Emerald cabin question - location and mini suite vs balcony

[puppymama1]

We are currently booked in mini suite E731 on the emerald princess British Isles cruise on 8/25/22.  We booked that particular cabin due to the large oversized balcony but the more I think about being at the very back of the ship, the less I like it. I am very prone to motion sickness and I’m afraid that it might become a problem so I would like to move closer to mid ship. However the only mini suites that are available closer to mid ship are on dolphin deck which I believe have uncovered balconies. Is it better to take an uncovered balcony mini suite on dolphin deck or perhaps change to a balcony room instead of a mini suite that has a covered balcony on emerald deck?  Thanks!

[skynight]

Things to consider

-E731 is a connecting cabin. It connects with E729. There is an interior connecting door in the entrance way across from the closet area. You may hear some noise from the neighbors. The balcony is 9ftx6ft. There is a smoking area on deck 7 starboard side roughly under cabin E725. You may smell some smoke from that area on cabin's E731 balcony.

-All other mini suites on the Emerald Princess are on deck 9. The also have 9ft.x6ft. balconies and all are uncovered. I have stayed many times in balcony cabins on deck 10. The only way to view the deck 9 balconies is to stand at the railing an look down. While seated deck 9 balconies are not visible. Really not much balcony use in a British Island cruise.

-Mini suites have a sofa, two TV's, a bathroom with a tub.

-Club Class mini suites, 34 of them mid ship, have the benefit of club class dining. Club Class dining is only available for those in club class mini suites. They are more expensive. Other deck 9 mini suites are forward and aft of mid ship. Depending on which one there still could be motion.

-Standard balcony category cabins have only one desk chair. The interiors are almost all the same. Some do connect. You can find out which ones by searching the deck plans on the Princess.com web site and checking the connecting cabin box on each floor. Standard balcony size on decks 11, 12, 14, 15 is 9ft.x5ft and covered. The balcony is nicely sized for comfortable sitting. Balcony cabins on deck 10 are 9ft.x9ft, with 5ft. of cover and 4ft uncovered. They provide a large balcony with a choice of cover or no cover. Balcony cabins have a smaller bathroom than mini suites with a shower, no tub. Shower head is fixed to the wall.

-

 

[puppymama1]

Thank you for all the information!  We do like to sit outside on the balcony, so I wanted a covered one in case it was raining…. I guess we have to decide if we want a covered balcony or a sofa…😊

 

[uspearls]

1 hour ago, puppymama1 said:

Thank you for all the information!  We do like to sit outside on the balcony, so I wanted a covered one in case it was raining…. I guess we have to decide if we want a covered balcony or a sofa…😊

 

A perfectly understandable dilemma! I had the same debate and chose the partially covered balcony for a Northern European cruise next year.  Being the analytical type, I'm assuming that on balance we'll want to sit outside more than inside in the middle of summer.  The larger mini suite bathroom is nice, but to us it's one of those things you forget about once you're on board and get used to whatever you have. 

 

My one piece of advice from personal experience - don't double guess yourself after the fact!  After all, you're going be cruising again!

[Wishing on a star]

I think that the motion is a bigger issue the more forward on the ship.

The motion, if any, is different at the back.

There is also going to be more motion on higher decks.

While mid-ship is always mentioned, I don't think that motion would be a big issue on the lower Aft of a ship.

 

I know that on some ships it is like there is a detectable vibration from the engines in the lower Aft cabins???   

 

In cool inclement weather, that cover is what would deterrine whether you step out onto that balcony or not.

Edited June 19, 2021 by Wishing on a star

[puppymama1]

US pearls- you are right… we always prefer to be out on the balcony instead of in the room, so we decided to go for the smaller room with the covered balcony… hopefully one will be available when I look at making the change… thanks to all for your help!

[Wishing on a star]

The mini you had selected would not have the motion issues that a forward and higher deck might have.

You might still want to consider that one.  You would have your mini and your covered balcony.

 

The thing about moving mid-ship.  A mid-ship cabin can often mean a lot less walking!  Not sure how often you would be headed FORWARD, like to the theater.

[gvre]

8 hours ago, puppymama1 said:

We are currently booked in mini suite E731 on the emerald princess British Isles cruise on 8/25/22.  We booked that particular cabin due to the large oversized balcony but the more I think about being at the very back of the ship, the less I like it. I am very prone to motion sickness and I’m afraid that it might become a problem so I would like to move closer to mid ship. However the only mini suites that are available closer to mid ship are on dolphin deck which I believe have uncovered balconies. Is it better to take an uncovered balcony mini suite on dolphin deck or perhaps change to a balcony room instead of a mini suite that has a covered balcony on emerald deck?  Thanks!

We have had that cabin. The balcony is great with the extra room. Perfect for eating.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I am not sure, but I wonder that there is an open corner public balcony on both sides, next to that last Mini?

 

Do you remember any motion or engine vibration?

