Inside Cabin - To try or not to try?

That is the question.

I understand Disney has what sounds like cool portals but I just can't see paying for a Disney Cruise. I just can't imagine (pun intended) what can make them worth twice the cost.

But back to my question. I see the inside rooms are so much cheaper. We have only been on 2 cruises. The first one we had a window. It was ok. Took some fuzzy pictures out the window. It was nice I guess being able to see the outside world.

On our second cruise we had a balcony. That was awesome on the first day. Got some great pictures. It became less awesome as the cruise went on.

Do the inside cabins suck? Does everyone stick their noisy rugrats in the inside cabins?

Opinions are most welcome! :)

LOVE the inside cabins. So dark and cozy to sleep :) We tried ocean view once on Carnival and once on RCCL but decided we would rather spend that extra money somewhere else on vacation !!

We turn the TV to the 'view from the bridge' when we gave an inside cabin. At night the soft glow acts as kind of nightlight and the picture gets brighter as the sun rises. Heck, even when we have outside or balcony cabins, the TV is usually set to that channel.

It is a balcony for me. No inside for us

Inside cabins can be terrific! I guess it all depends on your comfort zone and personal needs.

Some people love the darkness, the quiet and convenience of an inside cabin, plus the prices can be great. There are a few who get kind of claustrophobic in an inside cabin because of the lack of sunlight (I have a friend who has this issue), but if you're only using it to sleep, shower and change, then it's a great option to save money.

From what you've written, you haven't particularly received a lot of use or enjoyment out of the balcony or oceanview (window) cabins you've had in the past. I personally prefer a balcony or oceanview, but if the price was right, I wouldn't hesitate to get an inside. Go ahead and give it a try!

That is the question.

 

I understand Disney has what sounds like cool portals but I just can't see paying for a Disney Cruise. I just can't imagine (pun intended) what can make them worth twice the cost.

 

But back to my question. I see the inside rooms are so much cheaper. We have only been on 2 cruises. The first one we had a window. It was ok. Took some fuzzy pictures out the window. It was nice I guess being able to see the outside world.

 

On our second cruise we had a balcony. That was awesome on the first day. Got some great pictures. It became less awesome as the cruise went on.

 

Do the inside cabins suck? Does everyone stick their noisy rugrats in the inside cabins?

 

Opinions are most welcome! :)

strictly personal preference. I will NEVER do anything less than a balcony but I need the fresh air and spend a lot of time on it relaxing

there are rooms on Royal that have floor to ceiling glass walls ( no balcony) which offer a nice mid range option between an interior and a balcony.

some of the new ships have virtual portholes or ocean view( modified TV screen type deal) but are classifeid interiors/.

other people are only in the cabin to sleep and shower so don't care about anything else

Certainly, I would do a balcony every time...if I could afford it. A suite! what luxury! However, I love to cruise, so we do inside cabins. I book what is a bargain. I have never been disappointed. the times we have had a balcony, we have seldom used it. EM

An inside cabin is the compromise I'm prepared to make so that we can afford to cruise reasonably regular. However, if we were going somewhere with spectacular scenery such as Alaska, then I think I would try for at least an oceanview. Would love a balcony but sadly can't see it ever happening.

Happily, giving an inside cabin a try isn't a lifelong commitment.

If you don't like it, you can go back to having an ocean view or balcony on your next cruise. :)

LuLu

It is a balcony for me. No inside for us

Same here. If we can't afford a balcony, we can't afford the cruise. We like to spend time in our room, and nothing is better than sitting on your own balcony, alone, reading a book and watching the world go by. I think we would be miserable in an inside...or even an outside. Balcony or bust! ;)

Oftentimes I'll get an inside cabin, that or I just can't afford to cruise. To me, at least, cruise lines seem to go out of their way to maximize space in those cabins. I totally agree with previous posters about the darkness. It's like having one private cave for sleeping. Let's face it, you aren't going to spend a lot of time in your cabin anyway, shower, change clothes and sleep.

It all depends on the ship. If it has adequate public areas to sit relax and see out as well as enough outdoor open public space then an inside works great for us. Very little time spent in the cabin on those ships. Ships with not so good public space like some of the mega-ships or conversions like the Dawn which lost a great space when they turned the old Spinnaker into suites almost necessitate a balcony.

