Wishing on a star

Thanks I&S ! I had not noticed that comment before. Guess they are trying to keep the AC going in there. And, I love the idea of lots of deck space for relaxing and enjoying the cruise. (which is one reason I am looking at other cruise lines) But, it is the open-lawn concept that gets me. This is JMHO, (of course others will not agree) but areas limited to just open grass on a cruise ship seems odd, and some of that could be a much better use of space. I see a lot of photos/videos, in warmer locations, where the grass looks brown and 'crispy'. I love adult-only and relaxation areas on deck. (with at least a retractable roof) Enough shade is important too. Sadly, this is becoming impossible on our usual cruise line. And, newer ships in general. I have a hard time swallowing the price point on Ines that restrict this type of area to a ship-within a ship concept, with the $$$$$$$$ pricing. We are on 'retirement' income now. I don't think I have found a 'fit' in the next level up in 'premium' lines. But, our minds are open to any options right now!!!

Thank You! I think Aqua Class would be good, since a Suite does not offer an actual deck area. Not a fan of the lawn, on a cruise ship. We have enjoyed Princess because of their Sanctuary area. (which Princess is changing) It seems that these Celebrity ships do not have this kind of thing. The Solarium is totally enclosed, without a retractable roof, if I am correct. I think I am going to look at other options for now.

There are, RARE, cases of people getting move-over offers, sometimes very generous, to give up their cabin and take another future cruise. Brockman, this is not common. Booking a RESERVE or GTY does not mean that you have a risk of not boarding the ship. Move over offers are sent out to any given number of bookings, until the Cruise Line has the people who are willing to accept them. I would make no assumption booking a RESERVE / GTY is anything like flying 'stand-by'. Standby means you know that flights can be sold out, but you are wiling to be there at the airport, just in case. Unfortunately, it does seem that people are getting move-over offers at the very last moment. But the only reason that I would not book a RESERVE / GTY is because we can be picky about our cabin location.

Not sure if we would really want to do this. I understand that there is no really nice Retreat Area for Suites? Just the Lounge? Are any of the Specialty Restaurants included... or Just Luminae? (understand can order from Opus menu) Which Category would you book for a short cruise. With no nice Retreat Area, would you book Concierge or AquaClass.... Any insight is helpful! Also: How easy, or difficult, is it to get passes to the Adult Area at Coco Cay. I hear that there are a set number available each day. Maybe a certain Class/Category would be able to get them beforehand?

Great info and photo Dides... You are invaluable! Edub, you mention outdoor seating as well... I am not sure if there are any chairs or seating at all... but check out the forward facing, not promoted, deck areas over the bow on Decks 10, 11, and 12. Also, unless this has changed... The areas on each side of Love by Britto have been found to be open in the past. There have been photos posted.... but I would have to search for them.

If the cruise offers the 3rd and 4th Free Promo, then that helps too. If I am correct, they will only collect two deposits. We had not used this method before, and found regular balconies that were good, larger balcony, etc. But on our last booking, we really had reasons for wanting a specific cabin, Premium Deluxe Balcony, in a certain area. We have our adult son as the Third... And will probably cancel him before final payment. Any family or close friend that wouldn't mind you using their name....

We have a branded card... DELTA... I don't think I have heard of any offers on these???

What it would probably look like, for example, the system would show the SAME fare for far-aft and mid-aft and far forward and mid-forward. (supposedly a discount on the mid aft and mid forward cabins). We have heard that, in some cases, some cabin categories seem to be excluded. Mid-ship Mid-deck balconies might not show that same FARE and cost more.

About upgrades: I am in the U.S. market, so I don't know how different the situation might be... But, yes, the more of an upgrade, the more the cost. It might look like there are a lot of cabins available, but know that Princess has really been trying to get people to book RESERVE or GTY cabins. There might be a LOT of these bookings. And those cabins probably have not been assigned yet. That is why they now have this bidding process... To get as much revenue for upgrades as possible. It sounds like the minimum cost to upgrade thru bidding is even higher than the difference in fare, right now? (Assuming that you are past Final Payment) and can not re-fare or cancel and re-book.). Maybe this will be adjusted??? Or maybe this is the price that Princess has come up with. I do not know if this is usual or not??? Maybe others will post here. I am sure that there is some 'algorithm' the comes up with the availability and costs for these upgrades. Assuming that there is no mistake with these upgrade offers, you really have to look at the fare increase and decide how much you are comfortable paying for either an Ocean View or a Balcony. Know that if you win an upgrade, your cabin assignment will be pre-determined and could be in that higher category ANYWHERE on the ship. Could be higher deck, lower deck, far forward, far aft, etc. The location that you have placed on RESERVE does not indicate the location of the higher category cabin.

