Balcony opinions - regular vs extended

[pearle1]

Hello - I am taking my 13 year old daughter on her first cruise - booked in a mid ship deck 6 on carnival pride - because of price drop - I ended up with $80 OBC . Would you forgo the OBC and change to extended balcony on deck 7 or 8, or stay on deck 6 and keep the OBC?? Any thoughts/opinions appreciated

[Tropical PJ]

I'm booked in an aft extended balcony in July on the Breeze.....I thinks its worth moving for the $80 difference plus your higher up.

Have a great cruise!!

[Not_Done_Living]

if its just the two of you -- the standard balcony would be fine -- lots of room -- the extended balcony would be better if there were 3 or more folks though -- it is HUGE!

[fishtaco]

Extended balconies are better for 2 as well:)

 

$80 is well worth the change but some dont like aft extended because of shade soot and noise issues. I had no such issues and loved my extended balcony:)

 

They seem quite "special" compared to standard balconies:)

[Ehpride]

The spirit class extended balconies are really nice. We upsold to one for cheap last cruise and it was worth it even with 2 of us. We had one on deck 7 because I didn't want to be underneath lido deck.

 

 

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[thundercrack]

There is a noticable difference for leg room. Although, if I had the choice I would choose the regular balcony. I have been in both and the reason I would choose regular is I didn't like the location of the extended balcony (indented part of ship). Even though the 1 1/2 feet of extra balcony space was nice, being in the "indented" part of the ship, you couldn't see to the front of the ship. Your view ended at the regular balconies. IMHO not worth it. I will stick to regular balconies.

[tphitman]

In my opinion, the aft extended balcony is the best of all the balconies. The view is awesome and you can lay the chairs out all the way. It's like your own Lido without the crowd or noise! I get a bucket of beer and sit back and chill!

 

 

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[riffatsea]

We also stay with the regular balconies mid ship because of the location. We like the view and the amount of sun/shade that we get there. I imagine it would be nice to lay out on a lounger but we manage to enjoy it just the same with our chairs. I imagine it would be different if we planned to lay out and tan in private but that is not important to us.

[Spincognito]

DW and I were in 7203, extended balcony on Pride this past April. Big difference and we loved it. Go for it just so you can experience it for yourself!

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

I would stay with a regular balcony. We have had both on the Pride and didn't like the location of the extendeds.

[Midwestgal]

When asking this type of question you need to think about what your needs are. Everyone's different , some like a no shade balcony , some do not. Some want to look out and see where their going and where they've been , others like the view of the aft. What do you like in a balcony?

 

We have always had a mid- ship balcony until our Breeze cruise when we had the extended aft . It was nice but for me I found I missed not seeing where the ship was going , It also had a little too much sun. I like looking off to both where we've been and where we're going. I must say the extra room was nice and I wouldn't not cruise in an aft again but I think my first choice would be to stick to mid- ship. No matter what cabin you take it's going to be nice!

[pearle1]

Good suggestions/opinions/advice and appreciate all the feedback!

 

That is a good point by the last poster midwestgal ~ in that everyone is different and you have to think about what you want in a balcony ~

For me, since I am traveling with my 13 year old, I am wanting to for sure pick mid ship verses aft. (just because of location in the ship) (even though someday I want to try aft)

 

I like it to be sunny, but am not there specifically to tan, just enjoy the nice weather and view.

 

I did wonder about the "indented" area in that it might alter the view (one open cabin as of yesterday 7206 is right at the end, so I wonder about that corner blocking the view) But, Spincognito said he really liked 7203 and I wonder if that is the last one on the other side??

 

Thanks so much to all that responded!

[tequilasunrise]

I've been avoiding balconies because smoking is allowed on them. One set of chain smokers on a surrounding balcony and my outdoor time is ruined. I wondered if this would be better on the extended aft due to larger size, and possible breeze from the wake? Anyone have any experience with this?

[FirstAlto]

Good suggestions/opinions/advice and appreciate all the feedback!

 

That is a good point by the last poster midwestgal ~ in that everyone is different and you have to think about what you want in a balcony ~

For me, since I am traveling with my 13 year old, I am wanting to for sure pick mid ship verses aft. (just because of location in the ship) (even though someday I want to try aft)

 

I like it to be sunny, but am not there specifically to tan, just enjoy the nice weather and view.

 

I did wonder about the "indented" area in that it might alter the view (one open cabin as of yesterday 7206 is right at the end, so I wonder about that corner blocking the view) But, Spincognito said he really liked 7203 and I wonder if that is the last one on the other side??

 

Thanks so much to all that responded!

 

7203 is in the middle of the starboard side extended balconies.

Cruise Deck Plans is your best friend ( leave out the spaces and add .com

Jane

[Not_Done_Living]

I've been avoiding balconies because smoking is allowed on them. One set of chain smokers on a surrounding balcony and my outdoor time is ruined. I wondered if this would be better on the extended aft due to larger size, and possible breeze from the wake? Anyone have any experience with this?

 

As an ex smoker I can confirm that either balcony is smokefree when traveling at 20 knots. It's only bad at port when docked.

 

 

 

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[marcimm]

Tequilasunrise, I've cruise in aft wraps and I can tell you that there is no breeze in the aft. There's plenty of breeze on the side balconies so the smoke will likely blow away but not so much in the aft. If smoke is an issue for you, my recommendation is to stay away from the aft-facing balconies.

[fishtaco]

I've been avoiding balconies because smoking is allowed on them. One set of chain smokers on a surrounding balcony and my outdoor time is ruined. I wondered if this would be better on the extended aft due to larger size, and possible breeze from the wake? Anyone have any experience with this?

 

 

I still smoked when I had my Aft and although I didnt notice my smoke and where it went I could certainly smell the cigar smoke from the next door wrap!

 

I now feel a bit bad because the people in the aft on the other side of ours only came out once and that was at sailaway. I am now sure it was the smoke that kept them inside? If they would have mentioned it I would have not smoked when they came out or at least extinguished any cigarette I was smoking. They may well have been surrounded by smokers though?

[rolaur]

Always have had balconies and on our last cruise we did extended on the Legend. Big difference as you can walk around other people. We actually had 3 extended cabins next to each other and opened the dividers. It was like a bowling alley for only 6 people total. Ask you cabin attendant and they can bring you a lounge chair. Perfect quiet place to relax and watch the sea go by. We are doing the same setup on the Pride this year. We love it!

[Artemus]

I just cruised on the Carnival Pride with an aft extended balcony and did not like it. I did not like the churning of the sea (the wake). I much prefer a side balcony and the calm sea. When we started heading for home (last two days) after the last port, there was a lot of vibration because (I assume) the ship was going faster. We were not able to sit outside in a light rain because there is only a short cover over the balcony because of the back of the ship being slanted. Also, on one of our Bahamas port visits, the balcony got really warm because of the lack of cover and we had to go inside.

[CARIBBEANBLUESKY]

Does anybody know if the extended balconies on the Pride have loungers? And if not, will the steward bring you one? A poster mentioned that they will bring one to you on the Legend, and I was wondering if it was the same on the Pride.