Balcony on TransAtlantic ?

[anandaindonesia]

How important is balcony on a TA cruise?

Is it necessary due to long sea days? Or mostly unused due to the weather?

 

Please share your experience.

Thank you.

[JCCRYPTO]

We have always had a balcony. On most of our TAs we were able to use it. Liked to sit out and read. There have been times when the weather was a bit chillyand we stayed inside. On all...5 or 6... that we took we never had rough weather

Edited May 6, 2013 by JCCRYPTO

[Clarea]

Even though you may not sit out on a balcony for long periods of time, you've got to consider the large amount of natural light that the balcony affords.

[MADflyer]

Liberty took the northern route this year and I ended up being happy I was stuck with my forward outside with huge round port-hole window. I used the few hundred I ended up saving to book another cruise in May with the Next Cruise office onboard.

 

I made use of outdoor promenade on deck 4, heliport that I could see from my window and deck 12(13) when I felt need to be outside. Never crowded as most felt it was too cold on deck, but perfect for me.

 

I would not have been happy with a normal outside on deck 2 or 3 though.

[BillB48]

How important is a balcony? Really depends on who you ask..... to me not so important.... to the DW mucho important! Seriously, as Bob pointed out, even if you don't actually use the the balcony to sit out on, it is great for the abundance of natural light.

[windjamming]

On a TA you will be at sea for 5 days or so. Are you ok with having to go to a public area to get some fresh air? To some it might be ok. For us, we like being able to have a private little area to enjoy the outside while making the long crossing.

[supergran]

We just arrived home from the Adventure of the seas transatlantic from San Juan. Thanks to the upgrade fairy we had a balcony on deck seven on the port side. We sat on the balcony every day up until the day before Southampton. There were people around the outdoor pool but that was too cold for us and the balcony was more sheltered. We usually book an inside but were spoilt this cruise.

[Markanddonna]

Things to consider that may or may not be an issue:

 

- price- worth a few hundred, maybe but not 1K more

- time of year and route- an early spring or Nov TA or one that goes more northerly will be cooler

- smoking- some lines allow passengers to smoke on the balconies making a balcony essential for a smoker, maybe not so good for your neighbors adjacent to your room.

 

Everything is relative depending on your circumstances. I found that I could use the balcony on only about a third of the days on my Nov. TA. First, you have less light in Nov. and it is dark by 6PM. We didn't use it on port days since we were so busy. I don't enjoy the mist/spray that we often experienced, so didn't use the balcony on most of the sea days. We did use the balcony more once we sailed nearer the Caribbean.

 

We booked an obstructed view (upgrade from an inside) for our next TA which will take us on the more northerly route. I would rather spend the money on excursions and traveling within Europe.

[canrubu]

I was asking myself that same question earlier this month. We always book balcony usually an aft and the last couple of cruises a JS. I was booked on the Navigator in a balcony. The inside guarantee price dropped to $399. It was a savings of over $1200. With the savings, I'm was able to pay for our airfare from Chicago to Barcelona and hotel. We normally do spend quite a bit of time in our cabin. This trip I will be using more of the whole ship. Whatever you decide happy sailing.

[mjldvlks]

We had a D balcony on Independence for our TA. We greatly enjoyed it.

[mek]

Definitely yes! We had 7 straight days at sea on our TA last year with beautiful weather. Our balcony was on the hump and very spacious - we enjoyed it very much.[/i]

[LisaAtlCruiser]

We just arrived home from the Adventure of the seas transatlantic from San Juan. Thanks to the upgrade fairy we had a balcony on deck seven on the port side. We sat on the balcony every day up until the day before Southampton. There were people around the outdoor pool but that was too cold for us and the balcony was more sheltered. We usually book an inside but were spoilt this cruise.

 

I am on the Port side going from Ft. Lauderdale to Southampton next May. Did you find you had a lack of sun on the port side? Or was it okay? I understand the Port side gets less sun, but I am more interested in seeing a sunset than a sunrise....given I plan to sleep until noon everyday.

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

We are not usually balcony people but on our transatlantics we have and really enjoyed having a aft balcony was sheltered from the wind and never found the soot to be any problem. We were able to sit or lounge for ours on end.

 

Happy sailing

 

Brian J

[Cigar King]

One more vote for the balcony. It's a great place to enjoy a meal, and we like having the door open at night to listen to the waves.

