Looking For Cabin Opinions on Royal Class

[dfen74]

Hi There.

 

I am looking to book a March 2022 Mexican Riviera cruise on the Discovery Princess.  Our cruise on the Royal this past March got cancelled, so we are going to try to replicate it two years later.  FCC will cover a good chunk of it.

 

I have a hold on an aft balcony on the Aloha deck.  But then I noticed some mini-suites on Lido (mid-front) for a couple hundred dollars less for the four of us.  We have always tended to sail towards the aft of a ship.  Are the Lido minis significantly larger than an aft balcony (both the cabin itself and the balcony)?   We are a couple with two teenage daughters.  
 

The only downside to the aft cabin is that the balcony can’t be used when the sofa-bed/upper are out.  We are just not familiar with minis on Princess and would love some feedback from those who have sailed in them before.  Extra space would be nice but does that outweigh the view of the wake?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[cruzsnooze]

When you go to look at cabins as if you are making a booking, clicking on a cabin tells you the square footage so you can compare size accurately directly via Princess web site. That way you will know exactly what you would be booking. Four adult size people in a mini suite is tight. I wouldn't do it. Consider getting an inside cabin across from your mini suite and have the kids join you on your balcony and use their cabin to sleep and use the bathroom. Price a regular balcony and an inside and you may end up with the same bottom line and have as much room or more in your balcony cabin then stuffing 4 people in a mini. 

[caribill]

1 hour ago, cruzsnooze said:

Four adult size people in a mini suite is tight. I

 

Four adults in a regular balcony is even tighter.

[ceilidh1]

5 hours ago, dfen74 said:

Hi There.

 

I am looking to book a March 2022 Mexican Riviera cruise on the Discovery Princess.  Our cruise on the Royal this past March got cancelled, so we are going to try to replicate it two years later.  FCC will cover a good chunk of it.

 

I have a hold on an aft balcony on the Aloha deck.  But then I noticed some mini-suites on Lido (mid-front) for a couple hundred dollars less for the four of us.  We have always tended to sail towards the aft of a ship.  Are the Lido minis significantly larger than an aft balcony (both the cabin itself and the balcony)?   We are a couple with two teenage daughters.  
 

The only downside to the aft cabin is that the balcony can’t be used when the sofa-bed/upper are out.  We are just not familiar with minis on Princess and would love some feedback from those who have sailed in them before.  Extra space would be nice but does that outweigh the view of the wake?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

On the Royal class, the balconies with sofas are deluxe balconies, so they are a little larger than a regular sized balcony. They are actually pretty comparable size wise to a mini suite although the sofa in a mini suite is a little bigger. A mini suite has a bath tub in addition to a shower but that is about the only difference to a deluxe balcony (obviously, no one really knows 100% for Discovery since it isn't out yet). The bit about the balcony not being able to be used if sofa bed/upper are out isn't totally accurate - you can still use it, but you would need to climb over the sofa bed to access. 

[nini]

Since the Discovery is to be a Royal class ship, compare the size of the aft balconies. The Aloha deck

Act balconies will be smaller than those in the Dolphin deck. If you can, get a nice balcony cabin and an

Inside across the hall. We have done this with our daughters.

[cruzsnooze]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Four adults in a regular balcony is even tighter.

That's why I suggested they get a second cabin across the hall. Didn't you finish reading my post?

[caribill]

4 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

That's why I suggested they get a second cabin across the hall. Didn't you finish reading my post?

 

I agree with your suggestion.

 

I was responding to the OP's question about mini-suite for four vs. balcony cabin for four.

[skynight]

With 4 adult sized people in the same cabin I would choose a mini suite. Larger interior, larger bathroom, better bed set up. Most balconies on the ship, examples L212, A534, A510 are 9'x4. Not much space to sit. Some balconies are a little larger. You can find them on the deck plans. Most interiors of the same category, (balconies, deluxe balconies, mini suites) are the same size and design. Again there are a few exceptions like L108.

Four people in any standard or deluxe balcony would be a tight fit. Bathroom use will be an issue for any cabin with 4. It's tight. Only one sink. Only space for one person at a time. You might want to consider a balcony cabin with an inside for the teens across the hall or nearby. The two teens would probably like that setup better.

