Tell Me About Mini-Suites On Princess

[Mr. Click]

In the past we have stuck with Celebrity and Royal but between all of the changes going on we are thinking about trying Princess.  Currently we have a Sept 2021 Panama Canal cruise booked with Celebrity in a veranda cabin. We expect the cruise will be canceled. From what I have read about Princess a veranda cabin with no love seat or sofa is not for us so what about the mini suites?  Looking at a Princess PC trip in 2022 in a mini suite it looks cheaper than Celebrity's current offerings for a veranda.  So, tell about the suites please.  How big?  verandas or not? perks that come with them?  Thanks in advance.

[MCC retired]

Sofa , 2 TV’s , larger bathroom w/bathtub , glass of wine @ embarkation .

 

[franktown]

No real perks unless you book a Club Class mini suite and then only Club Class dining.   You need to book a full suite to get suite perks.  That being said you do get a much nicer and larger room.  The size of the balcony depends on the ship.

[azbirdmom]

MCC Retired covered it but I will add that we appreciate the extra room in the mini suites.  On the Royal class ships there's even a curtain that can be pulled to make the area with the sofa a bit more private.  And having the tub / shower combo is preferable to dealing with the "friendly" shower curtain in the small showers in the regular balcony cabins.

[skynight]

Almost all mini suite interiors on all classes of ships are basically the same. They are approximately 320 square feet including balcony. They have a queen bed, can be converted to two twins, a three seat sofa, two TV's, fridge (all cabins have fridges) 6ft. open closet, lots of other storage, bathroom with tub/shower. On Grand Class ships almost all mini suites are on deck 9 with a dozen or so aft on deck 8. Deck 9 balconies are 9ft. x 6ft. uncovered. Deck 8 balconies are covered. Starboard side deck 8 cabins are above the small smoking area on deck 7. On Royal Class ships most mini suites have 9ft x 4ft covered balconies. There are some with larger angled balconies. You can find these on the deck plans. No real special benefits or cabin amenities for mini suites except for those minis classified as Club Class. Club Class minis come with some additional benefits the most important of which is Club Class dining. Club Class dining is anytime dining with prompt seating in the Club Class section of one of the DR's. Menu is the same as the regular DR with one additional item for dinner.

 

[Daniel A]

DW & I love Princess mini suites on the older class ships (Grand Class mostly.)  From above, the view would be like an hourglass shape with the bed closest to the door and a sitting area with two chairs and a queen sized pull out couch closer to the balcony.  On the Regal and other Royal class ships, the mini suites lack the charm and hominess that the mini suites on the older vessels had and lack the 'hourglass' design.  We have been seriously disappointed with the balcony size on the Royal Class ships (two people need to sit sideways so their knees don't keep bumping against the glass railing.)  

 

When we sail on a Royal Class ship, we book a deluxe balcony which is a little smaller with the same size balcony, a full sized pull out love seat, one TV and a shower stall instead of a bathtub.  We believe the savings in cost outweighs the extra very few square feet in their mini suites.

 

If you're sailing the Panama Canal on a smaller Princess ship, I would heartily recommend getting a mini suite.  If it is one of the larger Royal Class ships, a Deluxe Balcony cabin would be just as good.

[taxatty]

We usually book minis for the extra room. The best minis for us were the ones with covered balconies on the Grand Class, especially all the way aft with the LONG balcony. We've also enjoyed the aft minis on the Coral. Club Class doesn't get you that much if you already have status on Princess, but the dining experience was much more intimate and worth it for us, albeit on the recently sold Pacific Princess.

[skynight]

Digging deeper I found that in 2022 Panama Canal transits are being offered on the Crown and Ruby Princess. These are sister Grand Class Ships. They are older, but in my opinion have a really nice design with lots of lounges, other public space and good viewing locations for the transit. Any information about Royal Class ships would not apply to your cruise. The Crown and Ruby will transit the new locks. we have been through the new locks. The ship fit nicely with lots of space and stays centered using tug boats.

I also see one crossing on the Island Princess which is a class all by itself since its rebuild about 10 years ago.

[pris993]

18 hours ago, franktown said:

No real perks unless you book a Club Class mini suite and then only Club Class dining.   You need to book a full suite to get suite perks.  That being said you do get a much nicer and larger room.  The size of the balcony depends on the ship.

We always book a mini suite but just below Club Class, use money saved to go to steak house, called the Crown Grill.  We prefer the Crown Grill menu to the MDR.  We go to the Crown Grill sometimes every night, so can generally get the same table and can arrive within a 1/2 of the assigned time.  Works for us better than Club  Class.  Crown Grill is $29 pp plus tip. 

[skynight]

16 minutes ago, pris993 said:

  Crown Grill is $29 pp plus tip. 

To clarify. The auto tip, $15.50/pp/day for mini suites covers gratuities in specialty restaurants as well as in all regular DR's. Any additional tip is optional. Many passengers do provide an additional cash gratuity. The auto gratuity is included in the current Princess "Best Sale Ever" promo. To the OP. You can review gratuities under FAQ.

