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Balcony/Premium Balcony what's the difference?

suzyed

By suzyed,
in Princess Cruises

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skynight

skynight

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, suzyed said:

Does this apply to the Island?

 

Pretty much yes

 

2 minutes ago, suzyed said:

Yeah, but how do you know which options are in which cabins.  I have checked some of the "cabin" websites but unless they have pix of the particular cabin you are interested in, you wouldn't know.

 

Just about every balcony cat. cabin B1 through BF have the same interiors. Cabins have a bathroom with stand up shower, 6 ft' open closet with wardrobe closet, queen bed with two nights stands that can be converted into the twin config., desk with storage draws, fridge with storage on top and one desk chair. There are some variations, like 3rd and 4th berths that lower from the ceiling, and some other minor differences. Differences are shown on the Princess web site deck plans. When you click on a cabin any difference will show in red. There are no sofas in any balcony cat. cabin on the Island. You have to book a mini or full suite to have a sofa.

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suzyed

suzyed

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On 7/31/2020 at 4:03 PM, skynight said:

You have confused the Island Princess with Royal Class ships.

Actually there are no sleeper sofas in balcony cat. cabins on the Island Princess which was the ship the OP was asking about. There are also no obstructed view balcony cat. cabins on deck 10 on the Island Princess.  There are some balcony cabins aft of the Island that do have some balcony restrictions, mainly when transiting the Panama Canal, but I'm not aware of any obstructed view balcony cabins on this ship. With few exceptions all balcony cat. cabins have the same interior layout and the same interior square footage, approximately 170 sq. ft. Some Island Princess deck 10 balcony cat. cabins, B1 and B2, the ones the OP is asking about do have larger balconies. But there are also some cat. BE on the same deck, 6 of them, which have the larger balconies. These 6 BE cabins are identical to the B1 & B2 cabins except the are not mid ship. 20 of the B1 & B2 cabins can accommodate 3rd & 4th passengers with the 3rd berth being lowered from the ceiling and the 4th berth either lowered from the ceiling or by use of a roll-away.

Hope these details assist the OP regarding their question.

 

Yes, this answers my questions pretty well.  I booked a B2 because the balcony looks bigger and seems to be mid ship. While it is on the section that "indents", it is pretty much in the middle of that group of cabins and looks as if you still have a good view despite the bumped out cabins on either side of that group of cabins.  Am I looking at that correctly?  I also spefically chose a cabin that only accomodates 2 passengers.

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Thrak

Thrak

Posted
Posted
On 7/31/2020 at 9:51 PM, Ferd Berfle said:

 

You were told correctly. 

 

Plus, the smaller balconies on Caribe are those in the bump outs in yellow, premium are blue:

image.png.3116864895e394ef1d988669be2dacfc.png

 

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

Which ones are not?

 

 

Balconies vary on Island. The small balconies for Caribe "balcony cabins" are, indeed, in the bump out sections.

 

image.png.21311b6f2eda151751c1bc4d7e1fd8b5.png

 

image.png.f6c25fa40c33d1734e56941bf0616cd4.png

 

There are small balconies on the aft Caribe mini suites as well.

 

image.png.4a3523ece3021e32e516c8a5d312dffd.png

 

All one needs to do is to look at the deck plans on the Princess site. It defaults to Promenade deck but it's easy to change the drop down to see the deck plans for Caribe.

 

https://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=IP

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Renmar

Renmar

Posted
Posted

IMHO BE category cabins C314-C315-C316 & C317 are the best deal on either the Island or Coral. These Balconies are half covered and almost double the size (+ 9' X 9') of any of the other BE cabins (with the exception of the BE on Emerald deck but those are completely covered). If you want to have the same size balcony on other decks you will be spending way more money on either a "Premium balcony" or a "Mini suite". 

We stayed in C315 on our Panama Canal cruise in 2018. (C317 & C316 where taken😞).

 

Theo

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suzyed

suzyed

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1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

 

Balconies vary on Island. The small balconies for Caribe "balcony cabins" are, indeed, in the bump out sections.

 

image.png.21311b6f2eda151751c1bc4d7e1fd8b5.png

 

image.png.f6c25fa40c33d1734e56941bf0616cd4.png

 

There are small balconies on the aft Caribe mini suites as well.

 

image.png.4a3523ece3021e32e516c8a5d312dffd.png

 

All one needs to do is to look at the deck plans on the Princess site. It defaults to Promenade deck but it's easy to change the drop down to see the deck plans for Caribe.

