Which Cabin

[swanlady2000]

Hi,

 

This is our first time cruising and my husband and myself are taking our 2 boys aged 14 and 17. We have booked 2 inside cabins and took a guarantee, but have found that we are now at opposite ends of the ship. We had planned to put the boys in their own cabin as neither want to share with their mum!

 

We are travelling on the sea princess and have been allocated cabins A338 (which will accomodate a 3rd person - does this mean its a bigger cabin?) and A711.

 

My first question is will this be a problem? How long does it take to walk from one end of the ship to the other to meet up.

 

I have checked availability online and cabins A612 and A618 which are next door to each are available still - what are these cabins like?

 

Only other cabins available are A208, A205 and A209 at the front of the ship or A728 at the rear.

 

Is there any difference in these? Would you choose back or front of the ship?

 

Sorry, so many questions, but have never stepped foot on a boat/ship in my life and just don't know what to expect.

 

Babs

[Dorset Cruiser]

Hi,

 

This is our first time cruising and my husband and myself are taking our 2 boys aged 14 and 17. We have booked 2 inside cabins and took a guarantee, but have found that we are now at opposite ends of the ship. We had planned to put the boys in their own cabin as neither want to share with their mum!

 

We are travelling on the sea princess and have been allocated cabins A338 (which will accomodate a 3rd person - does this mean its a bigger cabin?) and A711.

 

My first question is will this be a problem? How long does it take to walk from one end of the ship to the other to meet up.

 

 

I have checked availability online and cabins A612 and A618 which are next door to each are available still - what are these cabins like?

 

Only other cabins available are A208, A205 and A209 at the front of the ship or A728 at the rear.

 

Is there any difference in these? Would you choose back or front of the ship?

 

Sorry, so many questions, but have never stepped foot on a boat/ship in my life and just don't know what to expect.

 

Babs

 

Just got off Sea Princess. We were on Aloha deck but in a balcony. A338 is one of the larger inside cabins and A711 is an ordinary inside. It would take the boys only a minute or so to walk the length of the gangway. A711 is very handy for the sundecks at the aft of the ship. We were in A639 and used that exit a lot. We had no problems being at the aft of the ship and in fact we have booked the exact same location for Ruby in January. A711 is also right near the elevators - again very handy, although you will have to go down to deck 7 and then get another elevator down to the dining rooms etc. I think the same will apply with A338 as only the centre elevators on the ship go right down to the lower decks. Having said that, A612 and A618 are both the larger type cabins which look a bit more spacious than the ordinary inside cabins - so if it was me I would change. You will still be very close to the aft elevators.

 

You will have a wonderful time on Sea Princess. She is one of the smaller ships but perfectly appointed. There is lots to do and if you have Peter Tredgett as your cruise director, you will have a great time entertainment wise. We had some really good acts on board, singers, dancers, ventriloquist, clarinettist, comedians - always something to watch and some great films including There will be Blood and No Place for Old Men, two very recent films. The food is excellent and our cabin was kept in tip top condition - we had no serious complaints at all, just a couple of little niggles which were more a personal choice issue than anything more major.

 

What itinerary are you doing. We did a week round the islands from Barbados and then 7 day transatlantic into Southampton. Wonderful ports of call and an amazingly calm, relaxing transatlantic into the bargain.

 

Chris

[swanlady2000]

Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for the information. We are doing the Mediterranean Medley cruise from Southampton (Cadiz, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Livorno, Rome, Alghero, Mallorca and Gibralter) and I am so looking forward to it. I never even considered cruising before but we were struggling to find a holiday that everyone would be happy with and that we hadn't done before - none of us are happy with a fortnight "beach" holiday anymore. We have done Florida and Disney quite a few times and I have taken the boys all over Europe on various holidays and they have been to most of the major cities so a few of the places we will be stopping at are revisits, so I know exactly what I want to do and see in them.

