Jump to content

The Logic for booking Club Class?


Corfe Mixture
 Share

Recommended Posts

I am new to princess and trying to decide if I should book CC mini-suit or a deluxe balcony. The price difference is $1500. Is the food experience much better? My hubby and I are foodies and we're recently spoiled on an Oceania cruise.

 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Forums mobile app

You'll have a lot more space in a mini-suite. The normal Princess cabins are quite small. The food experience is better in Club Class, but IMHO, not $1500 better. At lunch, we had one extra item or appetizer. At dinner there was one entree and either an appetizer or dessert in addition to the regular menu. CC dining isn't a "foodie" thing at all. We tried several of the special items; they were good but nothing amazingly special.

 

The first question you should answer is whether the price comparison between a balcony and a "regular" mini-suite is worth the money. Have you cruised other lines in the past? How much time do you spend in your cabin? Then ask yourself how much the preferred location and dining is worth. My logic would be to look at this on a per diem basis (we don't know how long your cruise is).

 

If you use your cabin primarily to sleep and change clothes, maybe the extra space doesn't mean much to you. If you tend to hang out in the cabin, perhaps the extra space is very important. The location of my cabin...3 doors down from a non club class mini vs a mid-ship CC mini...that's worth nothing to me. If this is a 7 night cruise, your upcharge is $100+ per person per day. No way that Club Class dining is worth that kind of money. What you'll get in addition to the Club Class dining should also be considered...priority boarding, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do not think Club Class dining is worth the extra cost to move over to a Club Class mini for me. We got to try Club Class by taking an upsell to a suite. We went back to a regular balcony cabin on our following cruise and did not miss Club Class dining. We did miss breakfast at Sabatini's, but not enough to pay regular price for a suite.

 

I agree with you Goherb. we were in a suite for 34 days on Crown this year and really the only perk for us for the suite is Sabatini's. We had a hard time even getting a table for 2, a real table for 2, not the one between two other tables for 2 with the couch. We had to really fight to get a table for 2 in the 2nd seat dining room, which is not even booked that busy. Maybe had to do with the maitre'd at the time. Club class was OK, it took longer in our opinion. We did it one time for dinner, and the head waiter Soreen, wanted us to order the next day everything from breakfast on as I have a shell fish allergy. Never had to do that before. Usually have to do dinner what we want, but not the others.

 

This year the price of the suites have gone way up. We canceled our suite for 35 days and booked a balcony. We were not even able to get chocolate covered strawberries for canapy. Also, our balcony glass, aft suite, they said they could not clean it because of environmental issues. We had to do our own cleaning, as we could not see out the glass. Very disaapointed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do not think Club Class dining is worth the extra cost to move over to a Club Class mini for me. We got to try Club Class by taking an upsell to a suite. We went back to a regular balcony cabin on our following cruise and did not miss Club Class dining. We did miss breakfast at Sabatini's, but not enough to pay regular price for a suite.

 

I agree that the breakfast in Sabatini's is special, but if you bring a split of champagne and your coffee card with you at Horizon Court and put it into your orange juice you might come close at a fraction of the price. Now if they offered a private open bar for Club Class and Suite holders, that might be a nice perk, but I don't see that happening.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sea Hag,. where on the west coast will the Royal be moving too. Very excited. Been on it several times and really enjoy it. The Horizon Bistro/Court buffet is the best. Hoping it is San Francisco.

 

 

I would have sworn I never would book club class. But the Royal is moving to the West Coast, and I've booked a club class cabin! This is entirely due to it being one of the forward, corner minis on Marina. Love being high in the ship and forward, and the price wasn't all that bad.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We recently booked a cruise on the Majestic for Sydney/New Zealand. We really enjoy the Mini-Suites but the only ones available in locations we like were CC. Thats why we booked it. That and the fact that the ship was filling up quickly. Was for location and type of cabin more than anything else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sea Hag,. where on the west coast will the Royal be moving too. Very excited. Been on it several times and really enjoy it. The Horizon Bistro/Court buffet is the best. Hoping it is San Francisco.

I wish it was San Francisco too, but it's LA for Mexican riviera and Vancouver for Alaska. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We end up in club class because of the unique cabins of M107/108 on the Royal/Regal. The two room setup of the cabin which includes a picture window not to mention the mega deck is the reason we in up in club class.

 

Love those cabins!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do feel that Princess will eventually have plans to have a separate dining room for Club Class members.

