Interior stateroom?

I am fairly new here. We will be going on our first time cruise to Alaska in August of 2006, on Serenade of the Seas. I am greatly looking forward to it. This will probably be the only cruise that we will be able to go on. We have booked an interior stateroom. Is this a mistake? Please advise me. Thanks.

Several different thoughts...

On a large cruise ship that is as long a football field, there is plenty of 'rail' space most of the time. In other words, standing at the rail of the open decks to see what's happening.

You're going to Alaska to see the scenery.....a window would be nice except many of the ships are configured in such a way as to see out the window you have to stand on the bed.

With certain cruise lines the difference in price between the outside and a balcony cabin is not that big a deal...

Whatever...don't let price keep you from going. Rail time is a great thing. One of the recent posters said they had an inside cabin and just kept the 'in cabin tv' tuned to the bridgecam to replace their porthole.

Just GO! There are no bad cabins to the Great Land!

It's probably a dollars-and-cents decision, but the only thing that we regretted on our May cruise was having an interior stateroom. We called our room "The Cave" for the duration of the voyage, and particularly hated mornings, when we really wanted to be able to sit and quietly have coffee on our own balcony, or at least looking out a window, before joining the crowds.

Murray

If it's the only cruise you will ever go on, you might want to spend more money and go for a balcony, just to up your one and only cruise experience. BUT, if the only way you can afford to go on the cruise is in an interior stateroom, then you are absolutely fine.

I am fairly new here. We will be going on our first time cruise to Alaska in August of 2006, on Serenade of the Seas. I am greatly looking forward to it. This will probably be the only cruise that we will be able to go on. We have booked an interior stateroom. Is this a mistake? Please advise me. Thanks.

An inside stateroom is not a mistake, but if you can afford a balcony, I say go for it. The fantastic scenery along with all the beautiful sunrises and sunsets make a balcony so worthwhile. You can pop out onto your balcony in your robe early in the morning or late at night and enjoy so much beauty!

The best thing about a balcony is being able to 'test the temperature' before getting dressed for your day. The second best is coffee or hot chocolate in the early AM to start your day.

I have been on 8 cruises 5 of them to Alaska. The only time I had a balcony was on short 3 night cruises. Our last cruise we had an inside cabin vs an oceanview. I had no complaints at all. I love to cruise and go with the best price I can. No time is spent in my cabin. I agree with others a balcony would be nice, but I would rather use the money saved on excursions etc.

Thanks, Tracyr (and everyone else, too.) This has helped me a lot.

I always go cheap inside, but I travel frequently and have no budget limitations for my tours. :) (cruise 34 coming up, #12 to Alaska)

I am always out on deck but frankly, very few people put forth the effort. I am most often out alone. COME JOIN me. :)

We will be going to Alaska in May (our first cruise to Alaska!) We do have a balcony, but speaking of sunsets, what time are sunrises/sunsets in May?

We will be going to Alaska in May (our first cruise to Alaska!) We do have a balcony, but speaking of sunsets, what time are sunrises/sunsets in May?

10-11pm and extended twilight, a big difference between early and late May.

End of May sunsets around midnight or somewhat after when you get up into AK waters. About 11 pm here in SEA.

A good location for an interior cabin is deck 4 midship...just steps away from the centrum area with all that glass /window area. Also one deck up is deck 5 the promenade deck which is one long balcony that practically wraps around. On deck 4 you have quick access to the outside for viewing. I am sailing on the serenade sunday and was booking 2 interiors on deck 4 ( have sailed deck 4 inside cabins on the enchantment...similar layout to the serenade class) but a co-worker chided me for not getting a balcony so I switched. It was roughly $750 more total for a E2 as opposed to a N cabin and I am not sure if the balcony costs will be worth it.

The best thing about a balcony is being able to 'test the temperature' before getting dressed for your day. The second best is coffee or hot chocolate in the early AM to start your day.

Just a note: if you're on Princess, bring your own hot chocolate as they charge for packets of cocoa. :)

We've only been in a balcony once - the rest were oceanview or obstructed - and if we'd paid full price for the balcony (it was a $75 pp upgrade) we would have been disappointed, as we had to keep the door closed much of the time to keep out the smell of a neighbor's cigar.

I had an interior cabin recently on a Princess Cruise to Alaska, and I'll never do that again, even as a single with an extra charge. I was claustrophobic. Having to get dressed to go up and get on deck was an inconvenience, too. I spent most of my time on the Lido deck tucked in a quiet corner with a book and my iPod and camera or in the library in a chair in front of a window. I would rather have been in my own cabin or on the balcony. Next time!

