Your reasoning to cove or not to cove balcony?

[kcdancerkc]

out of ten cruises, one had a port hole lol, and the rest were balcony. We scrimped and save for these ship trips......even though already booked for cove,

 

What were the pros and cons after you used it for a week?

Does it take cabin space? Have you gotten to see

Birds or fish closer up?

 

Thanks. :cool:

[evandbob]

If one is susceptible to motion sickness, a cove balcony may exacerbate that condition. I'm not talking about side to side or up and down rocking. Being closer to the water makes the speed of the ship seem faster so someone who is susceptible to this type of motion sickness may suffer. People who feel nauseous on a bus or in a car may want to avoid the dizzying effect.

 

I've heard that a cove can get covered in evaporated salt, and that the room steward may need to thoroughly wash it down every day. It can also get fairly wet if seas get bouncy.

 

Otherwise, many posters here comment on the privacy and lower costs of the balcony, except when their cabin is below a noisy galley.

 

I happen to prefer a mid ship balcony up on Empress or Verandah, IMO the views from a higher balcony are more calming and tranquil.

[ewynn9]

My very first cruise was in 2016 on the Breeze in a cove balcony. My wife and I absolutely loved being that close to the water as well as the privacy. During sail away we had a couple of dolphins right below us. We had constant shade due to the location and picked a balcony with no life boats over us. The one downside about our location was the exhaust vent from the galley over us but it would not prevent me from picking that exact room again. To give an example of the amount of privacy, you could sit on the balcony in your birthday suit with a cup of coffee and no one would ever know unless you hang over the edge. As for the size, the cabin was pretty large and the balcony seemed to be a little wider than a regular balcony but I have no frame of reference due to it being my first cruise.

 

 

Some negatives:

Sea salt and sway due to wind, not a deal breaker but it was there

In the event of high/rough seas they can and will seal you balcony shut. Didn't happen to us but it is possible.

The staff came around a couple times to hose off the balconies. I think it happened on port days.

Deck 2 is far away from everything

Rough seas were felt. Not a deal breaker but not a positive. Late November was rougher seas.

 

Positives:

Privacy, privacy, privacy

Lots of shade (could be a negative depending on the person)

Closeness to nature

Atrium bar was just a 20 second walk down the hall and up the stairs

Did I mention privacy? No one walking on deck and being able to see you relaxing on your balcony.

Price - I believe was actually the same price as a regular balcony.

 

Cove balcony will forever be our first choice if it is available on a ship. I tried to think up any negatives I could which even then are minor in my eyes.

[JenniX]

I opted out of the cove and went with a regular balcony. I have a 3 year old who wouldnt be able to see over, the regular balcony has glass. I dont want her to try and stand on a chair, or have to pick her up to see. So for us it was more of a safety issue. I know it's not the easiest to fall over, but I cant help my mind going there. Better safe than sorry.

Edited June 20, 2018 by JenniX
Misspelled

[JaxsMama]

I opted out of the cove and went with a regular balcony. I have a 3 year old who wouldnt be able to see over, the regular balcony has glass. I dont want her to try and stand on a chair, or have to pick her up to see. So for us it was more of a safety issue. I know it's not the easiest to fall over, but I cant help my mind going there. Better safe than sorry.

I'm so crazy I booked a balcony on deck 6 of Magic that has the extended deck 5 below. I saw a news story where a kid fell from one of those and only broke an arm or something. I was worried about our 5 year old.

 

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[A&Jfamily]

My very first cruise was in 2016 on the Breeze in a cove balcony. My wife and I absolutely loved being that close to the water as well as the privacy. During sail away we had a couple of dolphins right below us. We had constant shade due to the location and picked a balcony with no life boats over us. The one downside about our location was the exhaust vent from the galley over us but it would not prevent me from picking that exact room again. To give an example of the amount of privacy, you could sit on the balcony in your birthday suit with a cup of coffee and no one would ever know unless you hang over the edge. As for the size, the cabin was pretty large and the balcony seemed to be a little wider than a regular balcony but I have no frame of reference due to it being my first cruise.

 

 

Some negatives:

Sea salt and sway due to wind, not a deal breaker but it was there

In the event of high/rough seas they can and will seal you balcony shut. Didn't happen to us but it is possible.

The staff came around a couple times to hose off the balconies. I think it happened on port days.

