More cruises or nicer cabins?

[cruisin from florida]

After years of balconies with occasional JSs, we're now retired and have a lot more time to cruise. 

I'm thinking about switching to inside cabins going forward. Pros: save $$$, cruise more, sleep and nap well in nice dark cabin. Schooner Bar becomes our living room.

Cons: obviously, no balcony, no sea view, smaller cabins (so less pleasant to just hang out there).

 

What's your arithmetic? More cruise nights or nicer cabins?

 

(Obviously this is going to be based on personal preference, so there's no right or wrong answers... Or need for feuds 😁)

[OCSC Mike]

I don’t care about my cabin & have rarely used my balcony when I’ve had one so it’s cheaper cabins for me. It’s somewhere to sleep, shower, & get changed.

 

Wife & I also do enjoy how dark they get as you mentioned, especially when she takes the occasional midday nap.

 

I also don’t find it unpleasant to hang out sitting on the smaller couch or in bed for a while in an interior.

 

As you said, personal preference of course.

[time4u2go]

More cruises.

[alohayall]

I’m in the more cruises camp.  Money is an issue - and I don’t utilize balconies or Concierge services enough to warrant them when I have paid more.

[topnole]

Mix it up and try suites a couple times.  Then you will have your answer.   Everyone is different.  I used to think more cruises without a doubt.  Having done more suites than regular cabins the past 6-7 years, my view has evolved.   Clearly you won’t know for yourself unless you spend the extra and skip an additional cruise.  Then you will know if it was worth it to you.  
 

My advice is only do suites on the big ships with suite class.  Going sky class is vastly superior to doing a suite in freedom class and older.  I’d suggest finding a grand suite on oasis class to see how you like it.  If nothing else, splurge once to enjoy it.  You worked your whole life to enjoy retirement.  At least try it once.  

[Steppy08]

It depends on your situation. Right now my husband and I both work, so we don’t have time for more cruises and are trying to get to Diamond next year. So Jr Suites on the right ship give us the biggest bang for our buck. 
Also depends on the cruise, there are some where a balcony is a must for me others an inside is fine. 

[mac_tlc]

As we have gotten older, and retired 4 years ago, we value extra space. We typically go with at least a JS now, and higher on O class because we like the extra amenities. 
 

We are not sun worshipers and hardly ever use the sun deck or pool deck, other than the Solarium if it’s covered. That is our biggest disappointment with O class— they have terrible Solariums, IOHO. 
 

I wouldn’t say we cruise less now, but we worked our whole life to now enjoy it a bit while we can. 
 

mac_tlc

Edited July 9, 2022 by mac_tlc

[OCSC Mike]

8 minutes ago, topnole said:

My advice is only do suites on the big ships with suite class.  Going sky class is vastly superior to doing a suite in freedom class and older.  I’d suggest finding a grand suite on oasis class to see how you like it.  If nothing else, splurge once to enjoy it.  You worked your whole life to enjoy retirement.  At least try it once.  

Even though I answered cheaper cabins & it remains my preference, I can’t argue with how great Sky Class is on Oasis class.

 

My generous in laws got our family grand suites on Harmony recently & the perks were amazing. The cabin itself was of course very nice but it was largely wasted on us. Loved the perks though & agree that there’s a big difference b/t them on Oasis & smaller classes.

 

Looking forward to next June’s next family cruise on Wonder in a GS but also looking forward to my far cheaper cabins on my Indy B2B in 6 days.

[Cigar King]

I would rather not cruise than go in an inside cabin.  If it works for you, great.  For me, I want a balcony and plenty of space.  Those insides are way too small, and don't get me started on the bathroom.

[George C]

We prefer going first class , book nothing but suites.

[ARandomTraveler]

Depends on the ship and sailing route. If you're on a ship with a lot to do (Oasis class) or a sailing route with lots of port stops (southern Caribbean out of Puerto Rico for example), then cheaper cabin for sure. 
 

If you're sailing for quiet relaxation, maybe go for the more expensive cabin.

 

Personally, I get a mid grade cabin, and use the rest of my vacation money to take other types of vacations. There are so many things to do and paces to see in this world, I can't imagine spending all my vacation time and money on one type of trip (cruising). I cruise about every other year give or take, and go on multiple land based trips in between. Cruising is the cheapest vacation option and I really enjoy it, but I can't imagine making it my only vacation option. 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, cruisin from florida said:

I'm thinking about switching to inside cabins going forward. Pros: save $$$, cruise more, sleep and nap well in nice dark cabin. Schooner Bar becomes our living room.

