The lowdown on interior staterooms

[DeloreanGirl]

Hi all!

 

This will be our 6th cruise, 2nd with Princess, and first time ever booking an inside stateroom. I had a few questions for y'all if you dont mind:

 

1.) Do you get a pinch more dizzy being inside without the window or balcony to fixate your eyes on? DH and I don't really get motion sickness but we did get Mal de débarquement on our first cruise.

 

2.) Is it pitch black at all hours of the day? I'm thinking of bringing cool, flat, LED nightlights for the bathroom. Is it possible to fall asleep mid-day and not know what time it is when you wake up? I guess I should add a travel alarm clock to my list too.

 

3.) Are there any other trips or tricks that make staying in an interior stateroom easier? (Not that it wouldn't be easy....just sayin'...)

 

DH and I will be on the Caribbean Princess on Plaza Deck (haven't gotten our room number yet). It's a 12-day cruise so we have to train ourselves to go out and have fun most of the day and only use the room to sleep in -- unlike past cruises where we were spoiled by having the breeze and light from the balcony right there.

 

Thanks in advance! :o

[Been There, Planning That]

Dorleangirl,

 

We had an inside cabin on our Alaskan cruise on HAL. From these boards one gets the impression that no one would ever choose less than a balcony.

 

We brought a night light for the cabin and always bring an alarm clock whenever we travel. It is a bit disconcerting to enter a pitch black room in broad daylight, but a flick of the light solves that.

 

We'd paid for 7 inside cabins as a family treat and our children noted that the wondergrands had never slept so well.

 

It will be more difficult for you to adjust as you've experienced the good life of a balcony. We're usually window steerage, and quite content.

 

Ruth

[camofwilliamsburg]

Here is a good trick. Leave the TV on to the channel of the front of the ship. Turn the volume off..... when the sun rises there will be light on the TV which will be your "window" !

[princessmargaret]

I'm not fond of the TV trick. Tried it once, but it gave off too much light. One of the delights of an inside is the quiet and darkness. What I find indispensable is a travel clock that glows continuously. Not something you have to press a button to illuminate. When I wake up at 3am, just want to be reassured that I can roll over without even lifting my head. Other than that, we love insides.

[paul929207]

I have read that people in inside cabins bring a pictrure that looks like a porthole and has a 'view' of the sea.

[rkmw]

we cruise mainly inside because you are not in your cabin much only to sleep and shower so what we save goes towards another cruise....we find leaving the bathroom light on and enough light shines under the door so if you wake up during the night and need the loo you are not stumbling along in the dark...always bring a travel clock and even balconies are not supplied with a clock

[Sea and Me]

I would suggest bringing a flashlight. We bring one even if don't book an inside. We had inside cabins twice. I really didn't know what to expect but I liked the cabin. If you want more room you can always have twin beds it gives you more space to walk around. I always kept the bathroom light on and the door opened a little. This way you can see the light from the door in case you get up at night. Your really in the cabin to sleep and dress. If the itinerary is a lot of ports its the way to go!! We had our first inside on a 10 day Alaska and it was fine.

Enjoy your cruise.

Carol

[preschool teacher]

i love insides and have never found them too dark..there is a ton a light pouring in from under the cabin door at all times...just keep a watch next to your bed if you need to check the time..i sleep so good and love that you can take a nap during the day at have it almost dark(yes there is still light form under the door)

[Potstech]

Have heard this one done also. Bring along a timer that can turn a light on and off. Set it to turn the light on in daylight and off at dark. General time was suggested. That way if you wake up and the light is on you know it is daylight, if off night. That way you do not have a light on while trying to sleep. I do not like inside cabins but have heard this really helps. Some plug a night light into it to keep the light low keyed. Good luck.

[TorontoTL]

I love the inside cabins for the quiet and darkness, we almost always book an inside for those reasons. That being said, at all hours of the day and night, there is a bit of light coming in from under the door.

 

I just use my iPhone as an alarm clock and rely on it to wake us up on time each morning.

[mintjulip123]

We booked an inside on the Ruby. It was ok except it had bunkbeds above the twin beds. It made it seem a bit claustrophobic when we slept to have the bed above on each side of the room. It seemed like you would have to duck to keep from hitting your head. I agree that an inside is a good way to save money and if your itinerary is port intensive, you likely won't be in your cabin much anyway. Last cruise we were upgraded to a balcony and it was nice for the Transatlantic. Now we are waiting for a cabin assignment from a guarantee obstructed category. With any luck we will get a good upgrade this time too.

