What was your experience in a Club Class mini?

[Nashna]

Many suite passengers have posted positive reports of their dining experiences in the new Club Class section of the dining room. What about the other benefits offered for those sailing in Club Class Mini Suites. Did you find the upgraded mini suite of value? Were the beds comfortable? How about the boarding procedures? Inquiring minds want to know!

[Lanwood]

We were in a full suite on the Emerald, and absolutely loved the Club class dining. Found the new Luxury bed really uncomfortable. Not sure if we were just unlucky, or if the beds collapse very quickly (I think they are already about a year old on the Emerald?). By uncomfortable and collapsed, I mean we were practically sunk down to the floor when laying on it. The other perks don't really mean much to us. Given our Loyalty level that is.

 

I don't know about America, but in Australia Princess currently have a free upgrade sale, so all minisuites are the same price, including the club-class ones, on pretty much all cruises at present until the sale ends.

 

So on our next Sapphire cruise (we opted for a minisuite on that one), we could upgrade our booking to a club-class mini-sute for free. We decided not to, and keep our booking at the deck 8 mini-suite instead, because all the club-class mini-suites are midship deck 9, which means they are fully exposed balcony's with no cover. So as well as having everyone on deck 9, 10 and 11 looking down at us, there is no protection from the Elements (sun and rain). Given the likelyhood of rain in S.E Asia that time of year we are going, we decided to stay in our Deck 8 fully covered balcony minisuite. Much prefer the deck 8 ones, and although we love the club-class dining room, the extra perks we think aren't worth losing our private covered balcony's on deck 8. Pity you can't have them club class...

[Lanwood]

as well as having everyone on deck 9, 10 and 11 looking down at us

 

That should read deck 10, 11 and 12 looking down at us....

[easyboy]

Many suite passengers have posted positive reports of their dining experiences in the new Club Class section of the dining room. What about the other benefits offered for those sailing in Club Class Mini Suites. Did you find the upgraded mini suite of value? Were the beds comfortable? How about the boarding procedures? Inquiring minds want to know!

Interested too. Previous posts more on dining privileges.

[Nashna]

It is surprising that we are not getting any input from cruisers who have actually sailed in the Club Class Mini Suites. Over a month has gone by since the new service began.

[mafig]

It is surprising that we are not getting any input from cruisers who have actually sailed in the Club Class Mini Suites. Over a month has gone by since the new service began.

 

 

Really? I've read quite a bit of feedback recently. A couple of the threads are now on page 2.

 

It seems that everyone who is in CC was very pleased with the experience.:)

[Nashna]

The posts that I have seen really only address the dining issue and most of those were from suite passengers rather than mini-suite passengers.

[Aussie Gal]

We will be on the Emerald this coming Saturday and we changed our mini suite on Deck 8, the very last one which has the larger balcony to upstairs on Dolphin Deck to try out the new Club Class. We are interested to see what the differences will be. We mainly changed because we like to dine at Anytime which means around 7pm, without having to wait in a queue or receive a buzzer, which apparently we can do with Club Class. We also paid a little extra to be in Club Class but as there were so many price reductions along the way, our Club Mini has only cost us a couple of hundred dollars more than what we were paying for our Deck 8 Mini.

 

We are looking forward to this new experience which should be a positive one though we are going to have to work out when we can sit outside due to the exposure of the sun on Dolphin deck. As we are going north, we should be able to sit outside in the afternoon and on the return journey which will be south, sit outside in the morning. We have a starboard cabin.

 

Jennie

[Nashna]

Enjoy your cruise. Please let us know about the CC mini suite amenities.

[Aussie Gal]

It is only an 11 day cruise so when I return I will let you know what we thought of it and if we thought it was worth the extra to change from our mini with the large balcony down on Emerald up to Dolphin deck.

 

Jennie

[Less2me]

My impressions of Club Class: In room upon boarding, 2 half bottles of Mondovi (1 red 1 white.) Paperwork listing CC amenities. New luxury bed (I found comfortable.) Glass of champagne offered and accepted:) Bathrobes hanging in closet (did not use so can't comment on wearability)

 

Embarcation lunch was available and open for all Da Vinci dining room. I did not notice if CC was in operation for lunch.

