Could someone explain categories to me

[plunker]

We have cruised 4 times so far with a cruise booked in Feb. and one in March 2018 all on Princess. We are a family of 4 so we always book 2 insides mid forward. I love coming on cruise critic and getting all kinds of advice but alot of times I see people using abbreviations like ib or ac or whatever and I have no idea what they are talking about. I also dont understand about guaranteed cabins. How does that work? Its time I learn what these abbreviations mean. Thanks for helping.

[fishywood]

First character of two-character cabin code:

 

I: inside

O: oceanview

B: balcony

D: deluxe balcony (on Royal, Regal and Majestic Princess only)

M: mini-suite

S: suite

 

Second character:

 

Bottom of alphabet (W, X, Y, Z) indicates obstructed view

Top of alphabet (A, B, C, D...) is a standard cabin within that category

Numeric (1, 2, 3...) is a Premium cabin within that category, usually with both of preferred location [midship or overlooking the stern] and larger interior and/or balcony.

 

Within the three types of second-character codes (such as A, B, C...) the difference is mainly location: midship better than aft, aft better than forward, between two other passenger decks better than having public rooms above or below.

 

A new special case is M1 which indicates the new Club-Class Mini Suites being rolled out among the fleet over the next year.

Edited September 21, 2016 by fishywood

[GUT2407]

First character of two-character cabin code:

 

I: inside

O: oceanview

B: balcony

D: deluxe balcony (on Royal, Regal and Majestic Princess only)

M: mini-suite

S: suite

 

Second character:

 

Bottom of alphabet (W, X, Y, Z) indicates obstructed view

Top of alphabet (A, B, C, D...) is a standard cabin within that category

Numeric (1, 2, 3...) is a Premium cabin within that category, usually with both of preferred location [midship or overlooking the stern] and larger interior and/or balcony.

 

Within the three types of second-character codes (such as A, B, C...) the difference is mainly location: midship better than aft, aft better than forward, between two other passenger decks better than having public rooms above or below.

 

A new special case is M1 which indicates the new Club-Class Mini Suites being rolled out among the fleet over the next year.

 

Sums it up perfectly I think.

[Ellipooh]

Wow. Very helpful. Thanks for the translation service!

[fishywood]

Someone should eventually be along with the link to the Princess document issued when the current scheme of cabin codes was enacted. (Had it on one of my old computers)

[reedprincess]

Categories covered beautifully.

Guarantees: means you book a cabin catefory, but Princess picks which actual specific cabin. You are guaranteed a cabin in the category you booked, or something better (which usually means a better location within the category you booed not necessarily to another category.)

So, if you book an inside guarantee I/Inside, you're guaranteed -at a minimum - an Inside cabin somewhere on the ship. It may be bumped up to a larger inside or similar, which would be an upgrade. On very rare occasions, tou may get bumped to the next hugger category such as an Oceanview or whatnot, but don't count on it.

Guarantees work well for those who don't really care where in the ship they are located, they just want a cabin. Sometimes, guarantees are a little bit cheaper.

Guarantees can be assigned at any point from time of booking up until check-in - so if you're obsessive about knowing where your cabin is, or things like that - it may not work so well for you!

Hope that helps.....Happy sails!

[ansoninc]

First character of two-character cabin code:

 

I: inside

O: oceanview

B: balcony

D: deluxe balcony (on Royal, Regal and Majestic Princess only)

M: mini-suite

S: suite

 

Second character:

 

Bottom of alphabet (W, X, Y, Z) indicates obstructed view

Top of alphabet (A, B, C, D...) is a standard cabin within that category

Numeric (1, 2, 3...) is a Premium cabin within that category, usually with both of preferred location [midship or overlooking the stern] and larger interior and/or balcony.

 

Within the three types of second-character codes (such as A, B, C...) the difference is mainly location: midship better than aft, aft better than forward, between two other passenger decks better than having public rooms above or below.

 

A new special case is M1 which indicates the new Club-Class Mini Suites being rolled out among the fleet over the next year.

 

 

 

Thanks! I thought it was secret TA code.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Lucky TGO]

Sums it up perfectly I think.

I just made a copy of this. I didn't know it myself :eek: thank you.

Tony

[Ando]

We are a family of 4 so we always book 2 insides mid forward....... I also dont understand about guaranteed cabins. How does that work?

