Ultimate Balcony Dinner {pictures}

[Yensidlove]

Wow, loving the great comments about the UBD, thank you all. Especially love the post (video) where they set up while she napped, and he surprised her when she woke! Very sweet.

 

We'd like to indulge in this on our next cruise, but I'm worried the balcony on the Royal Princess will not be big enough to accommodate an UBD. Has anyone experienced an UBD on a Royal Princess balcony? If so, please let me know how that worked out. Otherwise, should we can wait until our Caribe balcony on the Emerald next year to try this out? I guess I could also try to search the Royal and UBD specifically to see... right ? lol :)

[ar1950]

Wow, loving the great comments about the UBD, thank you all. Especially love the post (video) where they set up while she napped, and he surprised her when she woke! Very sweet.

 

We'd like to indulge in this on our next cruise, but I'm worried the balcony on the Royal Princess will not be big enough to accommodate an UBD. Has anyone experienced an UBD on a Royal Princess balcony? If so, please let me know how that worked out. Otherwise, should we can wait until our Caribe balcony on the Emerald next year to try this out? I guess I could also try to search the Royal and UBD specifically to see... right ? lol :)

 

Just a modest suggestion, try them both!! (Easy for me to say.....:cool:)

[Astro Flyer]

Wow, loving the great comments about the UBD, thank you all. Especially love the post (video) where they set up while she napped, and he surprised her when she woke! Very sweet.

 

We'd like to indulge in this on our next cruise, but I'm worried the balcony on the Royal Princess will not be big enough to accommodate an UBD. Has anyone experienced an UBD on a Royal Princess balcony? If so, please let me know how that worked out. Otherwise, should we can wait until our Caribe balcony on the Emerald next year to try this out? I guess I could also try to search the Royal and UBD specifically to see... right ? lol :)

 

We had the UBD on the Royal during sailaway from Barcelona & there was enough room for us to enjoy it again.

 

We've had the UBD on a large (9'x9') Caribe deck balcony, on a standard balcony (9'x5'), inside our balcony cabin and on the Royal's smaller (9'x4') balcony. All of our UBDs were along the railing (except obviously not when forced inside by inclement weather) and they are all the same width so the only difference is how much room is between your table & your cabin's door.

 

On standard Royal-class balconies with a foot of less depth that results in less room for the server but they are still able to provide your food from the open sliding glass door. It is also more difficult if the person not seated next to the open door wants to go into the cabin but we were able to do it. Yes, it is less room but nothing that prevented us from enjoying the UBD on the Royal's smaller balcony any less than on larger balconies. :)

Edited July 12, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Yensidlove]

We had the UBD on the Royal during sailaway from Barcelona & there was enough room for us to enjoy it again.

 

We've had the UBD on a large (9'x9') Caribe deck balcony, on a standard balcony (9'x5'), inside our balcony cabin and on the Royal's smaller (9'x4') balcony. All of our UBDs were along the railing (except obviously not when forced inside by inclement weather) and they are all the same width so the only difference is how much room is between your table & your cabin's door.

 

On standard Royal-class balconies with a foot of less depth that results in less room for the server but they are still able to provide your food from the open sliding glass door. It is also more difficult if the person not seated next to the open door wants to go into the cabin but we were able to do it. Yes, it is less room but nothing that prevented us from enjoying the UBD on the Royal's smaller balcony any less than on larger balconies. :)

 

Awesome! Thank you so much for the detailed reply! We are going to go for it on our next cruise on the Royal! And we will keep in mind the weather could create the need to have UBD inside but that will be ok as well!:D

[Astro Flyer]

Awesome! Thank you so much for the detailed reply! We are going to go for it on our next cruise on the Royal! And we will keep in mind the weather could create the need to have UBD inside but that will be ok as well!:D

 

You're welcome & hopefully you'll enjoy the UBD as much as we have during our four UBDs. :D

 

I merely share our experiences as objectively as possible & hope that some of them are helpful to others as they decide what are their best options for enjoying their cruise. ;)

 

We thought we would be okay during sailway from Santorini in early December 2012 however they told us it was their first cold and windy day of the season resulting in having to move inside our cabin.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Yensidlove]

You're welcome & hopefully you'll enjoy the UBD as much as we have during our four UBDs. :D

 

I merely share our experiences as objectively as possible & hope that some of them are helpful to others as they decide what are their best options for enjoying their cruise. ;)

 

We thought we would be okay during sailway from Santorini in early December 2012 however they told us it was their first cold and windy day of the season resulting in having to move inside our cabin.

