Mini suites on Dolphin deck vs AD suites on Emerald Deck

I'm new to this board this week. Glad I found out about it, as I've already learned a lot from you wonderful people.

We are planning on booking a mini suite for the 10 day MR cruise on the Sapphire next January. We are bringing our son, who will be on winter break from college, so want the extra space. We have had mini suites on the Dolphin deck in the past, but because of the price are considering the AD mini suites on the Emerald deck. Any comments good or bad about these AD suites (like do they get noise from Club Fusion above) vs the others would be appreciated. We will probably book Guarantee, so an upgrade may or may not happen. But that doesn't matter. Thanks.

There are pros and cons to the Emerald aft minis, yet there are many who swear by them.

If you're looking for lots of sun on the balcony, the aft minis are completely covered and cut out from the hull. Advantage is that evebn in a tropical Caribbean shower you can be out on the balcony and stay dry or protect yourself from the sun if sun sensitive.

We had friends on Star last Nov crossing the Pacific who book the aft minis on Emerald for this very reason..price and protection. The remainder of the minis on Dolphin of course are all uncovered and completely open to the gods and passengers above.

Hope this helps, and...

Ciao for now!!!

Whats cut out from the hull??? :confused:

Who said anything about AFT??

I'm new to this board this week. Glad I found out about it, as I've already learned a lot from you wonderful people.

 

We are planning on booking a mini suite for the 10 day MR cruise on the Sapphire next January. We are bringing our son, who will be on winter break from college, so want the extra space. We have had mini suites on the Dolphin deck in the past, but because of the price are considering the AD mini suites on the Emerald deck. Any comments good or bad about these AD suites (like do they get noise from Club Fusion above) vs the others would be appreciated. We will probably book Guarantee, so an upgrade may or may not happen. But that doesn't matter. Thanks.

Emerald deck AD minis are the best. There are only 12 and they sellout fast. They are covered/private/quiet.

Dolphin deck minis are completely uncovered.

Both are the same layout wise.

We have had both Dolphin and Emerald Minis and prefer the Emerald Deck. We tend to use our balcony more. We also have never had any noise from Club Fusion below. With that said, if an AD was not available, we would book on the Dolphin Deck.

AD Minis on the Starboard side win hands down. I love the privacy of a fully covered balcony. You can beat the loaction either, and the Sapphire is our favorite ship, you'll love her. We were able to book E731 for our upcoming Hawaii cruise on the Sapphire, just can't wait!

There's a little bit of bass that comes through on the Port side, but it was never a big deal and usually ended by 10pm, and you couldn't actually hear the music unless you were in the bathroom, so no biggie.

Emerald deck AD minis are the best. There are only 12 and they sellout fast. They are covered/private/quiet.

 

Dolphin deck minis are completely uncovered.

 

Both are the same layout wise.

I agree. they are the best. We stayed in one on the Diamond and loved it. Couldn't pass up the killer deal we got on an AC mini, sio I had to give up the AD reservation.....:(

Bob

Don"t ever book the dolphin deck on the star,ruby or the crown mini's because they are not covered.Any one above you with a balcony can look right down on your deck.

long cruiser

Thanks, everyone. That helps a lot. I think we will try for the Emerald mini suites this time. Rain is not usually an issue for the Mexican Riviera, but it would be nice to have more privacy. Our last trip on the Sapphire, we were in an AA mini suite (upgraded), and the balcony is quite open to everyone and everything (and it did rain when we left LA). Thanks, again.

We are planning on booking a mini suite for the 10 day MR cruise on the Sapphire next January. We are bringing our son, who will be on winter break from college, so want the extra space. We have had mini suites on the Dolphin deck in the past, but because of the price are considering the AD mini suites on the Emerald deck. Any comments good or bad about these AD suites (like do they get noise from Club Fusion above) vs the others would be appreciated. We will probably book Guarantee, so an upgrade may or may not happen. But that doesn't matter. Thanks.

Although we prefer a semi covered balcony, to us there is only one 'con' to the AD mini suites. Since the balcony is totally covered, we have found it makes the interior of the room a lot darker than those that are uncovered. But a small price to pay for being protected from the elements. ;)

The Emerald minis are very nice. Because of their location you do not get much traffic in the halls so they are quiet. The covered balcony is very private.

The only other potential con to the Emerald minis is that they are so far aft that they are a long walk from many ship venues, especially those near the bow--I wouldn't suggest them for anyone with mobility issues.

