Aft balcony vs ocean view... worth the cost?

Hello! I'm looking to book on the fascination and can't decide if I should book my first ever aft balcony or save $470pp and just book an ocean view and save the $$ -opinions?

Thanks

It depends on what you enjoy....I have had both and can say for me personally, the balcony experience wears off about about 10 mins. I go with the OV as i do not like interiors. Some people really feel like the balcony is an integral part of their cruise vacation. If you never had a balcony, i would recommend trying it at least once so you know if its something you really enjoy or if its something you really dont care about

Hello! I'm looking to book on the fascination and can't decide if I should book my first ever aft balcony or save $470pp and just book an ocean view and save the $$ -opinions?

 

Thanks

JMO - to spend another $1,000 on the Fascination, or book a regular balcony on another line, is a no brainer. However, that's not the question the OP is asking. But in general, I prefer a balcony over an oceanview on most ships.

We booked an aft balcony for our first cruise, and have booked an aft balcony for a future cruise. We like them!

But! I will say that we used ours mostly for morning coffee (which is admittedly a 90-min process, minimum) and evening relaxation at end of the night, maybe another 90 min. Was that 3 hours per day worth the extra cost? For us, yes - and we intend to increase our utility of the aft balcony on that future cruise. For others, perhaps not.

For the cruise we are taking shortly, we booked interiors, because I was booking (and paying for) two rooms for three people - I couldn't justify to myself the cost of getting an aft balcony or two!

So a whole lotta YMMV, IMHO, etc.

I need a balcony, I spend a lot of time there and it really adds to my cruise. I do not like aft balconies though because I hate the sun. I need a nice cover over my balcony and many aft balconies lack good cover.

We did an aft once and it gets really hot with no wind at all. It is a lot different than a side of the ship balcony.

FWIW the aft facing cabins on Upper and Empress are about 2ft longer than the other OV or Balcony cabins.

In ships that haven’t been retrofitted with balconies those are our favorite cabins. I’d keep the money in my wallet.

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To me, the aft balcony is the absolute best. Watching the wake is so peaceful.

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We started with an OV the first time, from then on it was balconies only! This last time we had our first aft wrap balcony and it was so very windy, many times, but we had quite a few cloudy and rainy times.

So huge I wish we had friends and family with us, because it is big for two, although it rained much, I would do it again....the cabin was so much bigger! Went out there every time I had a chance. :cool:

I've had several aft balconies. The last cruise I was on I had a wrap around. Total waste of money at this stage of my cruising life because we hardly used it.

Fascination is such an old ship, I'd personally skip it and save the money.

My next cruise (Sensation - same class of ship as Fascination) I'm going with a porthole. Didn't even consider a balcony. I just don't utilize the balconies like I should. I think I'm over them and the cost of having one. I'm rarely in my room except to sleep.

Good luck on your decision.

We had an aft balcony on the Freedom some years ago. For us, it was a waste of money since we barely went out there.

We make good use of our balcony. We like sitting outside with our drinks, scenery is gorgeous. We also use it to dry our water shoes, towels and swimsuits. So we make good use out of ours.

While we've never done an aft, a balcony is a nice upgrade over an OV. But one always has to measure the relative value compared to the price increase. At $470pp, there's no way I'd consider it. Wouldn't even give it a second thought. But that's me. YMMV.

We tried aft balcony, didn't like always seeing behind. Wake view nice for a bit, but quickly over it. You do feel more vibration in an aft balcony also. Much prefer a side balcony. Between aft or OV - I would opt for OV and less cost.

I had an aft on Glory - the view was great, but there were times of the day when it was too sunny/hot and couldn't be used and it was a long walk to the cabin. I'm not sure I would spend the extra to do one again.

On the Fascination, you'd be sailing a very port-intensive itinerary. During the day, you'll be doing activities off the ship and in port. By the evening, you're showering/napping/getting ready for dinner. For $470 p/p, would I take a thousand dollar hit for an aft?........Nope.

:cool:Love everything about the aft balcony! Had one on the Liberty, Magic, plus an aft wrap on the Valor - next is the Fascination. It may be smaller but still worth it to me!;)

Hello! I'm looking to book on the fascination and can't decide if I should book my first ever aft balcony or save $470pp and just book an ocean view and save the $$ -opinions?

 

Thanks

is it worth the cost to you is the only question?

On the Fascination, you'd be sailing a very port-intensive itinerary. During the day, you'll be doing activities off the ship and in port. By the evening, you're showering/napping/getting ready for dinner. For $470 p/p, would I take a thousand dollar hit for an aft?........Nope.

I agree. We had the option of an aft balcony for our upcoming cruise on the Fascination, but decided it wasn't worth it. We will be in port every day but one-- just didn't think we would spend much time out there. We:D used that money to pay for the Cheers! package instead. :tropical-drink::tropical-drink:

I agree. We had the option of an aft balcony for our upcoming cruise on the Fascination, but decided it wasn't worth it. We will be in port every day but one-- just didn't think we would spend much time out there. We:D used that money to pay for the Cheers! package instead. :tropical-drink::tropical-drink:

It's not always about the money, we always have balconies and Cheers

Well, us a balcony is a must. And contrary to what others have offered up, for us it is even more important when you have 7 days of usage because your mornings and evenings can be spent relaxing out there. Compare that to cruising from say Baltimore where thei first 1.5 and last 1.5 days would be way to cold to be outside in say March.

With this class of ship, there is only a chair in the OV, but the balcony added a couch, if memory serves. So for us, it gives us a place to stretch out other then the bed.

It's not always about the money, we always have balconies and Cheers

In this post, it is about money. OP asked if they should get a balcony or save the money.

Sorry, I was just simply stating what we chose to do with the money we thought about using on a balcony. Not all of us have the budget to do both "always".

:rolleyes:

Thanks everyone for your opinions! I have to say I agree with everyone both for and against getting it... But I felt the pressure of time and limited availability and decided to book it. I think the price jump is sickening but I'm worried I'll be very disappointed if we don't have any sort of balcony and the slight upcharge from standard to aft is worth it to me. Thanks again!!