Internal rooms - Caribbean Princess

[Pugglemom]

We will be taking a Southern Caribbean cruise in February, and I am looking for room advice. We currently have selected an internal room (P319). Our previous vacation experience is that we only use our room for sleeping, we prefer to be out and about, but this is our first cruise, so we're not sure how much weight to put on room selection. We considered upgrading to an outside room, but I'm not sure simply having a window is worth the extra expense.

 

Does anyone have any insights regarding internal rooms on Caribbean Princess (are some better than others?), and whether it is worth it to upgrade to an outside room? Are we crazy not to get a balcony room? :confused:

 

Thanks!

[cs]

I will tell you that the window in an oceanview is nice because you have some natural light (interior cabins are dark). Plus you have the advantage of looking out a window when ever you want.

 

The balcony is that, plus more. It's a wonderful feeling sitting on your balcony enjoying the sea. I am partial to balcony cabins.

 

That said, there's nothing wrong with an interior room. There's just advantages to having a window or balcony. Only you can decide if it's important enough for the added expense.

 

Word of caution. Many people have a hard time going back to an interior after being in a balcony. If you don't want to get hooked, don't try one - lol.

[JerseyGuys]

Just my humble opinion. Other than natural light, I'm not sure the upgrade from inside to window makes that much of a difference especially if you have an obstructed view, some of those cabins are dark also. As CS stated above the real hook is when you move to a balcony. Our first cruise we got spoiled with a mini suite, and now even the regular balcony looks small. If you can at all swing it I highy recommend a cabin with a balcony. It is a wonderful experence.

[firefly333]

We did a obstructed OV on Caribbean Princess, L103, which is oversized, 192 s.f. and a high deck. Would rather have had this cabin than a regular OV which costs more.

 

The two inner Obs OVs on Lido are extra small, the two outside ones are oversized. Worth a thought?? We loved being able to just walk out on the front deck there, right in front of our cabin.

 

There are decks you can walk out on and watch the sunset that dont have many people on them like Lido deck.

 

I did a inside on Grand Princess, it was ok, but the OV was better. Either will be fine for your cruise. Depends on the price what Id pick.

 

We would wake up and the ports would be spread across in front of our eyes, we loved the view. This shows the deck thru our curtains. The window has a coating so folks cant see in during the day.

 

[Colo Cruiser]

If you watch the fares sometimes the outside rooms end up being the same price as the inside ones. ;)

[Pugglemom]

We did a obstructed OV on Caribbean Princess, L103, which is oversized, 192 s.f. and a high deck. Would rather have had this cabin than a regular OV which costs more.

 

 

Checked on L103, it was already taken. Secret must be out, but thanks for the intel!

[Colo Cruiser]

We did a obstructed OV on Caribbean Princess, L103, which is oversized, 192 s.f. and a high deck. Would rather have had this cabin than a regular OV which costs more.

 

 

Checked on L103, it was already taken. Secret must be out, but thanks for the intel!

 

Another secret with those cabins is there are a lotta backsides to look at too when you are arriving/departing ports. Not very private even though they can't see in. ;)

[silvercruiser]

After balconies and minisuites we had our first experience with Inside a year ago when Princess offered a full refund if we'd give up our balconey cabin for an Inside on Lido deck. We loved it! Great for afternoon naps and loved being on Lido deck. I think the Lido Insides are usually more expensive, though, compared to other Insides. Hey, you're on a cruise, any cabin is great!

[NeurosurgeryNP]

We have had both - a mini suite and an inside on the CB. The first cruise we had a mini and the second cruise, we decided on an inside as we were never in our cabin with the mini - we were out of our cabin daily from 8 AM - 3 AM except for changing, etc.

 

With that said, we did a mini for our 4 nighter on April, and again, were never in the cabin.

 

But, we are going to sail on the CB again in October, and splurged for a balcony. We will be in the room = can't tell you - but we do have 3 sea days right up front, so I believe that we may use the balcony a little more this time.

 

With how active we have been on the ship, and never in our room, we did not find the inside room to be a bad deal. If it came down to doing an inside room so we can save a few hundred dollars so we can go on the cruise, we would do in in a heartbeat.

[Pugglemom]

Thanks Neuro: that's helpful. I really doubt we'll be in our cabin much, and with only one sea day the first day, I have a feeling we'll be doing more exploring than hanging out in the room.

 

While we can probably afford the upgrade and still be able to go, I just wonder if I'd rather spend the extra several hundred dollars on dining and excursion experiences!

 

To all with internal room experience: Where was your internal room? I assume some are larger than others, given the size "range" they provide.