[jagoffee]

19 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

In the past we have stuck with Celebrity and Royal but between all of the changes going on we are thinking about trying Princess.  Currently we have a Sept 2021 Panama Canal cruise booked with Celebrity in a veranda cabin. We expect the cruise will be canceled. From what I have read about Princess a veranda cabin with no love seat or sofa is not for us so what about the mini suites?  Looking at a Princess PC trip in 2022 in a mini suite it looks cheaper than Celebrity's current offerings for a veranda.  So, tell about the suites please.  How big?  verandas or not? perks that come with them?  Thanks in advance.

I would be surprised if the 2022 Princess mini suite would be less expensive than the Celebrity’s 2021 cruise veranda cabin.  Based on my experience the Princess mini suite (have not tried the newer ship’s mini suites)  is significantly better than Celebrity’s regular veranda cabin.  In my experience you are also correct that the Princess regular veranda cabins are not as good as the equivalent Celebrity cabin.  
The only slight disadvantage to the mini suite is that most of the balconies are open to the above deck.  Unless you have the Club Class mini suite, the benefits are not significant.

The bottom line is that unless the benefits are significantly different, the Princess mini suite is a lot nicer than  Celebrity’s regular veranda.

[Lady Arwen]

We do like the mini suites on Royal class ships on deck 15 with the extended balcony.  However, the price is usually much more expensive than the deluxe balconies, so most often we’ve booked those.  Regular balconies do not interest us because of the lack of sofa and coffee table, but it’s not an issue for lots of people.  Celebrity offers a sofa and table in all cabin categories.  

[JF - retired RRT]

19 hours ago, franktown said:

No real perks unless you book a Club Class mini suite and then only Club Class dining.   You need to book a full suite to get suite perks.  That being said you do get a much nicer and larger room.  The size of the balcony depends on the ship.

Plus priority boarding. Nice for a first timer, no big deal one you're Elite.

[Daniel A]

14 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Plus priority boarding. Nice for a first timer, no big deal one you're Elite.

I suspect that initially at least, the cruise lines will be strictly enforcing the time you will be allowed in the terminal.  To that end, although it is nice to have priority boarding privileges, having something more than just suggested times to arrive at the pier should make the boarding process easier.

[luckyinpa]

i liked the mini on regal . if you order room service it spoils you to eat on the coffee table vs the bed. dont waste your money on club class. we had it as  a perk of a forward suite and i was super unimpressed. we were jammed in the middle of a row of tables, virtually ignored and even basic thing like getting a soda was an exercised. tried it a 2nd day and got different seats but same less than par service. never went back.  maybe haven service on ncl spoiled me but club class isnt even close to haven dining.  

 

also the 2nd tv with sofa is very nice. not everyone wants to watch tv from a bed all the time. def recommend the mini

[Crystabel]

Very tall passengers may have a problem with the tub/shower combo. DH is 6’3” and had to bend over while showering. On a long cruise it became very uncomfortable. The tub has a step up base to accommodate the plumbing, which reduces the head room. So we won’t book another mini- suite because of that issue. Otherwise, they are great cabins. 

[pris993]

8 hours ago, skynight said:

To clarify. The auto tip, $15.50/pp/day for mini suites covers gratuities in specialty restaurants as well as in all regular DR's. Any additional tip is optional. Many passengers do provide an additional cash gratuity. The auto gratuity is included in the current Princess "Best Sale Ever" promo. To the OP. You can review gratuities under FAQ.

To be honest I have 30 Princess cruises, whether tip in specialty restaurants is covered by gratuities or not has never been clear to me.  Have heard that is and isn't.  I do have the "best Sale Ever" deal on my next cruise which includes gratuities, as you state.  Regardless, we have always tipped our Room Steward and Waiters more than the auto tip.

 

  Did find when we were at the Crown Grill on our last cruise, when I added a tip to our tab for dinner, I had a waiter ask that we simply tip in cash.  Since we leave the auto tip on then the waiter can keep the cash vs put in the tip pool.   So we tipped extra in cash. 

[Mr. Click]

Thanks for all of the information. It is a big help.  Just one FYI, our current Celebrity booking is 16 nights, LA to FLL for about $7500, a 15 night similar cruse on Celebrity is over 10,000 bucks.  A chunk of that is for their new All Included pricing that covers things like unlimited drinks and internet that we don't need or want so it becomes a waste.  A similar cruise in 2022  on Princess in a mini suite was looking to be about $8000 all in right now.  For now it is wait and see and do my homework.  I expect in the next 60 days the Sept cruise will get canceled because it is way beyond current CDC rules.  Once that happens I can start looking at 2022 or beyond.  Thanks again for all of great info.  

[skynight]

Mr. Click.

Currently what is considered an all inclusive fare on Princess is US$40/pp/day more than the no frills fare. The $40 includes the auto gratuity of approximately $15/pp/day which is charged extra to the no frills fare. The real net increase is only $25/pp/day. Not very many beverages and internet are required to break even.