[ILVTX]

No one has answered your dizziness, (sea sickness?) question. The time that we had an inside cabin, someone I had met a couple of times on the cruise asked one morning, "How did you sleep with all the rolling last night?" I said, "What rolling?" It was so dark, I could have slept through anything!

[RickEk]

We bring along one of those flat cool nightlights and put it in the bathroom. More than enough light at night to get to the bathroom without having to flip on a room light. I'd also agree that there is a fair amount of light coming under the door to help out also...

 

As an aside, on our first cruise, we had an inside cabin and overslept the first day and ended up waking up at 10am!

[cruzinchris]

I love the inside cabins for the quiet and darkness, we almost always book an inside for those reasons. That being said, at all hours of the day and night, there is a bit of light coming in from under the door.

 

I just use my iPhone as an alarm clock and rely on it to wake us up on time each morning.

 

Hey, Benny! If you need a wake-up call, just let me know, and I'll do the honors :D You can always join Mike and I for a drink on our balcony ;)

Chris

[Jasperdo]

All 5 of my Princess cruises have been in an inside cabin. I think they're a great value, and are plenty big enough for our use. With the lights off, the cabins are quite dark, both day and night. Some light filters in from the door, but the way the beds are configured (queen), you really don't see it when lying in bed. We bring a travel alarm clock and set it every day, even on sea days when we're not in a hurry to get up. Otherwise we would probably sleep in way too late.

[pmd98052]

We're looking forward to trying an inside cabin. We've only cruised in a suite and balcony before. This time though (14 night Hawaii) we're trying inside simply because we found we never spent any time in the cabin even when in a suite - I think I will miss just stepping outside onto the balcony first thing in the morning for 5-10 mins but we'll see....

 

We're certainly saving lots of money this time! Like 8k versus a suite!

[dclark]

We booked an inside on the Ruby. It was ok except it had bunkbeds above the twin beds. It made it seem a bit claustrophobic when we slept to have the bed above on each side of the room. It seemed like you would have to duck to keep from hitting your head. I agree that an inside is a good way to save money and if your itinerary is port intensive, you likely won't be in your cabin much anyway. Last cruise we were upgraded to a balcony and it was nice for the Transatlantic. Now we are waiting for a cabin assignment from a guarantee obstructed category. With any luck we will get a good upgrade this time too.

 

My family of four was in an inside just like you describe, on the Ruby two weeks ago. My advice- stay out of the cabin!

Four people make it crowded, formal nights required some organization on who does what/who gets bathroom, etc.

We have done a lot of insides in the past, the money saved helps us cruise more.

[Umbarger]

We have done our quota of inside cabins. Anymore, we pay the $100pp more for the pleasure of a window.

[srphnx]

We love them all, insides to suites but we see plenty good about inside and never feel cheated when we do it.

 

There is light coming in around the door and for some reason not usually symmetrically. The doors are always racked a little one way or the other in their jamb.

 

Dizzyness not at all, sleep is great any time day or night and they feel more secure in really brutal seas when the primal part of your brain wants to feel removed from the water. A sliding glass door to the sea has it's downsides when the seas is feeling it's oats.:eek:

 

Suggestions are to bring a night light and a small fan for noise and air movement. Insides can use with a little air stirring.

 

 

Enjoy, you can cruise more if you cruise cheaper....

[chipmaster]

Did inside on a couple cruise, had a couple inside cabins and a balcony on our last Alaskan, to be honest if I had to do it again I'd have booked 5 inside instead of 3 inside and two outside, food was the same, service the same, views from the deck the same and far cheaper :D

 

We actually liked how it was dark, brought a nightlight and an alarm clock made for good sleeping, views 2' walk and brisk air for free!

 

Didn't at once feel sick, but not stormy at all so YMMV.

 

Number one thing making inside easy, the money we saved!

[vickie_bernie]

Hi all!

 

This will be our 6th cruise, 2nd with Princess, and first time ever booking an inside stateroom. I had a few questions for y'all if you dont mind:

 

1.) Do you get a pinch more dizzy being inside without the window or balcony to fixate your eyes on? DH and I don't really get motion sickness but we did get Mal de débarquement on our first cruise.

