How to convince someone a balcony is not necessary

[pat55]

Lido balcony on the dream today

Once u go lido u can't go back

[freeholdfriends]

I, too, will only sail with a balcony. My first 6 cruises were --1 inside (absolutely hated it) and 5 OV. I used to believe that I would never use the balcony enough to warrant the price but boy was I wrong. We went on a Princess cruise about 5 years ago with a large group (35). My DH and I booked our usual OV. However, my two girlfriends splurged for a balcony. I would go and sit with them every afternoon (while DH napped) and I was hooked! Now, I won't go without a balcony. It's true what most people have already stated--it depends on your use. We have coffee every morning, wine before dinner and then we just sit and enjoy our privacy before bed. So, for us it is absolutely worth the extra $$.

[meatloafsfan]

Maybe some feedback from the OP??

 

I have responded a couple of times.

 

I think the issue here is that it seems that so many people are saying that they won't cruise without a balcony and then there are so many other people saying it's a waste of money if you hardly use it.

 

I don't usually use a balcony (I would rather have the 7 day cruise in an oceanview) but if my cousin's husband is set on a balcony (and won't cruise without it) then I guess it will be two balcony cabins on the shorter cruise.

 

I was hoping for a persuasive argument that I hadn't thought of but now, I'm more befuddled because although I don't consider a balcony a necessity it seems that there are a huge number of people who do. Maybe I'm the one that needs to concede.

 

And waiting longer for the cruise would really miss the point of taking the cruise because it's for their 5th wedding anniversary next August so the date is kind of set.

[Ryancoke]

I haven't read all the posts, only the first few and the OP's responses. Is it essential that you have adjoining cabins? Could you be across the hall in an inside and go on a cruise of the duration they can afford and then you use any savings for part of another cruise? And I'm curious: why does it appear essential they celebrate their 5th anniversary with you? Not that it's wrong but I haven't heard of anyone considering that the deal maker.

[klmorg]

Had a hard time convincing my DW to try a balcony. The conclusion we came to was that in warmer climates a balcony is preferred . In Alaska an inside or Ocean View would be better then a balcony.

 

 

A bit off-topic, but this is sooooo untrue! A balcony cruising beautiful Alaska is a MUST. ;)

[golfb4cruzing]

Sorry it's balcony or stay home for us.

[ohiowilly]

I'd certainly go with the 7-day itinerary as opposed to the 5-day. Since your cousin and husband are celebrating their 5 year anniversary, what about putting the anniversary couple in a balcony, while you and the kids share a quad interior across the hall? By your comments, it doesn't seem like you spend a lot of time in your cabin, so, to me, this seem like an option that could work for all of you. Your cousin and husband will get the benefit of a balcony for their anniversary, while you should be able to save some $ with the quad interior. Booking this far out, I'd think that cabin inventory should be available. I know I'm not the first to mention this scenario, nut to me, it would be a good compromise. I hope it works out for you, regardless of your cabin choice!

[RuthlessBoss]

I'd certainly go with the 7-day itinerary as opposed to the 5-day. Since your cousin and husband are celebrating their 5 year anniversary, what about putting the anniversary couple in a balcony, while you and the kids share a quad interior across the hall? By your comments, it doesn't seem like you spend a lot of time in your cabin, so, to me, this seem like an option that could work for all of you. Your cousin and husband will get the benefit of a balcony for their anniversary, while you should be able to save some $ with the quad interior. Booking this far out, I'd think that cabin inventory should be available. I know I'm not the first to mention this scenario, nut to me, it would be a good compromise. I hope it works out for you, regardless of your cabin choice!

But if she took a quad, she's tied to the cabin.

[Bases5]

One thing to consider is longer cruise means extra parking fees and extra tips. also your onboard expense will go up (most likely) . So when budgeting you must also conceder the extra cost.

Just saying

 

 

As far as rooms go we really don't care. We love balcony's but that's not a cruise breaker.

 

Really No balcony no Cruise. really? What else No flights unless first class. No car riding unless Mercedes' or better.

I wish i could be like you;)

[momof4boys]

One thing to consider is longer cruise means extra parking fees and extra tips. also your onboard expense will go up (most likely) . So when budgeting you must also conceder the extra cost.

Just saying

 

 

As far as rooms go we really don't care. We love balcony's but that's not a cruise breaker.

 

Really No balcony no Cruise. really? What else No flights unless first class. No car riding unless Mercedes' or better.

I wish i could be like you;)

 

 

Yes, I do believe lots of people consider a balcony to be part of their cruise experience. To each their own....not sure why anyone needs to comment on someone's personal likes and dislikes.

[Room Service!]

