Upgrade to mini suite

[kasowell2]

Sailing on Discovery Sept. 10th. Have an opportunity to upgrade from a premium balcony to a mini suite for $120 total. Should I or would you? Would be giving up a larger balcony on the aft for a larger room in a mini suite. The other question is it's a guaranteed mini suite. Are the any really bad mini suites?

[Colorado Coasty]

In my opinion it is a no-brainer, larger room, a place to sit, and no small shower.

[skynight]

Believe you are speaking about a "premium" deluxe balcony category cabin with a 2 seat sofa. It is called "premium" because it is in a nice location at the stern of the ship. A mini suite would be a larger cabin with a three seat sofa, but most likely the balcony would be 9ft x 4ft. Exception would be if you are assigned one of the mid ship angled balconies.

You have to decide if a shower/tub combo and a larger cabin is better for you than the aft cabin that you had booked. The $120 really does not come into the decision as it is such a low number. What would you do if Princess offered at no additional charge, accept or reject? That's how I would decide.  

[kasowell2]

1 minute ago, skynight said:

 

You have to decide if a shower/tub combo and a larger cabin is better for you than the aft cabin that you had booked. 

 I know larger room or larger balcony? The mini suite balcony is fully covered but smaller. I’m just wanting someone to tell me what to do and then if I don’t like it I can blame it on the internet 😆 

[TAW1963]

1 minute ago, kasowell2 said:

 I know larger room or larger balcony? The mini suite balcony is fully covered but smaller. I’m just wanting someone to tell me what to do and then if I don’t like it I can blame it on the internet 😆 

If your premium deluxe balcony is aft-facing or stern-facing on either the Baja or Dolphin decks, I would stay put.  Those are our favorite balconies on the Royal class ships for we love the wake view and the balconies are very large and partially covered on those two decks.  On the other decks, the aft-facing premium deluxe balconies can be smaller and have no overhead covering. 

[roxievegas]

as said, do you want the balcony or a larger bathroom and cabin space.

 

I take the larger cabin/bathroom - $120.00 is a great price

[Lady Arwen]

We only book mini suites and we gladly pay a higher fare than for a standard or deluxe balcony.  For $120.00 I would run not walk!  Lucky you!

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

We only book mini suites and we gladly pay a higher fare than for a standard or deluxe balcony.  For $120.00 I would run not walk!  Lucky you!

Agreed!  We book mini-suites about 95% of the time.  The only way we book less is *maybe* when we are traveling with someone else and we can't get a cabin close by.  But the mini-suite is always our "go to" booking.

[kasowell2]

I was wrong. The mini suite is actually $120 less than what we paid

[voljeep]

nope - no shower/tub combo for us

[Lady Arwen]

54 minutes ago, kasowell2 said:

I was wrong. The mini suite is actually $120 less than what we paid

Wow!  You hit the jackpot!

[Lady Arwen]

39 minutes ago, voljeep said:

nope - no shower/tub combo for us

May I ask why?  I do have some mobility issues (knees are bad), but using the grab bar to enter and exit the tub, I don’t have a problem.  Not being disrespectful, just curious.  Thank you.

[Tedferg]

How do you get to $120 total? I get emails suggesting upgrades, but they all start at $XXX per person. One is $150 pp and when I look at upgrade options it says $150 is a weak upgrade bid.

[memoak]

14 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

May I ask why?  I do have some mobility issues (knees are bad), but using the grab bar to enter and exit the tub, I don’t have a problem.  Not being disrespectful, just curious.  Thank you.

The lip of the tub is very high and for someone with multiple artificial joints it is very difficult. When we bought our current condo we took out the tub and put in a shower with a very low lip

[voljeep]

31 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

May I ask why?  I do have some mobility issues (knees are bad), but using the grab bar to enter and exit the tub, I don’t have a problem.  Not being disrespectful, just curious.  Thank you.

mine are balance issues mostly - I can't do escalators or moving 'sidewalks' - have to walk and take elevators - no problem doing that.   Just trying to minimize any chance of falling in the bathroom/shower - stepping over and slipping - grab bars or not.  Not disrespectful at all.  I wish premium deluxe balconies would someday qualify for reserve class dining - but that is not really a major factor for us

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, voljeep said:

mine are balance issues mostly - I can't do escalators or moving 'sidewalks' - have to walk and take elevators - no problem doing that.   Just trying to minimize any chance of falling in the bathroom/shower - stepping over and slipping - grab bars or not.  Not disrespectful at all.  I wish premium deluxe balconies would someday qualify for reserve class dining - but that is not really a major factor for us

Regular mini suites don’t have reserve dining either

[kasowell2]

25 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

How do you get to $120 total? I get emails suggesting upgrades, but they all start at $XXX per person. One is $150 pp and when I look at upgrade options it says $150 is a weak upgrade bid.

