Picture of the Royal Balconies

[Mulege]

The size of the balconies on the Royal is stunning. It simply boggles the mind to think that something that size is considered an extravagance worthy of paying who knows how much more than the next lower class of cabin.

 

I can't even imagine thinking of doing an UBD or a Balcony Breakfast out there.

 

 

The UBD on Royal is probably served to one guest at a time while the other guest waits for their turn inside!

Edited June 23, 2013 by Mulege

[Mulege]

I looked at all the photos and honestly can't see whay there are any complaines about the Royal. She certainly has the wow factor! I'm impressed :) The balcony is fine for a private glass of wine at sunset.

I hope we get a chance to cruise on her one day.

 

Your correct, there is only enough room for one glass of wine, LOL.

[Mulege]

OMG that PH balcony is unbelievable. I am NOT used to spending that kind of money for that type of experience.

 

Where are they going to put the jaccuzi?

[guidance lady]

Don't give up on the entire cruise line. There are plenty of Grand-class ships to choose from that have gigantic balconies.

 

Not the entire line but I spend a lot of time choosing my balcony room. The Regal is due out next summer and she is the twin. These are a disappointment for us. This is why I won't go on the NCL Breakaway, same balconies, or actually what they call Julliettes on river cruises.

 

That chair looks like something in an airplane. Very narrow.

Other than their profit margin did they give their clients any thought when they designed these balconies? Also the one item everyone grouses about on Princess are the shower curtains, couldn't they have put in glass doors like Celebrity does in their showers? :eek:

[Katie333]

Count me in with the folks who love and use their balcony regularly. These tiny balconies are a huge disappointment for us. The Royal looks great as a ship, but I think I'd only consider sailing her in an aft Baja or Dolphin cabin.

 

CC is a great place to find out about the best cabins, can you imagine how quickly those afts will go? There are very few of them to start with, reminds me of the Emerald minis.

[aclay]

I think I would be a bit upset if I didn't know the size of the balcony before I booked.

 

we are in this predicament. We are booked in a MF mini suite M207 and assumed that the balcony would be bigger than a deluxe balcony, but from everything I read here and see on the deck plans this seems to not be the case. Our TA called Princess to check and was told that our MF balcony is bigger than Deluxe balcony but I'm not at all convinced.

Can anyone confirm this?

Cheers

Alex

[Cruise Junky]

we are in this predicament. We are booked in a MF mini suite M207 and assumed that the balcony would be bigger than a deluxe balcony, but from everything I read here and see on the deck plans this seems to not be the case. Our TA called Princess to check and was told that our MF balcony is bigger than Deluxe balcony but I'm not at all convinced.

Can anyone confirm this?

Cheers

Alex

 

These pictures are from the USA today link earlier in this tread...or google USA today Royal Princess pictures. I thought that first picture was a mini suite. So if that's bigger than deluxe balconies and regular balconys...holy **** :eek:

 

Edit...just checked, that is a mini suite balcony

Edited June 23, 2013 by Cruise Junky

[Love.II.Cruise]

I think I would be a bit upset if I didn't know the size of the balcony before I booked.

 

Thanks for posting the pictures. We are shocked at the size of balconies. We would have been extremely upset had we booked that and not known about the size of the balconies. This is one class of ship we won't be sailing on.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I'm curious to see what effect the balcony size will have on cabin pricing in the long run (meaning after the first couple of years). Of course, it's compounded by there not being any OV cabins either. Will we see balcony prices starting $50pp above inside prices, more in line with OV prices on the other ships? Will inside prices go up, due to more demand from people who formerly booked OVs or balconies? Or will people truly choose not to sail on this ship?

 

Yes, the balconies are small, but that's not what's most troubling. What bothers me most is that if you look at a diagram of a Royal Princess balcony cabin on Princess' website, they show the chairs and table arranged in such a way that it is physically impossible to do, implying there is more space than there really is. This seems fairly deceptive to me. Most people don't have access to or the ability to see balcony sizes other than relative to each other. Why purposely imply they're larger than they are other than to misinform?

[Cruise Junky]

I'm curious to see what effect the balcony size will have on cabin pricing in the long run (meaning after the first couple of years). Of course, it's compounded by there not being any OV cabins either. Will we see balcony prices starting $50pp above inside prices, more in line with OV prices on the other ships? Will inside prices go up, due to more demand from people who formerly booked OVs or balconies? Or will people truly choose not to sail on this ship?

