Balcony or Mini-Suite for Infant in Pack and Play?

Hey everyone,

First time cruise for us with our 1 year old.

We are going to be on the Caribbean Princess.

So it will be my me and my wife and also a pack and play in the room for our son. Any chance we would be good with just a regular balcony room?

Or do you think we should step it up to the mini suite for more space?

Thanks for your help.

I don't know about Princess ships, but on the couple of family trips we have done with NCL and RCI, my sister and brother-in-law have always had a mini and with the pack and play it was still tight on both cruise lines. While I am sure it can be done, I doubt it is very comfortable or easy to do the P&P in a standard balcony room on any cruise line.

The bath tub in the mini would also be quite handy for bathing a 1-year old.

Agree with prior posters. Get a mini suite. There is not much floor space in a standard balcony. You will be tripping over the pack and play.

I agree that the mini-suite is the most desirable cabin because of the tub and extra space. Also, you probably already know this, but you do have to book and pay for the 1 year old the same as any other 3rd passenger, even though he/she is sleeping in the pack 'n play. A while back there was a thread on the Family Board where parents didn't book their baby and thought they could just add the baby at the last minute or show up with the baby. By the time they figured it out they were no longer able to add the baby to the booking because no more triples were available.

I also agree , you will need a mini.

Cori

You'll have more floor space in a mini.

A mini-suite for sure. I have been in both categories and there is no room for a pack & play in a standard balcony.:)

A mini-suite for sure. I have been in both categories and there is no room for a pack & play in a standard balcony.:)

Definitely a minisuite if it is in your budget. Princess' regular balcony cabins aren't very big and I can't imagine staying in one with a play pin of sorts for an infant.

Plus, I love the extra room, bigger bathroom, and bigger balcony in the minisuites.

A mini is a must! Gives all 3 of you a bit of space.

No experience myself but it has been fun reading about others bringing pack and plays. Several have said that they fit perfect in the closet in Princess cabins (closets on many cabins on Princess are open). I would never have thought to put a baby in there but more then one person commented on this "perfect location".

No experience myself but it has been fun reading about others bringing pack and plays. Several have said that they fit perfect in the closet in Princess cabins (closets on many cabins on Princess are open). I would never have thought to put a baby in there but more then one person commented on this "perfect location".

I initially thought closet too, but I'm not certain you could open the bathroom door enough to get in and out of it.

Definitely mini. We just had a balcony for the first time in 6 years and I was shocked at how small it was. The floor space between the vanity and he refrigerator would probably hold the pack and play but the desk chair, barrel chair and maybe table would have to go on the balcony or in the closet.

I also like the mini because of the bath for the baby.

Do the mini and ask the steward if he or she can arrange to have the small table in the center of the sitting area removed and stored (it may depend on ship storage - it might fit in the bottom of the closet too. That will give you plenty of room to move around.

If you can swing it, I would definitely go with a minisuite. You won't have enough space in a standard balcony. You'll find a mini will be comfortable for the three of you

Thanks everyone for the responses, booked the mini suite last night.

Thanks everyone for the responses, booked the mini suite last night.

The three of you will be very happy with the additional room :)

We did an Alaska cruise with our son, DIL, and 15-month-old grandson this past July, on the Star. Son's family was in an oceanview on a different floor. DH and I had a mini-suite and asked the steward if he had a spare "crib" we could have in our room (in addition to the one that had been reserved in advance by the baby's parents). The steward brought a Graco Pack 'n' Play and a sheet. The PnP fit in the mini-suite even without taking out the little table (and stored nicely there, folded up), but when it was naptime for our grandson, we did indeed put the PnP in the closet. It was always dark there, and the surrounding noise-absorbing clothing (and the fact that it was around the corner from where the rest of us were) meant it was quiet. If arranged properly in the closet (pushed to the far end), one could indeed still access the bathroom while the "crib" was in place.

I was very glad we had not been given a standard crib, which we could not have collapsed and moved around like we did with the PnP. (The baby's parents were provided with a standard crib, which there really was no room for in their room (which also had two unused drop-down beds taking up space). The parents had to hide in the bathroom if they didn't want the baby to see them while he was falling asleep.)

And having the tub available in the mini-suite was wonderful - kids in diapers can't go in pools, so this was his only way to have water fun (and get clean!). The mini-suite sofa was also a hit with the grandson; gave him something to climb on, and it was a great place to read books together and have some cuddle time. There were also plenty of accessible shelves for his toys. All in all, I think you will be very glad to have booked the mini-suite!