Upper vs Lower Inside Forward Cabin

Hi all! So I've been on 8 cruises total and 6 with Princess. I'm looking to book another one soon and would like some advice. I've always gone with my parents (I was younger) but am planning to just be going with my girlfriend this time. I plan on booking an interior room since I will be paying for this trip myself. Cost wise the best option is a forward room. However I'm not sure whether to pick an upper or lower deck. Any advice on this? I have looked at the deck maps and can't find any rooms on the upper decks but am still able to choose that as an option. I did find some rooms on the lower decks but it doesn't seem to let me pick a specific room like in the past on the mini-suites. Is that normal for interior rooms? Anyways I would appreciate some advice on where to pick a room on the ship.

TL;DR

Upper (Decks 14-15) or Lower (Decks 5-8) interior stateroom on the Forward of the ship?

Thanks!

Which ship?

Caribbean Princess

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Caribbean Princess

 

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If you look at the deck plans, there are lots of forward interior rooms on deck 14 and 15. Are you looking at the Princess booking site? You have to keep making choices and clicking select to finally get to the deck plans. However, if the cruise is close to capacity or sailing date, sometimes they sell as category guarantee only.

In a lower forward cabin, you (sometimes?) get noise from the bow cutting through swells.

In an upper forward cabin, you (usually?) get noise if they drop the anchor instead of tying up.

Pick your poison. :)

Less motion (probably) on the lower decks but be aware of the fact that the lower deck forward interior cabins are likely directly under the Princess theater so there will likely be noise impact. Same issue with those above the theater. Higher decks won't have that issue but will probably have more motion if you get seasick. (I use a patch so it doesn't matter to me. I'd get seasick no mater where my cabin was without the patch.)

Thanks for all the quick reply's everyone! I don't get seasick so I'm not too worried about that. My main concern about the upper decks is being right under the workout area or under a club something noisy like that. My concern with the lower decks would be with machinery or crew noise or engine noise/vibrations. I've been on mid level decks and been able to feel the rumble of the engines before and thought that would only be greater on the lower decks. Has anyone had experience with either of those scenarios?

Edit: Constant noise is my main concern. Dropping anchor isn't something that goes on throughout the day/night or for several hours at a time. I'm ok with short noises like that but would like to avoid the constant noises that are on a cruise ship like being underneath a nightclub.

I would look at Deck 5 . My choice would be the inside cabins that have the art gallery behind them.

I would look at Deck 5 . My choice would be the inside cabins that have the art gallery behind them.

I'll check it out. I like your picture. I just got platinum and cant wait for elite!

Or do you think it would be worth it to take a gamble on a guarantee stateroom and save $208? I don't plan to spend my vacation in the room but would like a quite place to sleep.

I always go for the highest possible deck. The ship movement is negligible in comparison to different levels and along the length so for me it is never an issue. I choose the higher decks for convenience and easy access to the upper decks during the day and scenic cruising. It takes less time to get back to your cabin from the pools, outside decks and viewing areas. For me it is always about time and convenience.

Back to the movement because it is a moving ship and the sea and ocean moves in all sorts of directions the idea of pinpointing the precise location on a ship where there is less movement seems ridiculous. In over 30 cruises I have been in all sorts of weather and had the top suites right at the stern, inside cabins right in the centre and low, balcony cabins in the bow, suites in the centre both high and low and even window cabins. In all honesty I have never found a cabin to be more stable than another based on the location it is in a ship. I think most people think there is because of the sales gimmick and because other people seem to think there is and they follow another persons train of thought.

Or do you think it would be worth it to take a gamble on a guarantee stateroom and save $208? I don't plan to spend my vacation in the room but would like a quite place to sleep.

There definitely can be differences in motion. Now the Pacific is a smaller ship and is knocked around by waves more than the larger ships. We were mid-aft on deck six and our friends were all of the way forward on deck six. We had rough seas the night sailing between Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. They invited us to their cabin and it was really rocking and rolling while our cabin had much less motion as the motion up and down forward was much greater than mid aft. On the Ruby the side to side motion was much greater in SHARE on the Sun deck than in our mini suite seven decks below on Dolphin deck.

