Teach me in the ways of Princess Cruises. 😊

[cdn_tbird]

Recently booked our first Princess Cruise in a Reserve Collection mini-suite on the Regal Princess. DW & I are fairly seasoned cruisers at this point, but almost exclusively on X. This will be the second time we’ve booked an entry level suite and as best as I can tell, opting for the Reserve Collection is the closest experience on Princess compared to a Retreat Sky Suite on X. I’m hoping that some of the veteran Princess cruisers can enlighten me on the nuances of the suite experience on Princess. We enjoy the evening performances on X and plan on taking them in on Princess. If there are guest speakers, we may take those in as well depending on the topic.

 

I guess at the end of the day, what I’m hoping for is not for “this is what you should do” responses (although ideas are always welcome) but more along the lines of “these are the things you should know that aren’t in the glitzy marketing material” type responses. For example, do the Reserve Collection mini-suites have a butler? While the marketing material doesn’t mention one, there are some things they state are “upon request” so would it be the stateroom attendant that handles those?

 

TIA.

[Fortunate 2 travel]

DH and I sailed the Regal last July in a Reserve Class mini suite.  They are midship and you have a special area in the dining room - no reservations needed.  We very much enjoyed the dining experience.  Somewhat like Blue on X.  No butlers.  You are not in a suite so there are no suite benefits.  The website should provide you with the benefits.  Also, even in full suites there are no butlers.

[Cajuntraveler]

My DH and I have sailed in a reserve mini 3 times on the Regal out of Galveston.  We have also sailed several times on Celebrity and HAL.  The Reserve Mini Suite is not really a suite, but a larger balcony room. Plenty of room for 2 people.  We book the Reserve Mini for the dining room experience and the room location.  The free bottle of wine is nice, but we skip the daily canapes.  There is no exclusive concierge, lounge or sun deck. We have really enjoyed our Princess cruises. I hope you enjoy your cruise. 

[RNCheryl]

Very much enjoyed our Reserve minisuite on the Regal last summer.  By the third day, the dining room attendants all knew our names, brought my preferred wine before being asked, and we were visited by the Director of dining services (Don't remember his exact title) at least 3 times.

[Ken the cruiser]

Suggestion #1, do not try to compare Princess to Celebrity. It’s more fun if you treat this cruise like it is. Your first cruise on Princess. 
 

Suggestion #2. If you’re going to the evening show, go about 20-30 minutes early to get the seat location you desire. We take a deck of cards and play gin rummy to pass the time. 
 

Suggestion #3. If you and/or your spouse are veterans, make sure you apply for military OBC. Both my DW and I are and combined get up to $500 in OBC depending on the length of the cruise. Also suggest you purchase 100 shares of CCL stock to get the shareholder benefits OBC. 
 

Suggestion #4. If you like to laugh, don’t miss the 8:30 pm comedy game shows. 
 

Suggestion #5. Buy a couple of FCDs while onboard as I know you’re going to have a great time and will want to book another Princess cruise within the year. 
 

Have a great cruise! 😁

 

Edited March 6 by Ken the cruiser

[Lady Arwen]

A mini suite Reserve Class is not the same as a Retreat Sky Suite on  X.  Not really comparable to Aqua class either because with X you get your own private restaurant with their own galley.  The Princess mini suite Reserve is not a suite.  Princess does a disservice to their clients who think they’re getting a full suite.  You will not receive any suite benefits as you would in a real suite.  
 

The good news is that you will get a private portion of the MDR with the same menu and an added special course.  You do not need a reservation and because the dining area is smaller you can expect a higher level of service. If you are comparing Reserve Class dining on Princess with Luminae, the Retreat restaurant you will be very disappointed.  It is a night and day experience.  Please do some research before booking.

 

Smoking is allowed in the casino, unlike Celebrity, if that’s an issue for you.  Entertainment is about the same, probably more varied on Princess.  No Martini Bar!  No Eden!  No Solarium!  Princess does have The International Cafe open 24 hours for coffee, snacks and sandwiches.  It’s terrific.  
 

We love Celebrity, but we do enjoy some of Princess’s unique itineraries, so Princess and HAL are our next go to lines.

