I enjoyed my balcony best on an Alaskan cruise when...

Please finish the sentence!

I know there are a couple of threads recently started debating which side of the ship is better to book a balcony cabin (I started one of them.) Too many people are saying "it doesn't matter...go up on deck to enjoy the view." If people are so convinced of this then why do they spend the extra money to book a balcony in the first place :confused: ...that is what I want to know.

So...on an Alaskan cruise...particularly one way cruises...when and where did you most appreciate having your balcony? Please be specific.

Basically I am still trying to make the final decision on which side of the ship we should be on for a northbound cruise. So far I have seen no SPECIFIC reason of why a starboard side is better for northbound...yet that is what I usually hear and those are the cabins that are filling up first.

Where are you "hearing" that the starboard side is better? You have an excellent example of reports from several people- on a current post, guess what, BOTH sides are raved about. There is NO answer, except what I have posted about Glacier Bay. The other reference that is frequently seen, is the plus of a "port" (meaning stops with the cruise ship), side viewing toward the towns. This is less a sure thing, as there are various ways the ships dock, so not always able to determine, which side that is. :)

What ever side you choose, you are missing the other, fact. You have chosen the starboard side. You are getting the answers I describe, so you may want to take a look at how you wish to proceed in Glacier Bay?

I cruise in cheap cabins, and after 82 cruises I couldn't care less. It is lodging, meals and transportation only. I don't have any budget limitations, I'm just cheap on the cabin. :) We all travel for our own reasons. My suggestion would be to go with what you want, not necessarily the most "popular".

after experiencing being on the open decks and in the lotus spa viewing. AND having a bottle of Skyy vodka in our cabin as an anniversary present. The balcony was a delightful respite from the activity of aboveboard. Could we have been ok without the balcony? Possibly. Was it icing on the cake? Indeed.

After having experienced a balcony on my first Alaskan cruise and rarely using it (preferred the outside, forward-viewing open deck), I have never looked back and always book an inside cabin now.

I know this is not answering the question but what I enjoy most is the open deck for the best viewing of Alaska.

On our first cruise I did enjoy our balcony for some views of the inside passage while my wife was getting ready for us to go outside on the open deck.

Keith

I would agree that you need to go with what you want. The scenery will vary a little depending on the route the ship travels but there will be scenery all around you.

I have sailed 4 times to Alaska and the first 2 trip were in balcony cabins. The first time because I always enjoy them in the warm caribbean and the Med - but I was almost never our there. That trip was at the end of May and it was just too cold. The second trip was late may into early June and it rained too much to enjoy it. So all future trips will be an inside or outside cabin - if the price is reduced at the last minute.

So, there will always be posts that recommend a balcony and what side of the ship it should be on but you decide what will make you happy and book it. Then move on to the most important part - planning excursions :D

Early morning room service and breakfast on the balcony. This was the only time we used it and every morning the sunrise was fantastic!!!!

John

Watching the narrow fjords of Tracy Arm

watching my son reading a book on sail away from skagway.

But the reality for us is that the premium while nice really isn't necessary at all for a good time at all. Do it if you can afford and know that if you don't you really miss almost NOTHING :D

I'm with Budget Queen and frugaltravel--out on deck is best. Save your money for excursions.

Do you see whales from your balcony? Or should I spend a lot of money on an excursion?

Do you see whales from your balcony? Or should I spend a lot of money on an excursion?

If you want to see whales, you are FAR better off being up front on the ship. From a balcony you see 50% or less of the possible options for whale sightings. Also plan on spending hours for just fleeting glances of whales. Definitely much better is a whale watching tour from Juneau or Icy Strait Point.

Thanks for your advice

I like a balcony for the early morning hours (I'm an early riser), when everyone else is asleep. Great chance to see more wildlife and I don't have to worry about what my hair looks like up on deck. :D I've seen whales in Alaska, from my balcony, both times on Starboard side...once going North and once going South. Also saw a bear on the way into Juneau off the Starboard side, on the shore. I go up on deck in Glacier Bay or at Hubbard first thing, and then always decide to go back to my balcony to avoid the crowds. Next year, I'm sticking to my balcony. I also like watching folks coming back from port. It seems Princess docked primarily on Starboard. I hear RCI is mostly Port. No idea about the others.

We have sailed twice the northbound on RCI Radiance..and our portside balcony was amazing with the personal quiet space it provided us when we wanted it. We had great views that included some wonderful whale sightings and luckily the great city port views of the towns and the very early morning Hubbard Glacier visit..hot cocoa and warm bathrobe & blanket = priceless :)

I go up on deck in Glacier Bay or at Hubbard first thing, and then always decide to go back to my balcony to avoid the crowds.

Interesting. On my Princess cruises I have always been on the open decks for Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay and have never felt crowded at all. Easy to move side to side, lots of room. Most people who are where I am on deck rarely stay long - they are woefully underdressed.

Interesting. On my Princess cruises I have always been on the open decks for Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay and have never felt crowded at all. Easy to move side to side, lots of room. Most people who are where I am on deck rarely stay long - they are woefully underdressed.

I have a 7 year old, so even one person in front of her makes it hard to see. And I am extremely claustrophobic...not in a space sense, but in the number of people surrounding me. My idea of a crowd and yours may not be the same.

To each their own. I prefer my balcony. One less person up on deck for those who enjoy being up on deck.

We have done round trips out of Seattle and Vancouver, have done north bound and south bound. And we still book port side.

