Question about upgrading

[Colfireman]

Just made my final payment on a midship balcony on deck 11 starboard for the Grand Princess 10 day pacific coastal in April. I see that there are still premium balconies (deck 10) and mini suites on this cruise available, if the opportunity arose would you upgrade? Would you change to deck 10 "premium balcony"?

What are the advantages with this deck?

 

What about mini suites? What advantages are these over regular balconies?

First time on princess so I have no idea what to expect. BTW we are right near the stairs and I know about the limited access to all decks. I will enjoy the walking to forward or aft.

 

Thanks

 

Greg

[skf]

Your standard balcony has no sofa or love seat, only 2 chairs. The Premiums & Mini-suites are larger & have sofas. Your choice may depend upon the amount of time you will spend in the cabin. All the rooms & mini-suites in Grand are quite comfy.

Steve

[Working 2 Cruise]

Deck 10 balconies are twice as large as regular balconies, half covered, half uncovered. Those balconies are great! Mini-suites are great told! If you can upgrade, do it!

[IECalCruiser]

Your standard balcony has no sofa or love seat, only 2 chairs. The Premiums & Mini-suites are larger & have sofas. Your choice may depend upon the amount of time you will spend in the cabin. All the rooms & mini-suites in Grand are quite comfy.

 

Steve

Premium balcony cabins have larger balconies but the cabins are the same as other balconies and there are no sofas. The Royal and Regal have a new category, deluxe balcony, that does have a love seat.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Colo Cruiser]

Caribe balconies are a tad larger then mini balconies.

If you can get a Caribe balcony at a decent price its worth it. IMO

[JimmyVWine]

Opinions vary. Caribe balconies are bigger than Mini-Suite balconies, but...both are plenty big. Personally, I prefer the Mini-Suite's sofa and seating area coupled with a 9x7 balcony to a Balcony room with no seating area and a 9x9 balcony.

[skynight]

Just made my final payment on a midship balcony on deck 11 starboard for the Grand Princess 10 day pacific coastal in April. I see that there are still premium balconies (deck 10) and mini suites on this cruise available, if the opportunity arose would you upgrade? Would you change to deck 10 "premium balcony"?

What are the advantages with this deck?

 

What about mini suites? What advantages are these over regular balconies?

First time on princess so I have no idea what to expect. BTW we are right near the stairs and I know about the limited access to all decks. I will enjoy the walking to forward or aft.

 

Thanks

 

Greg

 

I will attempt to explain. On the Grand Princess there are "balcony category" cabins on decks 8 to 14. They are classified by Princess, highest to lowest fare, as B2, B4, BA to BF. With the exception of the HC cabins and a few special conditions, such as cabin B431 with no nightstands, all of these cabins have the same interiors. Also, all of these port and starboard facing cabins on decks 14, 12, & 11 have covered balconies that are 5'x9'. Cabins on deck 10, Caribe Deck, which are cat. B2 (center), BE (forward) and BD (aft) have balconies that are 9'x9' and are half covered. Cat B4 cabins that face aft have various size balconies. Don't be fooled by the word Premium, interiors are all the same. You can obtain a deck 10 balcony cabin with a larger balcony that is actually a BD or BE as compared to your BB cabin with the 9'x5' balcony. Balcony category cabins DO NOT have a sofa, none despite what some others have posted.

 

Mini Suites: The interiors are all the same. They are larger than a balcony cat. cabin and contain a sitting area with a sofa. They also have a larger bathroom with a tub/shower. Almost all mini suites are on Deck 9, Dolphin Deck and have a 9'x6' balcony which is not covered. There are 12 mini suites on deck 8, aft with covered balconies. These book up quickly.

 

While no one knows the exact process, there is a possibility that you could be upgraded. It happens.

 

Hope this helps.

[MilliesMom]

Just thought I would share our video with you of Grand Princess Mini Suite E725 (Emerald Deck). We loved it!!!!

 

 

We wanted a covered balcony and the Emerald Deck minis are completely covered.