 

Club Class dining dinner: Starboard entrance, Greeter checked our cruise cards (which had a star) against a list. Welcomed us graciously, asked if we would like a 2 top or share. 1st night we did a table for 2 but the next table was so close we might as well have shared. The rest of the time we shared, sometimes table for 4, sometimes table for 6. Service began as soon as we were seated weather table was full or not. There were about 15 tables, a combo of 2, 4 and 6 tops.

 

Menu is same as MDR with the exception of 1 dish table side prep by the head waiter. We didn't eat in CC every night but what I remember being offered was: Sautéed shrimp, Steak Diane, Scallops (I had Orange Roughy from the MDR menu and asked to have the scallops added from the fresh prep) no problem. Pasta Primavera, Pasta with Pesto. I heard from another diner he made crepes on day we missed.

 

Something I haven't seen mentioned is breakfast was available on debarkation day (6:30-8:30) which I think is a great perk.

 

I enjoyed the flexibility of Club Class, we happened the be grandfathered in so the cost wasn't a factor this time and will see if the extra is worth it going forward.

[OzKruser]

We enjoyed it also. The breakfast on disembarkation morning was so relaxing away from the crowds pushing and rushing in the buffet.

We had no complaints and enjoyed the additional meal selections.

 

 

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[Aussie Gal]

We are in day 8 of our eleven day cruise on the Emerald Princess and we are loving Club Class.

 

We had such a quick embarkation on our arrival on to the Emerald Princess, that we hardly managed to gather breath. We were on the ship in less than 15 minutes and as soon as we had dropped off our carry on bags we went to the dining room for lunch. I had phoned the front office to make sure which dining room we were to go to and the lass had obviously misunderstood me as she sent us to the Botticelli dining room where I think Elite can have lunch on embarkation day.

 

When we returned to our mini suite, our luggage was already there so we were unpacked well before 2.30pm, when our lovely steward brought our sparkling wine. We went to the correct restaurant for dinner that night after asking and from then on, we have had breakfast and dinner every day in the Da Vinci restaurant. We are loving it as we have met so many different couples. We can go for lunch but we prefer the International Café.

 

In the Emerald's Da Vince Club Class restaurant, there is a banquette along the back wall and there are 5 tables for two. We are nearly always seated there and we have had so many happy meals both for breakfast and for dinner chatting to the couples next to us. As stated above, we have one main course that is different from the main menu each night and sometimes there is a special dessert as well.

 

Besides having a quiet dinner in our own part of the dining room, I have to mention the wonderful new beds which are a delight to sleep in. We also have lovely new bed linen and new carpet is being laid throughout the ship but the mini suites are getting it first so we had ours laid a couple of days ago.

 

My DH and I compare the Club Class to Aqua Class on Celebrity ships which we have always enjoyed. We would definitely pay the extra again to be in Club Class as we love being able to dine whenever we want without having to wait for a table plus we enjoy the bonus of getting to know so many different people without having to give up our table for two.

 

Jennie

[OzKruser]

Don't you love Ruspan Jennie? We just got off Emerald on the trip before yours and really enjoyed it. Our waiters were Mey and Benji, they were fantastic!!

 

 

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[St Paul Girl]

We are in day 8 of our eleven day cruise on the Emerald Princess and we are loving Club Class.

 

We had such a quick embarkation on our arrival on to the Emerald Princess, that we hardly managed to gather breath. We were on the ship in less than 15 minutes and as soon as we had dropped off our carry on bags we went to the dining room for lunch. I had phoned the front office to make sure which dining room we were to go to and the lass had obviously misunderstood me as she sent us to the Botticelli dining room where I think Elite can have lunch on embarkation day.

 

When we returned to our mini suite, our luggage was already there so we were unpacked well before 2.30pm, when our lovely steward brought our sparkling wine. We went to the correct restaurant for dinner that night after asking and from then on, we have had breakfast and dinner every day in the Da Vinci restaurant. We are loving it as we have met so many different couples. We can go for lunch but we prefer the International Café.

