Ruby Princess balcony cabin with rollaway bed

[lex2906]

Hi all, 

 

We are looking to book our first cruise on Ruby Princess to Alaska from Vancouver. We have specific dates in mind and looking at the balcony cabins which are left we cannot have 2 upper bunks which we would need as we have two kids. I have seen a few online pictures of the rollaway bed and while not ideal I think we might go ahead but I wondered if anyone would be able to advise if it's still possible to access the balcony while the rollaway was made? 

 

From what I understand it's moved away through the day so I am just wondering for first thing in the morning really while kids are still asleep.

 

Many thanks,

Nicole 😀

[Host CJSKIDS]

Welcome to cruise critic Nicole!

 

 I have moved your post to the Princess boards.  This is a great board for you to read all about Princess and ask any questions that you have.  

[reedprincess]

2 hours ago, lex2906 said:

Hi all, 

 

We are looking to book our first cruise on Ruby Princess to Alaska from Vancouver. We have specific dates in mind and looking at the balcony cabins which are left we cannot have 2 upper bunks which we would need as we have two kids. I have seen a few online pictures of the rollaway bed and while not ideal I think we might go ahead but I wondered if anyone would be able to advise if it's still possible to access the balcony while the rollaway was made? 

 

From what I understand it's moved away through the day so I am just wondering for first thing in the morning really while kids are still asleep.

 

Many thanks,

Nicole 😀

No, there's no access to the balcony while the rollway is made up. It  fills essentially the entire space between bed and balcony door 

You do have to book a cabin that will accommodate 4, which are limited. 

Generally speaking, it'll be 2 Pullman berths and 2 twins able to be made to a large queen/small king.  The rollaway option is quite limited, and it's a single bed rollaway.

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by reedprincess

[reedprincess]

Just now, reedprincess said:

No, there's no access to the balcony while the rollway is made up. It  fills essentially the entire space between bed and balcony door 

You do have to book a cabin that will accommodate 4, which are limited. 

Generally speaking, it'll be 2 Pullman berths and 2 twins able to be made to a large queen/small king.  The rollaway option is quite limited - and where would your 4rh person sleep?  It's a single rollaway...

The rollaway is folded up and wedges next to the mini fridge cabinet during the day, it's not taken out of the room. 

 

 

[lex2906]

Thanks for your reply.

 

I’ve spoke with Princess and they’ve advised there are cabins with one Pullman and one rollaway. They advised limited cabins with two Pullmans and none available now for our dates. 

[skynight]

Have you considered a mini suite? More room for 4 people.   

[lex2906]

In terms of cost I would prefer the balcony cabin but when I spoke with Princess today they don’t have any mini suites available for our dates! 
 

I’m just not sure if it’s workable with the limited space just for the night time. 😐

[DE Solo]

How old are the kids?

[lex2906]

The kids will be 11 and 8! 

[DE Solo]

In that case, you need either a rollaway and a Pullman or 2 Pullmans. The steward can fold up the rollaway during the day to provide more floor space, but with it open it is impossible to use the balcony and it is like an obstacle course to get to the bathroom. How about two connecting cabins instead? That way everyone would have a real bed, and you would also have 2 bathrooms.

[lex2906]

It’s an Alaska cruise, our first time to Alaska and first time on a cruise also so I was keen for a balcony. 
 

I am hoping it’s ok with the rollaway folded through the day I just wasn’t sure if people’s experience with this in front of the balcony. I was hoping to be able to sit in the mornings! 

[avonlady6390]

May I suggest instead of booking the ruby for Alaska look for a royal class ship not sure which ones for next year but they have a deluxe balcony class cabin which has a love seat that converts to a bed and I believe some have a bunk from the ceiling to accommodate 4 people and it will give you more room and can save even more with an obstructed view deluxe cabin.

[lex2906]

Thanks, I will have a look. We are quite tied with dates due to leave from work and kids school summer holidays. I also wanted a round trip rather than having to travel one way. We are traveling from Scotland so also have to schedule flights from there. 

[Steelers36]

51 minutes ago, lex2906 said:

It’s an Alaska cruise, our first time to Alaska and first time on a cruise also so I was keen for a balcony. 
 

I am hoping it’s ok with the rollaway folded through the day I just wasn’t sure if people’s experience with this in front of the balcony. I was hoping to be able to sit in the mornings! 

What we would have done in your case (kids and wanting a balcony) is book a Balcony and an Inside across the hall for the kids.  We would have made sure trip affordable because four of us in one regular cabin a non-starter.

 

ETA:  I would rather two Insides and forego the Balcony because the best viewing is going to be around the ship and not just what you see from Balcony (generally one view < 180 degrees).

Edited September 7, 2023 by Steelers36

[lex2906]

Thank you! I will have a look at these options! 

[~*Lou*~]

The photo above looked familiar and then I realised it was my image! That is a standard balcony on Coral Princess with foldaway and one pullman. We had children age 11 and 14 at the time. You CAN walk round the pillow-end of the foldaway to get to the balcony (that's my husband on the balcony in the dark in the photo!), its not impossible but you are shuffling sideways and need to be careful not to bump your shin on the corner of the bed (or the head of which ever child you have down there!). Yes the steward folds the bed up during the day for a bit more space. 4 in a cabin works with children but you do have  minimal personal space and need to be considerate of each other 100% of the time - I found this harder with my husband than the children. We have done 4 x 7 night cruises (2x Alaska, 1 x Med and 1 x Queensland) with 4 in a cabin (3 x internal and 1 x balcony) and lived to tell the tale. Better than not cruising at all!

[lex2906]

Thank you for your reply! This is what I wanted to check as I hoped to have some mornings on the balcony! I think we will go ahead as we are prepared for this and like you say better than not going at all. It's a case of this date or nothing due to work leave and school holidays! Thank you again! 

[~*Lou*~]

Happy to help.

 

Happy to answer any queries you have on this - also try doing a search on my user name as I have posted trip reports abut our Alaska cruises in 2015 and 2019 - these were both quad-share internal cabins. I have found we mostly all go to bed and get up about the same time when cruising, rather than the children going to bed much earlier than the adults, we just wind up on the same time timetable (my husband might try to stay in bed longer in the mornings but that generally doesn't work out). Also Alaskan cruises are mostly port-intensive - you are up and off the ship for a full day more days than sea days, and when you get back you are all tired, that's been our experiences anyway.

[lex2906]

Thank you, I will have a look at your previous posts!