Balcony worth it on Mediterranean Medley Itinerary?

[flourpot]

I searched through the boards to try to find an answer to this, but didn't find anything so I thought I would post my question here.

 

I am looking at going on the Mediterranean Medley cruise in August of 2013 and am wondering if booking a balcony cabin is worth it on this itinerary. Also, if it is worth it to get the balcony, which side of the ship is best for seeing the sites?

 

The itinerary for the Mediterranean Medley cruise is as follows:

 

Southampton (London), England;

At Sea;

At Sea;

At Sea;

Barcelona, Spain;

Monte Carlo, Monaco;

Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy;

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy;

Naples, Italy (for Capri and Pompeii),

Corsica (Ajaccio), France;

At Sea;

Gibraltar, Great Britain;

At Sea;

At Sea;

Southampton (London), England.

 

Input from anyone who has been on this itinerary is very much appreciated. Thanks!

[beg3yrs]

Consider the view you want. The port side will have views of the coasts rather than the starboard side. If you pick port, on your return through the Strait of Gibraltar, you'll see Morocco instead of the "Rock" which you've already seen from your balcony on the first leg of the cruise. The caveat here is that often the ship is so far off the coast you won't see it anyway (not true for the Strait of Gibraltar as it is so narrow).

 

Now consider the sun. On the southbound leg you get morning sun on the port side and shade in the afternoon, vice-versa for the northbound leg. In the Med eastbound, you'll have more shade on the port side than starboard and vice-versa on your westbound return. It is summer so things could get very warm in the sun.

 

These are the two main things I weigh when I decide on port or starboard. You get to decide which is more important to you! Hope this helps.

[CruisinChris]

Worth and value are very subjective. What would make the balcony worth the small expense to you? Being able to sit in private on your balcony while in port or at sea and enjoy the view and fresh air? The extra space? A quiet place to unwind outdoors without crowds? The extra light in your room? Something else? Only you know.

 

I personally cant imagine cruising anywhere without at least a balcony. Without the fresh air, I feel claustrophobic, I enjoy being outdoors, I like my privacy. I enjoy watching the goings on in port.

 

 

In terms of side of ship, take a look at a map. Which side is land facing most often? Chances are you wont be sailing close enough to see land most of the time and how the ship docks varies port to port, cruise to cruise. You're totally taking your chances.

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy.

[-Lew-]

Personally I wouldn't sail without a balcony. Having said that, most Med cruises are very port intensive leaving little time to enjoy a balcony. However, you're going to have six sea days during which you'll be able to really enjoy a balcony.

 

The six sea days plus the opportunity to enjoy arrivals and sail aways from your balcony would lead me to recommend a balcony cabin for this cruise. We enjoy a glass of wine on our balcony on every sail away and quite often we'll order room service or bring food back from HC or Caribe Cafe and enjoy dining there.

 

Lew

[icat2000]

I had a similar dilemma on my Trans. Originally, I booked a balcony. Then I got rid of it for inside cabin. Factors that made me change my mind was the 3K savings and the incinerate is very port intensive at the beginning. Do a pros and cons list.

[Chloe1500]

Flourpot, the port side view alone when docking in Monte Carlo may be worth the extra $ for a balcony :)

[icat2000]

I had a similar dilemma on my Trans. Originally, I booked a balcony. Then I got rid of it for inside cabin. Factors that made me change my mind was the 3K savings and the incinerate is very port intensive at the beginning. Do a pros and cons list.

Eek. Spelling on mobile terrible. Should have read itinerary.

[Gordo]

We debated this same question for our cruise next month. I kept looking at the dollar savings and gave serious consideration to booming a less expensive cabin. Especially since we had six port days and one sea day.

 

In the end we decided to go with a cabin with a balcony. We love to be on our balcony for sail away and for a pre-dinner drink each night.

[flourpot]

Thanks all! It's sounding like a port side balcony is the way to go. I ask because I had a caribe balcony in the British Isles in July and was disappointed at the lack of scenery. I very rarely used my balcony and thought that I should have booked an inside room and saved the money. However, I have loved having a balcony when there is something to see (Alaska, Norway, etc.).

[LindaM]

We have been on 4 Med cruises without a balcony. I can't say that I missed having one. However, we ARE having one for our Med. cruise in Sept. We booked it because we wanted to experience a balcony in the Med. at least once in our lives! If you don't plan on going back someday, you better book the balcony!

[FritzG]

Even on the most port intensive cruises or TA's we use our balcony daily. We enjoy eating breakfast and seeing the arrival in port. We have snacks/drinks watching the sail away. Even on the coldest day on our TA's I've sat on the balcony even if I was wrapped in a blanket. Being able to step outside any time we wish is worth the price to us.

[Mississippian]

I searched through the boards to try to find an answer to this, but didn't find anything so I thought I would post my question here.

 

I am looking at going on the Mediterranean Medley cruise in August of 2013 and am wondering if booking a balcony cabin is worth it on this itinerary. Also, if it is worth it to get the balcony, which side of the ship is best for seeing the sites?

