Diamond Princess Reserve Collection Mini suite versus Millennium Celebrity Sky Suite? (Asia cruise)

[zitsky]

I'm researching two week cruises in Asia, mostly Malaysia, Thailand etc.  Both Celebrity and Princess have something interesting.  I have cruised on NCL, Celebrity and Viking.

 

Is there anyone who has cruised in both cabins?  Am I correct that Princess Reserve Collection Mini suite allows access to the Club/Concierge lounge?  And is it 24/7?  Is the lounge a place where you could hang out all day and be comfortable?  Is there bar service?  Is there a private sun deck on Princess?

 

I'll look for cabin reviews but the only ones in this category for this sailing are near the elevators, midship on deck 9.  How well do the cabins keep out noise?

 

 

[jwattle]

The reserve Collection Mini Suites do NOT allow access to the Concierge Lounge, only the full suites.

The private sun deck will be available on the new Sun Princess.

Edited June 21, 2023 by jwattle

[zitsky]

1 minute ago, jwattle said:

The reserve Collection Mini Suites do NOT allow access to the Concierge Lounge, only the full suites.

The private sun deck will be available on the new Sun Princess.

Thanks for that.  Is there a nice lounge somewhere just to hang out?  A good reading spot?

[snoozecrooze]

35 minutes ago, zitsky said:

there a nice lounge somewhere just to hang out?  A good reading spot?

Skywalkers on deck 17. Aft of the ship on the outside in the "Oasis" on deck 16. Any other lounge in the public areas not used during the day in the middle decks. Lots of casual spaces in general. Deck plan for Diamond is here: https://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=DI

[waltd]

I don't think the Diamond Princess has a concierge lounge. Do they? Thought just the newer ships

[reedprincess]

52 minutes ago, waltd said:

I don't think the Diamond Princess has a concierge lounge. Do they? Thought just the newer ships

Correct. Concierge Lounge was introduced on Royal Princess and later ships..

No CL on Diamond, etc..

And, mini-suites do not have access on ships that do have a CL... whether Reserve or not.

Only suites (S category cabins).

[reedprincess]

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

I'm researching two week cruises in Asia, mostly Malaysia, Thailand etc.  Both Celebrity and Princess have something interesting.  I have cruised on NCL, Celebrity and Viking.

 

Is there anyone who has cruised in both cabins?  Am I correct that Princess Reserve Collection Mini suite allows access to the Club/Concierge lounge?  And is it 24/7?  Is the lounge a place where you could hang out all day and be comfortable?  Is there bar service?  Is there a private sun deck on Princess?

 

I'll look for cabin reviews but the only ones in this category for this sailing are near the elevators, midship on deck 9.  How well do the cabins keep out noise?

 

 

No, mini-suites, of any category, do not have a private lounge, concierge, etc in Princess. 

 

Princess suite perks are not comparable to Celebrity at all. And mini-suites are not eligible for suite perks on Princess- the name is a misnomer for sure. Mini-suites are just larger balcony cabins. The Reserve minis have a few extra perks - a section of the MDRs is set aside for Reserve dining, with an additional dish each night, different linens and flowers, no wait seating- but not at all comparable to Lumiere or Blu.  Currently , there are no private sun decks, no private restaurants, etc with suites on Princess.. The new Sun class of ships, with suite and reserve restaurants, sun deck areas, lounge, etc., will be more comparable to Retreat class on Celebrity.. 

 

Minis on Princess are spacious, well soundproofed and deck 9 balconies are fully uncovered on Grand class ships (im guessing you're looking at Diamond, given the itinerary - and your mention of deck 9 minis).

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We have cruise with both Celebrity (SS and AQ cabins) and Princess (VS and M1 cabins) quite a bit since cruising started back up, and it really isn't fair to compare a Celebrity SS with a Princess M1 mini-suite cabin. If I was to compare "suite" cabins, I would match a Celebrity Sky Suite with a Princess aft-facing (V6) Vista Suite, and a Celebrity AQ cabin with a Princess (M1) Reserve Collection mini-suite.

 

True, Celebrity offers Luminae, a butler, and other perks with their Sky Suite offerings while Princess offers Reserve Collection "anytime dining", breakfast in Sabatinis, free laundry, a mini-fridge setup, and other perks with their full suite offerings without also making you pay for a butler. 

 

But the Vista Suite on a Grand class ship, such as the Diamond Princess, is more like the size of a Celebrity Suite, and its huge aft-facing fully covered balcony is simply awesome! In addition, Celebrity "makes" the suite guest pay for their All-Included package, which works out to about $100 pp/day, as part of the cruise fare whereas Princess gives you the option to purchase theirs for $60 pp/day.

 

Just some things we consider when booking a suite with either cruise line (see signature for details).