 

In the Emerald's Da Vince Club Class restaurant, there is a banquette along the back wall and there are 5 tables for two. We are nearly always seated there and we have had so many happy meals both for breakfast and for dinner chatting to the couples next to us. As stated above, we have one main course that is different from the main menu each night and sometimes there is a special dessert as well.

 

Besides having a quiet dinner in our own part of the dining room, I have to mention the wonderful new beds which are a delight to sleep in. We also have lovely new bed linen and new carpet is being laid throughout the ship but the mini suites are getting it first so we had ours laid a couple of days ago.

 

My DH and I compare the Club Class to Aqua Class on Celebrity ships which we have always enjoyed. We would definitely pay the extra again to be in Club Class as we love being able to dine whenever we want without having to wait for a table plus we enjoy the bonus of getting to know so many different people without having to give up our table for two.

 

Jennie

Hi Jennie:

Thanks for the great info on Club Class dinning. Can you give us any more info on the additional menu items that are offered for dinner? Also, any other comments on the mini-suites? We are booked in D405 in Jan 2018 for the South American 14 day Cape Horn cruise.

Thanks for the info:

[caribill]

My impressions of Club Class:

 

Club Class dining dinner: Starboard entrance, Greeter checked our cruise cards (which had a star) against a list. Menu is same as MDR with the exception of 1 dish table side prep by the head waiter. Is the extra dish posted outside the dining room along with the main dinner menu or do you only find out about it when you sit down for dinner?

 

Something I haven't seen mentioned is breakfast was available on debarkation day (6:30-8:30) which I think is a great perk. Available where, in the Club Class section of the dining room? If so, is it any different from that last breakfast in the rest of the dining room?

 

 

See above in red

[Nashna]

Thank you all for the great reviews of the Mini-Suite Club Class Experience. It sounds like the new class is definitely a winner. We were in Agua Class on Celebrity last August and really enjoyed the dining experience. I has been years since we sailed on a larger ship and I can tell that Club Class Dining will be a fantastic perk on our March Regal sailing. Again, that you all for taking the time to post your thoughts on CC.

[Nashna]

We are in day 8 of our eleven day cruise on the Emerald Princess and we are loving Club Class.

 

We had such a quick embarkation on our arrival on to the Emerald Princess, that we hardly managed to gather breath. We were on the ship in less than 15 minutes and as soon as we had dropped off our carry on bags we went to the dining room for lunch. I had phoned the front office to make sure which dining room we were to go to and the lass had obviously misunderstood me as she sent us to the Botticelli dining room where I think Elite can have lunch on embarkation day.

 

When we returned to our mini suite, our luggage was already there so we were unpacked well before 2.30pm, when our lovely steward brought our sparkling wine. We went to the correct restaurant for dinner that night after asking and from then on, we have had breakfast and dinner every day in the Da Vinci restaurant. We are loving it as we have met so many different couples. We can go for lunch but we prefer the International Café.

 

In the Emerald's Da Vince Club Class restaurant, there is a banquette along the back wall and there are 5 tables for two. We are nearly always seated there and we have had so many happy meals both for breakfast and for dinner chatting to the couples next to us. As stated above, we have one main course that is different from the main menu each night and sometimes there is a special dessert as well.

 

Besides having a quiet dinner in our own part of the dining room, I have to mention the wonderful new beds which are a delight to sleep in. We also have lovely new bed linen and new carpet is being laid throughout the ship but the mini suites are getting it first so we had ours laid a couple of days ago.

 

My DH and I compare the Club Class to Aqua Class on Celebrity ships which we have always enjoyed. We would definitely pay the extra again to be in Club Class as we love being able to dine whenever we want without having to wait for a table plus we enjoy the bonus of getting to know so many different people without having to give up our table for two.

 

Jennie

 

Thank you Jennie for posting while you are onboard. You are a woman who keeps her word! So happy you are enjoying Club Class.

[Less2me]

See above in red

 

Hello Caribill, The extra dish is offered when the menu is presented. However, they do know what will be offered at the next dinner if you ask the head waiter. He was happy to let us know.

 

The debarkation breakfast is the same menu as mdr, no extra prep dish. Held in the CC dining area. I loved it, no hunting for a chair, no chaos.

