Balcony size on Royal Princess

[Woobstr112G]

Not if you look at the diagram on the Princess web site of a standard Royal balcony cabin

 

 

The rendering pictures on the website, in my opinion, are deceptive. Since I was personally on the standard balcony, I don't see how you could put both chairs side by side as depicted in the rendering.....

 

Bob

[Mom33]

Over the past 6 months, I would estimate about 75,000 people sailed on Royal Princess. Two hundred cruisers of that 75,000 came to Cruise Critic to write a review on the Member Review board. Other cruisers did "live" reviews on the Princess forum and others commented on those "lives" of their experiences. There were also extensive reviews on the forum.

 

In my opinion, the forum reviews were much more valuable for information because the readers could ask questions of the posters to help in making decisions. You can't do this on the Member Review site.

 

Some of the reviews on the Member Review board, had inaccuracies that should have been corrected. For example, a reviewer on the Members Review site claimed the ship was dangerous because there were no center stairs for evacuation in an emergency. That is not true, but can't be corrected on that site. When someone made the same statement on the forum, several cruisers could correct that individual. He still insisted he saw no stairs, so pictures of the muster on the center stairs were posted. There are other inaccuracies, but knowledgable readers will recognize the errors. However, the newbies will be misinformed. Newbies will get more accurate information from the forums.

 

There are those that are happy with the ship and had a great cruise, those who have read all that is said here and are still excited to sail the ship, those that saw the videos and pictures submitted by cruisers and decided to book the ship, those that had an unsatisfsctory cruise, those that won't sail the ship again and those that will never try the ship. These statements have been said many times about many ships because everyone has a different point of view.

[luv-my-kids]

Consider sailing Celebrity on their Solstice class ships.

 

 

We just booked the Celebrity Silhouette in a concierge class balcony cabin. We were also able to get a free drink package. The room is larger with a "couch area" and the balcony is a nice size. (for not much more than we were paying for the Royal princess standard balcony.)

 

Maybe our next cruise we will give Princess another try. We loved the Sapphire! But now that I think about it.......we had a large balcony that was 1/2 covered. Maybe that is what we really enjoyed.

[JimmyVWine]

Over the past 6 months, I would estimate about 75,000 people sailed on Royal Princess. Two hundred cruisers of that 75,000 came to Cruise Critic to write a review on the Member Review board. Other cruisers did "live" reviews on the Princess forum and others commented on those "lives" of their experiences. There were also extensive reviews on the forum.

 

In my opinion, the forum reviews were much more valuable for information because the readers could ask questions of the posters to help in making decisions. You can't do this on the Member Review site.

 

Some of the reviews on the Member Review board, had inaccuracies that should have been corrected. For example, a reviewer on the Members Review site claimed the ship was dangerous because there were no center stairs for evacuation in an emergency. That is not true, but can't be corrected on that site. When someone made the same statement on the forum, several cruisers could correct that individual. He still insisted he saw no stairs, so pictures of the muster on the center stairs were posted. There are other inaccuracies, but knowledgable readers will recognize the errors. However, the newbies will be misinformed. Newbies will get more accurate information from the forums.

 

There are those that are happy with the ship and had a great cruise, those who have read all that is said here and are still excited to sail the ship, those that saw the videos and pictures submitted by cruisers and decided to book the ship, those that had an unsatisfsctory cruise, those that won't sail the ship again and those that will never try the ship. These statements have been said many times about many ships because everyone has a different point of view.

 

All good points. But at some level, perception becomes reality and one would be hard-pressed to find a more polarizing ship than Royal based on reviews on CC and other cruise review sites. Even if there are only 200 reviews here, they are fervently split and I can't imagine that PCL is pleased by that. Polarizing opinions are fine if you are Jackson Pollock, Stanley Kubrik or Franz Kafka. When you are building a cruise ship, you are probably aiming for a bit more uniformity of opinion.

