Princess Club Class

[Debate]

Is Club class in a Princess mini suite worth the additional cost?  Do you have access to concierge and the areas the suites have on the ship?  

[AF-1]

Debate, club class dining is for pax who book the club class mini suites.  The dining is the only added option you get. Is it worth the price;  for me yes;  others will say no.  

[AF-1]

You won't have to wait for a table;  I have been on two cruises using club class; and never waited for a table and enjoyed the same meals as everyone else; on  a few nights they made pasta right at my table.  That was nice

[memoak]

Love the dining options with CV

[szubieta]

 

1 minute ago, AF-1 said:

Debate, club class dining is for pax who book the club class mini suites.  The dining is the only added option you get. Is it worth the price;  for me yes;  others will say no.  

What are the added dinner menu items?  

[JF - retired RRT]

If the price difference between a regular mini and a CC mini is minimal (and it usually is not), it might be worth it.

As posted by AF above, the only extra is the "separate" dining area with a few additional dishes not on the regular menu.

Worth it? Let your budget and desires decide.

There are no areas that are special for any mini-suites (except for the dining area). Mini-suite is not an appropriate name. They aren't suites.

Edited August 18, 2019 by JF - retired RRT

[AF-1]

The additional items vary each night.  Like I mentioned one night the head waiter in club class was fixing either pasta with a marinara sauce or a fettuccini alfredo at your table;  your choice.  

[Daniel A]

10 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Mini-suite is not an appropriate name. They aren't suites.

DW & I like the minis on the Princess ships which are not Royal class.  Because of the bump outs in the stateroom it creates a feeling of a separate room where the sitting area is.  We do not like the minis on the Royal Class ships because we just don't get that separate 'room' feeling with the privacy curtain.  In booking cruises on those ships we opt for the Deluxe Balcony instead.

[Colo Cruiser]

25 minutes ago, memoak said:

Love the dining options with CV

??

[Colo Cruiser]

32 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

You won't have to wait for a table;  I have been on two cruises using club class; and never waited for a table and enjoyed the same meals as everyone else; on  a few nights they made pasta right at my table.  That was nice

There have been a few times when we have had to wait.

We have found peak times can have waits.

Most of the time though no wait.

[AF-1]

Colo Cruiser;  Wife and I did not have to wait; but I get what you are saying.  I am Irish so luck must have been with me. 

[szubieta]

1 minute ago, AF-1 said:

The additional items vary each night.  Like I mentioned one night the head waiter in club class was fixing either pasta with a marinara sauce or a fettuccini alfredo at your table;  your choice.  

Can you get the upgraded steaks & other offerings without the added cost.  Having pasta is not a cost effective upgrade to CC, nor them preparing food table side, IMHO.  Eating at a specialty restaurant every night of the cruise just might be more cost effective for us. And I double agree that having a sofabed for our DS16 will be much better then him above us.

[Colo Cruiser]

3 minutes ago, szubieta said:

Can you get the upgraded steaks & other offerings without the added cost.  Having pasta is not a cost effective upgrade to CC, nor them preparing food table side, IMHO.  Eating at a specialty restaurant every night of the cruise just might be more cost effective for us. And I double agree that having a sofabed for our DS16 will be much better then him above us.

No the extra fee still applies.

[memoak]

6 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

??

C C.  Mistype

[memoak]

Extra dishes are not only pastas.  One night there might be a steak Diane or a shrimp option.  Changes daily

[szubieta]

8 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

No the extra fee still applies.

Thank you

[Gettingwarmer]

You are also paying the extra money for a better position on the ship as you would previously have done for a mid ship mini suite. 

[Kartgv]

The advantages of CC are 1) best mini-suite locations on the ship, and 2) a more relaxed, better service dining experience with a few extra menu choices.    What are those items are worth to you?   For us, the cut-off point is about $100/couple/day.     We've seen prices much higher than that and declined to book when that's the case.

 

Yes, for that amount of money you can eat in specialty restaurants every night, but we get tired of the same menus and being served way too much food.   To us, the specialty restaurants can sometimes feel like more of a 'production', which we don't find relaxing.  

