Difference in Balcony Categories?

[tigstoy]

Hi,

 

First time posting but this is our second time cruising with Royal Caribbean. For our first cruise, we "tested the waters" by taking a 4 night Bahama cruise on Majesty of the Seas. We chose an ocean view stateroom. Decided we liked cruising as much as we liked an all inclusive resort if we wanted a vacation to see multiple destinations. 4 night cruise is a nice getaway but not long enough for a vacation.

 

For our second cruise we are doing an 8 night Caribbean cruise on Independence of the Seas. We chose a balcony room since we have 3 days total at sea.

 

Friends are planning to join us for this cruise. Can you tell me the difference in the balcony categories?

 

I see the obvious difference that the superior view staterooms (D1, D2, D3) have 199 sf compared to deluxe oceanview stateroom (E1 and E2) having 184 sf.

 

My questions are other than the square footage:

What is the difference between D1, D2 and D3?

What is the difference between E1 and E2?

 

Do the promenade staterooms have an interior window? It appears they do in the stock picture.

 

Some of the classfications for everything have me totally confused. Thanks for your input.

[pspercy]

Do the promenade staterooms have an interior window? It appears they do in the stock picture.

 

Yes, they do.

[will773]

The difference between D1's, 2's and 3's is location really. D3's will tend to be on the lower decks, towards the front or back of the ship. The deck and location will "improve" as you go do D2's and D1's. Same thing for E1's and 2's. The difference between D's and E's is minimal. If you are going to have more than 2 people in the cabin, D's will have a sofa bed while E's will have pullmans that come out of the ceiling. If it's just 2 of you, D's will have a full sized couch while E's will have more of a love seat.

 

As for the promenade cabins, yes they do have a window with a view of the promenade.

[cb at sea]

All D cabins are the same size, regardless of the number designation. Same with E's....

 

So, basically have the deck plans in front of you, and choose your catagory cabin based on the location you'd like. Midships is really the best...a tad less motion and convenient to the stairs and elevators. When you see how long the hallways really are, being near the access points is a huge timesaver!!!

[Rala]

All D cabins are the same size, but some only sleep 2 people while others can sleep 3 or 4 people( using pullman berths and/or sofa-bed). Also some are in more desirable locations than others. Be sure you have a cabin booked that will sleep the number of people in your cabin and that it is in an area you will be happy with. Same thing applies to E cabins pretty much.:)

[tigstoy]

Our stateroom is 6360 and is close to the elevators. I was happy with that.

 

One set of friends (first time cruisers) that just booked today ended up with 8668. Two more couples are considering going. One couple are first time cruisers and the other couple cruised once about 7-10 years ago.

 

The two couples that are first time cruisers are asking alot of questions that I don't have the answers. I have pointed them here to this site but don't know how much they will check it out so I am trying to get answers to all the questions.

[ILoveScotland]

Another thought: Location on the ship is a matter of personal preference. Some people want the stability of mid-ship. However, I love being as far forward as possible, because I like to feel the movement of the sea, and I don't mind the longer walk. But, that's me.

[tigstoy]

Can anyone that has sailed on the Independence of the Seas tell me if the balconies on 6, 7, 8 all have outside railings with glass or does 6 have a solid barrier?

[tigstoy]

Now people have me concerned that the cabin we are in has the balcony over the part of the MDR that sticks out or that we are overlooking life rafts.

 

Can anyone tell me more about the Independence of the Seas deck six rooms in that area? Good? Bad? Fine?

 

Rooms 6360 and 6388.

 

The dilemma is that prices have went up $50 per person since we booked for the D3 we have and D2 cabins are now $40 per person higher than what we paid.

 

We booked directly through RCI not online. Currently have a D3 and might want to move to D1, D2, D3 only to a higher deck. Based on your experiences if we called and asked for our room to be changed would we have to pay the higher rate?

[setsail]

Tig, pics of the Liberty, just like the Indy. The LB's are under the overhang,not sticking out. The balconies have glass and if you move up a cat for your cabin you will be expected to pay the difference-D3 to D2,if the D2 is a higher cost. See you joined our M&M, ask away there.Deck 6 is fine, several of us are on that deck.

[tigstoy]

Thanks. I never thought of posting the question on the Roll Call or Meet and Mingle.

 

We did call and talk to an RCI rep. It was the person we booked with but we didn't want to wait until Monday in case he was off tomorrow for Good Friday.

 

Yes they told us that there weren't any D3 above deck and our options were to pay $40 more for a smaller cabin. I'm assuming it was an E1 or E2 or $80 more to change to another D category. Right now the D3 are higher than the D2 and D1 but everything has went up since we booked at the end of February.

 

I told my husband that I didn't think it was a big enough deal to change anything.

[mek]

Do the promenade staterooms have an interior window? It appears they do in the stock picture.

 

Yes, they do.

 

And they also have a very nice window seat in addition to the love seat - great for two people to sit and relax. We stayed in one of these cabins last year just because I was curious what they were like and I really enjoyed it - because of the window and configuration, the cabin seems much larger than a regular inside.

[workinmom3]

We were on deck 6 on Liberty in an E2 & loved the location. Lifeboats were not a problem & we had great views of the sea b/c we were so close. We could just walk down 1 flight of steps to the Promenade. I went to Cafe Promenade every morning for an early cup of coffee.