We have found that many times the port side faces inland when docked and there have been times when it was warm enough for us to sit out on our verandah and people watch.

Also many times, most captains have the port side of the ships that we have been on face the glaciers the longest.

On our cruise in August we had a port side balcony. The morning we were scheduled to arrive in Juneau, we got up early during a time when the ship was passing through what looked like a private whale show. We saw 30 or 40 different whales or pairs of whales over the course of about an hour. It was breathtaking and we enjoyed it as much as our whale watching excursion. I know there's no guarantee of such an experience, but we loved that we could pop in and out if we got cold. We also saw the Dawes glacier from our balcony, having the glacier viewing experience in our PJ's & jackets and again, we were able to go in and out as we wanted to while the ship positioned near the glacier. We wouldn't do Alaska without the balcony; we loved it.

On our cruise in August we had a port side balcony. The morning we were scheduled to arrive in Juneau, we got up early during a time when the ship was passing through what looked like a private whale show. We saw 30 or 40 different whales or pairs of whales over the course of about an hour. It was breathtaking and we enjoyed it as much as our whale watching excursion. I know there's no guarantee of such an experience, but we loved that we could pop in and out if we got cold. We also saw the Dawes glacier from our balcony, having the glacier viewing experience in our PJ's & jackets and again, we were able to go in and out as we wanted to while the ship positioned near the glacier. We wouldn't do Alaska without the balcony; we loved it.

And what did those with starboard side balconies see? :D

After having experienced a balcony on my first Alaskan cruise and rarely using it (preferred the outside, forward-viewing open deck), I have never looked back and always book an inside cabin now.

I don't think anyone disagrees that the view from out on deck is the best...but unless you are out there 24/7 then there will be times you are missing things because you are in your inside cabin and not a balcony. Although we usually get insides for Caribbean cruises, we are splurging on a balcony for our first Alaskan cruise. I'm sure we will appreciate it for early mornings, later evening, taking photos in rainy weather...and times we just want to relax and have some quiet time.

With a balcony you have a choice. :)

I don't think anyone disagrees that the view from out on deck is the best...but unless you are out there 24/7 then there will be times you are missing things because you are in your inside cabin and not a balcony.

Hmm. Then by the same logic, unless you are on your balcony 24/7 and not inside the room, there will be times you are missing things because you are inside your room and not on a balcony. Fair enough. We both miss a lot. But I would venture to guess I am outside looking forward way more than 99% of cruise passengers are on their balconies.

I enjoyed my balcony best on an Alaskan cruise when... we were cruising Glacier Bay. Breakfast on the balcony, whales swimming alongside, lunch on the balcony, a six-pack of beer, otters, seals lounging on the drifting ice, beautiful landscape and then......THE GALCIERS. The only bad part was forcing ourselves to leave the balcony for a sit down dinner:D

On our cruise, the upper level decks were kind of crowded for Glacier Bay. But the promenade deck had plenty of elbow room. However, I understand that the only people who actually saw Hubbard at all on my cruise were the ones with balconies, because it was SO foggy out and we were over an hour early there, that only if you happened to get out and look early did you actually see it. By the time we were supposed to arrive, you couldn't really see the glacier at all, the ship was already heading back out, and the weather was getting worse.

We had great weather and a stern (protected) balcony, so we used it a ton. I'd have to say my two favorite times were passing through the Tongass narrows on the way to Ketchikan, and the evening passing through the Inside Passage. There were fingers of fog interlaced in the hills, and it was so quiet and almost eerie. We had the map from Upton's The Alaska Cruise Handbook out, and we were following along. (Yes, we are kinda geeky.)

A few pics...

Tongass Narrows

DSC_0291 by suegee57, on Flickr

DSC_0290 by suegee57, on Flickr

DSC_0286 by suegee57, on Flickr

Inside Passage:

IMG_0773 by suegee57, on Flickr

IMG_0774 by suegee57, on Flickr

IMG_0775 by suegee57, on Flickr

Of course, those same views were available from public decks, but we enjoyed having our own private space at all times of day. We were there over the Summer Solstice, so it never got completely dark. As much as we enjoyed it, if the budget choice was between having a balcony and doing some cool excursions, I'd go with the excursions and an inside cabin in a heartbeat.

We had great weather and a stern (protected) balcony, so we used it a ton. I'd have to say my two favorite times were passing through the Tongass narrows on the way to Ketchikan, and the evening passing through the Inside Passage. There were fingers of fog interlaced in the hills, and it was so quiet and almost eerie. We had the map from Upton's The Alaska Cruise Handbook out, and we were following along. (Yes, we are kinda geeky.)

 

A few pics...

 

Tongass Narrows

 

DSC_0291 by suegee57, on Flickr

 

DSC_0290 by suegee57, on Flickr

 

DSC_0286 by suegee57, on Flickr

 

Inside Passage:

 

IMG_0773 by suegee57, on Flickr

 

IMG_0774 by suegee57, on Flickr

 

IMG_0775 by suegee57, on Flickr

 

Of course, those same views were available from public decks, but we enjoyed having our own private space at all times of day. We were there over the Summer Solstice, so it never got completely dark. As much as we enjoyed it, if the budget choice was between having a balcony and doing some cool excursions, I'd go with the excursions and an inside cabin in a heartbeat.

Thank you so much for the guidebook link and the beautiful pictures. We just booked our first Alaska cruise and I have been starting to plan. I was curious what sights we'd see as we traveled thru the Inside Passage, and your pictures were very helpful. I'm going to check out the book too. Thanks a bunch!