Favorte type of Stateroom?

[Warm Breezes]

My current favorite is Aft Balcony.  

[Debbdo]

Our first cruise, 20 years ago, we got a balcony cabin and have been fortunate enough to be able to upgrade to a mini suite for a few years and now to a suite. Our next cruise (New England/Canada) in September on the Regal we were able to get an aft suite with a wrap around balcony. I love sitting on the balcony, watching the world go by. The suite "perks" may not be worth it to all,  but they are to us...nothing makes our day more than starting it with a breakfast at Sabatini's. We could cruise more often in a lower priced cabin, but cruising is a luxury vacation that we like to take full advantage of. 

[clo]

On 7/3/2019 at 12:52 PM, crystalspin said:

(The mini-suite is not really a suite, it is just what Princess calls a room with a balcony and a sofa!) 

I was going to ask that 🙂  We'll have a "verandah" on Oceania which has a balcony and a love seat.  So can I start calling it a "mini-suite"???  J/K.

 

I think your post is terrific.  Give a lot of info in a succinct manner.  Thanks.

[SmoothFlying]

On 7/2/2019 at 9:44 PM, beachbum53 said:

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.

I totally agree with you...BUT (and there's always a 'BUT' isn't there ??) we are in our mid sixties and the wife and I can't afford a JS on a fixed income😞 We were able to get one a few years ago for an extra $500 (trade-up) on a balcony 7 day cruise and LOVED it !! But when it was over we realized a JS suite at its regular price was just something that wasn't meant too be. We've tried inside and ocean view but left us feeling closed up and trapped. So, we both loved the balcony and agreed its a second choice and price we can afford. I know folks here who don't give an inside an second glance and will take it in a heartbeat. Me and the wife, we'll always take a balcony anytime. To each his own.

Mac 

[clo]

12 minutes ago, SmoothFlying said:

we'll always take a balcony anytime.

We're going to be cruising in Southern South America in their summer.  We have a "verandah" and I'm wondering how much we'll use it considering how hot it will be.  We won't even be taking bathing suits if that tells you how we feel about heat 🙂

[SmoothFlying]

2 minutes ago, clo said:

We're going to be cruising in Southern South America in their summer.  We have a "verandah" and I'm wondering how much we'll use it considering how hot it will be.  We won't even be taking bathing suits if that tells you how we feel about heat 🙂

Now there's a topic we all agree on !! LOL ! My wife hates it more than I doooooo !! But, that being said we still love the balcony thingee. However, we can tolerate the Caribbean heat but having never been any further south than that I'm not sure if we'd spend a lot of time balcony-wise too. We also had one on our Alaska cruise but with it being thirty eight degrees daytime and a twenty three mph wind about twenty minutes every hour was about the max we could do. But it was breathtakingly beautiful, both scenery AND temp wise !

 

Mac

[clo]

2 minutes ago, SmoothFlying said:

My wife hates it more than I doooooo !!

I don't know her but I already love her 🙂  But we start in Rio and wind up in Buenos Aires so the farther south we go the cooler it will be.  And we're only two cabins from the very back so I'm sure it will be beautiful.  Best regards to your wife 🙂

[shipgeeks]

OV, as low to the sea as possible.  We love sitting in the window and seeing the ocean right there.  

[SmoothFlying]

11 hours ago, clo said:

I don't know her but I already love her 🙂  But we start in Rio and wind up in Buenos Aires so the farther south we go the cooler it will be.  And we're only two cabins from the very back so I'm sure it will be beautiful.  Best regards to your wife 🙂

LOLLLLLLLLLLLL !! Thank you so much, Clo i'll pass your 'warm' regards ! (No pun intended !) 🙂 I am so glad to hear the temps will be more easier to tolerate the further south you go. I wish it were the same in the southern Caribbean but St. Marten was just hot or hotter than Nassau. Your cabin location (from the back) was just about where our balcony was on the Oasis of the Seas but we were on deck twelve. Your cruise sounds wonderful !

Mac

[SmoothFlying]

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

OV, as low to the sea as possible.  We love sitting in the window and seeing the ocean right there.  

I had an OV cabin on my very first cruise on one of Carnival's very first ships, the Mardi Gras, wayyyy  back in 1987 on the Rivera deck of course I was so new to cruising I didn't even know balconies and suites even existed ! 

