Club Class Mini Suites

. . . would rather take the money and go to the Crown Grill...

I enjoy minisuites, but would rather book my favorite location (aft) and go to specialty restaurants a few times. I don't mind the MDR either.

I'll be in full suites in 2017 and 2018 so will get to try this "new" area of the MDR and see if I think it's good enough to pay extra for a minisuite.

Thanks, cynbar and pattidee; that is exactly the information I wanted. From the information herein re: club class, I wondered if there were a different dining option with mini-suites, and obviously there is not.

Bill

I really, really wish we could get a comprehensive review of the CC mini's- though I really, really appreciate the mini review another thread.

I really, really wish we could get a comprehensive review of the CC mini's- though I really, really appreciate the mini review another thread.

We also. Just getting bits and pieces at the moment. Perhaps as it gets rolled out further, someone will do a full review. Will just have to be patient.

We also. Just getting bits and pieces at the moment. Perhaps as it gets rolled out further, someone will do a full review. Will just have to be patient.

Until we hear first hand from some one who was in a Club Class mini-suite, we have to be patient. Too much "noise" from second hand hearsay. LOTS TO COME.

Happy Cruising

My assessment of a CC mini versus a std mini is based on an upcoming booking on Ruby.

We considered both versus the $400 per person price difference and concluded the CC wasn't worth the added $.

We have cruised in a std mini as well as in full suites (and love the suite perks and special treatment) so we do have some first-hand idea of what CC would be like (other than the new CC dining setup).

To us for the $800 difference we can pay for excursions for 2 in every port and that is a better use of the $800.

All of this is, of course, a bit speculative at this point but that is all we have to go on.

Princess better stop with thickset and class system or they will lose a lot of elite passengers.We have over 300 days with princess and a first time passenger gets more benefits than a elite passenger.

This system will not work.

long cruiser

Princess better stop with thickset and class system or they will lose a lot of elite passengers.We have over 300 days with princess and a first time passenger gets more benefits than a elite passenger.

This system will not work.

long cruiser

Princess needs to keep up with the times, or they are going to lose a lot of higher paying passengers. NCL and Celebrity both offer separate lounges and restaurants for suite passengers, with upgraded menus and decor and service. Yes, it becomes a class system, but really not much different from other areas where those who pay more, get more (airplanes, hotels, restaurants come to mind.) However, early reports sound like Princess has a ways to go before their CC catches up with the competition.

Princess better stop with thickset and class system or they will lose a lot of elite passengers.We have over 300 days with princess and a first time passenger gets more benefits than a elite passenger.

This system will not work.

long cruiser

Where will they go? All the other lines are doing something similar. If you read the other boards you'll see that the "elites" complain about the suite people getting the same perks they do, and the suite people complain about people who are elite just because they booked a bunch of 3-day cruises in inside cabins.

We were recently on MSC where they status match. If you're elite on Princess or other lines you are automatically elite on MSC. The cruisers who were elite (Black Card on MSC) were not happy. Especially when the amount deducted from their cruise price went from 10% to 5% .... I think that's worse than not having an embarkation lunch.

The only alternative is to give up cruising altogether.

My assessment of a CC mini versus a std mini is based on an upcoming booking on Ruby.

 

We considered both versus the $400 per person price difference and concluded the CC wasn't worth the added $.

 

We have cruised in a std mini as well as in full suites (and love the suite perks and special treatment) so we do have some first-hand idea of what CC would be like (other than the new CC dining setup).

 

To us for the $800 difference we can pay for excursions for 2 in every port and that is a better use of the $800.

 

All of this is, of course, a bit speculative at this point but that is all we have to go on.

We always book an aft mini on Emerald deck 8. I just compared the cost of our 11/17 cruise in our mini and a CC mini.

It's $1,002.00 more. There is no way we would ever pay that difference. Plus, we like the covered mini's, so we're glad they didn't switch those out to CC.

Princess better stop with thickset and class system or they will lose a lot of elite passengers.We have over 300 days with princess and a first time passenger gets more benefits than a elite passenger.

This system will not work.

long cruiser

The first time cruiser in a suite does get more benefit than someone who is elite- in the form of breakfast at Sabatini's and one day laundry service.

