Saphire - Family suite or adjoining Cat B verandahs?

[pmacher61]

I am planning a cruise for me and my wife, her 2 sons and their spouses, her adult daughter, and the daughter's 17 yo and 4 yo kids (9 altogether). I now have two options on a 7 night RT sailing of the Saphire leaving LA to Mexico in mid Feb.

I am trying to decide whether to book the Saphire's cat. XS family suite (427 sq ft including verandah) which could sleep me and the wife and the daugher and grandkids (5) and then buy 2 nearby interior cabins for the 2 sons and spouses. The price quoted for this arrangement is 8510 with no OBC, but presumably some suite amenities.

The alternative is to book two adjoining balcony B cat. cabins (I am told the verandahs open up to adjoin) for the 5 of us plus 2 other interior cabins for the sons and spouses. That's priced at 8713 and comes with 650 total OBC.

 

So which is the better option? I'm trying to have a balcony space large enough for us to all get together and enjoy sunset drinks. The verandah of the XS may be sufficiently large, but I've been told that because it is all the way forward, the wind (in Feb) may be a deterrent to comfortable verandah shmoozing. I'm not even certain the XS verandah space is larger than the combined balcony space of the adjoining B cat. cabins.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me and help me make an intelligent decision?

[rdsqrl]

If you mean "BB" balconies, on Caribe deck, they are nicely-sized balconies, about 9x9 which together would easily accommodate 9 people. However, while they do adjoin, the entire partition between them can't be opened but only a small doorway through which to pass back and forth. That may not be a big deal, but just a head's up in case you were anticipating the entire partition folding back.

 

Wind would be a definite concern for the family suite balcony. And possibly motion, too, if there are those who are sensitive, since that cabin is so far forward. Although there are suite perks (the best probably being breakfast in Sabatini's!), those perks are only for the actual suite dwellers, so no Sabatini's breakfast for the entire family.

 

Plus the second bedroom in the family suite is just an inside, with no window. To me, that's okay for kids, but as an adult, I'd be miffed to be stuck in that if there had been an option of booking instead two balcony cabins where I got a view and light! On the other hand, if I'm not buying, I guess I should just keep my yap shut and enjoy my cabin, wherever it is, eh?!

[Coral]

I would go with balcony cabins (and insides).

[Princess Patches]

I agree with prior posters and would take the two balcony cabins and the two insides. The family suite balcony may be unusable while at sea due to the wind. Everyone will also have a little more privacy with two balcony cabins and no one will have to sleep on the sofabeds, which have very thin mattresses and can be uncomfortable. You also get the additional $650 OBC, which is more valuable than any suite perks to me. I recommend Caribe deck balconies because they are nearly twice as large as other standard balconies. You will need the extra space for 9 people.

[iluvcruzin]

I agree with the 2 cabins versus the family suite. The main reason is privacy. The family suites are more geared for parents with children. Space will be at a minimum with 4 adults (taking into consideration the 17 year old is adult size) and a child. Do you really want to share a bathroom with all those women? Just saying..

[caribill]

I agree with the 2 cabins versus the family suite. The main reason is privacy. The family suites are more geared for parents with children. Space will be at a minimum with 4 adults (taking into consideration the 17 year old is adult size) and a child. Do you really want to share a bathroom with all those women? Just saying..

 

Doesn't the family suite have two bathrooms?

[junglejane]

I've been in the Family Suite on the Sapphire Princess twice -- both times as the result of free upgrades on Mexico cruises. After the first time, I posted a review with photos here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1077929

 

It was nice to get the Family Suite as a free upgrade for our family of four because of the suite perks. But the wind on the balcony really is a problem. On our second trip, the seas weren't as rough so it was a little more tolerable, but still you have no shielding from wind and when the ship moves fast, you'll really feel the wind. The second time, we overnighted in Cabo so we had dinner out on the balcony that night.

 

I think that the combined balcony space of two BB Caribe deck balconies will at least as large, if not larger, than the XS balcony, although you do have to pass through a doorway on the balcony to go from one to the other. Also you do have two bathrooms in the Family Suite.

[pmacher61]

Thanks all for the feedback.

JJane, I had previously searched and found your report on the family suite which gave rise to some of my questions here. It is was very helpful. Any more pics?

I misspoke re the size of the family suite - XS. Apparenlty the combined space is not just 427 sq ft (as stated in the deck plan of an online TA) but is 613 sq ft combined with verandah acc to a second online deck plan schematic which I won't link bec it's also from a TA.

Can someone confirm the exact size? Also, I don't know the exact breakdown between balcony space and inside space, but as the nearby cabins have 226 sq ft of internal space and 64 sq ft of balcony I would guesstimate by perusing the deck plan that the family suite has suite about 500 sq of internal space with the verandah at about 113. Accordingly, the single living room sitting area must be a pretty good size - capable of allowing 9 to gather comfortably inside if the wind is too strong to use the vereandah. There are 2 bathrooms and both of the adjoining cabins have outside views (no inside cabin) per the deck plan diagram.

 

The other alternative, the 2 balcony cabins with the adjoining verandahs are BC cat are on the Aloha deck (only deck with BCs as far as I can tell). As the regular oceanview rooms are about 190 sq ft and the combined sq ft of the BC is 237, I would guesstimate that the combined balcony of 2 BCs is about 85 sq ft which is considerably smaller than the family suite balcony unless the configuration of the latter makes some of the sq ft unusable (aside from the wind and motion factors).

Comments?

[junglejane]

Hi. 613 sq. feet sounds right to me, because a regular mini-suite is 354 and you get what is essentially an inside cabin plus a "living room" that is double the size of the sitting area on a regular mini-suite. There's a diagram on the Princess website that is pretty based on what I remember: http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/sa/staterooms/sa_family_suite.html

 

The outside view comes from the sliding glass door in the living room area. You can see it from the bedroom part on the mini-suite side but not from the bedroom part of the inside portion (where the twin beds are). In the fifth photo on this post http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=21699728&postcount=1 you can see one of my kids peering in from the living room into the second bedroom. I'm standing by the beds taking the picture and as you can see there is no view outside from the beds.

 

The living room area is shown in the first two photos on this post http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=21699857&postcount=2 . The living room area is large and you could have 9 people hang out there.

[cruisequeen4ever]

I recommend the 2 balcony staterooms for privacy and OBC! $650 can provide a lot of extra fun on a cruise!

[pmacher61]

Hi.

Hi back at you. You have been a tremendous help. Thank you for taking the time to respond to me.:)