[spittler]

We always get insides as they are cheaper, so therefore we can cruise more often. We are always out enjoying everything on the ship, and if we ever want to sit outside and read a book, we just go to the open deck by the aft pool or go on the promenade. It is ultimately up to you, but I would say you will be satisfied with an inside room.

[scooterzidel]

We've travelled in an inside cabin on the Riviera deck and we absolutely loved it. It is 1 deck below the pools and the buffets and you have easy access to all the fun stuff. I believe that you were asking about the Plaza deck, which is many floors below Riviera. I would maybe recommend spending a bit more and getting the interior room on a higher deck - so you have much easier access to the pools.:D

[Pugglemom]

Scooterzidel - did you have any problems with deck chair noise being below the pool?

[vmom]

We have had 2 inside cabins on the Caribbean Princess. Keep in mind that cabins on ships are smaller that hotel rooms. Good to keep in mind so you won't be surprised.

 

On a Southern itenery you likely won't be in the room much at all since there ar so many ports. It might be a good idea to stick with an inside for now to see if you like cruising.

 

We like inside rooms. They're great for sleeping. The TV has a channel that shows what the outside looks like from a ship cam. We put that on and it was our own porthole to see what the outside weather was like.

 

If you are they type that is always out and about, then an inside should be just fine. If you like to spend much time in your room, then splurge with an outside.

 

Location: We've been on the upper decks and lower decks. Each has its advantage. The higher decks are closer to the buffet and pools, but the lower decks are closer to the dining rooms, atrium area, most lounges, theater, casino, and promenade etc. The doors to exit the ship are on one of the lower levels.

 

The rooms themselves are basically the same no matter which deck you are on.

[Pugglemom]

I got the paper brochure in the mail today, and it is much easier to see the size difference of the rooms than it is online.

 

It "appears" (assuming the maps are to scale) that there are some internal rooms that are larger than others, specifically:

- rooms such as R312, C312, A312, L252, etc. are designated as handicap accessible. As a 20-something, I would feel guilty taking a handicap room, so I'll skip these.

- most rooms on the Plaza deck appear to be slightly larger than most rooms on decks 8-12, but you are on the lowest possible deck... which has its own set of positives and negatives. I think the Lido deck rooms also look slightly larger than the other floors.

- there are a few rooms that are larger but not handicap accessible: R514, R515, R508, R507. These rooms are not oriented the same way as all other internal rooms, so the set up may not be as desirable, but I think this is the option we are going to try (they are below the pool deck, so it's possible we'll be hearing deck chair noise, maybe that's the trade off).

 

While a balcony or mini-suite room would be great, since this is our first cruise, we're just going to try out an internal room, assuming we won't be in there too often. Perhaps we'll splurge more on our next cruise. Hopefully the slightly larger internal rooms will be a good choice! I'll report back if we're able to get in these rooms, but let me know if you have experience with any of these rooms in the meantime.

[Colo Cruiser]

I got the paper brochure in the mail today, and it is much easier to see the size difference of the rooms than it is online.

 

It "appears" (assuming the maps are to scale) that there are some internal rooms that are larger than others, specifically:

- rooms such as R312, C312, A312, L252, etc. are designated as handicap accessible. As a 20-something, I would feel guilty taking a handicap room, so I'll skip these.

- most rooms on the Plaza deck appear to be slightly larger than most rooms on decks 8-12, but you are on the lowest possible deck... which has its own set of positives and negatives. I think the Lido deck rooms also look slightly larger than the other floors.

- there are a few rooms that are larger but not handicap accessible: R514, R515, R508, R507. These rooms are not oriented the same way as all other internal rooms, so the set up may not be as desirable, but I think this is the option we are going to try (they are below the pool deck, so it's possible we'll be hearing deck chair noise, maybe that's the trade off).

 

While a balcony or mini-suite room would be great, since this is our first cruise, we're just going to try out an internal room, assuming we won't be in there too often. Perhaps we'll splurge more on our next cruise. Hopefully the slightly larger internal rooms will be a good choice! I'll report back if we're able to get in these rooms, but let me know if you have experience with any of these rooms in the meantime.

 

On Riviera Deck it has been noted on several comments about noise from above that it seems to be concentrated in the 300-400 range. :)

[5Cats]

We were spoiled since we got a balcony room on our first cruise - honeymoon cruise 8/04 Inside Passage Alaska. We have also had balcony rooms for a 5 day E Caribbean cruise and the Canada/NE cruise. We are doing the Canada/NE cruise again this October, and booked an inside room. We are booked in Caribe 236. I'm a little nervous about the inside room, but it probably saved DH and I $700.00 - which happened to be our airfare cost!