Along those lines, perhaps the next logical step, following in the steps of the airlines, is changing the elite cruiser programs such that they don't award points for certain discounted and/less fare classes.

Word of warning! We booked mini-suite - club class was not available, so we were put on a waiting list to be upgraded if/when club class mini-suite became available. It became available, and we paid the extra money to upgrade. Guess what! You LOSE all the perks of any promotion you originally booked. Two specialty dinings (one each): GONE; Onboard credit $300 (150/each): GONE. It's in the fine print if you upgrade, you lose those. Our travel agent didn't even know it. Buyer beware!!!

Word of warning! We booked mini-suite - club class was not available, so we were put on a waiting list to be upgraded if/when club class mini-suite became available. It became available, and we paid the extra money to upgrade. Guess what! You LOSE all the perks of any promotion you originally booked. Two specialty dinings (one each): GONE; Onboard credit $300 (150/each): GONE. It's in the fine print if you upgrade, you lose those. Our travel agent didn't even know it. Buyer beware!!!

Sorry but this is nothing new. Think you should look for another travel agent. Yes if you upgrade and the promotion is over that you got all those great perks they do not carry over. Your travel agent should have know this and told you.

For sure you should look for another Travel Agent!!! :eek:

The first time cruiser in a suite does get more benefit than someone who is elite- in the form of breakfast at Sabatini's and one day laundry service.

Tracie, I know you sale in suites all the time, for my husband and I the best reason to sale in a suite is that we get to spend time with each other in a lovely room with a lovely view, or have a wonderful time out on the deck mostly by ourselves. Everything else is noise as far as we are concerned. We did South America in a suite and it was one of the best vacations of our lives just having the view to enjoy the trip privately! All the other perks are nice to have. The privacy and space is the joy of a suite!

Word of warning! We booked mini-suite - club class was not available, so we were put on a waiting list to be upgraded if/when club class mini-suite became available. It became available, and we paid the extra money to upgrade. Guess what! You LOSE all the perks of any promotion you originally booked. Two specialty dinings (one each): GONE; Onboard credit $300 (150/each): GONE. It's in the fine print if you upgrade, you lose those. Our travel agent didn't even know it. Buyer beware!!!

But if Princess offers you an upsell or a free upgrade, you get to keep the original perks.

Word of warning! We booked mini-suite - club class was not available, so we were put on a waiting list to be upgraded if/when club class mini-suite became available. It became available, and we paid the extra money to upgrade. Guess what! You LOSE all the perks of any promotion you originally booked. Two specialty dinings (one each): GONE; Onboard credit $300 (150/each): GONE. It's in the fine print if you upgrade, you lose those. Our travel agent didn't even know it. Buyer beware!!!

We always book through Princess. One of the few advantages is that if I call them to upgrade a cabin, they always alert me if I would lose any perks. The conversation usually goes like this "let us see if you will lose anything and what the upgrade will cost you compared to what you are now paying" or something like that. Sorry to hear that you found out the hard way.

Word of warning! We booked mini-suite - club class was not available, so we were put on a waiting list to be upgraded if/when club class mini-suite became available. It became available, and we paid the extra money to upgrade. Guess what! You LOSE all the perks of any promotion you originally booked. Two specialty dinings (one each): GONE; Onboard credit $300 (150/each): GONE. It's in the fine print if you upgrade, you lose those. Our travel agent didn't even know it. Buyer beware!!!

Update: Our travel agent was able to restore the specialty dinings, and 1/2 of the OBC. Not sure how she did it, but we'll take it!!! Thanks for the insights provided here. Big lesson learned!!!

I'm curious, why are these aft cabins so popular? We went with a midship CC mini-suite because my first time cruiser SIL gets motion sickness and we thought having rooms close to the BIL and SIL made sense. I'm not motion sensitive, but I decided not to risk the increased motion that I hear the bow and aft can experience if we have a bad sea day.

I really, really wish we could get a comprehensive review of the CC mini's- though I really, really appreciate the mini review another thread.

