Balcony Cabin Recommendation on the Princess Grand

[pedinurse55]

I am planning on booking an Alaskan Cruise on the Princess Grand for next June. I am inquiring as to recommendations for a good balcony cabin choice. Would the forward or midship be best and what level? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[RotaryMike]

I am planning on booking an Alaskan Cruise on the Princess Grand for next June. I am inquiring as to recommendations for a good balcony cabin choice. Would the forward or midship be best and what level? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Caribe deck has balconies that are much larger than the other decks, and they are 1/2 covered. we always like midship, enjoy your trip.

[wannacruisemore]

Keep in mind, that the balconies look down on the deck below. Yes, the caribe deck, the balconies are deeper but you still have to walk to railing to see anything. We stayed mid/forward

[Thrak]

C752. Large balcony facing aft. Wake view. We absolutely LOVE that cabin. Not sure if it's the best for Alaska. I prefer the open deck for viewing in Glacier Bay.

[Pam in CA]

I prefer cabins towards the aft and if I book a balcony, my preferred deck is Caribe. Pretty much any Caribe balcony is good. They're all exactly the same with the largest balcony at 9'x9' that's half-covered, half-uncovered.

[Colo Cruiser]

I am planning on booking an Alaskan Cruise on the Princess Grand for next June. I am inquiring as to recommendations for a good balcony cabin choice. Would the forward or midship be best and what level? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Any balcony on Caribe deck. ;)

[satxdiver]

I am planning on booking an Alaskan Cruise on the Princess Grand for next June. I am inquiring as to recommendations for a good balcony cabin choice. Would the forward or midship be best and what level? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Midship has the least movement if the ship is pitching. Forward will feel the pitching the most. Aft cabins particularly as you get closer to the stern can sometimes hear engine noise depending on the deck with lower decks more exposed. The higher you go in the ship, the more you can sense the movement. Least movement is mid ship and bottom deck. Beware of the deck under the Lido as you can hear noise particularly under the HC when they clean late at night and move the chairs/tables around.

 

The Caribe deck has the largest balcony but everyone above you can look down and see you. Half the balcony is covered and half is not. Almost all the rest on upper decks are covered and pax are not able to look down at you on your balcony but they are smaller than the Caribe balcony.

[pedinurse55]

Thank you all for the great advice/tips!

[pedinurse55]

One more question--is it worth the extra money to do the land tour in addition to the cruise? I have narrowed my choices to the 7 day cruise out of Seattle and the 10 day cruise-tour out of Anchorage, which is what I'm leaning towards.

[Pam in CA]

Yes, I think the land tour is very much worth the money. Alaska is amazing and if you're going to go all that way, just do it. :)

[Dudleydog73]

Keep in mind the Grand is missing the passenger accessible center staircase, like the Royal and Regal, so if you are mid ship and tend to take the stairs more often than not, you may want to rethink either fore or aft.

[owt205]

C752. Large balcony facing aft. Wake view. We absolutely LOVE that cabin. Not sure if it's the best for Alaska. I prefer the open deck for viewing in Glacier Bay.

 

Booked this cabin for our 15 day Hawaii in March...can't wait. I keep checking the personlizer hoping they don't move us, even though we are very clearly marked NO UPGRADE! Our last Cruise on the Star we had mid-aft Caribe deck, and loved the location! Enjoy

[81Zoomie]

One more question--is it worth the extra money to do the land tour in addition to the cruise? I have narrowed my choices to the 7 day cruise out of Seattle and the 10 day cruise-tour out of Anchorage, which is what I'm leaning towards.

 

Just got off the Grand round trip Seattle. Alaska is amazing, however, the scenery in Skagway and south did not compare with what we saw last year on the Diamond southbound out of Whittier. Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier far surpass Tracey Arm.

 

It's really easy to drive or train Alaska on your own. You can concentrate on the beauty and avoid the land based cruise crowds.

 

We were in A247 on the Grand. It was a covered balcony and the quietest cabin we have ever been in. No foot traffic in that part of the ship, cabins above and below, close to a stairwell. We prefer being up high where the waves look smaller :-) We are not keen on the Caribe or Dolphin cabins where you are visible to everyone above you. Just personal preference.

[Thrak]

Booked this cabin for our 15 day Hawaii in March...can't wait. I keep checking the personlizer hoping they don't move us, even though we are very clearly marked NO UPGRADE! Our last Cruise on the Star we had mid-aft Caribe deck, and loved the location! Enjoy

 

We had our TA mark that cabin as NO UPGRADE FOR ANY REASON. Since it's a "premium" balcony it's less likely to be upgraded to another balcony. If they do try to upgrade you from that room it's more likely they will want to upgrade you to a mini suite. However, one can never tell what they will decided to do... Just keep checking and, if they try to move you somewhere you don't want to go, get on the phone immediately.

[Bigred99]

Hi

I have a question. We are about to book a cruise and a balcony cabin. The only thing left is on deck 14. (Lido) Is this a bad deck to be on? How about the noise from deck 15.

Thanks

Glenice from NC

[Stevesan]

C752. Large balcony facing aft. Wake view. We absolutely LOVE that cabin. Not sure if it's the best for Alaska. I prefer the open deck for viewing in Glacier Bay.

 

I also go to the top deck for 360deg glacier viewing. There is usually a naturalist there to provide historical commentary about the glacier. Often park rangers board. They will position there to answer questions and stamp passports.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Stevesan