Sky Princess Balcony Cabin Review: E310

Here’s my full review of my obstructed balcony cabin on the Sky Princess.

One of the things that I love about modern cruise ships, is that the cabins often resemble the high end hotels that you find on land. As the Sky Princess launched in 2019, I knew that her cabins would have a modern, luxurious feel - and I wasn’t wrong!

Cabin E310 is located on deck 8, also referred to as Emerald Deck. It’s a quiet floor filled with cabins, and although it’s located just above the busy Promonade Deck, I found it to be very peaceful throughout my cruise.

About My Cabin: E310

After boarding and locating our cabin, the first thing that impressed me was Princess’s Medallion technology, which activated before I even opened the door.

In case you’re not aware, Princess issue medallions instead of cruise cards, which have a wide variety of uses throughout the ship. One of these uses is acting as the key to your stateroom, and I was amazed that my door unlocked itself as I was walking down the corridor towards it.

This was actually kind of weird for the first few days, but I quickly became used to it, and loved how I didn’t need to scramble around in my bag for my cruise card whenever I entered my cabin.

Once I finished being amazed by the wonders of modern technology, I was confronted by how beautiful my room was. Decorated in warm tones, the room is inviting and immediately felt like a safe and comfortable base for my cruise.

I had actually initially booked an inside cabin, but managed to snag this lovely obstructed balcony cabin through the bidding system, and was notified of my win a few weeks before sailing. I love a bargain and was delighted to secure a balcony cabin for a reduced price, and hoped that I would still be able to see a slither of sea from my private balcony.

It turned out that I had a great view (see the photo above), which was only slightly blocked by the lifeboat below. As we were sailing on a two week Mediterranean cruise with lots of sea days, having my own balcony made a big difference, and I spent a lot of time relaxing out there with a book.

Exploring my room for the first time, I was surprised to find a large, open wardrobe area towards the front of the cabin and next to the bathroom. There was plenty of space for two people to keep their clothes, with lots of hangers and shelving space in the vertical cupboard on the end. More hangers are available if needed - just ask your cabin steward or order on the app.

You’ll notice that this is where the life jackets are kept, in the rare case that you ever need to use them.

In the main part of the room, and opposite a large bed, was the television, where you could do all of the normal things such as checking your account balance and finding information about your voyage. I really appreciate it when cruise lines have lots of on-demand movies available, and our cabin had a huge library of both current and classic movies to watch for free.

This is perfect for cosy evenings in or sleepy afternoon naps, after being tired out by the sunshine (I napped while my partner watched whatever he wanted on the TV).

I’d heard great things about Princess’s luxury beds, which promise to offer ‘the most comfortable sleep at sea’ and have a great reputation. These beds have been rolled out across (almost) the entire fleet, and have been developed in collaboration with a sleep expert.

Honestly, it was a great bed, and now that I’m home I really miss it. The mattress is soft and I could feel my body slowly sinking into it as I climbed in and snuggled under the soft linens. I’m a deep sleeper anyway, but I genuinely had a great sleep every night in this bed, and I do think it’s more comfortable than what I have at home.

Princess still offer an evening turn down service, and while this isn’t make or break for me, it was nice having my covers turned back and curtains drawn each evening. It’s one of those luxuries that I certainly don’t have done for me at home, and makes being on holiday feel special.

At the end of the room is a desk with a mirror and several drawers, which are useful for storage. Opposite that was the tea station, which comes with a kettle as standard, and a fridge which we made regular use of.

One of my cruising top tips is to pack several cans of your favourite soft drink in your luggage to consume in your stateroom. The rules on what beverages you can bring onboard differ depending on the cruise line, and as we didn’t have a drinks package, this was a great way to save a bit of money.

We made a habit of splitting a cold can of Pepsi each evening before we got ready for dinner, which was a nice ritual for our two week trip.

E310 was one of the smaller balcony cabins, so it’s worth noting that there’s no sofa or additional seating area inside the room. This was fine for us, but if you really want that extra space then make sure you book a deluxe balcony stateroom, which is slightly larger and has a sofa at the far end.

The balcony itself was lovely, with a view that was slightly blocked by the lifeboats. As a self confessed cruise ship nerd I actually quite liked this, and found that it added to the feeling of being on a ship and going on a voyage. It was big enough for two people to sit out there comfortably, with two reclining chairs and a small table.

With so many sea days on our itinerary it was lovely to have our own outdoor space, and I’d often spend time reading out here in the afternoon.

Lastly, here’s a peek into our ensuite bathroom. It was small in size but completely functional, with room for all of our toiletries by the shower and sink. It’s definitely a one person at a time situation, but never felt cramped when I was in there on my own.

The Sky Princess does have shower curtains, which I know some people hate, but I found to be absolutely fine on this ship. They didn’t feel sticky or unclean, and it didn’t touch me while I was in the shower cubical, so don’t let it put you off.

As is standard with lots of cruise lines, a bottle of shower gel and a combined shampoo and conditioner are provided in the bathroom. I used the provided toiletries and supplemented it with my own conditioner, which worked very well for two weeks.

I did wonder whether I would feel much movement from the ship as we sailed through the Bay of Biscay, but I really didn’t feel anything at all. Cabin E310 is very much a midship cabin that doesn’t feel much sway, and to me, felt just as stable as the rest of the vessel.

We did have one evening where the sailing was slightly more rough, but it wasn’t any worse in our cabin and felt very tolerable. This is to be expected when sailing long distances, and after taking a travel sickness tablet as a precaution, I felt absolutely fine.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve read this far then you’ll know that I loved my cabin onboard the Sky Princess. Not only did I get a great deal, but it felt like a true home from home and was exactly what I needed for my trip.

Thanks for reading, and for more information about the Sky Princess make sure you check out my blog posts below.

Read More About the Sky Princess

Sky Princess Ship Review (to come)

Food and Dining Guide (to come)

Cabins to Avoid (to come)