Epic - mini suite vs balcony room

Can someone tell me the difference with these rooms please.

They look the same. The upgrade is not much more but wondered what I would get. We need one to sleep 4 people.

Thanks.

In the balcony rooms the couch is short and opens to a single bed. Fourth person would be in a bed that folds down from the ceiling. In mini suites the couch is longer and opens into a double bed for third and fourth person to share. Minis also have larger bathrooms. Some (MA and MC categories) have bathtubs.

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Personally for 2 people in a room I would just get the balcony, but for more than 2 the small amount of extra space in a mini is very nice if you can afford the price difference.

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Three of us did mini on Dawn. Could not imagine less space.

But if you are like some who only sleep, shower and change clithes

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The ones who should decide are pax # 3 and # 4. Would they prefer the different configuration?

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We are booked (4) in a balcony now and have been considering upgrading to a mini, but I thought I read that the mini cabins look down on the lifeboats. Is that true because if so, I'll just stick with the cabin we have now.

It looks like you'd get 20-35 extra square feet at the most. That said, if you need the extra sleeping berth, that would decide it. As it is, you're not getting too much, so price would be a big factor for me. Good luck with your decision.

We are booked (4) in a balcony now and have been considering upgrading to a mini, but I thought I read that the mini cabins look down on the lifeboats. Is that true because if so, I'll just stick with the cabin we have now.

I guess you could say that most of the cabins that are located on decks above the lifeboats "look down on them." However this should pose no problem unless you favor standing at the balcony rail and looking straight down. For the most part I think you will be looking out at the ocean and not straight down. When you are seated on the balcony, the lifeboats are not visible at all.

We had a minisuite on Epic and thought it was just fine and we spend a lot of time on our balcony.

Can someone tell me the difference with these rooms please.

 

They look the same. The upgrade is not much more but wondered what I would get. We need one to sleep 4 people.

 

Thanks.

This is a video of a balcony. Just by conincidence it is of a room that I had booked in 2012 before I had to cancel because of a health problem. When I rebooked a year later I booked a Mini because of a great price that was lower than the balcony. The mini has a very large shower or tub. My room was 9095. If you look at that room on a deck plan you will see little curves where the beds are. The curves that look like the ones in 9095 have a shower. The other configuration has a tub. (every other one)http://

In the balcony rooms the couch is short and opens to a single bed. Fourth person would be in a bed that folds down from the ceiling. In mini suites the couch is longer and opens into a double bed for third and fourth person to share. Minis also have larger bathrooms. Some (MA and MC categories) have bathtubs.

 

 

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Wrong. Not on Epic. The couch bed is same for balcony and mini suite. The mini suite just has more space and bigger toilet and shower space.

The 4th person always has the bed from the ceiling - if the cabin has it.

MA and MC have bathtubs and MB and MD have bigger shower than balcony cabins.

In the balcony rooms the couch is short and opens to a single bed. Fourth person would be in a bed that folds down from the ceiling. In mini suites the couch is longer and opens into a double bed for third and fourth person to share. Minis also have larger bathrooms. Some (MA and MC categories) have bathtubs.

 

 

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Not the case at all - it is a single bed at best. I've slept on one a few times during my Epic cruises. We've always booked an MA (mini suite with bathtub).

To the OP, not much difference in the room actually except the room is a bit longer (not wider).

Sorry still don't quite understand fully. I see the sq ft of the mini suite is more than for a balcony and I get that the extra is length not width (although on the NCl Epic deck plans the minisuites look a bit wider) but, as the furniture looks identical, what part of the minisuite cabin is longer?

Sorry still don't quite understand fully. I see the sq ft of the mini suite is more than for a balcony and I get that the extra is length not width (although on the NCl Epic deck plans the minisuites look a bit wider) but, as the furniture looks identical, what part of the minisuite cabin is longer?

From what I gather after looking at diagrams of a regular balcony room vs a minisuite, the part of the minisuite that is longer is the entranceway when you first walk into the cabin because that is parallel to where the bathroom is and the bathroom is definitely bigger/longer.

Save the money on the upgrade and get get the UDP (unless you already have that) - service on Epic sucks, so I'd do the UDP to enjoy your meals.

