Best Stateroom with Balcony for Family of Four

[cyberfilly]

We're planning on our first Princess Cruise (have only cruised on Disney Wonder) and are trying to decide what stateroom type to book. We are DH45, DW45, DD12, and DS10 so we need a quad and we DEFINITELY need a balcony. Want mid-ship from all points as daughter is prone to sea sickness. Looking for any and all opinions on Balcony vs. Mini Suite, probably on the Dolphin or Caribe deck.

 

Thanks to all!

[Toto2Kansas]

Booking four in a balcony room will mean a bedroom with four twin beds, nothing like Disney, as there will be no place to sit except on the beds. I would definitely go with a midship mini suite if DD tends to get motion sick. Check the deck plans for any quad mini suites as every one is not a quad.

 

Alsi, if you could share which ships you are looking into, that would also help. ;)

[Druke I]

Which ship - they are not all alike.

 

I do believe Toto is in error - there won't be four twin beds, but two twins and two uppers! A real squeeze for four!

 

You might be better off with one balcony and one inside cabin.

[Toto2Kansas]

Which ship - they are not all alike.

 

I do believe Toto is in error - there won't be four twin beds, but two twins and two uppers! A real squeeze for four!

 

You might be better off with one balcony and one inside cabin.

 

Sorry, that is just what I meant, it just came out wrong. Two twin lowers and two twin uppers. Didn't mean it to sound like 4 twins all lower beds. Thanks for correcting me.

[Toto2Kansas]

Here are a couple of pictures just for reference. Although the quad showing is not a balcony, it is more how the room layout will be in a balcony cabin.

The other is of a mini quad configuration where the sofa bed sleeps one and the pull down over the top the other. The mini will also have twin lowers that can be put together to form a queen that are located on the other side of the mini suite.

 

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[cyberfilly]

Is the balcony for a Mini-suite any different (larger, smaller, etc.) than the balcony for a "Balcony" stateroom? We're considering either the Ruby or Crown.

[LuvTheGoodLife]

following refers to 'side' balconies only, i.e. those on starboard or port sides of any ‘Grand’ class ship (Grand, Golden, Star, Diamond, Sapphire, Caribbean, Crown, Emerald etc)....

 

Baja deck balconies are sized 9 ft. wide x 5 ft. deep and have full ceiling overhang. Lido, Aloha, Riviera (found on Caribbean, Crown, Emerald, Ruby only) decks have the same balconies. You can stand at the railing of these balconies and look down on to part of the Caribe deck balconies and all of the Dolphin deck balconies.

 

Caribe deck balconies are sized 9 ft. wide x 9 ft. deep and have ceiling overhang over the first 5 ft. Standing at the railing, you will overlook Dolphin deck balconies below.

 

All of the cabin interiors/bathrooms of the balcony cabins are the same with respect to size (unless it is a handicapped cabin).

Dolphin deck balconies (all balcony cabins are actually mini-suites and thus bigger than regular balcony cabins on the interior with sitting area, 2nd TV and bathtub/shower combination instead of the small shower stall found in the regular balcony cabins). The balcony is sized 9 ft. wide x 7 ft. deep and has no ceiling overhang as protection from sun or rain.

 

Emerald deck has several mini-suites each side with fully covered balconies. The last mini-suite cabin towards aft end on each side has extra wide balcony – approximately 7 ft. deep x 18 wide, according to someone who stayed in one of these. Emerald deck also has some regular balcony cabins near the front that have the balconies set back under the roof and back from the railing. You look straight out to the water but cannot look down on the water. The walking track goes past these balconies and walkers can see you on your balcony. I do not have any measurements for these Emerald deck balcony sizes.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise!

