Mini Suites on Dolphin Deck (9)

[Rustee]

New to Princess and we are booked on Star Princess early 2016. I would like to know how uncovered are the Mini Suites on the Dolphin Deck (9). Are they totally uncovered with no shade at all (open back to the door) or partially so there would be some shade out from the door. Also anyone who has cruised on the Emerald Deck (8) and stayed in the Aft Mini Suites what was the motion like while cruising also was there any excess noise from the deck below. Would you recommend them.

Thankyou

[eclue]

Mini suites are totally uncovered........we love them!!!!

[minniem]

I would be interested in learning about the mini's as well. We are looking at a foward mini on the Caribbean Princess. Has anyone out there stayed in a forward mini? Is there a lot of motion? Never stayed in a mini but the price was so good we wanted to try one. Any information would be welcome. Thanks to all who take the time to help.

Minnie

[JF - retired RRT]

I have pictures of the aft Dolphin mini-suites here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1959727

If you want to throw a party for all your friends, this is the place.;)

[Princess Patches]

All of the Dolphin deck mini balconies are totally uncovered. There are some completely covered mini balconies on Emerald deck. If you prefer more shade and protection from the elements, then book an Emerald deck mini. I have never been bothered by excess motion in the aft minis on Emerald deck. The most motion is in the cabins all the way forward at the bow. I prefer aft over forward cabins due to less movement and easy access to the buffet and the main dining room which are also aft.

 

If you book an Emerald deck mini avoid booking the last 2-3 cabins furthest aft on the portside because they are directly over the stage of the lounge below you. There have been some reports of noise issues in those few cabins. Book any Emerald mini on the starboard side. If booking portside, choose the minis closest to the aft elevators. I love the Emerald deck minis. They are a great choice.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Princess Patches

[BJS]

New to Princess and we are booked on Star Princess early 2016. I would like to know how uncovered are the Mini Suites on the Dolphin Deck (9). Are they totally uncovered with no shade at all (open back to the door) or partially so there would be some shade out from the door. Also anyone who has cruised on the Emerald Deck (8) and stayed in the Aft Mini Suites what was the motion like while cruising also was there any excess noise from the deck below. Would you recommend them.

Thankyou

 

Mini Suites on Dolphin are uncovered, a Caribe balcony is partially covered and Emerald is covered but this is what we have found when booked in any of these. .It depends on the time of day and the direction your balcony is facing at that time of day. We have had sun & rain on all of the Caribe balcony (and other deck totally covered balcony) and on Dolphin we have had full to partial shade provided by the time of day and direction facing or from the balcony side panels.

 

.

[JimmyVWine]

...but keep in mind that shade has as much to do with the position of the sun and direction of the ship as it does with whether there is cover. While it is true that a covered or partially covered balcony will always have some shade, the corollary is not true that uncovered balconies never have shade. If the afternoon sun is to starboard, the port Mini-Suites are in the shade, and vice versa.

[Av8tor]

All of the Dolphin deck mini balconies are totally uncovered. There are some completely covered mini balconies on Emerald deck. If you prefer more shade and protection from the elements, then book an Emerald deck mini. I have never been bothered by excess motion in the aft minis on Emerald deck. The most motion is in the cabins all the way forward at the bow. I prefer aft over forward cabins due to less movement and easy access to the buffet and the main dining room which are also aft.

 

If you book an Emerald deck mini avoid booking the last 2-3 cabins furthest aft on the portside because they are directly over the stage of the lounge below you. There have been some reports of noise issues in those few cabins. Book any Emerald mini on the starboard side. If booking portside, choose the minis closest to the aft elevators. I love the Emerald deck minis. They are a great choice.

 

From the Emerald minis, is your view negatively effected by the lifeboats and tenders just forward of your balcony?

[msmoger]

If you can snag E729 you get a very large extended (length wise) balcony with a bit of an aft view since you are the last cabin in the starboard side.