Les

we went for the ad mini on coral--gty--only one we could afford--going to alaska in 28 days!!! but my question is, since we may end up with a dolphin, uncovered, and i know by booking gty i have to be happy with anything, i decided that so what if people can look at me on the balcony--i don't really understand the concern about this--of course, if i were on my honeymoon--it might be different, but this is a retirement cruise for us, so unless one of us 60 year olds starts acting differently than normal --we shouldn't mnd the uncovered balcony--but now i am wondering if i am overlooking something--i am just so happy to have the larger room and the balcony and the bathtub--yes!!! the bathtub--i am so excited--and to be able to glance out at the sea and mountains, etc at any momment (we moved up from an inside,gty, so this has been a real bonus for us)t was a real struggle for me to decide to change from inside to mini, as i hated to spend the money--but my 80 year old sister went to alaska a cople years ago, and she said she loved her balcony and i deserved it--so am i ok not to worry that the balcony will be uncovered? i am from chicago and used to the elements--what do you think?? thaks, grams98

Don"t ever book the dolphin deck on the star,ruby or the crown mini's because they are not covered.Any one above you with a balcony can look right down on your deck.

long cruiser

So What! We have been on the Dolphin Deck and no one really is looking at you. We had fun talking with some of the oeple above us.:)

We are booked on the Dolphin Deck. We didn't realize until after we booked that the balconies are completely uncovered. I have to admit that at first I did have a concern. Mostly because I'm really sensitive to the sun. Also, it brought to light that anyone above us would be looking down on this deck. Well, the more I thought about it, the more I'm glad we chose the Dolphin Deck. First of all, the sun isn't going to be shining down on you all day long. Even if it's a sunny day, it will only shine on that side of the ship for a period of time. So, we will just choose the best time of day to be out on the balcony. No big deal. Matter of fact, I think it's gonna be great to be able to see straight up into the stars at night. I kinda like the thought of being able to look all around and it not be blocked in any way. Also, I'm not planning on doing anything on the deck that I would be embarassed for anyone to see, so that really isn't a concern. So, yeah, I'm really looking forward to the uncovered balcony....

I'm glad to see others finally commenting on the "so what" factor of the dolphin balcony being visible. Anyone could look at me enjoying the sunshine if I was up on the Sun deck, so why does it matter if people see me sitting on a balcony. Enjoy your trips and the luxury of having a door to open to the outside from your cabin!

that's right--the stars--so now I really am ok with whtever mini we get-and i just read some nice things about the ad on another post--so it really doesn't matter--never had a mii before, always inside or ov or obov and one balcony-ca't wait-thanks, grams98

we went for the ad mini on coral--gty--only one we could afford--going to alaska in 28 days!!! but my question is, since we may end up with a dolphin, uncovered, and i know by booking gty i have to be happy with anything, i decided that so what if people can look at me on the balcony--i don't really understand the concern about this--of course, if i were on my honeymoon--it might be different, but this is a retirement cruise for us, so unless one of us 60 year olds starts acting differently than normal --we shouldn't mnd the uncovered balcony--but now i am wondering if i am overlooking something--i am just so happy to have the larger room and the balcony and the bathtub--yes!!! the bathtub--i am so excited--and to be able to glance out at the sea and mountains, etc at any momment (we moved up from an inside,gty, so this has been a real bonus for us)t was a real struggle for me to decide to change from inside to mini, as i hated to spend the money--but my 80 year old sister went to alaska a cople years ago, and she said she loved her balcony and i deserved it--so am i ok not to worry that the balcony will be uncovered? i am from chicago and used to the elements--what do you think?? thaks, grams98

I'd take anything. I had to give up our AD mini for next year for an AC because of the killer deal I got. Since overtime was cut at work, I gotta pinch pennies.....

Bob

that's interesting--on our cruise, the ad's were cheaper than the ac's--i will never understand this princess pricing--grams98

Thanks, again for all your comments about the different mini-suites. It looks like both have their pros and cons and it depends on what you like. The privacy part (or lack there of) of the Dolphin deck mini suites has never bothered me, but it would be nice to be out of the elements at times by having a cover. This might be a real plus to the AD suites in rainy places like Alaska. (Oh, and seeing stars is usually not an issue on the Alaska cruises, since the Inside Passage is often cloudy or foggy.)

