Sky Princess TA - BA extended balcony cabin vs mini suite?

[trinitygirl]

Hi, just checking the latest promotion and I see that the price of a mini suite on my November transatlantic (Southampton to FLL) is now actually $20 less than the price of my booked balcony.  Currently I have D420 booked, an extended balcony cabin mid-ship.  The mini suite offer only relates to guaranteed cabins.   The price for picking my own mini suite location jumps $500-700.   I count 64 bookable mini suites, with about half of the decks/locations selling as guaranteed only, so I am guessing it will be musical chairs before sailing, and a guaranteed mini suite could end up being anywhere at all.

 

I have never been on a TA before, but suspect that the weather in November might mean that the bigger balcony is not so important as it is on other cruises where I love to sunbath and read in private.   And I have never been on the Sky before (I have been on the Golden Princess and the Regal Princess, and will be sailing on the Enchanted in August) so am not sure the extent to which there might be a really 'bad' located mini suite.

 

It looks like I would lose $100 in OBC, so the actual cost would be $80 AUD for the 15 night cruise. 

 

What do you think, cruisers?  Is it worth the risk?

 

:  )

Emma

[Steelers36]

If I was in your situation, I'd go for the Mini since I would not be booking one normally at all.  Don't care about balcony size in November crossing Atlantic as I doubt it gets very warm until near the end.  (We don't normally book a balcony either, but if we had, seems like a great way to try out a Mini.

[teh3505]

I'd trade up for the mini suite. I enjoyed the extra cabin space.

 

[LACruiser88]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

If I was in your situation, I'd go for the Mini since I would not be booking one normally at all.  Don't care about balcony size in November crossing Atlantic as I doubt it gets very warm until near the end.  (We don't normally book a balcony either, but if we had, seems like a great way to try out a Mini.

We have been on 11 TA's, all going west.  We have had great weather and usually spend the 5 or 6 sea days in the Sanctuary.  This past year, we did the crossing the 1st week of December on the Regal and the weather was great.  We were in the Sanctuary for the entire crossing.

 

Btw, we always book a mini-suite, the bathroom alone is worth the extra cost.

 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by LACruiser88

[trinitygirl]

thanks everyone!  So I got on the phone and at first it looked like I had to re-book under their new promotion which would mean losing the three-for-free promotion and given all the drama I have had with getting refunds for the cruise I cancelled and rebooked in January (still waiting for the last refund to come through!) that was a no go.  Then the woman said, oh hang on, it looks like i can just switch your cabin and you can stay on the same booking, so a mini suite but the same perks.  And so it is done!  So I have actually saved $20 - the bigger cabin didn't cost me anything.  Amazing! 

 

I booked a guarantee cabin (just a very basic balcony) back in 2019 for the Baltics cruise on the Regal and it was fine, so I will just hope for a repeat of that experience,  only with a big bathroom and more space!  Thrilled.

Edited April 29, 2023 by trinitygirl

[MTNest93]

7 hours ago, trinitygirl said:

thanks everyone!  So I got on the phone and at first it looked like I had to re-book under their new promotion which would mean losing the three-for-free promotion and given all the drama I have had with getting refunds for the cruise I cancelled and rebooked in January (still waiting for the last refund to come through!) that was a no go.  Then the woman said, oh hang on, it looks like i can just switch your cabin and you can stay on the same booking, so a mini suite but the same perks.  And so it is done!  So I have actually saved $20 - the bigger cabin didn't cost me anything.  Amazing! 

 

I booked a guarantee cabin (just a very basic balcony) back in 2019 for the Baltics cruise on the Regal and it was fine, so I will just hope for a repeat of that experience,  only with a big bathroom and more space!  Thrilled.

Good choice!  Bigger bathroom and all the perks that come with the mini is a no brainer.  Glad it worked out for you!!  

[texasgirl29]

I see you’ve already decided what to do, but we had an extended balcony on the Enchanted TA in September 2022 and I loved it. Spent a lot of time reading out there with a drink in my hand. Sigh. I’ve love to do it all over again. 

[Lady Arwen]

8 hours ago, trinitygirl said:

thanks everyone!  So I got on the phone and at first it looked like I had to re-book under their new promotion which would mean losing the three-for-free promotion and given all the drama I have had with getting refunds for the cruise I cancelled and rebooked in January (still waiting for the last refund to come through!) that was a no go.  Then the woman said, oh hang on, it looks like i can just switch your cabin and you can stay on the same booking, so a mini suite but the same perks.  And so it is done!  So I have actually saved $20 - the bigger cabin didn't cost me anything.  Amazing! 

 

I booked a guarantee cabin (just a very basic balcony) back in 2019 for the Baltics cruise on the Regal and it was fine, so I will just hope for a repeat of that experience,  only with a big bathroom and more space!  Thrilled.

We book only mini suites for the full size sofa and coffee table and larger bathroom.  I cannot drink my coffee sitting on the edge of a bed!  Also, the tiny showers are not nice.  You will love the mini suite, but it will be hard moving down to a regular balcony in the future…..you will be spoiled.  Enjoy your cruise!

[Wishing on a star]

ENJOY!    And, just a note:  watch carefully for your room assignment.  I am thinking that when they start assigning cabins, you could see that first by checking your booking online.  If you see that right away, and there are any other Mini Suites available, then you can possibly move to a Mini in a better location than the one assigned.

[Lady Arwen]

2 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

ENJOY!    And, just a note:  watch carefully for your room assignment.  I am thinking that when they start assigning cabins, you could see that first by checking your booking online.  If you see that right away, and there are any other Mini Suites available, then you can possibly move to a Mini in a better location than the one assigned.

So true!  We always book early to get our mini suite on Lido deck.  These cabins tend to book quickly.  If one is available, try to jump on it.  So convenient to everything and honestly they tend to be very quiet at night.

[trinitygirl]

10 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

So true!  We always book early to get our mini suite on Lido deck.  These cabins tend to book quickly.  If one is available, try to jump on it.  So convenient to everything and honestly they tend to be very quiet at night.

that is super interesting.  The mini suits on lido deck still appear to be available. I would have assumed they were really noisy and not desirable (certainly the ones that are available seem to be the lowest ranks mini suites) but I can see what you mean about their being conveniently located. 

[Lady Arwen]

8 hours ago, trinitygirl said:

that is super interesting.  The mini suits on lido deck still appear to be available. I would have assumed they were really noisy and not desirable (certainly the ones that are available seem to be the lowest ranks mini suites) but I can see what you mean about their being conveniently located. 

At night they’re very quiet because everyone is at the bars, lounges and restaurants.  Very few people out on Lido deck except for a few in the hot tubs, but not late.  Just our preference, others may disagree.  On our upcoming cruise on Regal those cabins sold out early.