Deck 2 is far away from everything

Rough seas were felt. Not a deal breaker but not a positive. Late November was rougher seas.

 

Positives:

Privacy, privacy, privacy

Lots of shade (could be a negative depending on the person)

Closeness to nature

Atrium bar was just a 20 second walk down the hall and up the stairs

Did I mention privacy? No one walking on deck and being able to see you relaxing on your balcony.

Price - I believe was actually the same price as a regular balcony.

 

Cove balcony will forever be our first choice if it is available on a ship. I tried to think up any negatives I could which even then are minor in my eyes.

 

I mostly agree with the positives posted above. Now here are my negatives:

 

1) hull noise from waves - it was very loud especially in rough seas as you listen to the roar as it went through the metal

2) most have lifeboats overhead which blocks the evening sky

3) you have to be careful about location with noise from above

4) FAR from the Lido deck and Alchemy bar which are our preferred locations

 

We would NOT chose a cove in the future for these reasons. While the flying fish appear larger, it is easier to watch for birds and see the stars at night higher up, without a lifeboat blocking the view. But the worst was the hull noise; we got used to it, but would not chose this again.

[disneylover89]

I remember reading a post and the woman was saying that her and her husband were all dressed up for dinner and they were enjoying a nice glass of wine before going to the dining room and as they were sitting there a wave splashed over the railing and soaked them both. They looked at each other stunned and it happened again. Needless to say, they ate at the buffet that night. Her post was pretty funny.

[asalligo]

Negatives: On the Dream last year in March, the coves were closed off on two days due to rough seas.

The trip to the lido deck

 

Positives: Shaded Balcony

Very close to the water

More Private

[beachbum53]

We had our first cove balcony on the Breeze in 2015 and loved it so much we booked our second one on the Vista last year. The next two cruises we have booked are on the Magic, and guess what. Cove balcony again, both cruises. We love the privacy, and being close to the water. Some people complain about getting a little salt spray residue on their balcony. Well, boo-hoo. A little salt spray never hurt anybody. It's certainly not a big deal to me. I think I might have been a dolphin in a previous life. I love the ocean. When choosing a cabin, whether it's a cove balcony or any other cabin, location is important. We typically book a cabin either mid ship or towards the Aft. If you're considering a cove balcony, and tend to spend most of your time on the Lido deck, consider getting a cabin that's not too far from the Aft elevators, and not directly under the galley. Because the cove balconies are recessed, they don't get a lot of direct sunlight, even without having a lifeboat overhead. Not so great if you're hoping to get a tan, but ideal if you want a quiet place to relax outdoors for a while and not have to worry about getting sunburned. We've seen more dolphins and flying fish from our cove balcony than we've ever seen from a regular balcony higher up. Also, cove balconies are cheaper than regular balconies. I would never hesitate for an instant to book a cove balcony, as long as we can get the cabin we want.

[Cushing985]

My wife tends to get a bit seasick so I'm limited to an Outside cabin, lowest possible passenger deck and amidships to minimize the feeling the ship is rocking. On Cove equipped ships I can satisfy my desire for a balcony cabin as it's on Deck 2. Just do some research on the deck plans so you can avoid the galley above you.

[teknoge3k]

If one is susceptible to motion sickness, a cove balcony may exacerbate that condition. I'm not talking about side to side or up and down rocking..

 

Believe or not, a cove balcony didn't make me sick at all. I am VERY susceptible to motion sickness. I am sure security questions if I robbed a Walgreens on the way to port because I ordered about 10 different meds from Amazon and take them with me on every cruise. However we just sailed through Tropical Storm Alberto last month on the Magic and had a cove balcony. I sat on our balcony at night and watched the rough waves and watched us cut through them. It was a cool experience and I didn't feel the least bit queezy. I know everyone is different but I was shocked that I was able to do that.

 

I think people get coves because they want a balcony and it's the cheapest balcony you can get.

[pokergirl34]

We only book balcony rooms and get a cove whenever it's available. We love the value and the privacy of the cove. We are sure to book between lifeboats so we have some sun. Another benefit is being on Deck 2 for port days, plus we keep in shape using the stairs.

 

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[NCbmwmom]

I loved our cove on the Magic a few months ago. We did guarantee balcony and got put in the ver first cove on port side. It was great. Very very private. Being so close to the waterline was really cool, and we loved the location on port days and going home day since we do self assist. I’d book a cove every time no questions asked.