 

We wanted a sofa ... I have insomnia so needed so place to curl up at night and not disturb my husband. The only way we got a sofa was to have a mini-suite (my one gripe about Princess).

 

Grand is a great ship and we really like cruising on Princess.

[Stevesan]

Just made my final payment on a midship balcony on deck 11 starboard for the Grand Princess 10 day pacific coastal in April. I see that there are still premium balconies (deck 10) and mini suites on this cruise available, if the opportunity arose would you upgrade? Would you change to deck 10 "premium balcony"?

What are the advantages with this deck?

 

What about mini suites? What advantages are these over regular balconies?

First time on princess so I have no idea what to expect. BTW we are right near the stairs and I know about the limited access to all decks. I will enjoy the walking to forward or aft.

 

Thanks

 

Greg

 

go to the deck plan for Dolphin

 

http://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=AP

 

Hovering over a cabin will display a picture and size which includes the balcony's size.

 

Pictures and descriptions of the cabin categories can be found here under staterooms.

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/ap/

 

 

 

 

 

.

[geoherb]

I'd give up my mid ship location to get the extra space of a Caribe Deck balcony cabin.

[Kruznut]

I'd give up a regular balcony stateroom for a mini suite. More room and with the sofa in a mini I love being able sit on the sofa and not sit on the bed or in those small chairs.

[caribill]

I'd give up my mid ship location to get the extra space of a Caribe Deck balcony cabin.

 

I'd give up a regular balcony stateroom for a mini suite. More room and with the sofa in a mini I love being able sit on the sofa and not sit on the bed or in those small chairs.

 

OP is thinking about paying for the upgrade without any special offer from Princess.

 

Would you do these switches if you had to pay? If so, why not book these in the first place?

Edited February 7, 2015 by caribill

[crochetcruise]

Just thought I would share our video with you of Grand Princess Mini Suite E725 (Emerald Deck). We loved it!!!!

 

 

We wanted a covered balcony and the Emerald Deck minis are completely covered.

 

We wanted a sofa ... I have insomnia so needed so place to curl up at night and not disturb my husband. The only way we got a sofa was to have a mini-suite (my one gripe about Princess).

 

Grand is a great ship and we really like cruising on Princess.

 

Your information about how high the step up into the bathroom was, is a GREAT help to me. I use a rollator for independent mobility, but so long as the shower is separate to the tub, would be confident in trying a short cruise without specific Disabled Accessibled facilities, which does mean a greater choice of staterooms and itineraries to choose from!

 

Thank you for taking the trouble to post the video. I am not that technically skilled, but I now have a VERY good idea of what to document photographically when I sail on the Golden Princess. Specifically storage and the refrigerator, which I didn't have on my list of photos to take-omission is ruthlessly rectified!

 

Crochetcruise :cool:

[MilliesMom]

Your information about how high the step up into the bathroom was, is a GREAT help to me. I use a rollator for independent mobility, but so long as the shower is separate to the tub, would be confident in trying a short cruise without specific Disabled Accessibled facilities, which does mean a greater choice of staterooms and itineraries to choose from!

 

Thank you for taking the trouble to post the video. I am not that technically skilled, but I now have a VERY good idea of what to document photographically when I sail on the Golden Princess. Specifically storage and the refrigerator, which I didn't have on my list of photos to take-omission is ruthlessly rectified!

 

Crochetcruise :cool:

 

You are very welcome. Glad it was of help to you.

 

Just a reminder that the mini-suites have a shower/tub combo. The shower is not a walk-in shower.

 

I'm a detail oriented person. I want to know 99% or more before I leave. I actually enjoy the research and its part of the fun for me. If it helps others, that's wonderful too.

 

[MilliesMom]

OP is thinking about paying for the upgrade without any special offer from Princess.

 

Would you do these switches if you had to pay? If so, why not book these in the first place?

 

Often we book what we feel is best at the time of booking, then if better fares come along and a good cabin we upgrade. Done this on a couple of cruises. Try to stretch the money as far as possible.