Edited August 18, 2019 by Kartgv

[Coffeeluvr05]

We have had club class twice in a full suite. Whether it is worth the extra cost in a mini, I think that is very subjective. Each person will have a different take. Other than the anytime aspect and being seated quickly, the food is the same except for there will be a special entree not on the menu each night. Also, the head waiter cooks a pasta each night in the club class area that you can have as a starter or main. I believe that there are supposed to be more wait staff to diners than MDR but I did not think it made any difference. 

 

The main thing is it is really nice to just show up whenever you want and be promptly seated. We never had a wait. 

[AF-1]

If you read post #2; I stated some people say it may be worth the extra money and some will not want to spend the extra money. So as we are now on #20,  You can read the replies and see some are happy and some aren't.  Have a nice day and have a great cruise.

[szubieta]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

If you read post #2; I stated some people say it may be worth the extra money and some will not want to spend the extra money. So as we are now on #20,  You can read the replies and see some are happy and some aren't.  Have a nice day and have a great cruise.

Sorry for asking too many questions, but that's what I am trying to decide and these threads are for, so I thought.  Before we decide to add $428 just for CC & moving from Aft (our preferred cabins) be added to our cruise.  Enjoy the Sky!

[AF-1]

szubieta,  I love the aft balconies.  I have been aft three different times.  I have also been all the way forward.  The club class mini suites are located mid ship; they have the best location for even cruising with least amount of motion.  If you prefer the aft balconies; then maybe you could book a spa day, crown grill grill or some other place; or shore excursions.  Sorry did not mean to give you bad info; or snarky info.  Money means a lot; so should spend it wisely.  Unlike a full suite; (which also gets club class); the cc mini is a big choice.  I normally eat at least one night in crown grill, one night at buffet, and the rest in dining room or off ship

[cruzsnooze]

2 hours ago, Kartgv said:

The advantages of CC are 1) best mini-suite locations on the ship,  

I think the best mini suites are on the aft of deck 8 which are totally covered. I have booked CC mini's my last 2 times when the difference was not terribly high, and once when I booked a full suite.  There was usually only one dish prepared in the center of the CC dining room not table side since the cart needed electricity and was stationed in that one place that was highly visible. The service is superior and there is usually no wait, a true anytime dining. 

  There are really no other tangible perks other then a split of wine to your cabin. I would prefer CC when the fare is decent over a regular mini even though I don't care for exposed balcony.

[jondfk]

And I'll disagree with those who say Club Class assures dining without a wait.  Most often, we've been seated upon arrival into the dining room, occasionally though (and that means 2 nights on our most recent 14 night CC cruise) we experienced waits of 20 minutes or more.  On one night we were told the wait would be 40 minutes minimum and we were told to go to a lounge from which we would be retrieved (we went to Crooners and were taken into the dining room about 45 minutes later).  Our view is, CC dining is very much like a good fixed dining service team, very quickly the staff get's to know your likes and dislikes and attempt to accommodate.  We will pay a small premium for CC, but as others have suggested, the premiums can be more than $100 / day / cabin which is beyond our pain threshold.

 

I'll add my voice to those who have suggested the extras dishes prepared in the dining room offer little to get excited over.  Most of them are in fact pasta, often the vary same ingredients you find elsewhere on the menu but in a different combination.  Rarely exceptional (though the dining room prepared caesar salad is a real treat with a mound of prawns or chicken strips added!).  Keep in mind there's no actual cooking going on in Club Class.  Just a combining of ingredients cooked in the kitchen, some of the hosts love doing this and do so with great flourish, others of the hosts see it as an unwelcome additional burden and a distraction from interacting with their guests.  

[stoneharborlady]

5 hours ago, szubieta said:

Can you get the upgraded steaks & other offerings without the added cost.  Having pasta is not a cost effective upgrade to CC, nor them preparing food table side, IMHO.  Eating at a specialty restaurant every night of the cruise just might be more cost effective for us. And I double agree that having a sofabed for our DS16 will be much better then him above us.

I also would much rather the food be prepared in the kitchen.  I cook all the time at home, dont need to watch them prepare it at my table.