Balcony a must in Alaska?

We are looking to sail HAL for the first time May 2015 to Alaska. I've read some posts where people who had a balcony found themselves on the public decks more often. We would like to save $ but don't know when we will get back to Alaska again and want to have the best experience. Thoughts? Also would an aft balcony be better than a regular one?

This is just MY experience. I've been to Alaska 7 times, 6 in oceanview or inside cabins. On my last trip, early this summer, I treated myself to a suite (with balcony). I still spent the vast majority of my outdoor-on-the-ship time on public decks. I won't get a balcony again. For me, it was an enormous waste of money. Again, JMHO, money is better spent onshore, on experiencing Alaska. Most shore excursions are very expensive in Alaska, whether through the ship or privately booked. If it comes down to "affording a balcony or affording shore excursions", my opinion is choose the shore excursions.

HAL has excellent public viewing spaces, lots of decks to be outdoors without feeling crowded.

(On the flip side, I had friends on the same cruise who never moved off their balcony. Of course, they didn't see nearly what I did, but they really did get use from their balcony.)

I had friends on the same cruise who never moved off their balcony. Of course, they didn't see nearly what I did, but they really did get use from their balcony.)

From the ship, you mean, or because they did not do similar shore excursions?

From the ship, you mean, or because they did not do similar shore excursions?

From the ship. Sorry I wasn't clearer. They saw only what they saw from their balcony. I saw what I saw from the entire ship. :) They missed out on so many of the whale sightings that I got, because I was mobile and moving. Whereas they sat on their loungers and looked out. Enormous difference.

We have been on two Alaska cruises. We had balconies both times and we used them a great deal. However, there were a couple of times when we were out and about on the open decks where we saw a lot more.

On our first Alaska cruise, we had a wonderful view of Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier from our balcony on the Dolphin Deck of the Star Princess. The configuration of the decks are like a tiered wedding cake.

We were on the Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas on our second cruise. We were on the open deck when we were in the Hubbard Glacier area. This was because of the overhang from the deck above us blocked our view.

Fortunately for us, since both cruises were in mid-August, the weather was very pleasant and we spent most of our free time aboard on our balconies.

A balcony is not a "must" but it can provide a very nice experience.

From the ship. Sorry I wasn't clearer. They saw only what they saw from their balcony. I saw what I saw from the entire ship. :) They missed out on so many of the whale sightings that I got, because I was mobile and moving. Whereas they sat on their loungers and looked out. Enormous difference.

Got it, thanks. :) I was afraid that's what you meant, having just switched from an inside to a balcony for my Alaskan trip. ;)

Alaska is the only destination where we always have a balcony, except for the old Westerdam. She did not have any!!!

john

We used our balcony every day, arriving in port, leaving port. The morning we arrived in Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier we spent hours on our balcony. It was a very cool morning and it was so easy to step inside and warm up for a few minutes. We really enjoyed ours.

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Your own balcony is the only place you won't have to compete for railing space on deck or won't have to wait in line for a public restroom. That means you can pop back into your stateroom to get a sweater, grab a camera storage card, have a Room Service snack, or grab a soda from your mini-fridge (you can bring as much of your own soda as you wish) without losing your spot at the open deck railing.

Feel free to wander the ship but there is no place like your own balcony.

I have rarely seen the outside public viewing areas crowded. As alluded to people underdress so they get cold quickly and leave. A little preparedness goes a long way. And as Cow Princess I had a balcony once but spent way more time out front in the public areas where you can see far more.

We ALWAYS get a balcony when we cruise. Not only for the view but also because I'm on the claustrophobic side and I NEED the full window! :D

Your own balcony is the only place you won't have to compete for railing space on deck or won't have to wait in line for a public restroom. That means you can pop back into your stateroom to get a sweater, grab a camera storage card, have a Room Service snack, or grab a soda from your mini-fridge (you can bring as much of your own soda as you wish) without losing your spot at the open deck railing.

 

Feel free to wander the ship but there is no place like your own balcony.

Well said!

It is certainly not a must.

If we have it we use it, but the best views are from the open decks for sure. If on your balcony it's easy to pop back into your room to warm up when doing scenic cruising.

Also, since we are kinda lazy on a cruise, we like to just lie in bed or on our own couch in the middle of the afternoon and watch the scenery go by with the floor to ceiling window that a balcony will provide.;)

It is a nice luxury, so if you can afford it ....go for it. If you need/want to save your money for shore excursions that would be probably a better idea. You can enjoy your cruise views from any of the public rooms.

I'm glad to hear the positive comments about interior/oceanviews on Alaskan cruises. We are normally balcony cruisers, but decided that the price difference in Alaska just didn't justify one this time. If nothing else, it will force us to get our and mingle more.