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I like upper close to the buffet and pools.

i like lower. its just personal preference. i also feel a vibration aft, i've never felt one forward. i'd take a gamble and save the money as well.

and yes, i sure notice a difference in rough seas. i was on the lido far forward during rough weather one night and got airborne a few times. i've been aft in a storm that bounced my grown daughter out of bed. that's the one and only time i thought i might get ill. i went and sat midship and it was much less 'bouncy'.

have looked at the deck maps and can't find any rooms on the upper decks but am still able to choose that as an option. I did find some rooms on the lower decks but it doesn't seem to let me pick a specific room like in the past on the mini-suites.

How soon is the cruise you are looking at?

If it is not allowing you to pick a cabin but a Guaranty is available, it means all the cabins they can assign at this point have been assigned, but the Guaranty booking means you will be on the cruise at the category booked or higher.

If even a Guarantee is not available when you look at a deck, it means those cabins and the number of Guarantees they allow are all sold.

There definitely can be differences in motion. Now the Pacific is a smaller ship and is knocked around by waves more than the larger ships. We were mid-aft on deck six and our friends were all of the way forward on deck six. We had rough seas the night sailing between Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. They invited us to their cabin and it was really rocking and rolling while our cabin had much less motion as the motion up and down forward was much greater than mid aft. On the Ruby the side to side motion was much greater in SHARE on the Sun deck than in our mini suite seven decks below on Dolphin deck.

 

 

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There are absolutely no differences in motion and often it is negligible if any. I have spent a lifetime at sea serving in the Navy on all sorts of ships. The distances on a cruise ship are too close together in a confined space to be of a major difference. A ship is likely to heave and surge in high seas negating the area of what people think is the most stable area. So in reality the most bumpy area on a ship is likely to continually change. No matter what angle the ship is at when the bow or stern is up or down the whole ship is on that angle and with the force of the wave the entire ship is likely to rise or drop at that angle meaning the centre of the ship will also feel the rising and falling motion.

If you look at this video at 42 seconds in you can see what I mean about the whole ship bobbing up and down.

As I said I have spent a life time at sea serving in the Navy and have been on the smallest destroyers to the largest cruise ships in the world and in all honesty I can say that the difference is negligible throughout the ship.

I personally love interior cabins on the forward part of the Lido deck when I am traveling solo and am looking to save on the cabin fares. I especially like the ones in the L230s and L240s. I haven't had ay issues with excessive motion, although if there was a storm I know it could get " bumpy".

I like that area because it's generally quiet, with little foot traffic except for passengers booked in that area, It's a short walk to get to the open deck and pool area, and the Horizon Court is just a quick walk thru the open deck area. The forward elevators are often less busy than those at mid-ship and aft. (Except right after muster drill and shows in the Princess theater.)

I'm a fan of lower decks, forward, Plaza is an awesome location. It is really what works best for you, I sail single so I'm looking for a lower price category. On new ships, no Plaza cabins so I go for Emerald Deck.

If you plan on going the buffet for some meals (I never do), use the pool area then higher deck cabins a good place to be, convenient. I pretty spend time on decks 5, 6 and 7 so a higher cabin doesn't work for me.

For me it depends on what you want to be close to. We have cruised on Emerald deck in Alaska which I liked since it was close to the Promenade deck during the day and the lounges and dining room in the evening. Our last cruise we were on Riviera deck at the back right by the Terrace pool and that was nice and handy to the buffet.

We had a forward high guarantee on Caribbean Princess and were assigned a mid-aft Caribe large balcony. We prefer forward high. For the OP, if you have a guarantee you won't have much choice (although you can call right after assigned and maybe snag a different cabin in the same class) but if you pick the cabin watch out for the ones over the theater or the Explorers Lounge. Can be noisy at times. Would help if singer wasn't off-key so much. Downright painful.