 

As you book 2 cabins for your family of 4, and assuming you would like them to be near each other, I would suggest that you do not book a guarantee as the cabins assigned may end up very far away from each other i.e. on different decks and/or different ends of the ship.

 

Also in case you are not aware, when you have booked 2 cabins near each other have your TA or Princess mark them as "do not upgrade" to avoid them being changed and ending up with the same issue of the cabins not being near each other.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Ando

[windsurferfirst]

We have cruised 4 times so far with a cruise booked in Feb. and one in March 2018 all on Princess. We are a family of 4 so we always book 2 insides mid forward. I love coming on cruise critic and getting all kinds of advice but alot of times I see people using abbreviations like ib or ac or whatever and I have no idea what they are talking about. I also dont understand about guaranteed cabins. How does that work? Its time I learn what these abbreviations mean. Thanks for helping.

 

So glad you asked this question.

 

I would also like to understand the ships class. I see grand class and the like and have no idea which ship falls into what class. Hopefully someone will tell me soon :)

[IsanTom]

Inside - No Windows

Oceanview - Window of Ocean

Balcony - Room with a Balcony

Suite - A bigger Room

[newfiegirl4]

First character of two-character cabin code:

 

I: inside

O: oceanview

B: balcony

D: deluxe balcony (on Royal, Regal and Majestic Princess only)

M: mini-suite

S: suite

 

Second character:

 

Bottom of alphabet (W, X, Y, Z) indicates obstructed view

Top of alphabet (A, B, C, D...) is a standard cabin within that category

Numeric (1, 2, 3...) is a Premium cabin within that category, usually with both of preferred location [midship or overlooking the stern] and larger interior and/or balcony.

 

Within the three types of second-character codes (such as A, B, C...) the difference is mainly location: midship better than aft, aft better than forward, between two other passenger decks better than having public rooms above or below.

 

A new special case is M1 which indicates the new Club-Class Mini Suites being rolled out among the fleet over the next year.

 

 

Wow. Thanks. Never had that described to me like that before!! Well done 😀

[milogurd]

And here's that link to the Princess document...

 

https://book.princess.com/pdf/onesource/pc/deckplans/Fleet-Recat-Announce.pdf

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[IECalCruiser]

And here's that link to the Princess document...

 

https://book.princess.com/pdf/onesource/pc/deckplans/Fleet-Recat-Announce.pdf

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Page 3 sums it up pretty well.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[nukesubsailor]

So glad you asked this question.

 

I would also like to understand the ships class. I see grand class and the like and have no idea which ship falls into what class. Hopefully someone will tell me soon :)

 

It is much easier and less expensive for a shipyard to build multiple ships of the same general design, (class), than it is to build the same number of ships with each being considerably different than the others. For this reason cruise lines usually order 2 or 3 ships of the same general design to be built over a period of 2 or 3 years. While there are often some differences between the ships of the same class, these differences are largely cosmetic. The size of the ships and their engineering plants are the same for all ships of a particular class.

[geoherb]

The big thing to realize is that all cruise lines come up with their categories based on what they think is preferable. There's not much difference between one inside and another other than location. Some people may prefer to be lower on the ship. We've enjoyed our Plaza Deck cabins for their convenience to the inside public areas. Others may prefer to be closer to the pool areas and prefer a cabin on the Aloha or Riviera.

[IECalCruiser]

So glad you asked this question.

 

I would also like to understand the ships class. I see grand class and the like and have no idea which ship falls into what class. Hopefully someone will tell me soon :)

A quick run down of Princess ship classes.

Pacific Princess - Small ship originally built for Renaissance Cruises

Sun Class - Sun, Sea and Dawn

Coral Class - Coral and Island - these ships are Panamamax ships designed especially for the original Panama Canal. Although once nearly identical there were recent significant and not favorably received changes made to the Island

Grand Class - Grand, Golden, Star, Caribbean, Diamond, Sapphire, Crown, Emerald and Ruby - the Grand started this class and there have been revisions along the way including an added deck of cabins on the Caribbean, Crown, Emerald and Ruby. People will subdivide the ships into smaller classes but overall the design and look and feel of these ships is the same. Over the years features have been added to the ships and except for the Crown, Emerald and Ruby, no two of the other Grand class ships are quite like another.

Royal Class - Royal, Regal and soon the Majestic - this is the latest Princess ship class. The Royal and Regal are almost identical twins. The Majestic is being built specifically for the Chinese market and she will have many different features than her sisters or any other Princess ship.

