Spirit aft inside cabins deck 10 near Spice H2O?

[luckybecky]

Does anyone have experience/ pictures of aft inside cabins on the Spirit deck 10?

 

We usually sail in a balcony but for the B2B South Pacific cruise that we just booked, the price difference between inside and balcony (or even OV) was just nuts. There was no way we could justify spending that much more so we booked inside cabin 10175. We chose this cabin specifically because it appears to be in very close proximity to Spice H2O. So we can just walk out our cabin and be outdoors in seconds -- Spice H2O will be our not-so-private "balcony" hangout. We also like that it is a very close trip to stairs outside at Spice H2O or the inside aft stairs/elevators to go up to the buffet and main pool area. 

 

I'm curious if anyone has been in one of these aft inside cabins. Is there a noise problem with foot traffic going to and from Spice H2O? Is there a noise problem at night when it apparently turns into a party venue? (We are not early to bed types so not terribly concerned about this unless things run really late and loud.) I particularly love to have some wine on my balcony before bed while enjoying the stars at night, and hope this location will work for us.

 

Just curious if anyone has any thoughts. I generally really don't like the inside cabins we have had but I'm hoping that our very close proximity to outside will make it OK. I figure I can just throw on a swim coverup anytime I want to go outside and not have to wander far to get there. 😄

 

We are going to be in this cabin for 25 days (!) our longest cruise ever. 

[Asawi]

I haven't stayed in that particular room but it looks like a fabulous location. I stayed in another aft deck 10 cabin during an Alaska cruise and absolutely loved just stepping out and get to Spice H2O in seconds! No noise issues whatsoever for me.

[luckybecky]

Thanks for the iuput Asawi. Glad to hear that there were no noise issues. The particular room we have appears to be long and narrow on the deck plans. I'll be interested to see what it looks like. Hopefully not too small.

[itsnotjustme]

I recently debated between an inexpensive inside cabin ($899 base fare) and a balcony ($2,549 base fare).  The difference ($1,650 per person, or $3,300) was not as large as it looked.  Let me explain:

 

1) I get a 10 % military discount. $330 smaller delta.

2) My TA was offering free gratuities on balcony or above.  Saved $20x12x2 = $480)

3) My TA offers United Frequent Flyer Miles.  I get about $100 worth more miles for a balcony.

4) In a balcony, we get an additional specialty dining, worth about $100 for two.

 

So that $3,300 delta drops to more like $2,200, or $1,100 each.

 

Related to your proximity, we sailed on the Dawn once and were on Deck 12 just forward of the pool deck.  We loved the location - we could scoot out to the hot tub or bar in no time.

[luckybecky]

8 hours ago, itsnotjustme said:

I recently debated between an inexpensive inside cabin ($899 base fare) and a balcony ($2,549 base fare).  The difference ($1,650 per person, or $3,300) was not as large as it looked.  Let me explain:

 

1) I get a 10 % military discount. $330 smaller delta.

2) My TA was offering free gratuities on balcony or above.  Saved $20x12x2 = $480)

3) My TA offers United Frequent Flyer Miles.  I get about $100 worth more miles for a balcony.

4) In a balcony, we get an additional specialty dining, worth about $100 for two.

 

So that $3,300 delta drops to more like $2,200, or $1,100 each.

 

Related to your proximity, we sailed on the Dawn once and were on Deck 12 just forward of the pool deck.  We loved the location - we could scoot out to the hot tub or bar in no time.

 

Sounds like you have a great TA! 🙂 

 

I get your point. Sometimes you can get perks that help offset the price. But in this case the price difference was just too much for us to swallow -- no matter how much I love to have a balcony. The price for an IA cabin (not gty) is about $3500 including taxes and fees. For a balcony BC it is currently approximately $9750. Ouch!

 

And that is just one half of the B2B that we are planning. Almost three times the price is just not worth it to us. Add the other half of the B2B and we are talking really big money.

 

We've done a few cruises and the balcony is usually not THAT much more. Not sure why it is so much higher on this one. Maybe just a very desirable itinerary?

 

So unless we are able to snag a really amazing upgrade, we will be hanging out in this inside cabin but with very close access to the outdoors and a pool. I hope that I'll be able to report back here in a few months that it was amazing! 🏖️🍹🛳️

 

 

[itsnotjustme]

4 hours ago, luckybecky said:

The price for an IA cabin (not gty) is about $3500 including taxes and fees. For a balcony BC it is currently approximately $9750. Ouch!

Yikes - that is quite a difference.  I understand your choice. 