We really enjoy having a balcony (and have done it all three times) but I certainly don't think it's a necessity. We found on HAL this year that most people wanted to be in the inside observation lounge in Glacier Bay and there was plenty of room on the outer decks for anyone who wanted to see.

While I like a balcony I do not see it as a must on an Alaska cruise. We hardly used it. Most of the time we were on deck or on the bow so we could see everything all around us. The balcony would have limited our view.

Thank you all for the responses and input!

Thank you all for the responses and input!

Looking forward to learning your decision and especially how you enjoyed Alaska.

We are going with an interior room to save the most $ possible. I noticed (and read on here) that the excursions are expensive and I want us to be able to do anything we want. We are usually pretty good at finding quiet spots on the public decks so hopefully that will work out. Oh and we are not the typical HAL customers seeing as how we are 31 & 32 years old but we are old souls and not into the party stuff. Thanks again!

We happily cruise in inside cabins. We don't spend much time in our room. You have to figure that all cruise ships sail at full capacity, so plenty of people go to Alaska in inside cabins, and it doesn't ruin their trips. This past summer we were celebrating my son's high school graduation, so I took my 3 kids, plus my son's best friend, so we had 4 teens/young adults. We got 3 inside cabins for the 6 of us. I couldn't have afforded it any other way. Those kids were barely in their rooms unless they were sleeping, and I never heard a single complaint about having inside rooms. They had a blast!

We are going with an interior room to save the most $ possible. I noticed (and read on here) that the excursions are expensive and I want us to be able to do anything we want. We are usually pretty good at finding quiet spots on the public decks so hopefully that will work out. Oh and we are not the typical HAL customers seeing as how we are 31 & 32 years old but we are old souls and not into the party stuff. Thanks again!

I think you'll be able to find plenty of good spots on public decks. In Glacier Bay the doors to the front decks are opened and there's plenty of room to roam around and get good photos. We were definitely some of the few young people on the HAL ship (30 and 36) this summer but we still had a great time.

We are looking to sail HAL for the first time May 2015 to Alaska. I've read some posts where people who had a balcony found themselves on the public decks more often. We would like to save $ but don't know when we will get back to Alaska again and want to have the best experience. Thoughts?

Getting a balcony for an Alaskan cruise is a splurge, but I totally felt it was worth the added cost. My husband is cheap and actually loves inside cabins but even he admitted by the second day that he was glad we spent the extra money to have a balcony.

Unlike a Caribbean cruise where you only see open water most of the time, on an Alaskan cruise you are almost always in site of land...and very scenic land at that! Having the balcony meant we could look out from minute our eyes opened at morning until we hit the bed at night. Actually I will confess I often got up in the middle of the night to look out...and in June it was still light!! And talk about surreal...being able to see waterfalls pass by as I was drying my hair and getting ready for dinner!!

I know many people argue that you see so much more by being out on deck, but I will disagree. Your eyes can only go one direction at a time so regardless of which direction you are looking, you will miss something on the other side of the ship! I'm convinced that by having our balcony we spent much, much more time watching for wildlife just because it was so much more comfortable to have our own space with chairs, a bathroom close by, the chance to step inside the cabin warm up, quick access to cameras, binoculars, etc. I can't even begin to tell you how many whales, sea otters, seals, etc. we saw from our balcony.

I'm not sure how HAL handles the commentary by the naturalist, but on Princess this was broadcast through one of the channels on the TV. We just kept our balcony door open and could follow along with what they were saying. The channel also showed the forward webcam so it was easy to see if something of interest was in front of the ship. If so, then we would head out to the forward viewing decks. As we sailed into Glacier Bay, all of the park ranger's commentary matched what we were seeing on the port side of the ship. (We chose a portside balcony for that reason.) Once the ship reached the glacier and turned around, then we went to the public decks.

I have tons of photos from our trip in my review and many were taken from our balcony. The link to the review is in my signature below.

I know having the balcony nearly doubled the cost of the cruise for us, but with three full days of cruising (sea day, Glacier Bay & College Fjords) I thought of the expense as just another "excursion cost."

I go to Alaska almost every year and have never had a balcony, half the time didn't even have a window. I spend a lot of time out on deck and moving around for different views. Aside from maybe an hour when you are actually in front on the glacier in Glacier Bay you won't have a problem finding a spot for views. Even there if you move away from topside forward there will be lots of room.

Personally Id rather have and inside cabin and do a B2B than spend probably the same amount on a balcony for one week. Or spend the extra money saved on excursions.

AryMay, your comments are exactly what we were hoping for. We have booked a port side balcony for July, 2015 (on the Pacific Princess) with the hopes that it would be just as you described. Money well spent in my opinion.

AryMay, Geeze you make some really great points! Thanks for the continued comments!