Golden Princess Questions

[cruiserdenny]

We are looking at a repositioning cruise on the Golden Princess that would leave NY on May 8. Just a month away so we need to act quickly. We have cruised Carnival, Norwegian, and Celebrity, but never Princess so we have some questions. The category we are currently looking at is BF and is a room with a balcony. Anyone with knowledge of this category of room or the cruise we are looking at please reply. Thank you!

[catmand]

Denny, haven't been on Golden but sailed Star, Sapphire, all Grand Class ships. It looks to me like the BF balcony cabins are pretty well forward on the Emerald deck. I don't know, being honest here I would try to get something on the Caribe deck if you can, although they are very popular balcony cabins. The balcony is larger and half covered half exposed to the sun. I am not crazy about the BF location as it is above the theater and at the front of the promenade deck. If you are sitting out on the balcony you would sort of be looking at th etops of peoples heads as the walked the deck. That area is however closed at night, Here is what I would suggest, if you can, find a different area. If not get a BF guarentee, you may get bumped up and at worse you would be in those cabins. I don't mean to sound like they are terrible, after all you will be on the ship...:D

[katier825]

If you get a BF, go for a guarantee. I've booked it before and gotten an upgrade to BA, but I also booked much earlier than you are. I think there are only 4 BF's on the ship, so if enough people are booking it, and you are one of the lucky ones, you might get upgraded.

 

The main drawback to this catagory is that it's got the promenade walkway in front of it. It's set back several feet, not out as far as other balconies on the ship. If you don't mind having people going by all day, it wouldn't be bad. Had I actually been assigned the room, I'd have been disappointed.

 

My personal favorite is the BB's on the Caribe deck...yes they are partially exposed to decks above, but unless you're pulling into port, you will not see too many people out on their balconies. These are great, some have loungers, some have chairs that the leg rest pulls out. It's great when the pool is crowded and you want to sit in the sun (or shade depending on time of day/ship position) and read or sleep. We once had a little party with 10 people on ours! These are about 10x10 +/- a few inches.

 

Good luck!

:)

[JP9051]

Cruiserdenny

 

We were on the Golden March 27-April 3 and had 2 BF cabins - E202 and E204. We loved the location and would book it again. The balconies were large - about 10x10 - and covered. At sea, there was minimal wind; I think the less protected balconies can be very windy at sea.

 

The promenade does pass by slightly below but we saw VERY FEW people there and that's what they did - pass by. And by dark every evening that part of the promenade is blocked off until daylight.

 

Many posters on this board are concerned about balcony privacy, well it is our opinion that BF cabins offer significantly more privacy than most of the other balconies that are open for viewing from above.

 

Some have said the BF balconies are dark. Not so! We found them to be very bright and pleasant.

 

Noise from the Princess Theater below was not a problem for us. We did hear occasional faint thumping of the bass, but not a problem at all.

 

The only negative for some might be that these balconies are not for sunbathing but for us it was a great escape from the direct sun while still enjoying the outdoors in privacy.

 

I think BF is the best kept secret and best value on the ship! We will definitly book this category again if we sail Princess grand class again!