 

https://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=IP

Those were all points I noted when I was trying to decide which cabin to choose.  I just wanted to verify that what I was looking at on the Deckplan was indeed correct.  I am happy with what I chose!

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phabric

phabric

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Renmar said:

IMHO BE category cabins C314-C315-C316 & C317 are the best deal on either the Island or Coral. These Balconies are half covered and almost double the size (+ 9' X 9') of any of the other BE cabins (with the exception of the BE on Emerald deck but those are completely covered). If you want to have the same size balcony on other decks you will be spending way more money on either a "Premium balcony" or a "Mini suite". 

We stayed in C315 on our Panama Canal cruise in 2018. (C317 & C316 where taken😞).

 

Theo


Which is a preference starboard or port side for the Panama Canal?

 

The cabins C311, C315, C317 sits in, is the view blocked with the balcony cabin C309 jutting out?

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Renmar

Renmar

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, phabric said:


Which is a preference starboard or port side for the Panama Canal?

 

The cabins C311, C315, C317 sits in, is the view blocked with the balcony cabin C309 jutting out?

In our case it did not matter which side of the ship we were on because we took the LA return cruise so we did see both sides. As for blocking the view yes C309 & C310 are blocking the view a little facing forward. For that reason the better bet is trying to get C316 or C317.

Here is a view from C315 facing aft.

1333864210_P1010286(Custom).JPG.cb4a02b76aa01334530b15d8ce0e3874.JPG

 

And looking straight out

 

1002037278_P1010284(Custom).JPG.0b610b95864aa58ecebfe9bbe8c9c01c.JPG

 

Theo

 

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MJSailors

MJSailors

Posted
Posted

To the OP + Why not call Princess and ask your question about the difference in balcony categories ?

 To Renmar- From a photo you posted, it looks like you took your mattress and put it out on your balcony to sleep outside. Did you return the mattress each morning to the bed in the cabin ? If you left it out on the balcony did your Steward say anything about it ? The mattress could have gotten damp from being outside overnight and may result in 

 having a musty, unpleasant smell for the next occupant of the cabin.

 Just curious .😯

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Renmar

Renmar

Posted
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2 hours ago, MJSailors said:

To the OP + Why not call Princess and ask your question about the difference in balcony categories ?

 To Renmar- From a photo you posted, it looks like you took your mattress and put it out on your balcony to sleep outside. Did you return the mattress each morning to the bed in the cabin ? If you left it out on the balcony did your Steward say anything about it ? The mattress could have gotten damp from being outside overnight and may result in 

 having a musty, unpleasant smell for the next occupant of the cabin.

 Just curious .😯

To answer your second question; 

  1. The airmattress stayed outside, straight up against the sepperation between balconies held in place with bungie cord.
  2. Steward supplied extra pool towels every day to cover the airmattress, laundry after.
  3. The fitted bottom sheet and top sheet as well as pillowcase were taken inside and send to the laundry each day (brought 3 sets for that purpose. ( We are Elite so laundry is included 😉.) they didn't blink an eye on the sheets.
  4. Cabin steward offered to supply a blanket, used it only ones but I had no need for it.
  5. During the day the mattress dried out nicely (if it really needed it, most of the time it did not).
  6. Only a few night I did not sleep on the balcony, mainly first 2 days out of LA and again the last 2 nights on the return to LA.
  7. I left the airmattress on board with the steward because he had use for it.

I would do it again in a heartbeat (very happy DW too😀 don't know why though).

 

Theo

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MJSailors

MJSailors

Posted
Posted

   Using an air mattress does explain the photo that you posted.

I have heard that some passengers drag out a cabin mattress to sleep on the balcony in the ocean air. That concerns me because doing that could cause the mattress to have mildew. As an asthmatic, I wouldn’t be pleased if I went into my cabin and found such a situation.

    As for your DW- happy wife,happy life !😉

 

PS I am still curious as to how you got the air mattress onboard. I am thinking that it was deflated, packed away with an air pump so you could inflate the mattress once you were in the cabin. That took some effort on your part though.

As for me, I would rather pack extra pairs of shoes !

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Renmar

Renmar

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, MJSailors said:

   Using an air mattress does explain the photo that you posted.

I have heard that some passengers drag out a cabin mattress to sleep on the balcony in the ocean air. That concerns me because doing that could cause the mattress to have mildew. As an asthmatic, I wouldn’t be pleased if I went into my cabin and found such a situation.

    As for your DW- happy wife,happy life !😉

 

PS I am still curious as to how you got the air mattress onboard. I am thinking that it was deflated, packed away with an air pump so you could inflate the mattress once you were in the cabin. That took some effort on your part though.

