Balcony Lovers question

We are planning our next cruise and feel like we just can't do without a balcony. Buit, I started thinking this morning about how much we actually use it.

Here is a question for all the balcony folks, 'How much time do you actually spend on your balcony?'

We are planning our next cruise and feel like we just can't do without a balcony. Buit, I started thinking this morning about how much we actually use it.

Here is a question for all the balcony folks, 'How much time do you actually spend on your balcony?'

Enough to justify it in my opinion. I might consider a cruise with out it, but its where I spend time when my wife gets ready for dinner. I love being on my balcony sailing into ports, especially St Thomas. I wake up before my wife and I'll use the morning time before she wakes up on the balcony. On my last Allure cruise I watched a rain storm on a sea day. Being that you can see more miles, it was enjoyable. I also take binoculars. Being on a high deck on Freedom headed for Labadee, looking at Cuba's barrier islands on its north shore was very interesting.

What cruise are you considering next? Its just my wife and I. Perhaps with a bigger family we might use it less.

A few hours in the morning before heading to breakfast, or sometimes breakfast on the balcony, then again in the late afternoon before dinner--reading a book, maybe having a pre-dinner cocktail, and--then again in the late evening. Our first cruise was an inside cabin--our second, a balcony, and we've never had anything less since then!

I think that the more seas you have, the more of a necessity a balcony is. I don't like crowds, so I don't like to sit up by the pool on sea days -- too many people. Plus, it's VERY windy on the top decks.

Also, when my husband starts to snore, I can just go sleep out on the balcony!

We love having a balcony, having coffee in the mornings,and seeing the islands as the ship approaches, reading, before getting ready for dinner then sitting out there at night before bed. It is just very relaxing for us and it makes our cruise a little more special.:)

We definitely use it enough to justify the cost. My very 1st cruise we did an OV, then our next cruise, we did the balcony. I will never cruise without a balcony now. We spend many mornings out there eating breakfast and drinking our mimosas. We usually talk about what we are going to do that day. If we're pulling into port, we get some of the best views and pictures. We also get to watch (when docked port side), all the late-comers running back to the ship in the afternoons.:D

In the evenings, hubby hangs out there having a drink while I'm getting ready for dinner. We will also spend a hourr or so just sitting out there at night after a busy day, gazing up at the stars. It helps us relax some before bedtime.

Oh, and did I mention getting the most amazing pictures of sunrises (in my jammies) and sunsets?:)

I could never go back to cruising with out a balcony we love it. I love hearing the ocean at night before I go to sleep and awaking up in the morning and seeing the blue sky and the peace and quiet on the balcony while I enjoy my Bloody Mary's :D

We definitely use it enough to justify the cost. My very 1st cruise we did an OV, then our next cruise, we did the balcony. I will never cruise without a balcony now. We spend many mornings out there eating breakfast and drinking our mimosas. We usually talk about what we are going to do that day. If we're pulling into port, we get some of the best views and pictures. We also get to watch (when docked port side), all the late-comers running back to the ship in the afternoons.:D

 

In the evenings, hubby hangs out there having a drink while I'm getting ready for dinner. We will also spend a hourr or so just sitting out there at night after a busy day, gazing up at the stars. It helps us relax some before bedtime.

 

Oh, and did I mention getting the most amazing pictures of sunrises (in my jammies) and sunsets?:)

Okay, I'm back on track with the balcony! Catching the sunrise in jammies did it! :D I do love breakfast on the balcony in pj's. Maybe we'll spend more time on the balcony this time, make bettter use of it so that I feel like I can justify it a bit more.

We are planning our next cruise and feel like we just can't do without a balcony. Buit, I started thinking this morning about how much we actually use it.

Here is a question for all the balcony folks, 'How much time do you actually spend on your balcony?'

You just never know what you might see.

Here is what we encountered on our way back from Cozumel to Ft. Lauderdale in the middle of the sea:

I know you shouldn't :o, but we like to sleep with the door open.

Same here...

I love reading on my balcony, and hanging out for sail-away. We will do breakfast on our balcony as well. It's nice to have my own little spot, especially if the pool decks are loud and overcrowded. It's also a great place to take the requisite "sunset over the ocean" pictures that we always seem to add to our albums :D.

Enough to justify it in my opinion.

That sums it up very nicely for us, too.

We have spend a LOT of time out there on a few cruises- so we never really know if it will be a little or a whole lot.

On our most recent cruise, we were out there for hours drining Champagne and eating strawberries while we were heading out of the Chesapeke. And then a few days later, as we arrived in Boston- long breakfast out there.

Other cruises- may be just for a short breakfast or sight seeing.

Of course, "value" is releative to each person.

... I don't like crowds, so I don't like to sit up by the pool on sea days -- too many people. Plus, it's VERY windy on the top decks.

I'm with you. I usually can't stand crowds. I like sitting out on my balcony durring the day much more than sitting out on the top deck, but I also don't avoid the top deck completely and do spend some time up there. I am also not a big fan of heat (probably weird for a cruiser to say) so being able to go back and forth from balcony to cabin is more to my liking. We also like to do a late-afternoon happy hour on our balcony with some beer or wine and some snacks. I will also usually sit out there late at night when my fiancee is sleeping but I don't feel like wondering around the ship or if she gets sea sick (which happens) and I want to be close by not trapped inside.

