Royal Princess Review

Premium Balconies Not All The Same

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Royal Princess
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CCRCC
2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Oct 2014
Cabin: Deluxe Balcony

Second cruise on Princess, but much larger ship. Liked the ship and décor very much. Specialty restaurants were great; winemaker's dinner excellent; dining rooms food hit and miss; breakfast buffet good. Never saw much of the entertainment as the early shows can interfere with dinner and the late shows were too late for us, but we are used to that. We make our own arrangements for all the shore excursions online as the ship is more expensive and too many people to deal with. Loved all the ports as we had only been to Boston before this cruise. All in all a very good itinerary and good ship but a little large for us. Exiting and entering in ports at dock went smoothly. The tenders had waits but not long. We used the ship for transportation from and to the airport to dock, and all went smoothly - a very nice big bus. Never smelled smoke inside or out (a miracle), and the cabin was always made up nicely. I asked for robes, but none were there and the steward brought some immediately. Also asked for a top sheet, which was also done immediately, as you only have the duvet which is so thick, heavy, and hot that I cannot sleep under it. Wish you had a thin, cotton blanket in the room to use if you wished. All in all a very good cruise, and have put down a deposit for a future cruise with Princess.

But will definitely get all details about the room before booking. We had a aft facing balcony listed as a premium balcony on the Aloha (12) deck. It had no cover from the deck above; it was less deep from room to railing than the floor above and below. None of the above was given in the description. Some overhang from the deck above to shade and deep enough for loungers with foot rests (as deeper balconies had) would have been worth the extra money for that premium designation, but this deck was not even as good as side balconies as they have overhead covers. I am sure I called and asked about the overhang because of the same problem with another cruise, but the phone people do not know every deck on every ship and so you cannot really find out the details. Since it was not an obstructed balcony, they do not feel the need to describe decks differently. Don't pay for a premium deck unless you know exactly what you are getting for the money. Very disappointing! Room was fine but nothing special for a balcony room.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Balcony

Cabin D4

We had a aft facing balcony listed as a premium balcony on the Aloha (12) deck. It had no cover from the deck above; it was less deep from room to railing than the floor above and below. None of the above was given in the description. Some overhang from the deck above to shade and deep enough for loungers with foot rests (as deeper balconies had) would have been worth the extra money for that premium designation, but this deck was not even as good as side balconies as they have overhead covers. I am sure I called and asked about the overhang because of the same problem with another cruise, but the phone people do not know every deck on every ship and so you cannot really find out the details. Since it was not an obstructed balcony, they do not feel the need to describe decks differently. Don't pay for a premium deck unless you know exactly what you are getting for the money. Very disappointing! Room was fine but nothing special for a balcony room.

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