regal balcony- SMALL?

[Mackenzie1]

I'm looking forward to experiencing the glitz and glamour of the Regal this fall, but oh my, the Caribe deck balconies on the CB--from a youtube video posted online:

 

Edited March 18, 2015 by Mackenzie1

[abisha]

The balconies on the Royal / Regal are very small IMO. Whether they are good enough or not good enough is subjective so I thought I would offer some data. I have been on the Royal twice and on the second cruise I had a portable tape measure (the key ring type). Please look at the picture posted by Mackenzie above. Out of curiosity I measured the distance between the outer frame of the sliding glass door and the inner frame of the railing. This was 3 feet 3 inches. This distance is what I consider the usable space. I could get about 3 more inches on the side were the glass is fixed but I could not leave a chair in that position, next to the glass, as the sliding glass portion interferes. Princess advertises these balconies as 4 feet in depth. The only way I could get 4 feet was to measure from the corners (where the sliding glass doors do not reach) and the outer edge of the balcony floor. This is not the usable space.

 

My wife and I (both slender) could sit reasonably comfortable as long as the chairs were angled and their backs were in their upright position. The balconies on the Dolphin and Caribe decks of the Grand class ships are night and day in comparison. The standard balconies on Grand class are nominally a foot larger in depth and this foot makes a difference IMO.

 

Thanks for the info. Very helpful. :)

[Astro Flyer]

Those who measure such things post that a standard balcony on most Princess ships is about 9'x5' and on the Royal-class is about 9'x4'. We enjoyed an Ultimate Balcony Dinner on both sizes (plus larger 9'x9' Caribe deck balconies on other Princess ships & even inside our balcony cabin) and enjoyed them all. We don't spend a long time baking in the sun & for us the smaller size isn't a factor when deciding which ship to sail. We actually used the couch in our deluxe balcony cabin more to avoid too much of the hot sun.

 

For us the Royal-class ships have so many more things we enjoy despite the smaller balconies. Obviously those who lounge on their balcony a lot may feel differently & may choose another ship.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Mackenzie1]

Here is a picture of a larger mini-suite balcony in the built-out part of the Regal. It definitely has more room than the average Regal balcony:

 

[PtownGirlz-NH]

For us the Royal-class ships have so many more things we enjoy despite the smaller balconies. Obviously those who lounge on their balcony a lot may feel differently & may choose another ship.

 

Isn't it great that there are different ships to accommodate everyone's likes, wants and needs! To us, the balcony is the deal breaker along with not having a promenade deck that goes all the way around. We pay more for our balcony because it is a priority. Thank goodness Princess can make everyone happy!

[Mom33]

Those who measure such things post that a standard balcony on most Princess ships is about 9'x5' and on the Royal-class is about 9'x4'. We enjoyed an Ultimate Balcony Dinner on both sizes (plus larger 9'x9' Caribe deck balconies on other Princess ships & even inside our balcony cabin) and enjoyed them all. We don't spend a long time baking in the sun & for us the smaller size isn't a factor when deciding which ship to sail. We actually used the couch in our deluxe balcony cabin more to avoid too much of the hot sun.

 

For us the Royal-class ships have so many more things we enjoy despite the smaller balconies. Obviously those who lounge on their balcony a lot may feel differently & may choose another ship.

 

We have enjoyed both our cruises on the Royal and the Regal and had both the standard balcony and an extended balcony. Each one had two chairs and a table. We were comfortable on both.

If anyone wants a larger balcony, they are available. :D

[Jemnibabe]

We have enjoyed both our cruises on the Royal and the Regal and had both the standard balcony and an extended balcony. Each one had two chairs and a table. We were comfortable on both.

If anyone wants a larger balcony, they are available. :D

 

Indeed, the larger balconies are available and there are plenty of angled balconies mid ship to be had in both regular balcony cabins as well as mini-suite. We have had one of each and there are also larger balconies on the aft on certain decks. It just takes a little research and you can have what you want on the Regal/Royal.

 

Judy from SW Florida

[Astro Flyer]

Isn't it great that there are different ships to accommodate everyone's likes, wants and needs! To us, the balcony is the deal breaker along with not having a promenade deck that goes all the way around. We pay more for our balcony because it is a priority. Thank goodness Princess can make everyone happy!

