embarkation.
It’s very nice to have as an option, however. You’ll be able to get on board the ship first and start your cruise vacation early.
Dedicated Concierge
While you may not realize how helpful a dedicated concierge can be, we found ours to offer invaluable assistance before and during our sailing.
In advance of our trip, we received an email from our concierge introducing himself and offering assistance. At that point, if we had anything we needed, like onboard bookings, reservations at specialty restaurants, or booking of shore excursions, he would have been able to assist. I had already prepurchased a specialty meal and a cabana at Perfect Day at CocoCay, so we didn’t need that early assistance.
While onboard, we also had access to our concierge, who could generally be found in the dedicated concierge lounge. He pre-booked us some activities on the ship, like the NorthStar and the iFly experience, so we wouldn’t miss out. When my son lost his SeaPass, the concierge was easily able to assist us in getting a new one. He also helped us get a specialty dining reservation when we decided we wanted to return to Giovannis.
Concierge-Only Areas
Some areas of the ship are exclusively designated for concierge/suite guests. These include:
Coastal Kitchen: Coastal Kitchen restaurant is an exclusive restaurant offered to suite guests on select ships (Oasis and Quantum Class Royal Caribbean ships). It doesn’t cost extra but you will want to make reservations.
On those ships without Coastal Kitchen, an exclusive breakfast is offered for suite guests in Chops or Giovanni’s. During our sailing, we enjoyed both breakfast and dinner at Coastal Kitchen. It was one of our favorite benefits.
Concierge Sundeck: If you don’t want to fight for deck chairs, you’ll enjoy the concierge sundeck perk. On our sailing, the suite sun deck was fairly small but was pretty empty.
Concierge Lounge: We also really loved this amenity. The concierge club offers a happy hour with complimentary drinks, as well as appetizers and canapes. We visited the lounge each afternoon before dinner and enjoyed the service.
Other Suite Guest Amenities
There are plenty of other great amenities that you’ll get as a suite guest. Keep in mind that most of these aren’t offered to those in junior suites. Here are some of the additional benefits:
- Complimentary 24-Hour Room Service
- Room amenities include a Royal Caribbean bathrobe (for use onboard), better bath amenities, and an in-room Lavazza Espresso Coffee Machine. I especially liked having the separate conditioner rather than the combo shampoo/condition in standard staterooms
- Priority dining and spa bookings
- Priority seating in certain theaters, giving you access to the best seats
- Priority tendering (at tender ports, like Grand Cayman)
- Welcome amenity
- Complimentary ironing on First Formal Night
- Complimentary VOOM wi-fi
- Priority departure
Guests staying in Star Class also have access to a Royal Genie. A Royal Genie (which is a crew member) goes beyond the concierge service to provide more of a butler service. The Royal Genie service and benefits include expedited luggage handling and Royal Genie escort on embarkation and debarkation, prime seating at theaters, dining reservations, and more.
Overall staying in a Royal Caribbean suite can be a great way to improve an already fun cruise and is worth considering on your next cruise to improve your cruise experience. Visit this page to get more pricing information on your cruise.
Check prices of your cruise here.