Princess published schedules for the Discovery back in December 2019, pre-pandemic, based on ship delivery in late October 2021. I don't believe they have modified the schedules and wonder if the ship is actually being built. 

[caribill]

11 hours ago, skynight said:

 

Princess published schedules for the Discovery back in December 2019, pre-pandemic, based on ship delivery in late October 2021. I don't believe they have modified the schedules and wonder if the ship is actually being built. 

 

 

Present schedule:  Discovery Princess scheduled to be ready late 2021

[skynight]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Present schedule:  Discovery Princess scheduled to be ready late 2021

I know this is what it says on the Princess site. But will it happen? We will have to wait for a specific announcement from Princess. A summary of a Carnival Corp. briefing on this site indicates 5 new ship deliveries for the entire corporation. The information is not specific to which ships, although I expect one of the 5 ships is the Enchanted. No specific mention of the Discovery. 

"Nine ships were scheduled to be delivered in 2020 and 2021. With delays averaging five months, there will now be five ships delivered in this time period, two in 2020 and three in 2021. There are no plans to cancel any ships that are contracted to be built."

[caribill]

6 hours ago, skynight said:

I know this is what it says on the Princess site. But will it happen? We will have to wait for a specific announcement from Princess.

 

This was stated by the Princess VP of Sales to travel agents on last Thursday.

 

Will it happen? Well, things can change, but that statement by a high level Princess executive is probably the best current knowledge of the schedule.

[cvpends]

Back to the original topic, I can't imagine why you would consider anything other than an additional inside cabin for the teens, across the hall from whichever cabin you decide upon for yourselves.  Real beds for them, a bathroom for them, and more space for all!  Unless you got some incredible deal for 3rd and 4th passenger, the price is likely to be very similar.  Or if you select one of the "obstructed" balconies for you and an inside for them across the hall, you will likely be paying less than your aft cabin or mini suite.

[dfen74]

Thank you for all of the feedback so far.  I had also thought that perhaps we have outgrown a single cabin.  Up until now we have been fine but our last two cruises (since the oldest became a teenager) were  in a Norwegian mini-suite and Carnival balcony, both larger cabins than what Princess would typically offer.
 

I let the hold expire on the aft balcony and am going to continue watching prices and the status of the Discovery.  There is a lot of inventory right now, so I don’t feel a rush to book.  I suspect that we will end up going with a standard balcony and inside near one another but who knows if a nice shiny promotion will come up at some point.  I hope not to have to wait until 2022 to sail again, but things certainly are not encouraging at the moment.
 

Thanks again.

[Treasure Hunter]

Wise choice. Two bathrooms and extra storage are better. I know for the first time Princess is making an effort to build adjoining cabins for families as their two family suites besides being pricey are snapped up. We have done the balcony cabin with the inside cabin directly across the hall for our family and it works great.

[cvpends]

21 hours ago, dfen74 said:

Thank you for all of the feedback so far.  I had also thought that perhaps we have outgrown a single cabin.  Up until now we have been fine but our last two cruises (since the oldest became a teenager) were  in a Norwegian mini-suite and Carnival balcony, both larger cabins than what Princess would typically offer.
 

I let the hold expire on the aft balcony and am going to continue watching prices and the status of the Discovery.  There is a lot of inventory right now, so I don’t feel a rush to book.  I suspect that we will end up going with a standard balcony and inside near one another but who knows if a nice shiny promotion will come up at some point.  I hope not to have to wait until 2022 to sail again, but things certainly are not encouraging at the moment.
 

Thanks again.

I agree with your decision.  We have done three in a cabin on other cruiselines where cabins are larger, but three or four in a Princess balcony seems unreasonable to me.  I think you will find a solution that is very similar in cost to your expired booking and gives you two cabins.

[Roger88]

The usual double cabins are fine to fit three people at once I mean generally they are equipped so that two people and a kid could share one cabin. Not sure about single once thought, they seem to be too small for me anyway even if I decide to cruise all by myself 

[victory2020]

On 7/11/2020 at 12:36 PM, dfen74 said:

Thank you for all of the feedback so far.  I had also thought that perhaps we have outgrown a single cabin.  Up until now we have been fine but our last two cruises (since the oldest became a teenager) were  in a Norwegian mini-suite and Carnival balcony, both larger cabins than what Princess would typically offer.
 

