DnA2010

I like the inside cabins on the Lido deck all the way forward when I am cruising solo and want to keep the cost down. The corridors thru that area tend to be very quiet due to little foot traffic besides the passengers who are staying there. I also like it up there because of the proximity to the open deck.

I usually choose something in the L240s.

I took a look and in this area it's just guarantee unfortunately, thanks for the thoughts though!

We've done this several times. Note that you can sometimes see land in the distance if the haze doesn't block it - there is not much of a view even with a balcony. We even took an obstructed ocean view to Alaska a couple of times since we were not going to be in the cabin much anyway. Check the definitive source on ocean views at: https://sites.google.com/site/cabinviewbyrenmar/home

 

Also note that upscale cabins can be really cheap on this route. We got a corner Owner's Suite a few years ago for around $250pp. Normal suite amenities and double Princess points. Lots of Canadians onboard - had a lady and her kids in line seeing off husband going to a conference in LA. Then they told the kids everyone was going and they were also going to Disneyland.

$250?!! Crazy! The owners suites aren’t available but the next ones down are $1500 pp

Hi there,

just wondering if anyone has headed to Disneyland after a cruise and can give me an idea of how long it takes, what option they went with etc. Looks like husband and I are going to book a short 4 day cruise from Vancouver to LA on Princess in October, and I'm thinking we should do one crazy Disney day before we fly home. This is a trip without our kids so just would do one day.

Thanks so much!

Is it on all of the ships? We love escape rooms!

I think some of the best value cabins for those whose budget is on the lower side are the obstructed oceanview cabins near the aft elevators on Emerald Deck. Yes the view is Obstructed with a capital O. But for shorter cruises like the one OP is looking at you get daylight for only a pittance more than an inside. And they often are far less costly than midship obstructed OV cabins that are a long walk from the lifts. I am so used to a cabin close to the rear lifts on the Grand class ships that I can find my way to most any public room without thinking. And I think a Princess first timer would find the location equally useful.

I just had a look and it looks like the ones in the aft are pretty much gone, other than the ones that a very very obstructed, but the price difference across deck 8 is pretty minimal- the two with the nicest views are E628 and E 414 and E414 is only $18 more

I was also going to suggest the link that Thrak posted...Renmar does a great service keeping it updated with pictures showing the obstruction.

For an inside, if you like the aft section of the ship, definitely our favorite (we choose there when they're available) is Aloha 737 through 744. Those cabins are for 2 only. The rest of the cabins in that section are for 3-4 people. The bunk beds are mounted on the wall and stick out at least 5 or 6 inches. If you want a queen bed configuration, you'll hit your head, shoulder or back depending on how tall you are every time you get in or out of bed. The stewards prefer the twin configuration for ease of making the bed.

The aft Aloha deck cabins are close to a "secret" door that leads out to the Terrace Pool (up a short flight of stairs). If you go up another slightly longer flight of stairs, you're at the Outrigger Bar and through the doors is the buffet. It's like having your own semi-private balcony.:D

So 737, 740, 741 and 744 are all available- thanks for the tip, I will def look at booking one of these!

There's a thread you started on June 13th titled late 30's - considering Princess- thoughts please

Hi there, yes that was my initial thread. I posted yesterday asking booking advise :)

I think they deleted your thread because you named a particular store that has a travel department. I can't find the thread either. I tried to remember and answer your question in your first thread; not sure if my post was allowed to stay or not.

 

We are not permitted to name TAs or agencies here. Sorry.

 

You can book thru Princess or put a hold on a cabin thru Princess and transfer to a TA. You can also research TAs in advance to see who best meets your needs. The upgrade/upsell fairy lands where she will; how you book has no influence except that it has been reported that some big box store TAs don't notify clients of upsell offers.

Before you book' date=' find a friend who has cruised on Princess and have them do a "refer a friend" to each person in your group. Each referred friend gets $25 in OBC, and the person doing the referrals will get $25 per referral if they cruise within the next 2 years.

 

Obstructed views can be great, but you need to consider what the cost difference is and how obstructed the particular cabin is. There are lots of pictures on line.

 

When you are on the ship, talk to people and if you meet Princess regulars, ask where and how they book--you'll have that info for next time.[/quote']

 

 

Thank you- I appreciate you taking the time to write this again.

Hi All,

I am looking for advice on locations regarding booking the Oct 19th sailing of the Emerald Princess from Vancouver to LA- we are looking at Insides or maybe a obstructed oceanview. There are a lot of cabins available, so would love to hear your thoughts on where to book. My apologies to those that already posted their thoughts, I can't find the thread I started yesterday.

Thank you all so much for helping.

We're in the same boat- literally. We just booked this exact same cruise, and are in our mid-thirties. Usually we sail DCL, but since this trip is going to be just me and the husband, we're branching out. I'm a *little* worried about the crowd - we have taken 1 other Princess cruise before, 12 years ago, and the demographic was definitely much older, but we still had a blast. At the end of the day, were mostly going to relax, so I'm hopeful it will fit the bill. :)

 

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Looks like we are go8ng to book the 4 day Vancouver to LA Oct 19 (and maybe sneak in 1 Disney day!) or else it would be nice to meet you for a drink!