 

2.) Is it pitch black at all hours of the day? I'm thinking of bringing cool, flat, LED nightlights for the bathroom. Is it possible to fall asleep mid-day and not know what time it is when you wake up? I guess I should add a travel alarm clock to my list too.

 

3.) Are there any other trips or tricks that make staying in an interior stateroom easier? (Not that it wouldn't be easy....just sayin'...)

 

DH and I will be on the Caribbean Princess on Plaza Deck (haven't gotten our room number yet). It's a 12-day cruise so we have to train ourselves to go out and have fun most of the day and only use the room to sleep in -- unlike past cruises where we were spoiled by having the breeze and light from the balcony right there.

 

Thanks in advance! :o

 

1. i too suffer regularily with mal de debarquement. Note this is not the same as motion sickness, this happens once you are off the ship and you feel like the land is moving like a ship does. There seems to be varying reasons for this but one I have found that I feel is true is it is due to a swelling of the brain from the constant movement. I take two ibeprophen when I get off and then again whenever I feel the symptoms. Usually it is gone within a day or two. Note I have had this feeling no matter what cabin type I have been in. http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/central/mdd.html

 

This being said with regards to an inside... No I don't feel like i need to focus on any one thing. I like insides, they seem much quieter than balconies, i also like the three little shelves that inside cabins have and they are cozier. the price is usually right too. But I do miss the added space you get with a balcony and the space to go when one is watching tv or sleeping.

 

We do bring a nightlight for the bathroom as in the evening it can be very dark and hard to find our way around; however i find this in any cabin type. Balcony cabins can be very dark too if you close the blackout drapes. I do notice that in insides there is a bit of light that comes in from the bottom of the door. good some times, bad when I feel it is staring me right in the face when I want to sleep.

 

Re tips - yes I agree make sure you pick a cabin that does not have any upper berths and I can't tell you how many times I have hit my head, shoulder, back on that darn upper. The other tip is we move the small table into the closet area as there just doesn't seem to be any practical space for it and in the closet we use it to put stuff on and it is not in the way.

 

vickie

[claroquesi]

1) I agree, move the table into the closet.

2) Insides are great, they can be like cozy, cool, dark oasis from the Caribbean sun. Unfortunately, there are a few down-sides.

 

If you wake up in the night, like I do, you want a clock. 3am and 7am are indistinguishable.

 

If all you want to dry out are your bathing suits, hang them on the line in the shower and they should be good. Anything more is going to get musty before it gets dry without sunshine and fresh air. Just bring some quarters and use the dryer.

 

This is just our experience, but the major downside to insides are neighbors. Often parents get a balcony and stick the kiddies in an inside right across the hall...right next to you. This can be a nightmare especially after 1am when the teen program shuts down.

[Coral]

Here is a good trick. Leave the TV on to the channel of the front of the ship. Turn the volume off..... when the sun rises there will be light on the TV which will be your "window" !

 

I have also done this. It works really well.

 

I don't mind inside rooms. If the price is right, it is a great way for an inexpensive vacation.

[Iamcruzin]

We have only sailed in an inside once and a balcony once. All other times we booked an obstructed view. I had more complaints about the balcony than the inside. The balcony room never got cool enough and during the day we had to close the drapes to keep the room cool. This defeated the purpose of having a balcony. We sailed out of San Juan at 11:00pm and I thought it would be nice to attend sail away on the balcony because it was something we never did. We fell asleep waiting and missed sail away. We are not the type to sit in our room. We cruise to be social and to participate in the ships activities. I guess the best room for us is a midship obstructed view which allows for natural light. With that said I think I am going to book one of the Plaza insides for our next cruise. They seem like they are in good location to every venue we would be interested in during evening hours and they seem more private with fewer rooms in that area.

[framer]

I prefer the inside to a obstructed view on Emerald deck. On Emerald deck you get LOUD noises in the AM when they lower the tenders at 7AM. Insides are cooler & quite IMHO and you get two vacation for the price of one:D.

 

 

Look at it this way, $800 inside, $1600 balcony time 2 people = $1600 difference in price. In 7 days you spend 2 hours per day or 14 hours on the balcony. That just cost you more than $100 per hour for your enjoyment. For around $300 you could have both gotten Sanctuary.

 

My2Cents

 

framer