 

I won’t advise you one way or another, but you really need to do your homework to do a full and accurate comparison.  You should also post this on the Celebrity boards.  Princess cruisers are very loyal to the brand.

[cnice515]

3 hours ago, cdn_tbird said:

Recently booked our first Princess Cruise in a Reserve Collection mini-suite on the Regal Princess. DW & I are fairly seasoned cruisers at this point, but almost exclusively on X.

Almost in the same boat as you on an upcoming May sailing.  The Reserve mini suite is really just a big balcony room, just like a mini suite with RCCL, with an added MDR dinner advantage and premium cabin location.

 

All the BIG suite perks are not included.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, cnice515 said:

Almost in the same boat as you on an upcoming May sailing.  The Reserve mini suite is really just a big balcony room, just like a mini suite with RCCL, with an added MDR dinner advantage and premium cabin location.

 

All the BIG suite perks are not included.

True. But be careful if you decide to book one of the aft-facing vista suites on one of their Grand class ships. You’ll never want to go back, especially when you can book one for around $400 pp/day with the Plus package and a refundable deposit! 😂

[nwnittany]

I agree with the early comments on the Dining experience.  If you are OK with eating in the same place for most nights, you will likely get to know your waitstaff, greeter, etc and I've found it to be one of the more enjoyable aspects of the cruise. 

 

I'd also suggest to do some reading/youtubing on the Medallion and the Medallion App.  I think most everyone likes the actual Medallion device, but there are mixed reviews on the App.  I'd just comment that the App can really be helpful if you can learn it and deal with the "nuance".  🙂 

 

Lastly, I'd suggest checking out the International Cafe (a 24-hour coffee/snacks place on the lower level of the Piazza) since it really seems to have found the sweet spot (pun intended) of drinks/snacks/light meals/desserts. 

 

Only the first suggestion is exclusive the Reserve mini-suites.

[cdn_tbird]

6 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Suggestion #1, do not try to compare Princess to Celebrity. It’s more fun if you treat this cruise like it is. Your first cruise on Princess. 
 

Have a great cruise! 😁

I fully appreciate that each line has their own strengths (and weaknesses) and evaluate each cruise on it's own and am quite sure we will enjoy this cruise as much as the others because it was chosen for the itinerary (bucket list for my DW) and the fact that we have been wanting to explore other lines. That said, comparisons are inevitable.

 

5 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

You should also post this on the Celebrity boards.  Princess cruisers are very loyal to the brand.

LOL. Just kidding but have you met the rabid defenders of the Celebrity brand over there?

[cdn_tbird]

Thank you everyone for your comments.

[Ken the cruiser]

29 minutes ago, cdn_tbird said:

I fully appreciate that each line has their own strengths (and weaknesses) and evaluate each cruise on it's own and am quite sure we will enjoy this cruise as much as the others because it was chosen for the itinerary (bucket list for my DW) and the fact that we have been wanting to explore other lines. That said, comparisons are inevitable.

Very true. I do it all the time. I guess that’s why we now mostly book 3-5 week itineraries with Princess and on occasion NCL, Crystal and HAL while distancing ourselves from booking Celebrity cruises, mostly because of their recent move to add a 20% surcharge when booking a cruise with a refundable deposit along with their refocus on creating shorter 5-10 day cookie-cutter itineraries.

[cr8tiv1]

My sister...the loyal HAL Mariner...will be doing her first Princess cruise with me in a FULL suite.  She is approaching this cruise with eyes wide open.  I only bring this up because OP is giving Princess a try.  I hope OP is pleasantly surprised by what Princess has to offer.  A Reserve Mini-suite will be a cut above the regular cabins, BUT....as others have mentioned, not a FULL suite.  Once you've done it, hard to retreat.

 

Looking forward to a follow up on their experience.

[KKB]

17 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

Suggestion #2. If you’re going to the evening show, go about 20-30 minutes early to get the seat location you desire. We take a deck of cards and play gin rummy to pass the time. 
 

 

Curious how you play cards in the theatre with no tables...

Honestly we rarely find it necessary to show up more than 10 min. early.

