Calling all Caribbean Princess Cruisers................

[Lovely_Star]

First of all let me just say how really grateful I am to have miraculously come across this web forum and be able to exchange a wealth of information with veteran cruisers. I am planning my very first cruise for September 2007. This will also be my HONEYMOON, so I am very excited. I’m welcoming any and all advice from any of you cruising connoisseurs who have been on the Caribbean Princess. FH (Future Husband) and I plan on booking a balcony cabin and we have been quoted several rates for a “BC” category. Is “BC” a good category? What is the best deck for balconies on the Caribbean Princess? Do you think it is worth upgrading to a mini-suite? FH thinks we should save the money and use it for excursions, since we heard that you do not spend very much time in your cabin. All comments, suggestions and recommendations will be greatly appreciated, TIA.

[Pam in CA]

First, congratulations! Best deck for a balcony is Caribe deck; these are BA and BB balconies but specify you want Caribe deck. The balconies are double the size of standard balconies and are half-covered, half-uncovered. BC balconies are on Riviera and Aloha deck and are smaller -- big enough for two small chairs and a table. If you book a mini-suite, the balcony is larger but also completely uncovered so you won't have any privacy.

[katier825]

Congratulations on your upcoming honeymoon cruise! On our Caribbean Princess cruise, we had our first inside cabin. We've had balconies on the Golden, Grand, Coral. We were upgraded to a mini-suite on the Star. The mini-suite had a sitting area and tub, rather than shower. The only differences I noticed. Not enough difference for the money in my opinion.

 

I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer a larger balcony to a larger cabin. When I have a balcony, I use it alot. When I don't, I don't spend much time in the cabin. The balcony is a great place to go to read, nap, etc.

 

The BC is fine, but if you are willing to spend a little more, you can book a BB and nearly double the size of your balcony! We generally book a BB on the Caribe deck. The balcony is partially exposed to decks above. Never had an issue with privacy. The plus is you often have both shade and full sun to choose from on the larger balcony.

 

Excursions can get pricey, so if you are watching the budget, you might want to skip the mini-suite and use the savings to do the excursions. The catamaran snorkel trips are excellent!

 

Good luck! :)

[Rob & Beckys mom]

First of all let me just say how really grateful I am to have miraculously come across this web forum and be able to exchange a wealth of information with veteran cruisers. I am planning my very first cruise for September 2007. This will also be my HONEYMOON, so I am very excited. I’m welcoming any and all advice from any of you cruising connoisseurs who have been on the Caribbean Princess. FH (Future Husband) and I plan on booking a balcony cabin and we have been quoted several rates for a “BC” category. Is “BC” a good category? What is the best deck for balconies on the Caribbean Princess? Do you think it is worth upgrading to a mini-suite? FH thinks we should save the money and use it for excursions, since we heard that you do not spend very much time in your cabin. All comments, suggestions and recommendations will be greatly appreciated, TIA.

 

Personally, I would go with the BA on the caribe, try for C752 or C753, the balcony on either of these cabins is awesome. Plus the back of the ship (aft) is great for sail aways. It's always worth upgrading as far as you can afford, but once in a mini-suite it's harder to go "back down" to a balcony;) ! Excursions can be expensive, so your new hubby is wise to save. I think you will be happy in one of the balcony cabins I mentioned.

 

Jan

[taxatty]

For the best of all worlds--get an AD Emerald deck mini-suite (there are only 12 of them), which has a covered balcony, unlike those on the Dolphin deck. Having a bathtub and the greater space over a regular balcony cabin does make a difference.

 

Les

[Host Caroline]

My new DH and I took second honeymoon (we have been married 8 months) on the CB and had a wonderful time -- so I wish for you a wonderful cruise.. we had a balcony cabin on Lido deck and it was fine.. We spent money ashore, went sailing twice etc. with the difference bet. that a minisuite... and, yes, I am not NOT a fan of uncovered balconies.. We had table with 2 chairs and lounger.

[Lovely_Star]

Wow, thanks so much everyone for the quick replies! Okay, now I have a question about the Caribe deck. The very reason why we are booking a balcony is because of the freedom it allots us to enjoy the views, catch some rays, eat, read, etc. But what does "partially covered" mean? I think we would like to have as much privacy as possible on our balcony **clears throat** for our ummm honeymoon ;)

[LuvTheGoodLife]

A Caribe deck side balcony is approx. 9 ft. wide x 9 ft. deep. The first 5 ft. of the balcony has a ceiling overhang offering privacy from those looking down only and shelter from sun and rain. The Dolphin Deck balconies are directly below the Caribe deck balconies and they can turn and look up into your balcony which has a glass front. You will not have 'total' privacy for outdoor honeymoon antics unless you choose an AFT Cat BB balcony on Caribe deck (C752 or C753) or AFT Cat BB on Baja decks (check deck plan for exact cabin numbers).

