Balcony Question...

[heyheypaula]

:confused: My husband and I are relatively new to the world of cruising, as we have cruised only 5 times (cruised on Carnival, Royal Caribbea, Norwegian twice, and Celebrity). We have absolutely fallen in love with this form of travel!!!! On December 10, we are going on the Grand Princess. Our first time on Princess and our first time in a balcony. I am confused about the categories--BA, BB, BC, or BD. What is the difference? Thanks for your help!

[cactusrose]

The main differences is location and balcony size. The cabins are all the same size. My personal favorite are the balcony cabins on Caribe deck. The balonies are alarger and they are half covered and half open.

[heyheypaula]

Thanks for your reply...I appreciate it. I am unsure which deck we wil be on, as we are just scheduled to be in an undetermined balcony at this time.

[heyheypaula]

It looks like you guys have cruised several times on Princess ships. As I already said, this is our first Princess cruise. The Grand looks so beautiful. What are some things you like about Princess? We've enjoyed different things about each of the ships we have been on so far--can't say I have favored one cruiseline over the others yet...Actually, how can you not enjoy cruising???!!;)

[vicdreyer]

The main differences is location and balcony size. The cabins are all the same size. My personal favorite are the balcony cabins on Caribe deck. The balonies are alarger and they are half covered and half open.

 

Cactusrose, is this true of all Princess ships? We will be on the Caribe deck (C728) of the Sea Princess ..which is towards the back (aft of) the ship.

 

Thanks,

 

Vic

[tbag124]

This might be a stupid question, but when people say the Caribe deck balconies are 1/2 covered and 1/2 exposed, they mean each individual balcony is 1/2 covered and 1/2 exposed, right? Not that 1/2 of the DECK'S balconies are covered and 1/2 exposed, right? Thanks! :o

[cherylandtk]

tbag, LOL, good question, but yes, the individual balcony is 1/2 and 1/2. This is for the Caribe deck on Grand class ships.

[twocats]

I started to answer this as a yes then realized I am really not sure and can't delete this post completly. Sooo I can say that all those between the bump outs were half and half. Sorry but can anyone tell me how to delete a post completly?

[Druke I]

twocats

 

Delete function has never been activated. Asked Laura S about it recently, "perhaps some future date" is an approximation of the answer received.

[AmyinGA]

We've been on the Grand twice and we love that ship. It is big, but after a day we felt right at home.

 

One of the things that we like best about Princess is Anytime Dining. Each day our schedule is very different and I would go nuts tyring to do traditional dining. But I am glad that the option is there if I want to cruise that way. Princess gives us a good balance between a quiet relaxing cruise and a fast paced party cruise. I can have a little bit of each type of cruise every day if I like. It's a good balance for us--I prefer to spend my day in the sun reading a book and taking a mid-afternoon bingo break. My DH is more active and he's off playing pool olympics or basketball. I know that other lines offer the same thing, but Princess just has the right "feel" for us.

[tbag124]

tbag, LOL, good question, but yes, the individual balcony is 1/2 and 1/2. This is for the Caribe deck on Grand class ships.

 

Thanks, cherylandtk! I plan on booking a Grand class ship (eventually!! hopefully sooner rather then later!), and after doing a lot of research, I think I would love a 1/2 & 1/2 balcony! They sound great! Lay out and sun part of the day, stand back for some privacy!

 

I started to answer this as a yes then realized I am really not sure and can't delete this post completly. Sooo I can say that all those between the bump outs were half and half. Sorry but can anyone tell me how to delete a post completly?

 

twocats - do bumpouts refer to the dolphin and emerald decks that jut out and are completely exposed? Are these only on the fwd & aft of the ship?

[DannyMac]

HeyHeyPaula, My wife and I will be on the Grand 12-10-05. Book a (BB) this is the Caribe deck. The balconies are very large and half covered, you will not regret it. This will be our 2nd cruise on the Grand. We took the 3-5-05 and enjoyed it so much that we are going again. The only downside was we missed Grand Caymen due to high winds and rough seas.

[cactusrose]

Cactusrose, is this true of all Princess ships? We will be on the Caribe deck (C728) of the Sea Princess ..which is towards the back (aft of) the ship.

