Balcony Pros and Cons

[mothermary]

We just returned from our 8th cruise and first balcony. There were a couple of things that intrigued me about a balcony.

 

Pros: Loved sitting out there watching the sea, birds, port activity. And reading

on the balcony.

Weather checks in an instant.

All the natural light in the cabin from balcony window and door.

Great place to take pics.

 

Cons: Balcony stateroom is smaller than oceanview room. It's the same if you count the balcony.

Balcony doors slam if your not careful. Neighbors let their door slam everytime and it literally shook our whole cabin.

Slobs nextdoor-neighbors left their trash on the balcony and it would roll under the partition for us to clean up. All their empty beer cans.

 

 

 

What are your pros/cons of a balcony?

[Velvetwater]

Never been in one due to the cost so thats a con. :D

[Cruzlover7]

Ditto on the pros! I also enjoy my morning coffee on the balcony.

The #1 con is definitely the door slamming.

 

 

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[Grannycb]

The biggest con has been loud neighbors.

[jimbo5544]

We just returned from our 8th cruise and first balcony. There were a couple of things that intrigued me about a balcony.

 

 

 

Pros: Loved sitting out there watching the sea, birds, port activity. And reading

 

on the balcony.

 

Weather checks in an instant.

 

All the natural light in the cabin from balcony window and door.

 

Great place to take pics.

 

 

 

Cons: Balcony stateroom is smaller than oceanview room. It's the same if you count the balcony.

 

Balcony doors slam if your not careful. Neighbors let their door slam everytime and it literally shook our whole cabin.

 

Slobs nextdoor-neighbors left their trash on the balcony and it would roll under the partition for us to clean up. All their empty beer cans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are your pros/cons of a balcony?

 

 

Love balconies, have been on every type of balcony on Carnival. Our favorite are the aft wraps,lots of space and I spend a good deal of time out on the balcony at all times including evenings.

 

Biggest con is balcony doors and also people who ignore rules and smoke out there.

[Dazzies]

BIG pro for me is the ability to get fresh air instantly. Bonine helps with motion sickness, but it's nice to be able to step out for a breath of fresh air. This was a huge help last cruise when my son was sick and I stayed in the cabin with him. I just hung out on the balcony while he was sleeping.

[mothermary]

Biggest con is balcony doors and also people who ignore rules and smoke out there.

 

Yes, your so right Jimbo. Our neighbors also smoked, but they seemed to quit after a couple of days. I think someone around us told on them.

[jimbo5544]

Biggest con is balcony doors and also people who ignore rules and smoke out there.

 

 

 

Yes, your so right Jimbo. Our neighbors also smoked, but they seemed to quit after a couple of days. I think someone around us told on them.

 

 

We are early risers so the impact on us is minimal. That being said when the ship pulls into port early you def know it with all the bang, bang, bangs going on.

 

Some people think rules are for everyone except them (smoking wise).

Edited March 15, 2015 by jimbo5544

[tree.critter]

I have been incredibly lucky I think with regard to balcony doors slamming, don't ever remember hearing this. Only con to a balcony to me is the added cost.

[Kel040]

Had a balcony last 2 cruises and loved it.. only con we found on our last cruise, our neighbour left their balcony light on - for the first 3 nights..

 

I had read hear before my cruise how some members found that annoying but always thought, that would not bother me, but after actually experiencing it, it did.. :(

[2boys2girls]

We have sailed 3 times and are booked on the Breeze this summer. We have always had a balcony cabin and can't imagine anything different. The best part is having that private outdoor space to read, take a nap, watch the ocean pass by and just have that extra space when everyone is getting ready for the evening. Love, love, love balconies!!

[Bases5]

The price out weights the pro's for us.

On the Conquest type ships I can get a 300+ sq ft stateroom with 2 windows for 30-40% less than the cheapest balcony.

For us it's a no-brainier.

That's why they have choices because people have different needs and the value we put on them.

We like the extra room more.

Edited March 15, 2015 by Bases5

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

If you don't like people don't get a balcony...simple as that. I have never had an issue with slamming doors, smelling smoke from neighboring balconies, anyone leaving their light on, partying next door or rolling beer cans.

[elliair]

We just returned from our 8th cruise and first balcony. There were a couple of things that intrigued me about a balcony.

 

Pros: Loved sitting out there watching the sea, birds, port activity. And reading

on the balcony.

Weather checks in an instant.

All the natural light in the cabin from balcony window and door.

Great place to take pics.

 

Cons: Balcony stateroom is smaller than oceanview room. It's the same if you count the balcony.

Balcony doors slam if your not careful. Neighbors let their door slam everytime and it literally shook our whole cabin.

Slobs nextdoor-neighbors left their trash on the balcony and it would roll under the partition for us to clean up. All their empty beer cans.

 

 

What are your pros/cons of a balcony?

 

There are no cons for us with the balcony. We don't need "extra" room in our cabin since it's the two of us. The only thing that was annoying was in the past, and that was smoking. We changed cruise lines because of it, but now we'll come back to Carnival. Looking to book one in November.