 

It was my travel agent who suggested a cruise and my first thought was "nope" full of old people and too restricted with dining (part of my holiday enjoyment is dining in different restaurants) but she recommended Princess or Ocean Village, but Ocean looked a bit too much like a holiday camp for my liking, so plumped for Princess.

 

I must admit we still have a small amount of apprehension and know I will either love it or hate it. We are doing a mini cruises to Amsterdam in a fortnight in order to get a "feel" of cruising and to see if we get sea-sick!

[Dorset Cruiser]

We have been cruising for about 11 years now. Have been on lots of different lines. Started with the cheaper cruiselines but found Princess four years ago. We love their ships. We have been on Ocean Village once and were tempted to use them again for our January cruise. However, it is a bit like Butlins and they have no formal nights. As we are celebrating our Ruby Wedding in October, we are using the cruise in January on Ruby Princess as our celebration and we are taking our children and their partners and our two grandchildren. It will be a brand spanking new ship so should be good and we wanted our girls to have the whole dress up experience of formal nights etc.

 

As I say, I am sure you will love cruising. There is a wide mix of ages - of course, lots of more elderly people and also lots of our age group - we are 61 and 60 - but there will also be a lot of younger people - all age ranges are catered for. Princess do have a great children's programme which ranges from age 3 right up to teenagers. They have lots going on for them.

 

As to sea-sickness, these huge ships are very good in all kinds of seas. I have a vomit phobia and always, always take medication onboard but I have NEVER suffered from any sickness. Last January we crossed the Tasman Sea enroute to Australia from NZ with a force 8 gale and 30 foot seas - I was perfectly fine. As a last resort, if you do suffer from any sickness, you can visit the doctor on board for his magic needle. On Sea Princess this time we only had one slightly rough day out of the seven days crossing to Southampton. You can always tell when it is really bad because the dining rooms are quite empty;) However, nothing like that on this crossing. Your only dodgy bits might be the Bay of Biscay and when you cross round into the Med by Gibraltar. But we have have done that journey a couple of times and it was fine as well.

 

What you should do is try and find your rollcall for your specific cruise. You will then meet up with lots of fellow passengers for your cruise. You can then exchange tips etc and meet up with them on board. It is a pleasant way of spending the time before your cruise comes up. When do you travel?

 

If there is anything I can help you with, just ask. I am always prowling the boards. I am retired and have plenty of time now:D :D

 

Chris

[Dorset Cruiser]

ps

 

Saw your post about irons. Now everyone says they would NEVER take an iron on board - however loads of people do;) I have yet to see anyone on board with wrinkly clothes and they are not all in the launderettes using the irons there and, alright, I confess to using a travel iron on a ship. I am an adult and I do use my iron very, very rarely in an emergency and then I make sure it is absolutely cold before I leave the cabin. On this last cruise, I used it twice and left it on my balcony to cool down before I packed it away. I always repack it in its case and hide it away somewhere - the safe is a good bet as no-one can get at it to confiscate it. I have never set a ship alight in 11 years but I don't want to encourage you with my bad habits:D

 

However, there is a launderette on Aloha deck. You will find, though, it is almost impossible to get the use of a washing machine unless you do it when everyone else has gone ashore. There are two washing machines and two dryers and about three irons and ironing boards. I think it is open from about 6.30am to 10.30pm and as far as I know, it is free to use - take your own soap powder though. I took a couple of the detergent capsules but did not use them. I just handrinsed a few small items and dried them on the line in the shower. If you notice the launderette is free, then rush back to your cabin and get your ironing before the boards are full up again.

 

Another good thing about Sea Princess is that she has a three pin socket in each cabin - handy for us from the UK.

[swanlady2000]

Thanks Chris once again for the advice.

 

Also nice to know that we won't need to take our US plug adapter. I work part-time and I am off till Friday so I am taking the opportunity to read up as much as I can about the cruise and life onboard. It seems like its a minefield out there - what with Soda cards and coffee cards and dress codes etc. Its seems like I have so many questions to ask. I am also busy planning routes and itinnaries as we are planning on making our own way for most of the days once on shore.

