Mini vs. Balcony and Comparison to Carnival Balconies?

[TennisLover]

We want to do our first Princess cruise. We're looking for something bigger than the standard balcony on Carnival.

 

What is the Princess mini suite look like? How much room is there really?

 

It seems that the Carnival balcony cabins are bigger than the Princess basic balconies. Where do the mini suites fall? The regular sized suite is just too much money.

 

We are looking into the Crown Princess, Ruby Princess of Sapphire Princess (if that matters).

[tom1841]

First,to see a "generic" view of the rooms go to princess website and go thru the motions of booking.When you get to the point of cabin selection you can get a diagram and virtual view of each room.Second ,on the grand class ships the balconies on the caribe deck are much bigger than those on other decks and even bigger than the mini suites on dolphin.

[TennisLover]

First,to see a "generic" view of the rooms go to princess website and go thru the motions of booking.When you get to the point of cabin selection you can get a diagram and virtual view of each room.Second ,on the grand class ships the balconies on the caribe deck are much bigger than those on other decks and even bigger than the mini suites on dolphin.

 

That diagram is what made us question the size of the room. Which are the grand class ships? (I need to educate myself on the Princess terminology.)

 

Does anyone have real photos of these cabins?

[Toto2Kansas]

Keep in mind one thing. A balcony cabin on Princess will not include any type of loveseat, sofa or much more than one comfortable single chair and a desk chair.

Although some of the balconys are actually bigger, the stateroom itself will no where compare to what you are used to on Carnival.

 

For something that is comfortable with a decent sized balcony, you need to go up to at least the mini suite you have asked about. The balconys for the minis are about 9 feet X 7 feet in size.

[TennisLover]

Keep in mind one thing. A balcony cabin on Princess will not include any type of loveseat, sofa or much more than one comfortable single chair and a desk chair.

Although some of the balconys are actually bigger, the stateroom itself will no where compare to what you are used to on Carnival.

 

For something that is comfortable with a decent sized balcony, you need to go up to at least the mini suite you have asked about. The balconys for the minis are about 9 feet X 7 feet in size.

 

 

I really appreciate this info.

 

What is the size of the inside of the cabin like in a mini-suite? I definitely need something bigger than a standard Canival balcony. We're looking for something with more cabin space, so that you don't have to lay on the bed to watch tv, for example.

[Tralynn]

I found that the mini suite on Princess was just about the same as the regular balcony on Carnival. Princess' mini suite does give you a t.v. facing the loveseat as well as the bed. I really did not find that it gave you much more room. JMHO

[TennisLover]

I found that the mini suite on Princess was just about the same as the regular balcony on Carnival. Princess' mini suite does give you a t.v. facing the loveseat as well as the bed. I really did not find that it gave you much more room. JMHO

 

That's what I was afraid of.....

 

Anyone else?

[morriscats]

http://69.63.134.90/gallery/view.php?id=2180 scroll down for pics of stateroom and balcony

This is on Diamond Princess - sister ship to Sapphire. It is Mini E728, the last mini aft. It (and the same mini on other side) has the larger balcony which we loved. Mini's on Emerald Deck are fully covered as opposed to mini's on Dolphin which are fully exposed. We loved this stateroom and have it booked on Star in October.

[Toto2Kansas]

Here is a link to our mini on the Grand. It is the farthest one on the side, Emerald Deck, so has a larger extended balcony (there are only a couple of these with the larger balcony). But you can see the shots of the inside of the stateroom also.

 

http://family.webshots.com/album/70801815ucMAaH?vhost=family

[TennisLover]

Here is a link to our mini on the Grand. It is the farthest one on the side, Emerald Deck, so has a larger extended balcony (there are only a couple of these with the larger balcony). But you can see the shots of the inside of the stateroom also.

 

http://family.webshots.com/album/70801815ucMAaH?vhost=family

 

Very very helpful!!! The pictures actually really help!

 

Are the minis on the larger ships (like Crown) similar? or bigger?

[Toto2Kansas]

Very very helpful!!! The pictures actually really help!

 

Are the minis on the larger ships (like Crown) similar? or bigger?

 

They are all pretty much the same on Princess ships in this class. You've seen one, you've seen them all. LOL The only time they have a different layout is on the smaller Sun Class ships (Sun, Dawn and Sea Princess), then the minis are designed more like the full suites on the larger ships but also change in layout from port and starboard (which are one design)and aft minis, a totally different layout .

 

But, these pictures will show you what all the minis on the Grand Class and larger ships will look like.

