First Cruise - Scenic OV or Balcony?

[MNelson486]

We just got back from a 6K on the valor -- I had a chance to upgrade to a suite for only a couple of hundred dollars more for the 4 of us and I kept 9200. I was glad I did. There was only 1 of these rooms that slept 4 and the view was incredible. I have had a balcony as well, but the spaciousness of the room and the view won me over.

 

We are now on to land based vacations for a while (at least until Carnival returns to Europe), but I was really glad we had the 6 K view!

[sirenitas]

Thanks everyone for their opinions! I will have to make up my mind by tomorrow since that is the last day of the sale :eek: I am so torn and DH is no help at all!

 

 

CruisingwithAutism

This is our first cruise and DD also has autism, any tips? She is 11 and pretty high functioning except she is non verbal.

[JimAOk1945]

Another vote for a balcony. You will be glad you chose it!

[gelli8112]

We are scheduled on the Conquest in Oct and booked in a Scenic OV (not the grand though). Since the category only has 4 rooms (and is sold out) I am out of luck for OBC. But I have noticed that if I upgrade to a balcony I would actually get OBC (not a lot but some).

 

I am not really concerned about the OBC but I am second guessing myself - should I stick with the OV or upgrade to a balcony? Since it is our first cruise I am not sure how much time we would actually spend in the cabin/balcony.

 

So - unique view or balcony?

 

I all depends on what your goals on this cruise. If you plan to let your hair down, stay in the OV because you probably will not spend a lot of time in your cabin.

 

If you are in need of some rest and relaxation or just some quality alone time, go with the balcony. That why you can be sit outside and enjoy the fresh air without having to listen to the cheers from the hairy chest contest.

[bm6pm5]

Never had a balcony before but had the scenic OV on the Glory last cruise and loved it. Never have spent that much time in the room before just watching out the window. Beautiful view.

[CruisingwithAutism]

Thanks everyone for their opinions! I will have to make up my mind by tomorrow since that is the last day of the sale :eek: I am so torn and DH is no help at all!

 

 

 

 

 

CruisingwithAutism

 

This is our first cruise and DD also has autism, any tips? She is 11 and pretty high functioning except she is non verbal.

 

 

We made a few social stories with lots of pictures from the internet so our DS knew what to expect. We also purchase Faster to the Fun so we can avoid as many lines as possible. And once we board we can then go straight to our cabin to chill for a few minutes. I recommend F2F if it's available. Also, remember there is a security line and at check-in, a picture is taken of each guest for their sign and sail card. This was a major challenge to get our little guy to look at the camera and be still.

We also visit the kids club during open house so we can show him around. (Where the bathroom is, because he can't ask, etc..) We take a ton of pictures on his ipod/ipad during these first few hours on the ship, so later he can show us the picture if he's requesting something. (The hot tub was very popular! LOL) You can request an onboard cell phone from the kids club (I email the special needs dept before we cruise to give them his details and to request one). This way the club can call you,and you can also call them to check on her. We have always had great experiences with Carnival. They're very patient and allowed him to do other activities if he was over-stimulated. We take headphones for his ipod for dinner and deck parties. This is helpful when it's loud, he can try to tune it out.

The scenic oceanview room for us is brilliant because he loves to sit and look at the water but we don't have to be constantly supervising as we would on a balcony

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have other questions.

-Kelly

 

 

Feb '11 Carnival Elation

Nov '11 Carnival Fascination

Sept '12 Royal Monarch of the Seas

Nov '12 Royal Freedom of the Seas

Sept '13 Carnival Dream

Jan '14 Disney Dream

Mar '14 Disney Magic

Aug '14 Caribbean Princess

Oct '14 Carnival Dream

May '15 Carnival Sunshine

[Jeads323]

I have booked one of the infamous 6K rooms for my cruise on the valor next year! I'm so excited about it. I can imagine I'll get that upgrade call for the balcony but there's no way that I would take it. It's such a rare room. Through talking to a bunch of people on here, I feel lucky I have that room! Someone told me you have to experience the room at least once because it's amazing.

 

 

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[Cruisin 4 Ever]

Our first 5 cruises we had insides and oceanviews. We had the idea that we won't spend much time in our room anyway and we would rather put hte $$ toward an excursion. On the last 2 cruises we had balconies and very quickly discovered the only reason we hadn't been spending time in our room is because we didn't have a balcony. Having a balcony is paradise!

Having your tea/coffee on the balcony in the morning, enjoying the sun on your balcony in the afternoon, enjoying a drink after dinner on the balcony - all worth every penny to upgrade. I will never sail without a balcony again.

[Towel Critter]

Balcony. No contest.

[Towel Critter]

We made a few social stories with lots of pictures from the internet so our DS knew what to expect. We also purchase Faster to the Fun so we can avoid as many lines as possible. And once we board we can then go straight to our cabin to chill for a few minutes. I recommend F2F if it's available. Also, remember there is a security line and at check-in, a picture is taken of each guest for their sign and sail card. This was a major challenge to get our little guy to look at the camera and be still.

We also visit the kids club during open house so we can show him around. (Where the bathroom is, because he can't ask, etc..) We take a ton of pictures on his ipod/ipad during these first few hours on the ship, so later he can show us the picture if he's requesting something. (The hot tub was very popular! LOL) You can request an onboard cell phone from the kids club (I email the special needs dept before we cruise to give them his details and to request one). This way the club can call you,and you can also call them to check on her. We have always had great experiences with Carnival. They're very patient and allowed him to do other activities if he was over-stimulated. We take headphones for his ipod for dinner and deck parties. This is helpful when it's loud, he can try to tune it out.

The scenic oceanview room for us is brilliant because he loves to sit and look at the water but we don't have to be constantly supervising as we would on a balcony

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have other questions.