Exactly! :D

 

Until any of us are multi billionaires & build a ship to meet our specific preferences, we have lots of cruise ship choices for each of us to find the best combination. ;) Considering how few people get to take a cruise, I feel lucky every time...sure beats 3 high stacked bunks on my 1st "cruise" compliments of the USN. :p

[Mackenzie1]

Exactly! :D

 

Until any of us are multi billionaires & build a ship to meet our specific preferences, we have lots of cruise ship choices for each of us to find the best combination. ;) Considering how few people get to take a cruise, I feel lucky every time...sure beats 3 high stacked bunks on my 1st "cruise" compliments of the USN. :p

 

Well said, Astro and NHgals.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Mackenzie1

[TinaLee]

Thank you for confirming that the mini-suite, mid-ship cabins on the Regal have larger balconies. I've booked a mini-suite in the area that you have described--it's mid-ship, angled a little toward the front of the ship. These cabins are in the hump area that is built out from the ship. I chose it over the other cabins guessing that those balconies would be larger. Most of the other mini-suites look like they have the same size balcony as the regular cabins, though, as they would have to so that the cabins would all line up with each other.

 

I'm not sure how far up you booked your mini, but I should point out that people who are on the outside of the seawalk can look down into all of the hump balconies, the deluxe balconies and the mini suites, so you will have a little bit less privacy in those cabins. Just a heads up :)

 

[Mackenzie1]

I'm not sure how far up you booked your mini, but I should point out that people who are on the outside of the seawalk can look down into all of the hump balconies, the deluxe balconies and the mini suites, so you will have a little bit less privacy in those cabins. Just a heads up :)

 

 

Wow, now that 's a big surprise! Thank you for posting the video. I'm on the Baja deck, so it's a little further down from the seawalk, but still, it's a surprise how visible those balcony cabins are. I'm also wondering if wind will be a problem sitting on that particular balcony since it faces more forward. I think it may be.

[RocketMan275]

I would never book a balcony cabin or a penthouse suite on either Regal or Royal. The balconies are simply too small to be usable. We liked Regal but the amenities of the ship do not offset the miniscule balconies. The size of these balconies is a deal breaker for us. BTW, the Penthouse suite balconies are wider but are the same depth as the rest.

Edited March 18, 2015 by RocketMan275

[Mom33]

I would never book a balcony cabin or a penthouse suite on either Regal or Royal. The balconies are simply too small to be usable. We liked Regal but the amenities of the ship do not offset the miniscule balconies. The size of these balconies is a deal breaker for us. BTW, the Penthouse suite balconies are wider but are the same depth as the rest.

 

This is a Regal balcony. Miniscule? :) Don't bother using the balconies as the reason you won't sail the ships. You can have a bigger balcony if you want one.

 

[Loonbeam]

We had one of the angled balconies under the seawalk (Riviera deck). They are more than adequate for 2 people, and there were no privacy issues from the seawalk (we checked, unless you REALLY tried, you couldn't see inside the cabin past perhaps maybe someones feet.

 

The balconies are visible yes, but that's an issue on all the ships with tiers too..

 

I'm not sure how far up you booked your mini, but I should point out that people who are on the outside of the seawalk can look down into all of the hump balconies, the deluxe balconies and the mini suites, so you will have a little bit less privacy in those cabins. Just a heads up :)

 

[bluesea321]

This is a Regal balcony. Miniscule? :) Don't bother using the balconies as the reason you won't sail the ships. You can have a bigger balcony if you want one.

 

There are very few balconies like the one you showed. The only ones like that are under the Seawalk. The higher decks have privacy issues, the lower decks are the only desirable ones and as I mentioned there are very few of those. The forward and aft facing balconies are also larger but they come with their own issues, wind (to be expected) forward and soot aft. In reality the vast majority of Royal / Regal balconies are the size I mentioned in a previous post.

[Colo Cruiser]

This is a Regal balcony. Miniscule? :) Don't bother using the balconies as the reason you won't sail the ships. You can have a bigger balcony if you want one.

 

 

Great shot, thanks for posting.

[Mom33]

There are very few balconies like the one you showed. The only ones like that are under the Seawalk. The higher decks have privacy issues, the lower decks are the only desirable ones and as I mentioned there are very few of those. The forward and aft facing balconies are also larger but they come with their own issues, wind (to be expected) forward and soot aft. In reality the vast majority of Royal / Regal balconies are the size I mentioned in a previous post.

 

The reality is you can have a bigger balcony if you really want one.

