Premium Balcony vs. Mini suites

[latebuyer]

Does anyone know if the third bed option in the premium balcony is one of the beds that pulls down from the ceiling or like a cot on the floor? A bed on the floor would be preferred. The other option is the mini suite with a sofa bed. The mini suites are quite a bit more expensive. Does anyone know if there is free room service with the mini suite? I read the list of benefits. If you’ve stayed in one what do you consider the biggest benefit? The cruise ship is ruby princess. Thanks for any help you can give. I’ve done some googling but can’t figure out about the bed.

Edited February 11, 2023 by latebuyer

[Thrak]

Normally a bed that comes out of the ceiling.

[latebuyer]

Drats. Thanks for clarifying.

[ChemistBabe]

I believe the mini-suites have BOTH a bed that comes out of the ceiling AND the sofa bed that flips out.  (We are staying in one this summer, and I know we have beds for both our children.)

 

And by the way, there is free room service, period.  Doesn't matter what class room.

[VibeGuy]

There are no special perks to a random mini aside from a glass of crap sparkling wine on boarding.  Top-grade mini suites are designated as Club Class or Reserve Collection depending on your sail date and come with just-walk-up MDR access, special table linens, better stemware  and an extra dish or two on the menu.   The standard room service menu doesn’t have charges for most items for any cabin category.  Only full suites (S6 and better) have room service that includes the MDR menus. 

 

All of the third and fourth berths in a balcony, regardless of premiumness, will either hinge down from the wall (less common) or descend from the overhead (more common), with a ladder for access. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by VibeGuy

[latebuyer]

Thanks both. Glad to hear about room service. Sounds like nothing real special about them except more space.

[Sprocket]

Mini suites have a tub shower combo,  2 TV’s and a curtain that you can pull to divide the room.  

[VibeGuy]

Does Ruby have the curtain?   I can never remember which ones do. 

[EDDY0827]

Royal class has the curtains in the mini.

[skynight]

Balcony - 3rd berth pulls down from the ceiling and is stored back up during the day. Lower beds are in the twin position. Not aware of any balcony category cabins that have the 3rd berth hinge down from the wall as mentioned in one of the postings. Believe this is the configuration for insides and outside view cabins on the Ruby.

Mini 3rd berth is the convertible sofa. The main bed(s) can be in the queen or twin configuration, your choice.

All cabins receive free room service. Order drinks, food, whatever. Orders can be placed on the app, via the TV, or by phone.

Ruby Princess mini suites

Almost all minis are on deck 9. Larger cabin with a sofa sitting area and small low table.

Balcony is 9ft x 6ft and not covered.

A somewhat larger bathroom with a tub/shower. This may or may not be a plus. We never liked the tub.

There are 34 Reserve Collection (formally known as Club Class) mini suites mid ship on deck 9. The interiors are the same as other mini suites. The biggest benefit is the Club Class dining.

There are 12 mini suites aft on deck 8 with fully covered balconies. The starboard side ones are above a smoking area on deck 7.

Note that balcony category cabins only have one desk inside chair. The balcony contains 2 chairs and a table.

Search the Ruby Princess deck plans on the Princess site. You can select the number of berths as well as finding connecting cabins. 

[Lady Arwen]

8 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

Does Ruby have the curtain?   I can never remember which ones do. 

Sorry, no curtain…..only Royal class ships have them.

[latebuyer]

Thanks for the reply. Can you explain what you mean by hinged down by a wall. Does that mean like a murphy bed? I don’t mind an ocean view.

[JimmyVWine]

4 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks for the reply. Can you explain what you mean by hinged down by a wall. Does that mean like a murphy bed? I don’t mind an ocean view.

The beds that pull down from the ceiling fully recess into the ceiling and come straight down. A hinged third bed rests in a position 90 degrees from what it will be when someone is lying in it. It gets pulled down from a perpendicular state to a parallel state. But as mentioned above, I don’t think that is the situation with Balcony cabins. 

[latebuyer]

Thanks. Looks like i can’t get around getting the mini suite if i want to sleep on the floor.

[dave_k58]

13 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

Does Ruby have the curtain?   I can never remember which ones do. 

I think the Crown Class don't have the curtain

 

[reedprincess]

14 hours ago, latebuyer said:

Does anyone know if the third bed option in the premium balcony is one of the beds that pulls down from the ceiling or like a cot on the floor? A bed on the floor would be preferred. The other option is the mini suite with a sofa bed. The mini suites are quite a bit more expensive. Does anyone know if there is free room service with the mini suite? I read the list of benefits. If you’ve stayed in one what do you consider the biggest benefit? The cruise ship is ruby princess. Thanks for any help you can give. I’ve done some googling but can’t figure out about the bed.

Premium balcony just refers to location - the cabin itself is the exact same as a non premium balcony cabin.

Pullman berth for 3rd and 4th birthday in a balcony cabin. Rollaways are theoretically available but limited... Personally, I've not ever encountered one nor anyone who's actually used one, but there have been reports of them available. No idea where it would even fit in a balcony cabin!  

Ruby does not have Deluxe Balcony cabins, which do have a small love seat sofa, which would be the 3rd berth for a 3/4 person cabin.

 

Mini-suite on Ruby do not have a curtain dividing sofa and bed area. It has the rounded bump outs. The curtains are on Royal class ships.. 

 

All cabins on Princess have included no delivery fee room service. There's a decent selection of no charge items, along with a few items that have a surcharge such a as sushi, whole pizzas, steak and fries, specialty restaurant items a la carte...

Menu: https://profcruise.com/oceannow-delivery-menu-2022/

 

[13cheermom]

On 2/10/2023 at 11:14 PM, ChemistBabe said:

I believe the mini-suites have BOTH a bed that comes out of the ceiling AND the sofa bed that flips out.  (We are staying in one this summer, and I know we have beds for both our children.)

 

And by the way, there is free room service, period.  Doesn't matter what class room.

Our mini suite had this setup, and it was the most uncomfortable couch ever to sit on.  My husband said never book another couch room because it was totally unusable the entire 10-day cruise. 🤣

[~*Lou*~]

We had a standard balcony on Coral for the 4 of us.

 

The 3rd bed was Pullman and the 4th was a rollaway.

 

Yes its was tight when it was all set up at night, it worked ok but everyone in the cabin has to be considerate of each other. Lucky the person on the rollaway was only 12 and not tall.

[~*Lou*~]

Standard balcony on Coral - by day and by night. Lower two beds must be twin and not queen, due to ladder. You could walk round the rollaway to get to balcony but not much space. 

[cr8tiv1]

@skynightI think Princess needs to hire you to write their brochure.  Fabulous description of staterooms. 

 

Way to Go!

[latebuyer]

Thanks. Thats good to know you can get a rollaway for a balcony room. Mini suites are quite expensive.

[latebuyer]

I actually read this when i did-a mock booking for a balcony.

 

Note: For 3rd or 4th Guest, 1 rollaway bed is permanently placed in your cabin.

 

This is good!