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[SoSueMe]

For the best of all worlds--get an AD Emerald deck mini-suite (there are only 12 of them), which has a covered balcony, unlike those on the Dolphin deck. Having a bathtub and the greater space over a regular balcony cabin does make a difference.

 

Les

 

I'm a newbie cruiser, but fwiw, I agree with Les -- but if you decide you want AD Emerald, book SOON. I booked last week for the October 7, 2007 departure and got the last mini-suite on the starboard side. One suggestion I've seen here (and followed) is to book starboard side (odd-numbered cabins) on Emerald mini-suites, because Club Fusion is directly below the port side (even-numbered cabins) mini-suites and some people say it's a little noisier.

 

Best wishes on your upcoming wedding and your new life together. :)

[flvol77]

I'm a newbie cruiser, but fwiw, I agree with Les -- but if you decide you want AD Emerald, book SOON. I booked last week for the October 7, 2007 departure and got the last mini-suite on the starboard side. One suggestion I've seen here (and followed) is to book starboard side (odd-numbered cabins) on Emerald mini-suites, because Club Fusion is directly below the port side (even-numbered cabins) mini-suites and some people say it's a little noisier.

 

Best wishes on your upcoming wedding and your new life together. :)

 

My parents first cruise I booked them on the Emerald deck Mini E721 and they LOVED the room....I like the open dolphin deck Mini - we are from FL and love the sun, so its not a big deal for us.

[Luvmaui]

We also love the Dolphin deck as we were able to catch the sun, shade AND stare up at the stars at night. We never had anyone above looking down on us at all. LOVE the extra space of a mini-suite, too......plenty of room to do that HONEYMOON thing......even if it's your second honeymoon.:rolleyes:

[CPCruiser4Life]

BC is A WONDERFUL CATEGORY...

 

I strongly recommend keeping the BC and trying to get a CORNER AFT ROOM on the Baja Deck (B749, or B750)...

 

We are also going on our honeymoon and were able to get B754. Jennew has wonderful photos of this cabin.

 

The Balcony is bigger than most because it's an aft. Big enough for chairs, table and loungers.

 

Yes, Caribe is bigger, but also more expensive. I think you would be extremely happy with a Corner Aft on the Baja deck!

 

Good luck, let us know what you choose!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

here's a website with info about the Caribbean Princess.

 

http://www.cruisingthecaribbeanprincess.com

 

Bill

[roe2ship]

I think the BB on Caribe Deck are the best, like others pointed out specifically C752 and C753.For a honeymoon, I would personally spend the extra few $$$ for a larger balcony. The BA balconies (balconies are half open and half closed) are usually higher in price too I think because of midship location however the BB aft (facing the wake)on Caribe and Baja have the same balcony size and are totally covered.

 

BC is A WONDERFUL CATEGORY...

I strongly recommend keeping the BC and trying to get a CORNER AFT ROOM on the Baja Deck (B749, or B750)...

We are also going on our honeymoon and were able to get B754.

Just wanted to point out that the cabins above that CPcruiser4life is recommending are BB and not BC. Good luck and congratulations!:)

[cruisieparker]

Lovely_Star,

We were on the CB in September and lucked out and got C752. It was awesome. Completely private!!!:D Huge Balcony and the only neighbor you have is the Penthouse Suite next door. YOU WILL LOVE IT!! Also since you are on the back of the ship, you will get sun. We had loungers on our balcony and spent a lot of time reading and laying in the sun.

[Lovely_Star]

Hello Everyone,

Okay, so we have decided that we are going to go with a balcony cabin. FH just isn't budging. I think that I'll have more pull booking a mini-suite on our next cruise because I'm hoping that he'll get addicted :D More questions. . . .does a bigger balcony = a smaller cabin? Can someone please explain to me why AFT cabins are so popular? I tried explaining to FH that AFT cabins are highly sought after cabins located in the back of the ship, but that did not seem very appetizing to him:rolleyes: He said that we probably would only be able to see things when we pass them or are leaving the ports so we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the views of seeing the beautiful islands for the first time. Now he has never been on a cruise and neither have I so I couldn’t really argue a point in favor of an AFT cabin because I am completely naïve when it comes to cruising. Just the other day I was reading a thread where someone said that they were in an AFT cabin and it stunk something terrible :eek: Can someone with more knowledge help my in my argument by informing me of the bonuses behind having an AFT cabin? In the meantime I am going to ask my TA if there are any available :)

[knarf]

"Do you think it is worth upgrading to a mini-suite? FH thinks we should save the money and use it for excursions, since we heard that you do not spend very much time in your cabin. All comments, suggestions and recommendations will be greatly appreciated"

Wait wait....didn't you say this was your honeymoon !!! :) ;) :D :rolleyes:

Congratulations on your up coming wedding.

