Mini suites

[myangel]

How much bigger are the Mini Suites than the balcony cabins? Are they worth the extra money?

[spongerob]

They are about 50% larger than the balcony cabins, and have a larger bathroom with a real tub, not just a shower stall. Sometimes there isn't a huge difference in price. This applies only to the Grand-class ships, and Coral and Island Princess. Ships built prior to 1998 (Sun-class, Regal, Tahitian, Pacific) are different. In the case of the Sun-class, the minis are significantly larger, and so is the price.

[Host CJSKIDS]

How much bigger are the Mini Suites than the balcony cabins? Are they worth the extra money?

 

 

Not only are they bigger, but there is also more storage space as the closet is also bigger. The bathroom was wonderful, a full tub and a long counter at the sink. You'll also have a sofa to sit on and 2 televisions. We loved our mini suite so much that we booked another on the Golden this summer. We orginally had booked a balcony for our cruise but decided we needed the extra space so changed to be in a mini suite again.

[Crowsie]

We usually just book balcony cabins..a balcony is a must for us.

For our trip on Monday..wow..can't believe it's only a few days away :eek: we booked a mini suite because we really wanted the sofa/sitting room extra space since we'll be gone for so long.

[mii]

Mini's are also extra nice if you have a lengthy cruise. We are doing a repo cruise 15 days and got a mini on the Coral for a very good price. And yes it is worth it.

 

Marilyn

[Toto2Kansas]

Crowsie, You will be very glad you opted for the mini. On the longer cruises, especially, they are really comfortable. We spent 25 days in one from LA to Sydney..............pure heaven. Have a great time and enjoy the land down under!

[Aloha Me]

As you can see, we've been on Carnival and had a balcony on last 3 cruises. Heard Princess balcony rooms are much smaller. Upon doing research it's probably because there's a sofa included in Carnivals rooms, making them longer. We had to move up to a mini-suite to get that with Princess but on a 15 day cruise it will give us more maneuverability. With a DH that is somewhat clostrophobic (he's okay as long as he can see the water) it was worth the extra money.

[cruiserforlife]

Mini-Suites are....SWEET and worth the extra $$$!

[LisaH]

We had a mini-suite for the first time on the Sun Princess (2/17 sailing) and we absolutely loved it. We had always done regular balcony but there may not be any going back now. It was nice having the shower separate from the toilet and sink...made for easier getting ready for dinner if you know what I mean. I also liked have the desk/mirror which I used as a vanity to do all my makeup.

 

I did find though that I think there were more storage bins in the regular balcony cabin than there were in this suite. The closet was "walk-in" but that is a relative term. It was wonderful having the larger balcony as well. We cruised with friends and they had the mini suite next to us and we had our room steward open the balcony divider so we hade two balconies..GREAT

[Crowsie]

Thanks for the good wishes Toto!

 

Now...if I could only get packed..we leave tomorrow!

[cruiselifers]

We were in the AB mini on the Dawn and we had a ton of storage. I think the AC and AB mini's are different in their storage abilities. I know they are laid out different. We even had some empty drawers! And we are not what you would necessasarily call light packers. :rolleyes:

[myangel]

Thanks for all your responses! The reason why I asked about the Mini's is because we are cooked a BB on the caribe deck with the bigger balcony, but the mini suite really sounds good............... !!! I have a few days to decide.........bigger space or bigger balcony? :)

[legalslave]

MyAngel, I really love the BA balcony we had due to the size and being partially covered. I love the size of the mini suite but it has the smaller balcony. I also don't like the completely exposed balcony which is why I prefer the AD mini's on the Grand class ships. On a 7 day cruise I would do the BA or BB, on a longer cruise I would do the mini suite. As stated before, there is quite a bit of difference when comparing the bathrooms.

 

Diane

[travellady]

I've currently booked one outside and one inside on Sapphire to Alaska in June. My husband and I will stay in the outside and my son and his friend will take the inside direclty across the hall. However, I am debating about the minisuite for the 4 of us. This gives us a balcony for about the same price.

 

But, I am not sure about bunking with 2 almost teenage boys. Is there any privacy between the two sections. I notice Norwegian Star offers a curtain in their minisuites but I don't see that in the pictures of the Sapphire cabins. We were just on the Diamond but I didn't get the chance to look into the mini suite to see how it's laid out.

 

If it were just my son I wouldn't care. But the other boy is 13 and I think him getting privacy is as much of a concern as my husband and I having our privacy.

[Coral]

Here are some pics of our minisuite on the Star:

 

pics

 

This should be very similiar to most minisuite cabins on Grand, Golden, Star, Diamond, Sapphire, Coral and Island Princess (balconies vary a little). There was no curtain between the living portion and the bedroom portion (no privacy).

