Cabin help

[leith]

I normally book Princess mini suites but we are looking at FOS in Sept 2013. I can't figure out what type of room to get and I don't understand the differences of the different balcony types and the Jr suite. Can someone help me better understand?

 

Also, I have 3 kids and my DH and I cruise to have quality couple time and leave the kids at home, am I going to be overwhelmed with all the children on FOS?

 

Thank you for all the help!

[Travelingclerk]

I normally book Princess mini suites but we are looking at FOS in Sept 2013. I can't figure out what type of room to get and I don't understand the differences of the different balcony types and the Jr suite. Can someone help me better understand?

 

Also, I have 3 kids and my DH and I cruise to have quality couple time and leave the kids at home, am I going to be overwhelmed with all the children on FOS?

 

Thank you for all the help!

 

I'll try to help. We were on the FOS in January in a D1 balcony, deck 9 on the hump and it was large enough for us. I think (someone will correct me if I'm wrong) that the difference in balcony classes has alot to do with what deck you're on, the higher up the more expensive...away from decks with shops etc. Our DS had a JS and it was alot larger than our D1, sofa and chair--ours was just a sofa, walk-in closet rather than the line of wall closets, bathtub rather than just the tube shower in ours. The biggest difference for my DH was they had a coffee pot and anything less than a JS doesn't ;)

 

There didn't seem to be an alot of children or maybe the ship was large enough that I just wasn't in the same area they were. Besides, you'll be cruising after school starts :D

[BND]

We were in a Mini Suite on Dawn Princess and in our opinion the comparable cabin on RCI is a Grand Suite (GS). The mini suite we had on Princess had a separate shower and tub which you won't get in a GS, but the room is about the same size. A Jr Suite is nice, but isn't as big as a mini suite and the bathroom is smaller.

[Cruisin Kay D]

RC has 2 sizes of balconies, with E-1+E-2 being slightly smaller than the D-1+D-2.

The balcony cabins on Royal have a sofa next to the bed, whereas on Princess to get a sofa in your cabin you have to book a mini-suite. JS cabins on Royal are much larger than a Princess mini-suite. On the other hand the closet+dressing area on Princess is larger than on Royal. Having been on both RC+Princess, I think you would be happy with a D-1 or D-2 balcony on FOS.

[LovesCruising]

Sorry Ive not cruised Princess but I would think a regular balcony would not equal a mini suite. At lowest I would go with JS if you are looking for the same type of accommodation. Another poster said GS equals mini on Princess - GS is a very nice accommodation and you get on the suite perks with that cabin. With JS you do not. Enjoy your cruise.

[Cruisin Kay D]

Suggest you look at the floorplans of cabins on a website like Travelocity -OR- open 1 window into RC and 2nd window into Princess and check square footage and layout!!!!

 

IMO (based on experience): Having stayed in D-1 balconies 4x on RC and in regular balconies + mini-suites on Princess over 15x, I believe someone who like Princess minis would be happy with a D-1 balcony on RC....

[DonnaK]

We were in a Mini Suite on Dawn Princess and in our opinion the comparable cabin on RCI is a Grand Suite (GS). The mini suite we had on Princess had a separate shower and tub which you won't get in a GS, but the room is about the same size. A Jr Suite is nice, but isn't as big as a mini suite and the bathroom is smaller.

 

 

Really? We were in a mini-suite on the Caribbean Princess, and it was definitely the size of a D balcony, except it had the larger closet and the bathtub instead of a shower. But the actual floor space in the "living area" was not even as large as a JS.

 

OP: For two people, an E or D balcony is more than sufficient. The E is slightly smaller than the D (it has a loveseat, and the D has a sofa). Both only have a shower with a curved plastic door rather than a shower curtain. If you'd like something a little wider with a bathtub, then go for the JS (if it were me, I'd save the $$ and go with the D balcony).

 

The numbers after the D or E vary with location and cabin capacity, and have nothing to do with the size of the cabin, so all D's are equal in size to each other, and the same is true for all E's.

[emilygrace]

I agree that a Princess mini-suite is equal to a D cabin on RCL. A Junior Suite on RCL is much larger than a Princess mini-suite.

 

The difference between the E and D cabins is in the length of the cabin, so the balconies are the same size (unless of course you get a coveted hump cabin with the big balcony).

[Gilpet]

I agree that a Princess mini-suite is equal to a D cabin on RCL. A Junior Suite on RCL is much larger than a Princess mini-suite.

 

The difference between the E and D cabins is in the length of the cabin, so the balconies are the same size (unless of course you get a coveted hump cabin with the big balcony).

 

I would also agree with with this. We had a mini-suite on Crown Princess and it was nowhere near as large as the Junior Suite we had on Independence, nor did it have a walk in closet. We usually have either D or E class balcony cabins and there is very little difference in size between the two so if it's just the two of you, unless you want a bath with shower over as opposed to just a shower, go with the balcony and save your money.

 

Gill

[Cruisin Kay D]

I just re-read what BND said: "...We were in a Mini Suite on DAWN Princess..." and realized he/she & I were talking about apples & oranges === both of us were right to a limited degree....

TO EXPLAIN: Mini-suites on Dawn Princess and her sisters (Sun, Ocean, Sea) DEFINITELY are larger than mini-suites on most other Princess ships. The Dawn minis are definitely larger, more like a reg suite and more like a large JS. (I have not stayed in one of these mini-suites -- couldn't afford it.)

For the rest of the Princess ships (Grand, Golden, Caribbean, Crown, Ruby, Emerald, etc...) the mini-suite is just an elongated balcony with a sofa at the balcony door end, and probably larger slightly than a D category balcony cabin on RC. We have stayed in minis on this category of ship....

[DonnaK]

I just re-read what BND said: "...We were in a Mini Suite on DAWN Princess..." and realized he/she & I were talking about apples & oranges === both of us were right to a limited degree....

TO EXPLAIN: Mini-suites on Dawn Princess and her sisters (Sun, Ocean, Sea) DEFINITELY are larger than mini-suites on most other Princess ships. The Dawn minis are definitely larger, more like a reg suite and more like a large JS. (I have not stayed in one of these mini-suites -- couldn't afford it.)

For the rest of the Princess ships (Grand, Golden, Caribbean, Crown, Ruby, Emerald, etc...) the mini-suite is just an elongated balcony with a sofa at the balcony door end, and probably larger slightly than a D category balcony cabin on RC. We have stayed in minis on this category of ship....

 

AHHHH...her post makes sense now! I was not aware that there was a difference in the mini-suites on Dawn versus Caribbean when I commented on her post!

[Cruisin Kay D]

We always ask for LATEST COLOR for DISEMBARKATION. so we always walk around the ship looking at the suites when the stewards are busy cleaning!! That's how we find out what's what!!! But when this discussion was going on, I simply forgot what I knew -- gray hair disease!!!!