inside rooms

[cruzer_77]

How bad are inside rooms? We went on our first cruise last year and had a balcony. We may be going again this year but want to save some money and are thinking of booking an inside room. Not sure if I would be able to handle not having sunlight in my room. 

[Allura_317]

I have never sailed in an inside room before, but here are a few things I know:

-They do not have a couch 

-I know many people who have sailed in inside staterooms and they claim they sleep really well in them as they are dark.  

-If you truly want to see the ocean, you can create a "virtual window" by turning on the cabin's television on the ship camera station.  

How often did you go on the balcony?  Your answer to that may be important when deciding.  I wish I could have helped you out more, but, once again, I don't have any personal experience in an inside cabin, sorry.

[CoolOne56]

I have never sailed in an inside room.  I agree with Allura_317.

 

Have you thought about an ocean view room?  A little more than inside, but cheaper than balcony.

[Saint Greg]

I like them. Of course I don't spend much time in the room other than sleeping...and I don't like daylight coming in when I want to sleep.

[DanvilleCruiser]

I have only sailed in inside rooms.  I enjoy the darkness which allows me to sleep better.  Generally, I am not in the room enough during waking hours to spend extra money for a balcony.

[crzndeb]

Don’t know what ship you are looking at, but look into 4J and 4K cabins...they are under the interior category, but the 4J’s have windows and 4K’s have French doors. There are also Porthole cabins that are less expensive than Oceanviews.

 

I have sailed in many interiors and am perfectly fine with them. I’m a lot different from many people, as I will never have a balcony again on Carnival. I do not care for the hinged doors and how they slam. I have no issues with sliders.

 

And FYI, there are some interiors with couches. I happen to have a 1A booked (sold as an interior) that has a couch and portholes.  But it also has twin upper and lower, which is fine for me as a solo traveler.

 

Edited January 17, 2019 by crzndeb

[Saint Greg]

Here are some inside room pics from my dream cruise last month:

 

 

 

 

[tallnthensome]

There's nothing wrong with an inside if you aren't in the room much or are on a budget. We do both depending on the cruise cost as we sail with 2 kids. Had a balcony last year on the MSC Seaside but we have an inside for our 15 day Panama Canal trip coming up in March. It isn't the best situation but taking two kids on a 15 day'er isn't cheap and a balcony was $3000 more . We have a balcony the next two years after. I won't waste my money on an ocean view as it does nothing for us and is never worth  the money. Either save with an inside or splurge with a balcony or more. 

[ABCGreys]

We sail in interior rooms depending on the cruise length or the itinerary. We don't get a balcony on anything less than a 7 day cruise. We find we just don't have enough time to enjoy it. Also, if it's a port heavy itinerary (Southern Caribbean on Fantasy with only one port day and our 2020 European cruise where we'll be off the ship for long days) we'll do an inside. Saves money for the next cruise and we use the TV on the ship's camera for "light" and to check the weather. And, like others have mentioned, we sleep great in insides!

[1025cruise]

IMHO, once you go balcony, you can't go back.

 

Also, note that the french windows mentioned above are being removed and being replaced with windows.

[FreudianSlipper]

1 hour ago, cruzer_77 said:

How bad are inside rooms? We went on our first cruise last year and had a balcony. We may be going again this year but want to save some money and are thinking of booking an inside room. Not sure if I would be able to handle not having sunlight in my room. 

I've been in an inside room and a balcony. My personal take was that I did not use the balcony enough to warrant the extra cost. It was nice in the morning when we were coming into a port ,but by mid afternoon the balcony was right in the sun and really too hot to enjoy.  I much preferred the clamshell chairs on serenity deck.

[shof515]

I have done 13 cruises with an inside cabin. they are my favorite. They are cheap and i am only in the room to sleep mostly. If i want to go out to see the ocean, they are plenty of better ships to view then being restricted with a small tiny balcony on that one side of the ship

[30scruiser]

I’ve never had a balcony but we’ve done insides and ocean view. The insides usually have a curtain where a window would be so you have the effect of having a closed window. You can use the front of the ship channel to see weather. The main thing about them is that it’s hard to wake up in the morning or after a nap because it’s pitch black in the room. If the issue is more window vs no window than balcony vs no balcony I would recommend the 4K/4J option listed above.