 

Thanks, yes, I'm sure we will enjoy either way (inside or out). We are pretty relaxed people and don't get too tassled over most things. Nothing is perfect. Hey, we think just getting to cruise is the best and the rest is a bonus! :D We have the "Deluxe" balcony booked so perhaps that gives a bit more room in the cabin if needed to move the dinner inside. The upcoming Royal cruise is the Caribbean in end of October. I was thinking of choosing around sail away time (6PM) at either St Thomas or St Kitts if I can get that. :)

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks, yes, I'm sure we will enjoy either way (inside or out). We are pretty relaxed people and don't get too tassled over most things. Nothing is perfect. Hey, we think just getting to cruise is the best and the rest is a bonus! :D We have the "Deluxe" balcony booked so perhaps that gives a bit more room in the cabin if needed to move the dinner inside. The upcoming Royal cruise is the Caribbean in end of October. I was thinking of choosing around sail away time (6PM) at either St Thomas or St Kitts if I can get that. :)

 

 

Love the sailaway from St Thomas. :)

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks, yes, I'm sure we will enjoy either way (inside or out). We are pretty relaxed people and don't get too tassled over most things. Nothing is perfect. Hey, we think just getting to cruise is the best and the rest is a bonus! :D We have the "Deluxe" balcony booked so perhaps that gives a bit more room in the cabin if needed to move the dinner inside. The upcoming Royal cruise is the Caribbean in end of October. I was thinking of choosing around sail away time (6PM) at either St Thomas or St Kitts if I can get that. :)

Then you appear to be like us...we try to not sweat the small stuff and as long as we're healthy & on a cruise nearly everything else is small stuff! ;)

 

On all 3 of our Royal-class cruises we've had a deluxe balcony cabin which for us is ideal. Whenever the sun is too intense & hot on the balcony we greatly enjoyed watching the view from the loveseat size couch. It was large enough for us & it was a great addition to our cabin. As I recall the deluxe balcony cabins are only about 9 ft.² larger than standard balcony cabins & the area near the balcony is configured differently but not sure if that's better or worse if having the UBD inside.

 

And based on the post by 'Colo Cruiser' St Thomas appears to be a great option. :)

Love the sailaway from St Thomas. :)

[philv]

We are thinking of this for next cruise, CB in March 2016. We are booking Caribe balcony. I saw one post re doing this on Caribe balcony for 4 but the rest seemed to be suite balconies. Does this work OK with Caribe balcony for 4 people? What are the logistics of food delivery and wait staff? Thanks in advance for any replies. :)

[GREGS1GIRL]

We are going to be on the Island Princess in September and I'd love to do the UBD. Not sure it could be a surprise since my husband and I just talked about it today but still fun. We will be in a Aft Caribe Mini-suite with balcony. It will just be the 2 of us. Anyone have any suggestions as to when to do it? I'd love sunset and we will be in Rome, Florence/Pisa, Naples Athens, Istanbul, Mykonos, Toulon, Venice and Barcelona. Thanks!

[Astro Flyer]

We are thinking of this for next cruise, CB in March 2016. We are booking Caribe balcony. I saw one post re doing this on Caribe balcony for 4 but the rest seemed to be suite balconies. Does this work OK with Caribe balcony for 4 people? What are the logistics of food delivery and wait staff? Thanks in advance for any replies. :)

 

When we had the UBD on a Caribe balcony there was plenty of room for another couple to join us.

 

I don't think anything would change for 4 people because most of the time the waiters are out of sight patiently waiting in the hallway to serve the next course. There are 2 waiters plus usually the room service supervisor will check a couple of times during the meal. We've had some good conversations with the RS supervisors who are usually not rushed & have time to chat.

[Astro Flyer]

We are going to be on the Island Princess in September and I'd love to do the UBD. Not sure it could be a surprise since my husband and I just talked about it today but still fun. We will be in a Aft Caribe Mini-suite with balcony. It will just be the 2 of us. Anyone have any suggestions as to when to do it? I'd love sunset and we will be in Rome, Florence/Pisa, Naples Athens, Istanbul, Mykonos, Toulon, Venice and Barcelona. Thanks!

 

I've been fortunate to have sailed from all of the ports except Istanbul & Toulon but whichever port you chose you'll have to research sunset times.

 

The only UBD we experienced from any of these ports was sailing from Barcelona which included sunset. We had a great view from our starboard (right) side cabin including a distant view of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia church.

 

I would not have it during sailaway from Venice because I preferred to move around the ship on both of my sailings from there. Sailing from Naples was scenic & maybe also from Civitavecchia (Rome). As I recall Florence & Athens were larger industrial ports and Mykonos was at night.

 

Hopefully you'll get additional feedback from others who have sailed these ports & to get their insights.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Yensidlove]

Just a modest suggestion, try them both!! (Easy for me to say.....:cool:)

 

haha! just saw this. I'm fairly certain we will! And on the Crown to Hawaii etc, etc.... ;)

[Yensidlove]

Thank you Astro Flyer and Colo Cruiser for the tips and suggestions. Much appreciated :)

[linanles]

on the UBD page of the Room Service Menu it states that the UBD "is a special treat offered in select balcony staterooms". Does anyone know which are the "select" balcony staterooms?

Edited July 21, 2015 by linanles

[sue2go]

I see most seem to select UBD while leaving port. How is it to do it while underway? I would like an alternative for formal nights, which we are not planning to do.

