Favorte type of Stateroom?

[SailorMan20]

What's Your favorite type of Cabin to book on a Cruiseship? I have a Balcony stateroom with thermal Spa access on the NCL Encore next year. Are those type popular? My travel agent told Me when I booked My room last week it;s the most popular cabin on a ship. Idk.

[Ashland]

We always sail in at a minimum a JS (junior suite) which is the RCI category we like ... more like a small type hotel room.

Edited July 3, 2019 by Ashland

[beachbum53]

We prefer a balcony cabin. We tried an inside cabin once, and hated it. It was like sleeping in a large closet. No natural light. At a bare minimum, we could get by with an ocean view. I know a number of people will say that they don't spend much time in their cabin, except to shower and sleep, so an inside cabin is fine for them. It's nice to have a balcony, where it's quiet and away from the noise and activity on the Lido deck. You can go and sit and look out at the ocean, or read a book or take a little nap. We all have different preferences when it comes to selecting a cabin. The only way you'll know which is best for you is to try different ones.

[Aquahound]

Junior (or mini) suites are my favorite, but balcony is my minimum criteria.  

[clo]

20 minutes ago, beachbum53 said:

We tried an inside cabin once, and hated it.

We had one on our Alaska cruise and loved it.  NO ambient light when it was light almost all the time!

[SailorMan20]

Is NCL the only cruise line to offer Balcony rooms with Spa access?

[Essiesmom]

34 minutes ago, SailorMan20 said:

Is NCL the only cruise line to offer Balcony rooms with Spa access?

 

Carnival has spa balconies.  MSC Aurea experience has balcony cabins.  

 

As for us, my favorite type of cabin would be a suite.  Having never been able to afford one, I would like to try it.  Queens Grill on Cunard, the Yacht Club on MSC...But we book what we can afford.  Right now we have four cruises booked in the next year:  MSC Armonia in an OV cabin; Carnival Magic inside; Carnival Legend OV; Cunard QM2 obstructed balcony gty.  EM

[wheezedr]

Always sail in at least a balcony. Have a mini suite booked for next cruise.  Different lines have different style ships and configure theirs cabins differently 

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, SailorMan20 said:

Is NCL the only cruise line to offer Balcony rooms with Spa access?

Might be the only mega ship line, but with Viking Ocean, every passenger has access to the spa/thermal suite, regardless of cabin type.

 

Favourite cabin for us is a balcony, located midships on the lowest deck that has cabins both above & below.

[ldubs]

If I can get away with it I like to stow away in one of the lifeboats.  😎

 

Seriously, I like the deck 1 balconies best.   

Edited July 3, 2019 by ldubs

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, clo said:

We had one on our Alaska cruise and loved it.  NO ambient light when it was light almost all the time!

Those blackout drapes work well....I would personally hate having to turn the light on day or night...but each to their own.

[Bookish Angel]

 

Interior for the sleep-ensuring darkness.  We started out in balconies but found that the drapes let in way too much light so interiors suit us well.   Saving about half of the cost of a balcony is great, too.

Edited July 3, 2019 by Bookish Angel

[ontheweb]

1 minute ago, Bookish Angel said:

 

Interior for the sleep-ensuring darkness.  We started out in balconies but found that the drapes let in way too much light so interiors suit us well.     

DW discovered on our first cruise that the absolute darkness of interior cabins were great for sleep. And the lower cost leaves more funds available for other things.

 

Actually since then they do not seem as totally dark as before as light seems to seep in underneath the cabin door.

[Bookish Angel]

8 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

 

Actually since then they do not seem as totally dark as before as light seems to seep in underneath the cabin door.

 

We used to roll up our jackets or use towels to block under the door light.  My husband needs a faint night light now as he can't navigate to the bathroom in total darkness.  That means I now take a couple of black eye shades to block the night light, lol.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We usually book the Pinnacle Suites on HAL.  If that is not available, then we book the Neptune Suites.

[Markanddonna]

I agree with those who like an inside, but then we use cruising as a way of getting to another destination or target ports and a mandatory winter time cruise to escape the Midwestern winters. I recall a wise person replying to my concerns about an inside cabin saying "They aren't prison ships." 

 

I find sitting on a small balcony to be monotonous, and I don't need the extra sun damage to my skin.  By selecting insides, I can enjoy the ship's attributes AND sail twice a year rather than just once or every other year.  If I had unlimited funds, I'd always select the highest category, but that's not the case.

[Aplmac]

No-one's talking about Ocean View cabins

the ones with the big picture window

- and all that balcony space included in the cabin

thus making the cabin considerably larger.

 

[iancal]

Balcony cabin of some sort.  Almost always purchased in final payment window and often a gty. 

 

Never been disappointed yet.

[c-boy]

Penthouse, room enough but not too much.

[mom says]

A balcony cabin is all we need, preferably unobstructed. We both love spending time out on the balcony, whether it's for room service breakfast as we watch the ship coming into port, enjoying a pre dinner drink, or just relaxing as we watch the stars and listen to the waves before turning in for the night. I don't think I would sail without a balcony.

[Cruiser_1977]

I have done Inside, OV, Balcony and JS. At this point I prefer a balcony. If the JS/Suite have a balcony and are what I consider a reasonable price bump I'll do that. 

 

I have a JS (with balcony) in September,  a balcony in Jan 2020 and a Suite (with balcony) in Jan 2021. All on different lines.

[SailorMan20]

1 hour ago, JennyB1977 said:

I have done Inside, OV, Balcony and JS. At this point I prefer a balcony. If the JS/Suite have a balcony and are what I consider a reasonable price bump I'll do that. 

 

I have a JS (with balcony) in September,  a balcony in Jan 2020 and a Suite (with balcony) in Jan 2021. All on different lines.

I am surprised to see them booking all the way out in 2021.

[Bizmark'sMom]

I love aft balconies. 

[cb at sea]

We like the size of the JS's as well...really don't need a full suite, and certainly don't want to pay that "suite"" price!  The minimum I would ever book is a balcony....tried an OV once...and not having direct

access to the outside is not for me!

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, SailorMan20 said:

I am surprised to see them booking all the way out in 2021.

HAL has at least some of their cruises out through April 2021; Princess and Royal Caribbean through May 2021. I booked Princess Alaska June 2020 the day it was released (to non-elite) which as I recall was mid November 2018. So it may be they are posting schedules for booking just a little earlier... That way they get the cashflow of people's deposits sooner!

 

As far as favorite type of stateroom -- we have cruised in insides (x2 plus a cabin sold as an inside that had a window over the top of the pool cover), oceanviews x3 and panoramic oceanview, balcony x2. And we have booked a partially obstructed oceanview, a mini-suite, and an obstructed balcony.

 

We have never heard the call of the suite siren! (The mini-suite is not really a suite, it is just what Princess calls a room with a balcony and a sofa!) 

 

What we book depends (in order of importance) on who we're travelling with, what the ship has to offer, where it is on the ship, and price. When it's just us, a room with a window and some seating is fine; the panoramic oceanview with floor to ceiling window was for us as good as a balcony that we might go out on twice! But not all (older) ships have that option.