QM2 - Princess vs Balcony

[ninabk]

I've seen questions about Princess vs Queens level, but my question is whether to book a Princess level over a balcony level cabin. The price for the Princess seems to be about double. With all the alternative dining arrangements, is it truly worth the price difference? Are there other amenities? larger cabin? Thanks to all who respond!

[Winchester]

I think you have to decide if for dining you want to be in a small room with a limited number of people or down in the big room. I've sailed QE2 in all the dining rooms and I prefer to be in one of the larger rooms. Seems to be more of a shared experience that way.

 

And Yes, I think with all the other options, spending all that extra is not needed for food requirements. With Todd's 1 night and the King's Court options, you will not spend a lot of time in your regular dining room on a 6 day crossing, if you try them all. On a longer cruise I see the value of the other options, but I like to find a core group of diners to see every day.

 

QE2 1969 x2, 1978 x2, 2001 x2 1 trip in 1991, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003

SS France 1972 x2 and 1974 x1

SS Raffaello 1974 & 1975

Sea Venture 1974 to Bermuda

SS Rotterdam 1976 & 1977 Nassau & Bermuda

Noordam 1992 & 94/95

Statendam 1993

Horizon 1996

Galaxy 1997 - trip #3 ??

Windward (Now Norwegian Wind) 1997 3 trips before lengthening

Ryndam 1999

Amsterdam - New Years 02/03 with sail7seas and many other happy folks

Serenade Of The Seas 2003 trip #7

QM2 1/31/04

Single since 1991 except Serenade.

QM2 11/6/04 & Queen Victoria - sometime in 2005

[Crouton]

I poked around some Junior Suite staterooms on decks 9 & 10 during disembarkation. They are definitely bigger -- and the added features can including a vanity table, a wet bar, a LARGE bathroom (2 sinks and a bathtub, I think) along with a bigger deck. There's a larger sitting area/couch too. Oh yeah: huge walk in closets.

 

Unless money is no object and it really doesn't matter -- I think you can think about your space needs and the person you're travelling with and decide.

 

The person I would have taken if she could come is mellow enough and understands my need for space, I that I don't think we would have had a problem negotiating private time in our B2. I got the Balcony in part to add an additional separate area to the room and so it would feel less cramped.

 

No way around that little bathroom though: it's one at a time unless you get weird or know each other really well.

 

The other consideration is literally "ex-clus-ivity." For me personally, QM2 is not the kind of ship where I'd want to limit my access to over 2/3 of the other passengers and totally miss the chance to eat in Britannia.

 

Find real pictures of the rooms (there are some around the internet) and compare them so you can see exactly what you want. It's worth the time and effort now for your psychological, physical, and economic comfort later on.

 

My 2 cents...

 

Crouton

[ninabk]

Thanks for the comments. In my case we are talking about three people - me, husband, seven-year old daughter - so space is a concern. The QM2 is attractive because of the Children's program. On ships that offer evening programs for the children, my daughter eats before the program and my husband and I have a more leisurely dining experience by ourselves. I don't know if QM2 has evening programs for kids (getting info on the kids program has been difficult). If it doesn't, the Princess Grill may be problematic (i.e., nasty stares from certain other passengers who are probably there to get away from their kids!).

[imacruizer]

Read the information about the children's program on the "Traveling with Grandchildren" thread on this board.

[Crouton]

ninabk,

 

Now that I know you are three people, ninabk, IMHO there is no way you would be happy with just a balcony sized room unless you prepare youselves for a kind of "camping out" ("cramping out?") experience.

 

I would say the B rooms work well for two (2)people who know each other well, have travelled together at least once before, are good at communicating space/privacy needs, or who only plan to sleep there period.

 

Crouton

[Ken_W]

Ninabk, the closet space you get in Princess may be a determining factor for you. The walk-in closet is enormous, and the hall closet storage stretches from the glassware cabinet almost to the door of the cabin itself.

 

On our trip, we had been in London for ten days, then the ship, then three more days in NY after that, so we had Way, way too much luggage - seven pieces in all, two tuxes, two blazers, sweaters, the whole nine yards - and we did not fill up the closet space by any means.

[dougnewmanatsea]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Crouton:

Now that I know you are three people, ninabk, IMHO there is no way you would be happy with just a balcony sized room unless you prepare youselves for a kind of "camping out" ("cramping out?") experience.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Now now, it all depends on what you're used to . People do it all the time. I've done it ten times and will certainly do it again. I would say that "camping out" is a stretch. There's not tons of room but if you don't spend that much time in your cabin it really doesn't matter!

 

I remember when we booked a cruise on SEVEN SEAS NAVIGATOR (which we cancelled) the people on the Radisson board were mortified at the idea of three people in a standard suite (roughly the size of a PG Junior Suite on QM2) and suggested that we would be much more comfortable in something bigger. That suite was three times the size of the smallest cabin I've ever been in as a triple!

 

It may be that ninabk would not be comfortable in something the size of a standard cabin but I wouldn't write it off automatically.

 

Doug Newman

Cruise Critic Message Boards Host

e-mail: shiploverny AT yahoo DOT com

[ninabk]

Thanks for all the comments. I have found that cabin layout is very important when three are travelling together. I've been on Crystal Harmony (skinny little coach for the third - only good for kids), Holland America Veendam (pull-out), Royal Carribean Serenade of the Seas (choice of pull-out or drop down bed over coach) and Celebrity Zenith. The Zenith was a hoot. The pull-out bed blocked access to the bathroom. The pull-out bed was too small for my husband to sleep on (he was the one who need the bathroom access - my little one was still in diapers!) so we ended up putting the mattress on the floor between the two beds for my daughter. Talk about camping out! My husband spends a lot of time in the room - practically lives on the balcony. I think it is very clear that the Princess level is the only way for the three of us to go. Thanks again.