[kwcrnp]

We have a quad on the Crown for next summer. We got one that has the twin into a queen, an upper twin and a rollaway for the 4th person. This way we have some room. It's on the Baja deck. Not sue if the upper is above the queen or on a side wall?? We have kids the same age so this works for us. With 4 adults it might be too crowded! Here is a picture:

 

[dashulak]

We have a quad on the Crown for next summer. We got one that has the twin into a queen, an upper twin and a rollaway for the 4th person. This way we have some room. It's on the Baja deck. Not sue if the upper is above the queen or on a side wall?? We have kids the same age so this works for us. With 4 adults it might be too crowded! [/img]

 

I hate to be a party pooper, but I don't think having a rollaway for the 4th person will make the room less crowded. IMHO, it will be more crowded, but at least maybe you can see the television. ;)

 

You can read my take from an earlier post here (post #6):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=756603

[unionville3]

We have cruised Disney Magic and Carribean Princess. The mini-suite on the Emerald deck is going to be the closer comparison to a Category 6 on Disney. We are Disney fans but had an awesome time on our Princess cruise. Keep in mind that not all decks on Princess are covered.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Definitely go with at least a mini-suite. With 4 in the cabin, even that will be a bit tight. I couldn't imagine 4 people in a balcony cabin! :eek: I know people do it, but this is your vacation & it should be as special as it can be. JMHO.

[taxatty]

Three in a standard Princess balcony stateroom is tight enough (we've done it with a teen)--a Caribe BA will give you a bigger balcony, but the room is no bigger. A mini-suite is definitely the way to go. Also look into a balcony with an inside across the hall if you think your kids are old enough (we've done it a few times)--the price difference may not be huge, and you'll get two bathrooms and privacy. Princess won't let you book it that way but you can switch things around once you board.

 

Les

[Toto2Kansas]

We have a quad on the Crown for next summer. We got one that has the twin into a queen, an upper twin and a rollaway for the 4th person. This way we have some room. It's on the Baja deck. Not sue if the upper is above the queen or on a side wall?? We have kids the same age so this works for us. With 4 adults it might be too crowded! Here is a picture:

 

 

I do hope they advised you that putting a roll away in a balcony cabin will mean that your floor space will be wall to wall beds and probably will cut off access to your balcony while the roll away is being used?

[Putterdude]

We had a couple in front of on the Diamond with 2 teenaged daughters who managed quite well in a balcony cabin on a 15 night cruise to Hawaii rtn. I think it was a little close and the bathroom routine must have been h*ll on formal nights but it is something that they did on a regular basis.

[mjmalino]

Three in a standard Princess balcony stateroom is tight enough (we've done it with a teen)--a Caribe BA will give you a bigger balcony, but the room is no bigger. A mini-suite is definitely the way to go. Also look into a balcony with an inside across the hall if you think your kids are old enough (we've done it a few times)--the price difference may not be huge, and you'll get two bathrooms and privacy. Princess won't let you book it that way but you can switch things around once you board.

 

Les

 

Actually, we looked into this for our upcoming cruise on the Caribbean this summer. We were able to book a balcony/inside (right across from each other) for the same price as a mini. We had a mini for our first cruise on the Coral and it worked for the 4 of us, but having the extra bathroom will be nice.

[Putterdude]

Actually, we looked into this for our upcoming cruise on the Caribbean this summer. We were able to book a balcony/inside (right across from each other) for the same price as a mini. We had a mini for our first cruise on the Coral and it worked for the 4 of us, but having the extra bathroom will be nice.

 

I personally think this is the best way to go if the children are of an age to be left alone in a cabin. Are a 10 & a 12 year old just a little to young yet?

[cinderella29]

We're planning on our first Princess Cruise (have only cruised on Disney Wonder) and are trying to decide what stateroom type to book. We are DH45, DW45, DD12, and DS10 so we need a quad and we DEFINITELY need a balcony. Want mid-ship from all points as daughter is prone to sea sickness. Looking for any and all opinions on Balcony vs. Mini Suite, probably on the Dolphin or Caribe deck.

 

Thanks to all!