[pcsunlover]

Over the past 6 months, I would estimate about 75,000 people sailed on Royal Princess. Two hundred cruisers of that 75,000 came to Cruise Critic to write a review on the Member Review board. Other cruisers did "live" reviews on the Princess forum and others commented on those "lives" of their experiences. There were also extensive reviews on the forum.

 

In my opinion, the forum reviews were much more valuable for information because the readers could ask questions of the posters to help in making decisions. You can't do this on the Member Review site.

 

Some of the reviews on the Member Review board, had inaccuracies that should have been corrected. For example, a reviewer on the Members Review site claimed the ship was dangerous because there were no center stairs for evacuation in an emergency. That is not true, but can't be corrected on that site. When someone made the same statement on the forum, several cruisers could correct that individual. He still insisted he saw no stairs, so pictures of the muster on the center stairs were posted. There are other inaccuracies, but knowledgable readers will recognize the errors. However, the newbies will be misinformed. Newbies will get more accurate information from the forums.

 

There are those that are happy with the ship and had a great cruise, those who have read all that is said here and are still excited to sail the ship, those that saw the videos and pictures submitted by cruisers and decided to book the ship, those that had an unsatisfsctory cruise, those that won't sail the ship again and those that will never try the ship. These statements have been said many times about many ships because everyone has a different point of view.

 

I agree. I read a few reviews on the Member Review board that were inaccurate when it came to having a center staircase during an emergency. It's a shame that some people new to Princess could be making a decision whether or not to sail on the Royal after reading them.

 

Looks like you and I will be forming our own opinions as it looks like we will be on the same cruise in a few months. Fortunately the big issues for some cruisers (small balconies, no center staircase) are not a big deal to us. I am hopeful that this cruise will be as wonderful as our previous Princess cruises.

[Mom33]

I agree. I read a few reviews on the Member Review board that were inaccurate when it came to having a center staircase during an emergency. It's a shame that some people new to Princess could be making a decision whether or not to sail on the Royal after reading them.

 

Looks like you and I will be forming our own opinions as it looks like we will be on the same cruise in a few months. Fortunately the big issues for some cruisers (small balconies, no center staircase) are not a big deal to us. I am hopeful that this cruise will be as wonderful as our previous Princess cruises.

 

Yes, our turn on the Royal is coming soon :) We are looking forward to experiencing the ship and feel well prepared thanks to some amazing reviews, pictures and videos.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Steviewonder1]

I have not been on a Royal Deck, but have scanned the Deck Plans on the rear (aft) of the ship and there are several decks that have Owners Suites on the rear of the ship that are really large. We have had 3 Aft PH Suites on the Crown and it's Twin the Ruby and the balconies are large along with the suites. We hosted 35 folks in our PH Suite two years ago with no issues. Picture of the balcony is attached. That is 4 chairs around a table and two loungers and a ton of room around them.

Edited January 12, 2014 by Steviewonder1

[Cruise Junky]

I have not been on a Royal Deck, but have scanned the Deck Plans on the rear (aft) of the ship and there are several decks that have Owners Suites on the rear of the ship that are really large. We have had 3 Aft PH Suites on the Crown and it's Twin the Ruby and the balconies are large along with the suites. We hosted 35 folks in our PH Suite two years ago with no issues. Picture of the balcony is attached. That is 4 chairs around a table and two loungers and a ton of room around them.

 

They're unusable right now on Royal because of the soot problems

[Woobstr112G]

I have not been on a Royal Deck, but have scanned the Deck Plans on the rear (aft) of the ship and there are several decks that have Owners Suites on the rear of the ship that are really large. We have had 3 Aft PH Suites on the Crown and it's Twin the Ruby and the balconies are large along with the suites. We hosted 35 folks in our PH Suite two years ago with no issues. Picture of the balcony is attached. That is 4 chairs around a table and two loungers and a ton of room around them.

