Deal or no deal?

[Travelingfreckles]

I was just offered an upgrade for my upcoming cruise on Regal. 🤗 I presently have an extended balcony (not deluxe) midship and was offered a mini suite, 1 deck up mid-forward.  I understand the room and bathroom are bigger but I'm a balcony person and am afraid the balcony will be smaller in the mini. Visually, on the deck plans, it looks like the balcony I have is bigger. Are there any extra perks for a mini suite? The price is for $149/pp. Is this a good deal?

[cruzsnooze]

Mini Suites really are no different in perks then your balcony cabin. The cabin would be bigger and perhaps in a better location but location, that's subjective. The price could be a good deal if it's a longer cruise, not a 3-5 night one.

[geocruiser]

Are there any other minis open with the extended balcony?   If so, maybe you could ask for one of them.

[Travelingfreckles]

52 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

Are there any other minis open with the extended balcony?   If so, maybe you could ask for one of them.

I thought of that but the only ones they have would be on deck 15. I've never sailed before that high up 😬. Also, From what I've read on cruise critic, I'd be right under the skywalk and people looking into our balcony. Not sure if I'd like that. 

[Travelingfreckles]

1 hour ago, cruzsnooze said:

Mini Suites really are no different in perks then your balcony cabin. The cabin would be bigger and perhaps in a better location but location, that's subjective. The price could be a good deal if it's a longer cruise, not a 3-5 night one.

We're on a 7 night cruise. Checking prices today, if we booked either the mini 1 deck up mid-aft or the extended balcony on deck 15 middle, it'd be only a $325 difference once we'd pay the additional $ they'd want. Such a hard choice. 

[1emerald1]

I think the prices for upsells have gone up.  I paid $149 PP for an upsell from a balcony deluxe obstructed to a mini suite for a 10 day cruise on the Royal in March 2016.  And it was a good mini, mid forward on Caribe deck.

[Thrak]

If you are happy with the cabin you have then spend the extra money elsewhere.

[Sea Hag]

I think for me it would be no deal. It sounds like you're happy with the cabin you have, and the mini wouldn't be that much better for $149 pp.

[Cruise Raider]

If you want to spend time on your balcony and yours is larger, it doesn't sound like a great deal for you.  I might jump on it depending on the length of the sailing.  I may have missed that but don't think you mentioned how many nights it is as well as the itinerary.  

We went on a 10 night Alaska cruise and got a great deal on an obstructed oceanview cabin.  I was hoping for an upsell offer to a balcony and sure enough, I got it!  I was so happy because I ended up getting a midship Caribe deck balcony on a Grand class ship.  Alaska is the one place where I think a balcony is worth its weight in gold.  So, even though it was $500 more for us, I jumped on it ... and we spent so much time out on our balcony it was well worth it.  

 

For you, though, you like the bigger balcony so that should be your main consideration.  I understand that most of the balconies on the Royal class ships are pretty small.  Although, in a mini-suite, you do get an actual bathtub (I think ... haven't been on a Royal class ship yet) and maybe a glass of sparkling wine at embarkation.  I certainly wouldn't base my decision on that.  You will also have a seating area with an extra tv.  So, it really depends on what you prefer .. the larger cabin or the larger balcony.  

If it were club class, I'd jump on it ... so it doesn't hurt to call and ask but if there are no club class cabins showing, it's probably a moot point.  

 

Let us know what you decide.  

[JF - retired RRT]

20 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

Mini Suites really are no different in perks then your balcony cabin. The cabin would be bigger and perhaps in a better location but location, that's subjective. The price could be a good deal if it's a longer cruise, not a 3-5 night one.

You forgot the really bad "champagne" on embarkation day.

[firefightermediclasvegas]

I have sailed on the Regal and loved the ship.  We were in a mini-suite and I prefer a mini-suite over a balcony.  The mini-suite has a bigger cabin with 2 tv’s and a lot bigger bathroom.  The balconies on all royal class ships are smaller from I have read.  We got a great deal on two connecting balcony rooms on the Royal in April, so we are going to try these cabins.  With all that information, if your upgrade is on deck 15, I would have to really think about it because I heard these cabins can have a lot of noise from the crew cleaning up the pool at night and early mornings.  Just out other post on Regal deck 15 cabin noise.

[fishin' musician]

The mini suite is huge compared to a standard balcony.  However, if you spend much time on the balcony I'd stick with what you have.  The normal balconies are ridiculously small.  There are some minis on the side angles with much larger balconies that may be worth considering.

[beckntom]

Personally, I would go for the mini.  Any time we go back to a balcony cabin from a previous mini, I am shocked at the difference (when we walk into the balcony cabin).  In my opinion, the extra interior space and the two TVs are well worth giving up the extra balcony space.  We absolutely loved our mini on the Regal TA this past fall.

[Tak8]

I would stay where you are, because you are a balcony person.  If you wanted the extra cabin room, then I would go with the upgrade.

[Travelingfreckles]

Thank you all for the feedback. I'm definitely more a balcony person than inside space person. I've never had anything bigger than a balcony room so I guess I won't know what I'm missing by not upgrading to the mini-suite. 😉  So with that, I've decided to stay where I am not only because of the extended balcony we have but also I found out the other couple we are going with (we have side by side staterooms) didn't get the offer so we'd miss having that opportunity to open the connecting balcony piece (both of us have extended balconies) and miss getting to hang out on our balconies with each other. Now hopefully the weather will be beautiful so we can get full enjoyment from out wonderful balcony🤞.  

[Daniel A]

We like our balconies too.  I won't book minis on Regal or Royal anymore because the balcony is more important to us than a second tv and bathtub.  That said, we look for Deluxe Balcony Cabins on those ships as we do like the extra sitting area with a 2 person (as opposed to 3 person in the mini) couch.  The rub is that the balcony is still the size of a postage stamp.  If the balcony is where you will spend a good deal of time, stay put.  We now avoid Regal and Royal and prefer the older ships like Caribbean, Crown, and Star and love their mini suites and larger balconies.  No matter what, a bad day on a Regal balcony is better than a good day at work...