My daughter and her husband were across the hall in a balcony cabin, and they loved itl

Really? If my family took up 2 rooms, that's exactly what I would have done (i.e. 1 balcony, 1 interior, hang out together on the balcony).

On my last cruise I was given a balcony, but found that I only used it for a few hours in total throughout the cruise.

My next cruise coming up the middle of August, I don't even know what type of stateroom I will be assigned. And to me, it doesn't matter.

I spend only 4-6 hours a night in my cabin sleeping. That's it. So whether they give me an inside cabin, a balcony, or suite... it won't make any difference because I won't be in it.

Regardless of the weather, you'll find me out on the decks etc. because that's one of the main reasons I am there for. I will spend my time exploring every possible accessible area of the ship when it's dark outside, but when I'm there to see the area's natural beauty, nothing is going to prevent me from doing just that. (rain, wind, cold, heat, etc.)

I recently booked two different couples (relatives) on cruises, both travelled with inside guarantee staterooms (one on HAL 14 days, one on CEL 7 days). The best available oceanview pricing would have been an average of 70% more than what I was able to get them inside staterooms for. They used the money they saved on the fares and applied it to little extras to make their trips complete. (excursions, wine packages, spa treatments... etc.)

Bottom line, interior staterooms are an excellent value.

:( tetleytea that's exactly why I did it, and it didn't work, though it seemed like a good idea when we made the reservations last fall.

On days at sea, they slept later than me, and I sure wasn't going to hang around waiting for them to get up, I wanted to be out. On days in port, we all got out first thing, so there was no lingering on the balcony. Trying to spend time in someone else's cabin is very intrusive, and I wouldn't recommend it.

They really enjoyed the balcony, they kept the door open at night so they could hear the water, they liked being able to be out late at night without having to get dressed, and being able to enjoy the scenery without having to leave their cabin. I, on the other hand, felt very cut off from everything, I always had to go someplace else. I hated not having a window, somehow, the bridge cam just isn't the same.

For me, it's worth the extra money to have an outside cabin, preferrably with a balcony.

We spent lots of time on our balcony and thought it added so much to our cruise. We also went to the bow of the ship for full viewing of the glaciers but the balcony was always there for us to relax and enjoy our meals--we loved room service. To wake up in the morning and see all of the beauty of Alaska through those huge balcony doors--well, you get the idea.

If you are only going once, pay the extra for the balcony. When we return to Alaska, we would not go without another balcony cabin. It is that important to us:)

Have a great cruise!

we have always done a balcony cabin before but we got a good last minute deal on Alaska with an inside cabin so we are going to try it....we spend so little time in our cabin anyway, I really look for it not to be an issue!

Enjoy your first cruise! It will be what you make of it.....read your daily cruise newsletters carefully, there is alot of information there!

Beverly

I returned from Alaska a little over a week ago. We had an ocean view room since we had an interior room in the caribbean. Wow the difference does an ocean view make! I loved getting up every morning and opening the curtains to see the view even if it's just the ocean on our "at sea" days.

I say, if you can afford to send a little extra for an ocean view or balcony like everyone else says, go for it. It'll definitely be worth your money.

We sailed on the Island Princess in early June. I have no regrets with saving lots of $'s on our inside cabin. We spent very little time in our room........and our "balcony" was much larger than the ones that come with a stateroom. We would try to be out on deck before the sun came up and tried to make it until sunset....certainly not leaving much time for sleep! But it was well worth it. When we would mention about the whales we saw at sunrise, our friends with balconies didn't know what we were talking about. We're going back to Alaska next year and we will be more than content in our darkened interior stateroom.:D

I wanted to cruise Alaska but I really did not want to pay the difference for an oceanview or balcony room (which was really my preference). I kept checking prices and an obstructed view room became available for the same price as an inside room. It was not a fully obstructed view-it was considered a partially obstructed view. The only problem we had was that we could not look directly down into the ocean. The lifeboats were on the floor below us. Other than that, we had a great view. We were able to see whales, porpoises and eagles sitting on our balcony.

Just got off the Serenade had a balcony, was great. My TA got me a D1 cheaper then a inside.

I agree w/many of the others. If is a choice between an Inside Cabin and not going at all - I would go with the inside cabin.

I prefer the light coming in in the morning - just helps to wake up.

Enjoy and hang out on deck like the others mentioned!