Conquest....balcony or oceanview??

[braindoc2b]

I am getting ready to book my first cruise!! I am so excited!! However, I am paying for four tickets, and am far from rich. My question, is the balcony room worth the extra cost?? The ship I am taking is the Conquest, and the total cost difference between the balcony and oceanview rooms is $800.00 (for 4 tickets). Thanks for any advice!!

[nosnobunny]

We had our first balcony last month and now there's no going back for us. I suppose if you've never had one, you wouldn't miss it and would have extra dollars in your pocket.

Beth

[braindoc2b]

Beth-
What made the balcony so much better for you??

[jfritz126]

We've never been on the Conquest but we had a balcony on the Victory in Sept and would probably never sail without one now. It's so nice to get up in the morning and just walk out on your balcony in the middle of the ocean. Or sit out on it at nite with a drink before going to bed. I think it is really worth the money!

http://www.jacksonville.com/images/galleries/miraclecruise/met_MIRACLEARRIVES6.jpg http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=008000&cdt=2004;5;9;15;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500
Until the Miracle May 9, 2004
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Until the Legend Party October 22, 2004


Holiday May 2, 1987
Imagination Jan 22, 2001
Victory Sept 13, 2003
Miracle May 9, 2004
Legend Oct 22, 2004

[braindoc2b]

Thanks, jfritz, for the advice!! I, too, think it would be nice to have your own little private spot!

[nosnobunny]

Gosh, there are so many reasons.

I had my first bout with claustrophbia last year in an inside cabin on the Brilliance. Even though I was willing to try it again last month, Carnival upgraded us on the Legend to a cat 8I. (yay Carnival! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif)

I'm a coffee addict, so to me there is very little in the world that can beat sitting on the balcony in my jammies with that first cup of caffeine watching the sun come up. A sight to behold. Me not the sunrise.

Sleeping with the door open, listening to the sounds of the ocean at night. Sheer heaven!

And then there are the times you just want to get away from it all and watch the sea.

Nope - Carnival ruined it for me by giving us that upgrade. It's all their fault. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Beth

[Cyt4SoreEyes]

We just love the balcony cabins and would recommend if they are available to get. You are going to love the Conquest she is gorgeous and you chose the right ship for first cruise!! Not that any of them aren't just she is something else..love the giant sunflowers onboard..have a wonderful first cruise and many more after!!

Cyt

Atlantic
Oceanic
Norway
Enchantment of the Seas
Destiny
Voyager of the Seas
Conquest March 30th 2003
Glory May 29th 2004

[serene56]

I would take the oceanview and watch for price reduction. 800.00 is a lot of money to have a space to drink a coffee. But if the price does comes down I will be getting the balcony.
Sure a balcony is nice to sit out at night but there are always deck chairs on top decks that have the same effect.

I find it wierd sometimes that oceanviews are cheaper then insides and balconies are cheaper then oceanview on some cruises.

Going NOWHERE
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Miracle, February 13, 2005
Legend, October 22,2004
Voyager August 31,2003
Victory September 22,2002
Regal Empress,June 2001
Sensation,August 2000

[braindoc2b]

Thanks so much for all of the advice.....it sounds as if the extra cost for the balcony is worth it!

[selucrey]

Had a Riviera Deck balcony on the Conquest and LOVED it! It's hard to book anything else afterward.We would sit on the balcony at night and have breakfast there every morning.For a first cruise I would highly recommend it.Good Luck! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

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SINSATION 10/23/04 http://www.geocities.com/giffsngiggles/firedevil.gif
CONQUEST 10/19/03
INSPIRATION 10/21/01

[msbeaurivage]

Well, we were on the Conquest in Sept. 2003 for our honeymoon and had a balcony. It was great. Just to be able to seat on the balcony and enjoy the view without a lot of people around. That was our first balcony and it won't be our last. He won't sail without having one. Our next cruise will be on the Century with a balcony. For us it's worth the cost.

[kujobie]

You might want to consider an OV guarantee. On the conquest class, as well as most of the newer ships, only about 10% of the rooms are OV while about 70% are balconies. What that means, in theory anyways, is that OV's are more likely to sell out than balconies. If that happens, and you have an OV guarantee, you have a good chance of being upgraded to a balcony for the price of an OV. That is assuming the balconies don't sell out, which is a posibility if you are sailing in the summer, spring break, or a holiday week. In any case, for a first cruise, I would go the cheap route. You won't be in the room a lot anyways.

Jubilee..May 2002
Sensation...May 2003
Glory...April 2004
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[scantrelle]

Going on Conquest Halloween night. Have OV guarantee. Hoping for upgrade. Loved outside cabin, but would like to try balcony. My 4th Carnival cruise. Saw Conquest with travel agent one afternoon. Beautiful ship. Can't wait. Anyone else dressing up for Halloween?

[bomber000]

Get a balcony-so worth it!

Carnival Paradise 08/99
Carnival Pride 05/02
RCCL Sov of Seas 11/02
Carnival Legend 04/03
Grand Princess 11/03
Celebrity 01/04
Carnival Conquest 05/04

[azrenne]

Balcony all the way!! We booked a balcony on the conquest in June and have an extra big balcony. Noramal is 35sq feet and ours is 75sq feet.

Cunard
Norwegian Wind 3/01
Royal Caribbean Monarch Of The Seas 11/02
Star Princess 4/03
Sun Princess 2/04
Carnival Conquest 6/13/04

[magical_love]

Husband and I were married on Conquest on 04/04/04. We booked an oceanview cabin for us and booked an interior cabin for my 16 year old and friend. Husband and I were upgraded to a balcony room on the Verandah deck and were completely happy with sitting on balcony to drink coffee early in the mornings or drinking a glass of wine in the evening watching the sunset. Plus when pulling into port (or out of port) you can stand on your balcony and get a great view and some great pictures too.

My 16 yr old daughter and her friend were upgraded from interior to corner oceanview room - they had a very big cabin because of the corner location and they had two sets of oceanview windows.

We had booked both rooms in August for April cruise. Not sure if the upgrades were due to booking wedding on the ship or not but we were very pleased with both the girls' cabin and our balcony stateroom.

Balcony stateroom will always be what husband and I choose for future cruises!

Married on Carnival Conquest 04/04/04
New Orleans, LA
7 Day Western Carribean Cruise

[imatarb]

I'll let you know when we return from the Victory on 5/16. It will be my first balcony cabin, and my hubby's first cruise, so I'm sure I'll spoil him properly, and we'll only get balconies from here on out!

Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[b]Monarch of the Seas - 1994
Royal Majesty - 1996

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Until VICTORY is ours


<MARQUEE>A day at sea is better than any day at work</MARQUEE>

[tjevans]

Despite what I said in my reply to Braindoc's post in the "ask a cruise question" forum, there is one big plus for a balcony, especially on a honeymoon . . . balcony lovin'!

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Carnival Conquest 4/18/04