[Mackenzie1]

Yes, from your link, it appears that this is balcony cabin E433, which is in the built-out hump part of the Regal. There are a few balconies in this section, so if you want a larger balcony, it's an area of the ship to consider. I hope foot rests are readily available, because they are nice.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Mackenzie1

[sabookkeeper]

Those who measure such things post that a standard balcony on most Princess ships is about 9'x5' and on the Royal-class is about 9'x4'. We enjoyed an Ultimate Balcony Dinner on both sizes (plus larger 9'x9' Caribe deck balconies on other Princess ships & even inside our balcony cabin) and enjoyed them all. We don't spend a long time baking in the sun & for us the smaller size isn't a factor when deciding which ship to sail. We actually used the couch in our deluxe balcony cabin more to avoid too much of the hot sun.

 

For us the Royal-class ships have so many more things we enjoy despite the smaller balconies. Obviously those who lounge on their balcony a lot may feel differently & may choose another ship.

We are sailing on the Regal next year and we were hoping to do the Ultimate Balcony Dinner. With so much talk about the size of the balcony, did you find it crowded?

[Astro Flyer]

We are sailing on the Regal next year and we were hoping to do the Ultimate Balcony Dinner. With so much talk about the size of the balcony, did you find it crowded?

 

To us, losing about 1 foot of depth on the balcony in comparison to other standard Grand-class balconies was not an issue. Just like our other UBDs, we sat parallel to the railing and any missing space on the Royal mostly affected our servers. They didn't have much room to stand on the balcony but were still able to serve us our meal. It did take some maneuvering to get away from the table & into our cabin however it wasn't a big factor for us.

 

Our UBD's have been either during an evening in port or during sailaway which increased our odds of having comfortable weather. Sailing from Santorini in December we opted to have our UBD inside our standard balcony cabin due to inclement weather & we still had a great dining experience. We've had a lot of extra space on a larger (9'x9') Caribe deck balcony on various versions of Grand-class ships however most of that space wasn't used as we were seated along the railing for the best view just like on all of our other UBDs. ;)

 

As you can see, space is limit on most Royal-class balconies requiring angling the chair or sitting parallel to the railing. Our tuxedoed servers had enough room to bring a square table to enjoy dinner instead of on the small table. ;)

 

Edited March 19, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

The reality is you can have a bigger balcony if you really want one.

And want to pay premium prices to have it. LOL :D:D

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

There are very few balconies like the one you showed. The only ones like that are under the Seawalk. The higher decks have privacy issues, the lower decks are the only desirable ones and as I mentioned there are very few of those. The forward and aft facing balconies are also larger but they come with their own issues, wind (to be expected) forward and soot aft. In reality the vast majority of Royal / Regal balconies are the size I mentioned in a previous post.

 

As you posted, there are very few of the larger balconies that even come close to that of the other normal size that we've become accustomed to. You'll find that the larger ones are priced accordingly or are undesirable for other reasons.

People will just have to judge for themselves if they are happy with what Princess provides.

[sabookkeeper]

To us, losing about 1 foot of depth on the balcony in comparison to other standard Grand-class balconies was not an issue. Just like our other UBDs, we sat parallel to the railing and any missing space on the Royal mostly affected our servers. They didn't have much room to stand on the balcony but were still able to serve us our meal. It did take some maneuvering to get away from the table & into our cabin however it wasn't a big factor for us.

 

Our UBD's have been either during an evening in port or during sailaway which increased our odds of having comfortable weather. Sailing from Santorini in December we opted to have our UBD inside our standard balcony cabin due to inclement weather & we still had a great dining experience. We've had a lot of extra space on a larger (9'x9') Caribe deck balcony on various versions of Grand-class ships however most of that space wasn't used as we were seated along the railing for the best view just like on all of our other UBDs. ;)

 

As you can see, space is limit on most Royal-class balconies requiring angling the chair or sitting parallel to the railing. Our tuxedoed servers had enough room to bring a square table to enjoy dinner instead of on the small table. ;)

Thanks but it looks like it will be really tight and DH and myself are not small people. I think we will just skip the UBD on this cruise.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks but it looks like it will be really tight and DH and myself are not small people. I think we will just skip the UBD on this cruise.

 

You're welcome & now you know that it's not for you. :)

[Shake]

 

That is just wrong and not to mention PATHETIC !! :confused: You have got to be kidding me, these are the new Princess ships balconies??

 

Reminds me of the low MDR ceilings on all Princess ships. Another reason to appreciate the open air 2 level MDR on Celebrity. :)