 

The OS balcony (Dolphin Deck) I booked was arguably the largest balcony I ever had. Soot however made it mostly unusable. The cabin of choice for our future Princess cruises will be the aft view Vistas......:):):)

 

Bob

[capriccio]

I have not been on a Royal Deck, but have scanned the Deck Plans on the rear (aft) of the ship and there are several decks that have Owners Suites on the rear of the ship that are really large. We have had 3 Aft PH Suites on the Crown and it's Twin the Ruby and the balconies are large along with the suites. We hosted 35 folks in our PH Suite two years ago with no issues. Picture of the balcony is attached. That is 4 chairs around a table and two loungers and a ton of room around them.

 

Owners Suites on the Royal aren't comparable to those on other Princess ships. We were in Owners Suite D727 on our December cruise.

 

What a great balcony but forget about entertaining on it due to the soot and exhaust issues! In addition it is too bad they put cheap, undersized furniture on it. No more big teak, cushioned loungers and dinner tables for 4. There were two loungers made of some type of unfinished wood where the metal pieces are already turning green with corrosion (and narrower than the traditional teak chaises), 2 small end tables, a small dining table and only dining chairs for 2. Lots of space to entertain but no where to sit.

 

You can't entertain more than 2 people (and that would be cramped) inside the suite either. There are two distinct rooms - bedroom and seating room - as in a hotel suite which is nice - especially if on different sleep schedules or TV viewing preference but the seating room is smaller than the seating space in any suite we've ever been in (think the size of a mini-suite). My husband's first question was where is the couch? -- there was only a love seat. As others have noted there is no longer a wet bar either. Entertaining inside the suite was out of the question with a loveseat, desk chair and small arm chair (a second desk chair is in the bedroom but there is no where to put it in the sitting area).

 

See a thread I started about Royal Owners Suites for more opinions: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1956349.

 

In my opinion Princess needs to rename and reprice the Royal Owners Suites.

[Woobstr112G]

Owners Suites on the Royal aren't comparable to those on other Princess ships. We were in Owners Suite D727 on our December cruise.

 

What a great balcony but forget about entertaining on it due to the soot and exhaust issues! In addition it is too bad they put cheap, undersized furniture on it. No more big teak, cushioned loungers and dinner tables for 4. There were two loungers made of some type of unfinished wood where the metal pieces are already turning green with corrosion (and narrower than the traditional teak chaises), 2 small end tables, a small dining table and only dining chairs for 2. Lots of space to entertain but no where to sit.

 

You can't entertain more than 2 people (and that would be cramped) inside the suite either. There are two distinct rooms - bedroom and seating room - as in a hotel suite which is nice - especially if on different sleep schedules or TV viewing preference but the seating room is smaller than the seating space in any suite we've ever been in (think the size of a mini-suite). My husband's first question was where is the couch? -- there was only a love seat. As others have noted there is no longer a wet bar either. Entertaining inside the suite was out of the question with a loveseat, desk chair and small arm chair (a second desk chair is in the bedroom but there is no where to put it in the sitting area).

 

See a thread I started about Royal Owners Suites for more opinions: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1956349.

 

In my opinion Princess needs to rename and reprice the Royal Owners Suites.

 

I wholeheartedly second the motion.....:):):)

 

Bob(RP D726)

[caribill]

We were in Owners Suite D727 on our December cruise.

 

There are two distinct rooms - bedroom and seating room - as in a hotel suite which is nice - especially if on different sleep schedules or TV viewing preference but the seating room is smaller than the seating space in any suite we've ever been in (think the size of a mini-suite).

 

One needs to look at the history of this and similar suites on the Royal.

 

Originally this corner suite had more space on the side of the ship and absolutely no view (no window, no door) to the rear of the ship. The balcony entrance was to the side of the ship.

 

To correct the lack of a rear view, the suite was redesigned:

 

o The part that had no rear view was kept.

 

o The part that had the entrance to the balcony on the side of the ship was converted to a deluxe balcony.

 

o A rear facing premium aft balcony became the second part of the Owner's suite.

 

So the owner's suite as it exists today is a combination of part of the original design and what used to be a premium aft balcony cabin.

 

There were many disappointed and unhappy people who had booked the 12 premium aft balcony cabins that no longer existed. They were upgraded to mini-suites on the side of the ship which is not the same view at all.

