JimmyVWine

I just went back and checked my saved information from a couple of cruises. The first time I sailed in a Mini-Suite, it was on Crown Princess. The literature that I screenshot from that time showed the cabin to be 323 sq. ft. (including the balcony). This was back in the old days of EXACT measurements. I just looked at the Deck Plan for Crown Princess a moment ago and the cabin we sailed in is listed as an "average" of 323 sq, ft. Then I checked the second ship on which we booked a Mini-Suite which was Sapphire, because I know that that cabin was larger. The literature I saved showed 354 sq. ft. (including the balcony). The current Deck Plan using the "average" size shows that same cabin as being...wait for it...354 sq. ft. When we entered the cabin on the first day, we could perceive that that cabin was larger, but not in any meaningful way, or any way that would influence our booking decision whatsoever. So I would advise to not let the use of the term "average" throw you. It does not appear as if they have changed anything other than to use a word that is putting you on tilt. The vast majority of cabins in a particular class are going to be identical, within that class. Accessible cabins will be bigger, and some one-off, oddly placed cabins (like Family Suites) will have different dimensions. And the balcony sizes will throw the numbers off, but usually only to the positive. For example, on the Royal Class ships, the mid-ship angled balcony cabins might show the same "average" square footage as the non-angled balconies, but we know that the angled ones will be bigger. I don't think you will ever get a cabin that is smaller than what is listed as the average, as they appear to be using the "typical" cabin as the "average" cabin. In other words, no one has added up the total square footage of all the cabins in a category and then divided by the total number of such cabins to get a "true average". Read the word "average" to mean "most" or "typical" or "no less than".

I'm curious to see how this develops. I suspect that this will become the norm. The American Diner concept seems pretty brilliant to me...for B and L. But for dinner, not so much. If you polled the 4,000+ people on board and asked them if they would prefer Deck 8 to be a Diner for dinner, or convert to a casual venue serving the MDR menu thus alleviating the logjam at the other two decks by providing 50% more MDR seating, it seems to me that the vote would be a landslide.

Thanks for your insights. The ship's schedule would never allow for a sunrise visit and the availability later in the morning looks promising.

We have an overnight in Southampton which means a full, free day to explore. I was originally thinking of doing this exact plan until I realized that our day in port will coincide with the autumnal equinox. Does anyone have any insight as to whether this celestial event will cause Stonehenge to be a complete zoo of people? The site is not important enough for me to waste my time being shoulder to shoulder with zealous people on pilgrimages. Thanks.

I'm not sure what you mean by "generic". Every single balcony cabin on Aloha Deck is going to be the exact same size except for very, very few one-offs. So if you look at 27 different cabins and see that every one of those cabins is listed as being 179 sq. ft., it's not because the site is giving you generic information, but rather because those 27 cabins are actually the same size. Unless I missed it, that site does not use the dreaded word: "average".

Try cruisedeckplans. That site still uses exact figures, though I do not know if they are accurate given that it is a third party site. But my guess is that the information contained on that site was taken directly from the Princess published material, and when Princess changed to "average sizes", this website did not.

Somebody should send the memo to Land's End and Victoria Secret!

Yes. Just enter the final balance. The card will not zero out and instead will carry the difference which you can use on board by going to Guest Services and have them upload that amount as OBC. Or you can just hold on to the card and use it for a future cruise payment.

It’s not unusual for a restaurant to be at full capacity even when tables are empty. It all depends on how many people are in the kitchen and how many servers are on the floor. In a “cook to order” restaurant, the kitchen can only prepare so many items at a time and that number never equals the number of seats in the restaurant. Perhaps Princess staffing is such that the restaurant is “full” at 60-70% capacity.

I just booked it for a cruise in September. Two options were offered, 6:30 and 8:30. Paid up front to the cc that Princess has on file for me.

I had posted in a different thread that the "brilliance" of the Reserve Mini-Suite is that Princess can move the numbers around any way they want, cruise to cruise. If a "regular" Mini-Suite and a "Signature" Mini-Suite are identical in all physical respects except for perks that reside outside of the cabin itself, Princess can wave a magic wand and increase or decrease the number of Mini-Suites that qualify for the external benefits based on demand (and to some degree, capacity). So Mini-Suites can be "promoted" or "demoted" cruise to cruise. Not saying that Princess is doing this yet, but the option is there.

But don't you think that if Princess had made possible pre-booking what few spaces were available for purchase in the Sanctuary through the app that the spaces would have sold out?

Agree. I just did a price comparison between a Sanctuary Suite (S9)and a Sanctuary Mini-Suite and the difference was eye-popping. Certainly not worth the extra price when all you get is Lounge access (as if there aren't enough bars on the ship already) and a mini-bar setup (which is redundant now that the Premier Package is baked in to the price of both cabins.) If one is not already Platinum or Elite, then there is the early boarding perk, but honestly, what is that worth? So is free laundry and priority tender boarding worth the extra cost? Not to me.

You already know the answer to that question!

Interesting. It looks like the Reserve Collection Cabana Deck Mini-Suites are no more. There are still Cabana Deck Mini-Suites that offer access to that special seating area on Deck 9, but they have removed the "Reserve Dining" perk that used to come with them. Here is a comparison of the descriptions of a Sanctuary MS (none of which have Cabanas) and a Cabana Deck MS: Sanctuary Mini-Suite Approx. 304 sq. ft., including balcony Sleeps up to 4 guests Sanctuary benefits, including exclusive dining, events and entertainment Larger than a balcony stateroom and includes a separate seating area with sofa bed as well as two flat-panel TVs, and premium bathroom amenities Cabana Deck Mini-Suite Sleeps up to 4 guests, aprox. 389 sqft., including cabana & balcony Access to exclusive Cabana Deck Balcony with seating & cabana Luxury mattress/pillows, two TVs If you go to book a Sanctuary MS, you bypass the screen that allows you to opt in to Premier or Plus as you already have Premier built in as a "Sanctuary benefit." When you go to book a Cabana Deck MS, you are taken to the Premier/Plus page to opt into one of those packages. I guess they figure that if you have a Cabana Deck MS, you don't need to go to the Sanctuary. But with that assumption comes the stripping away of the Reserve Dining Room.