Sapphire - Hawaii - Lido Deck Balcony

[Maddle]

We have been upgraded to L227 balcony cabin on the starboard side of Sapphire. As much as I hate to look a Gift Horse in the mouth, I want to be sure it's not a gift "White Elephant." There is still some availability throughout the ship, and I might be able to secure a change. (This might be moot if my TA can't get me into something else, but the answers might be helpful to others in the future.)

 

Question one - is the Starboard side of the ship a good choice for viewing the islands as you cruise in and out of port and from Island to Island?

 

Question two - is this room located far enough back so as not to be disturbed by the gymnasium? Is the beauty salon quiet overhead?

 

Question three - we're sailing out of Los Angeles in mid-December, so it won't be very warm. Having said that, will I regret not trying to secure a larger balcony on the Caribe Deck. It is a lot of sea days, and we might enjoy the extra space.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Maddle

 

PS - I was once on the Lido Deck in an inside cabin on the Crown, but it was much farther back under the changing rooms (L235, I believe.) We had no noise overhead, and I loved the proximity to the outside and to the pool, bars and buffet. I was excited to receive this balcony until I realized how close it is to the gym.

[srphnx]

Needless worry, Sapphire is a very well built and nearly always quiet ship.

 

Enjoy not needing an elevator to get to pools and the horizon court.

 

 

We have been upgraded to L227 balcony cabin on the starboard side of Sapphire. As much as I hate to look a Gift Horse in the mouth, I want to be sure it's not a gift "White Elephant." There is still some availability throughout the ship, and I might be able to secure a change. (This might be moot if my TA can't get me into something else, but the answers might be helpful to others in the future.)

 

Question one - is the Starboard side of the ship a good choice for viewing the islands as you cruise in and out of port and from Island to Island?

 

Question two - is this room located far enough back so as not to be disturbed by the gymnasium? Is the beauty salon quiet overhead?

 

Question three - we're sailing out of Los Angeles in mid-December, so it won't be very warm. Having said that, will I regret not trying to secure a larger balcony on the Caribe Deck. It is a lot of sea days, and we might enjoy the extra space.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Maddle

 

PS - I was once on the Lido Deck in an inside cabin on the Crown, but it was much farther back under the changing rooms (L235, I believe.) We had no noise overhead, and I loved the proximity to the outside and to the pool, bars and buffet. I was excited to receive this balcony until I realized how close it is to the gym.

[Maddle]

Thank you for your reassurance. The fact that the cabin is located on the same deck as the pool and buffet is appealing. I think it will be nice to be able to dash outside if we feel we are missing something from our balcony.

 

The draw for the Caribe deck is that it has the bigger balcony, and it is just a little lower in the ship (three decks.) That might make the crossing more comfortable as we depart and return to the west coast. Do you think that will make much of a difference? On the other hand, that means stairs and elevators whenever we want to go somewhere.

 

Maddle

[Liz54]

I have cruised on both Lido and Caribe and I think they are equal but different. I swim A LOT, and love grabbing snacks to go with balcony wine, but we tried a Caribe balcony last year and loved it. We are back on the lido deck because of friends prefer it. Really a hard call!

[Maddle]

Yes - it is a hard call, and I am making my DH and my TA crazy with my dithering about it.

 

Maddle

[Princess Patches]

Your cabin is under the beauty salon and will be quiet (no noiser than having a cabin overhead). Mostly people sitting while getting their hair done and closes early. Your cabin will be quiet. I would avoid the first 5 or so cabins on the starboad side of the Lido deck because they will be under the treadmills and weightlifting area and there are been multiple complaints of noise in those cabins.

 

The Lido deck location is good for access to the pool and buffet, but the Caribe deck balconies are twice as large. It is just a personal preference.

[stretchcruz]

What was your original cabin assignment?

[lovevacadays]

I haven't had a Lido deck cabin but have had Aloha aft on the Sapphire Princess which is very easy access to the Horizon buffet and Lido pool area. I loved that cabin but if given the opportunity I would choose the fabulous balcony cabins on Caribe over a Lido balcony. That extra space is fabulous, plus you have the option to sit on the balcony under the covered area when others are typically out on their balconies above you and not worry about folks looking at you but you also have the option to go out late in the evening, take your chair out to the uncovered area of your balcony on Caribe and stare directly up into the night sky and see the beautiful stars without a balcony floor over your head. Nothing like hat expansive night sky, sitting in your chair, and perhaps having a late night cocktail:D:D:D

[westerngardener]

Based on the previous threads - can you tell me if C252 cabin on the Caribe Deck is one of the covered balconies?

[lovevacadays]

Based on the previous threads - can you tell me if C252 cabin on the Caribe Deck is one of the covered balconies?

 

It will be half covered and half uncovered. A great regular balcony cabin.:)

[Putterdude]

We were upgraded a couple of years ago to the Lido deck just forward of 227. Like you we were apprehensive but it turned out great. As for starboard vs port, I don't think there is a better side, we had a starboard side and saw some of the islands but not a great deal, they are pretty far apart.

[Maddle]

Thanks for all of the responses.

 

Stretchcruz - Our original assignment was a Guarantee, BF...so BA is a terrific outcome to that gamble.

 

I don't know if the Caribe deck cabins are still available - it's been a few days. The cabins that WERE available at the time were almost directly below, and they were BB...so I don't know if we would have been allowed to switch anyway. (I'm sure there is some kind of marketing scheme that the cruiseline uses to determine which cabins will be assigned to Guarantee bookings.) I really did go back and forth and back and forth trying to decide if I wanted to chase a change. My husband's sense was, "there must be some reason they charge a premium for those cabins."

 

Maddle

[westerngardener]

Thanks, chloedmom. C252 half covered/half uncovered balcony sounds perfect, especially since we'll be doing the 'ultimate dining' thing for our 26th anniversary.

[aikensbest]

Port or Starboard going to Hawaii is really not important. The days on the ocean, either side you see nothing but water. Ports are not very interesting from the ship and we , having had one on each side, find little difference.

[shofer]

You don't say when you are going to Hawaii. We went in January and the ride was very bouncy. The higher the deck, the more motion you will feel. You are crossing more than 2000 miles of open ocean.

 

My friend and I booked a guarantee cabin and were assigned to L209. My friend is prone to motion sickness and our TA got Princess to move us to Caribe deck.

[Maddle]

We are going in December. The height of that Lido Deck on the ship is a worry for me - do you think the three decks down would make that much of a difference? Caribe is still pretty high up itself.

 

Maddle

[Princess Patches]

I sailed to Hawaii in November and the seas were very calm. The Pacific lived up to its name. I have never noticed much of a difference in movement between higher and lower decks, I mostly notice a movement difference between forward, midship, and aft (forward has the most movement). The best thing about Caribe deck is the balcony is twice as large. For that reason alone, I would choose Caribe over Lido deck.