Video: Regular balcony cabin versus mini-suite

[Spaniel Lover]

I just finished an Alaska cruise on Coral Princess. Since I was in a regular balcony cabin and my brother had a mini-suite next door, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to put together a little video to compare the two. Take a look...

 

[YOUTUBE]ReRdvJqI0sE[/YOUTUBE]

 

I assume that these two cabins are similar to what's on the other ships in the Princess fleet. Please let me know if that's actually true! I've only sailed on the Coral Princess and Sapphire Princess, so far... and the balcony cabins I was in on those two ships were nearly identical. Perhaps someone who has sailed on one of the newest ships could chime in with some information about whether balcony cabins and mini-suites on the newer ships still conform to this same general size and layout.

 

I have to say that the size of the shower in a Princess balcony cabin is just way too small! I kept bumping the metal pull bar with my elbow, and the shower curtain kept attaching itself to my skin. I noticed that many of the passengers on the ship were larger than an XXL and I sure hope they had a mini-suite or better... because they wouldn't have fit in the shower I had!

[Kybabe]

Thanks! That was really interesting. We have only had the balcony cabin and it has been fine for us but that extra shower space sure is appealing!

[rocker57]

Great video, thanks for putting it together and posting

[Vette Gal]

Thanks for putting that video together.

 

DH and I just finished a Caribbean cruise on CB in a regular balcony stateroom. Our cabin was on the Aloha deck and was identical to yours except that our balcony was smaller than yours. Still we felt blessed to be able to afford the additional cost of a balcony stateroom.

 

We really appreciate the size of our shower at home after cruising with the tiny shower. Regardless, I would hop on another cruise in an instant.

[Happy2cruise]

Thanks for taking the time to post the video.....:).

[custompcsys]

Thanks for the video, very interesting. I'm sure it will be a big help to people trying to make the choice. By the way you should do voiceovers, you have an excellent narration voice! :)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[1153rsmith]

Thanks for posting. We have a mini-suite on the island princess in September, so it was nice to see what we are going to see. This will only be the second time we have had a balcony and our first time on Princess.

 

I was not going to Alaska with an inside stateroom.

[JF - retired RRT]

I have to say that the size of the shower in a Princess balcony cabin is just way too small! I kept bumping the metal pull bar with my elbow, and the shower curtain kept attaching itself to my skin. I noticed that many of the passengers on the ship were larger than an XXL and I sure hope they had a mini-suite or better... because they wouldn't have fit in the shower I had!

 

Get some towel clips (fancy ones look like flamingos, angry birds, etc) and attach a couple to the bottom of the shower curtain...works great. I have never been attacked by my shower curtain.:D

[first time cruising]

Great review, thank you. We have booked a mini suite on the Island Princess next March. I am confused as thought the larger balcony with the half covered/half uncovered was on Caribe deck. Maybe someone can set me right! Thanks:confused:

[Sailingpeace]

Wonderful video. So well done. i will keep it as a référence .

[Cruise Raider]

I have encouraged some friends to go on a 3 nighter with us on the Island Princess. They were debating between a mini and a balcony cabin. I am going to direct them to your video as it really does a great job of pointing out the differences.

For a short cruise, I actually have no problem at all in a regular balcony cabin. While the shower/tub combo is nice, those little showers don't bother me much at all. I do spend time in my cabin even though you will hear people always say, you only use your cabin to sleep in anyway -- for me, not true. If I have a balcony, I definitely use it. However, I do spend very little time in the shower, so that would never be my deciding factor. When I am not on my balcony enjoying room service or reading a book or staying in bed watching a movie on TV, I am out and about on the ship. So, that balcony is key and I do enjoy the extra sitting room that a mini suite offers, this is more of a deal breaker especially on a longer cruise.

[A.stew12305]

 

 

I have to say that the size of the shower in a Princess balcony cabin is just way too small! I kept bumping the metal pull bar with my elbow, and the shower curtain kept attaching itself to my skin. I noticed that many of the passengers on the ship were larger than an XXL and I sure hope they had a mini-suite or better... because they wouldn't have fit in the shower I had!

 

I'm a large person and I had no problem in the small shower of an interior, and I shower every day.

 

We had a mini-suite on the Grand, and it was pretty much the same, except instead of a desk it had a corner unit type thing with 3 drawers, a mirror, and the phone. It was more like a vanity than a desk.

 

 

Hopefully you can see these pictures

 

Of the 3rd person bed/sofa, taken from balcony

 

Of the main bed area, from the closet area

[giselleacttwo]

Great video! We are looking at the Coral Princess for next summer and I was wondering what the minis look like on there. The floorplans indicated the minis are a bit smaller on Coral than the Grand so I was curious to see the difference as I've only seen minis on Grand class ships.

[margob111]

Nice video. I was on a Coral mini-suite on the Baja deck to Alaska in May. The sofa area was nice when hubby got sick (one of about 300 who got sick on that trip) so I had a place to relax. The shower curtain kept attacking me too. I did have a fully covered deck.

[JimAOk1945]

Great video! It so much easier to see the difference with a visual comparison. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. Well done!

 

Happy cruising!

[TW6cruiser]

Wonderful video! Thank you so much for posting. We have a Mini on the Caribe level on the Coral this fall for the Panama Canal partial cruise. It's our first Mini I think we will be spoiled.

[Grammyluvs]

The one thing that I miss on Princess ships are the sofas in regular cabins. We enjoyed that on our RC and Carnival trips. That said....I love everything else about Princess.

[Thrak]

Nice video. I was on a Coral mini-suite on the Baja deck to Alaska in May. The sofa area was nice when hubby got sick (one of about 300 who got sick on that trip) so I had a place to relax. The shower curtain kept attacking me too. I did have a fully covered deck.

 

Just get a couple of large binder clips and clip them to the bottom of the shower curtain. It stays where it's supposed to be. A very inexpensive solution to the "clinging curtain" problem.

 

 

[Meyer2]

Thanks for sharing!

[cflutist]

Thanks for posting. Very informative.

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed the video.

 

Keith

[lovevacadays]

Great video! Thank you. I've sailed in two mini-suites. You just reminded me why I wish I could always sail in mini-suites.

[UPGrandma]

We are on the Island in August and originally had a balcony which would have been OK, but jumped on a mini (D711) when there was a short term price drop. Now I'm glad I did.... Thank you

[BananaAnna]

Love your video! Our first Princess cruise is in November and it's great to know exactly what to expect, especially in regard to closet/storage. Thanks much.