Definitely more cruises. We don't buy into the cruise line attempts to nickel and dime you for more money. We eat in the MDR or Windjammer every night. Haven't been to "specialty dining" in a long time.  Enjoy free entertainment. Other than sleeping, we are normally not in the room very much. Yup, right now while we are still working, we'll drop some cash for a JS or GS from time to time, but are usually in balconies.  And would be happy in an inside room to cruise more. 

Edited July 9, 2022 by BirdTravels

[cruiselvr04]

We’ve done inside ( years ago) to OS (recent).  Our favorite is a jr suite for space.  For us more space just isn’t used, but the perks of suites are great. That said of the next 9 cruises we have 2 jr suites, 4 balcony and 3 are OV.  The OV total 45 days, a balcony was double the price. 
 

As we approach retirement I’m thinking we’ll look at more cruises in OV and balcony cabins so we can go more often.  We really don’t care as much what type of room we are in anymore.  We want longer cruises to itinerary’s where we haven’t been before and less Caribbean.  I’m sure for a special occasion we’ll still throw in a suite or 2.  

[jndsilver31]

because i am still working full time. we only cruise every 12-18 months, we always for for the suites. we have gotten spoiled by going in star class suites

[HicksRA]

Wife is claustrophobic so I could never get her in an inside. (It’s hard enough just to get her in an elevator). We stayed in an OV once and it was tolerable but not really enjoyable. 

We have booked primarily GS or JS and have spoiled ourselves, but may have to start doing more balconies with today’s pricing and general cost of living increases. 

I guess it mainly boils down to how much time you normally spend in your cabin. 

If it’s just to sleep and shower, an inside might be fine. 

[broadwaybaby123]

I think it depends on what you want out of your cruise.  If you cruise mostly for the destinations, cabins may not matter to you so much,  If you've been to the destinations before, you may want to cruise more for what the ship has to offer, including better cabins.

[Lionesss]

Ever since our first cruise in a GS, and loving what we had, we will always book a GS or above for the two of us.

The GS were on Freedom, Mariner, and Explorer.

The CLS on Oasis, Symphony and Allure

The A4 on Allure, never again in a A4.

 

Take care

[Another_Critic]

I choose whatever is the best "value" for each sailing.  Could be inside, outside, or balcony.  Had a 2BR GS once, but that was a free upgrade in exchange for giving up 2 OV cabins on a full sailing.

[brillohead]

I've done inside, outside, Central Park balcony, and oceanview balcony rooms. I've also spent time in all the other suites visiting friends.  Personally, I'm just as happy in an inside as I am in any of the others.  

It really depends on how YOU want to spend your time on the ship.  If you spend a lot of time hanging out in your room or on your balcony, then those things are important to you and worth spending the money on.  If you are literally only in the room to shower and sleep, then you won't find the value in a larger room and balcony that you won't spend time enjoying.  

[rrraydon]

I book the least expensive most times. I prefer to save on each cruise in order to cruise more often. I am rarely in my cabin and hardly ever use the balcony.

My Oasis cruise, in a few months, I booked the Park View balcony...it was only a few dollars more than the standard inside. My Oasis cruise in June next year we booked a balcony because my SIL only cruises every few years and she likes the outside balcony--I would have preferred one of the aft boardwalk balcony cabins.

Edited July 9, 2022 by rrraydon

[Diver2014]

The first time we booked a balcony cabin, we said we'd never go back to anything less.  To me, the ideal cruise is sitting on the balcony watching the water go by and enjoying the fresh air.  There's nothing like it.  We have no need for suites.  We'd probably cruise more than twice a year if we didn't have to hire a dog sitter for our pups each time. 

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

As we have gotten older, and retired 4 years ago, we value extra space. We typically go with at least a JS now, and higher on O class because we like the extra amenities. 
 

We are not sun worshipers and hardly ever use the sun deck or pool deck, other than the Solarium if it’s covered. That is our biggest disappointment with O class— they have terrible Solariums, IOHO. 
 

I wouldn’t say we cruise less now, but we worked our whole life to now enjoy it a bit while we can. 
 

mac_tlc

 

Try a VP on Voyager or Freedom Class if balcony not important. Huge space, full suite benefits, and similar price point to JS

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, Cigar King said:

I would rather not cruise than go in an inside cabin.  If it works for you, great.  For me, I want a balcony and plenty of space.  Those insides are way too small, and don't get me started on the bathroom.

 

Inside bathroom is identical to a balcony bathroom🤔

[rrraydon]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Inside bathroom is identical to a balcony bathroom🤔

Yup...plus, can always shower in the spa bathrooms. They're nice, too.

[island lady]

Both