This is an older thread, so I am sure some of you have already experienced Club Class. We did it on our Thanksgiving Crown cruise and LOVED it! The only real differentiation for us is the MDR special area and that alone was worth it. We were able to go to any meal at any time, and we really got to know the four dining room teams (waiter/junior waiter) as well as the Maitre d' who stopped by at every meal. On a Royal cruise earlier this year, we waited an average of 45 minutes to be seated (anytime dining).

Not sure about preferred boarding because we always have a Bon Voyage Experience guest, so we are the very first to board.

Our upcoming cruise price drop allowed us to upgrade from regular minisuite to Club Class for about $100pp total.....no brainer for us! Our opinion is go for it - worth it for us, up to the cost of daily specialty dining.

Update: Our travel agent was able to restore the specialty dinings, and 1/2 of the OBC. Not sure how she did it, but we'll take it!!! Thanks for the insights provided here. Big lesson learned!!!

Don't mean to be observant, but your TA should have made up the difference in what you lost. How could she not know this? This is the BIG difference between rebooking and refaring!!!!!!!!!! Unless you really save a lot of money on the pp price of your cabin by rebooking, then you should only look into refaring. Refaring means essentially your booking stays the exact same, only you get the lower fare. Now if the perks are different or better than you already have you can get them too. So if you do this again, make sure you ask about refaring not rebooking!

Pooh

We have sailed 2 cruises in Club Class, an 18 day on Pacific Princess and 15 day on Coral Princess. We enjoyed Club Class dining very much on both cruises and in fact, have booked our next cruise which will include Club Class dining.

We are Elites and a majority of our cruises have been booked in mini-suites. Since we get all the Elite perks, for us the benefit of Club Class is the dining and location of the room. The cost is not that much more than what was charged for mid-ship locations in mini-suites before Club Class.

We have had some of the best dining experiences and service while in Club Class. That being said, room steward in Club Class on Coral Princess was well below par, so don't expect better service in this area.

I'm sure not all ships are the same in regards to Club Class, but so far our experiences has been very positive.

DH and I are considering a Western Caribbean cruise on the Caribbean Princess this summer. We’ve always booked a mini-suite in the past, but haven’t cruised Princess since 2014, so this is the first time we’ve had to consider the club class as an option. I’m not sure I understand all of the advantages. There’s expedited boarding and a separate area in the MDR with additional dishes, correct? The central ship location makes little difference to us since we like aft cabins. The red and white wine are not important as we barely drink. Is there anything else I’m missing? Last summer, we cruised on the Celebrity Equinox in an Aquaclass room. There we had Blu, the Aquaclass restaurant. Also, we were permitted to use the Persian Gardens in the spa whenever we wanted. Does club class on Princess offer anything like that? Thanks for your help.

DH and I are considering a Western Caribbean cruise on the Caribbean Princess this summer. We’ve always booked a mini-suite in the past, but haven’t cruised Princess since 2014, so this is the first time we’ve had to consider the club class as an option. I’m not sure I understand all of the advantages. There’s expedited boarding and a separate area in the MDR with additional dishes, correct? The central ship location makes little difference to us since we like aft cabins. The red and white wine are not important as we barely drink. Is there anything else I’m missing? Last summer, we cruised on the Celebrity Equinox in an Aquaclass room. There we had Blu, the Aquaclass restaurant. Also, we were permitted to use the Persian Gardens in the spa whenever we wanted. Does club class on Princess offer anything like that? Thanks for your help.

Club class really boils down to MDR wait times, and only if you're traveling without others or only with other Club Classers. In particular, Princess has struggled with Anytime Dining wait times after the first ATD MDR has filled up until the second ATD MDR finishes its early Traditional service and opens up for additional ATD capacity. Club Class solves this by dipping into that second MDR's capacity and making it available to full suites and CC minis, and (theoretically) in such a way that there's little to no wait in Club Class. Same goes for breakfast and lunch (when an MDR is open). If you're a traditional diner, you can get service better than ATD but not necessarily as good as TD with CC. If you're an anytime diner and hated the inability to make reservations between 5:45 and 6:45 (ish) on most ships, this is your answer. If you're a late ATDer, it probably won't make any difference. If you travel with other Club Classers, you can sit with them; same if your travel companions are in a suite. However, if some of your group is non-CC, you can't "import" them under your wing (the host/hostess has a roster, and they check to find out if you're naughty or nice).