If you are the party starter then you might love Princess.

 

If you want to relax and hit the hay relatively early then you will love Princess.

 

If you get lucky and there is a group of partying 50+ folks on the ship then you might love Princess.

 

 

When we were thirty-three, we took a Princess cruise... then about twenty years later we took our second Princess cruise.

Thanks! Enjoyed your thoughts :)

We've not been on the Ruby' date=' but we've done several other Princess ships. On DCL, we strongly prefer the Magic to the Fantasy, but those are different issues than we've ever seen on Princess. We've also done a couple of other lines.

 

Depending on the time of year, you'll find a much broader demographic on Princess than on other lines. We've always found a lot more night life on Princess than on DCL--dancing, etc. The production shows are not nearly as good, but the Voice of the Ocean show and some of the variety acts are excellent. However, if your only comparison is the Fantasy...those are the least good shows on DCL. Princess shows tend to be a bunch of people singing and dancing to a particular type of music rather than a show with a plot. Food on Princess has been improving over the last few years, and on our most recent cruise was as good as we've had on any line. Try the complimentary afternoon tea (usually 3pm in one of the dining rooms). It's a nice mid-day break.

 

I would certainly suggest you try Princess. That's where we've booked our next two cruises,[/quote']

 

While we are Disney fans and we loved our cruise on the Fantasy, I don't know when we will said DCL again- the cost always seems to be double that of comparable cruises on other lines and we'd rather do more with our vacation dollars.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on the shows and food- that's one thing I will say about HAL's Volendam- the food shocked us with how good it was. I did speak to the Sous one day and he did say, as it's a small ship that they are able to be more creative and do more actual cooking as oppose to "heating"

Be aware that due to the timing of this cruise, you probably won't see very many passengers under 25. School is in session and those folks would rather wait to cruise when there is a break in the schedule.

Jim

That makes sense, thank you :)

We did the other direction - LA to Vancouver - on the Coral Princess last month. Here is the Princess Patter from a sea day. Even though the Coral is a smaller ship than the Ruby, it should give you an idea of the activities on a Princess ship.

Thank you for posting this :)

Monarch of the seas.

The epic is very big, I’ve heard RCL does the mega ships better than NCL, at least the epic. Only forward and aft elevators, not enough deck space, not many windows, have to walk through the casino to get everywhere, weird layout, bathrooms. Reserve nearly everything. Idk, some people love it. A very polarizing ship lol.

Thanks! Will def keep this in mind

It's a 5 nighter, not much to do but have fun. There will be live music in all the lounges every evening, shows, probably a comic or singer, a DJ in Skywalker's which will probably be busier on a 5 nighter than a longer cruise. If it's a good price you don't have much to lose. Short cruises tend to have younger crowds.

Thanks, I think the price is pretty darn cheap all things considered, and the short one way flight is for sure appealing

Having sailed Princess 20+ times, I can say that it has a fairly broad demographic. That is influenced to a degree by both time of year, length of cruise, and itinerary. We did a short Vancouver to SF a few years back. It is not a “party” cruise but there will be activity well into the evening. In October I doubt you would see very many kids. It should serve well as a brief getaway with only a single flight required .

I think as long as every venue isn't empty, that's what we would like- we like all sorts of music and that.

In all honesty, sounds like you might find Princess a bit....boring as well. Every CD makes the "There will be five people at the disco, and one of them is the DJ" type joke. Piano bar and more traditional dance venues will be active, but compared to the panoply of stuff to do on RCL's megas, Princess is distinctly laid back. More trivia-and-line-dancing than waterslides-and-ice-shows.

 

On the other hand, you've got a full day in San Francisco and just two sea days. How bored can you get in two days? I'd give it a shot.

We actually don't mind more traditional dance (gives us a chance to try and remember our ballroom lessons) Thanks for the thoughts

We went on our first Princess cruise as a way to celebrate my 40th birthday and loved it. There was enough activity to keep us busy when we wanted to be for as late as we might want. The age demographic is wide and we are still close with people we met on that cruise, still sailing together when we can. Enjoy it and let us know what you think.

Thank you for your reply, very helpful :)

When have been sailing Princess since we were in our early 30s and still really enjoy it 30 years later. We did this cruise last October, like you we got a great deal. Given the nature of this cruise and the time of year, it's a seasoned group. If you're content to relax and enjoy, you should be fine, but know you'll be some of the youngest on the ship. We ran into heavy seas for a couple of days and I told my DH the first day that the breakfast buffet and fitness center would be dead. Boy, was I wrong. Like I said, a seasoned group.

 

Just a comment on the Epic, it's a weird ship. I would recommend trying some other large NCL ship if you want a better experience.

