Sapphire Princess C603

[Mad dogs and Englishmen]

We have booked our first cruise (to Alaska in August) through Virgin holidays and decided to pay extra for Cabin C603 (Caribe deck) on Sapphire Princess.

 

We are a family of 4, all 'adult' size and were told when booking that the cabin accomodates 4 as it has 2 roll out beds. We specifically didn't want bunks.

 

Looking at the deck plans, C603 says it can accommodate 3 (not 4) but we rang Virgin and they assured us it was definately showing on their system as a 4 berth.

 

I'm worried now that the cabin will have bunks and there will be no other suitable cabins available midship. Still haven't received the confirmation yet, despite booking almost 3 weeks ago (they're busy!!)

 

I believe the cabins on Caribe deck are larger but does anyone know what the bed configuration is for this cabin?

 

Also, I read somewhere that the crew take their cigarette breaks on the starboard side, is it likely to affect us? I would hate my holiday to be ruined by the smell of smoke :eek:

 

Cheers

[cherylandtk]

Ring your agent RIGHT NOW and ask to be moved to a different cabin.

 

1. You are correct, C603 only has berths for 3, the fourth person would have to sleep on a rollaway bed, which, when in place, completely blocks the access to the balcony and takes up all of the available floor space. You cannot move around the cabin except by crawling over the beds.

 

2. There are NO permanent floor beds on Princess for third and fourth passengers except in the full suites. Balconies for 3/4 all have bunks, there are no sofas in balcony rooms. Mini-suites do have a fold-out couch for a third person, but if there is a fourth, it is in a bunk that folds out from the ceiling over the couch.

 

3. Since you do not want bunks, you need to book two cabins. Your agency (which we are not supposed to name on the boards) should have told you that. And they are wrong about that cabin holding four on a routine basis. It is clearly marked on the current ship deck plans with traingle, which means three. A rollaway might allow you to put three people in your current cabin (without any floor space), but you do not have anywhere to put the fourth without a bunk. Consider moving your cabin to a BB, where you could put the other two people in an inside room across the hall. Much more space, all beds on the floor, two bathrooms, and you can still all gather on the balcony. In the UK, the booking/changing rules are different, but insist to your TA that they must correct this error.

 

4. There are still 4 person balconies (albeit with two bunks) available on your sailing, on Caribe deck. At the very least, move into one of these so you have some floor space, and manage the bunks as best you can. Next option would be to upgrade to a mini-suite, but you would still have to manage with at least one bunk.

[cherylandtk]

Forgot to add that the cabins on Caribe are NOT larger than any other balcony cabin. About 180 Sq feet, including bathroom and dressing area. The only 'free space' is the area at the foot of the bed, and the section in front of the slider to the balcony. Which can hold ONE rollaway in a pinch.

 

Here are three photos of a Caribe balcony room on Sapphire:

View from entry, across bed to balcony slider (closet and bath to the right)

 

View from slider across bed to back wall of closet. Closet, dressing area and bathroom behind this wall.

 

View of closet from entry (different room with mirror-image layout; in this photo, bath is to the left, closet to the right, mirror door opens to shelving. Entry hall is where photographer is standing, and room is to the right. )

[Mad dogs and Englishmen]

Thanks very much for your reply.

TA was very helpful, they originally quoted us a cabin on the Baja deck.

After several phone conversations (and there was supposedly a Princess manager on site that they spoke to re: cabins.) we were given a choice of 3 cabins. We chose 603 as it was the closest to mid-ship.

 

Bit worried now. I'll ring them and see if they can change us.

Will have to have a word with the kids too as they may have to have bunks after all.

The roll-outs are apparently, made up for you at night and put away in the morning by the cabin steward so we may be able to cope with that if all else fails.

 

 

Tried to edit the TA out but won't let me, didn't realise, can you not edit a post once someone's replied? :eek:

 

Cheers

[cherylandtk]

Posts cannot be edited after 15 or 20 minutes.

 

If you can switch to a cabin that holds four without the rollaway you will have a bit more space and it will be easier to manage with four people. When I checked after your first post,there were still some available on Caribe. Either way, you will at least know beforehand what to expect in the room.

[Mad dogs and Englishmen]

Thanks very much for the advice, much appreciated as we're new to all this!

After a family 'conference' I rang the cruiseline direct who were very helpful. There is one upper berth which my son is happy to sleep on and 1 rollaway so it will accommodate all of us. The bed will be made up and put away at our convenience by the cabin steward so I think we can probably manage with that. Hopefully we won't be spending all our time in the cabin.

 

Thanks again, AM

[Mad dogs and Englishmen]

Its almost 2 years since our Alaskan cruise but thought I would update this.

 

Information for anyone finding this cabin on a search.... ;-)

 

Great cabin in a good position, centrally located for mid and aft lifts. Very handy for the laundry too! We managed with the rollaway bed as we spent very little time in the cabin.

Our son (a 6' large rugby player) was comfy enough on the bunk. Hubby and I had a twin bed each and teenage daughter slept in rollaway but as she was at the teen centre until the early hours she just crashed and slept anyhow!

 

We found that by placing the rollaway at an angle we could just about squeeze round the sides to gain entry into the fridge and out on to the balcony.

I managed to get out to photograph the sunrise and watch whales as everyone else slept!!

 

The rollaway was made up every evening for us by our wonderful cabin steward, Marilyn, but it was easy to fold away which we did ourselves every morning to give us more space. The bed folded away neatly by the balcony window so was never in the way. It restricted the light slightly but again not a problem.

 

The balconies on Caribe are apparently larger and although it was overlooked by Baja deck (only if you sit close to the rail) there was still a degree of privacy due to the overhang which we liked.

 

The four of us could sit out comfortably with lots of space.

Starboard was definitely the best side for our Alaskan trip, all the whales appeared to starboard!

 

Three of us have just returned from our 2nd cruise with princess. It was last minute so we got the last 2 available cabins on Caribe, otherwise I probably wouldn't have booked it.

Again we went for starboard and there were dozens of porpoises on our side.

We were in the aft this time (c719) and had a rocky night on the Bay of biscay but nobody in our party was sick! Lol!

 

We have only cruised with princess but I think we'll stick with what we know... Starboard on Caribe deck (with no upgrade) as it suits us. :)