Very sincerely, Knarf (Frank backwards)

[CPCruiser4Life]

I apologize...yes, I booked BC originally (R703) and then upgraded to BB on the baja deck!

 

thanks for the clarification!

[gonna go cruising]

Hello Everyone,

Okay, so we have decided that we are going to go with a balcony cabin. FH just isn't budging. I think that I'll have more pull booking a mini-suite on our next cruise because I'm hoping that he'll get addicted :D More questions. . . .does a bigger balcony = a smaller cabin? Can someone please explain to me why AFT cabins are so popular? I tried explaining to FH that AFT cabins are highly sought after cabins located in the back of the ship, but that did not seem very appetizing to him:rolleyes: He said that we probably would only be able to see things when we pass them or are leaving the ports so we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the views of seeing the beautiful islands for the first time. Now he has never been on a cruise and neither have I so I couldn’t really argue a point in favor of an AFT cabin because I am completely naïve when it comes to cruising. Just the other day I was reading a thread where someone said that they were in an AFT cabin and it stunk something terrible :eek: Can someone with more knowledge help my in my argument by informing me of the bonuses behind having an AFT cabin? In the meantime I am going to ask my TA if there are any available :)

 

You have a very valid point here. I booked one of the sought after aft cabins and changed because I didnt want to only see the wake and where we had been. You can get a BB or BA that is on Caribe and be very happy with it. Our first time on CB was in C101 which was the most forward cabin starboard and I was concerned with it being so far forward. We had no problems and would have booked it again but it only holds two people and our next cruise had three and our upcoming one has four. We chose side by side for this upcoming one to take advantage of the great balconies on Caribe.

 

I am sure no matter what you choose you will be happy with it. Best of luck to you in your upcoming marriage.

[cbreit]

I remember my first cruise, Golden Princess. When we pulled up to the port, all I could think was that I wanted a room on the back of the ship, but we were stuck in an inside on dolphin deck with 4 people... I even got to sleep on the top bunk! Since then, we've had one aft balcony on Carnival Victory which we totally loved. In two weeks, we have the "dreaded" aft balcony on the CP with the beam... From what I've read, it's a pretty large balcony, and I think I can live with a beam for a week. Will let you know how it turns out...

[jewels95]

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage. Princess offers an automatic upgrade. I would keep your BC cabin and let them know that is is your honeymoon. I have seen many upgrades come through. I will be going on my 20th Princess cruise December 3 and it will be the 7th time on Caribbean Princess. I personally always book a mini suite on the dolphon deck. The mini-suites have an additional living room and a bathtub. Two televisions. I like to have cocktails on the balcony during sail away and coffee in the morning on the balcony.

It's all good

[momofmeg]

I am planning my very first cruise for September 2007. This will also be my HONEYMOON, so I am very excited.

 

What is the best deck for balconies on the Caribbean Princess? Do you think it is worth upgrading to a mini-suite? FH thinks we should save the money and use it for excursions, since we heard that you do not spend very much time in your cabin.

 

Well in your case that may not be true-after all this is your HONEYMOON! sorry! I could not resist!

 

Seriously though, I don't know the catgory but we had aloha 514. It was fine for 2 people but a little tight for 3 and our daughter was with us. We did have this nice big closet though. We did think of upgrading to a minisuite-what stopped us-those balconies are uncovered and I hate being out in the direct sun-so I wnated a covered balcony.

 

Now-aloha was deck 12 and the deck below us-I believe the balconies were the same-but 2 decks below us, deck 10, the balconies were a little larger and partially covered and partially uncovered. Deck 11 was called baja-I am not sure what deck 10 or deck 9 (both of these decks had the larger balconies) but those are the decks I would choose as the balconies are bigger.

 

One thing though-no privacy really on any of the balconies. Not that I could see anyway. Not only could I look over people below me-but I chatted with my next door neighbor while we were both out on the balcony.

[momofmeg]

Wow, thanks so much everyone for the quick replies! Okay, now I have a question about the Caribe deck. The very reason why we are booking a balcony is because of the freedom it allots us to enjoy the views, catch some rays, eat, read, etc. But what does "partially covered" mean? I think we would like to have as much privacy as possible on our balcony **clears throat** for our ummm honeymoon ;)

 

Not unless you woant to put on a peep show-now maybe you could get away with it at 3 aM or something.

[momofmeg]

We also love the Dolphin deck as we were able to catch the sun, shade AND stare up at the stars at night. We never had anyone above looking down on us at all. LOVE the extra space of a mini-suite, too......plenty of room to do that HONEYMOON thing......even if it's your second honeymoon.:rolleyes:

 

You mean you never SAW anyone looking down on you.

[cbreit]

Jewels, if you're interested, we have a cruise critic meet & greet on the Caribbean Princess on 12/3 in the Wheelhouse Bar at 8:00... Hope to see you there!