Back to an inside cabin.....?

[NoName]

Many years ago, on my first ever cruise, I sailed in an inside cabin. The next cruise was a ocean view...followed by balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, mini-suite, suite, balcony. (you get the idea!)

 

Currently, we are booked for a 12 day in Feb and planning a family cruise in April. Both balconies. Now with this super 30 dollar a day sale.....I have an inside cabin on hold for Nov 1st....I don't want to spend much on this "bonus" vacation and the price point that works is the inside cabin, guarantee at that.

 

So, it is a crap shoot...could be in the bowels of the ship, under the show room and the walls can vibrate........or it could be on the lido deck, steps from the sunshine.

 

I would love to hear from those who haven't had an inside cabin in years and then went back. Did you still have a great time? Did you wish you had saved your money and stayed home?

 

Signed......by a balcony snob, thinking of giving the cave a go!

[CZodda]

Hi! I have a history similar to yours - I started inside, then ocean view, then balcony, then suite.

 

Afterwards I also had an opportunity to take a quick cruise in an inside cabin. I can tell you from experience I had an absolutely wonderful time and actually did another couple in an inside afterwards - no problems whatsoever!

 

Go and have a wonderful time!

[NoName]

Thanks for the advice.......as long as we don't have a "Triumph" like incident, I can't see how the inside cabin could be that bad.......will probably just spend a lot less time in the room and more time out and about......right?

[CZodda]

Exactly! I know you will enjoy it! Tell us all about it when you get back :-)

[OCruisers]

Think about it this way: It's a "sort of " bonus cruise and if you find you don't care for the inside, you never have to book one again. ;)

LuLu

[Austinettecruiser]

Many years ago, on my first ever cruise, I sailed in an inside cabin. The next cruise was a ocean view...followed by balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, mini-suite, suite, balcony. (you get the idea!)

 

Currently, we are booked for a 12 day in Feb and planning a family cruise in April. Both balconies. Now with this super 30 dollar a day sale.....I have an inside cabin on hold for Nov 1st....I don't want to spend much on this "bonus" vacation and the price point that works is the inside cabin, guarantee at that.

 

So, it is a crap shoot...could be in the bowels of the ship, under the show room and the walls can vibrate........or it could be on the lido deck, steps from the sunshine.

 

I would love to hear from those who haven't had an inside cabin in years and then went back. Did you still have a great time? Did you wish you had saved your money and stayed home?

 

Signed......by a balcony snob, thinking of giving the cave a go!

 

 

We recently booked an inside cabin after having either balconies or ocean views only. We were trying to see if we could handle a smaller cabin so when we retire, we can save money and cruise more. We booked midship and it was great. I always take a white noise machine to drown out any possible noise when sleeping. We had to set our alarm clock if we took a nap during the day or we would sleep for hours. We decided we sleep a lot better with the room dark. We had plenty of room and actually spent less time in our room than normal. We rarely sat on our balconies unless we traveled to a new port, so we will continue to book ocean view or balcony until we retire but an inside works fine too.

[SadieN]

If you can handle an inside then do it!

 

We've also had the range of cabins Fantasy Class IS to Neptune (SA) Suites on HAL. DH won't sail in an inside because he slept all day the one time I booked it with him. I'll do it on the shorter cruises, no problem. Otherwise OV are good for us.

Edited September 30, 2014 by SadieN

[golfadj]

We have been getting balconies and realized that we just dont spend that much time on it. As a result unless the balcony is very cheap often we will go with inside or o/v.

[M&T30]

We only like to sail in the Caribbean. By the time we pay for air fare from Seattle to Florida, an inside cabin is what stays in our budget. We love it. The room is very dark for sleeping. I get a small pack of LED candles. Set a few around the room & a couple in the bathroom & you're good to go.

[jkneern]

We have been on 30+ cruises in every cabin category. For the right price and a "bonus" cruise, I'd do it in a minute!! I have no problem staying in an inside cabin! Enjoy:)

[sandij]

My DH likes to joke that we started in a cabin with the engine shaft running through it, went on to bigger and better and have had only balconies for a lot of years now, so getting into retirement we decided to cut back, only booked a OV for the next one, slowly working back to that inside but still cruising.

[bethco]

I have done that as well and would hop on one of those great price cabins on Magic if I could fit it into my schedule. Sure, I prefer a balcony, but a cabin on a cruise ship is vacation no matter the cabin.

[Therobielyn's]

We recently booked an inside cabin after having either balconies or ocean views only. We were trying to see if we could handle a smaller cabin so when we retire, we can save money and cruise more. We booked midship and it was great. I always take a white noise machine to drown out any possible noise when sleeping. We had to set our alarm clock if we took a nap during the day or we would sleep for hours. We decided we sleep a lot better with the room dark. We had plenty of room and actually spent less time in our room than normal. We rarely sat on our balconies unless we traveled to a new port, so we will continue to book ocean view or balcony until we retire but an inside works fine too.

 

A great idea is to set your TV to the ship's "Web Cam" view from the bridge. This way you know when it's light outside from the picture on your TV screen.

[ncovert]

We have gone back and forth between inside, ocean view and balconies. For DW and I, it is far less about the room than it is about the memories and the relaxation. Love the inside cabin for just how dark it gets (I love darkness for sleeping time). With that being said, we have a balcony booked for our upcoming cruise. More about the price point for us. Sounds like the inside for this particular cruise is your price point so I would do it.

 

Happy sailing!!!

[evandbob]

Many years ago, on my first ever cruise, I sailed in an inside cabin. The next cruise was a ocean view...followed by balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, balcony, mini-suite, suite, balcony. (you get the idea!)

