Crown: Caribe Balcony or mini suite

[aussieonwater]

Hello, I'm about to book our next cruise and I have read on this extremely helpful board that the Caribe deck balcony cabins have a GREAT balcony. With the option to book an AA mini-suite at $250 more pp are the balconies bigger again in the mini suite or just equivalent to those famous ones on Caribe ? Are there any other perks to booking the mini suite ? Having cruised 3 times before in inside cabins I don't want to obsess about the balcony but can't contain my excitement :D Any comments are appreciated. Thanks..

[Tannersgramp]

IMHO go for the mini. The bathroom alone is worth the price dif. More room to move about, 2 TVs, and the exposed balcony has never bothered us. If people from above want to watch me on the balcony, it wont be the highlight of their cruise:D

[A Sixth?]

We couldn't decide until we saw both when we cruised the Crown last January. We will be travelling with friends who are booked in an inside cabin so we choose the Carib deck balcony. It also didn't hurt that since we doing a B2B it was almost $ 1,000.00 less expensive.

 

The next cruise we'll be only a week and by ourselves (the Grand) so we booked the Mini, our first, to see if it's worth the extra $$$ for us.

[nycruise]

Just back from the Crown on the Caribe deck. The balcony is double size of the Baja, half covered and half uncovered; made the room seem bigger It's the same size as the balcony of the mini suite which is fully uncovered.

 

For two people, the Caribe balcony room had plenty of space, particularly the closet area. Just my opinon, but the extra $500 is better spent on tours, drinks, etc. If more than 2 people, the mini-suite would be a better choice.

[Casshew]

I would probably go for the mini, I like the bathtub and the couch/tv, the cabin is larger, more comfortable.

[Colo Cruiser]

The Mini balcony is only about 1 foot smaller (depth) then the Caribe balcony.

 

I would take the Mini. :)

[Nana G]

We have had a mini once and the cabin size didn't seem to matter much. We always have the Caribe because of the balconies. 2 TV's? We could stay home for that. The bathroom was nicer but- could spend the money better on board. Tend to spend a great deal of time on balcony and not in room.

[TDW]

Sailed on the Star Princess last November. Loved our mini-suite, D-503. Having the sitting area with the couch was nice for relaxing in the room, as was the the full bathroom. Balcony is certainly large enough for two. We had breakfast on it every day. Being uncovered didn't bother us. Only time we saw many people looking down on us was going in and out of ports. We weren't doing anything they shouldn't see. We have the same mini-suite booked on the Crown for an April 28 cruise out of San Juan. Here is a good description of the mini-suite and it's amenities.

 

A mini-suite with balcony is substantially larger than a balcony stateroom. Accommodations include two twin beds that make up into a queen-size bed. A separate sitting area features a sofa bed and desk for lounging, entertaining or writing. Other amenities include a welcome glass of champagne, two televisions, a refrigerator and a walk-in closet. Your full bath includes a combined tub and massage shower head. Approximately 323 square feet, including balcony.

[Casshew]

2 TV's? We could stay home for that.

 

I didn't mean 2 tv's - I meant watching it from the couch instead of the bed, I prefer that. :)

[bubbadog]

id go for a mini in the aft if can grab one,has large balcony. plus large bath,plus more room to relax 2 tv's,heck ya i'd take it in a heartbeat:))):p

[buzzsmom]

If you have more than two ppl than the Mini suite makes more sense. My brother, wife and 2 teenagers really liked their Dolphin mini suite. With two teenagers, a Caribe deck cabin would have been very tight for them. It seemed like their balcony was smaller than ours. We were in Caribe C535. There was tons of room on the balcony and we enjoyed breakfast out there every morning with our two little boys. If it were just me and my husband, we'd save the $$ and take the Caribe deck - yup, the bathroom is small, but the gorgeous balcony was terrific. :)

 

Buzzsmom

[MaryPoppinz]

With the option to book an AA mini-suite at $250 more pp are the balconies bigger again in the mini suite or just equivalent to those famous ones on Caribe ?

 

They are the normal 5x9 balconies. To get those "famous ones" you will need to book a BA or BB balcony cabin.

[aussieonwater]

Thanks for all of your replies, very helpful... it's a tough choice but I'M GLAD I HAVE TO MAKE IT -LOL !!!! Enjoy cruising..

[sns1]

My husband and I have had 1 cruise with a regular balcony (Aloha), 2 cruises with mini suites (Dolphin) and our last cruise was on the Caribe deck. We booked our next cruise for February 2008 and we went with the Caribe deck again. We just LOVED that balcony. We loved the half covered, half open. My husband and I never minded the open balcony on the Dolphin deck and we had a mini booked for our last cruise and changed to the Caribe deck to save money. I'm glad we did. We did miss the larger bathroom in a mini a little bit, but the bigger balcony won out.