 

Definitely. The current arrangements are no doubt a tester for how Club Class is received. If it is as popular as it sounds, specific dining rooms can’t be far behind. Sky Princess anyone? Cannot wait for the fallout if it does happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Definitely. The current arrangements are no doubt a tester for how Club Class is received. If it is as popular as it sounds, specific dining rooms can’t be far behind. Sky Princess anyone? Cannot wait for the fallout if it does happen.

 

Celebrity has it - I know their newer ships have it built in from the start, but I think on the M class ships it was carved out of the dining room.

 

I may have read somewhere that the location was originally part of the "anytime" area, but later they flipped it to fixed. I'm not 100% sure of it, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depending upon how you like to cruise, in addition to cabin location, the idea that you can dine at any time without a wait and have the same servers for all your meals (which we did on Ruby last year), appeals to some cruisers. It makes scheduling your day, especially on port intensive days with long hours ashore, much more pleasurable. Regarding the “I can eat at Crown Grill or Sabatini’s every night for less” argument, the problem is you have to reserve a time, thus you are stuck to a schedule. So for those who like flexibility, they will choose to book this option for an extra amount per diem, or in some cases get it for the price of a regular mini during a sale. For what it’s worth, we are elite and have found value in the offering.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When your suite or mini-suite includes Club Class Dining, it's completely logical to take advantage of it. (y)

 

 

 

Absolutely and whenever we are in a suite, as we normally are, we take advantage of it

BUT

when we can’t get a suite and the choice is between two adjacent mini-suites where one is Club Class (M1) and the other isn’t (MB), would I pay £1000 ($1400) EACH for the club class on a 24 day cruise the answer is NEVER and my observation that we could dine every night in The Crown Grill for 60% of the difference ($800) each I s simply a device to explain why I think it is such poor value.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Absolutely and whenever we are in a suite, as we normally are, we take advantage of it

BUT

when we can’t get a suite and the choice is between two adjacent mini-suites where one is Club Class (M1) and the other isn’t (MB), would I pay £1000 ($1400) EACH for the club class on a 24 day cruise the answer is NEVER and my observation that we could dine every night in The Crown Grill for 60% of the difference ($800) each I s simply a device to explain why I think it is such poor value.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Wow, I really feel for you guys in the UK. The difference between an M1 and MB for my next 4 cruises is between $5.87-19.92(no sale on this cruise yet!) per person per day. So on a 24 day cruise that would be pp, $140.88-$478.08 more. You, it would be $1400?!!! If I had to pay that, I too, would double think doing CC dining even though I love it and it is wonderful. But at the usual difference per cruise of around $140-300, it is well worth it to me. I am retired and worked hard all my life to pay that slight difference. But $1400???? Don't think I would either!!!!

 

Pooh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, I really feel for you guys in the UK. The difference between an M1 and MB for my next 4 cruises is between $5.87-19.92(no sale on this cruise yet!) per person per day. So on a 24 day cruise that would be pp, $140.88-$478.08 more. You, it would be $1400?!!! If I had to pay that, I too, would double think doing CC dining even though I love it and it is wonderful. But at the usual difference per cruise of around $140-300, it is well worth it to me. I am retired and worked hard all my life to pay that slight difference. But $1400???? Don't think I would either!!!!

 

Pooh

 

Absolutely and whenever we are in a suite, as we normally are, we take advantage of it

BUT

when we can’t get a suite and the choice is between two adjacent mini-suites where one is Club Class (M1) and the other isn’t (MB), would I pay £1000 ($1400) EACH for the club class on a 24 day cruise the answer is NEVER and my observation that we could dine every night in The Crown Grill for 60% of the difference ($800) each I s simply a device to explain why I think it is such poor value.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

So you would pay between $140-$500 extra on a 24 day cruise?

Probably a more typical cost difference for minisuites in the same general location.

 

Therefore that is the logic. Club Dining and midship location is worth a premium, but not an unlimited premium.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We will be on the Ruby on tues in a full suite, my question is, we like to dine by ourselves, there are 2 of us, are there ample 2 tops in the CC dining area? We usually dine around 8-8:30.

Thanks

We were always seated as "just us." They adjust the table sizes as people show up--2 two tops may be pushed together to create a 3 or 4 if needed. They start off with an assortment of tables.

 

We were never asked whether we wanted to sit with others or not; we were always seated as the three or us. At lunch, I sometimes went alone, sometimes with one other--again, table size appropriate to the number who showed up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there's different ways to look at logic for CC. Here's my thoughts:

 

It's great for those who don't want to share a table. There's zero expectation that you'll share with CC, but (generally) zero wait.