Deck 9 has the glass, the entire length. The ones on deck 10 do not, but notice that they are there just above and behind the top of that glass. The Cabana Minis on the Sphere should not be obstructed at all. And, a reminder... The cabin of these Cabana Mini-Suites is actually the same as a Deluxe Balcony. They are bigger as they include that cabana area.

AARP isn't much of a savings any more. Just wondering if anyone knows of any other offers or benefits lately.

The one I am looking at right now is ONLY available thru Princess, as it is fully chartered out for the cruise lines. We had booked one excursion, and it now went up $10. The one I just mentioned, I don't remember what the price was. But, it is expensive, and it probably went up, too.

I am surprised that any agency puts these choices out there like this. I was wondering if 'Meta' was going the way of the Dinosaurs. And, with the bidding system in place... That limits complementary upgrades. CCJack, Meta means a true, full category upgrade. If you are in a Balcony cabin, then this means that you will accept an upgrade that would be a Mini-Suite or higher. If you are considering a MiniSuite - I believe that the ones on Deck 9 have balconies that are open and NOT covered. (I do not think that an upgrade from Balcony to Premium Balcony would be a Meta upgrade) As mentioned, most all Balcony cabins would the about the same or better than your BD. The only catch I see is that if you do not like being on the higher decks and Lido deck. There are some up there. Premium Balcony would have a deeper, larger, half-covered balcony, on Deck 10. That would be nice. The interior cabin is exactly the same. NOTE: If you are AFT on deck 11, a move down to Deck 10 AFT might get you one of these larger balconies at no extra cost. Right now, ONLY the ones mid-ship and mid-forward on Deck 10 are a Premium Balcony category. I might consider booking one of these, with NO UPGRADE. Especially if having some cover on your balcony might be important. As we are saying, a lot of this is preference. If you are not too picky about location, and would not mind being more forward, or too high, then you would probably be okay with any upgrade.

Unfortunately, no, they do not. The issues with the roll-out of this ship and all of the ongoing on-th-fly changes is just too apparent. 3Shelaghs, Do you have a specific cabin booked? Was it 'RESERVED' You are sailing AFTER October 14? Princess is now in a situation where anyone who booked RESERVE, before the announcement, would be having a perk, that they had booked and would be paying for, disappear. (maybe just include the Signature/Sanctuary dining? Which might be top Deck 8, of the MDR.) Princess has created a huge, huge, mess with all of this. It seems that something is going on, but I don't know if I would be concerned. I would not cancel yet, and let all of this settle out - assuming you are not at Final Payment. You don't know if the dust will settle in your favor. I think they will stay the same with the Cabana Deck Cabin access to the Cabana Cabins. I am not sure if any Cabana Deck Cabins are going to be 'Sanctuary Club Class'. Other Mini-Suites were re-categorized as Sanctuary, but I don't think I remember any of the Cabana Deck Mini's (on Deck 9) being changed.

Guessing it is a gimmick related to the Princess 'location upgrade' sale. Probably no biggie. You will receive a cabin that is at least a BD... BC is good, unless you don't want one on Lido Deck. BB and BA are even better. Mid ship and Mid Forward. Basically the Princess Sale is that, for example, all cabins that are BE thru BB are offered at the same (supposedly lower) price, so that you are getting a better category without the slightly higher fare.

If I am correct, a BD cabin would be AFT on Deck 11. Check deck plans and look at the categories - they are color coded. An upgrade would likely be mid-Forward or mid-AFT or mid-ship. It would not be far forward, as these seem to be BE. You might likely get a cabin that is BA, BB, or BC. Again, you would not get an obstructed balcony or a far-Forward balcony. There are mid-Forward balconies up on Lido that are BC... so that would be possible. Again, I think only an agent at this company can really explain all of this.