 

We had this on the Emerald (E731) and have it booked on the Crown again next summer in Alaska. It was fantastic. Also, you are not over the stage of the Vista Lounge so there is no noise issue. You can get the same cabin on the port side but you may have to deal with the booming bass.

[Princess Patches]

From the Emerald minis, is your view negatively effected by the lifeboats and tenders just forward of your balcony?

 

No, the lifeboats do not affect the view in any way. My favorite Emerald mini is the first one forward on starboard side. It is nearest the elevator and you have no balcony neighbor on one side. A lot of passengers really love the last Emerald mini aft. It has a larger balcony with both side and aft views. However, it has a windbreak on one side only so I am not sure if that is a cause of wind issues on the balcony while at sea. I have never stayed in the furthest one aft.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Princess Patches

[BJS]

...but keep in mind that shade has as much to do with the position of the sun and direction of the ship as it does with whether there is cover. While it is true that a covered or partially covered balcony will always have some shade, the corollary is not true that uncovered balconies never have shade. If the afternoon sun is to starboard, the port Mini-Suites are in the shade, and vice versa.

 

We just spent 10 days with a partially covered balcony and 1/2 the day we had NO shade.

 

.

[IECalCruiser]

...but keep in mind that shade has as much to do with the position of the sun and direction of the ship as it does with whether there is cover. While it is true that a covered or partially covered balcony will always have some shade, the corollary is not true that uncovered balconies never have shade. If the afternoon sun is to starboard, the port Mini-Suites are in the shade, and vice versa.

We just spent 10 days with a partially covered balcony and 1/2 the day we had NO shade.

It is not true that a covered or partially covered balcony will always have some shade. The balcony above is about 10 feet high and depending upon the position you are sailing and the position of the sun the balcony seating area may be in full sun. The cover protects you from rain and people looking down, not always the sun. It you are sailing primarily north or south even the uncovered balconies will be shaded by the ship almost half the day. If you are sailing primarily east or west balconies on one side of the ship will be in the shade of the ship all day and the other side will be in the sun much of the day.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Edited November 12, 2014 by IECalCruiser

[JimmyVWine]

We just spent 10 days with a partially covered balcony and 1/2 the day we had NO shade.

 

.

 

It couldn't be unshaded for half the day. Half the day is dawn/dusk/night from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 a.m.. But for the times when the sun is 90 degrees to your cabin on your side of the ship, I could see how that would be true. But as long as the sun is higher up in the sky than the angle of your covering, by definition, there has to be shade. In all likelihood, if the direction of the ship is just so, you would have no shade from perhaps 2:30-3:00 in the afternoon until sunset, or from sunrise until 10:00-10:30 in the morning. From 11:00 a.m. until 2:30-3:00 p.m., the sun should be high enough up in the sky where the cover should create shade, unless your "cover" is an overhang just a few inches wide. But I get your point.

 

And to be clear, (because I obviously wasn't before), I didn't mean "always" as in every hour of the day. I meant "always" as in each and every day. Unless the ship is sailing in a solar-synchronous pattern, at some point during each day, covered balconies have to have shade.

Edited November 12, 2014 by JimmyVWine

[BJS]

It couldn't be unshaded for half the day. Half the day is dawn/dusk/night from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 a.m.. But for the times when the sun is 90 degrees to your cabin on your side of the ship, I could see how that would be true. But as long as the sun is higher up in the sky than the angle of your covering, by definition, there has to be shade. In all likelihood, if the direction of the ship is just so, you would have no shade from perhaps 2:30-3:00 in the afternoon until sunset, or from sunrise until 10:00-10:30 in the morning. From 11:00 a.m. until 2:30-3:00 p.m., the sun should be high enough up in the sky where the cover should create shade, unless your "cover" is an overhang just a few inches wide. But I get your point.

 

And to be clear, (because I obviously wasn't before), I didn't mean "always" as in every hour of the day. I meant "always" as in each and every day. Unless the ship is sailing in a solar-synchronous pattern, at some point during each day, covered balconies have to have shade.

