jennaja

On 10/5/2022 at 10:24 AM, Sea Hag said:

C409 shows as a connecting cabin on Cruise Deckplans. Are you aware of that?

Yes.  I would have preferred that it wasn't a connecting cabin, but do like the location and angled balcony better than the original cabin.

11 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

well, it's not what Princess says on their bid page. It specifically says that we cannot change cabins after an upgrade has been assigned to us.

I booked on the Princess website because it was on the weekend, and sent an email to the Princess Vacation Planner that had been sending me emails, asking if he is still our travel agent.  He said yes.  So when our bid was accepted and I found out the location wasn't the best, I asked if he could switch us.  Received an email less than 5 minutes later, confirming he had switched us to the requested cabin.

13 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

R407, for the most part, is a great mid-ship location.   

It is on a higher deck, so convenient to run up two decks to the Buffet and everything up on Lido.   But, maybe more motion.   Being mid-ship should be less motion than a high deck that is forward.  Did that once.

It has the small balcony, close to the extended mid-ship larger angled bump out balconies.  But doesn't have that advantage.  What it does have is a location just beneath the SeaWalk.  So, privacy could be an issue.  There are many videos of the sea walk and how upper mid-ship balconies are visible to people who are on the sea walk.  There are also lights there that will shine some light on that balcony/stateroom as well.

 

That location, just the second deck down from SeaWalk might be the only drawback.

There should be no noise, as nothing but staterooms directly above and below.

 

NOTE:  I am thinking that once you have your upgrade to the new category, MA, you can do an easy switch to other MA category mini-suite that might still be available.

 

I was able to switch to another MA - C409, which is an angled balcony a few floors lower.

22 minutes ago, Human Tripod said:

Depends how much you bid?

$90 PP.  I have since been able to change to C409, which should have less motion.  It's also an angled balcony.

28 minutes ago, John99 said:

Please check Royal Princess III Riviera Deck Plans (cruisedeckplans.com).

 

Chose Royal Princess deck plans.

Go to Rivera deck.

There is a YouTube video of cabin R427 very similar to R407.

R407 is just forward of the mid ship elevators.

Riviera deck is below the Marina deck and above Aloha deck. 

Noise should not be a problem.

 

Thanks for the link!

We bought a CAT DD Deluxe Balcony.  We bid on upgrades for a Premium Balcony which was declined, and a Mini-Suite, which was accepted.  We got a cat MA mini-suite for an additional $90 pp.

We only booked the cruise last week, and it sails in less than 2 weeks!

We're sailing on the Royal Princess in a few weeks.  I paid for a category DD Deluxe Balcony cabin, and received an offer to bid for an upgrade.  My bid was accepted, and we are now assigned an MA Mini Suite #R407.

Is this a good upgrade?  Quiet?  Above or below something noisy?  Would the balcony have a shaded area?

I would have preferred a middle deck, middle/aft.  Not sure what to make of this "win".

Thoughts?

On 8/28/2022 at 12:05 PM, JF - retired RRT said:

Find a TA that's been on at least one cruise. 🤣

That's harder than you might think at the moment!  I talked to a TA at the big box store today, and he said the current hold time to speak to a Princess rep was 2.5 - 3 hours.   I have a cabin on hold thru Princess, and wanted him to take the booking over so I can make payment and get the OB credit.  He said he would have to talk to Princess in person, and couldn't be on hold that long because they're too busy.

Still trying to find a good travel agent before the sale ends.

15 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

PS:  you need a better travel agent.  One that is familiar with Princess, or a Princess Vacation Planner.

Even those do not always help!!!!  But, I would want one that has least been on a Princess ship!

I usually use a big box store travel agent, but there was a long wait time.  I definitely don't want a TA that doesn't know any more than I do about the ships.

7 minutes ago, skynight said:

Search the deck plans. Most cabins have balconies that are small, 9ftx4ft and covered by the deck above. The cabins are straight up & down and not layered caked like Grand class ships. Angled balconies and some of the aft balconies have some portion uncovered. Shade will depend on the direction of the ship, morning sun, afternoon sun and so on. Very little shade from the deck above. Deluxe Balcony cabins, "D" categories, have a small 2 seat sofa. Mini suites., "M" categories, have a 3 seat sofa. Note mini suites do not receive the full suite benefits. 

There are some mini suites mid ship with larger angled balconies. The mini suite balconies on decks 15 & 14 mid ship starboard are in the view of people walking on the skywalk. The ones on the port side are also in view but not as much as the Seaview Bar blocks some of the inward views.

Many of the mid ship minis are club class which provides you with a special walk in dining area in the mid ship deck 6 DR. There are 4 extra large club class mini suites all the way forward on the upper decks. The only deluxe balcony cabins with larger balconies are some of the aft facing ones on certain decks. You can find all of this on the deck plans searching deck by deck. The deck plans will be your friend.

Thank you!  That's a lot more info than I got from the travel agent!

 

3 hours ago, cruiserdru said:

Be aware that Royal class ships have mostly very narrow balconies. Look up some pictures or videos to get an idea of how narrow they are. You can also see on the deck plans where there are slightly larger balconies.

