NEW Cabin Class Category: Club Class Mini-Suite

[chamima]

Aqua Class on Celebrity has breakfast and lunch served in the Blu Dining Room. The menu, especially for dinner differs from that in the MDR and the service is much better.

 

It does appear that Princess is trying to compete. I did speak to my travel agent, and he is is not that impressed, unless the "dining section" in the MDR for club guests will have a different menu.

 

Just mine, and my travel agent's opinion.

 

 

We travel in Aqua on Celebrity.

Only breakfast and dinner in Blu. That dining room is not open at all for lunch.

The MDR on Celebrity is one huge two story dining room vs. the three more intimate dining rooms on Princess.

We find it WAY too loud and tumulty.

I'm not really sure the food is that different in Blu (I've only had one very forgettable meal in the MDR, though) but we appreciate the MUCH smaller size and more personal service in Blu.

 

 

I don't think the new category is for us. My understanding, after reading the FAQs, is that the dinner option is for anytime dining only. They say people wanting traditional dining can still choose that option, but they wouldn't get the special dishes or tableside prep.

 

We also like traditional dining.

That, coupled with having to give up our favorite aft (premium) cabin location for that awful uncovered mini suite balcony will keep us from booking this category.

[Scottydogs]

We travel in Aqua on Celebrity.

Only breakfast and dinner in Blu. That dining room is not open at all for lunch.

 

Suite class dine in Luminae on Celebrity which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am looking forward to Princess having a dining room similar to Luminae and Blu. However I am still interested if they will still have breakfast in Sabatini's for suite passengers.

 

Just received an email from Princess regarding our Panama Canal cruise in September and it says there will be a separate entrance and host for the Club Class Dining room.

[JimmyVWine]

This whole program looks like something that they should have rolled out with new ship designs as the new ships came on line. It appears very awkward to stuff this new program into existing ships that were not built for a class system.

[Murphey]

So what's with the "luxury beds"???? I thought all of fleet were to get the new beds??

[shredie]

This whole program looks like something that they should have rolled out with new ship designs as the new ships came on line. It appears very awkward to stuff this new program into existing ships that were not built for a class system.

 

I agree. It's more of Princess fixing what ain't broke.

[JimmyVWine]

I agree. It's more of Princess fixing what ain't broke.

 

Not to mention that somewhat insulting aspect of: "On Friday, this particular Mini-Suite costs $1,800 per person for a cruise, and on Saturday, the price jumps to $3,000 per person per cruise" (or whatever). Same square footage. Same location. Same MDR. Same everything...except you get seated faster at dinner. It might make some sense if the ship had a dining room dedicated to a new class of cruiser. But unless the cost increase is marginal (which I don't expect), I see nothing here that entices me. What Princess seems to be forgetting is that unlike some of its competition, PCL generally attracts a clientele that most people feel no need to distance themselves from. While some people might find the need to separate from the masses on some ships, I never find that to be an issue on PCL. And even if I did, re-categorizing a bunch of mid-ship Mini-Suites doesn't get you there. Again, this smacks of something that might make sense when doing a ground-up build.

Edited May 10, 2016 by JimmyVWine

[RDC1]

Not to mention that somewhat insulting aspect of: "On Friday, this particular Mini-Suite costs $1,800 per person for a cruise, and on Saturday, the price jumps to $3,000 per person per cruise" (or whatever). Same square footage. Same location. Same MDR. Same everything...except you get seated faster at dinner. It might make some sense if the ship had a dining room dedicated to a new class of cruiser. But unless the cost increase is marginal (which I don't expect), I see nothing here that entices me. What Princess seems to be forgetting is that unlike some of its competition, PCL generally attracts a clientele that most people feel no need to distance themselves from. While some people might find the need to separate from the masses on some ships, I never find that to be an issue on PCL. And even if I did, re-categorizing a bunch of mid-ship Mini-Suites doesn't get you there. Again, this smacks of something that might make sense when doing a ground-up build.

 

I think that they have decided they can get more revenue by stratifying classes of staterooms by adding amenities, as Celebrity has done. Of course they may not realize that a number of us that sail on Princess have left Celebrity to get away from that.

[Steelers36]

For those folks posting negative comments about declining food quality for the average cruiser compared to those in Club Class, Princess has made it quite clear that it is the same menu, plus one additional specialty dish offering. Yes, there will be some additional table-side preparations, but that's NBD IMO - just a bit of show for not much go.

 

Also, the separate entrance thing is easily handled on most ships because the mid-ship DR's have both a Port and Starboard entrance, with the Starboard side being the traditional entrance for ATD. I imagine the Port side doors will be used to access the Club Class dining area, just as it has been used for accessing extra-early TD.

