Is a balcony worth the extra money?

[Jolimont]

We are thinking of cruising from Norfolk to the Bahamas on the Glory, never been on a cruise before is the balcony worth 700.00 more?

 

Thanks

Not to me. Balconies are loud (the ocean is loud!), neighbors smoke, and personally I'd rather be on the lido deck to enjoy the outside. So it's inside for us, we sleep better there.

[suezyq50]

I don't think it is worth it. DH says yes it is. I do not enjoy having breakfast in my lap, coffee on a balcony is no big deal. Sunsets, we are usually at dinner. Evenings, we are ready for bed. Forget about unwinding on the balcony. Not a big deal to me.

[luv2cruise1994]

This is our 3rd cruise. First was balcony,next oceanview. This time were going back 2 balcony. Wouldn't have it any other way. But 700.00 is a big difference in that case probably would settle 4 the lesser. Next trip if u like cruising try balcony. Most likely you'll be like me BALCONY OR NOTHING!!!!

[suzantn]

I absolutely think that a balcony is worth the extra money. we love it. We enjoy going back to our room early before dinner and having a drink on the balcony before getting ready for dinner. I also love first thing in the morning sitting on the balcony a bit before starting my day. It is a great way to get the day started. We have a balcony on our next cruise which is on the Ecstasy leaving NO on Oct 1, 2011. I never have anything less than an ocean view but when we have the extra $$$$$ we always opt for the balcony,

 

Happy Cruising!

[drrich]

that is such a difficult question to answer, because everyone's finances are different.I would absolutely splurge on the balcony. It makes a world of difference; and for reference, when we stay in hotels, we never spend extra for oceanfront or oceanview rooms. I know you are not supposed to, but we sleep with the door to the baclony opened-- there is nothing like the sound of waves to lul you to sleep. Just my two cents.

[kroozers]

Not to me. Balconies are loud (the ocean is loud!), neighbors smoke, and personally I'd rather be on the lido deck to enjoy the outside. So it's inside for us, we sleep better there.

 

This perfectly illustrates my earlier post on how subjective this topic is. The ocean is a little loud...but I actually bought a CD that has ocean surf sounds (sounds just like my balcony). I play it at home when I go to bed - reminds me of sleeping with my balcony door open. The point is that there is no wrong answer - but I wouldn't cruise without a balcony.

[deadmoney]

I just did a quick look at the price difference for ov on the Riveria and a balcony on the panorama for our cruise next may, it was $280

No brainer for me.:D

[elcuchio24]

$700 is a pretty big swing in price between OV and Balcony. It usually isn't nearly that much. We always do balconies, it's a big part of our draw to a cruise. Only exception is if we are doing a short cruise on a small ship, then an OV usually is ok for a few nights.

[JPH814]

$700 is a pretty big swing in price between OV and Balcony. It usually isn't nearly that much. We always do balconies, it's a big part of our draw to a cruise. Only exception is if we are doing a short cruise on a small ship, then an OV usually is ok for a few nights.

 

 

Interesting....I do the opposite....when we go on a shorter cruise (4 or 5 days) we typically will upgrade to a nice room - even a suite. it is a good chance to experience the upscale amenities at a low investment. For example, we did a Queens Grill suite on the Queen Mary 2 for a 4 night cruise. Not sure I would have sprung for it on a 7 day cruise or longer, but it was a great experience

[oakleys]

Yes, we wouldnt go if we were not having one.

[indiaksue]

Our last cruise was our 10th and we had our first balcony. I will never go back to anything less. For starters my husband sleeps later than me usually, so I sneak out to the balcony and read for awhile until he gets up. It is a peaceful and wonderful way to wake up in the morning. Then we go out again together at the end of the evening to wind down before bed. Those new cruise habits are going to be a part of every cruise from now on.:)

[debster11]

We're sailing the western Caribbean on the Dream in late July....we just booked it a week ago and the price for a balcony was only $20 more per person than the ocean view cabins....and interior cabins for 3 weren't even available! So I guess it was an easier choice for us. I don't think i'd pay $700 more....too many other things I could do with that money on the cruise. :)

 

When we booked, and even still, the balcony was $10.00 less pp then the oceanview. It was a no brainer, however, if I had to pay that much of a difference, I would go with the oceanview. Is it $700 total or pp they would be paying? Even total like one person said, there are a lot of nice excursions you could take with that.

 

I mean I LOVE the balcony and it would be hard to go back to something else but if it were that much more I would not pay it. But that's just me.

[arpie05]

I have done all three rooms and honestly - I don't mind the Interior. The Window was nice for the bigger room. Balcony was nice but was it worth it TO ME to pay twice as much for a balcony vs interior. No.

 

$700 is more than I am paying for my upcoming 5 day Interior room for 2 people or 4 day Exterior room for 2 people. It is almost what i paid last year for 2 people interior on the Dream (Just in case anyone was going to comment about Ship Class).

 

Yes, it is nice to go out on your balcony in your robe but that's what an hour a day? You can usually find a quiet area and if you have clothes on under your robe, who cares if you go up on deck in your robe. ;) (You might not even care if you have clothes on underneath)

 

As you can see from everyones input, everyone has a different thought. Some else posted they thought a waste for Alaska. To me, next Alaska cruise - it is a must.

 

Depends on YOUR budget.