Thanks for your thoughts, espec for the note on Epic- will def keep it in mind

FWIW I'm 29 and my wife is 26 -going on Ruby Aug 25 Alaska. We weren't impressed by our last RCL. It was a older ship, so that may have had something to do with it. Looking at Princess for Europe 19 even though prices seem high compared to NCL. Don't want the Epic mega ship so we will see how it goes it Aug. From what I read here and elsewhere, Princess is what we are looking for! We have a 1.5 YO (not taking) and want to relax, not party. I'll be following this post as well.

We really liked Oasis (giant) and Freedom (similar size to Ruby I believe) but going on Volendam last year made us realize we def prefer the bigger newer ships (I want to try the Epic type ships from NCL and may try to get on Bliss next year). I'm thinking this trip as a relax/but have some fun ie kinda party. Which RCL ship were you on?

Hi All,

I am considering booking the Ruby Princess Oct 13th cruise from Vancouver to LA as a little getaway for my husband and I. We have previously cruised on RCL's Oasis and Freedom, Disney's Fantasy and HAL's Volendam. I am considering this cruise as it leaves from Vancouver (which we can drive to) and the price is very reasonable. We enjoyed our cruises on DCL and RCL, we did find the HAL cruise a bit..boring, but we knew to expect that going in. Just wondering thoughts on Ruby Princess- what do the age demographics tend to be, do there tend to be people in the bars/night club in the evenings, how are the day activities?

Thank you all so much in advance

If there will be a lower cruise rate after Final up until a few days before sailing it most likely will be a category Guarantee cabin , without the promos that were previously offered ( OBC, Free @ Sea , ect.) so weigh those things of value to you that you will not have. Have a back up vacation plan .

Thank you all for your thoughts- I am thinking of a little get away for husband and I and then maybe next year bringing the family on an Alaskan...I am 4 hours driving distance to the port, so that's not a big deal, but would need to book a flight back from LA to Vancouver. Looking right now, the Guarantee rate works out better than the Free @ Sea promo we would pick, and we've done Guarantee before, we aren't picky on cabins. When is Final?

Hi all,

We haven’t sailed on NCL ya, but I was looking at the Sept 30th sailing of the Bliss from Vancouver to LA- just curious if closer to the sailing the prices will rise or fall? Any thoughts?

Cabins-

So we had 3 interior aft cabins, starboard side. 2591, 2695, 2699- on RCL we had an interior balcony and on DCL we had balcony on deck 10. My DH and I have done one cruise just the 2 of us that we had an interior (Freedom of the Seas from RCL)

Size- in comparison to the interior we had on Freedom, these were surprisingly bigger! there was def more room on either side of the bed which was nice, full side tables. Even when we had the playpen down for the baby to sleep in, we could get by to the door. We just popped the playpen on the couch when we weren't using it. The room steward asked if we wanted it taking down, but we said not to bother with naps and that.

Storage- lots and lots! More than we needed and we had lots of stuff. I will try to add some pictures, but off the top of my memory, there was room under the beds for the suitcases, 2 big drawers in the bedside table, 3 closets, one which we only kept the stroller in, the other we hung stuff (lots of wood hangers) the other had shelves. Lots of storage in the bathroom (which was a good size) huge shelf under the sink and counter, and the mirror opened for storage and we didn't even need/use.

Only 1 plug in, but we had a splitter so that helped. We didn't use our phones at all as we wanted to be totally unplugged (and didn't get around to adding a US plan), so mainly just used for hairdryer and baby monitor.

Lets see what else about the room- so size- good, bathroom size good, no tub (I believe the interiors are the only ones that don't have a tub) we had brought a blow up bath for bathing the baby, decor a bit dated but we expected that, as this ship is heading to dry dock after the Alaska runs, bed was fine, pillows ok, playpen for baby fine. No issues with the safe, you set it with a regular card.

Ah another thing, we found the rooms were very sound proof! We had 2 babies (the only ones on the ship for our cruise!) and could barely hear the other ones when they cried- you had to really listen, and our baby cries loud when she does cry!

Given someone was in the rooms in the daytime when the babies napped, it wouldn't have been nice to have a window, but it was fine.

The room was holding up well for it's age, the furniture was fine, the only major sign of age we saw was the tiles in the shower were a bit bleh and there was this crazy old school hair drying I think on the wall (I hope I got a picture) but the couch seemed pretty new, the stool at the desk was new.

My BIL gets super hot and found his room a bit hot, but the staff happily brought him a big box fan.

Given they were interior rooms, we didn't feel like we were on top of each other which was nice.

The walking tours in Skagway are easy. You have to be careful on those boardwalks though as they are uneven. The NPS in town does some of these walking tours. We enjoyed the one we were on very much. And it's free!:)

Where do you get the information on this? thank you!

Hi All,

Just wondering if you have any favourite walking tours? due to having babies we aren't going to do any crazy excursions, but thought walking around the ports would be nice.

Thank you

Hi All,

We are on the Volendam soon and I was just wondering if anyone knows the dress rotation (Ie formal, casual, smart casual etc)

Thank you!

Thanks guys- I think my cousin still wants to help so maybe half will go in with her with Some bags and the others sky train in. Appreciate you all!