 

Outside of that, I agree with most folks posting that the anticipated price point will not interest me. If I wanted to spend the bucks, I'd just book specialty dining each night. We don't book Mini's anyway.

 

As long as this doesn't negatively affect my cruise experience, I will be fine with it and nothing I have read indicates I should be worried. If there is anything to worry about, it is that the effort is being made to raise the revenue per passenger and that will filter down to all booking classes and we will all pay more.

[grouchomarx]

It seems the list of "amenities" for this new cabin class are mostly imaginary things, phrased in such a way so that they seem real. In particular, I love how they point out that you get not only a balcony, but FURNITURE on it! (It's almost as funny as a description I read today of a Celebrity cabin that boasted the amazing amenity of.......water glasses.)

[JimmyVWine]

Of course they may not realize that a number of us that sail on Princess have left Celebrity to get away from that.

Eggg-zactly. This whole "we have to replicate everyone else's product" attitude is infuriating. Especially to those of us who choose (chose?) Princess because of its differences.

[dreadnot]

Seems to me like a shot across the bow to Celebrity AquaClass, and Blu Dining room. I have Cruised on the Summit ,and the Constellation , and the Aqua Class rooms are just nice , not overly large balcony rooms. On the other hand the Crown Princess Mini suite was much larger and more comfortable. I plan on trying the Regal Princess on a 5 day fall Canada cruise ,and if it is as nice as it looks .will book a 7 day in Jan when Club Minisuite package is available

[Astro Flyer]

Also, the separate entrance thing is easily handled on most ships because the mid-ship DR's have both a Port and Starboard entrance, with the Starboard side being the traditional entrance for ATD. I imagine the Port side doors will be used to access the Club Class dining area, just as it has been used for accessing extra-early TD.

 

Outside of that, I agree with most folks posting that the anticipated price point will not interest me. If I wanted to spend the bucks, I'd just book specialty dining each night. We don't book Mini's anyway.

 

As long as this doesn't negatively affect my cruise experience, I will be fine with it and nothing I have read indicates I should be worried. If there is anything to worry about, it is that the effort is being made to raise the revenue per passenger and that will filter down to all booking classes and we will all pay more.

We can only speculate about how the new class of passenger will affect other passengers. Having a section in an anytime dining room set aside for Club passengers will result in fewer seats for everyone else & most likely result in more delays to be seated at ATD.

 

I've been on Sun-class & on the various types of Grand-class ships and the midship dining rooms all had entrances on the port side & only the Royal-class ships had entrances on both sides. On the starboard side (Sun & Grand class) there are doors there (only seen them used to escort groups of passengers to tenders) but there's no waiting area like on the port side. Guess they could use these doors although we can only speculate until Club Class is implemented later this year.

 

Like you, it's nothing we'd pay to have during a cruise but it may be desirable for some passengers. It's another way to generate additional income but won't be happy if it results in even longer delays to be seated in the ATD before about 7:30.

[Florida_gal_50]

I just received the email from princess about this. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out.

[Astro Flyer]

It seems the list of "amenities" for this new cabin class are mostly imaginary things, phrased in such a way so that they seem real. In particular, I love how they point out that you get not only a balcony, but FURNITURE on it! (It's almost as funny as a description I read today of a Celebrity cabin that boasted the amazing amenity of.......water glasses.)

I think it's mostly marketing hype without enough substance.

 

So many of their Club Class benefits are available to most passengers. Princess Luxury Bed??? Club may get them sooner than other passengers but all cabins will eventually have these beds which are being hyped as a Club Class amenity. Maybe it'll work to attract new Princess passengers which is positive however experienced Princess passengers know that many of these Club Class benefits are nothing new & depending upon the cost may not book Club Class.

Edited May 10, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[Sitmar Lady]

Future longer lines for the Elite preferred embarkation and disembarkation. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

There are so many Elites anyway the perks have faded without this change.

[spookyfudge]

Ahhhh, the caste system comes to Princess! :eek:

 

Great don't have to put up with the rif_raff

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

[asctony]

My first thought was There goes breakfast in Sabatinis for suite guests. If the special dining option no longer includes mimosas and espresso drinks, I don't think the Suite guests will be happy, so I think it will be interesting to see how this evolves.

 

This is already being offered to Elite and Elite Plus on Celebrity regardless of category of cabin.

[asctony]

For those folks posting negative comments about declining food quality for the average cruiser compared to those in Club Class, Princess has made it quite clear that it is the same menu, plus one additional specialty dish offering. Yes, there will be some additional table-side preparations, but that's NBD IMO - just a bit of show for not much go..

