Bid on a mini-suite?

[Em2mb]

Booked a GTY on the Dec. 14 sailing of the Star (thanks, work, for deciding to send me to a conference in Los Angeles and letting me take the next week off!). We already have our assignment -- 9180, which is a BA cabin on the mid-ship side of the dividing line between mid-ship and aft. It appears to be over O'Sheehan's. We'd paid $829pp for a BD cabin and category BA is currently going for $1,679pp.

 

I wasn't expecting the GTY to be assigned so quickly, so I was planning to at least bid on a mini-suite. Never been in one before, but I figured it would be worth it to try this one time, especially if it saved us from an undesirable GTY. (Not that I really think there's such a thing as an undesirable cabin on a cruise ship. We've been in plenty of noisy rooms, but it's really amazing what a nightcap can fix!) The minimum bid on a mini-suite is $75pp.

 

Is there any reason at all to bid on the mini-suite? We honestly don't mind the stall showers that are standard in most cruise ship cabins. FWIW, this is my tenth cruise as an adult but only the second cruise on Norwegian. I loved the Epic so much this spring, though, that I've booked two more for next year. Just don't want to miss out on anything!

[PTC DAWG]

I’ve been in mini suites on the Escape and the Getaway...I dig the larger shower and sink. The car wash shower is fun. Bid at your discretion..

[billslowsky]

A lot of the mini suites are directly below the cafe, pool, and kids club. You may get noise.

[PTC DAWG]

A lot of the mini suites are directly below the cafe, pool, and kids club. You may get noise.

 

They are on many floors....usually stacked right under one another...I bought one, upgraded on a bid to one, no issues being under anything...no more than any other balcony or other cabin on those floors under “something”

[billslowsky]

They are on many floors....usually stacked right under one another...I bought one, upgraded on a bid to one, no issues being under anything...no more than any other balcony or other cabin on those floors under “something”

 

On the star they are on one level.

 

Look it up.

[jdvmd]

We enjoyed our mini suite on the Star. No guarantees that the bid for the mini suite will be accepted.

[COcruise]

We like the minis on longer cruises as it’s a little roomier and the bathroom is bigger. Helps give my tall significant other some extra room. To us it’s worth a few hundred and not anything more. Nothing special but extra space. Do be careful if you bid, we always opt to pay more to pick our room as once we were in a mini suite (or balcony can’t remember) under the buffet kitchen/prep area and heard rolling carts 24/7 that we didn’t sleep all week.

[billslowsky]

We enjoyed our mini suite on the Star. No guarantees that the bid for the mini suite will be accepted.

 

We enjoyed our mini suite on the Jade. But we selected our location, we didn't get it from an upgrade. We were directly below the spa, a relatively quiet location up front.

 

Before going for this upgrade, the OP should check the current availability of minisuites on his itinerary. If they're all under the cafe, think twice. A balcony room in a preferred location is better than a minisuite in a bad one.

[gymbomb]

I’ve been in mini suites on the Escape and the Getaway...I dig the larger shower and sink. The car wash shower is fun. Bid at your discretion..

 

 

 

Mini suites on Star don’t have the same kind of bathroom as on Breakaway and newer ships. It is a slightly larger bathroom with a bathtub/shower combo. More of the extra space is in the room itself.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[PTC DAWG]

On the star they are on one level.

 

Look it up.

 

Fair enough, her query is about the Away class ships...I would say look it up, but that’s not my style. . :)

[billslowsky]

Fair enough, her query is about the Away class ships...I would say look it up, but that’s not my style. . :)

 

Fair enough? Here's the first sentence of the original post:

 

Booked a GTY on the Dec. 14 sailing of the Star (thanks, work, for deciding to send me to a conference in Los Angeles and letting me take the next week off!).

"Not your style"? :rolleyes:

[dexddd]

You mention that you've never had a bad cabin and you don't mind the stall shower so IMO save the money.

[billslowsky]

You mention that you've never had a bad cabin and you don't mind the stall shower so IMO save the money.

 

The NCL upgrade "offer" tends to turn into Ebay, with people anxious to "win" and wind up overpaying. It can be very tempting.

[All-ready2cruise]

You mention that you've never had a bad cabin and you don't mind the stall shower so IMO save the money.

 

Totally agree with this, especially on the Star. I've stayed in a MS on Star, no special shower and while the cabin is a bit larger, not worth spending more money, IMO.

You know you have a great location now, I'd stick with what you have and enjoy your cruise.

[Em2mb]

You mention that you've never had a bad cabin and you don't mind the stall shower so IMO save the money.

 

We try to be very easygoing cruisers. My whole family was on the Carnival Destiny in the late ’90s when it lost all engine power and didn’t make a single port. We all joke that drifting aimlessly toward Cuba is the best cruise we’ve ever been on.

 

I think we’ll stick with the balcony we’ve been assigned ... it’s a good cabin, no need to tempt fate. Spending the money on spa passes instead!

[dexddd]

We try to be very easygoing cruisers. My whole family was on the Carnival Destiny in the late ’90s when it lost all engine power and didn’t make a single port. We all joke that drifting aimlessly toward Cuba is the best cruise we’ve ever been on.

 

I think we’ll stick with the balcony we’ve been assigned ... it’s a good cabin, no need to tempt fate. Spending the money on spa passes instead!

 

Have a great time.

 

Was that the spam cruise? Carnival and family had those problems with the ships and I don't recall what ships had issues when.

[Em2mb]

Was that the spam cruise? Carnival and family had those problems with the ships and I don't recall what ships had issues when.

 

I don’t remember any spam, but we were really lucky — the ship couldn’t go anywhere, but still had power and plumbing and all the important things, so everyone just chilled for 4 days until we were towed back to port, at which point they let us use the ship as a floating hotel until it was time to disembark. I was 10 or 11 so I don’t remember this, but apparently they opened the bars one of the nights and let the adults drink for free. In the days before beverage packages, that was a good deal!

 

We also got a full credit with travel vouchers for another cruise, and I do remember my parents telling me there was no point in getting upset like many passengers were because it wouldn’t make the situation any better. It was an important lesson in how to travel and always have a good time.