Balconies on the Royal Princess

[betmust]

I am looking at an Alaska cruise for 2021 on the Royal Princess. Are any of the balconies not covered?  I want to make sure whatever deck I choose it has a covered balcony.

 

Anyone been on the Royal Princess what was your favorite deck?  I am looking at a balcony or deluxe balcony.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thank you

[reedprincess]

42 minutes ago, betmust said:

I am looking at an Alaska cruise for 2021 on the Royal Princess. Are any of the balconies not covered?  I want to make sure whatever deck I choose it has a covered balcony.

 

Anyone been on the Royal Princess what was your favorite deck?  I am looking at a balcony or deluxe balcony.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thank you

Essentially, all the balconies are fully covered. The ship is straight sided, not tiered like Grabd Class ships. So, virtually all balconies are fully covered, abd all Balconies are the same size 

 

There's obviously some exceptions. Aft facing balconies are partly covered/partly uncovered. Some forward facing ones are either fully or partly uncovered. A few on deck 8 are partly uncovered - but also much larger than standard.  

But essentially, they're all covered

[RocketMan275]

Be aware that most balconies on the Royal Class ships are approximately 40 inches deep.  A few exceptions.  But, many have reported their knees touch the balcony railings when facing outboard. The lack of depth in these balconies may negate the overhead cover depending upon the winds.

Edited January 26, 2020 by RocketMan275

[Dandylyon]

We were in L301 over Christmas. The balcony in this room is significantly larger than the neighboring balconies.

 

It also has super easy access to the pool area, grill, pizza, and buffet. Elevators right outside, but not noisy. There was a little hallway noise, but considering that there were 700 children on board, it was pretty good.

 

We enjoyed it.

[betmust]

Ok. Thank you everyone.

I haven't sailed Princess for awhile and I remembered some of the balconies only had a "partial" covering.

I just wanted to get some ideas.  Is there away of telling by looking at the ship diagrams?

 

If going to Alaska, I for sure want a balcony so I guess I need to check them over good...

 

Thanks again...

[RocketMan275]

9 hours ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

They are smaller than I had hoped for prior to boarding the ship and I travel solo.  I don't quite understand what would have been the big deal in extending the balconies another, let's say, 10-12 inches.  It seems like a constant sore point for a lot of folks and it would seem they could have garnered much more goodwill and loyalty with even a slightly larger standard balcony.

Adding two feet to the width of the ship would be a major big deal affecting almost everything.  The only choice would be to remove space from the interior to make room for the extra balconies.  That would reduce the number of cabins and public spaces.  There are multiple comments that many don't mind the smaller balconies.  A typical quote: "We only use the balcony for a quick cup of coffee while we stand at the rail.  Not a problem."

 

Goodwill loses to revenue every time.

[vampiress]

i didn't notice any issue with the balcony on the royal.*shrug* i sat out there every day and knitted.  always would love more space, but i think some of the negativity to the balcony is exaggerated.

 

i'm really intrigues by the way celebrity edge has changed their balcony and might seek to try that out at some point.

[Aquahound]

26 minutes ago, vampiress said:

i didn't notice any issue with the balcony on the royal.*shrug* i sat out there every day and knitted.  always would love more space, but i think some of the negativity to the balcony is exaggerated.

 

Exaggerated?  To say this was the smallest balcony I ever had and that my knees touched the glass when I sat is not an exaggeration.  It's the truth.  The irony of it was, they put reclining chairs out there, and there was no room to recline. 

 

[hm9912]

23 hours ago, betmust said:

I am looking at an Alaska cruise for 2021 on the Royal Princess. Are any of the balconies not covered?  I want to make sure whatever deck I choose it has a covered balcony.

 

Anyone been on the Royal Princess what was your favorite deck?  I am looking at a balcony or deluxe balcony.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thank you

Our obstructed balcony was big enough for the Ultimate Balcony Dinner

 

 

 

Howard

Edited January 27, 2020 by hm9912

[reedprincess]

2 hours ago, betmust said:

Ok. Thank you everyone.

I haven't sailed Princess for awhile and I remembered some of the balconies only had a "partial" covering.

I just wanted to get some ideas.  Is there away of telling by looking at the ship diagrams?

 

If going to Alaska, I for sure want a balcony so I guess I need to check them over good...

 

Thanks again...

Please reread my response above. 

All cabins along the sides, all the way from Lido, etc on down, are fully covered, with a very very few (maybe 12 or so each side) exceptions on Emerald deck, those first 10 on each side with the metal railing, and two or three around midship. And even those few are partially covered..

You can tell by the deck plans and a quick look at photos of the ship.. 

 

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

 

I can't speak to the build of the ship and the options that are available but there are plenty of comments that people do mind, in this thread and plenty of others.  I'm only 140 pounds and I personally felt cramped out there all by myself.  The example you quote is basically, "It wasn't good but since we didn't use it much it wasn't a big deal."  Well I and obviously many others do use it more and I would like to spend a ton of time out there but with the furniture, there isn't really room to even walk around the balcony without rearranging the furniture constantly and even then it is very tight.

I agree completely.  We avoid the Royal/Regal class specifically because of the miniscule balconies.    It's an engineering tradeoff that Princess has chosen to sacrifice balcony size to increase interior space available for other purposes.  

[Cruiserkenn]

I agree with Rocket Man.  I have been on 14 Alaska cruises, and the choice of balconies is better on the Grand Class ships.  Check them out if balcony coverage in Alaska is important to you.

Edited January 27, 2020 by Cruiserkenn

[Aquahound]

1 minute ago, Cruiserkenn said:

II agree with Rocket Man.  I have been on 14 Alaska cruises, and the choice of balconies is better on the Grand Class ships.  Check them out if balcony coverage in Alaska is important to you.

 

Agreed.  I think the Royal Class ships are terrible for Alaska.  Not only are most of the balconies pathetic (no exaggeration!), but the ships have no interior observation lounges.  I'd pick Grand Class any day over Royal Class. 

[Cruiserkenn]

Yes, and on the Grand Class ships, the deep, sheltered, and covered promenade deck is also a great place to view the scenery in Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Hubbard Glacier, Tracy Arm, Endicott Arm, and Snow Pass...

Edited January 27, 2020 by Cruiserkenn

[jaxflygirl88]

 Last year we had mini suite Aloha deck on REGAL.  The balcony was not very deep as one member pictured above. It was fine for us.  We don't sit out there long, just like looking at the stars at night and sunrises, etc.  My question is, we're going on SKY soon and the only mini suite I could get at good price is E-206 (emerald deck  8  )  Looks like our balcony is partially uncovered and jets out passed the ones above on 9.  Anyone had experience on the new ship SKY yet?  Thanks...sorry to be a bit off topic.  

[fishin' musician]

The forward facing balconies are not covered.

[BarbinMich]

On 1/27/2020 at 9:55 AM, betmust said:

Ok. Thank you everyone.

I haven't sailed Princess for awhile and I remembered some of the balconies only had a "partial" covering.

I just wanted to get some ideas.  Is there away of telling by looking at the ship diagrams?

 

If going to Alaska, I for sure want a balcony so I guess I need to check them over good...

 

Thanks again...

We never have a balcony on a cruise and have managed to greatly enjoy the scenery while sailing in Alaska and elsewhere by going to an outside deck (promenade on pre-Royal ships, or on the latter, the totally covered area aft of the buffet).

[betmust]

Thank you for all your help everyone...