 

Table-side preparations were done x years ago. Then it was stopped 'due to fire hazard.' Now with this new class we no longer have a 'fire hazard?'

[pris993]

Eggg-zactly. This whole "we have to replicate everyone else's product" attitude is infuriating. Especially to those of us who choose (chose?) Princess because of its differences.

 

We are elite on both lines... prefer Princess... so I hope they don't continue th monkey see - monkey do approach.

 

We have already booked a mini for an TA in 2017 on the Royal... it is forward so not part of the Club Class anyway. We salw something similar, i.e., Club class on the QM2, we were not impressed. If one is a smart cruiser and does not fall for all this BS you can do a lot better. We plan to enjoy the Crown Grill even with the added costs of the CG we are still way ahead. What we save on not booking Club Class pays for the CG, LOL.

[emileg]

We had booked an aft suite on the Crown for an Oct. 2017 TA. This would be our very first time in a suite in 40 years of cruising. We were considering downgrading to a regular verandah cabin. However, when we received the email today about the Club Dining, we saw it as an unanticipated perk and just may keep our original reservation for the suite.

[chamima]

Table-side preparations were done x years ago. Then it was stopped 'due to fire hazard.' Now with this new class we no longer have a 'fire hazard?'

 

 

I had the same thought![emoji849]

[Northern Light]

We book mini-suites because I need the tub to put my bath bench into and also for the extra cabin space. The cost was always doable especially since we cruise no more than once a year, sometimes every few years. We have booked a fwrd mini-suite for our 2017 TA. I checked the cost of the cabin next to ours and the price has risen more than $1,160 Cdn. Other minis have gone up significantly as well. The rising cost has to be because of the introduction of the new class. The so-called perks hold no interest for us. We love Princess as it suits us so well but I fear these changes may mean the end of cruising for us...makes me sad.

[USCAdventurer]

from my conversation today with a princess rep, the mini-suites will be on the dolphin deck which means no covered balcaonies. my very first princess cruise was in a mini-suite on dolphin deck and all i had was garbage and cigar/cigarette butts on my balcony every day. that's when i found the emerald deck and the covered balconies. i always book a mini-suite but only if i can get cabin e729 on emerald deck. i'll stay on the emerald deck and not worry about the new class. and i have to say that i really liked sailing on celebrity in their aqua class and dining in blu. just wonderful, wonderful food and service.

Edited May 11, 2016 by USC Adventurer

[Astro Flyer]

This whole program looks like something that they should have rolled out with new ship designs as the new ships came on line. It appears very awkward to stuff this new program into existing ships that were not built for a class system.

 

and i have to say that i really liked sailing on celebrity in their aqua class and dining in blu. just wonderful, wonderful food and service.

I feel the same way as Jimmy...an upgraded class of service should also include facilities designed for new ships which apparently is one reason for Celebrity's success. To me Club Class is a halfhearted attempt by Princess to replicate Celebrity's successful program only without the addition of facilities to make it successful.

[Renmar]

During all of our cruises with Princess (17 so far) we always had "Dedicated wait staff" in any of the dining rooms but now I wonder if that will go away because according to the FAQ the "Dedicated wait staff" is now reserved for Club Class Mini & Full suites.:rolleyes:

 

2. What is Club Class Dining? It’s an exclusive, uniquely styled, dedicated area of the Main Dining Room available to Full Suite and Club Class Mini-Suite guests for dinner each evening as well as breakfast and lunch on sea days. Club Class Dining includes:

• Expedited seating with minimal to no wait • Private main dining room entrance with host • Dedicated wait staff • Exclusive menu options with Daily Chef’s Special • Table-side preparation

 

Also, some of the "Extra perks" mentioned were up until now included for all passengers. Does that mean we, Inside-Ocean view-Standard Balcony guests, are getting those things taken away??

 

PLUS, all the comforts of a Mini-Suite including:

• Welcome glass of champagne • Complimentary Fresh Fruit upon request • Separate seating area with a sofabed • Balcony with patio furniture • Evening bed turn-down, chocolates on your pillow • Walk in closet* • Two flat-panel televisions • Private bathroom with combination tub and shower • Massage showerhead • Luxury 100% cotton towels • Plush European Duvets • Shampoo, conditioner, body lotion • Satellite TV, refrigerator, hair dryer, safe, closet, phone and desk • 110-volt, 60-cycle alternating current (AC) with standard U.S. plug fittings • Twice daily housekeeping service

 

 

 

Theo