 

When I sailed on the Golden Princess they had a room next to me called the family suite. It was two rooms both can enter from corridor but once inside the bigger of the two rooms was L shaped witha a door that opens onto a small room with two beds. The bigger room has a living room area too. Think the room is C101 and C103

[can786]

When I sailed on the Golden Princess they had a room next to me called the family suite. It was two rooms both can enter from corridor but once inside the bigger of the two rooms was L shaped witha a door that opens onto a small room with two beds. The bigger room has a living room area too. Think the room is C101 and C103

 

The family suite is very expensive as you pay the full suite price for the first four passengers in the cabin. The balcony is also almost unusable when sailing as it is very windy since it has no partition at the front of the balcony to block the wind. I was upgraded to one on the Star Princess and it was great for us, but I would never pay the price to have one.

[cmpaula]

We are a family of 4 (DH, DW, DS and DD) and always get at least a balcony with an inside room across the hall. Usually we get the mini-suite with an inside room. It gives us room to be together and yet space if we need quiet time:) Last summer we had connecting balcony cabins on NCLA PoAm and it was tight! The cabins seemed much smaller that Princess and Disney. Thankfully the Hawaii itinerary is so port intensive that we weren't in our cabins much. If we get rooms across the hall from each other, my DD and I take the mini-suite and DH and DS take the inside. The guys actually enjoy the inside and the male bonding they have during the cruise:cool: Our kids are now 14 and 16 so we want to cruise as much as possible with them before they head to college. You can always make more money but you can't make more time:D

[luvstosun]

My family and I are going on the Ruby in November. Our kids are 13 and 10. We booked two balcony rooms side by side and the travel agent put a request in to remove the partition dividing the two balconies. Something to think about.

[TwinCruiserMom]

I also vote for a balcony cabin on the Caribe deck with an inside across the hall. This is what we did in December. The price can be even cheaper than 4 in a balcony and it gives you 2 bathrooms to work with.

 

The side facing balconies on Caribe or Dolphin are the only ones that have 4 chairs and they are the only ones with enough breathing room for 4 people. The balconies on decks like Aloha and Baja are not made for 4 people and they only come with 2 chairs. Something to keep in mind if you want to enjoy the balcony with the whole family together.

 

I most definitely would not want a rollaway in a balcony cabin! Would much rather have the two bunks that come down from the ceiling. You won't be able to walk to the balcony without crawling over the rollaway.

 

Of course, having two balconies side by side would be wonderful, and the best choice, but certainly the most expensive of all the other ideas.

 

Good luck!

[can786]

My family and I are going on the Ruby in November. Our kids are 13 and 10. We booked two balcony rooms side by side and the travel agent put a request in to remove the partition dividing the two balconies. Something to think about.

 

Just FYI, you will not be able to remove the partition. There is a door in the partition that the room steward can open, but you will not have one large balcony like you would if the partition were actually removed.

[Toto2Kansas]

Just FYI, you will not be able to remove the partition. There is a door in the partition that the room steward can open, but you will not have one large balcony like you would if the partition were actually removed.

 

Definitely a good point to raise. There is an access door between the balconys but there is no way to remove the partition between them.

[junglejane]

Another vote for two cabins. We do side by side balcony cabins for our family of four. On our recent Mexican Riviera cruise, it worked out to cost about the same as 4 in a minisuite. We especially like having two bathrooms, and we go back and forth via the door in the balcony partition.

 

--Junglejane

[cyberfilly]

I also vote for a balcony cabin on the Caribe deck with an inside across the hall. This is what we did in December. The price can be even cheaper than 4 in a balcony and it gives you 2 bathrooms to work with.

 

The side facing balconies on Caribe or Dolphin are the only ones that have 4 chairs and they are the only ones with enough breathing room for 4 people. The balconies on decks like Aloha and Baja are not made for 4 people and they only come with 2 chairs. Something to keep in mind if you want to enjoy the balcony with the whole family together.

 

I most definitely would not want a rollaway in a balcony cabin! Would much rather have the two bunks that come down from the ceiling. You won't be able to walk to the balcony without crawling over the rollaway.

 

Of course, having two balconies side by side would be wonderful, and the best choice, but certainly the most expensive of all the other ideas.

 

Good luck!

 

What are side facing balconies? Are they mid-ship?