 

Good luck!

Thank you!  How do you tell which ones are covered/partially covered, and which ones aren't?  

I talked to an online travel agent to see if she could clarify for me -- she says she's been selling cruises for 6 years, but has never been on a ship and has never left New Jersey!

Are the aft balconies covered/partially covered, or completely open to the air?  I didn't see any aft balconies available, unless they fall under the Premium Balcony Cabin guarantee.

Hi,

I'd like some cabin recommendations on the Royal Princess sailing r/t from San Francisco - Santa Barbara, San Pedro, San Diego, Ensenada.

We'd like either an unobstructed balcony or unobstructed mini-suite with a couch in the seating area, and a private shaded balcony.   We use our balcony a lot.  What cabin categories and floors would best meet our needs?  We don't mind walking, but don't want other cabins or the sky walk people being able to look at our balcony.  We would like an overhang so that we have shade most of the day, and enough balcony space to be able to sit on the balcony for extended periods.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.  I have looked at the deck plans, but don't really know what all the stuff is around the ship.

Seaoma,

There is a Coronavirus tracker here:  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/coronavirus?ocid=spartanntp

Click on US - then your state - then scroll down to see the number of cases by county.  I don't know how often it updates, but it's at least once per day.  

We used the Unlimited Laundry package on our 14 day sailing on the Amsterdam this month, and it was totally worth it to us.  The turn-around time was never more than 24 hours, and sometimes it came back the same day.  What a relief to not have mountains of laundry to do when we got home.

The laundry does a great job, and your clothes come back neatly pressed and wrapped in tissue paper or on hangers. We asked for some items to be cleaned in cold water with cool dry.  

2 hours ago, wwcruisers said:

As a long-time RC/X cruiser, my question is: How well does HAL enforce the no-balcony/cabin-smoking policy? I ask this because X has always done a very good job of enforcing their no-smoking policies. Of course, there is always that one person who thinks that the rules don't apply to them. But one phone call to Guest Relations is all it's ever taken to resolve that occasional problem. However, we recently returned to RC -- who banned balcony smoking even before HAL. I was VERY disappointed that people in the big suite directly below our balcony, continued to flaunt the policy, despite our repeated phone calls to the GR desk.

 

We are considering HAL -- mainly due to RC/X's continually shrinking presence, here on the West Coast. And, while I can easily avoid the casino, as well as any outdoor designated smoking areas -- being 'smoked off' my balcony is a deal-breaker, for me!

They don't enforce the no-smoking policy effectively, unless the cabins haven't been updated since the no-smoking ban went into affect.  

  We were on the 6/3/19 sailing of the Amsterdam, just after the word cruise ended.  Our cabin reeked of stale cigarette smoke.  I mentioned the issue to Guest Relations, and they had the carpet shampooed and spritzed an air freshener in the room.  Neither made any difference to the smoke odor, and the room spray had an unpleasant odor also.    The cabin smelled like the casino.  It needs to be gutted and refurnished.

I know that ship doesn't have as many dining options as some of the newer ships.  What are our options for embarkation lunch, and what would be your choice?  Any special "not to be missed" menu items we should watch for?

Thanks in advance!

On ‎5‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 10:49 AM, Eaglecw said:

Go to the excursion desk on the first sea day and buy the bus transfer before hand to beat the big rush. I think it was $8 or $10 to ride the bus all day. It goes to the large parking lot at the base of the Mt. Douglas Tram. It's kind of funny to watch the cheapsters walk from the ship to town and back, it's a long walk.

We always walk, unless it's raining heavily.  You see more when you walk, and we enjoy the exercise.  For the mobility impaired, I agree  that the shuttle would be the best option.

I agree with donaldsc and luvteaching.  On a sunny day, Sitka is amazingly beautiful.  They have a raptor center that may be of interest to your teens.

2 hours ago, dchip said:

We share our anniversary with our sons and daughters in love. Flowers from Pikes Market. We brought them on the ship. 

 

Cheers, Denise 

 

 

Those flowers are gorgeous!

On ‎5‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 11:06 AM, Loreto said:

We booked a 14 day Alaska cruise last June on a Flash Sale about 6 weeks before sailing, paid in full .  When the price dropped I contacted my TA and HAL offered us a stateroom upgrade or a future cruise credit but no to the price drop.  The room we booked was the one we wanted, so we took the future cruise credit.  A future booking had to be made within a year of the date we received it.

 

I did use the credit to book another Alaska cruise.  All you can do is ask and see what HAL might do for you!

Karen

 

 

Everything on our sailing was already sold out except inside and outside guarantee cabins, so unfortunately an upgrade wasn't an option.

15 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

The ship will provide one.

Excellent!

2 minutes ago, Sir PMP said:

yes

Do you think the ship will provide a vase, or would I need to buy one?

Our cruise originates in Seattle, and I'd like to buy a bunch of flowers at Pike's Market for our cabin.  Will HAL allow us to bring fresh flowers on board when we embark?  If it matters, the ship is the Amsterdam.

Thanks!

This won't be our first HAL sailing, but I don't recall if HAL allows you access to your cabin as soon as you board, or if there's a delay?