Is upgrading to the Reserve Collection Mini Suite worth the additional charges?

[cruise*enthusiast]

I was reading the description of the Reserve Collection Mini Suite and the benefits associated with it.  Has anyone chosen this and, if so, is it worth the additional cost to upgrade from a standard Mini Suite?

[Thrak]

Definitely worth it for some. Not even vaguely worth it for others. Totally up to the individual. Only you can decide if it's worth the extra cost for you. (It wouldn't be worth it for me but then I don't find a mini suite worth the extra cost either.)

[Cajuntraveler]

For us, upgrading to a Reserve Collection Mini suite is worth the extra costs.  We prefer mid ship cabins and enjoy the no hassle dining experience.  On our November cruise on the Regal we never had to wait for a table in the Reserve dining room.  We had the same table for 2 each day and the same excellent wait staff who quickly learned our preferences. We avoid the buffet, and prefer to the dining room whenever it is open.  For those people who prefer the buffet, the Reserve mini is probably not worth the extra expense. YMMV

Edited December 26, 2023 by Cajuntraveler

[voljeep]

the shower/tub combo in a 'mini' is a deal breaker for us ... even before ...

[CalTexCruiser]

It depends how much you value the Reserve Dining Room, which is a separate section of the MDR.  

 

We value it at about $ 10 per person per day over a regular mini-suite

[cruise*enthusiast]

6 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

It depends how much you value the Reserve Dining Room, which is a separate section of the MDR.  

 

We value it at about $ 10 per person per day over a regular mini-suite

My DH hates the buffet, so this sounds like a great option for us.

[cruise_critical]

We are on one right now and for us it was defintely worth it for the nice mid-ship location and especially due to the Reserved Dining! The level of service is a step up, with faster food delivery (hence much shorter dining time is possible), daily special menu items, and anytime zero wait walk-in. For reserved dining benefit alone, all my future cruises will always be reserved class at a minimum now.

[cruisinsince75]

We have quite the dilemma.  We are booked in a mid ship accessible mini suite.  Reserve Collection was not available for our accessible stateroom.  Our friends are in a full suite and they obviously have RC privileges which include dining.  There doesn't seem to be a way to add RC to our booking.  It appears that you can only do RC in a handful of pre-selected staterooms that are not accessible.  We are already paying extra for our mid ship location.  Is there a way to pay extra for the RC dining privileges?  I can't find any options for it anywhere.  Thanks in advance.

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, cruisinsince75 said:

We have quite the dilemma.  We are booked in a mid ship accessible mini suite.  Reserve Collection was not available for our accessible stateroom.  Our friends are in a full suite and they obviously have RC privileges which include dining.  There doesn't seem to be a way to add RC to our booking.  It appears that you can only do RC in a handful of pre-selected staterooms that are not accessible.  We are already paying extra for our mid ship location.  Is there a way to pay extra for the RC dining privileges?  I can't find any options for it anywhere.  Thanks in advance.

The simple answer is no. You have to be booked in at least a Reserve Collection mini-suite in order to dine in the Reserve Dining Room.

[LACruiser88]

1 hour ago, cruise*enthusiast said:

I was reading the description of the Reserve Collection Mini Suite and the benefits associated with it.  Has anyone chosen this and, if so, is it worth the additional cost to upgrade from a standard Mini Suite?

Below is a link to a recent thread on this topic...

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, cruise_critical said:

We are on one right now and for us it was defintely worth it for the nice mid-ship location and especially due to the Reserved Dining! The level of service is a step up, with faster food delivery (hence much shorter dining time is possible), daily special menu items, and anytime zero wait walk-in. For reserved dining benefit alone, all my future cruises will always be reserved class at a minimum now.

We agree totally!! We won't book any cabin that does not include Reserve Dining. 

[cruise_critical]

15 minutes ago, cruisinsince75 said:

We have quite the dilemma.  We are booked in a mid ship accessible mini suite.  Reserve Collection was not available for our accessible stateroom.  Our friends are in a full suite and they obviously have RC privileges which include dining.  There doesn't seem to be a way to add RC to our booking.  It appears that you can only do RC in a handful of pre-selected staterooms that are not accessible.  We are already paying extra for our mid ship location.  Is there a way to pay extra for the RC dining privileges?  I can't find any options for it anywhere.  Thanks in advance.

 

Afaik, reserved class mini suites seem to be restricted to the mid-ship mini suites on Baja Deck 11. Don't think you can just pay more for it as I can only assume the number of pax is purposefully limited to keep the reserved dining (no wait walk-in) possible as promoted. But I would give Princess or your CVP a call to confirm for certain.

[Ken the cruiser]

Deleted

Edited December 26, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[LeeW]

We've never had a problem getting the same table and wait staff each night in normal Anytime dining.  Tried what is now call Reserve once and the extra menu item never appealed to us and still got the same table each night.  At one point they used half the single Anytime dining room for fixed first seating and then also cut out another quarter for Club (Reserve) Class.  With only 1/4 of the dining room left for Anytime it was slower to get in.  Now it doesn't make much difference since Princess no longer has fixed seating dining.

[cruise*enthusiast]

Does the Reserved Dining Room have tables for 2?