 

For our Pride cruise next month the 4K which will have a window at that point was only $10 more pp than the inside guarantee.

[grandmarnnurse]

2 hours ago, cruzer_77 said:

How bad are inside rooms? We went on our first cruise last year and had a balcony. We may be going again this year but want to save some money and are thinking of booking an inside room. Not sure if I would be able to handle not having sunlight in my room. 

We once only booked balconies, when we were both working. But as a retired couple, we now onlybook inside cabins as a means to save money on a retirement budget. If I booked a balcony, we could probably only cruise every other year. In an inside cabin, I can cruise every year. I admit that I would love something bigger and more special for my 50th Anniversary, when we sail the Magic in April 2020, but I will be happy that I’m at least on a cruise. The darkness helps with sleep, but if you set your TV to the bridge station before going to bed, the room will lighten as the sun comes up on the TV. A trick I learned awhile back. 

[sanmarcosman]

I agree with those suggesting you price a porthole ( PT Category) cabin. Light and a little view for much less. 

Edited January 18, 2019 by sanmarcosman

[cruzer_77]

We are looking at the Liberty. The only ocean view rooms available are on deck 1 or 2 😞

 

Thanks for the idea to put the channel on to view the outside. that's a great tip! 

[grandmarnnurse]

19 minutes ago, cruzer_77 said:

We are looking at the Liberty. The only ocean view rooms available are on deck 1 or 2 😞

 

Thanks for the idea to put the channel on to view the outside. that's a great tip! 

👍

[masterty]

Just remember the best location, offering the best view, with the best chairs, located closest to the best amenities is not your cabin balcony. The best is out on the decks.

[sgttami]

I've done everything from insides to owner's suites.  They're all good.  It's a cruise!

[pjhootch]

We started with a balcony and loved it. Our first inside was on a journeys 11 day cruise.  What a way to start!   It was fine.  We bring a little night light with us.  Insides are a great way to cruise more often.  Sometimes I get a balcony since I do not love sitting on the decks with lots of people around for too many hours.  I like to be alone and watch the ocean.  The first time we walked into the room I worried I might get a bit claustrophobic, but it never bothered me.  Definitely keep your eyes peeled for a porthole room. They are basically the same price as an inside cabin but with natural light.

[ohyes]

We have been in two inside cabins (both NCL, but that was just happenstance) and were happy as could be. We spend very little time in the cabin and the sleeping was the best.

 

We have our first balcony booked for a February 2019 cruise and find it difficult to  believe it will spoil us.  (Fingers crossed.)

[Jared100]

We have booked inside rooms twice and always receive a nice upgrade offer, once to a OV for $50 and once to a balcony for $100, on 4 and 3 day cruises respectively

[redheadfred78]

We just sailed with out whole family in 3 interior cabins, and honestly I thought the cabins were perfectly comfortable. HOWEVER, I will never sail in an interior cabin again because the lack of light completely threw off my body clock. I never had a clue what time of day it was and I found myself being unable to get into any kind of a rhythm. We just booked our next cruise and my husband (who's very frugal) decided we had to splurge and get the balcony cabin next time because the interior messed with my head so much. But as far as the room itself goes, I was 100% okay with it. I think a good compromise is any "interior" cabin that has light coming in, like one of the porthole cabins or the ones that face the deck. Any light at all is better than none, IMO.

[Purvis1231]

We only had an inside once, on the Ecstasy we found it was the same size as an ocean view.. Balconies are great but they often cost twice as much as an inside. 

[Aplmac]

13 hours ago, CoolOne56 said:

Have you thought about an ocean view room? 

A little more than inside, but cheaper than balcony.

.

And a lot more floor space too

since OV's go right out to the edge of the hull
-that includes what is balcony area on upper decks!

 

Pictured here

is our OV cabin on Deck 2, Carnival Liberty

.