Mini suite

[yenta]

We have always had a balcony on our cruises and are thinking of a mini suite for our upcoming transatlantic in the fall. What are the advantages aside from the obvious size of the stateroom and having a bathtub?

[paul929207]

We have had both a balcony and a mini-suite on the Tahitian/Ocean Princess. Benefits of the mini included:

Glass of champagne on embarktion.

Sofa rather than love seat

3 chairs, two with arms rather than one stool.

Balcony comfortably seats 4.

Probably others, but that is all I can think of.

[Woobstr112G]

We have always had a balcony on our cruises and are thinking of a mini suite for our upcoming transatlantic in the fall. What are the advantages aside from the obvious size of the stateroom and having a bathtub?/quote]

 

Those are reasons enough.....:):):)

 

Bob

[dpump]

Just got off the Star (our first cruise, actually) and had a mini suite.

We were pleased with the room we had, storage and the size of the bathroom. Loved the balcony, even though we were on the supposed dreaded Dolphin deck (uncovered balcony), which was no problem to us. We cruise again, we'll go for a mini.

[m steve]

Chesterfield. Size was the only advantage to us. It was the same size a a standard HAL balcony cabin. Unfortunately they aren't on the stern.

[gooch47]

Depend on the ship. I assume you mean the oversize balcony cabin instead of the separate rooms one.

 

We just got off the Star a few weeks ago and the mini-suite just seemed huge for some reason. The bathroom with the tub is of course, bigger, too. If you only use the tub for showers, though, and can get away with not having the larger sofa, only you can decide if the money saved was worth it.

 

I don't think all mini-suites have the larger balcony, right?

[tiyana4]

For us the biggest advantage was having the extra seating area. Granted, the cabin size would have been manageable without it (just me & DD), but add the full bathtub, 2nd TV, extra toiletries, etc. and it made it all worthwhile. A balcony cabin only has a single chair vs. a full seating area in the mini suite. I see that you are doing a TA, which may/may not limit your time on the balcony. I say go for the mini; particularly if you enjoy quiet time away from the crowds.

[paul929207]

Depend on the ship. I assume you mean the oversize balcony cabin instead of the separate rooms one.

 

We just got off the Star a few weeks ago and the mini-suite just seemed huge for some reason. The bathroom with the tub is of course, bigger, too. If you only use the tub for showers, though, and can get away with not having the larger sofa, only you can decide if the money saved was worth it.

 

I don't think all mini-suites have the larger balcony, right?

Linda,

 

Since the cabin is wider, the balcony is wider. On the Tahitian/Ocean it is about 50% bigger.

[jackdiamond]

The balcony is 63 square feet.

[2pbears]

Chesterfield. Size was the only advantage to us. It was the same size a a standard HAL balcony cabin. Unfortunately they aren't on the stern.

 

Chesterfield. Now there's a word I haven't heard since I was a little girl!

[gooch47]

Linda,

 

Since the cabin is wider, the balcony is wider. On the Tahitian/Ocean it is about 50% bigger.

 

I meant the deeper ones, not the wider ones. Aren't some of them about 3' from the door to the railing vs. 6' or more?

[kymbakitty]

Chesterfield. Size was the only advantage to us. It was the same size a a standard HAL balcony cabin. Unfortunately they aren't on the stern.

 

But I can understand it because many years ago, I was listening to a Bare Naked Ladies CD. They have a song on there where they talk about a "Chesterfield." I think it is the "If I had a $1,000,000" song.

 

Anyway, I asked my (Canadian) husband what in the world was a "Chesterfield," because the only thing that came to my mind was some sort of a cigerette/cigar...not even sure why.

 

He told me it was just another word for a couch.

 

Ha!!!!!

 

Dawn

[cardfans]

Chesterfield also brought back childhood memories for me. My dad was born in Canada and he often called the couch a chesterfield. But I thought that love seat was pretty much a universal thing. Guess not.

[kymbakitty]

We have always had a balcony on our cruises and are thinking of a mini suite for our upcoming transatlantic in the fall. What are the advantages aside from the obvious size of the stateroom and having a bathtub?

 

Years ago, my husband and I concluded, approximately, what size cabin we would like, at a minimum.

 

Mind you, our cruises have typically been 14-17 days. Our conclusion was at least 250 sq feet cabin and the balcony had to large enough to hold a chaise lounge lengthwise....not vertical--which is around 60 square feet.

 

A mini-suite usually fits the bill! We've been fortunate to have a couple of really nice suites. I can still remember those cabin numbers (but not the minis!). 003 on the Veendam, 8004 on the Grandeur, 747 on the Dawn and 7347 on the Spirit....but we typically are not willing to pay the huge difference between the two.

