UBD on Regal/Royal?

[Shelly97060]

Given the smaller balcony on Royal and Regal I am wondering whether you can still comfortably do the UBD or is the balcony too small to really enjoy the experience?

 

Anyone have any feedback on their experience doing UBD on Regal or Royal?

 

Thanks,

Shelly

[Astro Flyer]

We enjoyed the UBD on a standard (9'x4') balcony on the Royal during sailaway from Barcelona & enjoyed it as much as our 3 other UBDs. :)

 

Previously we had the UBD on a larger Caribe deck (9'x9') balcony, a standard (9'x5') balcony and even inside a balcony cabin due to inclement weather. The Royal-class standard balconies have the same width but have 1' less depth. It mostly affected the servers who had slightly less room to serve us however it didn't affect our experience. I wouldn't hesitate to book another UBD on a Royal-class standard balcony.

Edited August 30, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Shelly97060]

We enjoyed the UBD on a standard (9'x4') balcony on the Royal during sailaway from Barcelona & enjoyed it as much as our 3 other UBDs. :)

 

Previously we had the UBD on a larger Caribe deck (9'x9') balcony, a standard (9'x5') balcony and even inside a balcony cabin due to inclement weather. The Royal-class standard balconies have the same width but have 1' less depth. It mostly affected the servers who had slightly less room to serve us however it didn't affect our experience. I wouldn't hesitate to book another UBD on a Royal-class standard balcony.

 

This is very helpful. Thank you! :)

[Astro Flyer]

This is very helpful. Thank you! :)

You're welcome & hopefully you'll have the same enjoyable experience as us. :)

 

At the top of this Princess forum is a sticky containing over 3,000 photos of the Regal & here's a link to a 360° panoramic view of a standard size balcony. The white square with tripod legs is apparently for recording the image & not standard on a balcony. ;)

 

http://gallery.cruisecritic.com/ships/regal-princess-679/balcony-cabin-100478/balcony--v24189/

Edited August 30, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[JohnBoy in NC]

Given the smaller balcony on Royal and Regal I am wondering whether you can still comfortably do the UBD or is the balcony too small to really enjoy the experience?

 

Anyone have any feedback on their experience doing UBD on Regal or Royal?

 

Thanks,

Shelly

 

Agree with Astro Flyer...while tight it was very enjoyable for us on the Royal. First time we have done the UBD and would again in the future. I would have preferred a larger balcony of course....but it is still a good experience.

 

John in NC

[Shelly97060]

You're welcome & hopefully you'll have the same enjoyable experience as us. :)

 

At the top of this Princess forum is a sticky containing over 3,000 photos of the Regal & here's a link to a 360° panoramic view of a standard size balcony. The white square with tripod legs is apparently for recording the image & not standard on a balcony. ;)

 

http://gallery.cruisecritic.com/ships/regal-princess-679/balcony-cabin-100478/balcony--v24189/

 

Thanks for the link. That gave a great idea of depth of balcony. Thank you

[Shelly97060]

Agree with Astro Flyer...while tight it was very enjoyable for us on the Royal. First time we have done the UBD and would again in the future. I would have preferred a larger balcony of course....but it is still a good experience.

 

John in NC

 

Thanks John. I think we will give it a try :)

[JohnBoy in NC]

Thanks John. I think we will give it a try :)

 

One last recommendation....eat a light lunch! Hope the weather is perfect and enjoy yourselves!

[mistyann]

We are sailing the Royal (again) in April for our 25th Anniversary and wanted to do the UBD. I can't find this anywhere on the Princess site (I looked where you can buy gifts to be delivered and where you buy the drink packages), where do I find this to purchase/schedule? And may I ask what it costs per person? :o Thank you in advance for any info someone who has done it on Royal or Regal can give me!! :D

[BroncoLvrs]

From the Princess website:

Enjoy an intimate, romantic dining experience with breathtaking views and a special meal served by your own dedicated waitstaff on your stateroom balcony. Ultimate Balcony Dining features a hosted cocktail party, fresh flowers, champagne and a deluxe four-course meal featuring delicate sweet lobster tail or juicy steak among many available delicacies.

 

For those who want to start the day with a romantic meal, opt for a breakfast which includes specialty pastries, fresh fruits, quiche, smoked salmon and other special treats served with a half bottle of chilled sparkling wine. This item may be either ordered onboard by contacting the bell box or pre-purchased as a special service item (item #3009).

 

Available on all ships, the Ultimate Balcony Dinner is a unique Princess dining experience. This item may be either ordered onboard by contacting the bell box or pre-purchased as a special service item (item #3011).

 

 

Breakfast is $ 45 pp and Dinner is $ 50

[Astro Flyer]

We are sailing the Royal (again) in April for our 25th Anniversary and wanted to do the UBD. I can't find this anywhere on the Princess site (I looked where you can buy gifts to be delivered and where you buy the drink packages), where do I find this to purchase/schedule? And may I ask what it costs per person? :o Thank you in advance for any info someone who has done it on Royal or Regal can give me!! :D

I've enjoyed the UBD on the Regal & on all ships it's $100/couple and you can only prepay but not prereserve a date & time in advance.

