Size of Princess mini suite vs Celebrity concierge

Next summer we'll be taking our first Princess cruise. We've been on four Celebrity cruises so far. We're trying to understand the size difference of the mini-suite stateroom on the Grand Princess compared to the concierge class stateroom on Celebrity Millennium class ships.

Celebrity claims the stateroom to be 209 sq ft, with an additional 42 sq ft balcony. Princess claims 323 sq ft and 61 sq ft for the balcony. To be perfectly honest, in the photos and videos I have seen, the mini-suite doesn't look like it is 114 sq ft (or 55%) larger than the concierge class on Celebrity.

Celebrity calculates the stateroom and the balcony as separate numbers. Does Princess count the 61 sq ft balcony as part of the 323 sq ft for the stateroom? If they did, then it seems to calculate.

Thanks for any insight you may be able to provide. Due to back problems, I need to do almost constant stretching exercises to function normally, so we booked a stateroom with a sitting area to have space to do them, as we have done on Celebrity.

Mini suites are a lot longer than the regular cabins on Celebrity. I am referring to Solstice class. Those cabins can be a squeeze with not a whole lot of floor space, but the minis on Princess are quite ample.

We've had minis at least half a dozen times. Oh, I just realized that you were on Millennium class. Well, I can tell you that our mini on the Grand class ships was way roomier than the room we had on the Infinity on deck 8.

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Mini suites on the Grand Princess are 323 sq. ft. including the balcony. The balcony size is 9'x6'=54 sq ft. So, the interior is 264 sq ft. Club Class mini suites include special dining plus some other special amenities. Google Princess Club Class for more information. Not all mini suites are Club Class.

Does Princess count the 61 sq ft balcony as part of the 323 sq ft for the stateroom? If they did, then it seems to calculate.

We have been in veranda class on both M and S class Celebrity ships. We have been in a mini-suite aboard Princess. Yes, Princess does include the veranda in the size of their calculations. So the mini-suite stateroom is somewhat larger than a Celebrity veranda stateroom, but not substantially 50% larger. The mini-suites are very nice and we enjoy them. We wish that Celebrity offered something similar. However a deal breaker for us is that there was no privacy on the balcony in our mini-suite (Star Princess). The balcony above you looks directly down onto your balcony. It is like living in a fish bowl.

There are pros and cons to each cruise line, but overall, we much prefer Celebrity.

The Princess mini will be quite a bit bigger inside and a bit larger outside (9 by 7). The Celebrity Concierge cabin is really just a standard-sized balcony cabin with added services, I think, where the Princess mini is longer than standard balcony cabins.

The thing with the mini-suites is to know that all are either wide open to the elements (Dolphin deck) or fully covered from above (Emerald deck). Either one can be a plus, depending on itinerary, but we tend to like the Emerald deck minis for protection from sun and rain.

Jim

Club Class mini suites include special dining plus some other special amenities. Google Princess Club Class for more information. Not all mini suites are Club Class.

Regular mini-suites on Princess are priced about the same price as Celebrity Aqua class but no Blu, Persian Gardens, or upgraded room amenities. Mini-suites are somewhat larger, have a bath tub, and two televisions. Club class mini-suites are priced about the same as Celebrity Sky suite, but are somewhat smaller, no butler, have fewer perks, no Michael's Club, and no Luminae dedicated restaurant. Club mini-suites have two televisions and a roped off section of the MDR with an upgraded menu.

Having spent a career in the real estate industry, I can tell you in no uncertain terms that not all measures of square footage are equal. In real estate, one always defines the standards one is using, there being different established conventions. However, in the cruise ship industry, there are no standards...Each cruise line merely establishes its own figures--and those often go unchallenged. So, you don't really know whether they are measuring from the outside wall, the inside wall or the center of the wall. You don't know whether they are including things like electrical cabinets and dead space...or excluding them. At least most seem to understand that Princess includes the balcony in it's measurement, Celebrity excludes it.

In any event, almost as important as the "number" is how the square footage is laid out. Celebrity cabins are typically laid out to make more use of the square footage...So, for example, "standard" Celebrity cabins and "standard Princess cabins allegedly contain a very comparable square footage, yet the standard Celebrity cabin has a sitting area with sofa and coffee table while the standard Princess cabin does not. A lot of that has to do with the method of measurement. Even more has to do with the layout. Whereas, in the Celebrity cabin, one walks right into the room and the closet is merely along one of the walls and the bathroom directly off the main room, in the standard Princess cabin, there is a hallway into the room, and a perpendicular hallway toward the bathroom with the closet facing the hallway...basically, a lot more wasted space. So, though the square footage may be there somewhere, the actual usable square footage of the bedroom is quite a bit smaller on Princess.

And it is due to this poor use of space that, in order to get the same interior space and furniture on Princess, one has to upgrade to a "Mini-Suite". And, of course, since the design and layout of the mini-suite also contains a lot of dead and wasted space (hallways, more interior wall space and other dead space), even though the mini-suite allegedly contains 53 more square feet, most of that extra square footage is in the hallways and interior walls and dead space--so, in fact, the USABLE space in the two cabins is very similar.

We found the mini suite on Sun Princess to be a completely different animal that the Concierge suite.