We were in an MA Mini Suite a couple weeks ago on the Epic. Previously we were in a balcony room on the same ship. The mini suite was really worth it to us due to the larger amount of storage space. The balcony room has a counter along one wall with an empty wall and TV above it. The mini suite has a whole row of upper cabinets above the counter so we had more than enough places to store all of our belongings. The tub was also very nice as well. It had a nice large shelf for all of our soap, shampoo etc so we didn't have to constantly reach down to the floor to pick it up. It wasn't a huge difference in the amount of space but those little things made it worth the price difference.

Do the MA and MC mini suites with a tub also have a shower?

From what I gather after looking at diagrams of a regular balcony room vs a minisuite, the part of the minisuite that is longer is the entranceway when you first walk into the cabin because that is parallel to where the bathroom is and the bathroom is definitely bigger/longer.

We were in an MA Mini Suite a couple weeks ago on the Epic. Previously we were in a balcony room on the same ship. The mini suite was really worth it to us due to the larger amount of storage space. The balcony room has a counter along one wall with an empty wall and TV above it. The mini suite has a whole row of upper cabinets above the counter so we had more than enough places to store all of our belongings. The tub was also very nice as well. It had a nice large shelf for all of our soap, shampoo etc so we didn't have to constantly reach down to the floor to pick it up. It wasn't a huge difference in the amount of space but those little things made it worth the price difference.

Thank you both so much and that is really helpful. It will be four of us sharing the cabin (two adults 1 x 15 yr old and 1 x 12 yr old) so, although I know it will be tight either way, I booked a family mini suite instead of a family balcony in the hope the extra space helps a bit. The extra storage will certainly come in handy.

Save the money on the upgrade and get get the UDP (unless you already have that) - service on Epic sucks, so I'd do the UDP to enjoy your meals.

Thanks for that advice. As per above, there will be four of us and, as the upgrade cost was minimal, I'm hoping the tiny bit of extra space and the extra storage will be worth it. However I take your point on the service.

Do the MA and MC mini suites with a tub also have a shower?

Yes, hand held shower spray - and you can put it up in holder to use it as a shower.

The bath tub itself has high sides and you can enter it only at the end of bathtub because of the glass door. It is not really a soaking tub because it's short in length.

I think most people prefer shower and the MB and MD mini-suites on Epic have larger showers than the balcony cabins.

Thanks for that advice. As per above, there will be four of us and, as the upgrade cost was minimal, I'm hoping the tiny bit of extra space and the extra storage will be worth it. However I take your point on the service.

That is what we did too. Wanted to book 2 connecting regular balconies for the 4 of us...That is what we were able to do on our last cruise a few weeks ago on the Getaway bc the prices went down. Now I am spoiled and it will be hard to go back to the 4 of us in one stateroom! But the price is too high right now to do 2 connecting staterooms. So we booked a minisuite with large balcony hoping that the bit of extra space will help!

The ones who should decide are pax # 3 and # 4. Would they prefer the different configuration?

 

 

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Really?? Most often times pax 3 and 4 are the kids of pax 1 and 2. Why would I let my kids decide the cabin we get??

Really?? Most often times pax 3 and 4 are the kids of pax 1 and 2. Why would I let my kids decide the cabin we get??

Hehe me too - my pax 3 and 4 (will be aged 15 & 12) have to sleep wherever they are told as they don't pay anything towards it!!

Hehe me too - my pax 3 and 4 (will be aged 15 & 12) have to sleep wherever they are told as they don't pay anything towards it!!

Agreed! The day my pax 3 and 4 (age 11 - both of them) get to choose the cabin will be the day that they are paying for the cruise!! :D

The 4th person always has the bed from the ceiling - if the cabin has it.

 

What is a 'bed from the ceiling'? - has anyone got a picture or video of what the family balcony room looks like when all the beds are made up? We are similar to OP, two adults & two teens. I know it will be tight but we don't intend to spend much time in the room. thanks. Jade

I'd love to see any inside shots of a family balcony layout as well, our 3rd and 4th pax are 2 petite semi adults (19 & 21) ...