[vswan]

I think it depends on the ship. The smaller, older ships (which I love to sail on) do not have as many balconies. Couple that with the high occupancy rates they currently have and they can fill the smaller number of balconies at the higher price. I ran into the same thing on the Jade, and although I would have loved a balcony, just couldn't justify the price difference.

[Asawi]

You know, with that location, so near the outdoors I don't think you'll miss a balcony! It's really great going out there to the comfortable seating and different viewpoints. I would LOVE getting an inside in that area again!

[insidecabin]

We had aft inside near the stairs on the Star.

 

Perfect access to H2O, buffet(aft section is quieter), and bliss last stop at night.

[highwaynan]

We were in 11663 a month ago on a b2b alaska cruise. I agree with the above poster. The location is fantastic! We were 3rd cabin in from the exit to the back. It's close to everything but mostly the aft bar. The pool was cold so it went mostly unused but there are 2 hot tubs that were busy.  We would hot tub then grab a towel and run back to the room. That aft is what we wish was on every ship. There were no parties out there at night .Maybe because it was Alaska? 

[jbcallender]

I was on Spirit in November for Tahiti to Hawaii.  We were in a cabin forward on 10, but it seemed to me that there was a lot of traffic back and forth past those rooms  

[stjohnbeachlover]

On 10/6/2023 at 12:39 AM, luckybecky said:

Does anyone have experience/ pictures of aft inside cabins on the Spirit deck 10?

 

We usually sail in a balcony but for the B2B South Pacific cruise that we just booked, the price difference between inside and balcony (or even OV) was just nuts. There was no way we could justify spending that much more so we booked inside cabin 10175. We chose this cabin specifically because it appears to be in very close proximity to Spice H2O. So we can just walk out our cabin and be outdoors in seconds -- Spice H2O will be our not-so-private "balcony" hangout. We also like that it is a very close trip to stairs outside at Spice H2O or the inside aft stairs/elevators to go up to the buffet and main pool area. 

 

I'm curious if anyone has been in one of these aft inside cabins. Is there a noise problem with foot traffic going to and from Spice H2O? Is there a noise problem at night when it apparently turns into a party venue? (We are not early to bed types so not terribly concerned about this unless things run really late and loud.) I particularly love to have some wine on my balcony before bed while enjoying the stars at night, and hope this location will work for us.

 

Just curious if anyone has any thoughts. I generally really don't like the inside cabins we have had but I'm hoping that our very close proximity to outside will make it OK. I figure I can just throw on a swim coverup anytime I want to go outside and not have to wander far to get there. 😄

 

We are going to be in this cabin for 25 days (!) our longest cruise ever. 

We will be staying in this area in a balcony on the Spirit starting November 26 for 12 days. I can come back here and answer your questions about the traffic and noise when I get back.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

We were on the Spirit in 2020.   In the evening my wife used to go to the show and I went to use one of the "Hot" tubs.   A misnomer!

 

I was the only person there almost every evening, there were only crew at time closing everything down.

 

Unlike during the day, it was PACKED!!

[luckybecky]

2 hours ago, stjohnbeachlover said:

We will be staying in this area in a balcony on the Spirit starting November 26 for 12 days. I can come back here and answer your questions about the traffic and noise when I get back.

 

That would be great! I'll be interested to hear what you think about this location.

[luckybecky]

56 minutes ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

We were on the Spirit in 2020.   In the evening my wife used to go to the show and I went to use one of the "Hot" tubs.   A misnomer!

 

I was the only person there almost every evening, there were only crew at time closing everything down.

 

Unlike during the day, it was PACKED!!

 

So I take it from your comment that the hot tubs weren't hot enough -- which was our experience on the Spirit a few years ago. We got in the hot tub one time and that was enough. And to make matters worse it was a cold weather cruise so the lukewarm hot tubs weren't working for us at all. We missed being able to get in them.

 

Good to know it wasn't busy at night, though! It's going to be my private balcony 🙂

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

@luckybecky

 

Here in Kawerau New Zealand we have a thermally heated, free, outdoor 25m pool that is, in winter, hotter than the "Hot" tubs.    We also have a large HOT spa; usually at 30-32 degrees.

[Srq14407]

The best secret out there is the NCL credit card by Bank of America.  For 60,000 points, the equivalent of $600, you can upgrade from inside to balcony (for 2 people).  You can also earn points with their Premium Rewards Card and transfer them to the NCL card to redeem.  This is the only way we cruise with NCL now.