-Kelly

 

 

Feb '11 Carnival Elation

Nov '11 Carnival Fascination

Sept '12 Royal Monarch of the Seas

Nov '12 Royal Freedom of the Seas

Sept '13 Carnival Dream

Jan '14 Disney Dream

Mar '14 Disney Magic

Aug '14 Caribbean Princess

Oct '14 Carnival Dream

May '15 Carnival Sunshine

 

I'm certainly no expert on Autism, but if crowds, or over stimulation, are an issue, a balcony is a great quiet place to escape. I like a balcony for this very reason. Being a bit of an intovert, crowds and sensory overload can tire me out after a while. I LOVE sitting on my balcony at those times. It's like sitting on your front porch, only with the ocean and occasional flying fish. Love the flying fish. :-)

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

I have booked one of the infamous 6K rooms for my cruise on the valor next year! I'm so excited about it. I can imagine I'll get that upgrade call for the balcony but there's no way that I would take it. It's such a rare room. Through talking to a bunch of people on here, I feel lucky I have that room! Someone told me you have to experience the room at least once because it's amazing.

 

 

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What is the infamous 6K room?

[Jeads323]

 

Two large windows, much larger than most OV rooms.

 

 

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[Jeads323]

There's only 2 of the 6K rooms per ship I think. And they are only on a couple of different ships, not all.

 

The others are 6J and look like this. I think there are about 4 of these per ship. Again not all ships have these rooms...

 

 

 

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[abisha]

The Scenic OV's look awesome! Especially the ones on the ends with the double window. I know there's no balcony on the ones in the middle with the single window, but I thought I saw that the ones on the ends with double windows have a balcony that is on the side (not front facing) and remember someone posting it. The balcony was large and had large wall of plexi glass to block the wind.

 

Imagine seeing everything the officers on the bridge can see!

[cacroozr]

We had a 6J room on the Sunshine and it was incredible. There were four of us and there was plenty of room for all. Never felt cramped at all. The window was amazing. I would just sit on the floor and watch the view as we sailed. One day, we all lay on the bed and watched a thunderstorm in the distance -- the lightning was awesome! My understanding is these rooms are bigger than a balcony room (on this ship anyways). I would likely choose this room over a balcony if available. Also, the room was quiet -- nobody went that direction unless they had a cabin there. I didn't really feel unusual movement. I'm not prone to motion sickness though so it didn't bother me.

 

Let me add that it's still possible to get a price drop with this room, even if you can't do a mock booking to get price. For us, when the balcony room (a higher category) was cheaper than our room, I submitted a price form and was able to get a credit. When we called, once it worked and the second price drop we didn't get anywhere, but submitting the online price form worked like a charm.

[joeyancho]

Cruising without a balcony is simply uncivilized.

[sirenitas]

We made a few social stories with lots of pictures from the internet so our DS knew what to expect. We also purchase Faster to the Fun so we can avoid as many lines as possible. And once we board we can then go straight to our cabin to chill for a few minutes. I recommend F2F if it's available. Also, remember there is a security line and at check-in, a picture is taken of each guest for their sign and sail card. This was a major challenge to get our little guy to look at the camera and be still.

We also visit the kids club during open house so we can show him around. (Where the bathroom is, because he can't ask, etc..) We take a ton of pictures on his ipod/ipad during these first few hours on the ship, so later he can show us the picture if he's requesting something. (The hot tub was very popular! LOL) You can request an onboard cell phone from the kids club (I email the special needs dept before we cruise to give them his details and to request one). This way the club can call you,and you can also call them to check on her. We have always had great experiences with Carnival. They're very patient and allowed him to do other activities if he was over-stimulated. We take headphones for his ipod for dinner and deck parties. This is helpful when it's loud, he can try to tune it out.

The scenic oceanview room for us is brilliant because he loves to sit and look at the water but we don't have to be constantly supervising as we would on a balcony

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have other questions.

-Kelly

 

 

Feb '11 Carnival Elation

Nov '11 Carnival Fascination

Sept '12 Royal Monarch of the Seas

Nov '12 Royal Freedom of the Seas

Sept '13 Carnival Dream

Jan '14 Disney Dream

Mar '14 Disney Magic

Aug '14 Caribbean Princess

Oct '14 Carnival Dream

May '15 Carnival Sunshine

Thanks! I did get FttF and we will take her iPad. I was looking at the kids club and think we might try it a couple of times.

[near the beach]

Scenic ocean views are great. They are also had to book since there are so few of them. Also since there are so few of them there won’t be any price drops for on board credit.

[Badfinger]

We are scheduled on the Conquest in Oct and booked in a Scenic OV (not the grand though). Since the category only has 4 rooms (and is sold out) I am out of luck for OBC. But I have noticed that if I upgrade to a balcony I would actually get OBC (not a lot but some).

 

I am not really concerned about the OBC but I am second guessing myself - should I stick with the OV or upgrade to a balcony? Since it is our first cruise I am not sure how much time we would actually spend in the cabin/balcony.

 

So - unique view or balcony?

 

No brainer. Balcony.

[cacroozr]

Scenic ocean views are great. They are also had to book since there are so few of them. Also since there are so few of them there won’t be any price drops for on board credit.

 

I wouldn't say that's totally true. We had a scenic ocean view and got two price drops. You just have to watch prices and be persistent. The first time, we were able to call and get an adjustment and the second one, we were denied on the phone, but submitted the form and that was approved. In total, we got $700 in price drops on our cabin!

[PCHENG]

Being your first cruise, get a balcony near midship to reduce motion and probability of motion sickness. Scenic OV can be quite a roller coaster ride during heavy seas due to its position high up and front of ship.

Edited August 7, 2014 by PCHENG