 

So sorry...guess I should have specified the hours.:eek:

[VOR]

As said below, all uncovered.

 

For motion, I find its actually a difficult question. The ship rocks from the middle, the farther you are from that the more up and down you get. It rolls around the center line, so the higher you are, the more you feel the roll (the stabilizers kill most roll anyway). I don't feel either of those to any extent so I dont worry.

 

What does get me is yaw, which is the aft ship moving side to side around where the bow cuts the water. Its very slight movement, but I find it 'off putting'. I only notice it in the back 100-150 feet of the boat.

[Yehootu]

http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/YEHOOT2/slideshow/TIMS-PC/Shade%20on%20Dolphin%20Deck

 

This is how you get shade on the Dolphin deck! Walmart umbellas, some duct tape and some bungee cords. Turn table upside down= instant shade. Worked great!

That was on the Island Princess. We just returned from the Grand Princess and had E729. Awesome balcony. Our neighbors hated the noise and complained all the time. Thrusters, Line tenders, crew stairs, etc... We loved the motion and vibration. 2x Emerald Minis and 1x Dolphin. Booked Emerald again for Alaska as we want to be covered in case of rain.

Tim

[retrembl]

New to Princess and we are booked on Star Princess early 2016. I would like to know how uncovered are the Mini Suites on the Dolphin Deck (9). Are they totally uncovered with no shade at all (open back to the door) or partially so there would be some shade out from the door. Also anyone who has cruised on the Emerald Deck (8) and stayed in the Aft Mini Suites what was the motion like while cruising also was there any excess noise from the deck below. Would you recommend them.

Thankyou

 

Mini Suites Cat ME on the Emerald Deck are covered. All Mini suites on the dolphin Deck are total exposed to the deck above you. there is no privacy on Mini Suites on the Dolphin Deck.

[OCruisers]

It's seldom when one side of the ship is not getting more sun/shade than the other.

It all depends on the direction and angle of the sun. We book mini-suites on Dolphin Deck (totally uncovered) and there are times when they are totally shaded. Also the panels between the cabins provide shade depending on the angle of the sun.

Some who book Dolphin minis were not happy because they thought they would be getting FULL sun all day and they seldom did.

LuLu

[Guest USC Traveler]

I won't go on a cruise if I can't book e729 or e731. a covered veranda is important to me for many reasons, mostly privacy. this is why I book as much as 2 years in advance. I

have never been bothered by noise nor motion in these cabins.

[grandmaa]

We were just on the Grand in D730 aft mini suite cabin and loved the location. No noise and except for the full suites that were around the corner no traffic. Aft elevators easy to reach as well as the stairs. We prefer aft to forward cabins..just our own personal preference and would had no qualms about the open balcony. Enjoy your cruise.

[CallistaSkye]

We just had a dolphin deck mini suite, and it was very nice, but probably would book a deck higher next time. Another problem is that birds have an unobstructed target of the balconies, so our chairs and footrests were covered with bird droppings when we went to Ensenada. The decks higher up had coverings so they didn't get bombed.

[retrembl]

I won't go on a cruise if I can't book e729 or e731. a covered veranda is important to me for many reasons, mostly privacy. this is why I book as much as 2 years in advance. I

have never been bothered by noise nor motion in these cabins.

 

We also prefer a cover Balcony. We booked E721 on the Grand for their 15 day Hawaiian Cruise in Nov 2015. Glad to hear you had no problem with noise coming up from deck 7 lounge.

[Guest USC Traveler]

I'm on the star right now in e729. no noise on the starboard side. you 'll enjoy e721.

[seniorladycruiser]

We just got off the Golden on Friday and had been in cabin D401 which is in the center of the ship. This was a 4 day Pacific coastal cruise and we were never far from land. I never used the balcony as there were a lot of seagulls being so close to shore and our chairs were hit by their droppings. My husband used the balcony but did not like being looked down upon and lack of privacy. We would not stay on Dolphin deck again.