Many cruise ships offer a variety of different cabin types. For our recent Alaska cruise on Majestic Princess, we opted for a midship balcony. How did this room compare to similar cabins on other cruise lines? Well, we share all of the details from our latest trip in this Majestic Princess Balcony Cabin Review.
Majestic Princess Balcony Cabin Review
Even though we have been on over 35 cruises, we have never sailed with Princess Cruises prior to this trip.
Examining the various cabin options and pricing for the cruise line, we settled on a midship balcony. Reviewing the deck plans, a deck 10 cabin, specifically C310, appeared to be an ideal location.
According to the cruise line’s website, this BB category room is approximately 180 square feet, with the balcony about 40 square feet. This size is roughly equivalent to the dimensions of the spacious ocean view balcony cabin on Royal Caribbean cruise ships.
One great feature of all staterooms on Princess Cruises is the Medallion technology. Your wireless pendant acts as your key card, unlocking your door for you as you approach. This makes entering your room with luggage, or a handful of coffee and breakfast pastries, much easier.
As we expected, our cabin location was perfect. It was a few steps away from the forward elevator. As only three decks above the beginning of the main indoor public areas, it was a quick walk to dinner and the entertainment areas around the vessel. Getting an elevator up to Deck 16 for the outer decks was never much of an issue either.
Layout of the Majestic Princess Balcony Cabin
Upon entering the room the first thing that caught our attention was the unique setup. The bathroom and closet are off to the left of the cabin (facing aft) in their own little corner offset from the rest of the stateroom.
Past the bathroom and closet, there is the main area of the cabin with the bed. We both agreed that this area felt smaller than our typical cruise ship cabins.
The bed was to our left, on the aft wall. Beyond the bed is a small desk that is located right up to the balcony wall. On the wall opposite of the bed, there is an LCD television. The only time we used this television was to check our account or reservations when the app did not want to work for us.
Perhaps the oddest part of the cabin is a small cupboard area that houses the mini fridge. It seemed out of place and contained a few exterior shelves that didn’t allow us to store much of anything.
Finally, on the back wall, there is the slider to the balcony.
With less furniture and less storage space in this main cabin area, it took some creative unpacking to fit all our gear. Still, we did manage to find a way to get things situated in our home away from home for the week.
Inside Our Majestic Princess Balcony Cabin
The square design of the offset bathroom and closet area did provide a big upgrade in terms of closet storage. There were plenty of hangers that allowed us to hang many of our clothing items and outerwear.
Shelf space is sparse in the room though, with just one small area next to the closet that also houses the safe. We used these shelves to store additional foldable clothing items.
Across from the closet is the bathroom. The design is a slight departure for us, with the toilet located in the middle of the shower and the vanity. The shower itself is more rectangular with a curtain opposed to a cylindrical door, making it feel a bit roomier. The Princess also appreciated the small ledge in the shower for shaving purposes.
Given that there are no storage shelves near the desk, the bathroom shelves had to serve as storage for both of our toiletries. Thankfully, we always pack an over-the-door shoe organizer for the wife to store her additional products!
While we were happy with the amount of space in the bathroom and closet area, the space in the main cabin was lacking a bit for a relatively new cruise ship. I had just enough space to squeeze into bed each evening between the back closet wall. It was also difficult for two way traffic between the foot of the bed and the wall.
On each side of the bed, there is a nightstand with some storage. Though, only one side has USB plugs to charge smartphones and smartwatches in the evenings.
The bed was comfortable, and we never had any issues falling asleep after a long day ashore. Though, we generally never have any issues falling asleep on a cruise ship.
In this Majestic Princess balcony cabin, the desk was immediately after the bed on the aft wall. The desk certainly felt shorter than those on comparable megaships from brands like Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, or Norwegian Cruise Line.
On most of our cruises, the desk serves as an area for the Princess to get ready, as well as a work station.
As mentioned previously, this desk area lacked storage shelves above the desk where the wife usually stores her toiletry items. There were some drawers at the very end of the desk, but given the location right next to the balcony, we didn’t really use them. Instead, we used the nightstand immediately to the left of the desk to store our computers and some other technology gear.
With limited space and outlets at the desk, I had to find an alternative charging station. Luckily, I was able to use the top of the mini-fridge cabinet for my cameras and other electronics. There were no USBs, so I utilized our cruise-approved power strip to charge my phone, computer, and cameras.
With limited space in this main area of the cabin, there is no love seat, chair, or coffee table in the stateroom. While the loveseat usually serves as our towel animal sanctuary, there were also no towel animals this cruise.
The balcony features two chairs and a small table. In terms of size, it is comparable to most standard cruise ship balconies. Although, after recently sailing in a sunset veranda on Celebrity Edge, we are a bit spoiled.
Still, this balcony did offer enough space for the two of us. It was also the ideal spot for glacier viewing during our scenic cruising through Glacier Bay National Park.
Related Post: Guide to Cruise Cabin Categories
Recap of the Majestic Princess Balcony Cabin Review
With an ideal location next to the elevators and onboard amenities, our midship balcony cabin on Majestic Princess was convenient for our Alaska cruise. With the amazing weather we had during the trip, having a balcony was a huge benefit. We were able to take in many of the sights by simply opening the balcony door.
While the cabin did feel smaller than rival brands, we were able to maximize space with a few of our space saving hacks. With some magnets, an over-the-door shoe organizer, and creative unpacking, we were able to store all of our clothes and accessories.
In this cabin, we did miss having the additional seating area. Though, the room was functional for a week-long cruise for a couple. For families, we would recommend investigating larger stateroom options.
For our next Princess cruise, we would do a bit more investigation on the various subcategories of balconies or perhaps opt for a larger cabin category all together.
Comments
Do you agree with our Majestic Princess balcony cabin review? What are your stateroom preferences? Drop us an anchor below with your cabin reviews on Princess Cruises.
Thanks for your in depth review of the cruise ship. My brother and I are , of course with the wives are embarking on a week long cruise
on Majestic on 11/13/21. Though you stayed in a different cabin, any idea on R533 and R529? I supposed we could still change cabins should you think they’re horrible cabins. This is our first with the Majestic. Thanks in advance for any information,