Cabin Review

My husband and I decided to splurge on a suite this cruise -- and BOY are we so happy that we did! We were in the Crown Loft Suite (1724) which is one of the AFT suites on Deck 17.

Where do I begin??

First off, I would want to highlight something about being in an AFT Crown Loft Suite (L2) since I was not able to find many reviews for this particular cabin. And what I could find was somewhat ambiguous. Up until we entered the suite, I had reservations about being in a cabin that overlooks a very busy part of the ship, including the mini-golf course, FlowRiders (one on each side of the ship) and the zip line that literally lands two decks directly below our balcony. I was concerned that it would be both noisy and less private. But my husband is a bit of a people watcher and wanted to stick with what we booked.

Folks, we really enjoyed the location. I should also mention that 1724 is a bit off to the side; three in from the end (the ends suites are Sky Loft Suites, I believe). I would suggest aiming for one of the first two Crown Loft Suites on either side rather than the three middle suites if you can. It looked like the middle suites, while sporting larger balconies, may have had a more impeded view of the ocean since they are directly across from the rear structure of the ship. From our location we had a largely panoramic view of the ocean, and also got to enjoy watching the various activities on the sports deck. I enjoyed watching people trying their hand at the FlowRider. On two of the sea days (there are three on this itinerary), I lazed out on the balcony (on the full-sized lounges) and dozed in the warm afternoon listening to the happy sounds of cruise-goers enjoying their vacation. Honestly, it's not much different or busier than laying on the beach. If you're worried about the noise while inside your suite, don't be -- the sliding door to the stateroom seals quite nicely and as soon as you pull the handle up to lock it, you hardly hear any noise at all. And the sheers (one on the main window, another upstairs where the bed is located) offered plenty of privacy. Anyone trying hard enough to peer through the sheer would undoubtedly draw attention to themselves (and be looking for a slap upside the head).

When we first entered the suite, we were greeted by a plate of fresh fruit placed neatly on the dining table and birthday decorations which I had ordered in advance scattered around the room. Our Loft Attendants later greeted us in short order to give us information about the mandatory muster drill as well as an orientation on the room gadgetry; the sheers and drapes on the suite's two-story bay window are operated electronically from a panel near the window (the latter also from the sleeping area). How cool is that? The room lighting is also controlled from a multi-button panel which has settings for morning, afternoon, evening and night and sets the lighting in the room accordingly.

The "living area" with a couch and chair/ottoman accommodated six adults comfortably for a gathering. Honestly I think the suite was bigger than my first apartment! As a result of being two stories high, the suite was very spacious and turned out to be a perfect place to hold my husband's belated birthday party, with decorations, a cake, (and even a cake made out of towels) and presents. The balcony is equally spacious with two full-sized lounge chairs and table.

Plus, as a previous cruise-goer there's just something too fun about having an upstairs and downstairs in your cabin. "Oh, excuse me for a minute, I need to run upstairs and get my sunglasses." :)

A large LED TV takes up a good portion of one wall with some wall-encased Bose speakers providing some decent sound, particularly when I'd leave it on the Menu screen which played much of the same rock music that plays on one of my own Pandora channels. Not sure if some of the older folks would care for it -- but I loved it…says the 53 year-old mom of three boys) :)

The master bedroom is located on the 2nd-floor loft which is enclosed by clear-glass half walls and features a very comfortable Royal King sized bed and another LED TV that descends from the ceiling (more cool gadgetry!). Sheer curtains can be pulled across the loft for additional privacy. The roomy master bathroom has a wide stall shower with two adjustable shower heads and another ceiling "rainbird" showerhead in the center of the shower. The water pressure was quite decent. Also the bath amenities (shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc.) seemed to be of good quality. A roomy vanity area sits just outside the bathroom.

Downstairs there's another full-sized bathroom with a generously sized stall shower. In short, we had "hers" and "his" bathrooms; plus it was nice having a guest bathroom when the kids stopped by for a visit.

And the service? Excellent! Our Loft Attendants, Camelia Tudorica and her assistant, Barulla, were just awesome. Best stateroom attendants I can recall from all my cruises.

On our previous (Canada/New England) cruise, husband and I were very disappointed because our attendant, while polite, was pretty scarce -- and we saw not ONE towel critter the entire cruise. We speculated that maybe it was the prepaid gratuity and lack of incentive to go the extra mile; or maybe because we were a superior balcony room on a deck sprinkled with suites. Or maybe they didn't do towel critters anymore. We weren't really sure.

Camelia and Barulla restored our faith in great attendants (and towel critters). In addition to an awesome 'towel birthday cake' which they left in our cabin on sailing day and left with us for the entire cruise, and decorating the suite with birthday decorations and balloons everywhere, we would find a new towel buddy waiting for us almost every night at turndown. I know it sounds silly, but the towel critter has become a tradition on cruises, and we were so happy to find that it hadn't died.

Camelia was very social and always around and eager to answer any questions; she kept us very well informed of anything we needed to know.

I can say without reservation that I can't imagine booking anything but a suite on all future cruises - we felt it was so worth the extras we enjoyed. Not just the extra roomy accommodations, but the extra services made available to us. Sadly, the smaller ships won't have the Crown Loft Suite -- but if you're booking on any of the Oasis class ships and can spare the extra dollars, my husband and I would both very highly recommend this suite.