[Astro Flyer]

on the UBD page of the Room Service Menu it states that the UBD "is a special treat offered in select balcony staterooms". Does anyone know which are the "select" balcony staterooms?

 

Apparently it's any balcony because we've had the UBD on balconies varying from the larger Caribe deck balconies on Grand-class ships to the smaller Royal-class balconies and even in our cabin when inclement weather forced us inside.

[cruisin froggy]

It seems everyone who is talking about their experience with the UBD is in a suite. We will be in a mini. Will we be able to do it and as comfortably?

[Nancyquilts]

It seems everyone who is talking about their experience with the UBD is in a suite. We will be in a mini. Will we be able to do it and as comfortably?

 

It works for us. If it rains, they will set it up inside.

[iconix]

Hello,

 

My loving Grandmother is taking my mom, my fiancé and myself on the Dec 10, 2015 Royal Princess cruise to the Caribbean. We are on the Marina Deck, mini suite..left side. This will also be my first cruise experience.

 

I would like to have the four of us have this balcony dining experience.. Is the balcony big enough?

 

Leaving ports vs at sea?

 

Which port would you suggest to do this, if I decide to do it when leaving port?

 

Is there a menu brought to you or do you preselected when you decided to do this experience?

 

 

Do you have to preorder this prior to boarding or can you order it on the ship... With reasonable time (decide to do it the day before?)

 

 

 

I want this all to be a surprise to them, so I would like research it all out.

 

Thank you for the previous post and the videos!

[DMRick]

How do we set this up, and what is the cost, plus tip? Anyone know if we will be able to exchange the champagne for bottled water and soda?

[Astro Flyer]

How do we set this up, and what is the cost, plus tip? Anyone know if we will be able to exchange the champagne for bottled water and soda?

It costs $100/couple & you call room service to select a date & time and no tip is necessary although some give an additional cash tip. If tipping, it's best to do it in cash instead of added to the bill...the servers get to keep cash (if auto gratuity is used) but if added to bill goes into the tip pool shared with many crewmembers.

 

Usually there are 2 available at about 6:00 and 2 at about 8:00. Since we exchange the $32 half bottle of champagne for a full bottle of $32 wine, I would think it'd be possible to exchange for water & soda. If you're not drinking any alcohol not sure how it works with the cocktail each person receives. My experience has been that a room service supervisor will come to your cabin a day or two in advance to go over the menu and to ask about any changes. Although I would recommend asking them about the champagne for water and soda exchange when calling to reserve the UBD if that may influence your decision about having the UBD or not.

[geoherb]

We've done the UBD three times. The first is still my favorite--at sunset in Curacao. We have had regular balcony cabins and Caribe Deck balcony cabins, which are nice because of their extra space. We've never had a mini suite or suite. A regular balcony is a tight fit but they manage to make it work.

 

Sometimes they're more willing to work with modifications to the menu than other times. It's probably because I did not press too much on our last time. I would rather have had a different dessert but she said it wasn't possible.

 

My recommendation is to book it for one of the first few nights of a cruise so you can enjoy the flowers for the rest of your cruise. The last time we waited until the last night (to coincide with DH's birthday). I passed along the flowers to a couple who were staying on for the next cruise.

[Astro Flyer]

Hello,

 

My loving Grandmother is taking my mom, my fiancé and myself on the Dec 10, 2015 Royal Princess cruise to the Caribbean. We are on the Marina Deck, mini suite..left side. This will also be my first cruise experience.

 

I would like to have the four of us have this balcony dining experience.. Is the balcony big enough? Most balconies on the Royal Princess are only about 9'x4' and will not haccommodate 4 people. There are a few balconies (midship, aft facing & forward) with larger balconies that may be able to accommodate 4 people. You can view deck plans on the Princess website to learn if you have a balcony that may be large enough but it's doubtful to me...what cabin number?

 

Leaving ports vs at sea? Our four UBDs were either during sailaway or an evening in port.

 

Which port would you suggest to do this, if I decide to do it when leaving port?

 

Is there a menu brought to you or do you preselected when you decided to do this experience? There is a standard multi course menu that includes filet mignon and/or lobster. We enjoyed the menu & didn't make any changes but have read that it's possible to make a few modifications.

 

Do you have to preorder this prior to boarding or can you order it on the ship... With reasonable time (decide to do it the day before?) Once I prepaid but had to call on the ship to reserve a date & time.

 

I want this all to be a surprise to them, so I would like research it all out.

 

Thank you for the previous post and the videos!

Unless you have one of the few balconies large enough for 4 people, it won't be possible to have the UBD. If your balcony is large enough then call room service & mention that you want it to be a surprise.

 

Whether it's possible or not have a great first cruise but beware they're addicting. :D

Edited July 22, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[iconix]

Awesome, thank you for that information!! I'm 33 and I have never had a vacation... I hope it's addicting lol