This sounds like a gimmick by the agency. Princess does not have 'M', 'N', or 'Y' as booking options. Princess is offering a short 'sale' where you can book a cabin at the fare for the lesser location (like forward or aft) and book a better location. In other words, for example, Forward and mid-forward are both at the same fare. With Princess, if you book a RESERVE or GTY, then you will get a cabin in that category or higher. It could be slightly higher category, but perhaps in a less desirable location. (far forward, above noisy venue, etc). Princess will not move you down into a lesser Category. (They would have to make an offer to you to consider) Do you know if your booking is a RESERVE / GTY guarantee, or did you choose that specific cabin? Depending on the different fares. (sometimes a RESERVE / GTY can be offered at a lower fare than when choosing your cabin) Perhaps you would want to choose some Onboard Credit if that is also offered? Have you spoken with a decent agent that you are able to work with? You would have to speak with one of their agents to understand the details.

We hope to avoid the larger open-air taxis. I wonder how we would go about hiring a smaller taxi for this ride. (and maybe return???) Is that possible, without making arrangements for a particular taxi service or driver? Of course, I know the rate might be higher. Not sure how that works, comparing the larger open taxis to a small van. Thanks for any insight!

We hope to avoid the larger open-air taxis. I wonder how we would go about hiring a smaller taxi for this ride. (and maybe return???) Is that possible, without making arrangements for a particular taxi service or driver? Of course, I know the rate might be higher. Not sure how that works, comparing the larger open taxis to a small van. Thanks for any insight!

Princess has been working with these deck plans. I don't know if they are even showing available when you pull up the Sun Princess on the website. By the link you posted, it looks like ALL of these cabana-Minis have that mention of 'SUITE benefits' But when you click on that cabin, the description does NOT have that language. There is something going with these deck plans and cabins at Princess. In fact, I clicked to see the Minis on Deck 10, and it says. Deck Plan unavailable, and "No passenger staterooms on this deck". Looking at the Deck Plan before Oct. 14, I don't think any of them are showing 'RESERVE'. I would doubt that Princess is suddenly going to make every Cabana-Mini on Deck 9 a 'Suite'. We have all been seeing that Princess has been very inconsistent and like the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. Changes after Changes... Delays, etc.... I don't know if I would put a lot of weight to that one mention, especially since the full cabin description does not mention 'Suite'.

No, they are 'Balcony' cabins, the category starts with 'B'... Princess just does things the way they want to. And, they have decided that, at least on the sailing you are looking at, some/all Mid-Ship balconies are excluded. As you see, might not be too much of a sale.

You might see that the pricing is the same for all cabins of the same type, on the deck, whether forward, aft, midship... This is a 'location upgrade', not a real 'category upgrade'. You would not get a Balcony if booking an OV. Will have to wait for this go online to see how much of a sale it is.

Yes, the fact that Princess, in all of it's infinite wisdom, chose to take away adult pool area and put cabins there, which leaves only that elevated area, in the wind, where this can then take away that area. I wish there were other cruise lines that were options.

I have noticed the same thing. Mini-Suites are supposed to have the real table. Make sure that the photos you are comparing are Mini-Suites. The actual balcony is the same, shallow, balcony. Only the table is different. Larger PREMIUM Deluxe Balconies have had real tables. Deluxe Balconies, with the standard more shallow balcony, do NOT. However, I don't think that this is guaranteed with the Premium Deluxe. There are cabin photos of the same category cabins next to each other, maybe at different times, that show tables on some, and little side-table on others. Princess is not known for consistency. It might come down to availability, with fewer tables than large balconies. I thought that Mini-Suites were supposed to have the real table. If I were in a Mini-Suite I would not be satisfied if there were not one. At one point, Princess took the large tables away from the larger balconies. Then they seem to put them back, when they began charging more for them as Premium balconies. It's a mess. We have cabins with larger balconies booked on two cruises. Not Mini-Suites. I too am hoping that there will be a real table.

Thanks! Yes., Majestic. Sorry! I have been one of those comparing to the Enchanted, and others. And the fact that this is NOT an all adult area is very much an issue. At least for now.