The latter is really just a balcony cabin.

Our mini suite on Princess was substantially larger. Large soaker tub, shower stall, dressing area. We usually book balcony cabins. This was a very nice upgrade.

Check out the respective web sites, they may give you some dimensions.

The Princess mini will be quite a bit bigger inside and a bit larger outside (9 by 7). The Celebrity Concierge cabin is really just a standard-sized balcony cabin with added services, I think, where the Princess mini is longer than standard balcony cabins.

 

The thing with the mini-suites is to know that all are either wide open to the elements (Dolphin deck) or fully covered from above (Emerald deck). Either one can be a plus, depending on itinerary, but we tend to like the Emerald deck minis for protection from sun and rain.

 

Jim

We found the mini suite on Sun Princess to be a completely different animal that the Concierge suite.

 

The latter is really just a balcony cabin.

 

Our mini suite on Princess was substantially larger. Large soaker tub, shower stall, dressing area. We usually book balcony cabins. This was a very nice upgrade.

 

Check out the respective web sites, they may give you some dimensions.

Not quite correct. The OP mentions the M class Celebrity ships. Standard balcony cabins on those ships are 170 sq ft and only have a short sofa too small to lay on and a small desk, while the Concierge Class cabins are 209 sq ft (39 sq ft larger) and have an expanded area large enough for a full size sofa and a larger desk and with more storage space. They also have a larger balcony.

The S class Concierge cabins are indeed the same size as a standard cabin, both at 194 sq ft. They are essentially the same cabin, but with different levels of amenities. The balconies are also the same size.

The Princess mini-suites are similar in layout to Concierge cabins on M class and standard/concierge on S class. All have a "sitting area". The main difference is that on Princess, this area is partially separated by short walls to give the illusion that it is separate. It is essentially the same size as the same area on Concierge class.

I like the mini suites better because they are a bit larger and have more closet space. Plus, for my wife, the tub is a nice amenity. But, comparing prices, the mini suite is quite a bit more expensive than Concierge cabins on comparable itineraries, with the added disadvantage of most not being covered to protect against rain or sun. All Concierge class are completely covered.

Yes, there is a lot of wasted, unusable space in a minisuite. Yes, there is a mini-tub but there is no separate stall shower. The shower is in the tub area with a shower curtain unlike the Concierge room that has a stall shower with a glass enclosure. The "dressing area" in a minisuite is really just the hallway to the bathroom. The actual usable, livable area in a minisuite is about the same as in a Concierge stateroom. Again, the biggest negative for us with MOST minisuites (there are a few exceptions) is the fishbowl balcony.

Concierge cabin on Celebrity is a joke. Do aqua class if you can. The cabins are not much larger, but the perks are better.

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Concierge cabin on Celebrity is a joke. Do aqua class if you can. The cabins are not much larger, but the perks are better.

 

 

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The OP is asking about the Concierge Class rooms on the M-class, not the S-class. On the M-class, these CC rooms are indeed larger although not as large as the mini-suites on the Crown / Grand class on Princess (these are the only ones I've booked a mini-suite on so am only referring to these two classes below).

However, I like the layout of the Concierge Class rooms on Celebrity's M-class more than I like the layout of Princess's mini-suites, even though the rooms are smaller. That 'area' on Princess that separates the two portions of the mini-suite is poorly situated in my opinion and creates a bottle neck in the middle of the room. Just my opinion, though!

I have been on both. I prefer Celebrity concierge class for a variety of reasons as I would pick Celebrity over Princess if the itinerary was right. The reason the layout appears larger is because the closets are to the right after entering and provide NO privacy. I much prefer the way Princess has set up their closet as a divider to the bathroom.

When traveling Princess, always prefer Minisuites on Emerald Deck and that layout is much bigger than Celebrity concierge with the bathtub and the sitting area with 2 TV's. Celebrity does not have a Minisuite. They have Aqua Class which is the same size balcony cabin as the Concierge class. I feel Aqua Class is overhyped because of BLU, which I found just OK...rather eat at MDR or Specialty Restaurants. Always go back to Concierge Class.

I have been on both. I prefer Celebrity concierge class for a variety of reasons as I would pick Celebrity over Princess if the itinerary was right. The reason the layout appears larger is because the closets are to the right after entering and provide NO privacy. I much prefer the way Princess has set up their closet as a divider to the bathroom.

When traveling Princess, always prefer Minisuites on Emerald Deck and that layout is much bigger than Celebrity concierge with the bathtub and the sitting area with 2 TV's. Celebrity does not have a Minisuite. They have Aqua Class which is the same size balcony cabin as the Concierge class. I feel Aqua Class is overhyped because of BLU, which I found just OK...rather eat at MDR or Specialty Restaurants. Always go back to Concierge Class.

Like you we have cruised both... we are elite on Princess (23 cruises) and elite on X (15 or so cruises ). We prefer Princess over X... really like and do book a mini suite on Princess ... like you we were not impressed with BLU... tried it once. Now when we go on Princess we book a mini suite forward the lowest priced mini... then eat at the Crown Grill and pay extra... well worth it. We usually booked Concierge Class on X too, if we go on X.