Thread: Balcony Cabin vs Mini-Suite?

Nope Never had a mini and don't need one. On Princess we always get an aft corner balcony and it is perfect for us.

Ok now I can compare! Well for this trip it the mini suite was perfect because my cabinmate & I have a totally different view of tv channels. she watches cartoons and I don't. but other than that it was nice. The only problem I had with it I came off the cruise with a few bruises to my shins (because of the High tub sides).

But I can now say just a Regular Balcony is Fine By Me. I don't really need a Mini Suite. But if the price is cheaper for the Mini than a reg Balc then I'll get the Mini (like it was for this last cruise).

When I looked at the deck plans and list of amenities, I thought minisuites have nothing that I would need if I was traveling solo. I never take baths or drink champagne. I plan to eat at the MDR even if I have to dress up. What could I possibly need that is only offered in suites and minisuites?

Then I looked at pictures and thought ugh, that looks TINY. Just a chair in the middle of the sitting area, not even on a wall, would be extremely annoying. I also know I will not sial solo on Princess, so a couch is needed because I will share the cabin with my mom (and maybe a sister if she wants to go). There is no way I can imagine sharing a balcony cazbin with them. So for space alone I decided a minisuite is required for two adults because pictures don't lie. Now I am wondering if my younger sister will want to come along. If she does, we need the third bed (sofa sleeper) that is not in a balcony cabin.

In a balcony cabin the 3rd bed comes down out of the ceiling just like in the inside and outside cabins. I've done 3 Adults in a Outside cabin. It was ok. I'm not in my cabin that much so space is not a factor to me. I'll even do a Inside just to get me on a cruise and when I'll cruise solo but regular balcony is just fine for me. early morning/before bed quiet time out on the balc ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

So far the difference between a mini and balcony cabin is no big deal do us. We're inside the cabin to sleep or nap or change our clothes. If husband decides he wants to rest and watch TV he prefers to lay on the bed to do that. I'm not a TV watcher so it might get turned on while getting dressed to watch "Love Boat" reruns or one of the ships shows, but I'm not sitting and watching TV.

When we do relax in our cabin we enjoy relaxing on our balcony and wouldn't sit inside the cabin anyways.

The tub would likely go unused even if we had one preferring showers anyways.

Now if we were able to take 30 night or longer cruises over the coarse of that amount of time on board we would be more likely to spend more time in our cabin than we normally do and I can imagine that the extra sitting area might actually get used, but until we're able to cruise for longer periods of time the addtional cost of a mini would be a waste of money for us.

Just fyi - there were NO balconies on the Love Boat - not even in the suites!

We love the mini suites and will get one if the pricing is not ridiculous. Being retired we can pick and choose those cruises where it's not much more to pick a suite over a balcony. Mini Suites have better bed...bigger closets,,,better choices when it comes to food...you can order off the MDR menu instead of the "Room Service" menu that is given to the other cabins. A bathtub to soak in is nice if you have literally walked your legs off in a port and can soak for an hour or two in your own tub instead of soaking in a jacuzzi where others tend to do weird stuff in there.

Originally Posted by Cigary

We love the mini suites and will get one if the pricing is not ridiculous. Being retired we can pick and choose those cruises where it's not much more to pick a suite over a balcony. Mini Suites have better bed...bigger closets,,,better choices when it comes to food...you can order off the MDR menu instead of the "Room Service" menu that is given to the other cabins. A bathtub to soak in is nice if you have literally walked your legs off in a port and can soak for an hour or two in your own tub instead of soaking in a jacuzzi where others tend to do weird stuff in there.

Eeeuuuww!!

Originally Posted by LAC2

Eeeuuuww!!

LOL,,,trust me I've seen more "stuff" going on in the pools and jacuzzis than you want to know about. I'm all for being romantic and amorous but keep it in your own cabin as I've seen others in the pools do some pretty "amorous" things when they thought nobody was watching....or when the Moms were playing with their kids and the diaper is full of...well..we know what lands in those and she wants to take off the childs pants right there on the edge of the pool with the diaper soaked and full of yesterdays baby food. After seeing this a couple of times I thought,,,forget it I will soak in my tub in the cabin or go straight to the Sanctuary/Spa and relax in there.

We were on exact sister ships in 2009 -- Emerald and Crown Princess. On Emerald we had a Minii-Suite and on Crown a Balcony Cabin.

The size of the bed and the bedding were completely the same in both! The roomy closet space was the same as well.

In the mini-suite the bathroom was larger and had a tub. There were two TVs and the balcony was larger. There was a couch rather than a chair.

The only thing we actually miss in a balcony cabin is the larger bathroom. For the two of us a balcony cabin is fine.

We book a mini-suite if we can find one in a LOCATION we like. If not, we book a balcony cabin. Over the years we have tended to "flip-flop" between the two. We'll give up the larger bathroom for location.