[A Sixth?]

The Balcony cabins on Princes Grand class are smaller than Carnival Destiny Class, which are closer to a Mini on Princess. The exception is the Carib deck balcony cabins have huge balconies which really makes up for the smaller room size IMHO.

 

The outdoor balcony is half covered (privacy) and half open (sunning) and we love them.

[jmf123]

Our mini-suite on the Crown Princess (Cat AA #528) was a total of 323 s.f. including the balcony. The balcony separate square footage (per Princess) is 8'9" x 6'6". The sitting area with the mini-suite makes a big difference vs. the regular balcony stateroom. The large tub/shower in a mini-suite is very nice too.

[Toto2Kansas]

TennisLover-Another tip for pics. If you go to webshots and put in Princess mini suite, it will pull up hundreds of pictures from different angles if you would like to see more. Lots of different views.

[mafig]

On the Grand class ships, the balconies in Category BB and BA on CARIBE deck at approximately 9 x 9.

[Travelrd]

The mini suite has a sitting area with a tv and the bedroom part of the room has a tv, so you can watch tv from the sofa in the mini suite. The mini suite has lots of storage area too.

[TennisLover]

TennisLover-Another tip for pics. If you go to webshots and put in Princess mini suite, it will pull up hundreds of pictures from different angles if you would like to see more. Lots of different views.

 

Checked out more photos today. Very helpful. The jump from a balcony cabin to a mini suite looks like $200 pp on the cruises I am looking out, but $1000 more pp for a regular suite than a mini. :eek: Just can't do that.

 

We'd definitely have to go with the mini..... now to pick a cruise ...

[Toto2Kansas]

Checked out more photos today. Very helpful. The jump from a balcony cabin to a mini suite looks like $200 pp on the cruises I am looking out, but $1000 more pp for a regular suite than a mini. :eek: Just can't do that.

 

We'd definitely have to go with the mini..... now to pick a cruise ...

 

Yes, there is a huge jump with Princess in price to a full suite. They do offer a host of amenities for full suites only though, so you kind of have to weigh the importance of what you can do without and what you really need. They range from free laundry and dry cleaning, to unlimited internet access, free one time bar set up, priority tender passes, flowers, full room service with diningroom menu in your suite (something not offered to minis or other categories on Princess) along with more perks. But as said, you do pay quite a bit more for this and some things are just not as important as saving all those $$$$.

 

Best of luck and I hope you find a great cruise on Princess.

[TennisLover]

Yes, there is a huge jump with Princess in price to a full suite. They do offer a host of amenities for full suites only though, so you kind of have to weigh the importance of what you can do without and what you really need. They range from free laundry and dry cleaning, to unlimited internet access, free one time bar set up, priority tender passes, flowers, full room service with diningroom menu in your suite (something not offered to minis or other categories on Princess) along with more perks. But as said, you do pay quite a bit more for this and some things are just not as important as saving all those $$$$.

 

Best of luck and I hope you find a great cruise on Princess.

 

DH just needs more space in the cabin. Don't get me wrong - the other things are nice, but not necessary for us. We both really, really want to try Princess and want to select a cabin that works for him.

[Cozzette2]

so, what class would the Coral and the Island be considered? Kris

[Toto2Kansas]

so, what class would the Coral and the Island be considered? Kris

The Coral, Island, Sun, Sea and Dawn are all considered the SUN CLASS ships from my research.

[LoraJ]

Youtube is also a great resource for finding out what cabins look like:

 

[mw112208]

Thanks, LoraJ, for the video link - that is the best example yet of what to expect from a mini suite. :)

[TennisLover]

Youtube is also a great resource for finding out what cabins look like:

 

 

 

Thank you! Very good!

[starfamily]

Keep in mind one thing. A balcony cabin on Princess will not include any type of loveseat, sofa or much more than one comfortable single chair and a desk chair.

Although some of the balconys are actually bigger, the stateroom itself will no where compare to what you are used to on Carnival.

 

For something that is comfortable with a decent sized balcony, you need to go up to at least the mini suite you have asked about. The balconys for the minis are about 9 feet X 7 feet in size.

 

Toto that is a great thing to mention, we have always had suites or minis but when we took my inlaws we got them a balcony cabin and I was shocked to see they had no couch just one chair and the bed. They had been on a Disney cruise with us another time and the balcony cabin we got them had a couch so I just assumed this would too.

 

The mini suite is more like the balcony cabin on Disney.