NEW Discovery Princess (Royal Class) Mini Suite Question

[avery66]

Hi, 

 

We just booked a mini suite on the new Discovery Princess April 10 sailing. Apparently, it's the final Royal Class ship for Princess.

Our cabin is on the Marina Deck, underneath the Lido Deck. We are underneath the buffet which should be carpeted, so we should be OK for noise. 

The one thing we don't care for about Princess Ships is the lack of privacy on the balconies. Everyone above you can see down into your balcony. However, I think buffet area seating along the exterior walls completely covers the balconies where we are located. I know some of you have posted that you don't like that these particular mini suites because the balconies are completely covered. But we'd actually prefer that. Any intel? We are booked in M526

 

Thanks so much!

[Sea Hag]

I think that balcony is covered, but the problem I see with that cabin is that it's a connecting cabin. It connects with M522. Were you aware of that? I've seen many people complaining of these connecting cabins.

[patrickmoran]

The overhang from the Lido deck is quite large, probably 6 to 8 feet beyond the edge of our balcony. I liked it because it protects the balcony from the weather.  It does keep the cabin a bit dimmer. If you want more light, you might want to move down a deck or two.

[avery66]

17 hours ago, Sea Hag said:

I think that balcony is covered, but the problem I see with that cabin is that it's a connecting cabin. It connects with M522. Were you aware of that? I've seen many people complaining of these connecting cabins.

Yes, I am aware that it connects to another cabin. I thought that connecting cabins on Princess connect though the balcony. But I could be mistaken about that. Are there connecting doors inside the cabin? We had that on a Celebrity ship and I did not like it at all. Thanks for your comment and help.

[LACruiser88]

Yes, connecting doors are inside the cabin...

[DiRonT]

8 minutes ago, avery66 said:

Yes, I am aware that it connects to another cabin. I thought that connecting cabins on Princess connect though the balcony. But I could be mistaken about that. Are there connecting doors inside the cabin? We had that on a Celebrity ship and I did not like it at all. Thanks for your comment and help.

Connecting cabins do have connecting doors inside the cabin (aswell as on the balcony).

[Coffeeluvr05]

1 hour ago, avery66 said:

Yes, I am aware that it connects to another cabin. I thought that connecting cabins on Princess connect though the balcony. But I could be mistaken about that. Are there connecting doors inside the cabin? We had that on a Celebrity ship and I did not like it at all. Thanks for your comment and help.

Yes, if it says it is a connecting room, the door is on the inside.  I can tell you from recent experience on the Majestic that we had a mini-suite on the Lido deck that had that connecting door and we never had any issue with noise.  I was worried that we would, but it seemed no different than when we have had a mini with no door there.  

[avery66]

1 hour ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Yes, if it says it is a connecting room, the door is on the inside.  I can tell you from recent experience on the Majestic that we had a mini-suite on the Lido deck that had that connecting door and we never had any issue with noise.  I was worried that we would, but it seemed no different than when we have had a mini with no door there.  

Thank you. I think I am going to stay put. The remaining available mini-suites are are almost 100 sq ft smaller than the one I have. The mini-suites range from 233 sq ft to 324 sq ft. I think we'll need the extra space for three of us. I really appreciate your help.

Edited March 16, 2022 by avery66

[Coffeeluvr05]

18 minutes ago, avery66 said:

Thank you. I think I am going to stay put. The remaining available mini-suites are are almost 100 sq ft smaller than the one I have. The mini-suites range from 233 sq ft to 324 sq ft. I think we'll need the extra space for three of us. I really appreciate your help.

Oh, hmmm...I am going to have to check that out!  I am in a mini on the Discovery in October.  More room is always better in my book! 🙂

[CruisinChris]

I had a mini with a connecting door on the Regal at Christmas and I can tell you that I could every word and cough that happened in the room next door.  Going forward this is on my avoid list.

[skynight]

49 minutes ago, avery66 said:

Thank you. I think I am going to stay put. The remaining available mini-suites are are almost 100 sq ft smaller than the one I have. The mini-suites range from 233 sq ft to 324 sq ft. I think we'll need the extra space for three of us. I really appreciate your help.

With very few exceptions all minis have the same interiors, design and size. Yours fits this and is not one of the exceptions. Some have larger angled balconies. Your balcony  is 9ftx4ft, a tight fit for two sitting on angles. Personally I would look for a non connecting cabin. Also almost all minis have fully covered balconies. Royal class ships do not have the layer cake design like the Grand Class ships do with minis on deck 9 uncovered.

Edited March 16, 2022 by skynight

[avery66]

21 minutes ago, skynight said:

With very few exceptions all minis have the same interiors, design and size. Yours fits this and is not one of the exceptions. Some have larger angled balconies. Your balcony is 9ftx4ft, a tight fit for two sitting on angles. Personally I would look for a non connecting cabin. Also almost all minis have fully covered balconies. Royal class ships do not have the layer cake design like the Grand Class ships do with minis on deck 9 uncovered.

Thanks for the intel on the Royal v Grand class design. I've never been on a Royal class, so I just assumed those ships had the same issue with balcony privacy. As for the range in cabin size on the minis, I copied this comparison of two mini-suites directly from the Discovery deck plan on the Princess website. It's a difference of almost 100 sq. ft. I have no idea if the difference is in the room, the balcony or both.🤷🏼‍♀️ I saw other mini -suites with 319, 250, & 222 sq. ft. Seems like the Emerald deck has the smallest ones.