 

Last year on the Canada/NE cruise, it was so foggy outside that you couldn't even see the water (at night) - which kind of freaked me out. So, for this itinerary, I think an inside room will be fine. For the Caribbean, I think we would have been ok with an inside room as well.

 

HOWEVER, for Alaska - I wouldn't go unless I had the balcony room or better. That is the cruise IMHO that a balcony room was most appreciated.

 

I think any room type is ok - we try to stay away from the elevators, laundry, etc. We didn't spend much time in our room - there is too much to do and we didn't want to miss anything!

 

Enjoy!

[tejmar]

Pugglemom;

 

For our last cruise on the CB Jan. 08 we booked an offer from Princess where all the inside cabins were the same price. It happened that two inside cabins were available on the Lido deck. My wife and I had one and my daughters had the other. I have to say that having a cabin on the Lido deck has spoiled us. Like you we aren't in the cabin much we usually go for the cheapest inside cabins to save money, but it was so convenient being on the Lido. On our previous cruise on the Star we had a large inside on the Caribe deck which we liked, but not as much as the Lido cabin. Being on the Lido, we had a short walk to the activities and just down the hallway was the forward deck that served as my balcony. The convenience of being so close to all the daytime activities, the Horizon court and the forward deck made for a very enjoyable cruise. Both my wife and I were looking forward to putting any extra money toward a Lido cabin for a future cruise rather than for an Oceanview cabin. Unfortunately we booked a Panama Canal cruise for Jan. 09 on the Island which doesn't have Lido cabins. So, we are going to have to walk up one deck this time.

[Casshew]

Last year on the Canada/NE cruise, it was so foggy outside that you couldn't even see the water (at night) - which kind of freaked me out. So, for this itinerary, I think an inside room will be fine.

 

Hi there, what time of year did you sail on the Canada/NE?

[scooterzidel]

We were in R327 on the Crown last year and are in the same cabin this year on the Caribbean Princess - it was after a few mornings that we did notice that there was some scraping of the deck chairs in the morning (while the pool people were setting up the chairs) - and then we looked at the map and noticed that we were under the pool area. It certainly didn't wake us up or keep us awake and we figured that we would have some sort of noise on the ship (as you do in a hotel) but it really was no issue for us - the location was great for the 4 of us in 1 cabin so we booked it again for this summer's cruise.

 

I would highly reccommend the Lido deck if it is available as it is really close to the action as someone already stated - I don't think that they have any interior 4 people rooms on that deck (that's why we stay 1 level down on the Riviera deck). You'll have a great trip no matter where you are sleeping - we were so dead after a day of activity in the sun that we would have slept through a rock concert!!:D

[Pugglemom]

I just spoke with the Princess travel agent to change our reservation. We switched to room R508. She said the rooms that appear larger on the deck plan are listed as the same size as other internal rooms, but CC message boards indicate otherwise (people have noted they are actually larger).

 

Thanks for all your assistance!

[Whoo]

Pugglemom -

 

I just booked R508. How did you like the room???

 

Thanks!

[sabookkeeper]

We will be taking a Southern Caribbean cruise in February, and I am looking for room advice. We currently have selected an internal room (P319). Our previous vacation experience is that we only use our room for sleeping, we prefer to be out and about, but this is our first cruise, so we're not sure how much weight to put on room selection. We considered upgrading to an outside room, but I'm not sure simply having a window is worth the extra expense.

 

Does anyone have any insights regarding internal rooms on Caribbean Princess (are some better than others?), and whether it is worth it to upgrade to an outside room? Are we crazy not to get a balcony room? :confused:

 

Thanks!

We have never been on the Carribean Princess, but in the last two years we have been on the Grand and Ruby. Both times were inside cabins. As we only go back to the cabin to changes clothes and sleep, we did not feel it was necessary to pay extra for an outside cabin or a balcony. When on the Ruby we did book an inside cabin on the Lido Deck. This was very convenient as this is where the pools and the buffet is. Personally, we decided to pay less for the room so that we can afford to cruise every year. Once Sanctuary showed up, we were more than happy with the inside cabin and booked Sanctuary for the week.

 

In saying this, we have booked a balcony cabin for the Panama Canal as we feel there will be a lot more to see without having to find a space on the deck to be able to see everything.

 

It really is a personal choice and how much you want to spend.

[billet]

As suggested earlier putting the TV ontothe webcam channel with no sound makes it seem like an outside window. If you throw a towel over the screen then when daylight comes it seems just like a curtain.

[nicknack]

 

Another secret with those cabins is there are a lotta backsides to look at too when you are arriving/departing ports. Not very private even though they can't see in. ;)

 

Still another secret with the Lido OV rooms is that while watching other people's backsides outside your window, you can listen to the drone of the treadmills over your head, hour after hour after hour.