Edited January 12, 2014 by caribill

[Happy ks]

It's been interesting over the years how people on Cruise Critic have doomed whole cruise lines to failure because of new concepts. But…they are still in business contrary to the outcries.

 

Our first cruise was on Disney Magic, they were very late getting the build done and had a very bumpy start, we went on the third rev cruise. We loved it but read so many negatives that first year, you would have thought the company would sell the ship and cave in to failure as a cruise line.

 

We cruised NCL the first year they implemented auto gratuities and fee based restaurants. You could pretty much hear the screaming going on on CC about these things. People here were turning their backs on NCL and swearing they would remove the auto tips and never setting foot in a pay extra for a meal restaurant. Within a couple years…it all started happening on other lines and is now fairly normal and people are fine with it.

 

I'll bet the Royal and Regal will be just fine without the huge balconies of past, no promenade deck and lack of central staircase. We did enjoy the larger balconies on other Princess ships and I know we will notice the difference. But, I've cruised on Celebrity and RCI in cabins with these size balconies and we were fine. Just don't put me in an inside cabin!

 

I'll withhold any criticism or praise until I have actually cruised on this ship.

[Loreni]

From what I have seen and read, you will not be able to extend your legs and use the foot rest if your chair is facing the sea. You will certainly not be able to recline and put your legs up if your chair is facing the sea.

 

If you turn your chair 90 degrees, you can both recline and put your legs up, but your companion will not be able to do so. Maybe your companion can share your foot rest, but I am not sure if you will both be able to recline. I think one person can sit upright facing the sea, while the other turns his chair 90 degrees to recline and use the foot rest, but this may depend on how far you recline.

 

Also, I think someone reported that the Royal balconies are only 39 inches long, not 48. Princess should have this info, I believe they do publish it for their other ships.

 

Also, from what I have read, the special larger balconies either have potential soot problems, privacy problems or wind problems or they may be reassigned to others even if you mark them "no upgrade."

[Loreni]

But, I've cruised on Celebrity and RCI in cabins with these size balconies and we were fine. Just don't put me in an inside cabin!

 

I'll withhold any criticism or praise until I have actually cruised on this ship.

 

This is the first time I have heard that you cannot put your legs up while sitting and facing the sea on a Celebrity or RCI balcony. Please let me know which ones so I can avoid them.

[Donder1]

We are sailing on the Royal in Sept. We have an aft deluxe balcony and are concerned about the soot problem. I spoke with someone in Consumer Relations as did my travel agent. It was good to know that they are aware of the problem and are currently working on a fix. They spoke of trying a new fuel mix. That said, we haven't changed our cabin because 1. The balcony is bigger than most and 2. I am optimistic that the problem will be fixed by then.

 

I am an optimistic person. I guess.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Donder1

[Loreni]

The rendering pictures on the website, in my opinion, are deceptive. Since I was personally on the standard balcony, I don't see how you could put both chairs side by side as depicted in the rendering.....

 

Bob

 

That doesn't look like Pam's picture.

[petlover]

The balconies are "adequate," not large or luxuriously comfortable. Will you have room for a sailaway party for ten people? No. For two, it's fine. The angled ones under the SeaWalk and Seaview Bar are larger. Here's a photo of my Marina deck balcony.

[ATTACH]297892[/ATTACH]

 

Will the mini-suite balcony on the Golden (Emerald Deck aft) accommodate 4 chairs for 2 adults and 2 kids?

I can't imagine they would sell a cabin for 4 if the balcony won't accommodate 4 chairs? (albeit a bit cramped) ?

[chamima]

This is the first time I have heard that you cannot put your legs up while sitting and facing the sea on a Celebrity or RCI balcony. Please let me know which ones so I can avoid them.

 

Haven't been on RCI but the balconies on Celebrity are 6 feet deep and so there is plenty of room to put your feet up. The person who said the balconies on the Royal are the same depth is mistaken. They are reported to be between 3 and 4 feet deep. :(

 

 

 

Will the mini-suite balcony on the Golden (Emerald Deck aft) accommodate 4 chairs for 2 adults and 2 kids?

