Princess newbie questions

[nc_cruiser1]

Hello Princess experts! My family has previously cruised RCI (Voyager) and Carnival (Glory), both Western Carib itineraries and enjoyed both. We are seriously considering a Princess cruise in December, on Caribbean Princess, Southern Carib itinerary. Wife and I would be in one cabin, the boys, ages 18 and 21, would be in the another (we have used same arrangement in the past).

 

Preliminary research has resulted in two questions:

 

Wife and I will choose between balcony and mini-suite... but I have read about obstructed views and uncovered balconies on Dolphin deck. Can someone please summarize the decks / locations with balcony "issues" like this?

 

Have also read about Princess being "sedate", and am wondering if the boys (who are really young men at their ages) will be bored? They are not partyers, but they do like to socialize with others their ages. One thing is that the itinerary only has one day at sea, but I am thinking about the evenings too.

 

Any insights most appreciated.

[Colo Cruiser]

I don't know of any obstructed balconies on the CB.

The issue with Dolphin deck mini's being uncovered really does not bother us, I do prefer the privacy of an Emerald deck mini that is completely covered but there are ony 12 of those so they go fast.

 

How old are your kids? They really shopuld not have a boredom problem.

 

With only 1 sae day you will be very busy. ;)

[ssbeagle]

There is always something to do on a Princess ship. I found I had more to do on Princess than on RCL's Voyager. My son prefers Princess over RCL for his family as well. My younger son doesn't care what line he's on as long as he's on a cruise.

 

The dolphin deck minis are usually not covered balconies. If you want a nice balcony then I would recommend the Caribe deck for a balcony cabin, but you don't get as much room as you would with a mini.

[LENORA516]

My daughters are 20 and 25 they have both sailed with us several times on Princess, most recently on the Caribbean Princess in July they always have a great time.:D

[mtaylor04]

My daughters are 24 and 21 and they both love Princess. They never lacked for something to do, and would sail on Princess in a heart beat...or whenever mom is paying. :D

 

I stayed on the Dolphin deck many times, and the uncovered balconies have never bothered us.

 

Happy Sails

[LuvTheGoodLife]

following refers to 'side' of ship balconies only, i.e. those on starboard or port sides of any ‘Grand’ class ship (Grand, Golden, Star, Diamond, Sapphire, Caribbean, Crown, Emerald etc) and not any balconies that face directly aft....

 

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!

Below is a link of photos which helps explain the tiered balcony design from StuartM:

 

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563286324HHwMgb

[nc_cruiser1]

Thanks all. This is great info. I am not concerned now about the guys being bored.

 

As to balcony cabin selection, would there be much difference between the Baja vs. the Aloha decks? Any reason to prefer one or the other? I am mainly thinking noise, as this has been an issue in the past.

 

What is the balcony door configuration... sliding (like RCI) or swinging (like Carnival)? I prefer sliding... less prone to slamming shut!

[LuvTheGoodLife]

No size or design differences between Aloha and Baja balconies or cabins.

 

Balcony doors are sliders.

[nc_cruiser1]

Which San Juan pier does CB use?

 

Thx.

[ggprincess2004]

As far as your young men, Princess frequently will have a meet and mingle for the 18-21 crowd the first night of the cruise. It will be after sail away - you might want to make sure you check the Princess Patter which should be waiting for you in your stateroom when you board to see if one is scheduled that evening. Between that and Skywalker's they should have no trouble finding people in their age group to socialize with.

 

Balcony stateroom v. mini-suite? When we take "the kids" (college age) we book a mini, and put them across the hall in an inside. The mini-suite gives us enough room to have family time in the mini-suite and the balcony is big enough for all 4 of us. The open balconies on Dolphin are fine with us - when we look down we see the water, and when we look up we have an uniterrupted view of the sky (and stars).:)

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[nc_cruiser1]

Cabins and flights done! Will arrive in SJU a couple days early to explore.

 

Thanks so much for all of the information!

[Sandytoes]

 

How old are your kids?

 

He said they are the ages 18 and 21,