 

One quick question if you don't mind, Hubby has a tux which he is planning to wear on formal nights, but what is acceptable for the lads, what do the teenagers wear? Is it acceptable just for them to wear a shirt and tie or does it have to be a full suit.

[Dorset Cruiser]

I would say a smart shirt and tie would be perfectly acceptable although I did see some quite young boys in proper suits - they did look good. You can hire tuxedos on board. I started a thread today because my husband and son and son in law want to go formal but the two younger men do not have dress suits and it is a drag taking a formal suit by air, so they are considering hiring for the cruise. Maybe you can get one to fit your son. Don't stress yourself too much about the dress codes. Yes some people dress to the nines but a lot don't. You can strike a happy medium. This last cruise my husband did not take a formal suit. He had a nice new pale grey suit which he teamed with a black shirt and toning tie. He looked very good and no-one banned him from either the Captains Cocktails or the formal dinners:)

[amaw]

Hi,

 

Hi

have not long got back from Caribbean Cruise on Sea Princess. We were in cabin A736 which was next to last cabin on port side. The Cabin was great but the walk from the lifts was not, the corrider seems if it is never ending. To get to the Horizion Court you will have to go down one deck and walk along to front lifts to get lift to 14th deck or walk up to Riviera Deck and walk along outside (getting hair blowing to pieces) and then walk upto 14th Deck

 

About you getting cabins at either end of the Ship I don't think that is a very good idea as your children will probably be joinig the other teenagers in thier various activities and I would like to know if they were back in thier cabin at the time you wanted them there, and having to trail the whole length of that corrider is not suggested. When we were away we were awoken up at 5.00 am by the Captain looking for a teenager who had not returned to his cabin; he was soon found but until then it was a bit worrying. Cabins A612 and A618 are 3 doors apart and just near the rear lifts.

 

Have a great cruise we have done the Med and the Caribbean and enjoyed both equally.

 

AMAW

[loves2cruz]

I would contact your TA immediately. Children under 16 are not permitted in a cabin without an adult. Perhaps they will be able to switch you to two cabins next to each other.

[Shelly97060]

I think you would be happier if your rooms were closer together. If you still have that option I would call the TA and see about changing rooms.

[pekachryn]

 

I have not long got back from Caribbean Cruise on Sea Princess. We were in cabin A736 which was next to last cabin on port side. The Cabin was great but the walk from the lifts was not, the corrider seems if it is never ending. To get to the Horizion Court you will have to go down one deck and walk along to front lifts to get lift to 14th deck or walk up to Riviera Deck and walk along outside (getting hair blowing to pieces) and then walk upto 14th Deck

 

AMAW

 

I agree on the walking situation on the Sea Princess. We took it on the 14-day transatlantic through Iceland/Greenland, and I would have done anything to get a middle set of elevators. Pay attention to where the dining room and Horizon Court are in reference to your cabins and the elevators, or you will be walking back and forth, going up and down, to get to where you want.

 

I had friends who took their 3 children under 18 and got two cabins. Though they had to book them with one adult per cabin, they didn't sleep that way. But, they got one balcony and the opposite inside, so they would be near one another.

 

Have a great time.

[Dorset Cruiser]

I agree it was a long walk from the aft cabins to the dining areas, but it was probably the only exercise we got in 7 days transatlantic. I ate and drank as normal but managed to only put on a pound:D

[swanlady2000]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for the advice. Just to update, I have managed to switch our cabins to A612 and A618 which are next door to each other. They are not far from the Aft elevator walking back a little. Feel much better being able to knock on the boys door and get them up for breakfast etc.

 

On calling Princess only other option I had was the Four cabins at the front of the ship, A204, A208, A205 and A209, but seem as none of these have been taken thought that there might of being something wrong with them :eek:

 

Thanks once again for all the advice.