I can't imagine they would sell a cabin for 4 if the balcony won't accommodate 4 chairs? (albeit a bit cramped) ?

 

The Emerald Deck mini-suite balconies are also plenty big enough for 4 chairs.

They are about 5 feet deep.

[Northender]

We are sailing on the Royal in Sept. We have an aft deluxe balcony and are concerned about the soot problem. I spoke with someone in Consumer Relations as did my travel agent. It was good to know that they are aware of the problem and are currently working on a fix. They spoke of trying a new fuel mix. That said, we haven't changed our cabin because 1. The balcony is bigger than most and 2. I am optimistic that the problem will be fixed by then.

 

I am an optimistic person. I guess.

 

Hi Donder. We had a Deluxe Balcony Aft on the Royal for the Maiden TA. We were on Caribe deck and after some time moved to Dolphin forward. We could not use the balcony at all. Reason - soot. The first part of the cruise was port intensive so we waited until about Day 9 (sea day) and moved to Dolphin 144. Smaller room and very small balcony but no soot. They were aware of the problem back then and did try to "fix" it. IMHO, I don't think it will be "fixed" anytime soon.

 

Princess was very good about moving us and gave us back the difference between the two cabins. We did not have to do much except pack what was in drawers, etc. They did the rest with no problem. But, we were very disappointed, to say the least, with Princess knowing about the soot problem and not telling their passengers upfront.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Northender
typo

[chamima]

We are sailing on the Royal in Sept. We have an aft deluxe balcony and are concerned about the soot problem. I spoke with someone in Consumer Relations as did my travel agent. It was good to know that they are aware of the problem and are currently working on a fix. They spoke of trying a new fuel mix. That said, we haven't changed our cabin because 1. The balcony is bigger than most and 2. I am optimistic that the problem will be fixed by then.

 

I am an optimistic person. I guess.

 

Hi Donder

On another thread (LittleMissMagic here : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1964450 ) reported that they had an aft deluxe balcony and had very little soot so maybe what Customer Relations told you or your TA has been implemented.

We also have an aft deluxe , but in February, so I'm monitoring everyone's remarks on this.

I'm also being optimistic!

[JimmyVWine]

Will the mini-suite balcony on the Golden (Emerald Deck aft) accommodate 4 chairs for 2 adults and 2 kids?

I can't imagine they would sell a cabin for 4 if the balcony won't accommodate 4 chairs? (albeit a bit cramped) ?

 

The balcony will not come equipped with 4 chairs. It will have 2 chairs and 2 ottomans. You will have to ask your cabin steward to track dowsn additional chairs, and if you put 4 out there, you probably won't have too much room for more than one ottoman, two at the most. We travel as a family of 3 in Mini-Suites and have gottend a third chair. But once that third chair is in use, the ottomans become more or less in the way.

[The Big Booper]

This is the first time I have heard that you cannot put your legs up while sitting and facing the sea on a Celebrity or RCI balcony. Please let me know which ones so I can avoid them.

 

All =X= or RCI balconies on ships built in the last 20 years have large squarish balconies 55 sq ft or larger. You can easily re-arrange the chairs and large round table in many manners so as to sit side by side in any orientation. I am a "wide" guy weighing in over 250 and I easily fit into any balcony chair on =X= or RCI with plenty of room on either side of me; and these chairs are comfortable, unlike the RP chairs which Pam says kill her back and she is a lot thinner then me.

[fishin' musician]

I'm a rather tall, lanky guy, so I guess I'll just open the balcony door, put the chair in the doorway and attempt to stretch out... all the while my neighbors are wondering why their rooms are so warm. :D

[caribill]

Hi Donder

On another thread (LittleMissMagic here : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1964450 ) reported that they had an aft deluxe balcony and had very little soot so maybe what Customer Relations told you or your TA has been implemented.

 

It is not fixed. How much soot accumulates depends on the wind pattern.

 

When it is fixed, there will be plenty of posts about it on Cruise Critic forums.

Edited January 13, 2014 by caribill