 

Yes, the balconies are small, but that's not what's most troubling. What bothers me most is that if you look at a diagram of a Royal Princess balcony cabin on Princess' website, they show the chairs and table arranged in such a way that it is physically impossible to do, implying there is more space than there really is. This seems fairly deceptive to me. Most people don't have access to or the ability to see balcony sizes other than relative to each other. Why purposely imply they're larger than they are other than to misinform?

 

I agree, the size is missing from all deck plans, even when making a fake booking for the regular balconies. The balcony cabin diagrams clearly show a larger balcony for Deluxe Balconies, they're not. As you mentioned, furniture arranged in an impossible way, suite diagrams show a massive deck when infact 90% of suites have a very narrow balcony. Very, very deceptive of Princess and very disappointing for those of us who would like to remain loyal. They now have similar balconies to NCL Breakaway...really, NCL?? that's what they've dropped to? Sad.

[Lynda90]

The balcony size is not a deal breaker for me, but I am very glad I will be prepared for the small size. On the other ships I have been on, we have booked a balcony on Caribe deck which is huge. We are also on the Caribe on the Royal; what a major difference. We will still enjoy sitting out on the balcony, just a bit cramped. We thought about bringing pillows from bed out there to make chairs more comfy which we've done before. Also will probably put a pillow on table so we can stretch out a bit. Where there's a will, there's a way; one can only hope! :p

[umbertsmum]

The UBD on Royal is probably served to one guest at a time while the other guest waits for their turn inside!

Hi,

We had UBD in Gibraltar on the maiden voyage (just got back today).We had a regular balcony cabin.

There was enough room, they brought a dining table and it was a lovely experience in the glorious evening sunshine.

You only need enough room for two and an ibe bucket for the champagne and there was ample.

The waiter was able to serve the meal without leaning over us and also could stand and chat on the balcony during the meal.

Yes, I agree it was slightly more snug than in a mini or a Caribe grand balcony but it was still great.

[traveling1969]

I'm curious to see what effect the balcony size will have on cabin pricing in the long run (meaning after the first couple of years). Of course, it's compounded by there not being any OV cabins either. Will we see balcony prices starting $50pp above inside prices, more in line with OV prices on the other ships? Will inside prices go up, due to more demand from people who formerly booked OVs or balconies? Or will people truly choose not to sail on this ship?

 

Yes, the balconies are small, but that's not what's most troubling. What bothers me most is that if you look at a diagram of a Royal Princess balcony cabin on Princess' website, they show the chairs and table arranged in such a way that it is physically impossible to do, implying there is more space than there really is. This seems fairly deceptive to me. Most people don't have access to or the ability to see balcony sizes other than relative to each other. Why purposely imply they're larger than they are other than to misinform?

The diagram for the Deluxe balconies is the most deceptive IMO. It shows the balcony as being half the size of the stateroom living area.:eek::eek::eek:

[CruisinChris]

The diagram for the Deluxe balconies is the most deceptive IMO. It shows the balcony as being half the size of the stateroom living area.:eek::eek::eek:

 

I was just looking at these again and couldn't agree more. I think the actual deck plan sets a reasonable expectation of size: they balconies on the sides are clearly all the same depth except for those with the arc under the sea walk. The proportion to the interior space also seems to match the photos we're seeing. The individual diagrams of the staterooms are blatantly misleading and not to scale. I think Princess really needs to look at those again pronto and have them edited to be closer to scale. They absolutely set a false expectation of space and how the furniture can be arranged.

 

Glad to see the previous post about the lovely UBD in Gibraltor. We are looking forward to doing the UBD at Christmastime.

[PescadoAmarillo]

The balcony size is not a deal breaker for me, but I am very glad I will be prepared for the small size.

(I added the underline)

And this is why it's so, so important to have what people call "negative" threads to have these discussions. I can see where the most disappointed people might be those who only listened to the positives or didn't research at all. Good grief...booking a Caribe Deck Royal balcony cabin and expecting a Caribe Deck Star balcony...talk about setting yourself up for a huge let down.

[lovetocruise2020]

Not the entire line but I spend a lot of time choosing my balcony room. The Regal is due out next summer and she is the twin. These are a disappointment for us. This is why I won't go on the NCL Breakaway, same balconies, or actually what they call Julliettes on river cruises.

 

That chair looks like something in an airplane. Very narrow.

Other than their profit margin did they give their clients any thought when they designed these balconies? Also the one item everyone grouses about on Princess are the shower curtains, couldn't they have put in glass doors like Celebrity does in their showers? :eek:

Balconettes*

 

PS. My booty/hips are too wide to fit in that narrow chair :(

Edited June 23, 2013 by surfergirle

[lovetocruise2020]

Where are they going to put the jaccuzi?