 

I'll try to find the code for the UBD that I located somewhere on their website. However if you want to prepay then call Princess & they should be able to do it for you. The only advantage to prepaying is for anyone who wants to spread out their coast but not me...I use OBC or add it to my shipboard account to pay later. :)

 

I see that fishywood was faster than me at finding the #3011 code & website page:

 

http://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/specialty-restaurants/ultimatebalconydining.html#.VfNFfMRHarU

Edited September 11, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[fishywood]

We are sailing the Royal (again) in April for our 25th Anniversary and wanted to do the UBD. I can't find this anywhere on the Princess site (I looked where you can buy gifts to be delivered and where you buy the drink packages), where do I find this to purchase/schedule? And may I ask what it costs per person? :o Thank you in advance for any info someone who has done it on Royal or Regal can give me!! :D

 

Information is on the Specialty Dining page on the website; scroll down to bottom listing.

 

You can pre-pay by phoning Princess but you would only be pre-paying not booking a specific time which can only be confirmed once you board. $100/couple.

 

Gift order #3011

Edited September 11, 2015 by fishywood

[fishywood]

 

Breakfast is $ 45 pp and Dinner is $ 50

 

Breakfast is $45 per couple.

Dinner is $100 per couple.

Per person pricing is not available; Princess will not allow solos to book.

[riclop]

Given the smaller balcony on Royal and Regal I am wondering whether you can still comfortably do the UBD or is the balcony too small to really enjoy the experience?

 

Anyone have any feedback on their experience doing UBD on Regal or Royal?

 

Thanks,

Shelly

 

Go for it and enjoy.

[Shelly97060]

Go for it and enjoy.

 

Thanks, I think we will! :)

[mistyann]

Great!! Thanks for the info. Two more question, does the $100 per couple include the tip and if not, for those that have done this, what amount do you tip? Also since the Royal has just a tiny table on the balcony, do they bring in a larger table & chairs to eat on? :o Thanks again for all the help!!

[Astro Flyer]

Great!! Thanks for the info. Two more question, does the $100 per couple include the tip and if not, for those that have done this, what amount do you tip? Also since the Royal has just a tiny table on the balcony, do they bring in a larger table & chairs to eat on? :o Thanks again for all the help!!

 

They bring a folding card table for dinner but use the balcony chairs which worked okay for us.

 

Whether a tip is included in the UBD (or any other specialty dining) has been debated as posts said that servers have said both yes & no. Tipping is a personal decision but we've always tipped for the UBD for great service & also when having great service at any specialty restaurant. It's not required however when tipping it's best to do so in cash. If you keep the auto gratuity then your server gets to keep the cash; if not, it is shared by everyone in the tip pool.

[caribill]

 

Whether a tip is included in the UBD (or any other specialty dining) has been debated as posts said that servers have said both yes & no.

 

The Customer Services Director on a recent cruise told me that no part of the specialty dining fee was a tip.

[myfuzzy]

We did the UBD on the CB, caribe balcony, our photographer was able to get the photograph with us at the table with the sun setting in the background. People thought it was just a back drop, when we told them it was the actual ocean, sunset...they were in awe.

 

Then we did it on the Royal last year, being that the balcony was much smaller, it was a challenge for everyone to squeeze on it, especially if you take the seat away from the door. You are kind of stuck there. But..any balcony dining on any ship is an experience you don't want to miss. It is well worth the money....will keep doing it no matter what ship we are on.

Edited September 15, 2015 by myfuzzy

[CruisinChris]

It's a squeeze - but do-able and just as enjoyable. Enjoy

[theblonde]

Two couples celebrating anniversaries want to do ultimate balcony dining on the Royal. Will the balconies on Dolphin accommodate four people for UBD?

[caribill]

Unlike the Grand class ships, balconies on the port and starboard sides on Royal and Regal do not vary in size by deck.

 

However, some balconies will be larger (and the same size on all decks), for example those mid-ship under the seawalk.

 

So the answer depends on if you have booked a cabin with the standard 4x9 balcony or one of those with a larger balcony.

[love2cruisegal]

We are planning the UBD on the Royal in the Med in May but we have one of the angled balconies mid ship on Emerald deck. I think this should work out well. Is there any advantage to booking ahead since you still have to call to select time and day? So looking forward to this, first time doing UBD.

[Astro Flyer]

We are planning the UBD on the Royal in the Med in May but we have one of the angled balconies mid ship on Emerald deck. I think this should work out well. Is there any advantage to booking ahead since you still have to call to select time and day? So looking forward to this, first time doing UBD.

 

Some passengers like to prepay to spread out their purchases but there's no other advantage for those of us who prefer to pay after our cruise or to use complimentary OBC to pay for our UBD.