It's great for those who want attentive service but for whom traditional dining just doesn't work (I do believe the servers are more attentive, and/or are presented with a lower headcount to service thereby allowing more minutes/pax).

It's great for those who insist on eating at 6:04:37pm and expect to be able to walk right into their table at that time (or who expected to be able to make a reservation but were turned away), and the mere mention of eating at 5:30pm (i.e. traditional or an as-the-doors-open ATD reservation) creates an emotionally-fueled response. {Princess has a capacity problem for the first half of dinnertime, for which most ships won't allow ATD reservations aside from 5:30pm OR 7:15pm-ish and later.)

There's also a lunch component to CC (for sea days, or any day that an MDR is open for lunch) and a breakfast component (daily, INCLUDING disembarkation day, which is IMHO a real perk for suite passengers as the suite breakfast isn't offered on that day). I wouldn't solely compare CC cost against Crown Grill, though it's hard to put a value on premium service that's still in an MDR.

 

I agree with all of your points. We are elite and still prefer Club Class. No wait. Open for lunch on sea days (there are a lot of them between LA and Sydney) and breakfast in the specialty restaurant is nice. I also feel that the service is better. We'll still get in a few meals in the Crowne Grill and Sabatini's. It's all good. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with all of your points. We are elite and still prefer Club Class. No wait. Open for lunch on sea days (there are a lot of them between LA and Sydney) and breakfast in the specialty restaurant is nice. I also feel that the service is better. We'll still get in a few meals in the Crowne Grill and Sabatini's. It's all good. :)

The breakfast in Sabatini's is a suite perk. It is not part of Club Class dining. Breakfast is served in Club Class also for those who are not in suites or choose to go to Club Class. And on the last day, when Sabatini's is not available, breakfast is in Club Class area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were always seated as "just us." They adjust the table sizes as people show up--2 two tops may be pushed together to create a 3 or 4 if needed. They start off with an assortment of tables.

 

 

 

We were never asked whether we wanted to sit with others or not; we were always seated as the three or us. At lunch' date=' I sometimes went alone, sometimes with one other--again, table size appropriate to the number who showed up.[/quote']

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The breakfast in Sabatini's is a suite perk. It is not part of Club Class dining. Breakfast is served in Club Class also for those who are not in suites or choose to go to Club Class. And on the last day' date=' when Sabatini's is not available, breakfast is in Club Class area.[/quote']

Thanks for clarifying the breakfast dining.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depending upon how you like to cruise, in addition to cabin location, the idea that you can dine at any time without a wait and have the same servers for all your meals (which we did on Ruby last year), appeals to some cruisers. It makes scheduling your day, especially on port intensive days with long hours ashore, much more pleasurable. Regarding the “I can eat at Crown Grill or Sabatini’s every night for less” argument, the problem is you have to reserve a time, thus you are stuck to a schedule. So for those who like flexibility, they will choose to book this option for an extra amount per diem, or in some cases get it for the price of a regular mini during a sale. For what it’s worth, we are elite and have found value in the offering.

 

If you go the the Crown Grill every night, they will have table for you any time you want, reservations are only necessary the first night. They have held the same table for us every night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you go the the Crown Grill every night, they will have table for you any time you want, reservations are only necessary the first night. They have held the same table for us every night.

 

Interesting. We’ve been able to walk up to Crown Grill and be seated once without a reservation but have also been turned away on two separate occasions and wouldn’t want to eat at the Crown Grill every night. Also, it would not necessarily cost you less as is the case on our upcoming cruise. If you are not a fan of Club Class or don’t see the value, then you aren’t going to book it and I understand that. The flexibility it provides fits our style of cruising and combined with the mini cabin location makes it a winner for us, and from the comments in the numerous threads on this subject, many others, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting. We’ve been able to walk up to Crown Grill and be seated once without a reservation but have also been turned away on two separate occasions and wouldn’t want to eat at the Crown Grill every night. Also, it would not necessarily cost you less as is the case on our upcoming cruise. If you are not a fan of Club Class or don’t see the value, then you aren’t going to book it and I understand that. The flexibility it provides fits our style of cruising and combined with the mini cabin location makes it a winner for us, and from the comments in the numerous threads on this subject, many others, too.

 

My point was if you want flexibility, you can get it at the Crown Grill too if they know you will be there every night. We refer the CG to the MDR Club Class, sometimes CG cost less, sometimes not ... regardless. The Crown Grill give us flexibility, same table, same staff and better menu options.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...