Yes, I do believe lots of people consider a balcony to be part of their cruise experience. To each their own....not sure why anyone needs to comment on someone's personal likes and dislikes.

So true!

 

Bases5 - Keep wishing. Dreams can come true. ;)

[Bases5]

Yes, I do believe lots of people consider a balcony to be part of their cruise experience. To each their own....not sure why anyone needs to comment on someone's personal likes and dislikes.

 

Your right, I am so sorry. I hope you can forgive me, for my improper comment.

 

I have cruised back when there wasn't even a option of a balcony. I guess its sad that the cruise experience has gone down so far that a balcony is a make or break cruise experience.

[CruzCrazy]

Balcony vs. inside: We've never been in an inside, but we just booked an inside for our upcoming cruise. We thought we'd never take an inside, but this is an "extra" cruise for us, and we decided we could do it out of this year's vacation budget if we took an inside. Will we hate it? I hope not. We decided on a lido deck interior cabin, feeling that we'd only be steps away from being on deck anyway.

 

We have some friends who seemed to be cruising all the time. Knowing that their situation had to be somewhat similar to ours (as much as you can try to figure that kind of thing out--the guy and DH work for the same company), we told them how jealous we were, and they told us their secret--they take an inside cabin every time and suggested that we give it a try. We looked at them like they were crazy. No balcony? How could we do that? Wouldn't we miss morning coffee on our private balcony haven? Wouldn't we miss late nights out on the balcony feeling like we're the only 2 people on the ship? Wouldn't we miss standing on the balcony in our PJs as we pulled into port?

 

Time will tell. If we don't mind the inside, great....we will be taking cruises more often. If we hate it, then I guess it's back to a balcony. Or, we may alternate balconies and an inside....

 

Our last 3 cruises were 8-day southern Caribbean cruises, and just this past March we had a huge "bowling alley" balcony on the Miracle. We really did enjoy it, BUT we did the math, pure and simple, and we decided that this once we will give an inside a try. When I wake up each morning (x 7) and have to walk out on lido to have my coffee, I'm just going to calculate how many dollars I'm saving, and hopefully I won't feel so bad about it.

 

Truth is, it's very difficult to talk others into anything. People are just like that. To tell the truth, I'm not even giving these friends of ours the credit for convincing us that a balcony is not a necessity. They planted the seed, yes. IMO, that's about all you can do too, unless you have a frank discussion about how much you're willing to chip in and stick to it and let the chips fall where they may. Good luck!

[tcw92]

we got a balcony on our first cruise and then a balcony when we took our kids on their first cruise....this cruise we got interior (trying to save $$):D. You don't spend a whole lot of time in your room and you can get the same scenery up on deck that you could out your balcony. I would get the interior for a couple more days on a cruise.

Good Luck and don't let it ruin your trip, which ever way you decide to go.

[RuthlessBoss]

Yes, I do believe lots of people consider a balcony to be part of their cruise experience. To each their own....not sure why anyone needs to comment on someone's personal likes and dislikes.

This has been ongoing throughout the thread:confused: The OP wanted suggestions how to talk a cousin out of a balcony, not what posters preferred.:)

[keith75]

I have responded a couple of times.

 

I think the issue here is that it seems that so many people are saying that they won't cruise without a balcony and then there are so many other people saying it's a waste of money if you hardly use it.

 

I don't usually use a balcony (I would rather have the 7 day cruise in an oceanview) but if my cousin's husband is set on a balcony (and won't cruise without it) then I guess it will be two balcony cabins on the shorter cruise.

 

I was hoping for a persuasive argument that I hadn't thought of but now, I'm more befuddled because although I don't consider a balcony a necessity it seems that there are a huge number of people who do. Maybe I'm the one that needs to concede.

 

And waiting longer for the cruise would really miss the point of taking the cruise because it's for their 5th wedding anniversary next August so the date is kind of set.

 

I agree with some of the other posters here. It seems that it doesn't much matter what type cabin you stay in, so if it was me I would book one bacony and a interior on the same floor.

[LHP]

We rarely get a balcony...

 

however, with a one year old, a balcony would be a must. Someone is going to have to be in that cabin when the 1 year old is napping and with a balcony, that individual can still enjoy the cruise.

 

IF I am remembering correctly, some ships have OVs or interiors that are connected with a balcony....that would be a perfect solution.

[coevan]

bases5 "I guess its sad that the cruise experience has gone down so far that a balcony is a make or break cruise experience."

