Royal Princess - best decks and cabin availability

[cocosmum]

My husband and I are looking at booking an Auckland - Honolulu cruise April 2025.

After some research, it would appear the best decks are 9-14 which are quieter with cabins above and below. I get sea sick so even though I manage this well with medication, ideally I would still like to be on a slightly lower desk and mid ship if possible.

We generally do our own booking but when I try and book a deluxe balcony cabin through the Princess website it states all the mid-deck are 'sold out' and gives me ONE option for E720 and that's it!!  I generally like to know exactly what cabin we're getting especially as this cruise is 15 days. E720 seems to be over the Vista lounge so not sure about that??

 

What do you guys think??  Are they really nearly fully booked this far out or are they holding back cabins??  Maybe I should call them direct or use a travel agent in this instance.  Would love your thoughts😀

[Rick&Jeannie]

Well, I have no advice regarding the ship being fully booked, but I guess it's possible. 

We are very partial to Riviera deck (14) because we generally book mini-suite and those cabins in that category have nothing above or below them other than more cabins.

[Wishing on a star]

Try this...  you might find that the issue is how Princess totally controls and mismanages the cabin availability.  The system holds these cabins for parties of 3 or more.

Act like you are booking for 3 guests... and see what availability comes up!

If I am guessing correctly, even TAs have not been able to access these cabins.

So, the one work-around might be to book with a third person...  then you can always go back and cancel them.

 

PS:  If you get a cabin that you like...  make double sure that it is marked NO UPGRADE.   And check back often to make sure that your cabin has not been changed, and is till showing NO UPGRADE.

 

Good Luck!

Edited February 8 by Wishing on a star

[cocosmum]

20 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

Try this...  you might find that the issue is how Princess totally controls and mismanages the cabin availability.  The system holds these cabins for parties of 3 or more.

Act like you are booking for 3 guests... and see what availability comes up!

If I am guessing correctly, even TAs have not been able to access these cabins.

So, the one work-around might be to book with a third person...  then you can always go back and cancel them.

 

PS:  If you get a cabin that you like...  make double sure that it is marked NO UPGRADE.   And check back often to make sure that your cabin has not been changed, and is till showing NO UPGRADE.

 

Good Luck!

Thanks @Wishing on a star - good idea but no luck.  When I do a dummy booking for 3 people in a deluxe suite it shows absolutely no availability for the whole ship - eek!!  

Because this cruise is just a leg of a longer cruise (Sydney to Vancouver) I'm now wondering if they're holding back cabins for passengers who want to book the entire cruise?  I'll keep trying 😀

[Wishing on a star]

It does look like this cruise is very heavily sold!

I do not know if you have a deposit/hold on E704,  but right now the website is ONLY showing GTY for many areas and categories.

I have never sailed above the Vista Lounge.  Maybe not too bad, and does eventually close down???

There is one possible advantage to being above that AFT deck just below.  Easy to run down there and get set up with those loungers, if that is the vibe you might like.

There might be a slight possibility of moving to a better location?  

I would def. keep my eyes open to see if anything, by chance, were to become available.

[Rick&Jeannie]

21 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

PS:  If you get a cabin that you like...  make double sure that it is marked NO UPGRADE.   And check back often to make sure that your cabin has not been changed, and is till showing NO UPGRADE.

The only downside to your advice is the *only* way to have it marked "No Upgrade" is to go through a TA (or possible contact a CVP.)  Booking directly online there is no mechanism to do this. (I wish...)

[Wishing on a star]

If you book online, directly thru the Princess website.. maybe you could go thru CHAT?

We keep hearing about mixed results, with a few cases where people thought they had the NO UPGRADE, and then somehow the cabin gets moved????

With the new bidding system in place, any real upgrade seems to be very very rare.

This reminds me...  I need to have my current bookings marked NO UPGRADE...  if this can still be done.  We really want the cabin that we have booked for next year.  It is showing RESERVE now, is I am glad we went ahead and put a deposit on it.

 

( PS.. sorry about getting that cabin number wrong, as I know she had mentioned 720. )

[cocosmum]

@Rick&Jeannie - Just FYI - not sure if it's a country specific thing or what, but when I book a cabin thru the Princess website  I have the option to tick if I want an automatic upgrade or not??

Just as an update, I rang Princess and have booked an actual cabin on this very FULL ship - yay!!  They did have a couple of extra ones I couldn't see on their website so worthwhile for us anyway.  I did have to downgrade from a deluxe balcony to a standard balcony but as far as I can see the only difference is we won't have the small couch - correct??

It's on deck 11 (Baja) and towards the aft so quite happy with that. We'll stick to that so no upgrades for us this time 😀

 

Thanks for everyone's help on this, I daresay I will be back with lots more questions as the time gets nearer!!

[Rick&Jeannie]

28 minutes ago, cocosmum said:

@Rick&Jeannie - Just FYI - not sure if it's a country specific thing or what, but when I book a cabin thru the Princess website  I have the option to tick if I want an automatic upgrade or not??

Just as an update, I rang Princess and have booked an actual cabin on this very FULL ship - yay!!  They did have a couple of extra ones I couldn't see on their website so worthwhile for us anyway.  I did have to downgrade from a deluxe balcony to a standard balcony but as far as I can see the only difference is we won't have the small couch - correct??

It's on deck 11 (Baja) and towards the aft so quite happy with that. We'll stick to that so no upgrades for us this time 😀

 

Thanks for everyone's help on this, I daresay I will be back with lots more questions as the time gets nearer!!

Maybe I've just missed it, or it is a new feature but I know that it used to not be possible to mark "no upgrade" yourself. 

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

We like 14 (Riviera) too. It is nice and high for great views but a quiet deck with accommodation above and below. It has good mini-suites too as has been mentioned already. Also, if in a suite it has the concierge lounge. The laundry/ironing is there too. Close to buffet and pool deck for a quick slice or ice-cream too! Great deck all round in our opinion.