 

We've never had slobs in a cabin next to us - except for the ones who leave their plates and glasses outside their door with half eaten food on them. I make the oink-oink noise as we walk by. I can only imagine what their floor looks like at their house.:eek:

Edited March 15, 2015 by elliair

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

We've never had slobs in a cabin next to us - except for the ones who leave their plates and glasses outside their door with half eaten food on them. I make the oink-oink noise as we walk by. I can only imagine what their floor looks like at their house.:eek:

 

Question...I always thought that you were supposed to leave the detriments of your meal outside your door for pick-up. What are we supposed to do with it?

[kelkel2]

PROS-

Fresh air, being able to have a private place to relax when the pool decks are busy, a place to sit and have a drink at night before bed and listen to the ocean, being able to watch us pull in or out of port, being able to check the weather without going up on deck,

CONS-

Your quiet relaxing balcony can be ruined by a neighbor and thats out of your control. Thankfully we have had good luck so far with neighbors.

[bizeemom4]

Smokers used to be my only con of having a balcony. :D

 

I had noisy neighbors earlier this month that would prop the balcony door open, turn the TV up all the way and yell back and forth (one person inside watching tv, one outside and hard of hearing). Ugh.

 

There's no way I'd ever cruise without one though.

[Seany527]

On a balcony would u be able to get a decent suntan or is it mostly shaded? If you can tan, would you get a better one from a standard balcony or an aft balcony (not a wrap around)?

[tntinftw]

For us, there are no cons.

 

We can deal with slamming doors (as the interior doors can also be loud) and the cost is not a big deal because we realize the benefits come at a premium.

 

We love what feels like extra space...kind of something to get away to. We open the door with a bungee cord to let fresh air inside. We hang a hammock between the partitions and my wife rocks herself to sleep for naps on sea days. We have breakfast out there every morning.

 

Definitely nothing but pros for us in regards to balconies, but to each their own...

[WindsorFred]

Question...I always thought that you were supposed to leave the detriments of your meal outside your door for pick-up. What are we supposed to do with it?

 

We call room service for pick up when we are done, or if in the morning take them up to Lido with us.

[mzloolue]

Question...I always thought that you were supposed to leave the detriments of your meal outside your door for pick-up. What are we supposed to do with it?

 

I always have left it in the room, but if one chooses to put it in the hallway it would be nice if they would cover their semi-chewed food and crud with the covers and a napkin.

 

If you notice in the buffet the crew busing tables covers the muddled food with a napkin.

 

As for balconies, I have been on 17 or so cruises and only once with a balcony.

I was so excited, but it was not all that I had dreamed of definitely.

 

On embarkation day I was sitting on the bed and DH caught the creepy guy in the next cabin peeping around the divider.

 

The people in the next cabin continually slammed the balcony door, left something clanging on the balcony all night, and had loud arguments with the door open and apparently had people from several surrounding cabins congregating in their cabin.

 

Oh, also it was during an August heat wave and it was too hot to sit on the balcony. Just sun and no breeze.

We spent most of our outside time on deck.

 

Yeah, so luck in who is next door and the weather apparently make a lot of difference in enjoyment of a balcony.

[SadieN]

Pax aren't slamming doors in anger. Those doors are heavy and most don't stand there for the full minute to ease it in place.

I'll take slamming over Princess's sliding doors. With the 'slamming' doors you know they're closed. Have had three balcony cabins on Princess, for two of them we called to get them fixed.

 

Another here who prefers OV or French Door to a balcony.

[crzndeb]

I will second the slamming doors. I don't usually book a balcony since I travel solo, but treated myself on the Spirit to Australia in 2012. I had a balcony on the Hawaii and Australia leg, and after 25 days between 2 constant door slammers, I was shell shocked at the end. Doesn't help that I have hypersensitive hearing to certain noises. Unfortunately I didn't spend a lot of time on my balcony and went to open decks.

 

I know that most people are unaware of how things might affect other people. I always hold my cabin door when I shut it too. I don't think people would like me slamming it at 5-6am when I go out walking.

 

I really like the 4k's on the Spirit class ships and will be doing a 4J for 3 legs on the Vista next year.

[PurdueChefAmber]

The only thing I disliked about balconies was that it was always smokey but with the new rules, I am hoping that won't be a problem on our upcoming cruise! We love balcony rooms and have an aft extended booked!

 

 

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[Rudyard]

Only con is really the price. We could cruise twice a year if I could bring myself to try an inside, or maybe an inside one cruise and an OV the next in the same year. We're going to try an inside for the Breeze CTN out of Galveston next year, so we'll see how we like it.

 

Pros for us are the view, the fresh air, sunrises and sunsets without having to go up or down a couple of decks to see them. Love seeing the dolphins, the flying fish, and this last cruise we saw a sea turtle.

 

Never have had a problem with neighbors and have even gotten along with the ones we've had. Our last cruise we had a great time chatting with our neighbors while we watched for pier runners in Cozumel.