 

In HAL's PH on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

*Sorry, had to say it!

 

[lfk60]

In HAL's PH on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

*Sorry, had to say it!

 

 

Wow, that's sweet! But the $10k price tag for 7 days is out of my budget :(

[monakayk]

The new rock-hard chairs on the balconies on my last few cruises have been so uncomfortable, unrelaxing and for me, so unusable that I decided a few months ago to not book balcony cabins in the future. Unless I get an upgrade or astonishing deal, I think my last balcony cabin will be on the Royal in October. I just can't justify the cost for something I can't use or enjoy. On the Diamond last month, the only thing I used the balcony for was to check the outside temp and for one sailaway.

 

Pam,

 

ITA...with you about those chairs on the balconies. I was hoping by now the cheapo ones would've worn out and PCL wouldv'e replaced them with chairs more like the old-comfy ones they used to have. NOT! :mad:Guess we are stuck with those cheapo-hard chairs forever.

 

I told DH that he better enjoy the balcony this year on our Emerald cruise, cause if PCL keeps going up in prices, less perks for past pax, lower quality of food, etc...we might be going to other cruise lines and get a larger balcony (both cabin and balcony sq. ft.) for less. And certainly would book OVs again instead of Balconies with PCL.

 

Those photos of the Royal balconies are just a crime! Who the heck designed or gave the OK for those tiny things to be built should be fired! :mad:

Edited June 23, 2013 by monakayk

[lovetocruise2020]

Wow, that's sweet! But the $10k price tag for 7 days is out of my budget :(

 

The pricing, is not very far off from the owners suites on Royal, not too far off for what you get....

 

Depends on the date you look at. It goes as low as $3499 on Eurodam/N.A. I have seen it average at $3899 over the last 4 years.

Owners Suite on the Royal aprox $3499...

 

Now that is just on a 7 day, Caribbean.

Edited June 23, 2013 by surfergirle

[PescadoAmarillo]

I told DH that he better enjoy the balcony this year on our Emerald cruise

YAY! It will be so great to see you again!

[BaldHeadIslandlady]

In HAL's PH on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

*Sorry, had to say it!

 

 

Now that is NICE! Unfortunately, I'll only see it in pictures, Im sure.

My concern is that Princess and now NCL Breakaway are all going to these "balconettes". As they retire the older ships is this what we have to look forward to? I agree that I will probably forego balconies, rather than pay ridiculous prices for these. I have never considered HAL, but i will be giving it a look. Princess is turning off a lot of loyal cruisers with these "julliettes". I have a cruise on the Coral in March, I hear it is a very nice smaller ship. Looking forward to it. I will not be booking Royal Princess.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

princess's new byline

 

Escape completely,

just not to your balcony:D

 

Sorry... the devil made me do it!!!!

[loliola]

Now that is NICE! Unfortunately, I'll only see it in pictures, Im sure.

My concern is that Princess and now NCL Breakaway are all going to these "balconettes". As they retire the older ships is this what we have to look forward to? I agree that I will probably forego balconies, rather than pay ridiculous prices for these. I have never considered HAL, but i will be giving it a look. Princess is turning off a lot of loyal cruisers with these "julliettes". I have a cruise on the Coral in March, I hear it is a very nice smaller ship. Looking forward to it. I will not be booking Royal Princess.

 

Having been on the Island (sister ship to Coral) I feel pretty sure you will love it...

[lovetocruise2020]

Now that is NICE! Unfortunately, I'll only see it in pictures, Im sure.

My concern is that Princess and now NCL Breakaway are all going to these "balconettes". As they retire the older ships is this what we have to look forward to? I agree that I will probably forego balconies, rather than pay ridiculous prices for these. I have never considered HAL, but i will be giving it a look. Princess is turning off a lot of loyal cruisers with these "julliettes". I have a cruise on the Coral in March, I hear it is a very nice smaller ship. Looking forward to it. I will not be booking Royal Princess.

 

I am sure you will LOVE the Coral.

 

We never considered HAL until 5 years ago. We are pretty young for HAL, but happen to be a perfect fit for the newer ships, the NA and The Eurodam. The Cabanas are amazing and Tamarind the Pan-Asian restaurant is absolutely great.

 

Princess is great, but I really feel good about canceling our suite after seeing these photos.

 

If you head over to the HAL board we will share with you the best cabins. You will prob like the MDR menus for room service, and sofas and bathtubs in obstructed OV and above.

 

We are not loyal to any line, we pick our ships for the onboard amenities (paid and free) & cabin experience... Any line can be a good fit for us. It just all depends...