[jagoffee]

15 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

Thanks for all of the information. It is a big help.  Just one FYI, our current Celebrity booking is 16 nights, LA to FLL for about $7500, a 15 night similar cruse on Celebrity is over 10,000 bucks.  A chunk of that is for their new All Included pricing that covers things like unlimited drinks and internet that we don't need or want so it becomes a waste.  A similar cruise in 2022  on Princess in a mini suite was looking to be about $8000 all in right now.  For now it is wait and see and do my homework.  I expect in the next 60 days the Sept cruise will get canceled because it is way beyond current CDC rules.  Once that happens I can start looking at 2022 or beyond.  Thanks again for all of great info.  

I assume you have no perks on your 16 day Celebrity booked in 2021 and no inclusions on the base fare on Princess, so the Princess mini suite is only $500 more.  Roughly $33 more per day.  IMO the mini suite is worth more.

 I am not sure that 2022 Celebrity price increase is due to the Always Included pricing, but since you do not value any of the thing included, the Princess mini suite choice should be an easy decision.  
 

Good hunting as I have a hard time envisioning a September 2021 16 day cruise being allowed.  But I hope that my vision is just cloudy.

Edited February 7, 2021 by jagoffee

[paylady]

I’ll just add that our preferred stateroom on RCL is a Jr. Suite and that we are more than pleased with the mini suites on Princess.  The layout is entirely different but still functional.  

[billco]

On 2/5/2021 at 2:56 PM, Mr. Click said:

In the past we have stuck with Celebrity and Royal but between all of the changes going on we are thinking about trying Princess.  Currently we have a Sept 2021 Panama Canal cruise booked with Celebrity in a veranda cabin. We expect the cruise will be canceled. From what I have read about Princess a veranda cabin with no love seat or sofa is not for us so what about the mini suites?  Looking at a Princess PC trip in 2022 in a mini suite it looks cheaper than Celebrity's current offerings for a veranda.  So, tell about the suites please.  How big?  verandas or not? perks that come with them?  Thanks in advance.

Princess removed the balcony chair to entice people to upgrade to a Mini. We have almost always booked balcony cabins, but taking the chair out of the cabin was almost a deal breaker. Our compromise has been Obstructed View Deluxe Balcony. Sort of a win/win. We get a room with a love seat for not that much more money. Princess still meets their goal of making more money. Downside is it restricts us to Royal Class ships. We have done several Panama Canal cruises, so that's not an issue. But, we were going to do an Alaskan cruise on the Coral Princess, so had to settle for a Mini. It's been cancelled.

[Mr. Click]

20 hours ago, jagoffee said:

I assume you have no perks on your 16 day Celebrity booked in 2021 and no inclusions on the base fare on Princess, so the Princess mini suite is only $500 more.  Roughly $33 more per day.  IMO the mini suite is worth more.

 I am not sure that 2022 Celebrity price increase is due to the Always Included pricing, but since you do not value any of the thing included, the Princess mini suite choice should be an easy decision.  
 

Good hunting as I have a hard time envisioning a September 2021 16 day cruise being allowed.  But I hope that my vision is just cloudy.

Our price on Celebrity, booked with a big online TA included pre-paid grats and $375 in OBC and as Elites we would each get 90 minutes of internet time or a 30% discount on a package and the Elite cocktail hour that included 3 free drinks . I usually used those 6 drinks to pick up a few bottles of water and a diet coke or two.

 

I don't see 16 nights in Sept 2021 sailing either but since I don't want  a FCC for my NRD I will wait for now rather than rushing to cancel.  In the mean time we are have had our first vaccine and the second is scheduled for next week.  All I can do for now it sit back and watch and wait and be safe in what I do.

[JF - retired RRT]

36 minutes ago, Mr. Click said:

 Elite cocktail hour that included 3 free drinks . I usually used those 6 drinks to pick up a few bottles of water and a diet coke or two.

 

Are you referring to the Elite "mini bar"?

There are no free drinks at the Platinum/Elite cocktail hour.

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Are you referring to the Elite "mini bar"?

There are no free drinks at the Platinum/Elite cocktail hour.

Mr. Click was referencing the free drinks for Elite and above on Celebrity.  They would be new to Princess.  

2 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

Our price on Celebrity, booked with a big online TA included pre-paid grats and $375 in OBC and as Elites we would each get 90 minutes of internet time or a 30% discount on a package and the Elite cocktail hour that included 3 free drinks . I usually used those 6 drinks to pick up a few bottles of water and a diet coke or two.

 

I don't see 16 nights in Sept 2021 sailing either but since I don't want  a FCC for my NRD I will wait for now rather than rushing to cancel.  In the mean time we are have had our first vaccine and the second is scheduled for next week.  All I can do for now it sit back and watch and wait and be safe in what I do.

Mr. Click, as you know with Celebrity, one does not usually get a discount from the price.  Instead the TA will share part  of their commission by funding free gratuities and refundable OBC.  Since I always have the bundle (or now AI), I just get the refundable OBC.  
Princess TA’s are allowed to discount the cruise price.  I receive a refundable OBC when booking Celebrity and a significant discount from the price when booking Princess.  A difference that is important to understand when comparing your options.

 

Congratulations on your vaccine shot, we received our first dose last week.

Edited February 8, 2021 by jagoffee