Suite questions?

[39august]

Haven't been on Princess for maybe 10-12 years. What is the size and amenities, if any, for the lowest category that is classified as "suite", please?  And what are the dining arrangement for suites?  It appears that Regal Princess is now sailing out of Galveston, which is a drive to port for us. So we may be back to Princess in the future. I believe Regal is an older ship. Anyone have comments on what shape she is in?  Also, what is the current smoking policy for Princess ships?

[dog]

I printed out the page of suite amenities and took it with me. It is on the Princess website.

[Murray's Pop]

1 hour ago, 39august said:

Haven't been on Princess for maybe 10-12 years. What is the size and amenities, if any, for the lowest category that is classified as "suite", please?  And what are the dining arrangement for suites?  It appears that Regal Princess is now sailing out of Galveston, which is a drive to port for us. So we may be back to Princess in the future. I believe Regal is an older ship. Anyone have comments on what shape she is in?  Also, what is the current smoking policy for Princess ships?

I don't  know what you consider "old" but Regal is 8 years old.  That's pretty "young" in terms of cruise ships.  As far as size, the S4 suite is about 330 square feet with a balcony of about 70 square feet.  There is a special section of a dining room reserved for suite and club class mini-suite guests.

 

[nini]

We were on the Regal in the Fall of 2018 and really love that ship!

[milolii]

Here is the list of FULL suite benefits.  Be careful as a “mini suite” is not the same as a full suite. 

 

https://www.princess.com/learn/ships/staterooms/suites/

You state lowest class suite, so make sure you determine if it is a mini suite or a full suite.  The lowest class full suite is usually a Vista or Premium Suite. 

 

[39august]

Thanks for answers so far. No comments about smoking policy?  Glad to hear Regal is newish. I thought there was an "old" Regal several years ago.

[RizzleBizzle]

Not sure what info you want exactly but here is the policy they have on the website

 

https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/onboard/onboard-experience/

 

[reedprincess]

3 hours ago, 39august said:

Thanks for answers so far. No comments about smoking policy?  Glad to hear Regal is newish. I thought there was an "old" Regal several years ago.

Yes, the old Regal was retired around 2006/7.. 

And new Regal, much larger, etc started sailing 2014.. 

Suite perks are linked above.

These do not apply to the misnamed "mini-suite".  

Edited December 29, 2022 by reedprincess

[jeromep]

3 hours ago, 39august said:

Thanks for answers so far. No comments about smoking policy?  Glad to hear Regal is newish. I thought there was an "old" Regal several years ago.

Princess is effectively a no smoking line.  There is generally one cigar lounge or bar that allows smoking, and there are some designated outside areas that are for smoking, but you cannot smoke in your cabin or on your balcony or anyplace that is not specifically designated for smoking.

Edited December 29, 2022 by jeromep

[Ken the cruiser]

You may want to also check out an aft-facing vista suite on the Ruby, as it's also sailing out of Galveston. Its balcony is huge and fully covered whereas the aft-facing cabins on the Regal are not.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[jeromep]

10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

You may want to also check out an aft-facing vista suite on the Ruby, as it's also sailing out of Galveston. Its balcony is huge and fully covered whereas the aft-facing cabins on the Regal are not.

We had an aft corner suite on the Ruby many years ago now, I think it was D737, and the balcony was huge, fully covered (as the Grand class ships all have galleon sterns, so each deck cantilevers out above the deck below it, from the water line to the top of the ship).  The aft suites on the Royal class ships are mostly uncovered as the stern of the ship slops the opposite way from waterline to the top, leaving those balconies almost fully exposed to sun and the elements.  If you want a great balcony with a suite, you'll want an amidships suite, I think they are category S4 on Riviera deck, or one of the suites that are at the front of the ship.

[Ron the Rev]

 

    

Edited December 30, 2022 by Ron the Rev
posted under wrong heading

[jagoffee]

6 hours ago, jeromep said:

Princess is effectively a no smoking line.  There is generally one cigar lounge or bar that allows smoking, and there are some designated outside areas that are for smoking, but you cannot smoke in your cabin or on your balcony or anyplace that is not specifically designated for smoking.

No more smoking in the Princess Casino?

[nini]

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

No more smoking in the Princess Casino?

Sadly, that is not true. The casinos are as smoky as ever!

[donswife]

The premium forward suites are huge, and less expensive then the Penthouse category.  A great deal if you don't mind the motion and don't mind walking...a lot!!!  We had one on the Discovery and enjoyed the covered balcony. 

