This post will share our review and photos from our stay in a Grand Suite with Large Balcony onboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas!
When we decided to go on an Alaskan cruise, we without a doubt knew that we had to have a balcony. If there was ever a time to have a balcony, an Alaskan cruise was THE time. We wanted to enjoy the view as much as possible. We chose the Grand Suite with Large Balcony because of the way the balcony is configured…it actually wraps around the corner, giving a much wider vantage point.
Ovation of the Seas Stateroom 13634
Stateroom 13634 is located on the 13th floor. When booking, I completely forgot that Royal Caribbean ships don’t have a 13th floor because it is considered unlucky. When I remembered some time later, I thought I did something wrong and freaked out! However, upon consulting my friend, Google, I discovered that the Quantum Class ships do actually have a 13th floor because the number is not considered unlucky in Asia, where the these ships’ market is primarily located.
13634 is fairly close to the elevators without being too close and noisy. You can see on the Ovation of the Seas deck plan for deck 13 below that the balcony wraps around the room. I’ll show and talk more about that later in the post.
Upon entering the room, you are immediately in the living area. To the right is one entrance to the bathroom (there are two).
To the left is a mirror-covered closet and high-top dresser/table with drawers.
The couch pulls out to a sleeper sofa. I think the intention is that two kids could sleep long ways side-by-side, but my kids we just short enough to lay the other way so they could have more room between them.
Back to the right, there is a desk with the coffee maker, some shelves and a tv.
This angle shows the rest of the living area, where you can see the extra chair, table, phone and extra space in front of the balcony door. You can also see the large curtain that spans the entire opening…this can be used to separate the rooms for privacy and light control. Because you’re in Alaska, where, depending on the time of year, there might be 20+ hours of daylight in a day, there’s light-blocking curtains for every door and window to keep it dark while you’re sleeping.
Just look at the next photo…the kids are in bed because it’s late and bedtime, but it’s completely light outside!
I liked the separation of the rooms, as opposed to one giant open room, but in order to have that, the wall between them does kind of make certain parts of the room feel cramped at times, specifically between the tvs and the bed/glass table. I’m not complaining, it’s a Grand Suite after all, but I did see some reviews sharing the same thought before we went. It just has a different configuration than most Grand Suites and some were saying they felt “roomier” in a Junior Suite on this ship.
The bedroom has a nightstand with drawers on both sides of the bed, a tv, closet and small desk/vanity.
There is another door to the bathroom here.
The bathroom is very roomy! There is one toilet, 2 sink/vanities and a tub/shower.
I absolutely loved the amount of windows that allow you to have such a great view even from inside the room, especially after grabbing a plate of Coconut Ranger Cookies from the Windjammer to enjoy from the comfort of my bed.
This view though…come out of the shower and BOOM mountains right there.
Ovation of the Seas Stateroom 13634 Balcony
While I felt that the room configuration left us a little cramped for a Grand Suite, the balcony more than made up for it.
The main part of the balcony can be accessed by both the living room slider door and the bedroom slider door. There is a table with 2 chairs, 2 reclining chairs with ottomans and a smaller table.
This table is a decent size to enjoy your breakfast before venturing to your shore excursion! You can even slide over more chairs and the smaller tables if you need them.
At the corner point, there is a wall with a door that you can open and close on your own, no need for stateroom attendant assistance. This to help with wind control.
Around the corner, there are 2 full loungers and a small table.
A small portion of this side of the balcony has some overhang from the deck above. We actually enjoyed it because it allowed for some shade when we wanted it.
Like when I want to enjoy my ice cream as we sail away from port.
Here’s another view of the overhang if you are wanting to see what that looks like for other Deck 13 rooms.
We loved sitting outside and using binoculars to take a closer look at wildlife. We bought these compact travel binoculars and they were prefect for the kids.
This was our favorite spot to relax and enjoy the view after hitting up the Suite Lounge!
Tip! See the blue blankets in all our photos? You can check them out at the towel stations just like pool towels! Alaskan cruises are so amazingly bizarre!
The balcony made viewing special events much easier, too! Like when we spent time at Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier. The ship gets as close as it safely can to the glacier and does a complete turn so that all sides of the ship get a viewing opportunity. We could enjoy the view from the balcony without having to go up to a top deck with lots of other people.
Oh, hey there!
Some of best whale-spotting from the ship happened from our balcony at late hours of the night/early morning.
Of course, a perfect view all of the time is not guaranteed. We woke up one morning to this!
Overall Thoughts on the Grand Suite with Large Balcony
If you can swing it, a balcony is a must on an Alaskan Cruise. If you can’t, there are plenty of viewing spots up on the top decks. In fact, I found myself hanging out in various locations of the ship taking in the view just because it was such a different vibe than being on a Caribbean cruise. But we definitely hung out on this balcony more than any other cruise balcony we’ve ever had.
Do you need a suite? No, you don’t NEED one to get a balcony, but the Grand Suite provided extra benefits as well, since it is in the Sky Class of Royal’s suite categories. There is a Suite Lounge, which is open throughout the day to enjoy various snacks and drinks, with an espresso machine to use any time. You can also go in the evenings, typically 5-8, for hors d’oeuvres and complimentary alcoholic drinks.
There is a Suite Concierge, that will help you book shows, dining, excursions, etc. One of our favorite concierge amenities was that they will walk you off the ship via your own exit at each port and debarkation. We didn’t know how beneficial that was until we passed lines of people each time!
To see more Suite Class benefits, check out Royal Caribbean’s Suite information page here.
Overall, my favorite aspects of this room are the balcony, the bathroom and the suite benefits.
Looking for more stateroom reviews? Check out this one!