As for me, I would rather pack extra pairs of shoes ! What, I need more than 2 pair????

Deflated ofcourse, then used stewards vacuum cleaner to blow the bulk of the air in and finished with a small portable hand pump. I think I could have used the hand pump from beginning to end but stewards vacuum cleaner was way easier 😁.

 

Theo

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nini

nini

Posted
Posted

If you explore the deck plans for certain ships on the Princess website, you can click

on the type of balcony. For example, L103 on the Regal Princess is called "Deluxe

Balcony Obstructed". Click on "View Stateroom Amenities" and it will describe the

room in more detail. It has a sofabed.

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suzyed

suzyed

Posted
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On 8/3/2020 at 7:54 PM, phabric said:


Which is a preference starboard or port side for the Panama Canal?

 

The cabins C311, C315, C317 sits in, is the view blocked with the balcony cabin C309 jutting out?

I heard that yes, they are "blocked" looking forward and aft.

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Solara

Solara

Posted
Posted
On 8/4/2020 at 5:03 PM, Renmar said:

Deflated ofcourse, then used stewards vacuum cleaner to blow the bulk of the air in and finished with a small portable hand pump. I think I could have used the hand pump from beginning to end but stewards vacuum cleaner was way easier 😁.

 

Theo

Just wondering what happened to your site with obstructed balcony pictures.  My link doesn’t work. 
 

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caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Solara said:

Just wondering what happened to your site with obstructed balcony pictures.  My link doesn’t work. 
 

 

Here they all are in their new locations

 

3 hours ago, RSS from SF said:

 


---

Renmar's great Obstructed View cabin content has been migrated to CruiseDeckPlans.com.

 

Here are direct links to each Princess ship's obstructed view page:

(On the website's Princess Cruises Ship Fleet page, you also can click on a ship then "Obst-View".) 
 


*NOTE:  Currently the Majestic/Sky/Enchanted/Discovery obstructed view pages are empty, so for Royal class ships right now you could go to the Regal Princess obstructed view or Royal Princess obstructed view pages.

---
 

 

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HappyCruiserettu

HappyCruiserettu

Posted
Posted
On 7/31/2020 at 12:37 PM, Abercrombie2019 said:

 These balconies have an awkward privacy situation.  The occupants of the "bumped-out" balcony can see directly onto these balconies, and vice-versa.

 

On 7/31/2020 at 12:37 PM, Abercrombie2019 said:

 

Vice versa? How does that work? (I had a condo in Honolulu which had a balcony on a "bump-out." I could look into their balcony and living room, but they sure couldn't see into mine.)

 

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Abercrombie2019

Abercrombie2019

Posted
Posted

 

1 hour ago, HappyCruiserettu said:

 

Vice versa? How does that work? (I had a condo in Honolulu which had a balcony on a "bump-out." I could look into their balcony and living room, but they sure couldn't see into mine.)

 

 

cornerbalconya.thumb.jpg.f629fdcba6f5301d08e6e35fdff571fa.jpg

 

@HappyCruiserettu  I pulled this image off the internet.  The bump out balcony and the inset balcony are right next to each other on the Caribe deck.  It is easy for you to see from one balcony to the other.  This situation is not as bad on other decks because the inset balconies are set back farther.

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HappyCruiserettu

HappyCruiserettu

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Abercrombie2019 said:

 

 

cornerbalconya.thumb.jpg.f629fdcba6f5301d08e6e35fdff571fa.jpg

 

@HappyCruiserettu  I pulled this image off the internet.  The bump out balcony and the inset balcony are right next to each other on the Caribe deck.  It is easy for you to see from one balcony to the other.  This situation is not as bad on other decks because the inset balconies are set back farther.

Thanks for the picture. I guess I expected a side privacy wall .on the bump-out balcony.

 

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Renmar

Renmar

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Abercrombie2019 said:

 

 

 

 

@HappyCruiserettu  I pulled this image off the internet.  The bump out balcony and the inset balcony are right next to each other on the Caribe deck.  It is easy for you to see from one balcony to the other.  This situation is not as bad on other decks because the inset balconies are set back farther.

You are correct for as far as the 2 adjoining cabins are concerned. That is the reason why I think that C317 or C316 are better bets, second choice would be the one we got C315.

Because of the solid screens between balconies the people in C309 can only see the far side of C315 and almost nothing of C317.

The only other issue might be that people on the higher deck bump outs can look down but to farther away from those the better.

This pictureshows that problem

 

Theo

 

1844146448_Caribe315a.jpg.666d6176c0cd7a231ebda3742fc5e1e7.jpg.

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