How to get the cheapest cruise ship suite

Suites on a Royal Caribbean cruise aren't inexpensive, but you can sometimes get a really good deal on these luxurious accommodations, and I'm sharing tips on how to do it!

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[davewendell]

It wasn't Royal, but I was scheduled to go on a cruise hosted by my travel agent a few years ago. About 2 weeks before the cruise the agent calls and says that the cruise line hasn't yet sold the Presidential Suite and was offering it to me for $100 apiece (wife and I). I took the offer, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The only down side was that my poor wife kept getting confused as to where the cabin door was because the suite was so big. She kept trying to exit the room through the closet.

[burningisis]

I got my suite by sailing on Grandeur (which I LOVE, gonna miss ya in Baltimore pretty lady) which isnt one of the megas, but its a cruise, and its a suite. Combine that with a late season Bermuda cruise and the black friday sale (When I booked it was companion sails free), I got an Owners suite for 3k (final cost, not per person, including gratuities, taxes, etc). That worked great for me because then I had more money to splurge on the drink package (which I got the infamous mismarked drink package deal) which then allowed me to splurge on the specialty dining package. It was still a lot of money, but I got to take my husband on an unforgettable cruise. And he had NEVER wanted to go on a cruise before, but now, he cant wait to get back onboard a ship!

[joeln]

Rather than book a suite with my family of 4 (which would still have one bathroom), we just book 2 balcony connected cabins. Plenty of room for the 4 of us and 2 bathrooms!

[williamoday]

The 2 recommended strategies that I can say have worked for me are the "book early" strategy and the "sail during shoulder season" strategy. It's pretty exciting when you can book a suite on a particular sailiing for less than a balcony stateroom, or perhaps even an ocean view or interior stateroom, on another sailing. I rarely see fares reduce as sailing dates approach. Lately fares seem to skyrocket instead...

[soshiangel]

I have to say the whole 'book on release day' sounded nice and all but I never really put any stock into it.
But then, by a stroke of luck, Royal released new bookings for Allure on our last cruise the day we went to Next Cruise looking to get a new booking. A grand suite for 8 nights on this Oasis-class ship came in almost 2 grand lower than the same room on a Voyager class! There were other factors that played into this (primarily being amped vs not) but it was too good of a deal to pass up.

Add on top of that price drops in the first couple months since booking and we're (so far) getting this cruise for just over 2k per adult (2 adults).

[tanittaclark]

I booked a Jr suite I thought well if I win my royal up bid to a 1 BR suite great! If not I still got what I wanted. I did a bid the lowest possible 100.00 PP. and won the 1 BR grand suite. It was the best with all the perks. Now I’m spoiled.

[stevek]

I've only got a couple things that have worked for me. First was Royal Up! to a junior suite. I bid about $5 above the minimum and hope for the best. It has worked twice for me. :)

The second one wasn't for a suite, but my daughter was going to put in a Royal Up! bid when her travel agent noticed that she could just do a straight upgrade to a balcony for less money than the minimum Royal Up! bid.

[Alice_allnewwonderland]

I'm about to go on a cruise in a couple of weeks and I did royal up and it worked I'm so excited to go

[TorontoJosh]

They gave away 2 suites at Royal Bingo on Harmony of the Seas Christmas Cruise lol

[jmert_]

I'm all about the Jr Suite. Walk-in closet gives my wife room to put all of her stuff. I got ONE hanger. 🙄

[dmpyron]

As a retired travel professional I advocate telling your pro your desires for yet to be released sailings. I would get emails from my BDM about a month before dates&rates came out.

[youngruff]

Thanks for the info I’m literally about to book a crown loft for an engagement :) Found a great deal for September. We both work in the hotel industry so that time works great for us since it’s so slow. I work at BahaMar the new spot to visit in Nassau! See you soon?

[jessigirlrae]

We got a grand suite on Freedom in October 2023 for $2500 for our family of four!

[BrianAlt]

I really should think more about booking a suite straight away as soon as bookings open. The problem is, I look at those balcony fares, often 25% of the suite prices, and I just can't justify it. That plus the policy of non-refundable deposits always gives me pause.

[brianscrivener]

We booked a suite for a sailing out of Barbados for Dec. 26, 2022. The price of a guaranteed suite over a balcony was only $100 extra per person. It was a no brainer. There are no bad suites.

[raymullen]

Over Thansgiving We Cruise Virgin and now after 45 +
We have been looking at a Suite ....so this comes at a
good time....Just to give it a Try and then back at Balconys..

[beachmom]

I followed your advice Matt. The new bookings for Odyssey out of Cape liberty came out this morning and my daughter and I booked a grand loft suite for 4 figures instead of 5. The cruise is 2 years from today. We are so excited!

[phlydude]

2-night Jan 22 cruise to Coco Cay - put in the min bid of $50pp and got the upgrade to a JS - wasn't expecting much but was honestly surprised when it came through

[cruiseaddicts]

Booked early works for me always, plus I got deal on redeployments o yeah

[haylieg]

Finding a good travel agent is something I totally agree with. Do not use Echeveria travel. She will not answer questions, and she’s really only wants to book people on princess. Being a travel agent myself, that is not how you do things.