Ahhh persuade me to do the balcony!

So I had a thread on here not too long ago about needing some advice for the 8nt Serenade of the Seas cruise in May. I was hesitant of doing an Interior cabin... got some great advice.

Pondered the Interior... my fiance was good with that (I need to mention this is his first cruise). We made the decsion to book this week. Last night when we were going to bed he suddenly said "Honey, lets do the balcony... wouldn't it be nice to sit on the balcony at night? Hmmmmm :confused:

My fiance is pretty level headed with money (I'm the high maitnenace one here). But one thing he doesn't cheap out on is vacations...

It's about $468 extra per person... now I'm normally the "best of the best" type gal but I'm having a hard time. I've sailed on a balcony stateroom before when I was a child with my parents (yet I was so teeny I couldnt even see over the railing!)

...and I did an OCV stateroom last Feb and really... didn't think it was worth the $... I'm thinking either go the economy route OR go big lol

HELPPP!!

We're meeting for lunch to decide!

So I had a thread on here not too long ago about needing some advice for the 8nt Serenade of the Seas cruise in May. I was hesitant of doing an Interior cabin... got some great advice.

 

Pondered the Interior... my fiance was good with that (I need to mention this is his first cruise). We made the decsion to book this week. Last night when we were going to bed he suddenly said "Honey, lets do the balcony... wouldn't it be nice to sit on the balcony at night? Hmmmmm :confused:

My fiance is pretty level headed with money (I'm the high maitnenace one here). But one thing he doesn't cheap out on is vacations...

 

It's about $468 extra per person... now I'm normally the "best of the best" type gal but I'm having a hard time. I've sailed on a balcony stateroom before when I was a child with my parents (yet I was so teeny I couldnt even see over the railing!)

 

...and I did an OCV stateroom last Feb and really... didn't think it was worth the $... I'm thinking either go the economy route OR go big lol

 

HELPPP!!

We're meeting for lunch to decide!

A balcony is DEFINITELY the way to go. Just being able to go outside in your robe in the morning and drink your coffee, or ordering room service and eating outside. Especially tropical evenings......ahhhhh!

Those days at sea are wonderful if you can stand outside leaning on the balcony.

We had a blast seeing flying fish, turtles, whales, other ships....and even oil rigs, which look pretty cool at night!

You can't see any of that with an interior room.....:D

For me I use several factors-

is it port intensive or more days at sea? if it's port intensive, you will be out of the room so much it may not matter.

what is the itinerary? if there are beautiful, majesty sites to encounter on the sailing, a balcony would be nice.

I have sailed both oceanview and balcony, and my last cruise was port intensive and I was with my kids, so we found the ocean view perfect- my kids loved the kids' club and were never in the room anyway, and my husband and I enjoyed strolling the decks in the evenings to enjoy the view. we did not miss a balcony, but really did enjoy at least being able to look out the large picture window to see the ports as we approached and departed.

however..... for my next cruise, a 10 night to south america, I insisted on a balcony. I figured the balcony would be nice with four sea days, and such beautiful countries to see, as well as being able to stretch my legs and get fresh air for 10 nights without having to actually leave the room.

The balcony is a great way to go. Breakfast/coffee in the morning breeze or a cocktail in the evening watching the sunset are things you cannot get with an interior.

Well, you could....

-both compromise and go w/ OV

-convince him interior is way to go and saving that money for bar, excursions, photos, etc...

-give balcony another try...I'm betting you are finally tall enuf to see over railing ;)

-OR...simply...Go Big or Go Home (as they say)

I did the balcony for the first time last month. It was so worth the extra money. For one, it extends your living space by so much. Sitting out on the balcony early in the morning while arriving in port and in the evening during sail away was priceless. I had 7108 on Serenade which is at least twice the size of other in the same cat. and it was so private. I had sun every day and especially on the one sea day so I was able to tan while dh slept right inside. Not to mention getting to join the balcony club. ;) Whatever you decide you will have a great time.

No help from me. I had a balcony once and hardly used it. We spend very little time in our cabin. We are always out and about doing things on the ship. We really only use the cabin to change our clothes and sleep. Not worth the extra money to me. I do need an oceanview though. I have to have the natural light in my room.

It really depends if you are likely to actually utalize the balcony. Some people say they are so busy doing things on ship they barely use the balcony. If that sounds like you - I don't think it would be worth it. We highly enjoy it. Some ways we enjoy the balcony:

• We order room service for breakfast and sit on the balcony slowly drinking coffee while we wake up.
  
• One of us waits out there in the fresh air while the other is getting ready.
  
• We sit on the balcony at night and talk while my husband smokes a cigar.
  
• It's great for running out to check what the weather is before you go on deck or go to shore.
  

A balcony is DEFINITELY the way to go. Just being able to go outside in your robe in the morning and drink your coffee, or ordering room service and eating outside. Especially tropical evenings......ahhhhh!

 

Those days at sea are wonderful if you can stand outside leaning on the balcony.

 

We had a blast seeing flying fish, turtles, whales, other ships....and even oil rigs, which look pretty cool at night!

 

You can't see any of that with an interior room.....:D

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Had OV room for my 1st cruise, did a balcony on our honeymoon. I will NEVER cruise again without a balcony cabin!

