Royal - which deck, please?

[05mak05]

It's been years since we're sailed on Princess. So, I need some help in the selection of a stateroom, deck, etc. We will be quite a few of us traveling and most prefer the least expensive balcony which seems to be aft. It seems to be that the choice is either Deck 9 (less motion) or Deck 14 (closer to upper decks.) Are all aft balconies on the Royal fully covered? Do the lifeboats interview with the view from the balcony on Deck 9? We'd like to finalize our bookings this afternoon. Any and all tips are much appreciated! (On Deck 14, we're looking at R701, 703, 705, etc.)

[05mak05]

Sorry, I meant to see "do lifeboats interfere (not interview) with view on Deck 9?"

[ne1travel]

Sorry, I meant to see "do lifeboats interfere (not interview) with view on Deck 9?"

 

Auto correct is kind of comical at times

[05mak05]

It just gets worse and worse ... I should leave well enough alone. And, after all of that, I still don't know what deck to book :-)

[Astro Flyer]

It just gets worse and worse ... I should leave well enough alone. And, after all of that, I still don't know what deck to book :-)

I think that all of us have been victimized by auto-correct. :p

 

Based on the recategorization Princess implemented earlier this year the pricing generally follows this procedure...most to least expensive price: midship, aft, forward; lower decks then upper decks.

 

Based on posts the aft balconies are partially covered & I won't know until next month about how much the lifeboats will affect our deck 9 midship (aft of the curved section) view. Photos posted show that looking straight down are affected where lifeboats are located however it doesn't appear to affect looking out from our balcony.

[Pam in CA]

I can't help you with whether the lifeboats interfere with your view of the water but here's a great explanation of the new Princess categories: http://content.princess.com/pcan/images/1984/Fleet-Recat-Announce.pdf

[DoulaAnn]

Pam, this is a great link to have. Am going to try to bookmark it for future reference.

 

Thanks. Ann

[cruisehappy001]

Pam, this is a great link to have. Am going to try to bookmark it for future reference.

 

Thanks. Ann

 

Pam has nicely shared this link in the past, and it is a very good resource.

 

You mentioned bookmarking it, but I wanted to share that I actually saved the file to my computer. When you click on the link it will open this PDF document on in a browser window on your computer. Once it has opened you can go up to the browser menu on the top and select FILE then SAVE AS, and it will open a save box on your computer. You then pick the directory where you want to save it in, and save it. Then you will have it stored on your local computer in case Princess ever removes the file from their website or moves it's location.

 

Mark

[strummer]

Hi there you have probably finalised your booking but thought i'd reply just in case!

I was on deck and in E701 which was next to the last lifeboat. Anything further back on the ship would not have lifeboats below them. If you look directly down you will see the promenade deck.

My parents were on deck 9 mid-ship and I think you will find on the Royal that forward and aft cabins will become more sought after as there are no lifeboats below cabins and of course there are the option of stairs and lifts forward and aft.

It didn't ruin my parents cruise but they certainly did not like being on deck 9 right above a lifeboat.

Hope that helps :)

[Astro Flyer]

My parents were on deck 9 mid-ship and I think you will find on the Royal that forward and aft cabins will become more sought after as there are no lifeboats below cabins and of course there are the option of stairs and lifts forward and aft.

It didn't ruin my parents cruise but they certainly did not like being on deck 9 right above a lifeboat.

Hope that helps :)

Having seen photos I'll probably feel the same way after our Royal cruise next month in a Dolphin deck (9) balcony. We're just aft of the curved midship balconies & looking down on a lifeboat.

 

Like your parents it certainly won't ruin my cruise but it will make me reconsider my cabin's location on any future Royal/Regal cruise.

[05mak05]

Hi there you have probably finalised your booking but thought i'd reply just in case!

I was on deck and in E701 which was next to the last lifeboat. Anything further back on the ship would not have lifeboats below them. If you look directly down you will see the promenade deck.

My parents were on deck 9 mid-ship and I think you will find on the Royal that forward and aft cabins will become more sought after as there are no lifeboats below cabins and of course there are the option of stairs and lifts forward and aft.

It didn't ruin my parents cruise but they certainly did not like being on deck 9 right above a lifeboat.

Hope that helps :)

No, we haven't booked as yet. All of us have been on lots of RCI cruises & we're ready for a change. Plus, Princess has a better itinerary for Canada/New England than RÇI not to mention leaving out of Manhattan rather than Bayonne. (On 9/11/2003, we were on the Regal Princess as we wanted to make our contribution to getting NYC's economy back on track. We were escorted out of the harbor by helicopters and the Coast Guard ... several officers boarded the ship. We stood at the railings chatting with them as we sailed past the Statue of Liberty. It was quite emotional.) But, back to the cruise ... now we're leaning toward early October rather than late September. We've done this route 2 other times in September and have never seen a fall leaf. I had just about convinced myself to book mid-ship because of the panoramic lifts (C501, 503, 505) However, I think my first gut instinct was probably the best and that's to book aft balconies on 10. I also want to say "thanks" for all of the really nice replies.