Edited March 7 by KKB

[KKB]

Celebrity & Princess are our favorite 2 lines.

We began cruising on Princess 20 years ago, tried Celebrity 10 years ago.

We find them more alike than different, particularly if you compare the older Celebrity ships (not Eclass).

Honestly, as I sit here thinking of things to compare...nothing definite stands out for either one.

Have a great time!

 

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, KKB said:

Curious how you play cards in the theatre with no tables...

Honestly we rarely find it necessary to show up more than 10 min. early.

On the Grand class ships, like the Sapphire we were just on for 30 days, there is a table in pretty much every arm rest on the right side. As far as showing up early, we usually try to find a spot, and there aren't that many, that minimizes the potential for coughing people to wind up sitting right behind us. I know that sounds a little paranoid, but our cruises are usually 3-5 weeks long and we just got into the habit after going on 7 B2B cruises the first year after cruising started back up. 

[KKB]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

On the Grand class ships, like the Sapphire we were just on for 30 days, there is a table in pretty much every arm rest on the right side. As far as showing up early, we usually try to find a spot, and there aren't that many, that minimizes the potential for coughing people to wind up sitting right behind us. I know that sounds a little paranoid, but our cruises are usually 3-5 weeks long and we just got into the habit after going on 7 B2B cruises the first year after cruising started back up. 

WHY am I not visualizing this? Cripes I've sailed enough of that class!

Off to find a video!

Thanks!

[KKB]

5 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

On the Grand class ships, like the Sapphire we were just on for 30 days, there is a table in pretty much every arm rest on the right side. As far as showing up early, we usually try to find a spot, and there aren't that many, that minimizes the potential for coughing people to wind up sitting right behind us. I know that sounds a little paranoid, but our cruises are usually 3-5 weeks long and we just got into the habit after going on 7 B2B cruises the first year after cruising started back up. 

OK...I'm blind.

I don't see tables. 

I only recall tables on Carnival ships--I was pleasantly surprised to find them, sailing them for the 1st time last January.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, KKB said:

OK...I'm blind.

I don't see tables. 

I only recall tables on Carnival ships--I was pleasantly surprised to find them, sailing them for the 1st time last January.

 

Do you see the two wood-like covers on the armrests? If you are seated in one of those chairs, you can flip up the cover on your right armrest and pull up the "hinged" table inside.

 

BTW at the 54 second mark in the video, you can see the seats at the end of the row we sat at practically every night at the show. Don't tell anybody, but when I finished my triple Baileys, I would put the glass on the raised platform behind us. 😉

 

Edited March 7 by Ken the cruiser

[KKB]

22 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Do you see the two wood-like covers on the armrests? If you are seated in one of those chairs, you can flip up the cover on your right armrest and pull up the "hinged" table inside.

 

BTW at the 54 second mark in the video, you can see the seats at the end of the row we sat at practically every night at the show. Don't tell anybody, but when I finished my triple Baileys, I would put the glass on the raised platform behind us. 😉

 

Well heck--good to know!!! THX!

[MJSailors]

@cdn_tbird

Princess has been our favored cruise line. Platinum level in the loyalty group. We would have been Elite if Covid hadn’t happened. I just put this in to say that we have had a good number of cruises with Princess.

We have also sailed with Celebrity. We have been on the Summit to Bermuda 3 times.

I would say that both cruise lines are as comparable as cruise lines go.

Service, demographics and ambience are about equal.

The International Cafe is similar to Cafe a Bacio (sp?). Both are good places for coffee, treats and people watching.

A mini suite on Princess offers a roomier cabin, bathtub/shower combo, two TVs, a couch and a slightly larger balcony. The Regal mini suites have a curtain between the sleeping and sitting areas.

I do like the open configuration of the closet on the Regal compared to the doors on the closets on Celebrity.

Princess also offers laundry rooms. Doing laundry on vacation may not be your thing, but we find that we can pack less if we can launder some items mud cruise. Irons and boards are also available, eliminating concerns about wrinkled clothes, if that is something you want to address.

 Wishing you an enjoyable cruise.

Our first  Princess cruise was on the Sapphire to Alaska in 2004. One of our favorite cruises.

Enjoy!

MJ