Grand Class vs Royal Class

[tjcletzgo]

Hello, can you tell me if the balconies on the Sapphire are bigger than the Majestic?

 Thank you 🛳️

[cruzsnooze]

The Royal class ships have tiny balconies. Two people have to be side by side. They should be called French balconies.

[JimmyVWine]

Yes.  And the balconies on Caribe Deck are downright huge, as are the ones that come with Dolphin Deck Mini-Suites.  Practically a squash court compared to the standard balconies on Royal Class.  There are some larger extended balconies on Royal Class ships mid-ship and those are a nice upgrade.  

[cruisingrob21]

8 minutes ago, tjcletzgo said:

Hello, can you tell me if the balconies on the Sapphire are bigger than the Majestic?

 Thank you 🛳️

Without knowing more specifics, the majority of Sapphire balconies will be the bigger than the Majestic.  There are however plenty of exceptions.  One way to ensure you are getting a large balcony is to book a cabin on Caribe deck on the Sapphire Princess but even the standard balconies on the Sapphire princess are larger than the standard balconizes on Majestic.

[tjcletzgo]

4 minutes ago, cruisingrob21 said:

Without knowing more specifics, the majority of Sapphire balconies will be the bigger than the Majestic.  There are however plenty of exceptions.  One way to ensure you are getting a large balcony is to book a cabin on Caribe deck on the Sapphire Princess but even the standard balconies on the Sapphire princess are larger than the standard balconizes on Majestic.

Thanks so much for your response🛳️

[VibeGuy]

Excluding aft balconies and full suites on either ship, I don’t believe there’s a smaller balcony on any Grand/Gem Class ship than 90% of the balconies on a Royal class ship.  An Aloha/Marina/Riviera balcony on Grand/Gem is demonstrably deeper. 

[that]

May I ask what is Gem Class?

[wcflats]

Sapphire,ruby,diamond,emerald are gem class.

[that]

Never heard of this class distinction.

thank you

[BettyCruiser]

Sapphire and Diamond are sisters.

Ruby and Emerald are sisters.

Sapphire/Diamond are not sisters to Ruby/Emerald.

The 4 ships are not a class.

 

NCL has a Gem class, not Princess.

[Thrak]

Not only are the balconies larger on Sapphire - and I also highly recommend the Caribe (deck 10) balconies as being extra large - but the Promenade deck on Sapphire goes all around the entire ship and is extra wide. It is wide enough for loungers (not just chairs) with room left over for those who are walking the Promenade. I love the Caribe deck balcony cabins and the expansive Promenade deck. Wish I was sailing on Sapphire...

[tjcletzgo]

9 minutes ago, Thrak said:

Not only are the balconies larger on Sapphire - and I also highly recommend the Caribe (deck 10) balconies as being extra large - but the Promenade deck on Sapphire goes all around the entire ship and is extra wide. It is wide enough for loungers (not just chairs) with room left over for those who are walking the Promenade. I love the Caribe deck balcony cabins and the expansive Promenade deck. Wish I was sailing on Sapphire...

Great😜 We are booked on an Alaskan cruise on the Sapphire on Baja deck and I’ll to know about our cabin 🛳️🐳

[wallyj]

8 hours ago, BettyCruiser said:

Sapphire and Diamond are sisters.

Ruby and Emerald are sisters.

Sapphire/Diamond are not sisters to Ruby/Emerald.

The 4 ships are not a class.

 

NCL has a Gem class, not Princess.

The four ships mentioned are part of ‘Grand’ class along with Caribbean, Crown and Grand Princess.
 

Although Ruby, Diamond, Sapphire and Emerald are ‘gems’, I do not know where @VibeGuy or @wcflats got ‘gem class’ .

 

I have heard of NCL ‘jewel’ Class as being the Jewel, Jade, Pearl and Gem.

[VibeGuy]

There are distinct differences between the Grand and the later builds.   
 

Grand, Sapphire, Diamond and Caribbean (and the former Golden and Star) are trivially different from each other.   Crown/Emerald/Ruby have meaningful differences , especially above Aloha deck.  

[Ron the Rev]

Give me Grand class over Royal class any day.

[Rick&Jeannie]

14 hours ago, that said:

Never heard of this class distinction.

thank you

You're not alone!  I had not either...though it makes perfect sense!

[LACruiser88]

We are currently on the Sapphire.  Below is a photo of our Emerald deck, aft mini-suite balcony.  It is huge and fully covered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by LACruiser88

[tjcletzgo]

35 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

We are currently on the Sapphire.  Below is a photo of our Emerald deck, aft mini-suite balcony.  It is huge and fully covered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great! Thank you 🛳️🐳

[MJC]

We love those aft Emerald deck covered minis. ❤️ I just wish you could get Club Class dining when you book them.

[martinitime1]

.

Edited March 28, 2023 by martinitime1

[martinitime1]

16 hours ago, wcflats said:

Sapphire,ruby,diamond,emerald are gem class.

Wrong,

The two Gem-class ships, Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess, are the only two ships based on the Grand class to be built at Mitsubishi's Nagasaki Yard.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

If the balcony and cabin size are important, then go with the older ships. Princess has small standard balconies to begin with and the small balcony doesn’t help. We love the Royal class ships, but have only sailed on them with a deluxe aft facing balcony, deluxe forward facing balcony or a suite. We are Princess fans, but have never understood why one must book a mini suite to get the same sized balcony cabin that comes standard with every other cruise line. What are they using the extra space for?

[BettyCruiser]

8 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

There are distinct differences between the Grand and the later builds.   
 

Grand, Sapphire, Diamond and Caribbean (and the former Golden and Star) are trivially different from each other.   Crown/Emerald/Ruby have meaningful differences , especially above Aloha deck.  

 

Caribbean, Crown, Emerald and Ruby could be referred to as Grand Plus class as they all have an extra deck of staterooms leading to a higher tonnage and capacity than the Grand class ships. 

[mreasier]

0n Royal class ships, except for the Royal and the Regal (the 1st two), cabins D702 through D710 have huge balconies.  They are category BD.