Jean C

Princess need to rephrase the wording on their website. They say: Most Popular / You Choose Your Room / Choose a Room Now People reading those words are under the impression they can choose a room whereas in reality you frequently can only choose a type of cabin and location, with Princess assigning a room there or in a comparable location. It's hardly choosing your room.

I'm sure you'll have a great time, what's not to like when you don't have to cook or clean and you can go to shows every night. Some we've been dubious about turned out to be great. We seen the odd dud entertainer, but it still beats the usual diet of reality and home renovation shows our TV is flooded with these days 🛳 🥳

And while I'm on a roll, I fully understand the traditional guarantee cabin, I just don't like the new fangled option to choose your own cabin, usually for a fee, only to have Princess say there are none to select in that location and they guarantee you a cabin there or similar 🙁

With respect, the problem for people who prefer to choose a cabin rather than have one allocated, is that they may end up in a "better" or, as Princess word it "comparable", location that isn't desirable to the passenger, ie starboard side when scenic cruising or the sun/shade is predominantly on port side, maybe an uncovered balcony when you want civered, or more central but under the pool deck or a walking/jogging track, over the theatre or a noisy bar, or by a lift lobby where people gather and natter at all hours, under a seawalk or at the rear of the ship with early morning anchor noises that they may not appreciate. I appreciate that not everyone is as picky but I for one would only take "pot luck" if the fare was super cheap making the holiday a real bargain not to be missed. Just my view.

I've always chosen a cabin number too, however I have to book well in advance. I wish Princess would show all available cabins rather than hedging their bets and saying they guarantee a room in the selected or a comparable location.

I think part of the problem is when Princess sells cruises with multiple embarkation and disembarkation ports. For example, for the 2026 cruise you can't choose a specific cabin from Auckland while there are many to choose from Sydney. They only allocate a few for Auckland and I suppose they juggle allocations later 😔

I must admit I find it very annoying that you can't always select your own specific cabin on Princess - if that'sthe case, I go elsewhere. Even if you've chosen to pay the slightly higher fare to select your own cabin, you select your room type, select "choose a room now", select location and go through what's available on each deck, only to get a message that Princess don't currently have any rooms available to select in this location and if you select the option they will guarantee a stateroom in this or a comparable location prior to sailing. This happens many, many months prior to sailing, not just for last minute bookings, for example, for a sailing in March 2026 (not the world cruise).

Other than grizzling about them, some of the informed "whether or not" posts are no doubt of immense value to cruisers who aren't sure what to expect.

Hi, I've just done some research on the Grand Princess (too much time on my hands). It doesn't have a "sea walk" so there's no obstruction from that for their mini suites. Mini suites are towards the back of Emerald deck, away from the lifeboats, and along both sides of the whole of Dolphin deck - I can't see any obstructions for any of them. If your friends have a cabin number, they may be interested in this site that I came across, showing actual photos of the views from obstructed window cabins on Grand Princess - https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/ov.php?ship=Grand-Princess&cabins=E209-E231

Hi, if the club class minis are in locations you're happy with, then go for it. You can always invite your obstructed ocean view friends to hang out with you in your cabin at times. I wouldn't feel "guilty", for want of a better word, you should do what's best for you. While you're not wanting to upset your friends by thinking the situation may seem unfair to them, they could be rubbing their hands with glee at the cheaper overall price they paid for the same cruise. Chances are that for many of the scenic parts of the cruise you could all be up on the top deck anyway. Just do it 😊

Thank you, that's helpful. I'll get my friend to check with the gentleman next time they are together.

That's interesting, I think you've also been on prior world cruises? Do you know if Princess always does this for passengers on the world cruise, or segments of it? I'm asking because an elderly male friend of a friend is going on the 2015 world cruise segment from Auckland to Dover. He's not cruise savvy or experienced and booked through an equally elderly dinosaur of a "travel agent" (retired, but keeping a finger in and pretty much useless, other than successfully clipping the ticket). Just curious as he was under the impression Princess arranged visas. It would be nice to be able to give him some reliable info from a CC expert 🥰

Thanks, it's nice to have that confirmation 👍

Hi folks, is it better to go clockwise or anti-clockwise, ie as regards potentially smoother sailing?

Yikes, I've just been looking at Princess around Australia cruises for 2025/26 and they are coming out as NZD400 per person per day to choose a standard fare regular balcony! Yikes, I need to take a blood pressure pill 💊