We almost always start out booking the least expensive category available at the time, which is usually an inside. Then we watch for price drops and often end up in a balcony for the price we already paid**. Even if that doesn't happen, we're very happy in an inside, especially now that there is no longer smoking allowed on balconies. That was a nice feature for us while it lasted but now that we need to go topside regardless, it kind of makes a balcony less "necessary".

**Different cruise lines have various policies for if and how they honour price-drops. Not many will give you a straight refund anymore but I know for sure CCL, RCCL, NCL and Princess will work with you on a category upgrade.

Just curious..what made the balcony "less awesome" as the cruise went on?

DD prefers the inside ... when she takes an afternoon nap, having it DARK is preferred

I like a balcony so we swap off . .

I don't mind the inside cabins, but if the price is right, I love having a balcony. If there is a huge difference in price, to us, we would rather use that money for other fun things on my cruise.

My dh has crohns, so he gets tired and not feeling good at times, so when he just wants to rest and watch tv, a balcony is super nice. I can enjoy the outside while still being with him!!!!

Inside cabins don't suck. They're just rooms without a window. Personally, I'd never pay more than a few pounds extra for a balcony, because the only way I'd think it necessary would be if the ship didn't have any open deck; and if the ship didn't have any open deck, I wouldn't be on it.

The advantage of the open deck is that you have a choice of sun or shade, of wind or shelter, and of which side of the ship to watch the views. A balcony, expensive though it is, doesn't give you that choice.

We always book insides and have had no problems. Like others we do onto spend a lot of time in the cabin. But even so, insides are so much cheaper that we can easily afford to take excursions and pay for a lot of extras (like upgraded hotels pre cruise) along the way.

I know people love balconies, but, for us they are no big deal.

There is nothing to fear from an inside. Try it and see....

Just curious..what made the balcony "less awesome" as the cruise went on?

Well.... leaving port there was lots of cool pictures to be taken. And at dusk I got some cool pics. But the rest of time it was just water. In port it was looking at the side of another docked ship.

We don't really want to sit out there and read. Not our thing. If we were hanging out in the cabin we were napping or watching TV.

So once the initial newness wore off and cool pics taken. It wasn't that big of a deal. /shrug

If you have the chance at a porthole cabin (and they sell out pretty quickly), jump at it. They cost the same as inside but have either one of two portholes that give a decent view of the scenery.

I got them on the Carnival cruise I took last week and I don't think I'll ever get a different kind of cabin unless I strike it rich.

I think we may try being "innies" vs "outties" next cruise! :p

Thanks everyone!! :)

We love the balcony. We had an inside cabin on our first cruise. Overslept majorly because of the darkness. ;)

We leave the balcony door open at night so we can hear the waves. I love just chilling on the balcony. To us, the extra charge is worth it. To each their own.

Vicki

That is the question.

 

I understand Disney has what sounds like cool portals but I just can't see paying for a Disney Cruise. I just can't imagine (pun intended) what can make them worth twice the cost.

 

But back to my question. I see the inside rooms are so much cheaper. We have only been on 2 cruises. The first one we had a window. It was ok. Took some fuzzy pictures out the window. It was nice I guess being able to see the outside world.

 

On our second cruise we had a balcony. That was awesome on the first day. Got some great pictures. It became less awesome as the cruise went on.

 

Do the inside cabins suck? Does everyone stick their noisy rugrats in the inside cabins?

 

Opinions are most welcome! :)

We have had OV, porthole, and balcony cabins and enjoyed them.

However, for budget reasons we have also chosen inside cabins on three different cruise lines. The only thing we missed was knowing when it was sunrise. We solved that by putting the tv on the bow camera channel when we went to bed, and turning the volume all the way down. That also gave us a dim nightlight.

If you are only in your cabin to sleep and dress, then an inside cabin is perfectly fine. We even had morning coffee and pastries delivered for pre-breakfast.

We love the balcony. We had an inside cabin on our first cruise. Overslept majorly because of the darkness. ;)

 

We leave the balcony door open at night so we can hear the waves. I love just chilling on the balcony. To us, the extra charge is worth it. To each their own.

 

Vicki

Do you realise that when you leave your balcony door open it affects the temperature in many other cabins? That is why many cruise lines put a notice on the balcony door saying not to leave it open.

Do you realise that when you leave your balcony door open it affects the temperature in many other cabins? That is why many cruise lines put a notice on the balcony door saying not to leave it open.

Some ships may be that way, others are set up so the HVAC goes off when the balcony door is open.