Stateroom Number: E209
Type: Mini-Suite

Category: MC
Location: Mid-Forward
Deck: 8 (Emerald)
Bath Type: Shower/tub
Connecting Room: N/A
Total Size: 233 sq. ft.

 

 

Stateroom Number: M526
Type: Mini-Suite

Category: MC
Location: Mid-Aft
Deck: 15 (Marina)
Bath Type: Shower/tub
Connecting Room: M522
Total Size: 329 sq. ft.

 

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by avery66

[vjblk]

We had connecting mini suite on the Royal a few years ago. I'd really think twice about it before I did that again. Like the previous poster, we could hear every word and cough when they were in their room. To offset that we turned up the TV, which probably made them fans of us😀. But it was the only way we could offset their noise. Luckily, we didn't spend a lot of time in our room and they didn't either but it was annoying in the morning and the evening.

[skynight]

Something is incorrect on the Princess deck plans. Almost all minis will have the same interior size which is in the 290 square foot range. Deluxe balconies have 233 sq ft and std balconies have 222 sq ft. Including balcony. A mini can not be the same as lower cat cabins.

[skynight]

Explanation.

On older Royal Class ships E209 is a deluxe balcony cabin, 233 sq ft. Princess has published the Discovery deck plans without correctly changing the sq footage from older ship's deck plans. Thus the confusion. 233 is definitely incorrect for csbin E209 on the Discovery.

[avery66]

On 3/16/2022 at 8:18 AM, LACruiser88 said:

Yes, connecting doors are inside the cabin...

I am on the ship right now and there is no interior door connected M526 to any other cabin. I can see where we could connect via the veranda 

[avery66]

On 3/16/2022 at 9:34 AM, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Yes, if it says it is a connecting room, the door is on the inside.  I can tell you from recent experience on the Majestic that we had a mini-suite on the Lido deck that had that connecting door and we never had any issue with noise.  I was worried that we would, but it seemed no different than when we have had a mini with no door there.  

I am in M526 on the Discovery right now and there is no interior door connecting to any other cabin. I can see how we could connect via the veranda though. 

[Mary loves to travel]

So what do you think of the cabin & the large overhang from the Lido deck?    

[avery66]

On 4/11/2022 at 5:38 PM, Mary loves to travel said:

So what do you think of the cabin & the large overhang from the Lido deck?    

Hi, we just got off the ship today. The large overhang was fine. I didn't really impact us one way or the other. I would book this suite again if the price and itinerary were what I wanted. But I wouldn't deliberately see out these suites, either, if that makes sense. 

[startedwithamouse]

2 hours ago, avery66 said:

Hi, we just got off the ship today. The large overhang was fine. I didn't really impact us one way or the other. I would book this suite again if the price and itinerary were what I wanted. But I wouldn't deliberately see out these suites, either, if that makes sense. 

We had one and the purple light was horrible. Currently onboard again,and booked away from midship. 

[Mary loves to travel]

13 hours ago, avery66 said:

Hi, we just got off the ship today. The large overhang was fine. I didn't really impact us one way or the other. I would book this suite again if the price and itinerary were what I wanted. But I wouldn't deliberately see out these suites, either, if that makes sense. 

thanks for reporting 🙂

our cabin for an upcoming cruise on Regal is under the Seaview Bar, so maybe we'll have a larger overhang? (I do see that on Discovery, they've made the Skywalk on both sides of the ship! But on Regal, the Skywalk is starboard; the Seaview Bar is port, and just above where we'll be).

 

@startedwithamouse - what "purple light"??

 

thanks much,

Mary

 

   

[startedwithamouse]

42 minutes ago, Mary loves to travel said:

thanks for reporting 🙂

our cabin for an upcoming cruise on Regal is under the Seaview Bar, so maybe we'll have a larger overhang? (I do see that on Discovery, they've made the Skywalk on both sides of the ship! But on Regal, the Skywalk is starboard; the Seaview Bar is port, and just above where we'll be).

 

@startedwithamouse - what "purple light"??

 

thanks much,

Mary

 

   

The neon light illuminating the skywalk. 

[Mary loves to travel]

1 minute ago, startedwithamouse said:

The neon light illuminating the skywalk. 

ah!   I do see how that could be annoying.

 

Thanks,

Mary

[LACruiser88]

On 4/10/2022 at 6:42 PM, avery66 said:

I am on the ship right now and there is no interior door connected M526 to any other cabin. I can see where we could connect via the veranda 

Most balconies have the option of opening to the adjacent balcony.  These are not considered "connecting" cabins.  "Connecting" cabins have a connecting door in the interior of the cabin.

[avery66]

On 4/18/2022 at 8:32 AM, LACruiser88 said:

Most balconies have the option of opening to the adjacent balcony.  These are not considered "connecting" cabins.  "Connecting" cabins have a connecting door in the interior of the cabin.

I understand. My original post was about something else entirely. But some of the commenters looked at the deck plan and wanted to make me aware that it was a connecting cabin and that I would have a interior door. But I took this cruise on this ship in that minisuite on April 10th and  there was no interior door.