The AD mini suites usually are cheaper, but sometimes you can get a Guarantee deal that is even cheaper. That happened to us on our cruise to the Mexican Riviera in March. The AD mini suite Guarantee price was cheaper than the assigned price. We took that deal and ended up in an AA mini suite.

we went for the ad mini on coral--gty--only one we could afford--going to alaska in 28 days!!! but my question is, since we may end up with a dolphin, uncovered, and i know by booking gty i have to be happy with anything, i decided that so what if people can look at me on the balcony--i don't really understand the concern about this--of course, if i were on my honeymoon--it might be different, but this is a retirement cruise for us, so unless one of us 60 year olds starts acting differently than normal --we shouldn't mnd the uncovered balcony--but now i am wondering if i am overlooking something--i am just so happy to have the larger room and the balcony and the bathtub--yes!!! the bathtub--i am so excited--and to be able to glance out at the sea and mountains, etc at any momment (we moved up from an inside,gty, so this has been a real bonus for us)t was a real struggle for me to decide to change from inside to mini, as i hated to spend the money--but my 80 year old sister went to alaska a cople years ago, and she said she loved her balcony and i deserved it--so am i ok not to worry that the balcony will be uncovered? i am from chicago and used to the elements--what do you think?? thaks, grams98

We've had Dolphin deck minis twice and loved it. I don't care if anyone wants to look down on me, and we haven't experienced anything landing on our balcony. That being said, we have an Emerald AD booked for Alaska this summer. I figured we could even sight-see if it's raining. I understand it rains a lot in Alaska.:rolleyes:

We've had Dolphin deck minis twice and loved it. I don't care if anyone wants to look down on me, and we haven't experienced anything landing on our balcony. That being said, we have an Emerald AD booked for Alaska this summer. I figured we could even sight-see if it's raining. I understand it rains a lot in Alaska.:rolleyes:

One word of advice on the weather reports in Alaska. I was watching the weather on a daily basis on our cruise to Alaska. The weather reports stated that it was going to rain every single day we were on the cruise.

So, we just figured, so what, it is what it is and we'll deal with it. Neither of us mind rain that much and we just had to have a decent mind set about it.

Well, I'll never watch the weather like that again. It turned out to be RECORD highs in a few of the ports (next to the last cruise in September on the Diamond Princess)...and the only time it rained was about an hour in Ketchican (sp?) and it was light drizzle!

As far as the Emerald vs. Dolphin minis, we were on last mini on the Grand in March, E729. I had heard so many stories about "items" falling onto your balcony from above....even from people that were not meaning to actually drop something into a balcony (believe it or not, there are still so many idiots that throw things overboard like it is a huge garbage can....and they are the same people that still litter back home, such as tossing cigerette butts out their windows--hard to believe it folks, but yes...people still actually do that and have no clue what they are doing)....so we wanted privacy, but hubby is a sun worshiper and I avoid the sun at all cost. Well, it turned out it was perfect. Hubby got PLENTY of sun....trust me, just because it is covered does not mean the deck does not get sun!!!! But the great part, is that there are always places where one can be on the deck if they want to avoid sun.

Worked out great for us. We'd book on the Emerald Deck again.

Dawn

we went for the ad mini on coral--gty--only one we could afford--going to alaska in 28 days!!! but my question is, since we may end up with a dolphin, uncovered, and i know by booking gty i have to be happy with anything, i decided that so what if people can look at me on the balcony--i don't really understand the concern about this--of course, if i were on my honeymoon--it might be different, but this is a retirement cruise for us, so unless one of us 60 year olds starts acting differently than normal --we shouldn't mnd the uncovered balcony--but now i am wondering if i am overlooking something--i am just so happy to have the larger room and the balcony and the bathtub--yes!!! the bathtub--i am so excited--and to be able to glance out at the sea and mountains, etc at any momment (we moved up from an inside,gty, so this has been a real bonus for us)t was a real struggle for me to decide to change from inside to mini, as i hated to spend the money--but my 80 year old sister went to alaska a cople years ago, and she said she loved her balcony and i deserved it--so am i ok not to worry that the balcony will be uncovered? i am from chicago and used to the elements--what do you think?? thaks, grams98

I've done mini's three times on the Dolphin deck. I never minded the balcony being viewable from the decks above. Stay excited. Even the Dolphin mini's are great. I did like the feeling of just hanging off the side of the ship with only ocean viewable as opposed to higher decks where you see the decks below you. I may have been lucky to never get any difficult people surrounding us. However, I am booked in an Emerald mini on the Crown in December because of all the great comments on these boards. I have E731 so excited