Balcony Vs Oceanview?

I have only had a balcony room on the 3 cruises i have been on.. so i was wondering if the balcony is really worth the extra money? We do enjoy going out on the balcony but we can go on deck for the same effect i suppose.. any thoughts?

I've done both as well, and sure, a balcony is terrific to have. However, I've had great cruises in my oceanview staterooms as well. I think it's nice to have a balcony for those evenings after you've come back to your room and just want to sit quietly and listen to the ocean. It's certainly my preference, but I don't "have" to have one. Is there a huge cost difference between the oceanview that you're considering and the balcony?

I have only had a balcony room on the 3 cruises i have been on.. so i was wondering if the balcony is really worth the extra money? We do enjoy going out on the balcony but we can go on deck for the same effect i suppose.. any thoughts?

It boils down to personal preference. You won't know if you would be happy in an inside cabin unless you try one. I've been in an inside, oceanview, and balcony and I personally prefer a balcony...

Good luck!

It's totally up to you if it is worth it. It is worth it for us because we spend alot of time on our balcony. Not our cabin but our balcony:)

I have only had a balcony room on the 3 cruises i have been on.. so i was wondering if the balcony is really worth the extra money? We do enjoy going out on the balcony but we can go on deck for the same effect i suppose.. any thoughts?

I think the balcony is worth the extra $$ just so you can get a better view and some fresh air in your bathrobe! When we're on a Fantasy class ship, we get an OV since the only balconies on those ships are in the suites and we don't want to spend quite that much $$, and the OV is OK, but usually the windows are hard to see out of, the outside an be dirty and/or water spotted and sometimes the beds are kind of in the way.

I think it depends on if you like to sit out there and the fresh air or not. My sister fusses over its too hot, doesnt like the wind blowing her hair and loves to people watch, Im the one who likes to watch the ocean, so I get a OV for me, as a compromise. I feel depresed without any view, we like OVs, even a port hole is enough, I just want to see out.

I have only had a balcony room on the 3 cruises i have been on.. so i was wondering if the balcony is really worth the extra money? We do enjoy going out on the balcony but we can go on deck for the same effect i suppose.. any thoughts?

For me it depends on the itinerary and the cruise length. When we go on the Holiday, we stay in an interior cabin...not much to look at in the Gulf and it's a short cruise. But on long cruises we spend a whole lot of time on our balcony and I wouldn't do it any other way. Waking up each morning and stepping out onto the balcony to get the first glimpse of a new port/country is quite exciting. The most memorable morning for me was waking up in Istanbul, opening the balcony doors, and seeing all of those minarets for the first time...just awesome!

Also, we enjoy having a cocktail and playing a bit of Scrabble in the evening on our balcony before dinner while we wait for the ship to leave port. We bring our MP3 player and mini speakers and listen to music while we relax and watch the sunset. I also love sitting out on the balcony in my jammies before I go to sleep and watching the moon glow on the water. We're pretty private people and don't enjoy crowds much (kind of goes against the whole cruising thing, doesn't it...LOL).

I think everyone has different reasons for the cabins they choose so you'll get all kinds of answers but, honestly, if you've already done a balcony and didn't really see the value, then maybe it's not worth it for you.

I've done a balcony on every cruise as well. One time some friends joined us and there room was oceanview. It was still nice, but I really liked the freedom of going out on my own balcony to eat room service.

I think the balcony is definitely worth the extra money. I love being able to go out there first thing in the AM in my pjs if I so please. I also spent a lot of time out there just relaxing while DH was getting ready, it's a nice retreat when you don't feel like being with a bunch of other people. I also love listening to the ocean at night, perfect way to get to sleep.

All in all it's a personal choice, I don't think I could go back to an OV after experiencing a balcony. Today I even noticed that the OV are more then we paid for our balcony guarantee.

For us the choice to go balcony depends on the itinerary. If it is a port intensive cruise, we go inside cabins since we know we won't be in our cabin that much. For cruises with many sea days, we enjoy a balcony if we can afford it.

We have never booked an OV on any of our 23 cruises. Difference between the price between an OV & balcony is not normally that much and we've always figured the difference in price worth going to balcony rate if we want to see out of our cabin.

We have been upgraded from inside to OV a few times. Seeing out of our cabin was OK, but not worth the extra price to us to go from inside to balcony on the cruises where we were on a port intensive cruise.

BTW, we don't get claustrophobic so an inside works well with us. Inside cabins also work well with us when we cruise just to get away and get some needed rest as the cabin is very dark in the afternoon as well as evening and morning.

Dianne

For my money a balcony is worth it every time. My wife really enjoys mornings on the balcony and likes to be able to sit out there if the area around the pool is just too crazy.

As many others have said it reall is a matter of personal preference. After all it is your money.

One thing we enjoy on the balcony is the chairs instead of lounge chairs. Much more comfortable. If you can afford it on a 7 day -- go for it.

I personally wouldn't waste the money on an ocean view cabin. If you can spring the extra $ for a balcony, do it. If not, book an inside cabin. I personally loved my inside cabin on my first cruise and will likely book my next cruise in a 4A. I'm totally okay with an inside cabin and love the total darkness.

My upcoming cruise will be my first balcony. I like the idea of sitting outside drinking my coffee in the morning or before dinner having a Jack & Coke & listening to the ocean. Sounds really nice. But to me, it wouldn't be worth a lot of money extra and most balcony's are a lot more $$$ than inside's so I foresee a lot more insides in my future. I'd rather cruise twice in an inside than once on a balcony but that is just my preference.