I have stayed in an inside cabin before by myself on a family trip years ago. It was a miserable experience for me. Not being able to have any sort of natural light in the room really threw me off. I lost basically all concept of time. It just wasn't an enjoyable experience for me.

My upcoming Allure cruise will be my first balcony and I'm scared I'll get hooked for future cruises for the same reasons mentioned. I love reading and during my last cruise on the Explorer, I'd sit on deck 4 and it was nice, but to have my own private space would be amazing. Plus, I plan to take early morning pictures and order breakfast at least twice while in there.

I'm already looking at balcony pricing for my Jewel sailing next Sept. My Enchantment cruise is with family, so an inside it will be.

I don't know that I can put a measure on how much we use it, I can only say that with the exception of our ealiest crusies on Sovereign and Majesty, and twice in a family stateroom, we always have one and would miss it if it wasn't there. Just our preference.

My upcoming Allure cruise will be my first balcony and I'm scared I'll get hooked for future cruises for the same reasons mentioned. I love reading and during my last cruise on the Explorer, I'd sit on deck 4 and it was nice, but to have my own private space would be amazing. Plus, I plan to take early morning pictures and order breakfast at least twice while in there.

 

I'm already looking at balcony pricing for my Jewel sailing next Sept. My Enchantment cruise is with family, so an inside it will be.

Don't be afraid. ;) But, I have to tell you that we were like an earlier poster. Our first cruise was and 'oceanview' (porthole on the Majesty), our next cruise was a balcony and we've booked all balconies since then.

We spend at least 3 - 4 hours on the balcony. We also like to sleep with the balcony door partially open (not recommend ) so that we get fresh air , the sound and smell of the fresh sea air.

We have had balconies on most cruises we have taken. The exception was the Mercury but we opted for a family room and this was prior to them adding the balconies to that class. I personally will not cruise without one now. Like others posting here, I do not like being amongst large crowds and enjoy the peace and quiet of a balcony. We leave the door open on most nights while we sleep for the comforting background noise.

With the exception of one cruise, we have had rear facing balconies on the back of the ship. If you do a little research online you will find these balconies are often larger than normal but the cruise lines will not tell you that. Our largest was on our Hawaii cruise. The room was approx 220 sq ft and the balcony was approx 210 sq ft. It was awesome. Our upcoming cruise is the same situation. The balcony is over twice the size as the same category one deck below for the same price. :)

For DH and I, balcony is a must for cruises longer than 4 nights since he smokes (much to my dismay) and we love sitting out on the balcony in the morning and also late at night. Like what other posters mentioned, it is a plus to be able to get away from all the crowds. On our recent Majesty cruise (7/30) we had an superior OV and we both thought it would of been nice to have a balcony but it still doesn't justify spending over $1000 per person for a balcony suite when we paid $1000 for both in an OV.

We almost always have a balcony, including on our upcoming sailing. We have had an oceanview on a quick 3-night cruise and would do one again, though not first choice. As others, we enjoy breakfast on the balcony, some afternoon reading time, cocktail later in the day and maybe a sunset. It is a nice feature, but I wouldn't avoid a cruise just because I didn't get a balcony.

I can not even imagine cruising without a balcony. Funny thing was we said that we knew there would be no going back once we had our first one. We spend a lot of time there. I love reading out there, taking pics of port arrivals and sunrises in my pj's. No to mention how good breakfast tastes out there before having to get dressed for excursions.

I can not even imagine cruising without a balcony. Funny thing was we said that we knew there would be no going back once we had our first one. We spend a lot of time there. I love reading out there' date=' taking pics of port arrivals and sunrises in my pj's. No to mention how good breakfast tastes out there before having to get dressed for excursions.[/quote']

 

Love all those things... Although, my reading on the balcony often leads to a nap!

We spent a lot of time on our balcony. We had breakfast on the balcony 7 out of 10 mornings. We'd have a snack or drink out there while getting ready for dinner. We sat out there every night before going to bed....would stop by a bar and get a nightcap to enjoy on the balcony. Whomever would wake up first went and sat on the balcony. It was so peaceful out there all alone. I LOVE the balcony.

I forgot about watching sailing into and out of port. We had friends up for appetizers and cocktails for one of the sail aways. Loved it!

We usually book a balcony and prefer a JS on longer cruises. However, on one cruise we decided to try an inside cabin. We booked a stateroom on deck 4 of the Serenade. We spent very little time in our stateroom. Our itinerary kept us in warm waters with lovely warm weather so we spent much of our time outside on the promenade deck. The door to the outside deck was just steps away from our cabin. Few passengers were on this deck, so at times we had our own private deck space. While I prefer balconies, this particular cruise was a phenomenal good buy at 13 days/<$70/day/person.

We too would not cruise without a balcony, for all the reasons everyone else has already mentioned.

My favorite is coffee in the morning ... very early. The quiet. The sunrise. It's a great way to start the day.