 

The minisuites on the Sun and Dawn Princess are configured differently and offer more space.

[Linkslady]

I booked a regular balcony cabin (C318) for our 3 teens vs. a mini-suite only because they would be on the same deck as my hubby and me! (Gotta keep them in line ya know!)..

 

I agree about the balcony on the mini-suites - completey exposed... which is another reason we opted for the regular balcony cabin for the kids...(their cabin isn't equipped for a triple but the boys said they'll take turns sleeping on the floor! That probably won't last and we'll end up with one of them in our suite!) Is there room for one to stretch out on the floor (C318?)..

[jbags58]

They are much bigger and make the trip much nicer...again as stated..sometimes the prices arent much different. We set ourselves up on our honeymoon my husband surprised me with the suite...now we are spoiled! GOTTA HAVE IT! The first time it didnt seem like that much more money.

This coming up time it was 900 dollars more for the suite but we did it anyway!

 

The rooms are bigger..the balcony is larger with a table, two chairs and 2 lounge chairs on it. Plenty of room to move around and the bathroom was a standard size jacuzzi tub and shower and a double sink bathroom with a seperate vanity/closet and dressing room area....TOTALLY WORTH IT TO US!

 

P.S. Not to mention...we went to the captains lounge to board...skipping all the lines because we were in a catagory 11. TOTALLY COOL in my book!

 

Julie =) Oh yeah and FIRST OFF THE SHIP! YAHOO!

 

5/2003 - Carnival Pride

2/2005 - Royal Caribbean "Monarch of the Sea's"

4/2005 - Carnival "Glory" YAHOOO

 

GOod luck!

[FlKittyKat]

I just booked my honeymoon mini-suite on the Caribbean Princess and am wondering if anyone knows how this cabin compares with a balcony/verandah cabin on either Disney Cruise Line or RCCL? Thanks!

[Lynda90]

I've currently booked one outside and one inside on Sapphire to Alaska in June. My husband and I will stay in the outside and my son and his friend will take the inside direclty across the hall. However, I am debating about the minisuite for the 4 of us. This gives us a balcony for about the same price.

 

But, I am not sure about bunking with 2 almost teenage boys. Is there any privacy between the two sections. I notice Norwegian Star offers a curtain in their minisuites but I don't see that in the pictures of the Sapphire cabins. We were just on the Diamond but I didn't get the chance to look into the mini suite to see how it's laid out.

 

If it were just my son I wouldn't care. But the other boy is 13 and I think him getting privacy is as much of a concern as my husband and I having our privacy.

IMHO you would not be happy sharing a mini suite with two teen aged boys. You are better off leaving things just the way you have them. The minis, while certainly larger, offer no privacy.

[SPI_Rick]

Coral, I'm glad you posted the link to your mini-suite pictures. We have D-418 on the Star for its TransAtlantic repositioning cruise in September. It looks like the mini-suite will be a nice step up compared to our usual balcony room.

 

SPI_Rick is counting the days.....

[Host CJSKIDS]

I just booked my honeymoon mini-suite on the Caribbean Princess and am wondering if anyone knows how this cabin compares with a balcony/verandah cabin on either Disney Cruise Line or RCCL? Thanks!

 

I can tell you the difference between the mini suite and Disney at least~first off, it is only one bathroom, not the split bathroom. The bathroom is large and I found that the tub/shower was bigger than the one on Disney. You will also have a large counter. There is actually more storage on the Princess mini-suite and the closet is bigger, though open, no doors. The cabin is more spacious, but certainly not incredibly so. The balcony is a lot bigger, we couldn't believe the size difference.

You'll enjoy it, it's a great category. I will probably find the balcony cabins a bit tight now once we go back to cruising Disney.

[longduo]

Mini's are also extra nice if you have a lengthy cruise. We are doing a repo cruise 15 days and got a mini on the Coral for a very good price. And yes it is worth it.

 

Marilyn

 

Hi Marilyn,

 

Are you on the Coral 4/27 repo cruise? If so hope you'll join our roll call.

 

Longduo

[CruisinFools]

We've had mini-suites on all of our cruises (the Sea Pricess being the best one, but looking forward to our upcoming cruise on the Tahitian Princess). It seems to me (maybe it's just a coincidence) but all of our cabin stewards have been the cream of the crop. I'm wondering if they assign the more experienced stewards to the upper class cabins. All I know is that, if you're spending this kind of money anyway, it's worth every penny to upgrade to a mini-suite.

[kjsiters]

..... so, the balcony cabins are the same size as the mini-suite cabins right?

I'm so confused!!! :)

[mii]

Longduo: No I am sailing next year's repo on the Coral. Sorry should have said. If I was sailing this year you bet I would be on the roll call. Thanks for asking anyway.

 

Marilyn