[Granny DI]

We were on a 24 day NYC to North Cape rt cruise. We were in a balcony. Next time we'll just book an ocean view. The wind, rain and fog were constant. The cruise was during June and July.

[retird]

We had a balcony on our TA in April. We love balconies for the extra light and the sound of the ocean wiht the door open at night. Getting to eat or just sit out there on nice days is just an added bonus.

[anandaindonesia]

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.

 

In past cruises we loved our balcony. I was thinking to opt for just oceanview for TA so we can save some money. Your posts convince me that balcony is the only way to cruise!

 

Ok. Ok. Let's have a balcony then. :)

[truffles2]

We always have a balcony and always use it a lot. Even if we didn't use it, I would want it for the additional light and sense of spaciousness.

[critterchick]

On a TA you will be at sea for 5 days or so. Are you ok with having to go to a public area to get some fresh air? To some it might be ok. For us, we like being able to have a private little area to enjoy the outside while making the long crossing.

 

We always have a balcony and always use it a lot. Even if we didn't use it, I would want it for the additional light and sense of spaciousness.

 

I agree with you both. We had corner aft cabins for both our rainy Norway cruise and our storm-dodging TA. Even though we didn't sit on either very often, we would bundle up and go out fot see the views, and it really made the cabins seem larger. We spent a lot of time in our cabins, and it was well worth the extra fare to us.

[supergran]

I am on the Port side going from Ft. Lauderdale to Southampton next May. Did you find you had a lack of sun on the port side? Or was it okay? I understand the Port side gets less sun, but I am more interested in seeing a sunset than a sunrise....given I plan to sleep until noon everyday.

 

We were out and about in the daytime but when back in the cabin from say 6pm onwards we would sit out until it was time to get ready for dinner, and some evenings we had a late night cuppa at 11pm or later out there. Watching the sunset was lovely. We only had two chairs and a table so we couldn't sunbathe but it was quite sunny and we were so pleased with the upgrade.

[OCruisers]

Even if you don't plan to use the balcony often, it's nice to be able to walk outside from your own cabin anytime you wish! :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[UNV-IT!!!]

I booked one for my upcoming oasis TA cruise.

[mjldvlks]

We were out and about in the daytime but when back in the cabin from say 6pm onwards we would sit out until it was time to get ready for dinner, and some evenings we had a late night cuppa at 11pm or later out there. Watching the sunset was lovely. We only had two chairs and a table so we couldn't sunbathe but it was quite sunny and we were so pleased with the upgrade.

 

We were on the port side of Independence traveling from Ft Lauderdale to Southampton in April 2009. Here is a midday picture from our balcony on deck 9 [9656] during one of the many sea days as we were headed in a more or less easterly direction from the vicinity of Bermuda to the Azores. You can see the angle of the sun by the ship's shadow on the water. We loved the cabin and balcony, but we are not sun bathers either. Our overall route was Ft Lauderdale - the Azores - Madeira - Vigo, Spain - Southampton. I don't recall ever feeling uncomfortable on the balcony in my shirtsleeves.

 

[PSCruiser]

Don't think its any different from any other cruise. If you're balcony people you'll use it a lot, otherwise it might not be worth the money.

I didn't think I was a balcony person at all, but if you qualify for a C&A balcony discount, its hard to resist.

[Kellie Poodle]

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.

 

In past cruises we loved our balcony. I was thinking to opt for just oceanview for TA so we can save some money. Your posts convince me that balcony is the only way to cruise!

 

Ok. Ok. Let's have a balcony then. :)

 

A balcony is NOT the only way to cruise unless you have an unlimited pocketbook.

 

When deciding if you need a balcony:

 

1) Look at the number of port days vs. sea days. If it is a port-intensive cruise, you will be so busy sightseeing you won't miss the balcony. Save the extra money to pay for your excursions.

 

2) Get some information on the weather. If the weather is going to be cold and windy (like we had on our Cape Horn cruise) Do you want to pay for a balcony you can't use?

 

3) What is the location of the balcony cabin? If all you can afford is way forward and the seas are known to be choppy on that itinerary, a mid-ship, lower deck ocean view will be infinitely more comfortable.

 

 

I will opt for a balcony on a Transatlantic cruise every time, but on a port-intensive cruise like in the Med, money is much better spent on excursions.