[Aussie Gal]

Hi Jennie:

Thanks for the great info on Club Class dinning. Can you give us any more info on the additional menu items that are offered for dinner? Also, any other comments on the mini-suites? We are booked in D405 in Jan 2018 for the South American 14 day Cape Horn cruise.

Thanks for the info:

 

The items offered each night have been a lovely Sea Bass fish dish, Lobster Thermidor, Steak Diane many others that I cannot remember.

 

We are in D403 so D405 is next door. The Emerald Princess Mini Suites are not as large as on the Golden Princess. The bathroom and dressing area are very tight and only one person can really be in the bathroom at the one time even though there is a bath. The same for the Dressing area as there is only enough room for one person and we are not large people. Also the space between the bed and the wall is very tight and there is no room between the side tables and the wall or the dressing table.

 

We have certainly been in larger mini suites but we have been very comfortable and also haven't found not having a roof over the balcony to be a negative. We have sat out each day and enjoyed the warmth.

 

Jennie

[St Paul Girl]

The items offered each night have been a lovely Sea Bass fish dish, Lobster Thermidor, Steak Diane many others that I cannot remember.

 

We are in D403 so D405 is next door. The Emerald Princess Mini Suites are not as large as on the Golden Princess. The bathroom and dressing area are very tight and only one person can really be in the bathroom at the one time even though there is a bath. The same for the Dressing area as there is only enough room for one person and we are not large people. Also the space between the bed and the wall is very tight and there is no room between the side tables and the wall or the dressing table.

 

We have certainly been in larger mini suites but we have been very comfortable and also haven't found not having a roof over the balcony to be a negative. We have sat out each day and enjoyed the warmth.

 

Jennie

Hi Jennie:

Thank you very much for your great information!

have a great day!

Thanks!

[JudithLynne]

Jenny....I just looked at fact sheets on the Princess website and actually the Emerald mini's are larger than the Golden. Including balcony, Golden is 323 sq ft and Emerald is 370 sq ft. I questioned your remark as we have always booked mini's when available for the 25 Princess cruises that we have taken and have found the mini's to be similar in size from ship to ship. It may be that the balconies are different sizes.

Edited January 31, 2017 by JudithLynne

[Todd320]

We are currently on the Royal which launched it’s club class on this voyage (29 Jan).

 

They did not have Club class lunch in the MDR on embarkation day. However future Royal cruises will.

 

The beds are great we love them but you may not if you need a firm mattress. The beds went in a few months age at dry dock and the club class bedding went on before the start of this cruise.

 

We have not made it to Club class breakfast yet but we really have enjoyed lunch and dinner in the Concerto MDR with Club class. It is not busy at all and they really make you feel special. Until they get to know you they are really strict on who gets in. They need to see your card and then they look you up on a paper sheet. We really like that they don’t let friends and family members who are not Club class in because it would dilute the service.

 

We like it a lot but it would not be worth it to us if you have to pay full price for the upgrade. We usually book the cruise for the unique cabin M108 and Club class happens comes with it. Being elite you already get some of the perks that are included in club class.

[Aussie Gal]

Jenny....I just looked at fact sheets on the Princess website and actually the Emerald mini's are larger than the Golden. Including balcony, Golden is 323 sq ft and Emerald is 370 sq ft. I questioned your remark as we have always booked mini's when available for the 25 Princess cruises that we have taken and have found the mini's to be similar in size from ship to ship. It

may be that the balconies are different sizes.

 

We normally have the aft mini on the Emerald deck that has the large balcony and we feel it is larger than this mini as there is no way we could entertain 6 peple in here whereas last year on the Golden we easily fitted the 6 in our mini. Anyhow whatever size this mini is , it is a very narrow cabin so if course the bakcony is akso extremely narrow.

 

Jennie

[Pamster]

Hello Caribill, The extra dish is offered when the menu is presented. However, they do know what will be offered at the next dinner if you ask the head waiter. He was happy to let us know.

 

The debarkation breakfast is the same menu as mdr, no extra prep dish. Held in the CC dining area. I loved it, no hunting for a chair, no chaos.

 

That's enough to convince me. :)