3 passengers in balcony room on Emerald Princess

[latebuyer]

Unfortunately, Emerald Princess doesn't have deluxe balconies and as i'm the 3rd person i'm concerned i don't get stuck on one of those upper bunks. It says in the description there is a permanent roll away bed. Does anyone know if that is a roll way bed on the floor? We are not ready to book yet so not contacting a travel agent yet so thought i'd post here. It is 3rd person free on the cruise we are looking at.

[Thrak]

For a balcony on Emerald Princess I would expect the third birth to come down from the ceiling.

[latebuyer]

Oh dear.

[memoak]

Just now, Thrak said:

For a balcony on Emerald Princess I would expect the third birth to come down from the ceiling.

Same here. For 3 I would want a mini suite for the sofa sleeper 

[latebuyer]

Unfortunately the mini suites are sold out 😞

[Thrak]

There is simply no room for a "permanent" third bed. The cabins aren't that large. Depending on when the cruise sails there is always a "fair" chance that a mini-suit will become available before sail date. Of course that would cost more and would require not only getting on a wait list but also most likely would require constant vigilance as there's no guarantee you would get the cabin even if wait listed unless you were on top of it right away. Personally, while I wouldn't want to do 3 people in a balcony cabin, if I was going to do so and wasn't part of a couple in the cabin, I don't "think" I would have no issue with the upper berth.

[latebuyer]

Thanks. Its my parents so a bit of a different situation. I could get my own room, but with the 3rd person free that doesn't really make sense. I'll have to think about whether i want to be on upper bunk.

[karatemom2]

For what it is worth, I will share that our adult son says he finds the comfort level of the mattress on the drop down bunks far superior to the pull out sofas. He just shared a room with us on our family New Year's Eve cruise on Discovery and frankly was pretty miserable on the sofa bed despite our room steward doing his best to add some padding with a foam cushion.

 

Another huge disadvantage of the sofa beds in a balcony cabin is that they really block balcony access when they are pulled out, while the pull downs does not impede ability to navigate in the cabin.

 

So, if that is all that is available, it is not necessarily unworkable. Three adults in a cabin are cozy no matter how you slice it - whether the bed folds out or comes down from the ceiling. But it is manageable.

[Thrak]

30 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

Three adults in a cabin are cozy no matter how you slice it - whether the bed folds out or comes down from the ceiling. But it is manageable.

 

I avoid cabins with beds on the walls like the plague. Nope, nope, nope. Not going to happen.

[TRLD]

Currently on Emerald in a standard balcony. Third bunk is a pull down from the ceiling.

[latebuyer]

I think i'll say i'm heavy so they give me a roll away bed. I am pretty heavy, just not 250 pounds.

[Steelers36]

On Princess, all of the pullmans come down from ceiling in balcony cabins.  They only hang on walls for Insides on newer ships.

[memoak]

7 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

On Princess, all of the pullmans come down from ceiling in balcony cabins.  They only hang on walls for Insides on newer ships.

On the older ships back in the 90’s the all came off the wall 

[latebuyer]

Is it feasible to sleep on a lounger?

[karatemom2]

11 minutes ago, memoak said:

On the older ships back in the 90’s the all came off the wall 

 

We have definitely done a few cruises when our kids were small with those beds that folded out from the wall and it wasn't ideal design. We made it work, but the drop down bunks from the ceiling are much better. 

[karatemom2]

2 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Is it feasible to sleep on a lounger?

 

The balcony cabins don't have loungers - just chairs.

 

I am being sincere when I tell you that you might find that the pull down bed may work well for you. My son is 6'7" - he was well over 6 feet tall by the time he was in middle school. We have been traveling with Princess for years and for most of those cruises he has slept in a bunk, even now as an adult at his height and weighing over 200 pounds. He has never had an issue and as I said in my earlier post, actually finds them more comfortable than the pull out sofas.

 

What I would suggest is that you try the pull down bunk out and see if it works for you. If not, you can always request the rollaway. The only problem with those is that they take up a great deal of space in the room, even when they are folded so you kind of have to work around them. Once the bunk goes up - out of sight and out of mind!

 

You might actually find the pull down bunk is perfectly comfortable and suits you fine once you give it a try.

[reedprincess]

1 hour ago, latebuyer said:

Unfortunately, Emerald Princess doesn't have deluxe balconies and as i'm the 3rd person i'm concerned i don't get stuck on one of those upper bunks. It says in the description there is a permanent roll away bed. Does anyone know if that is a roll way bed on the floor? We are not ready to book yet so not contacting a travel agent yet so thought i'd post here. It is 3rd person free on the cruise we are looking at.

The third berth is a Pullman, comes out of the ceiling.

4th berth can be a rollaway but is usually a Pullman.

Where are you reading a description that says it's a permanent rollaway for the third berth? That would be quite unusual.. 

What cabin? 

[SCX22]

If you go to Cruise Deck Plans website, pull up the deck plans of the Emerald Princess and the find the cabins that are available on your cruise that can accommodate a rollaway using the legend.  They start on Baja and are usually a connecting cabin.  Regardless, the cabin must be able to accommodate 3 in the deck plans for a rollaway to even be feasible.  Princess will not allow you to have a rollaway in a double room.

 

Have to agree that space wise, the pullman makes more sense.  My cousins that have sailed with my nieces and nephews complain about how tight the walking space in the cabin can be.  (Banged up knees!)  It's great when the cabin steward brings it in for evening turndown and stores it in the steward's closet in the morning.  Not all agree to do this.

[latebuyer]

Thanks for this tip! Part of the problem with the bunk is i get up every night around 4am to use the washroom. I think it would be very disturbing getting up and down.

[reedprincess]

6 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks for this tip! Part of the problem with the bunk is i get up every night around 4am to use the washroom. I think it would be very disturbing getting up and down.

It would likely be as disturbing getting up and down from the rollway, which is essentially right next to the man bed as I would be getting up/down from the Pullman.. 

 

Rollway setup and third berth only setup:

 

You're less likely to bump the bed using the Pullman.. 

 

 

 

 

 

[SCX22]

14 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks for this tip! Part of the problem with the bunk is i get up every night around 4am to use the washroom. I think it would be very disturbing getting up and down.

Not being snarky, but your cabins mates will could be disturbed anyway.  There are motion sensor controlled lights underneath the nightstands and in the closest area that will illuminate with the slightest bit of motion.  Best to bring painter’s tape to cover up the sensor,

if you think this will be a problem.

[latebuyer]

lol My dad supposedly gets up multiple times per night so i don't think i'd feel too bad about getting up once. Anyways it may not work out this year and if so the majestic princess next year has a premium deluxe balcony with a sofa bed. We'll see what happens!

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

On the older ships back in the 90’s the all came off the wall 

The Island and Coral have them in the ceiling.

[memoak]

7 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

The Island and Coral have them in the ceiling.

I am talking about older ships like the Fair, the original Star, Sun, Dawn etc.  none of which are still in the fleet

[startedwithamouse]

You can place a bid to upgrade to a minisuite. Then you can sleep on a sofa.  Offer to pay the upgrade, and that can be your fare. 

 

Edited March 5 by startedwithamouse