 

Currently, we are booked for a 12 day in Feb and planning a family cruise in April. Both balconies. Now with this super 30 dollar a day sale.....I have an inside cabin on hold for Nov 1st....I don't want to spend much on this "bonus" vacation and the price point that works is the inside cabin, guarantee at that.

 

So, it is a crap shoot...could be in the bowels of the ship, under the show room and the walls can vibrate........or it could be on the lido deck, steps from the sunshine.

 

I would love to hear from those who haven't had an inside cabin in years and then went back. Did you still have a great time? Did you wish you had saved your money and stayed home?

 

Signed......by a balcony snob, thinking of giving the cave a go!

 

I enjoy balcony's too, but I will book a particular inside cabin when I'm solo. I won't do an inside on the Riviera or Main deck, I prefer Upper, Empress or Verandah. I had a casino offer which gave me an inside totally aft on Riviera deck for $293 (taxes & port charges included) and upgraded to a balcony on the Empress level for more than double that price since those insides were already taken.

 

Some will say how much time do you spend in the cabin? But I say my sleep is important and If the ship's bowels are grumbling in the middle of the night I don't want to hear or feel it.

[jakesnana]

Like most of you, we started with an inside cabin, on a very old ship. Next step was a very cheap upgrade to an ocean view, then we wanted to "try" a balcony. Since I am a smoker (please, no comments), we decided a balcony worked best, since I could go out there and smoke when we were in the cabin.

 

Having just come back from a So. Caribbean cruise with a BEAUTIFUL, HUGE balcony that I spent all of 10 minutes on and hubby spent all of 1 hour on, we have decided we will go with the ocean view cabins from here on out.

 

DH will not do an inside cabin, but if the time comes that I am ever traveling along, I can see me doing an inside cabin so that I could sail more often.

[crusinpsychRN]

I had an inside on Paradise since the balconies just cost too much, especially for a solo trip. I put up a "port hole" on the wall made to look like the window. Freaked out the steward! Not bad at all.

[lazygal]

Same here, started with an inside (most expensive cruise ever- travel agent took advantage)

then went to ocean views/balconies/suites. All Less than that first inside bottom deck inside.

 

Now, I usually book an inside guarantee and have been very rewarded in doing so. Royal Caribbean treats you best with guarantees. example - I booked 2 inside guarantees and got upgraded to 2 balcony cabins on the Oasis on deck 12.

 

One main note for the OP - once you are assigned a cabin, you can switch to any cabin in the same category. Carnival is doing the worst with guarantees. It used to be an automatic 2 level upgrade. Now they have so many color/cabin configurations, the guarantees are not much to bank on. It's still savings for us - we just want to get on the ship and spend very little time in our cabin.

[Swampbaby]

Booked an inside (for 3) for first cruise and was upgraded (no charge) to OV. Realized we were hardly ever in the cabin except to change or shower/sleep so booked inside for next cruise. LOVED it, and again, hardly ever in the cabin so booked it again. We have a 4J coming up in FEB and we shall see. Since I get cold VERY easily there is no way I would be on a balcony very much and hubby doesn't care so will stay to insides. All that being said, I have to admit those huge suites look nice and if there were more than just the 2 of us might be enticing. Been only the 2 of us except for first cruise.

[KatieCharlotte]

I can't imagine ever wishing I stayed home!

We started with only oceanviews. I thought I really wanted a window, but then realized I don't exactly spend much time in the room looking out the window. We tried an inside last time to save money and realized we really liked it. Dark and cozy for sleeping, and that's the only time we want to be in the room anyway. We will probably stick with insides most of the time now.

[marshhawk]

We started with a balcony suite on the Sensation-we were part of a wedding party it was a three day cruise, and it was the most expensive cruise we ever took. Next cruise was a 7 day, it was our honeymoon, and yes we got a balcony, but it was quite hot out there in the western Caribbean. Next cruise, I(yup I was hooked by then) we did a porthole (lists as an inside, but it has light, and windows.) and we booked those, and have never looked back. Since Carnival will no longer allow smoking on the balconies, I see no reason to get one. I mean yes, it's nice to be in the quiet and see the sea, but we never stayed on the balcony anyway.

[NoName]

Thanks for all the encouragement, our inside cabin is booked! We are having a lot of fun dreaming up all the problems we anticipate....I am a little afraid that my sister will go to sleep and never get up (night shift nurse)! ..and for the fare we paid, I am a little worried they will knock on the door at 0400 for our shift doing dishes.........or even worse (we are both nurses) if we will have to take turns covering the infirmary.

 

We are also puzzling over where to sit to eat the tray after tray of room service we normally order.....I guess it will be breakfast, lunch and dinner in bed!

 

We cruise on Nov 1st. I will be sure to share my experiences when we return. Thanks again!

[9876]

I am glad you booked. You will have a wonderful time. At night turn your tv on the deck cam and you will be able to waken to some light. Of course, the wake up calls and room service work too!

[Samm116]

After many balconies, an inside on the breeze was the only option for our budget. It was very difficult to get used to it, seemed much smaller, not many places to set stuff down. Eating room service was a challenge.

Not having a table and chairs was a change too, hated to sit on the bed every time we wanted to sit.

 

Being fair skinned we usually spend quite a bit of time in the room, in the shade, or reading on the balcony. After that inside (my DHs first) we both agreed that we would continue to get the balconies in the future.

 

We fly to port and only take 1 or 2 7-8 day cruises a year.

Edited October 1, 2014 by Samm116

[yamsi12]

I had an absolutely wonderful time and actually did another couple in an inside afterwards - no problems whatsoever!

 

Go and have a wonderful time!

 

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