[Ken the cruiser]

Yes. In addition, we've seen couples, including ourselves, also seated at a table initially set for 4 if there were no 2-tops available.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

15 hours ago, cruise_critical said:

 

Afaik, reserved class mini suites seem to be restricted to the mid-ship mini suites on Baja Deck 11. Don't think you can just pay more for it as I can only assume the number of pax is purposefully limited to keep the reserved dining (no wait walk-in) possible as promoted. But I would give Princess or your CVP a call to confirm for certain.

RC dining also includes all full suites. I know that is not what the OP asked but I thought I'd add it in the mix anyway as some considering a RC Mini-Suite might also want to consider a full suite especially if you can win a bid or get it at a good price.

[Bgwest]

17 hours ago, Cajuntraveler said:

For us, upgrading to a Reserve Collection Mini suite is worth the extra costs.  We prefer mid ship cabins and enjoy the no hassle dining experience.  On our November cruise on the Regal we never had to wait for a table in the Reserve dining room.  We had the same table for 2 each day and the same excellent wait staff who quickly learned our preferences. We avoid the buffet, and prefer to the dining room whenever it is open.  For those people who prefer the buffet, the Reserve mini is probably not worth the extra expense. YMMV

This 👆

[Bgwest]

16 hours ago, cruise_critical said:

We are on one right now and for us it was defintely worth it for the nice mid-ship location and especially due to the Reserved Dining! The level of service is a step up, with faster food delivery (hence much shorter dining time is possible), daily special menu items, and anytime zero wait walk-in. For reserved dining benefit alone, all my future cruises will always be reserved class at a minimum now.

This 👆

[Bgwest]

16 hours ago, cruisinsince75 said:

Is there a way to pay extra for the RC dining privileges?  

Absolutely and unequivocally NO. 

[asctony]

12 hours ago, LeeW said:

We've never had a problem getting the same table and wait staff each night in normal Anytime dining.  Tried what is now call Reserve once and the extra menu item never appealed to us and still got the same table each night.  At one point they used half the single Anytime dining room for fixed first seating and then also cut out another quarter for Club (Reserve) Class.  With only 1/4 of the dining room left for Anytime it was slower to get in.  Now it doesn't make much difference since Princess no longer has fixed seating dining.

Totally agree with you. We were on the Enchanted out of Barcelona and we had Anytime dining. We had the same table for 2 by the window with the same waiter for 22 days. On the other side of that MDR was the Reserve Dining. We walked over there one night to see what the difference was. We could see no difference. Maybe they had one extra item on the menu for that Reserve Dining. However, we never had a problem with any of the food selections without the one extra item. When we walked out of the Reserve Dining we did see a line of people waiting to get in. That was about 6 - 630PM. Even in the morning and lunch time, we saw people waiting to get into the Reserve Dining. JMHO! 

[azbirdmom]

16 hours ago, cruisinsince75 said:

We have quite the dilemma.  We are booked in a mid ship accessible mini suite.  Reserve Collection was not available for our accessible stateroom.  Our friends are in a full suite and they obviously have RC privileges which include dining.  There doesn't seem to be a way to add RC to our booking.  It appears that you can only do RC in a handful of pre-selected staterooms that are not accessible.  We are already paying extra for our mid ship location.  Is there a way to pay extra for the RC dining privileges?  I can't find any options for it anywhere.  Thanks in advance.

 

You can't pay for Reserve Collection dining.  However, when we have been in this situation, we have been advised by restaurant staff to simply check in with them with our non-Reserve Collection eligible guests and they have been able to seat us just outside the Reserve Collection section.   Depending on the ship / Restaurant Manager they may allow you to have the special dish of the day too but I wouldn't count on that.

 

We've been in the Club Class / Reserve Collection section on multiple cruises and until our most recent cruise earlier this month I would have been in the camp of saying it's well worth it.  But we had the worst service in the Reserve Collection dining room earlier this month.  Super slow service, cold and / or overcooked food.  This was on the Royal Princess, a ship we've had stellar service on previously.  We told the Suite Concierge about it and she got a reservation for us and 5 new friends in the Allegro dining room.  Huge difference, food and service were lots better.  Not sure why they left the Reserve Collection area short-staffed but it's not always the best option as we learned.

[asctony]

20 hours ago, cruise*enthusiast said:

I was reading the description of the Reserve Collection Mini Suite and the benefits associated with it.  Has anyone chosen this and, if so, is it worth the additional cost to upgrade from a standard Mini Suite?

What are the additional perks you would get?

What is the difference in the cost?

Would you use the additional perks?

Identify the above and then determine if it is worth the additional cost. Only you can determine that. 

[rbtan]

We have a Cabana Reserve on the Sun in 2025. We like the dining area & not really having to wait. Attention to detail is better as staff has less pax to serve. Food quality is nothing to write home about. Having a "special" meal being Spaghetti & Meatballs was not special. Hoping the new "Reserve" rest on the new Sun will offer much more. Obviously, cabin space is more & the bathrooms were always excellent. Nice not having a wet shower curtain stuck to your keister was much appreciated. As Thrack commented it's all subject to each pax desires. We like the space. Others may prefer a standard balcony & spend the extra saved money in the restaurants or perhaps on excursions.

[HleeCruiser]

We have booked the Reserve Class for our cruise in Feb on the Regal.   Is the special area of the dining room available for all meals that the MDR is open?  IE Breakfast and dinner on port days and BLD on sea days.   Thank you.