[NightOne]

out of ten cruises, one had a port hole lol, and the rest were balcony. We scrimped and save for these ship trips......even though already booked for cove,

 

What were the pros and cons after you used it for a week?

Does it take cabin space? Have you gotten to see

Birds or fish closer up?

 

Thanks. :cool:

 

It does not take up any cabin space The cabin is 185 sq. ft. just like the others. However, the cove balcony portion itself is slightly larger (45 sq. ft.) than a regular balcony. (35 sq. ft.)

 

You're closer to the water so if something is in the water it will be closer of course. :)

[kona_wahine]

I’ve had both and a cove would win every time. I love being that close to the water. It’s like your own personal ocean front room. The spray and salt is really not that bad. But never had a wave wash over us. That would be interesting.

[jasong38501]

I loved our cove on the Magic a few months ago. We did guarantee balcony and got put in the ver first cove on port side. It was great. Very very private. Being so close to the waterline was really cool, and we loved the location on port days and going home day since we do self assist. I’d book a cove every time no questions asked.

 

I will second this! We did the very first cove balcony on the starboard side on the Dream last September and loved it. Under guest services so no noise issues and it's so private! We didn't have any issues with sea spray or salt. I suppose sea conditions could change that. We absolutely adored that room.

[Towel Critter]

Our reason for "coveing" is that we dislike the feeling of separation from the sea you get on the newer ships because of the wide promenade. HATE looking down and seeing decking instead of ocean. Of course, this isn't a problem on the Conquest class ships and one of the reasons I prefer them. We always book upper balconies on the Conquest class and enjoy the proximity to everything, but on Dream class and Vista class (if we ever book a Vista class) you can bet we'll be "coveing." We have enjoyed the cove balconies we've booked on Dream class ships and didn't notice any of the negatives - noise, spray, etc... - that some report.

[JenniX]

Oh my gosh, we will be on magic as well. We are on deck 10, and I believe have the deck with hottubs a few decks below. Still quite a fall. I know its extremely unlikely. That would be one of my worst nightmares. I actually looked up statistics of people falling overboard before I booked.

I'm so crazy I booked a balcony on deck 6 of Magic that has the extended deck 5 below. I saw a news story where a kid fell from one of those and only broke an arm or something. I was worried about our 5 year old.

 

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[SCcruiser123]

I've been on two cove balcony cruises and loved them! You are close to the water and it feels more like you're on a real ship rather than far far away from the sea. They were quiet (except for the sound of the waves) and shaded. Plus the price was less than a regular balcony. Any ship that offers a cove balcony will be an easy choice for what cabin to pick for us.

[cruisinqt]

They do have their positives but for me a cove is just too low. We hate the elevator lines and prefer decks 7 or 8 midship so we can just take the stairs everywhere. We have yet to gain a single pound on the cruises booked on these decks. But when we are way up high or very very low we take elevators everywhere and end up gaining more weight than I’d like to admit to. :o

 

Also, I don’t like the closed in feeling of the coves. I feel like I’m inside of a building peering out of a window when I’m out there. But with a regular balcony it’s big, open, sunny, and airy so I feel like I’m outside and not closed in like the cove. I guess it’s my claustrophobia kicking in. :)

[riclop]

out of ten cruises, one had a port hole lol, and the rest were balcony. We scrimped and save for these ship trips......even though already booked for cove,

 

What were the pros and cons after you used it for a week?

Does it take cabin space? Have you gotten to see

Birds or fish closer up?

 

Thanks. :cool:

give me lido deck anytime.

[Drazil65]

Give us a reg balcony or OS deck 7 and above only, do not want to be or need to be that close to the water on the lower decks for many of the reasons already stated.

[Dremac373]

We will be departing on our very first cruise with carnival in August, it will be my children's first cruise period and it's a surprise trip therefore i wanted a balcony and ther cove fit the budget perfectly. I can't wait and thus far the positives are outweighing the negatives lol thanx everyone

[smarks]

I love the cove balconies. Just try not to get under the galley. I have done that and it was a very noisy experence. Stay away from the cabins under the galley and you will be fine.

[kcdancerkc]

Thanks for all the input!

 

I know for sure there is no lifeboat directly in front of our cove, not sure about The galley.

 

Only 7 more months until I can put on a cove review :cool: