Suites on Princess

[BalconyBumz]

Who has stayed in a suite category, and not a mini suite. Do you have any photos and which category. What do you recommend and what are the perks?

[Toto2Kansas]

Who has stayed in a suite category, and not a mini suite. Do you have any photos and which category. What do you recommend and what are the perks?

 

This January will be the first full suite on the larger ships (PH on the Grand Princess), all the rest have been on the smaller sun class ships, so I doubt the pictures I have would help you out.

But for a full list of all the suite perks, here is a link to the Princess page that has all of the descriptions. And they are very accurate. http://www.princess.com/news/article.jsp?newsArticleId=na828&submit=pk

[critterchick]

We've stayed in full suites on the Sun and Island Princesses. You can see pictures of both if you follow the link in my signature. The suite on the Sun is an AA (it's a full suite, really, not a mini, which an AA on a newer ship would be), and on the Island it was PS.

 

The AA on the Sun was gorgeous - a separate powder room that had a toilet and sink and then another room with a sink, shower and jetted tub. The walk-in closet in the bedroom was huge, the living room had a nice sitting area, desk and wet bar. The balcony was enormous. It's on the stern of the ship, had a teak table with 4 chairs and two loungers. Too bad I didn't like the Sun - she is old, a little tired and just too crowded for my liking.

 

The PS on the Island was very nice, although the balcony furniture was plastic instead of teak and was filthy dirty. The bathroom had the toilet and sink in one room, the shower & jetted tub in another. The living area was nice, with a sofa, desk & wet bar. I wasn't crazy about the Island, either, although I know she's a favorite of many CCers.

 

We have a VS on the Sapphire booked, but not until 2009, so I can't tell you about it until then. The Diamond is my favorite Princess ship so far, so I'm sure we'll enjoy the Sapphire very much, too.:)

[cruiserjanet]

We stayed in suite C748 on the Caribbean Princess which I believe is a VS suite. There are photos of the suite and large balcony in the link in my signature from our Caribbean cruise. It was a beautiful room and we did enjoy the perks, especially the free laundry since we were in that room for two wonderful weeks.

[BalconyBumz]

Thank you for all of the information you guys. I'll read and look at it all.

[Brennivan]

I stayed in a Suite on the Golden. Besides the extra space, the free laudry was my favorite perk.

[beachbumforever]

Can anyone tell me what "Expedited boarding" means for the suite perks? We stayed in an Owners Suite 3 years ago on the Caribbean Princess. We embarked in Ft Lauderdale. We arrived at the pier and the line was very long outside of the terminal building. We didn't see a line that was only for the suites. Has this changed? We are going on the Crown out of Ft. Lauderdale next November and will be staying in a suite. We are hoping the process has changed. Also, can anyone tell me if when you debark all the luggage is just sitting in the one big room? It didn't seem to have any rhyme or reason and took us quite awhile to find our luggage the last time.

[Toto2Kansas]

Can anyone tell me what "Expedited boarding" means for the suite perks? We stayed in an Owners Suite 3 years ago on the Caribbean Princess. We embarked in Ft Lauderdale. We arrived at the pier and the line was very long outside of the terminal building. We didn't see a line that was only for the suites. Has this changed? We are going on the Crown out of Ft. Lauderdale next November and will be staying in a suite. We are hoping the process has changed. Also, can anyone tell me if when you debark all the luggage is just sitting in the one big room? It didn't seem to have any rhyme or reason and took us quite awhile to find our luggage the last time.

 

In FLL there is a seperate entrance for priority boarding, it's around the corner from the regular line. If you ask one of the staff, they can direct you to the proper area.

 

As for disembarkation and luggage, sorry, it will all be placed in that same big room according to color and number code. But we have found it makes it very easy to find it you tie something to your luggage to make it easy to spot. A large wide bright colored ribbon or something similar cuts down on the hunt. There is no seperate luggage area for suite passengers though.

[beachbumforever]

Thanks so much for the info. Do you by chance know if you can make reservations prior to boarding the the specialty restaurants? We went in September on RCCL's Liberty of the Sea. You can now reserve them on-line 90 days out.

[bhopal21]

Thanks so much for the info. Do you by chance know if you can make reservations prior to boarding the the specialty restaurants? We went in September on RCCL's Liberty of the Sea. You can now reserve them on-line 90 days out.

 

No you must do that after boarding.

 

Mike:)

[beachbumforever]

Thanks everyone for all the info.

[SteelerFanXL]

I can tell you from past experience (May '08), if you have the chance at a full suite don't pass it up. There is no comparison between the suite and the mini. You will not want to leave the room if you have the full suite.

 

We stayed in the Owners Suite which is at the back of the ship and it was the absolute best room we have ever had. The balcony is huge if you want to do any entertaining, the bathroom setup works well since one person can be showering or bathing and someone else can still use the facilities since there are doors to separate the areas. The livingroom/diningroom area is very nice as well if you plan to dine in your cabin at all.

 

A word of caution, once you have a full suite it is extremely difficult to settle for anything less in the future. Treat yourself at least one time and if you are fortunate enough to do a full suite all the time, great for you go for it!!!:)

[donscomp]

Who has stayed in a suite category, and not a mini suite. Do you have any photos and which category. What do you recommend and what are the perks?

 

 

We stayed in a VS full aft on Diamond and it was wonderful. And because we dont cruise a lot, we would get a suite every time. The biggest thing we found as far as perks was the access to the full dining menu. We never ate anywhere else but the balcony. Being all the way Aft there was no wind at all. Also the free Net access, DVD library and more.

 

Photos in our sig. below if interested.

[CruisinMommas]

I can tell you from past experience (May '08), if you have the chance at a full suite don't pass it up. There is no comparison between the suite and the mini. You will not want to leave the room if you have the full suite.

 

We stayed in the Owners Suite which is at the back of the ship and it was the absolute best room we have ever had. The balcony is huge if you want to do any entertaining, the bathroom setup works well since one person can be showering or bathing and someone else can still use the facilities since there are doors to separate the areas. The livingroom/diningroom area is very nice as well if you plan to dine in your cabin at all.

 

A word of caution, once you have a full suite it is extremely difficult to settle for anything less in the future. Treat yourself at least one time and if you are fortunate enough to do a full suite all the time, great for you go for it!!!:)

I agree with all that has been said so far. We sailed April '08 on the Diamond and I also loved the free internet and we liked the menus in our room. You also can order your canapes and fruit everyday. We want to sail again and would love to do a suite, we are spoiled now.

[Kimmer727]

Here's the free computer in the Grand Suite!:

 

 

Here's the Living Room in the GS:

 

[Casshew]

I stayed in a family suite on the CB

 

Photos are here

 

Usual perks, we especially loved the full menus and in cabin dining. Also, I had ALL our laundry done before disembarkation and had clean clothes to come home with :)

[BalconyBumz]

The Grand Suite looks awesome. I never see a code for that when looking at pricing. Is it the most expensive one you can get? Any ideas on price range?

[Toto2Kansas]

The Grand Suite looks awesome. I never see a code for that when looking at pricing. Is it the most expensive one you can get? Any ideas on price range?

 

The Grand Suite is listed as a 'GS' suite. They 'normally' book out quickly and many just shortly after a cruise opens up. For our upcoming cruise, one popped up out of nowhere for January (last minute cancellation it seems). They usually are priced about $1500-$2000 (total for two passengers) above the PH category suites, depending on the ship and length of sailing. This is the price over and above the PH for our upcoming 14 day cruise on the Grand. It is the largest and most expensive suite onboard, and those we have seen are huge. More like an apartment then a stateroom on a ship. Full diningroom area, living room area, seperate bedroom, fantastic bathrooms, beautiful balcony, some offer a private hot tub on the balcony, personal laptop computer with unlimted internet access, and some even have a small fireplace.

One thing on Princess though, they rarely discount any of their suites, even if they aren't booked, they would rather leave them empty or give a complimentary upgrade to some lucky passenger. Only once have we ever seen a huge discount on a full suite, and of coarse when this occured (almost a year from the sailing), we grabbed it up very quickly. :)

[cruise14]

This is probably a silly question, but in the "suite perks", when it says complimentary access to the thermal spa, what exactly does this mean? Do you still have to pay for a massage? As many cruises as we have been on, I still don't know exactly what the thermal spa is. I hate to admit it, but I'm usually spending all my time around the pool in the sun. :)

[BalconyBumz]

Well I know I can answer that. Yes, you have to pay for any massages or spa services. Access to the thermal suite and hydro pool is what you get, which costs others either $20 per time or a weekly fee.

[Toto2Kansas]

Well I know I can answer that. Yes, you have to pay for any massages or spa services. Access to the thermal suite and hydro pool is what you get, which costs others either $20 per time or a weekly fee.

 

Yep, you are correct. Any spa services, such as messages or other things are charged for just like any other stateroom onboard.

[gmomof3k]

I saw this posted on the Ruby Princess thread is this for full suites or mini suite guests also can go for the breakfast:confused:

 

 

Sabatini's Breakfast for Suite Passengers: Suite passengers will have exclusive access to breakfast served at Sabatini's. The alternative restaurant will trade its usual Italian-inspired menu for breakfast specialties, such as brioche French toast, yogurt and granola parfaits, and Belgian waffles. Breakfast will be served from 7:30 until 10:30

 

 

 

***Past Cruises***

RCI Nordic Empress 1/91

Pre Big Red Boat 9/95

Celebrity Galaxy Eastern 1/98

RCI Radiance Alaska 7/06

Carnival Victory Canada 8/06

NCL Pride of Hawaii 7/07

Carnival Liberty Western 12/07

Carnival Trumph Western 8/08

 

***Future Cruising***

Ruby Princess Western 4/09

[cindep]

That would be for full suites on the Ruby Princess. Any time you see the term "suites" in any Princess marketing information, it always indicates full suites, not mini-suites.

 

Basically the best part of a mini-suite is having a tub instead of that tiny shower! Of course, you have more room as well.

[Toto2Kansas]

I saw this posted on the Ruby Princess thread is this for full suites or mini suite guests also can go for the breakfast:confused:

 

 

Sabatini's Breakfast for Suite Passengers: Suite passengers will have exclusive access to breakfast served at Sabatini's. The alternative restaurant will trade its usual Italian-inspired menu for breakfast specialties, such as brioche French toast, yogurt and granola parfaits, and Belgian waffles. Breakfast will be served from 7:30 until 10:30

 

 

 

 

***Past Cruises***

RCI Nordic Empress 1/91

Pre Big Red Boat 9/95

Celebrity Galaxy Eastern 1/98

RCI Radiance Alaska 7/06

Carnival Victory Canada 8/06

NCL Pride of Hawaii 7/07

Carnival Liberty Western 12/07

Carnival Trumph Western 8/08

 

 

***Future Cruising***

Ruby Princess Western 4/09

 

All suite perks are for full suites only and never include mini suites. Although some online travel agencys list minis as suites, when it comes to Princess, the full suites are the only ones that receive the extra perks.

[Kimmer727]

The Grand Suite looks awesome. I never see a code for that when looking at pricing. Is it the most expensive one you can get? Any ideas on price range?

 

It is the most expensive - but well worth it. We paid around $6000 for 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise for the 2 of us last month. Lots of perks, lots or room, tons of fun!!!