Balcony vs Mini Suite vs Family Suite

[CALMOM]

Can anyone tell me the difference between a Balcony cabin, Mini-Suite and a Family Suite? We will have 6 adults in our party, could a Family Suite allow enough room for 6 adults? Where are the Family Suites usually located, specifically for the Princess Diamond? I like to sail mid ship for a smooth ride. Thank you so much for your help.

[1025cruise]

Having stayed in a Mini-Suite, which is bigger than a balcony, there is no way 6 of us would have been comfortable.

 

Will Princess even let you book a cabin with 6 people?

[cherylandtk]

Balcony cabins can hold up to four people using the two twins on the floor and two drop-out-of-the-ceiling upper bunks. It would be a very tight fit for four adults, there is no separate sitting area with a sofa on Princess. Not all balcony rooms have the drop down bunks, some only have the two lower beds or one bunk.

 

Mini-suites have a sitting area and bathroom with a tub; the capacity is still limited to four people, with most only holding three. The sleeping arrangements are two in the lower beds, one in the pull out sofa bed and one in an upper bunk (for those minis that have one).

 

The family suite can hold up to eight, BUT there is limited privacy for everyone and the first four persons pay full fare suite pricing. There are only two of these rooms on the ship, and I believe all are located forward. The Family Suite is laid out with a regular suite room connnected to an inside room. Only the inside room has a door between the room and the living area. See the link for a diagram.

http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/sa/staterooms/sa_family_suite.html

 

It would depend on how close and comfortable the 6 adults are with each other as to whether this is a good choice. For three couples, I would probably suggest three adjacent balcony or minisuite rooms. For parents with adult children, maybe this would work, but two would be sleeping on the fold-outs in the communal living room which is open to the main suite bedroom.

[junglejane]

We stayed in the Family Suite on the Sapphire Princess, which is the sister ship to the Diamond Princess. The Family Suites are located as far forward as you can go, so you get a lot of motion there. Also, the balcony is unusable when the ship is moving because it is way too windy. Here's a link to a review and photos which I posted: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1077929

 

Also, here's a link to another recent thread discussing cabin locations and the Family Suites. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1111193

 

As Cherylandtk says, the Family Suite requires that you pay full suite prices for the first four pax, unless you get it as a complimentary upgrade as we did. There are better and more cost effective choices for 6 adults, e.g., some combination of 2-3 rooms.