Island Princess - Best Deck???

[tbenson81]

We definitely want a balcony on this ship and I guess the choices are between a mini-suite and a double with a balcony. This is our honeymoon so would like it to be as nice as possbile with not a lot of noise. Does anyone have any suggestions. The Double with balcony looks good for us as we dont need 2 tv's etc. Our biggest concern is what deck is the best and does it matter what side we are facing and if we should be towards the front, back or middle of the ship. Thanks for all your help! Everyone is very insightful on this board.

[LARGIN]

balconies on the Caribe deck are the largest and are 9' x 9', half covered.

[ahracer]

I like the Caribe deck balconies on the bump outs. For our next cruise on the Island we have a balcony on Emerald which is bigger than Caribe and totally covered.

 

We were on the Island for our wedding/honeymoon and picked a balcony over a mini and didn't regret it.

 

Scott

[LARGIN]

Scott. What balconies on the Emerald are larger than the 9x9's on the Caribe??

[tbenson81]

Which is the most reasonably priced?

 

What is a bump out?

[ahracer]

The aft BE's. Probably not by much though.

 

Scott

[tbenson81]

So is the consensus to go with the Emerald deck because its fully covered? I really dont care about the size of the deck, more so just the privacy and the fully covered one would be the most private correct?

[ahracer]

If privacy and being fully covered are important I would suggest the Cat. BE's on the Emerald deck aft. The Caribe balconies are nice but not quite as private.

 

Scott

[Mbouck1]

We were on the caribe deck room 404 2 weeks ago and loved the deck. It was part covered and part uncovered which was great. There was plenty of room for 3 chairs and a good size take. We have been on balconies on all our cruises and I think this was the best.

[cruisingfreak]

I like the Caribe Deck mid ship cabins. Larger balconies, which are half covered.

 

 

 

Minette

[greatuncle]

Caribe without any doubt. You have the best of both worlds. You can sit on your balcony at night and look out at the stars and if you are on the balcony in the daytime you can have both sun and shade. Having had a fully covered balcony on the Ocean Princess, there is no comparison in my opinion but then everyone has different views based on their personal needs. On our last cruise (and our next one) we had a totally uncovered balcony and thoroughly enjoyed it. Never once felt exposed but loved seeing the sky at night with a bottle of lightly chilled Chablis on the table - what a wonderful life!!

 

Good luck to you both - whatever you decide will be the right decision.

 

Peter

[tbenson81]

" If privacy and being fully covered are important I would suggest the Cat. "

 

What is the Cat? Id didnt see any deck called that ???

[ahracer]

" If privacy and being fully covered are important I would suggest the Cat. "

 

What is the Cat? Id didnt see any deck called that ???

 

Cat BE, Emerald deck. Cabins are E624-E737.

 

Scott

[tbenson81]

thanks a lot Scott - I appreciate yours and everyone elses input

[ahracer]

Glad to help. Really you can't go wrong with either Caribe or Emerald and The Island is a great ship overall.

 

Scott

[tbenson81]

So either get a BE which is fully covered or a partail covered one on the Caribe? Is that category BA?

 

I am going to go to the travel agent today and I think I have this straight. Either a BA or BE on the starboard side (someone said the views of Hawaii are better on this side) and towards the middle to back of the ship? Does this sound right? Thanks again

[greatuncle]

Side depends on which way round the itinerary is. Check the itinerary for your date on the Princess website. If you are going to Hilo first then starboard is the choice. If you want BA on Caribe go for middle of ship - less movement if seas happen to be choppy.

 

Peter

[Mbouck1]

Yes CAT BA. also you might want to get the port side. This gives you the advantage of all the ports you will go to. We also had mid ship room 404 and it was very close to everthing above you and below.

[tbenson81]

This site is unbelievable. You guys have been great and have answered all my questions within seconds it seems like. Hilo - is the first stop.. Thanks

[ahracer]

We had a Cat. BD on Caribe that we really liked. C637 to be exact.

 

Scott

[greatuncle]

By the way, the reason I said starboard on my earlier message was because you will get the view of the lava flows into the sea at about 10pm after you leave Hilo, otherwise apparently port is better for views coming into port - so you can take your pick!

 

Peter

[karpems]

How the cabins on the dolphin deck? We are book D310 for Alaska southbound this summer. Any Comments?

[dixieva]

Scott-I love it when you talk about how much you liked C637 on the Caribe deck! That is the exact cabin we have when we leave on the Island on 4/19!!

This is our first cruise with Princess.

 

Really looking forward to the cruise and to this cabin after hearing you talk about it!

 

Thanks!!

[ahracer]

Scott-I love it when you talk about how much you liked C637 on the Caribe deck! That is the exact cabin we have when we leave on the Island on 4/19!!

This is our first cruise with Princess.

 

Really looking forward to the cruise and to this cabin after hearing you talk about it!

 

Thanks!!

 

 

Can I go with you??? We will be on her the week after you get back for her first Alaska sailing. We booked last minute and C637 was already taken :(

 

I've got some pictures if you are interested I could email them.

 

Have a great cruise!!

 

 

Scott

[dixieva]

Sure Scott, come on along! Always room for more in the cabin!

 

I would love to see the pictures of the room. Email me at cgregg2u@comcast.net and put "Cruise Critic" in the subject line so I will know to open it.

 

Thanks so much!