 

Thanks,

 

Vic

 

No it's not true of all the ships, just the grand class ships. The Sun class ships are very different. They are a bit older, but still beautiful, and the balconies are cut out of the haul and a much smaller. I think the only difference on the Sun class is the balcony opening is a bit larger on Caribe. The cabins and balconies are all the same size as far as I know.

 

I love the grand class ships. I've only been on the Star (my personal favorite) and the Diamond, but they are all similar in layout and activities. I agree with AmyinGA, Princess has a good mix of relaxation and partying. What really sets one ship apart from the other is the staff. The Star was a happy ship (I hope she still is). I think that's probably a reflection of the captain and other officers.

[heyheypaula]

HeyHeyPaula, My wife and I will be on the Grand 12-10-05. Book a (BB) this is the Caribe deck. The balconies are very large and half covered, you will not regret it. This will be our 2nd cruise on the Grand. We took the 3-5-05 and enjoyed it so much that we are going again. The only downside was we missed Grand Caymen due to high winds and rough seas.

Thanks DannyMac...I am looking forward to being aboard this beautiful ship! We are leaving in a few weeks on another cruise on a ship that isn't at all beautiful, but we like the ports of call. As for the balcony, we have paid for one, but aren't yet sure where it is located. If you have any helpful info on the Grand, please pass it along! I look forward to "talking" more with you and others before our Dec 10th cruise!

[sueandkent]

Hey Cactus - haven't seen any of your posts since our Diamond cruise last year. Hope all is well with you.

We have graduated to booking a balcony for our upcoming Star cruise. We chose Aloha mid-ship. I hope we'll be happy with it.

Sue

[DannyMac]

HeyHeyPaula, Sorry about the lag time in posting but I have been closing out the school year and I am beat.

 

The Grand is really an nice ship, easy to get around, and the crew members are delightful. There is an adult pool and hot tubs on the stern of the ship and when the ship is in port, it is vacant.

 

The spa pool, hot tubs, and steam rooms are very nice area to relax in. No kids.

 

There are several lounges and bars with music and dancing. We really liked the "Wheelhouse" bar. Most of the cocktail lounges have some type of entertainment after hours (10:00pm) The "SkyWalkers" lounge has some great 50's-60's music.

 

They have a very nice (but small) putt-putt course on the upper decks.

 

Now the food, for the most part it was very good the only complaint was the first night out they served prime rib and the cut was very thin. If that is on the menu, order two pieces. We had a small problem with serving the wine, we take our own wine and our waiter served the "cab" first. No problem he just didn't see the bottle of Chardonay that his helper had opened and set out.

Do go to Sabatini's, make your reservations when you get on the ship on Sat. Plan on 2-3hrs of dining and do not snack before going. They serve you a portion of everything on the menu and then the entre. The deserts are out of this world.

My wife and I really enjoyed the afternoon tea, alright no jokes, a man going to tea!!! It was fun and we met some very nice people.

 

Embarkation, was a snap. If you are driving in, make reservations with ezcruise parking, $45.00 for the week. Debarkation was a different story. Galveston has a traffic problem at the terminal and will need to correct it. I know it is in the works but I have not been down to Galveston to see if things have changed. I know they are doing the best they can under present circumstances. Everyone just be patient and don't get in a hurry.

[DannyMac]

HeyHeyPaula, I forgot. Its way early but we can start a roll call.

[heyheypaula]

Thanks so much...Great info!!!!!!!! I agree about Galveston. We have always cruised out of Galveston or Houston. My DH doesn't like to fly. As for the roll call, I have never started one. Do you want to start one for this cruise??

[DannyMac]

Ok, I will start one on June 1. That's about 6 months before the cruise. The roll calls are fun and a very good way to exchange thoughts with each other. I still keep in contact with Mackie and Cindy who I met on the 3-5-05 cruise. Again, sorry about the lag time, we just got back from moving my son and his wife from College Station to Austin. She just graduated from Vet school and is starting an internship.

 

Will try to post every few days, I am out of school for the summer and will be away on some fishing trips to Galveston. If you have more questions about the Grand or the ports of call just ask and I will try to help out.