[puppymama1]

In looking at the available cabins on the different dates of that cruise (yes, we might be changing the date too because of pet sitter availability, but that's a different story!), we like the premium balcony cabins with the larger balconies that are half covered and half uncovered... Any thoughts on which of these is better?  C330, C402, C331, C401... in that general area?  None of them are connecting cabins.. I looked at that this time since I had no idea our current cabin was a connecting one!

Thanks!

[svend52]

Congratulations on your cruise! We would love that itinerary.

Just a few comments to perhaps help with your decision.

The Emerald was our first Princess cruise and is our favorite ship. We have stayed in E731 on the Emerald  three times, twice before it was converted to a communicating cabin and once after. The larger covered balcony was great as we are balcony folks too. You do have a port intensive itinerary(9 out of 12 days!) so I 'm not sure how much balcony time you'll have but you will love the balcony when you're using it. You are at the back of the ship which affords you more privacy but does allow you to 'get your steps in' getting to mid-ship where most of the action is. We never experienced any significant motion problems. We never experienced any significant cigarette smoke problems from the deck below. And we never experienced any noise problems from Club Fusion that is directly below E731 which has been mentioned in previous posts about E731. The only downside for us with E731 is that it is now a connecting cabin. We had very noisy neighbors(I'm being polite!) during our last cruise and it did put a damper on the cruise for us.

     Enjoy your cruise wherever you decide to stay.

            Best....

                Virgil

[Thrak]

12 hours ago, puppymama1 said:

We booked that particular cabin due to the large oversized balcony but the more I think about being at the very back of the ship, the less I like it. I am very prone to motion sickness and I’m afraid that it might become a problem

 

I am extremely prone to motion sickness. I can get car sick on winding roads if I'm not the driver. I use "the patch" - TransDerm Scop - when cruising. Without the patch I couldn't be on a ship and a tender would be devastating. With the patch we've gone through weather where many of the "iron stomach" folks ended up taking to their beds due to the motion of the ship. I've never had a problem. You may have seen folks with a little round "band aid" behind their ear. That is the patch.

[svend52]

FYI...here's a picture of E731from the pier at one of the ports on our last Emerald cruise if you haven't been able to find one.

       Best...

          Virgil

[puppymama1]

We actually have decided today to completely change things and switch this British Isles Cruise to a Viking Mediterranean cruise with an itinerary we like a lot better... But thanks to all for your help!

[Barry Bodell]

On 6/19/2021 at 1:56 PM, puppymama1 said:

In looking at the available cabins on the different dates of that cruise (yes, we might be changing the date too because of pet sitter availability, but that's a different story!), we like the premium balcony cabins with the larger balconies that are half covered and half uncovered... Any thoughts on which of these is better?  C330, C402, C331, C401... in that general area?  None of them are connecting cabins.. I looked at that this time since I had no idea our current cabin was a connecting one!

Thanks!

 

[Barry Bodell]

We are on Sky Princess June 2022 out of Southampton. Cabin 230. Balcony. Hoping for the best.

[Barry Bodell]

2 hours ago, Barry Bodell said:

We are on Sky Princess June 2022 out of Southampton. Cabin 230. Balcony. Hoping for the best.

I believe we are Category BB, Deck 10.

[Barry Bodell]

On 6/19/2021 at 3:34 PM, svend52 said:

Congratulations on your cruise! We would love that itinerary.

Just a few comments to perhaps help with your decision.

The Emerald was our first Princess cruise and is our favorite ship. We have stayed in E731 on the Emerald  three times, twice before it was converted to a communicating cabin and once after. The larger covered balcony was great as we are balcony folks too. You do have a port intensive itinerary(9 out of 12 days!) so I 'm not sure how much balcony time you'll have but you will love the balcony when you're using it. You are at the back of the ship which affords you more privacy but does allow you to 'get your steps in' getting to mid-ship where most of the action is. We never experienced any significant motion problems. We never experienced any significant cigarette smoke problems from the deck below. And we never experienced any noise problems from Club Fusion that is directly below E731 which has been mentioned in previous posts about E731. The only downside for us with E731 is that it is now a connecting cabin. We had very noisy neighbors(I'm being polite!) during our last cruise and it did put a damper on the cruise for us.

     Enjoy your cruise wherever you decide to stay.

            Best....

                Virgil

We try to view the Ships layout and Deck Plans before selecting a Stateroom. I try to stay away from Elevators, Stairs, Working Areas, adjoining rooms and Nightclubs above or below. 

[ctompkins]

On 6/19/2021 at 6:10 AM, puppymama1 said:

Thank you for all the information!  We do like to sit outside on the balcony, so I wanted a covered one in case it was raining…. I guess we have to decide if we want a covered balcony or a sofa…😊

 

Mini- suites to me are the only way to go, especially on the longer voyages.  Large closet too!  Two tv’s is a huge bonus too!