Mac

[George C]

We have booked every type of room , started with insides in days before balconies. But we now book nothing but suites, love the perks , prefer ships with suite dinning rooms. Perfect suite would be a corner aft .

 

[clo]

25 minutes ago, George C said:

prefer ships with suite dinning rooms.

Curious why you prefer that.

[George C]

4 hours ago, clo said:

Curious why you prefer that.

Service and food is so much better in suite dinning rooms, prefer celebrity suite restaurants over rccl but prefer costal kitchen over any mdr. 

[clo]

21 minutes ago, George C said:

Service and food is so much better in suite dinning rooms, prefer celebrity suite restaurants over rccl but prefer costal kitchen over any mdr. 

Oh, so you're talking about rccl and celebrity exclusively.  I couldn't find any info on Costal Kitchen cruise line.  Have you been on any Oceania ships?  They're really known for their food.

[George C]

44 minutes ago, clo said:

Oh, so you're talking about rccl and celebrity exclusively.  I couldn't find any info on Costal Kitchen cruise line.  Have you been on any Oceania ships?  They're really known for their food.

No would like to try Oceania and other other upscale lines but like entertainment on rccl , we have been doing music charters on celebrity for the entertainment. Have done most of the popular cruise lines . I think Oceania bought up renaissance ships when they went under in 2001, did renaissance to Europe they had a very nice mdr. 

[Aplmac]

11 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

OV, as low to the sea as possible. 

We love sitting in the window and seeing the ocean right there.  

 

Here's a shot of something you don't want to see

while sitting in your Ocean View window bay.

 

I saved this photo off Cruise Critic years and years ago

(major congratulations to whoever had the temerity to catch this!)

The file name says it was Carnival Pride, November 2012.

Riviera Deck.

 

Now you know why those big picture windows are rubber-gasket sealed

with a safety bar across the middle!

__________________________________________

Underwater view of a large swell being negotiated!

 

[ed01106]

I prefer inside.  Love total darkness even for a midday nap.  Plus if I am naturally reclusive, having a small inside room forces me to get out and mingle, if I had a suite with a balcony I would be tempted to order room service and never leave the cabin.  Which would make the whole cruise pointless.

[shipgeeks]

8 hours ago, SmoothFlying said:

I had an OV cabin on my very first cruise on one of Carnival's very first ships, the Mardi Gras, wayyyy  back in 1987 on the Rivera deck of course I was so new to cruising I didn't even know balconies and suites even existed ! 

Mac

That's because balconies didn't exist then!

[George C]

First cruise that ever had a balcony was in mid 90’s tiny balcony only a couple feet deep.

[LoriPhil]

 A balcony is a minimum requirement as I spend time just standing or sitting at the rail listening to the ship cruising through the waves, looking for critters or watching the skies.  Prefer sitting area in the cabin because I dislike sitting in bed to read, which means a “mini suite” on Princess.  Celebrity has a couch in their conventional balcony rooms, which was a nice surprise when we booked the Eclipse.  

Edited July 6, 2019 by LoriPhil

[ed01106]

17 hours ago, Aplmac said:

 

__________________________________________

Underwater view of a large swell being negotiated!

 

You can get that same view from a washing machine with a glass front.

🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

Edited July 6, 2019 by ed01106

[lenquixote66]

On 7/2/2019 at 8:39 PM, SailorMan20 said:

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.

A lanai on HAL  but on any other cruise line an OV cabin.I like knowing the weather when I wake up.

[gymbomb]

I have sailed everything from inside to suites, and in the right circumstances would do any of them again! But I really like aft facing balconies (which could be regular balcony, mini suite, or suite).

[mss22859]

With the exception of our first, we have done nothing but balconies. Early on, it was due to both of us being smokers. Lately, it has been so my DW can go out to warm up, while I go in cabin to cool off! We are definitely polar opposites!!!

[leaveitallbehind]

On 7/3/2019 at 8:03 AM, Aplmac said:

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.

 

Not true with all cruise lines. With most (ex: RCI / Celebrity / NCL) the balcony is separate and additional in square footage in stating the stateroom size.  In other words, the stateroom size is listed separately from the balcony and, although there are specific exceptions, typically the balcony staterooms are the same size or larger than OV with additional square footage added with the balcony.

Edited July 12, 2019 by leaveitallbehind