Should You Upgrade to a Premium Deluxe Balcony on Majestic Princess?

Princess Cruises is known for having pretty basic entry-level staterooms. So, on our recent Princess Alaska Cruise we took advantage of the Princess Upgrade program. Putting in a low bid, we were lucky enough to secure a premium deluxe balcony on Majestic Princess.

A few days before our cruise, we were assigned our new stateroom, cabin D717. This deck 9 cabin was located aft on the starboard side just a few steps from the aft bank of elevators.

Being on Deck 9 (or Dolphin deck), the room was only a few floors down to the Piazza starting on Deck 7 and a short elevator ride up to the Deck 16 outdoor decks.

According to Princess Cruises’ website, the cabin had an interior space of 233 square feet. Although, the big draw here was the larger, oversized balcony and the seating area which does not come standard in a regular balcony cabin on Princess Cruises.

Should You Upgrade to a Premium Deluxe Balcony on Majestic Princess?

Layout of Our Majestic Princess Deluxe Balcony Cabin

At first glance, the layout of this stateroom on Majestic Princess was similar to our previous experience. The cabin décor consisted of muted tans and yellows with some pops of green and darker wood tones. Similar to other public venues on the ship, the décor was rather subtle. It was certainly not as bright or modern as our balcony cabin on Discovery Princess either.

Immediately upon entering our Majestic Princess premium deluxe balcony cabin, the bathroom and closet were to our right. Continuing past the bathroom and closet, there was the king-sized bed, followed by the desk and love seat which were closer to the balcony.

The bed was on the forward wall facing aft and positioned immediately beyond the bathroom. The television was also located on the wall opposite from the bed, and there was a decent-sized nightstand on each side of the bed.

Finally, there is the balcony which included two upright chairs and a table. Certainly, this was an oversized balcony, being one of the deepest balconies we have had on a cruise ship.

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Inside Our Premium Deluxe Balcony Cabin on Majestic Princess

Bathroom

Unfortunately, the bathroom in this cabin was no different than other Princess Cruises’ ships. It consisted of a small vanity area with a sink and a few shelves off to one side for storing some toiletries.

Then, there is the shower. Yes, this cabin bathroom on Majestic Princess still had the dreaded shower curtain. Thankfully, all of the balcony cabins on the new Sun Princess launching next year will have shower doors in the bathrooms!

On a positive note, it did have a small ledge for storing shower essentials along with shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner dispensers. Princess Cruises also provides liquid hand soap, an upgrade from most cruise lines.

When compared to other contemporary cruise lines, the shower and overall bathroom space, even in this premium deluxe balcony cabin, are certainly smaller than lines like Celebrity Cruises and Holland America Line.

With limited storage space in the bathroom, we made use of some of our cruise cabin hacks, like an over-the-door shoe organizer to store toiletries and other small items, which we hung on the wall next to the bathroom using magnets.

Closet

One big advantage of the unique layout of the Princess Cruises’ cabins is the massive closet. This is located right next to the bathroom. It consisted of a long clothes bar with plenty of hangers. There was also one long shelf above the clothes bar where I stored some of my outwear.

Adjacent to the closet, there is a bank of five shelves as well as the safe. These were occupied mostly by our accessories and packing cubes. While we did have to change up our normal unpacking plan a bit, we were able to store everything we needed for our week-long Alaska cruise.

Main Cabin Area

The interior of the cabin had a setup that we are accustomed to after our years of cruising. The bed was comfortable and neither of us had any issues falling asleep at night– with early morning scenic cruising and late hours enjoying all Majestic Princess had to offer.

Both sides of the bed had nightstands which consisted of one shelf and two drawers. I used these to store some additional packing cubes as well as some of our tech and other gear.

On one side of the bed, there were two USB outlets for charging our phones at night. Unfortunately though, the other side of the bed did not have any outlets at all.

Following the bed, there was a small desk to the left. This became Heidi’s area to get ready in the morning. It was a tad cramped, as I also had to use this area to charge my devices. The only power outlets in the cabin were found here, which included 2 US outlets and 2 European outlets.

Next to the desk was a small cabinet which housed the mini-fridge. But, there wasn’t any real storage space here besides the one drawer. So, thankfully, I could use the nightstand for my gear and tech accessories that I normally store here.

Not to mention, we used our magnetic hooks to hang things like jackets, hats, and bags throughout the cruise.

Across from the desk is the other upgrade found in this cabin category, a love seat and coffee table. Unfortunately, standard balcony cabins on Princess Cruises do not include this seating area. While the sofa was small in comparison to some other cruise lines, we did appreciate this added space.

Balcony

Lastly, our balcony was much larger than those found on competitor brands. It was much deeper, extending further off the side of the ship than the balconies above us. This gave us plenty of room to relax and enjoy all of the scenic cruising Alaska has to offer with wide open views right from our rail. We could easily look all around the starboard side from the comfort of our cabin.

Heidi and I made great use of this space, especially given the better than expected weather during our sailing. In fact, we even took advantage of the upgraded balcony breakfast one morning. With plenty of room to spread out, we enjoyed this upscale option while heading into Glacier Bay National Park.

Recap of Our Majestic Princess Deluxe Balcony Cabin

Our Premium Deluxe Balcony cabin was spacious and well-organized compared to our previous cruises on both Discovery Princess and Majestic Princess. This stateroom category provides the amenities we expect to find inside a standard balcony cabin on other cruise lines.

For an Alaska Cruise, the larger balcony alone was well worth the upgrade. Considering we only spent a few hundred dollars more to upgrade this cabin, we are glad we did the Princess Upgrade. Plus, we find having the loveseat essential in a cruise cabin, giving us space to do some work in the afternoons.

If you can get a good deal on a premium deluxe balcony cabin, we would recommend you splurge on these more spacious accommodations.

If you are still having a hard time deciding what is the best cabin for you on Majestic Princess, we have a general overview of what cabins to avoid based on the type of traveler you are.

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Comments

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