I let the hold expire on the aft balcony and am going to continue watching prices and the status of the Discovery.  There is a lot of inventory right now, so I don’t feel a rush to book.  I suspect that we will end up going with a standard balcony and inside near one another but who knows if a nice shiny promotion will come up at some point.  I hope not to have to wait until 2022 to sail again, but things certainly are not encouraging at the moment.
 

Thanks again.

Check out d425, partially obstructed view balcony which has no obstruction & a cabin across the hall. 

[Renmar]

1 hour ago, victory2020 said:

Check out d425, partially obstructed view balcony which has no obstruction & a cabin across the hall. 

Did you mean E425? As far as I know there are no obstructed view cabins on Dolphin deck.

 

Theo

[victory2020]

1 hour ago, Renmar said:

Did you mean E425? As far as I know there are no obstructed view cabins on Dolphin deck.

 

Theo

Sorry, yes

[jennybenny]

On 7/11/2020 at 12:36 PM, dfen74 said:

Thank you for all of the feedback so far.  I had also thought that perhaps we have outgrown a single cabin.  Up until now we have been fine but our last two cruises (since the oldest became a teenager) were  in a Norwegian mini-suite and Carnival balcony, both larger cabins than what Princess would typically offer.
 

I let the hold expire on the aft balcony and am going to continue watching prices and the status of the Discovery.  There is a lot of inventory right now, so I don’t feel a rush to book.  I suspect that we will end up going with a standard balcony and inside near one another but who knows if a nice shiny promotion will come up at some point.  I hope not to have to wait until 2022 to sail again, but things certainly are not encouraging at the moment.
 

Thanks again.

We used to book cabins with the kids, one cabin, bunks, mom and dad on the lower twin beds, as that is the only configuration you can do with 4 to a room.  Granted we never did a full suite, so I don't know if it could have been a better configuration there. The mini suites had the most room, but on a Royal class ship the balcony is tiny in most rooms. Because of that, on that class ships, we prefer the deluxe balcony with the sofa and we get the inside cabin across the hall for the kids. For us, it just got to be too much with one bathroom and getting dressed. The kids are 12 and 17 now and we've been booking two cabins for the past few years. We put one adult in each cabin to book, and then go to Guest services on board so we all have access to each cabin, and the kids are across the hall. We were offered an upsell once for the inside and took it, and both ended up with balcony cabins right next to each other, but I think that was lucky and I wouldn't count on that.

Most Princess bookings have refundable deposits. Always check for that. When you do, you can refare as needed, it's what we do. We book early for cabin selection and then refare if a better deal comes out. Sometimes we book the best fare outright, sometimes we refare multiple times, it varies. 

We really like the aft cabins on Caribe or Baja for the location and for the wake view, but we have done forward as well. They say you can feel the motion a lot more when you are farther up and forward, but it worked for a Panama Canal cruise. 

 

[emerald3582]

We're sailing March 2021 on the Royal also with 2 teenage daughters. I just rebooked yesterday for 2 connecting balconies from our Balcony and Inside across the hall. We were forward starboard on the Aloha deck. And now were are midship port on the Caribe deck for the same price as the original booking. I opted for the 2 rooms because I wanted my bed configuration for a queen, 2 bathrooms, and more balcony space. With the connecting rooms, I will also have peace of mind when they get back to their cabin.

[jennybenny]

1 hour ago, emerald3582 said:

We're sailing March 2021 on the Royal also with 2 teenage daughters. I just rebooked yesterday for 2 connecting balconies from our Balcony and Inside across the hall. We were forward starboard on the Aloha deck. And now were are midship port on the Caribe deck for the same price as the original booking. I opted for the 2 rooms because I wanted my bed configuration for a queen, 2 bathrooms, and more balcony space. With the connecting rooms, I will also have peace of mind when they get back to their cabin.

Nice! I prefer Caribe to Aloha too!