Royal Princess

What sits above a cabin drives most of the Royal Princess advice. A January 2024 thread on an Alaska sailing had a poster choosing between a Marina deck cabin at the end of the SeaWalk and a Lido deck cabin next to the pizzeria and Trident Grill, both with angled balconies; the most-upvoted reply said take neither, a second warned that people on the SeaWalk can look straight into the cabin below it, and a third described waking every morning under the buffet to service carts, with a friend a few doors down getting the scraping of deck chairs instead. The same thread produced one regular's standing rule for this ship: Emerald deck (8), midship to mid-aft, one deck above the public spaces and an easy stair climb from everything. A 2023 thread about aft cabin E724 on that deck added the other half of the picture: less corridor traffic and a short hop to the aft stairs, but directly under the Vista Lounge on deck 7, which sometimes runs as the late nightclub. A 2022 class-level thread noted the Royal-class ships lack the walk-through corridor traffic of the older Grand-class, and that they are stable unless you are well forward.

Princess reassigns cabins more freely than posters expected. The 2022 class thread began with a mid-forward deluxe balcony on Aloha deck 12 being moved, unasked, to a mini-suite on Lido deck 16 further forward; regulars said this is routine, that the fix is to have the booking marked no-upgrade, and that a Lido cabin without cabins overhead means hearing chairs set out in the morning. Bids go the other way too: a 2025 Alaska report won an obstructed-balcony bid from an interior for about $205 per person and found the balcony was not actually obstructed, while a February 2026 thread on a $100 bid from a standard to a premium deluxe balcony was told the winning cabin will be the one nobody chose, so it is only worth it if you started with a guarantee. The premium deluxe difference is a sofa bed in place of a desk. Forward-facing mini-suites on the Marina deck came up in a 2020 class thread about Enchanted: the non-glass obstruction is a solid balcony wall you can see over but not through, it is very windy, and one poster's partner was ill the whole trip because that cabin rocks. For groups, a 2015 poster found an interior triple workable with two singles and a bunk, and a 2026 review noted the large closet and under-bed space handle a stroller and suitcases.