 

Now, is that more information than you wanted?

Edited September 21, 2016 by IECalCruiser

[plan09]

Fishywood,

Thank you that is very helpful.

[hockeygal54]

I don't "get" the guarantee booking strategy myself unless you absolutely don't care anything about location and are waiting till the last minute and hope for a real bargain.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[reedprincess]

I don't "get" the guarantee booking strategy myself unless you absolutely don't care anything about location and are waiting till the last minute and hope for a real bargain.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Oftentimes, a guarantee category will be cheaper than a specific cabin booking, sometimes it's $50 or $100 and sometimes it's a bit more. And some people like to roll the dice on a potential upgrade, whether it's in the same category or to a whole different category.... If it's not for you, it's not for you. We book both ways depending on itinerary, ship, when we book and price..

[windsurferfirst]

A quick run down of Princess ship classes.

Pacific Princess - Small ship originally built for Renaissance Cruises

Sun Class - Sun, Sea and Dawn

Coral Class - Coral and Island - these ships are Panamamax ships designed especially for the original Panama Canal. Although once nearly identical there were recent significant and not favorably received changes made to the Island

Grand Class - Grand, Golden, Star, Caribbean, Diamond, Sapphire, Crown, Emerald and Ruby - the Grand started this class and there have been revisions along the way including an added deck of cabins on the Caribbean, Crown, Emerald and Ruby. People will subdivide the ships into smaller classes but overall the design and look and feel of these ships is the same. Over the years features have been added to the ships and except for the Crown, Emerald and Ruby, no two of the other Grand class ships are quite like another.

Royal Class - Royal, Regal and soon the Majestic - this is the latest Princess ship class. The Royal and Regal are almost identical twins. The Majestic is being built specifically for the Chinese market and she will have many different features than her sisters or any other Princess ship.

 

Now, is that more information than you wanted?

 

Perfect! Thank you so much.

[riclop]

First character of two-character cabin code:

 

I: inside

O: oceanview

B: balcony

D: deluxe balcony (on Royal, Regal and Majestic Princess only)

M: mini-suite

S: suite

 

Second character:

 

Bottom of alphabet (W, X, Y, Z) indicates obstructed view

Top of alphabet (A, B, C, D...) is a standard cabin within that category

Numeric (1, 2, 3...) is a Premium cabin within that category, usually with both of preferred location [midship or overlooking the stern] and larger interior and/or balcony.

 

Within the three types of second-character codes (such as A, B, C...) the difference is mainly location: midship better than aft, aft better than forward, between two other passenger decks better than having public rooms above or below.

 

A new special case is M1 which indicates the new Club-Class Mini Suites being rolled out among the fleet over the next year.

 

Beautifully explained !!!!!!!!!!!

[TracieABD]

One more that you see sometimes on the boards, but not on the Princess site: WS- window suite. It is a full suite without a balcony- but with all of the full suite priveleges. They are only on a few ships.

[cruiselover57]

We have cruised 4 times so far with a cruise booked in Feb. and one in March 2018 all on Princess. We are a family of 4 so we always book 2 insides mid forward. I love coming on cruise critic and getting all kinds of advice but alot of times I see people using abbreviations like ib or ac or whatever and I have no idea what they are talking about. I also dont understand about guaranteed cabins. How does that work? Its time I learn what these abbreviations mean. Thanks for helping.

 

We always book a GTY OV cabin in hopes we'll be upgraded to a non-obstructed view cabin and in fact, we did get a 4-level upgrade on the Crown to Mexico leaving this Sunday. We can only get what we paid for or better. The cruise line will eventually assign a cabin as it gets closer to sail date (for the most part) and if for some reason, you don't like the location and there are other cabins available in that category, you can change it (that's what we did as well). It has always worked in our favor. One time, we got upgraded to a balcony on a shorter cruise.

 

Laurie

[TracieABD]

We always book a GTY OV cabin in hopes we'll be upgraded to a non-obstructed view cabin and in fact, we did get a 4-level upgrade on the Crown to Mexico leaving this Sunday. We can only get what we paid for or better. The cruise line will eventually assign a cabin as it gets closer to sail date (for the most part) and if for some reason, you don't like the location and there are other cabins available in that category, you can change it (that's what we did as well). It has always worked in our favor. One time, we got upgraded to a balcony on a shorter cruise.

 

Laurie

 

Congratulations on your upgrade!!