 

The itinerary for the Mediterranean Medley cruise is as follows:

 

Southampton (London), England;

At Sea;

At Sea;

At Sea;

Barcelona, Spain;

Monte Carlo, Monaco;

Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy;

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy;

Naples, Italy (for Capri and Pompeii),

Corsica (Ajaccio), France;

At Sea;

Gibraltar, Great Britain;

At Sea;

At Sea;

Southampton (London), England.

 

Input from anyone who has been on this itinerary is very much appreciated. Thanks!

I recently returned from a Grand Med cruise. We enjoyed our balcony, but after all is said and done my wife and I agreed it was not worth the expense. And my Dad picked up the tab.

 

Next Princess cruise I think I will be likely to get an inside cabin on either the Plaza (5) or Lido (14) deck. I think having a well located inside cabin is just as good as having a poorly located balcony cabin.

[Matcodixon]

Since we will NEVER book another inside cabin, (once was more then enough) :eek: A Balcony is only slightly more than an Ocean view..

 

So... We don't leave home without one! :cool:

 

We use it every day and night.

[Pushka]

We loved our balcony on our recent Med cruise. Beautifully warm, and a glass of wine and some nibbles at sail away. Perfect. As to whether port or starboard, sometimes we had sun and it was hot and sometimes we didn't have sun so it was shady. It all depended on the angle the ship took as it left port. And we also berthed starboard in some ports.

[OldSeaDog]

Flourpot, the port side view alone when docking in Monte Carlo may be worth the extra $ for a balcony :)

 

We're just home from a Grand Med, and I have to disagree with you. In Monte Carlo, we docked starboard side towards the city, so it's apparently not the same situation every time.

 

Also, our balcony was a complete waste--it was far, far too hot to use the balcony. We would've been better off to have booked an oceanview cabin and booked another cruise with the savings. YMMV and all that.

[BratDet]

Old Sea Dog and we had a Caribe (the larger half covered and uncovered) lcony.

We could have saved 800$ by booking an inside for this cruise,

which would have paid for a lot of excursions. ;)

 

I decided to go balcony cause

it was our FIRST time EVER in Europe,

we love to sit on a balcony,

it was TWELVE days of cruising for the 800$ not a 7 day,

and we are not sure when we would return.

 

We did use it enough to feel it was worth it. Often I woke super early to have my coffee from IC and would relax and enjoy it on the balcony as not to disturb my husband.

Heck, had to wash my sanadals twice and a balcony assured they dried before the next day.

 

BUT>>>>>>>>>>I'll gladly give up a balcony to an inside to save $$ and get back on the ship next year!

 

Bernadette

[ckornuta]

We did the balcony for our med cruise and it was very nice but the next time we will do inside to save money. The reason being alot of ports are just industrial areas with not much to see and you had to be up so early for excursions that we were getting ready as we pulled into the ports. Just something to keep in mind.

[SailinC2C]

I would definitely say a balcony. Especially when it will be warm enough to sit outside and get away from other people. You have a lot of sea days to enjoy it. We always have room service breakfast and sit out there as well as cocktail hour. When we were in Alaska we sat out from 6AM to 9AM having breakfast, coffee and watching the scenery in Tracy Arm.. Fabulous.

 

That being said, we have booked an inside for January doing Cape Horn. I know it will be cold but I really am close to changing my mind because of the scenery. So, it's up in the air....

[lissyc1]

Hi

We did this cruise last year with a balcony. I wasn't too fussed about balcony but mum wanted one so we did and Definatly used it loads especially on sea days and was very handy for my mum is getting on in years and likes the peace a balcony provides away from crowded areas when she is feeling tired/ not to good. The cruise itself was amazing quite port intensive but fabulous!! I left mum on ship a couple of ports as she wanted to rest but secretly think she was too busy people watching into the ports from the balcony!!!!!!

 

 

What ever you choose you will love the cruise!

[chipmaster]

Balcony is YMM, most European cruises are all about the ports. If you can afford everything you want to do in port than springing on the baclony is at least not a waste. If you compromise on ports to have a "view" than you are throwing away good money chasing the wrong experience.

[ttnc4me]

For those recommending inside, do you mean inside inside or inside oceanview? I too am trying to decide.

[Mississippian]

For those recommending inside, do you mean inside inside or inside oceanview? I too am trying to decide.

I have had both an inside and an oceanview obstructed, which technically is not an "inside." No difference really. Having the daylight and the partial view is nice, but it's still essentially an inside cabin. Unless you have a real claustrophobia problem, there's nothing wrong with an inside cabin except I hate the small size. But the balcony cabins aren't that big, either.

 

I think it's all a matter of how much extra money you have to pay for how much extra space. Sometimes the extra space is a good deal, sometimes it isn't.

[JimmyVWine]

Since we will NEVER book another inside cabin, (once was more then enough) :eek: A Balcony is only slightly more than an Ocean view..

 

So... We don't leave home without one! :cool:

 

We use it every day and night.

 

This is our thought process as well. Inside is not an option, and a balcony is only a small bump up from an oceanview. However, if the opportunity arose for a WS for the same price as a Mini, I might try one.