 

What is sad, still don't understand your thoughts. In what way has the cruise experience gone down? What does flying first class or owning a Mercedes have anything to do with having a balcony cabin? To some, a few hundred bucks extra for the pleasures of a balcony is not the end of the world. If you never have had coffee, juices and pastries delivered by room service and enjoyed eating in the fresh sea air on your balcony, we think it is very special.

[askimdog]

We cruise with our 7 year old and a balcony is never considered. A few days a week (Sea Days) we have her nap and I enjoy it too. Port days we are running off the ship asap and hiking, visiting schools, wandering town exploring etc.. So her 8:30/9 PM bedtime is also mine. Port running poops me out as much as her.

 

The wife, she can run out for a late show, she has energy left usually. Not I. If I stay up in bed, it's with a book which is just as enjoyable in the room as anywhere else.

[BeagleOne]

I don't usually use a balcony (I would rather have the 7 day cruise in an oceanview) but if my cousin's husband is set on a balcony (and won't cruise without it) then I guess it will be two balcony cabins on the shorter cruise.

 

Maybe I'm the one that needs to concede.

 

And waiting longer for the cruise would really miss the point of taking the cruise because it's for their 5th wedding anniversary next August so the date is kind of set.

 

Could the additional $$$ required for a balcony cabin be persuasive enough? How about the fact that if he's never cruised before (at least, it sounds that way from your posts), he really has no basis for insisting on what type of cabin he has apart from what his granddad has told him? And why does he insist on TWO balconies if he's only going to be occupying one cabin?

 

The kids are really too young to be on a balcony by themselves, so that means either he, his wife, or you will have to be out there with them. In the first case, he's still only occupying one balcony. In the latter two, someone else is watching the kids, and he's still only occupying one balcony. Really, the kids don't need a balcony in their cabin; they can use their parents' balcony under their parents' supervision. And having two balcony cabins will just mean extra work for you if you're sharing with them, since you'll have to monitor the balcony door.

 

And you definitely should NOT concede on what kind of cabin YOU want to occupy...and pay for!

 

When I crossed with my friend and her toddler, I actually ended up paying MORE to share an OV cabin with them than I would have paid for a single inside cabin. But she insisted she could not bear to be away from her son, leaving him with his father, and grandparents two blocks away, and couldn't afford the cabin unless I shared with them. Stupidly, I let her insistence overrule what *I* wanted, and it was the wrong decision for me.

 

Why not just book the cruise YOU want and tell them they are welcome to join you? Maybe I'm misinterpreting your posts, but it sounds to me like he is expecting you to do all of the booking work, while attempting to dictate to you what you should be doing.

 

You don't need to go over the actual anniversary, either; it can still be considered a celebratory cruise whenever you go. And what will their expectations be for babysitting? The youngest won't be able to go to kids' clubs...will the parents be expecting you to babysit while they have some couple time? Is that okay with you? If so, great! But if not, or it looks like you will end up doing more childcare than you want because it's their anniversary cruise...well...and whatever you decide about helping with the child care, I'd make the parameters VERY clear, so you don't end up doing more babysitting than you want to, because he "insists" on it.

[scgamecock]

I don't understand why people are so hung up on balconies unless they are miserable smoker addicts. I can afford to cruise much more often with the $ I save booking inside cabins.

 

Now if money were not an issue... of course I would have a balcony.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Room Service!]

We don't smoke.

[Bases5]

I get you don't get where I'm coming from, That's cool.

I did apologize for my statement.

 

My post was to the OP to consider the extra cost of adding extra day's .

[GROUCHPUSS]

show them a 4j best of both worlds priced as a inside but has a window and steps away from a huge semi private balcony with great views.

We stopped getting a balcony cabins about 5 cruises ago and started getting 4j's or port holes (I don't know if I could do a reg inside I want some light). We did this so we could do one or two extra cruises a year. It saves a lot of money.

[JLC@SD]

I have responded a couple of times.

 

I think the issue here is that it seems that so many people are saying that they won't cruise without a balcony and then there are so many other people saying it's a waste of money if you hardly use it.

 

I don't usually use a balcony (I would rather have the 7 day cruise in an oceanview) but if my cousin's husband is set on a balcony (and won't cruise without it) then I guess it will be two balcony cabins on the shorter cruise.

 

I was hoping for a persuasive argument that I hadn't thought of but now, I'm more befuddled because although I don't consider a balcony a necessity it seems that there are a huge number of people who do. Maybe I'm the one that needs to concede.

 

And waiting longer for the cruise would really miss the point of taking the cruise because it's for their 5th wedding anniversary next August so the date is kind of set.

It seems you and your cousin have different reasons to cruise.

 

It also appears that few are concerned with what we consider the critical criteria ......which ports do you want to see. I would pick the 7 day based on ports to be visited.