 

I think for a longer cruise, you really do appreciate the space. I know we do.

 

If it is not cost-prohibitive, and you still have time to save for your vacation, I'd go for it. I've never read anyone state they regretted it!

 

Enjoy!

 

Dawn

[Katie333]

We cruised in a (Carnival version) minisuite for the first time in September. I am now trying to figure out how to afford a mini on all my Princess cruises!

 

We like to escape the crowds and having that bit of extra room (and the tub, oh the joyous tub!) were so great.

[yenta]

Thanks everyone, we will probably try the mini, because on our TA last fall they upgraded us to a handicapped cabin on Caribe deck and it was great.

[chamima]

Thanks everyone, we will probably try the mini, because on our TA last fall they upgraded us to a handicapped cabin on Caribe deck and it was great.

 

Just so you know, on the Grand class ships the balconies on Caribe are about twice as big as the mini suite balconies on Dolphin.

The advice you're getting about the Tahitian/Ocean has nothing to do with the Grand class. Every class of Princess ship has different configurations.

Which ship are you considering?

[yenta]

Ruby

[chamima]

The Ruby is a Grand class. So the balcony would be larger (9x9) in a regular cabin on Caribe than in a mini suite (9x7). The mini suites on Dolphin have uncovered balconies but there are 12 mini suites at the rear of Emerald deck that have covered balconies. The last 2 on either side have balconies that are the same depth (7ft) as all the rest but are about 18 ft long vs. the 9ft, of all the others.

All mini suites have an area with a small couch and extra TV and bar area. That and the bathtub are about all you get that is different than a regular cabin.

Hope this helped and clarified.

[cruznliz]

On the Sun Class ships we like to think of the mini's as "double wides". :D The balcony part is much longer (more railing space) than on the Grand Class ships. If you have more than 2 people using the balcony it is a definite advantage. However, we were in a mini on the Sapphire recently and were impressed with the balcony size. It wasn't double wide, but it was deeper and plenty of room for two people.

 

We have booked a mini on the Golden for Hawaii and look forward to the extra room. I spend a great deal of time on the balcony reading and enjoying the view. DH on the other hand enjoys the sitting room part of the mini. I also enjoy the extra counter space in the bathroom.;)

[lovevacadays]

I really love that the balcony on the Dolphin mini's seem to just hang off the edge of the ship. When you look out you only see ocean and not balconies below you. I haven't minded the fact that they are open to the decks above. Perhaps I've been lucky and havent had any issues with the folks above

[jean s]

About 5 years ago we were upgraded to a mini suite from a balcony stateroom. We have booked a mini suite on every cruiese since then. The extra space just makes it more comfortable for us. We do spend lots of time on our balcony, enjoying the sunshine and reading or napping.

[kymbakitty]

The Ruby is a Grand class. So the balcony would be larger (9x9) in a regular cabin on Caribe than in a mini suite (9x7). The mini suites on Dolphin have uncovered balconies but there are 12 mini suites at the rear of Emerald deck that have covered balconies. The last 2 on either side have balconies that are the same depth (7ft) as all the rest but are about 18 ft long vs. the 9ft, of all the others.

All mini suites have an area with a small couch and extra TV and bar area. That and the bathtub are about all you get that is different than a regular cabin.

Hope this helped and clarified.

 

Thanks Chamima! We are booked on the Grand on E729 an we booked it because we couldn't get an aft cabin (didn't have all the funds to get a full suite and we never charge vacations)....so we went ahead and got the mini as close to the aft cabins! But hearing that the balcony is nearly 126 sq feet is just awesome!

 

Even though it seems to be debatable (most say no), hopefully there will be a chaise lounge on the deck for hubby!

 

Thanks again! Not quite the room of a suite, but a close second.

 

Dawn

[cruiser812]

Hello I am new to the forum. I have cruised Balcony cabins all my cruises with the last one being Ruby Princess on the Caribe Deck with the larger balcony. I am booked again on the same deck of the Golden Princess for a 14 day Hawaii in October. I am really considering upgrading to the mini-suite after reading these post. The upgrade to the mini-suites is $800 (eight hundred) dollars.

That seems steep, but you having sailed both at what price point would you say it is too much to upgrade and just use the money for excursions etc.

[jfv379]

Just for the heck of it, I think they still make Chesterfield cigarettes.:confused:

 

They were big around the time of Phillip Morris. The commercial with the "bellboy" uniform and the cute little hat. All in red.