Switching from mini-suite to deluxe balcony on Royal

[Mflem1278]

January 2019 14 days Eastern/Western Caribbean. Just switched from a mini-suite to a deluxe balcony. Saving $900 per person but losing small amount of OBC and free gratuities. And it is a guarantee, so no idea where the room will be. Only thing I can really tell we are going to be missing is the bathtub. Did I make a smart move??

[Sea Hag]

It sounds like a good move to me, and with a guarantee wouldn't it be funny if you ended up in the same mini-suite that you originally booked? Anything that can happen will.

[MCC retired]

It sounds like a good move to me, and with a guarantee wouldn't it be funny if you ended up in the same mini-suite that you originally booked? Anything that can happen will.

 

 

 

Could really happen ! [emoji848]

 

 

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[jsquared]

January 2019 14 days Eastern/Western Caribbean. Just switched from a mini-suite to a deluxe balcony. Saving $900 per person but losing small amount of OBC and free gratuities. And it is a guarantee, so no idea where the room will be. Only thing I can really tell we are going to be missing is the bathtub. Did I make a smart move??

 

IMHO, yes.....assuming that you originally booked the MS for the couch and extra room for the longer cruise. The couch is a little smaller and you don't get as much extra floor space as a MS, but we've been in a DB twice and felt it was rather comparable especially when taking the cost savings into consideration!

[OCruisers]

January 2019 14 days Eastern/Western Caribbean. Just switched from a mini-suite to a deluxe balcony. Saving $900 per person but losing small amount of OBC and free gratuities. And it is a guarantee, so no idea where the room will be. Only thing I can really tell we are going to be missing is the bathtub. Did I make a smart move??

 

While we would have stayed with the mini-suite for a variety of reasons, it could be a good change for you.

Enjoy! :D

[pshaze]

The only drawback I see is the cabin is a Guarantee. We had our first Guarantee in April on the Royal and got stuck in one of the roms with interior connecting doors. We could hear everything said and done in the other room. It certainly changed how we acted in our room also. For us it isn't worth the cost savings to go with a Guarantee again.

[TheRabbit]

While we would have stayed with the mini-suite for a variety of reasons, it could be a good change for you.

Enjoy! :D

We also would have stayed in the MS for multiple reasons that are a bit more unique to us. For me, I found the shower in a DB to be quite confining, but that is me. DW also can't handle me in a DB in the same area of which there is little. Not that she doesn't love me, but me at 6'8", she feels confined and overwhelmed. For a longer cruise, there does not seam to be as good of clothing storage options. We use the coffee table in the MS for breakfast when ordering room service for a wake up call. When done, we can leave the area and get ready for a tour without tripping over the dishes as well as come back for those coffee refills.

[whatcruiseisnext]

There is no way that a deluxe balcony compares with a mini suite. Much more room in a mini suite. Also a deluxe balcony had a love seat and a mini a full couch.

 

 

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[tanyaewa]

I love a good deal. Sounds like one to me!

Good luck with GTY. It should be just fine.

And fwiw we had a connecting cabin on the Emerald recently and heard absolutely no noise from our neighbours

[caribill]

January 2019 14 days Eastern/Western Caribbean. Just switched from a mini-suite to a deluxe balcony. Saving $900 per person but losing small amount of OBC and free gratuities. And it is a guarantee, so no idea where the room will be. Only thing I can really tell we are going to be missing is the bathtub. Did I make a smart move??

 

OK, you now have to pay $405 in gratuities with together with the OBC you lost means you will actually save about half of that $900.

 

Which category deluxe balcony did you get a GTY for (DA, DZ, other)?

 

Since you will get assigned the category you booked or higher, there is always the chance you get assigned to a mini-suite instead of a deluxe balcony.

[Renmar]

OK, you now have to pay $405 in gratuities with together with the OBC you lost means you will actually save about half of that $900.

 

Which category deluxe balcony did you get a GTY for (DA, DZ, other)?

 

Since you will get assigned the category you booked or higher, there is always the chance you get assigned to a mini-suite instead of a deluxe balcony.

 

The OP mentioned that it is $ 900.00 per person so the total savings will be $ 1,800.00 less the loss of the OBC.

Sounds like a good deal to me.

 

Theo

[Cairn Mom]

January 2019 14 days Eastern/Western Caribbean. Just switched from a mini-suite to a deluxe balcony. Saving $900 per person but losing small amount of OBC and free gratuities. And it is a guarantee, so no idea where the room will be. Only thing I can really tell we are going to be missing is the bathtub. Did I make a smart move??

 

 

 

We usually take a deck 11 balcony cabin for shorter cruises and a mini-suite for longer ones. However ,for our next Princess cruise, 2019 , 15 days,on the Diamond,our preferred location was not available for a mini when we booked. So, we took a mid-aft balcony. We get seasick and we prefer the middle of the ship. Strangely, the mid-aft minis just became available. Maybe we’ll switch if a good deal comes along but,for now, we’re going to stick with the balcony. We got a great price[emoji4].

[moki'smommy]

The OP mentioned that it is $ 900.00 per person so the total savings will be $ 1,800.00 less the loss of the OBC.

Sounds like a good deal to me.

 

Theo

He said $900 pp less the loss of OBC and gratuities....gratuities will be $200+ pp, OBC ?50, ?75. So probably going to see somewhere around $600 pp in savings. OP obviously considered this to be a good trade off for a bigger cabin. That's a personal choice. $600 pp can be some nice excursions or whatever! And, since they are now in a gty, there is a definite chance that they'll be assigned to a mini suite or offered an upsell to one for significantly less than the amount they saved.

[rockdoctor]

Great choice, from my perspective. I don’t like showering in bathtubs

[satxdiver]

On the Royal and her sisters the DB is a good buy for us. The older ships, the Minis are much nicer to be in but we also stay in regular balcony cabins on the Caribe deck. I can understand why the OP decided to move to a DB. Yes, with a GTY getting a cabin with connecting doors would be horrible. We booked on the Sapphire and the first cabin we wanted had the connecting door which Princess warned us. We took her advice (not that we wanted not to) and she found a cabin nearby that did not have the connecting door.

[58Piano]

balconies on the royal are much smaller

[58Piano]

deluxe means there is a sofa in the room so they shrink the balcony to give more room for the sofa I thought the sofa was hard and stiff to sit on

[TheRabbit]

Great choice, from my perspective. I don’t like showering in bathtubs��

:eek:

I don't like showering in those tiny closets with no room to bend over and scrub the legs.

[ksm77]

I have cruised in both on the Regal. I guess if you think the savings is worth it to you. The mini is much bigger. For a 14 day I would have stayed with the mini. The bathroom alone is worth it to me. The bath in the deluxe is the same size as the regular balcony. The "little" sofa is not really enough room for 2 people to sit on. I loved having the nice sitting area in the mini. The balcony is the same size on both.