[miyasmom]

The first time I cruised was many years ago. I went with a large group and 4 of us were single and we went as cheap as possible. The room was tiny, tiny on Royal Carribean and an inner. The next cruise I went with a fellow nurse. We were young and single and wanted to save money for fun so we booked an inner cabin. On check-in we found out that we had been upgraded to an ocean view and the cabin was huge compared to the one I had experienced on Royal, plus Carnival was fun for 2 single girls. The "port hole" was a very large window and had a ledge you could sit on. The next 8 cruises I always booked an ocean view. Many of the ships I had been on didn't even have balconies. Then in '97 I took a cruise with my husband (married in '94) and his 2 daughters who were 19 & 17 at the time. They had a cabin across the hall from us. In 2008 we took another family vacation but this time we splurged and booked 3 balconied cabins. My eldest daughter and her husband in 1 cabin, hubby and I in the next which adjoined the next so our then 9 year old daughter could come into our room without having to go out in the hall. She shared this cabin with her other sister who was 28 years old. We had the partitions taken down so our balcony was 3 cabins long and our little one could go to her other sister and brother in law's room by using the balcony and not having to go out into the hall.

My daughter and I are leaving in 32 days with my best friend and her daughter to cruise to Canada out of New York. We are sharing a cabin and yes we have a balcony. It will be our friend's first cruise and we go on a "girl's vacation" every summer. My husband is fine with our traveling and knows I love to travel, something I've been blessed to do all my life. He would rather go to our house in Cape Cod, but although I enjoy that, it's not a vacation but rather house relocation! The friends we are traveling with even did a "return to the homeland" tour to China (where my daughter was adopted from) with us 5 years ago because my husband had no desire to go back and couldn't take 26 days off from work. My friend is a school teacher and I'm a school nurse so we both have summers off. Her ex-husband was okay with his daughter going.

Anyway, sorry so long an answer but I can honestly say I wouldn't pay $700 extra for the balcony but go for the ocean view instead. The window is large and I would never go back to an inner cabin. Save the money and do some great excursions. I'm hoping our friends love cruising as much as my daughter and I do because we're hoping to go back to China in 2013 and want to cruise on the Yangtze River as part of the trip!

Have a great trip! Mary

[frito58]

Well I can sum it up this way for us . My wife is as tight as they come and she doesn't even ask me what the other rooms cost , we compare other cruises itinerarys and whatever but always a balcony room for us .

[Host Faith]

We are thinking of cruising from Norfolk to the Bahamas on the Glory, never been on a cruise before is the balcony worth 700.00 more?

 

Thanks

 

Just sailed on the Glory with an inside for the first time, on the same sailing. We normally book balconies, and have always at least had a window. I didn't mind saving the money and going with the inside for such a short cruise (plus it was a girls' trip). Definitely going with a balcony for cruises of 7 nights or longer.

[ilovetexas]

I just got off the Legend and had an extended balcony. I went out there about 5 times (under 5 min each) and two of those were to watch people running to catch the ship in port. It's nice to have but I really don't care about it; however, in Alaska I would consider it mandatory!

 

Also, if smoke bothers you, you absolutely run the risk of a problem. I've NEVER had a balcony that someone wasn't smoking around me and it was pretty irritating this past cruise.

 

Regardless, I wouldn't pay that much for a balcony. Especially not for your first cruise. Oh, crap, look at the time. Gotta go pack, I set sail in two days!

[cruisin1982]

700 more than what I have not seen the prices to be that much different. When we went on our cruise the OV was 39 pp less and I agree with sitting outside your cabin is soooo relaxing.

 

Mike

[Nanaimobound]

There are two camps always in this topic.

 

We are in the Yes Yes Yes camp.

it puts the cherry on top of the great big sunday that is the cruise!

That is a big reason we are taking more Carnival cruises now, we can afford the balcony. Ahh the fresh air, the private place to sit and enjoy the sea, the sound of the waves and the chance to see dolphins and fish. the natural light in the room and the bigger feel to the cabin. We are addicted to the balcony!

[sgk2000]

We almost always do balcony staterooms but have never paid $700 more for it.

[yesterdaystime]

Absolutely! Worth every penny of it - on the Conquest and Spirit class ships; on the Fantasy class ships the balconies are too expensive. We had a balcony on our first cruise and to be honest, it added so much more to the cruise experience.

[BusyFLmom]

This post convinced me we had to have a balcony. But the upgrade was less than $200 :)

[Mobius360]

I had a balcony on my last cruise for the first time and my wife, friends and I all really enjoyed having it. I don't think we would cruise a 7+ day again without a balcony. We enjoyed sitting out there eating, playing cards, listening to music, taking pictures etc.

We even got to see the crew get into a nice screaming match when they couldn't get the tender boat hooked back up to the ship due to choppy water, it was pretty funny.

 

That said it really depends on what you find to be a good time. A lot of people are never in their rooms (reminds me of a trip or two to Vegas) so saving the cash for other purposes makes sense. 700 is a good chunk of change that I am sure could be used for lots of fun. I think either way it's a great time.

[Fishon28]

Our upcoming cruise will be our first with a balcony on the Freedom. We have done an interior and window and actually prefer the interior over window. The only reason we booked a balcony is because this is our DS's first cruise and wanted him to experience close to the best we can afford.

[sandij]

In a word---YES!!!!!!