Mini Suite v Balcony - Ruby Princess TA

[MMJK]

I'm currently looking to book the 2013 TA on the Ruby for a birthday present for my partner and am trying to determine whether a mini suite is worth the extra $$.

 

Having only saled on Cunard before we are new to Princess.

 

Any thoughts, opinions and reviews are most welcomed.

 

Cheers

 

Mark

[cruising kirby]

I have cruised on Princess many times in both a balcony and a mini suite. My preference now is always for a mini, mainly for the extra space. Just be aware that there is no covering on the majority of mini suite balconies, this is an issue for some people for sun/rain protection and privacy. We do spend quite a bit of time relaxing in our cabin, so for us, the additional space is great. An in between option is a balcony cabin on Caribe deck, where the cabin is the same size as a standard cabin, but the balcony is the same size as a mini suite, but is half covered.

[Tiffany's mom]

Having done 4 TA -3 on the Ruby and 1 on EmeraLd- we have had a BA on the caribe deck. The balcony is larger and covered. The mimi is a large room with a tub shower and a small sofa. The balcony is small and uncovered. We can look right down on the minis below the caribe deck. There are some mimis pn another deck at the aft that are covered. You have to decide between a larger room or a larger balcony. The TA in 2013 ia later in November and you might not used the balcony as much.

 

The TA this year is Oct 9. We are booked on it, but as of now it is sold out. We like the early Oct date. Not planning on a TA next year. Hope this helps.

[KruzPrincess]

The mini suite has a small sofa, tub and 2 TV's. The balcony has a small club chair, small shower and 1 TV. The mini suite balcony on Emerald is fully covered. These are the ones that are snapped up right away. You'll have a lot of sea days on a TA. It depends on how much time you spend in your cabin. If you spend a lot of time in your cabin the mini would be more comfortable. Only you can decide if the extra money is worth it. If money wasn't an object I'd pick the Emerald deck mini-suite because I'd like the couch for sitting/talking with friends and the fully covered balcony. If you are the kind of people who only sleep, shower and change clothes in your cabin I'm sure a balcony would be good. Personally, I almost always get a balcony and only get a mini when it's really affordable.

[Princess Patches]

I recommend an Emerald deck minisuite. They book up early because there are only a handful of them. They are the only minisuites with a covered balcony. My second choice would be a Caribe deck standard balcony because the Caribe balconies are twice as large as other standard balconies and are half covered and half uncovered. Here are the balcony sizes:

 

Lido, Riviera, Aloha, and Baja- 9x5 fully covered

Caribe- 9x9 half covered and half uncovered

Dolpin minisuites- 9x7, totally uncovered

Emerald minisuites- 9x7, fully covered

 

The minisuites have a nice sitting area with a full size, three cushion couch, a larger bathroom with a tub/shower combo and two televisions. I love having the extra room. The standard balcony has a very tiny shower only and no sitting area. I sailed the southern TA a few years ago in late November and the weather was warm (70s) and seas were calm the whole way. We used our balcony quite a lot.

[traveling1969]

If you plan to spend much time in your stateroom (reading, TV or just plain relaxing) then a mini suite is the way to go. I've always been a bit disappointed with the size and lack of seating of Princess balcony cabins compared to other lines but it's not a deal breaker. As others have noted, Caribe deck balconies are HUGE; half covered and half uncovered. Emerald mini suite balconies are fully covered (as previously noted) and are our choice in that category. It can get a bit tiresome in Dolphin deck minis as everyone above can see your balcony and there is no way to get out of the sun if you want to.

[JerryinBWB]

I think the previous notes provide all the relevant answers, but I will throw my two cents in. We have done Caribe balconies, aft-facing balconies, mini-suites, most everything other than a full suite. And we were in a mini on last year's Ruby TA. If all other things were equal we would always get a mini-suite. We do not care a hoot whether our balcony is covered. If we had to choose, we would take uncovered on this TA. Dolphin deck closest to the water is also our preference. We spend very little time in our cabin, but when we are there the additional size of the bathroom is preferred plus the added space of mini's sitting area (not so much for sitting, but for laying out tomorrow's clothes, paperwork for tomorrow's shore excursion, various devices being charged, etc). The size of the balcony is quite adequate unless you are hosting larger parties on your balcony. We are on the Grand TA in three weeks and are in a Caribe balcony. The dollar difference wasn't great, but we are spending time in Paris and London, then taking the QM2 back, so tried to save dollars where we could. We are in a mini-suite on the Royal in Oct 2013.

Our choice is usually the mini when the dollar difference Is manageable, the caribe balcony when it is not (and the cruise is TA) or the corner aft balcony when available. BTW, we prefer aft mini's on the port side for the Fall TA's. Hope this helps.