This is the forward window in the bedroom. 

[jagoffee]

18 hours ago, jeromep said:

Princess is effectively a no smoking line.  There is generally one cigar lounge or bar that allows smoking, and there are some designated outside areas that are for smoking, but you cannot smoke in your cabin or on your balcony or anyplace that is not specifically designated for smoking.

 

10 hours ago, nini said:

Sadly, that is not true. The casinos are as smoky as ever!

That is also my understanding.  Any cruise line that allows smoking in an inside Casino cannot be called “effectively a no smoking line” IMO.  I would not want anyone to get the wrong idea.  
 

i would be surprised if any cruise line still allows smoking in individual cabins.  Certainly a lot less smoking across all cruise lines today.  Personally I would consider Princess as one of more liberal cruise lines related to smoking.  

[nini]

Lovely! (referring to Post #15)

Edited December 30, 2022 by nini
additional words

[milolii]

@donswife thanks for the pic.  Looks great 

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

 

That is also my understanding.  Any cruise line that allows smoking in an inside Casino cannot be called “effectively a no smoking line” IMO.  I would not want anyone to get the wrong idea.  
 

i would be surprised if any cruise line still allows smoking in individual cabins.  Certainly a lot less smoking across all cruise lines today.  Personally I would consider Princess as one of more liberal cruise lines related to smoking.  

Agree.

 

Unfortunately along with RC. The casinos are nothing more than smoking lounges that only allows gambling at specific times of the day/evening. 

 

IMO, one of the areas Celebrity excels in is not allowing smoking anywhere inside their ships, fleetwide. 

Edited December 30, 2022 by davekathy

[kokopelli-az]

We were on the Caribbean Princess twice during 2022 and always went to the casino in the mornings.  This is also where a lot of the smoking non-gambling passengers hang out just to smoke.   At least since it was morning, the smoking gamblers were not as plentiful as later in the day.  

 

One of our FREE suite amenities is below.     

[memoak]

4 hours ago, donswife said:

The premium forward suites are huge, and less expensive then the Penthouse category.  A great deal if you don't mind the motion and don't mind walking...a lot!!!  We had one on the Discovery and enjoyed the covered balcony. 

This is the forward window in the bedroom. 

It seems like no more walking than from aft suites   We usually book Penthouse aft wrap around suites on Royal class. In June we have could not get an aft suite for B2B Alaska cruises on the Discovery so we booked one of these forward suites on Baja. Any hints or surprises?  Also wondering just how big the balcony is

[dides]

21 minutes ago, memoak said:

It seems like no more walking than from aft suites   We usually book Penthouse aft wrap around suites on Royal class. In June we have could not get an aft suite for B2B Alaska cruises on the Discovery so we booked one of these forward suites on Baja. Any hints or surprises?  Also wondering just how big the balcony is

We have booked a forward Premium Suite on 6 of our 7 most recent Princess cruises. Love the roomy bedroom. Very handy for Sabatini's Suite Breakfast but a bit of a trek to the Concierge Lounge. The balcony is the standard depth but is longer with nicer furniture.  Preferred Baja or Caribe deck locations - Aloha deck had too much overhang. Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by dides

[memoak]

21 minutes ago, dides said:

We have booked a forward Premium Suite on 6 of our 7 most recent Princess cruises. Love the roomy bedroom. Very handy for Sabatini's Suite Breakfast but a bit of a trek to the Concierge Lounge. The balcony is the standard depth but is longer with nicer furniture.  Preferred Baja or Caribe deck locations - Aloha deck had too much overhang. Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will be on Baja.  Never use the concierge lounge much so not a really big deal for us

[Ken the cruiser]

22 minutes ago, memoak said:

We will be on Baja.  Never use the concierge lounge much so not a really big deal for us

I hadn’t heard much about the Concierge Lounge other than it’s on the Royal, Regal and Majestic ships. So I did some searching and found this. We probably won’t be using it much either if we wind up ever booking a suite on one of these 3 ships.

 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=princess+cruises+concierge+lounge&view=detail&mid=F3CB2EB48F8E39AC2717F3CB2EB48F8E39AC2717&FORM=VIRE

 

[donswife]

We really enjoyed the concierge lounge, even though it was a hike.  We did not have a beverage package, so we used the coffee machine, got water bottles, and went to the happy hour a couple of times on our 5 night trip.  We also enjoyed the snacks, rather than searching the buffet for something we would like.