Ocean Princess BF Category Balcony - Is This A Bad one?

We are booked on the Ocean Princess for an 11 day May 2011 Med cruise with a BF category balcony cabin with "obstructed view". This is the least expensive balcony cabin on this ship. Is this a bad location, or cabin, is the balcony smaller than the others?

Another CC member commented "There are four BF cabins, the last balcony on each side of decks six and seven of the Ocean Princess and the obstruction appears to be the balcony cleaning platform on each side which is to the rear of those cabins."

Can anyone comment any further regarding these BF cabins and whether or not it would be wise to upgrade to the next higher category and pay the $120 difference now?

Thank you.

Floridalover , We are booked in 7112 on the Ocean Honolulu to Tahiti next Jan .

I did a lot of research and actually found pics . The obstruction in these BF cabins is actually part of the ship's structure that comes diagonally across the top part of the balcony opening . Very visible in the exterior pics as well . Look at the last opening side aft , that's them . Keep in mind that the balconies are inset on this ship , in other words they are enclosed completely not like a Grand class ship etc . I have read reviews from people that said it wasn't a problem at all . I don't prefer this type of closed in balcony at all but on the Ocean that's all they all are . I know we'll love it . I've read so much about small ship sailing that we are super excited 340 some days out . I specifically love being the last side balcony , that's all I book , halls are quite and I never get lost . lol

We had one of these cabins for a 7 day Med cruise in Oct 2010 on the Ocean. We absolutely loved it. There is a diagonal obstruction at the back of the balcony, but we didn't mind at all, the view was still spectacular. We really liked having the last balcony, with neighbours on one side only.

I would book one of these cabins again, in a second.

Floridalover , We are booked in 7112 on the Ocean Honolulu to Tahiti next Jan .

I did a lot of research and actually found pics . The obstruction in these BF cabins is actually part of the ship's structure that comes diagonally across the top part of the balcony opening . Very visible in the exterior pics as well . Look at the last opening side aft , that's them . Keep in mind that the balconies are inset on this ship , in other words they are enclosed completely not like a Grand class ship etc . I have read reviews from people that said it wasn't a problem at all . I don't prefer this type of closed in balcony at all but on the Ocean that's all they all are . I know we'll love it . I've read so much about small ship sailing that we are super excited 340 some days out . I specifically love being the last side balcony , that's all I book , halls are quite and I never get lost . lol

The normal balconies on the Ocean Princess are not enclosed with the ship's structure, it is only the balconies down at the aft end of the ship eg the cabins on Deck 7 affected are: 7112, 7114, 7116, 7121, 7119 and 7117. All the rest have railings that have space in between so that you can see the sea when sitting down and the dividers are made of plastic and can be removed if necessary.

The same applies to Decks 6 and 8. We have cruised on these ships for the past 7 years with Princess, Oceania and Azamara and love them. I once booked an aft cabin and then realized that we wouldn't be able to watch the sea when sitting down, so changed our cabin to one that was more midships.

Hope this helps with your decision. Also, if you are prone to seasickness, then I would suggest you choose a more central cabin as these smaller ships do move around quite a bit.

Jennie

These are pictures I found of BF balconies on the Tahitian Princess. I believe it is the same on the Ocean Princess.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24009181@N06/

Pinksand , I thank you so much for these shots ! I couldn't find them again to

show DW . I think Jennie misunderstood my poor wording , I prefer balconies that hang off the ship , not inset in Metal walls , but with Hawaii and Tahiti as our scenery we will be able to deal with it ! Great find , thanks again ! Ted

Hi Ted,

Your welcome. Glad I could help. :) We are booked in two of these cabins for a 10 day cruise to Tahiti on the Royal in 35 days! Can't wait! :D

Deborah

I'm the one who made the comments about the BF cabins on OP's other thread. I've found a much better shot of the stern section of the Ocean Princess and you can see that platfoam affects the view on deck 8 and 9.

I agree it is probably the ship superstructure that is the cause of the partial obstruction as mentioned above. The port side BF balconies are marked by the arrows in the picture below. Even if the OP's booking, which is a guarantee, didn't get an upgrade since no BF cabins are available, I would be quite willing to have one of these and save $120.

I've done most of my cruises on RCCL ships and their ships with similar end balconies, like the Radiance class front balconies, are not marked as having partially obstructed views.

Thanks for the photos, is the obstruction on the left side of the balcony only?

bktist, Welcome to Cruise Critic , On the portside it would be only partially obstructed on the left , opposite for starboard .

Bob , You need to stop with the pics , I have to wait 345 more days . lol

Seriously though thanks! Don't know how I can wait another year . Ted

Bob , You need to stop with the pics , I have to wait 345 more days . lol

Seriously though thanks! Don't know how I can wait another year . Ted

Sorry about that. I always book my cruises very close to the sailing date, rarely more than three months out so I don't have that problem. Our next cruise that sails in just under three weeks was booked three weeks ago.

Thanks for the pics! I was wondering about the obstructed balconies. I'd go for one of those...not bad at all:cool:

I am booked in cabin 7082 on the pacfic p. I have been concerned about this cabin because when I looked up available cabins it seems that the only cabins left are next to mine or directly opposite mine.

thanks

roda,

You are in a great position so I am not sure why the cabins near you haven't been snapped up. You are close to the stairs and the elevators and the noise from that area is minimal. You are also close to the laundry so you can pop in and out at will to see if it is empty or full.

Don't worry about your choice, just look forward to your cruise.

Jennie

Thank you very much Jennie, I have been concerned about this cabin choice for a while.

when I saw your posting, i was hoping you could help me out.

Jennie, I just looked online for available cabins. I have not done this for weeks and more cabins became available. they are 7060 7064 7070 all port and more midship also,7067 7073 7035.

7060 looks like a nice location, nothing across from it.

Can I please ask for more help, it would be much appreciated.:o:rolleyes:

roda,

7060 is the cabin we have booked on the Royal Princess (same ship except it doesn't have the mini suites on Deck 8) for our cruise in 8 weeks time.

I chose it because it was in the centre of the ship and as you say there isn't a cabin oppposite but I think that is a service area for the crew.

Hope this helps.

Jennie

thank you one more time. I am going to call my ta to change my cabin.

Rhonda:)