I may be wrong but the current price of a mini suite is actually less than what I already paid. 

[voljeep]

3 minutes ago, memoak said:

Regular mini suites don’t have reserve dining either

well, a premium deluxe balcony is not a 'regular' balcony either ...

I'm fully aware of what currently qualifys for club class/reserved class dining - like full suites...

[Lady Arwen]

42 minutes ago, memoak said:

Regular mini suites don’t have reserve dining either

True, but for the difference in price we could dine in the specialty restaurants every night and still have money left over.  I know you really like Reserve Class and I respect that.  However, for many of us, the value just isn’t there.  Give me my standard mini on Lido and I’m happy.
 

No wait dinner seating in Reserve is basically the same as specialty restaurants, Better food, no same as MDR with one extra something.  Better service, no not better than the specialty restaurants.  Breakfast/lunch, usually we’re off the ship early morning and most of the day so of no real value.

 

I sincerely hope you enjoy your Reserve Class experience.  We’re all different and what’s important to some is not for others.  To each their own.

[Lady Arwen]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

mine are balance issues mostly - I can't do escalators or moving 'sidewalks' - have to walk and take elevators - no problem doing that.   Just trying to minimize any chance of falling in the bathroom/shower - stepping over and slipping - grab bars or not.  Not disrespectful at all.  I wish premium deluxe balconies would someday qualify for reserve class dining - but that is not really a major factor for us

Yes, I totally understand your issues.  As we age, falling is a major concern.  I’m having difficulty with stairs, but I get it done….oh, so slowly.  I know that Princess has upgraded their bathrooms, starting with the Sphere class, to glass shower stalls.  Major improvement!

[memoak]

9 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

True, but for the difference in price we could dine in the specialty restaurants every night and still have money left over.  I know you really like Reserve Class and I respect that.  However, for many of us, the value just isn’t there.  Give me my standard mini on Lido and I’m happy.
 

No wait dinner seating in Reserve is basically the same as specialty restaurants, Better food, no same as MDR with one extra something.  Better service, no not better than the specialty restaurants.  Breakfast/lunch, usually we’re off the ship early morning and most of the day so of no real value.

 

I sincerely hope you enjoy your Reserve Class experience.  We’re all different and what’s important to some is not for others.  To each their own.

When you are doing a 20-30 day cruise eating in one of a few specialty restaurants with the same menu every day just doesn’t give me the variety I would like. Just how I feel

[gah_cruise]

16 minutes ago, memoak said:

When you are doing a 20-30 day cruise eating in one of a few specialty restaurants with the same menu every day just doesn’t give me the variety I would like. Just how I feel

curious....how often are menus in the MDR rotated...7/14/30 days?

 

[Cruise Raider]

4 hours ago, TAW1963 said:

If your premium deluxe balcony is aft-facing or stern-facing on either the Baja or Dolphin decks, I would stay put.  Those are our favorite balconies on the Royal class ships for we love the wake view and the balconies are very large and partially covered on those two decks.  On the other decks, the aft-facing premium deluxe balconies can be smaller and have no overhead covering. 

I’m in full agreement with you.  We had B737 on the Majestic and were offered a mini suite.  Now way!  I think the premium deluxe balconies offer the exact sized cabin we live for 2 people.  Plus that aft facing view is phenomenal.  I’d turn it down every time for a mini suite with small balcony.  
 

[Lady Arwen]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

The lip of the tub is very high and for someone with multiple artificial joints it is very difficult. When we bought our current condo we took out the tub and put in a shower with a very low lip

Yes, that makes perfect sense.  Isn’t ageing fun?  I’m getting a new knee this fall and then another in the spring.  I think caring for and lifting multiple dogs on and off has impacted my mobility. I might have to give that up sooner than I’d like.

[TAW1963]

24 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

I’m in full agreement with you.  We had B737 on the Majestic and were offered a mini suite.  Now way!  I think the premium deluxe balconies offer the exact sized cabin we live for 2 people.  Plus that aft facing view is phenomenal.  I’d turn it down every time for a mini suite with small balcony.  

That is an awesome room!  We have D730 on the Sky this fall for a 15 day transatlantic. The mini suites were not much more but for us this cabin is perfect.  With the aft facing balconies there is minimal wind too, which can make the balcony much more comfortable when cruising at 20+ knots.