Go for it! You'll be glad you did!!

I won't sail without AT LEAST a balcony....however, my mom thinks it's a total waste of money, since she gets everything everyone else gets, but at a lower price....it's up to you and your pocketbook and what you want from your accomodations!

I would get the inside cabin and use that extra $468/pp to go on another cruise :eek:

simply a matter of quantity versus quality. I would rather go on one amazing vacation a year-and not hold back on anything. Other people would rather go a tad bit cheaper and be able to get away twice or even three times a year.

I will add that my in-laws had been on over 25 cruises and NEVER got a balcony until they joined us last year for a princess cruise. Since then, they have cruised 3 times and have never gone back to an inside cabin.

Personally-I don't feel that another get-away in a dark cabin can compare to waking up, going on your balcony, and watching the sunise in your jammies. :)

I would get the inside cabin and use that extra $468/pp to go on another cruise :eek:

My thoughts exactly! For some people, money is not as big of an issue as it is for others. If you can afford to have a balcony every time, great! I am happy for, and envious of, you :D. If money was no object, I'd cruise more often and I'd probably be in a GS or OS every time. By saving money on our cabin selection, we can afford to spend more on other things.

If money is not an object, then yes, definitely, a balcony is the way to go....for all the reasons mentioned above.

Be forewarned, once you've had balcony, you never go back! :D

I've booked the same itinerary and will be on the May 7th sailing with my mother and sister. This will be my 7th cruise and I've had a balcony on every sailing except the 1st one. For me, a balcony is definitely worth the additional expense. I always get one on the port side and enjoy the views when we pull into port. I actually like to spend a lot of time on the balcony. When we sail in May, all of the excursions we're planning are in the morning and we'll back on the ship by early afternoon. Although we plan to get involved in some of the ship's activiities, we'll also spend quite a bit of time on the balcony....Coffee in the morning, wine in the afternoon/evening, etc.

Ahhh persuade me to do the balcony!

Okay .....

Sunrise

Sunset

Any questions? :D

 

Be forewarned, once you've had balcony, you never go back! :D

Absolutely not true!

It all depends on the cost. We often book inside cabins are are totally happy. In this case, it would be foolish for most people to spend almost $1000 extra for a balcony.

Ahhh persuade me to do the balcony!

 

Okay .....

 

Sunrise

 

Sunset

 

Any questions? :D

You can get the same pictures standing on the upper deck for a lot less money. I love to get up in the morning (in my oceanview cabin) and then take a walk around the ship. I'll grab a cup of coffee somewhere and enjoy that while I'm walking.

Some people love to have breakfast on their balconies while still in their pajamas. I like to get up and walk around.

Absolutely not true!

 

It all depends on the cost. We often book inside cabins are are totally happy. In this case, it would be foolish for most people to spend almost $1000 extra for a balcony.

Well, it has been true for me. 2 cruises inside cabin, 3 cruises since and all have been balcony. If we can't afford a balcony - we don't cruise.

Just depends on the person, as you can see from the responses. While we are really reasonable about money, and have tried interior, outside and balcony. We are just crushed not to be able to get a balcony cabin for an April cruise. We are cruising again in July and can't wait to get into our BALCONY cabin. I love to sit on the balcony...day or night, while getting ready. I love looking out on the pier, watching the people scramble to get onboard before we sail, love looking out onto the ocean and seeing the fish and the birds, love having a nice relaxing drink late at night on my balcony, love being able to dry my swimsuit in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days by pinning it to the chair on my balcony, love having my first cup of coffee of the day on my balcony...and so on, and so on. For us, it's worth the $$$.

Just my take on this,

1. You really can't take it with you.:(

2. Money is really just paper.:rolleyes:

3. You can't be a member of the "Balcony Club" without one.:eek:

4. There isn't anything like sitting on your balcony with your morning coffee while the ship quietly glides into port................:D

Do the balcony, we wouldn't go without one.

Aubie

Since you are doing a port intensive cruise I would say go with the inside, $1000 is a lot for excursions and drinks.

If you are the type of person that would enjoy sitting out very early eating breakfast or sitting out late at night on the deck then maybe the balcony would be worth it for you.

We only do oceanviews since we have 4 kids...never have time to use the balcony and don't like dark rooms.

Having never had an inside cabin, I can't say whether I'd be happy with that, but....having had 3 balconies (and 1 oceanview) and a 4th balcony next month, I really have to say I enjoy the balcony...last year's was the best...a Royal Suite with a balcony just under 300 sq. ft....If I could do it all the time, that is how I would do it, but I can't, so I go with a regular balcony ...and will continue to do so

On our fourth cruise, we decided to save money and go with an ocean view instead of a balcony. (We had balconies on our first three) DH said NEVER again. We really do spend a lot of time on our balcony and really missed it the one time we didn't have it. Most importantly, DH uses it to snooze while I'm getting ready for dinner. He says it's more quiet out there! :D:o;) We've sailed in a balcony cabin ever since!

You can get the same pictures standing on the upper deck for a lot less money.

Yea, but.......

Where do all of the other masses of people go for the sunsets who don't have a balcony? They will be with you on the upper deck while ones with a balcony will have privacy. I prefer privacy.....:)