Selecting mini-suite cabin or letting princess assign?

[commie]

So I procrastinated in booking the Dec 18th Antarctica sailing, and now there are not many mini-suites available.  There are only 6 left available to choose for $4700 CAD,  the let Princess assign is $4100 CAD per person.    At this point, with only 6 left, does it even matter if I pick my own cabin?  Should I just go with unassigned?   Any drawback to letting Princess assign, would I run the risk of not getting the mini-suite cabin?

[Wishing on a star]

If you choose RESERVE let Princess pick, you will get AT LEAST a MiniSuite.

There should not be a risk.

 

If there is one with a good location... and you are picky,  choose one.

Only bother to choose one if there is a decent location available.

Otherwise you could just take what you end up with.

 

Taking a location that Princess computers come up with does not mean it will be a bad one.

Plenty of good assignments too.  Just a matter of pure chance.

 

Look for possible venues with noise above or below.  

On this cruise, isn't rough water an issue???   (I am not sure of the route.). So lower and mid-ship could be a factor that might help with the motion.

 

If there is not a good Mini available, and you are wanting to get onboard, then you can just go ahead and book a RESERVE or Guarantee GTY.   

[commie]

14 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

If you choose RESERVE let Princess pick, you will get AT LEAST a MiniSuite.

There should not be a risk.

 

If there is one with a good location... and you are picky,  choose one.

Only bother to choose one if there is a decent location available.

Otherwise you could just take what you end up with.

 

Taking a location that Princess computers come up with does not mean it will be a bad one.

Plenty of good assignments too.  Just a matter of pure chance.

 

Look for possible venues with noise above or below.  

On this cruise, isn't rough water an issue???   (I am not sure of the route.). So lower and mid-ship could be a factor that might help with the motion.

 

If there is not a good Mini available, and you are wanting to get onboard, then you can just go ahead and book a RESERVE or Guarantee GTY.   

 

On this cruise right now, there are really only 6 mini's for selection left right now. 4 in the mid-forward (D300.D325,D324,D325) and 2 in the mid-aft (D614,D615).  I don't think I have any preference on any of the 6, so a savings of $600 per might be attractive?  

 

An alternative was to drop down to a Balcony,  there are a lot more cabins for choosing, and a savings of about 1K per person.   However, the extra space in the mini might be better for a 17 day cruise.

Edited Tuesday at 07:55 PM by commie

[Wishing on a star]

This is Sapphire Princess?

Dolphin Deck is good!  I like the space of a Mini!

If you do decide to make a choice, go with the mid-Aft...  Should be closer to the center point of the ship and the mid-ship elevators.

Either of these locations would not be too awfully different.

But no guarantee if Princess selects at the last minute.

Could be Deck 9 forward, mid-ship, aft, or Deck 8 Aft.

 

Final Payment is today????

With little opportunity to move up to a higher category, then there is not the biggest chance that more of these Mini's will open up.

 

NOTE:  I do not believe that these Minis on Dolphin Deck have any cover on the balconies.  They are open and un-covered.

The ones Aft on Deck 8 should be covered,  but they are all taken.

And, they are a different category, so you would not be able to make a simple cabin-switch.

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 08:21 PM by Wishing on a star

[VibeGuy]

For Sapphire I’d have zero hesitation taking a guarantee.  
 

On Royal-class ships, I would worry a little about getting one of the Marina ones between the forward and midship elevators due to conducted noise from tables and chairs moving on Lido open deck.  I always thought those complaints were from the hypersensitive  - I, who sleeps like the dead, was wrong. 

[arxcards]

IMO, the only downside to getting a mini-suite guarantee on this ship is to be allocated one starboard on deck 8. If you are overly sensitive to tobacco smoke, you won't want to use the balcony often, as it is above the promenade deck smoking area. Aft starboard on deck 9 would also be affected.

 

They may allocate one of the six available, or they could upgrade others into those cabins and allocate you one well forward or well aft. But for $600 cheaper, I would likely take the odds.

[BamaVol]

I’d roll the dice. And lose the $600 I saved in the casino.