[ChiefMateJRK]

42 minutes ago, Srq14407 said:

For 60,000 points, the equivalent of $600, you can upgrade from inside to balcony (for 2 people). 

Do you have to charge $60,000 to earn those 60,000 points?

[ucmino]

We stayed in cabin 10177. It was a 16 day cruise and the cost for a balcony was so expensive we decided on an inside.  It was fantastic, we were 25 steps to Spice H2O (the bar specifically). This was a sideways inside room and it worked out perfect for us.  I requested the beds separated to give us more room.  I had two future cruises booked in a balcony stateroom and have since changed the bookings to an inside room. 
 

I found a couple of pictures of our room.  One suggestion is to bring metal hooks for the walls.

[Srq14407]

On 12/15/2023 at 5:53 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Do you have to charge $60,000 to earn those 60,000 points?

No. Bank of America has a Preferred Rewards program depending on how much money one deposits.  At the top level one earns 3.5% for travel with the Premium Rewards card and 2.65% on everything else; and 5.25% on NCL with the NCL card.  

[dexddd]

On 12/16/2023 at 1:31 PM, ucmino said:

We stayed in cabin 10177. It was a 16 day cruise and the cost for a balcony was so expensive we decided on an inside.  It was fantastic, we were 25 steps to Spice H2O (the bar specifically). This was a sideways inside room and it worked out perfect for us.  I requested the beds separated to give us more room.  I had two future cruises booked in a balcony stateroom and have since changed the bookings to an inside room. 
 

I found a couple of pictures of our room.  One suggestion is to bring metal hooks for the walls.

You get any vibration back there above 20 knots?

[stjohnbeachlover]

On 11/18/2023 at 10:57 PM, luckybecky said:

 

That would be great! I'll be interested to hear what you think about this location.

We just returned from a 12 day cruise on the Spirit. We had a balcony cabin 10678 which was 4 cabins down from the exit door to the pool area by H2O Spice. We loved this location as it was a short walk back to the cabin if you forgot anything plus it was quiet. The bar pool closed down at 7 pm each night. The only noise we heard was from our noisy next door neighbors who kept their television blaring on high until midnight each night, and then got up in the morning and started talking loudly around 7 am. Hopefully, you will have more considerate neighbors.

[littlelulu01]

We sailed in 10186 last aft stateroom.  I think your location might be better suited for less noise from above.  We had issues with power washing/deck cleaning and dragging chairs above our stateroom at night. I think your room is tucked back far enough that u will avoid that power wash middle of night chore action above. 
 

otherwise the location is absolutely perfect. We had a great balcony but I ended up using spice h20 area more often.  The door to spice is at the end of hallway- the deck plans don’t show it but there’s a door right next to 10186 to enter Spice deck. Those inside staterooms looked really small but with the deck right outside the room I think I’d be fine. 

The Spirit is by far my favorite in the fleet.  So easy to get anywhere onboard. I got a Starbucks every morning and then would sit in spice h20 and watch the wake. Felt a lot more luxurious with padded loungers, a hot tub and panoramic views compared with our balcony. 
 

Probably more key for Alaska but the other bonus is how easy to do a quick check on how busy hot tubs are before putting swimsuit on.  

[luckybecky]

On 12/16/2023 at 1:31 PM, ucmino said:

We stayed in cabin 10177. It was a 16 day cruise and the cost for a balcony was so expensive we decided on an inside.  It was fantastic, we were 25 steps to Spice H2O (the bar specifically). This was a sideways inside room and it worked out perfect for us.  I requested the beds separated to give us more room.  I had two future cruises booked in a balcony stateroom and have since changed the bookings to an inside room. 
 

I found a couple of pictures of our room.  One suggestion is to bring metal hooks for the walls.

 

Thanks for the pictures! Much appreciated. I can't quite tell from the photos -- was there any seating in the room besides the stool at the desk? Any sofa/chair/loveseat?

 

8 hours ago, stjohnbeachlover said:

We just returned from a 12 day cruise on the Spirit. We had a balcony cabin 10678 which was 4 cabins down from the exit door to the pool area by H2O Spice. We loved this location as it was a short walk back to the cabin if you forgot anything plus it was quiet. The bar pool closed down at 7 pm each night. The only noise we heard was from our noisy next door neighbors who kept their television blaring on high until midnight each night, and then got up in the morning and started talking loudly around 7 am. Hopefully, you will have more considerate neighbors.

4 hours ago, littlelulu01 said:

We sailed in 10186 last aft stateroom.  I think your location might be better suited for less noise from above.  We had issues with power washing/deck cleaning and dragging chairs above our stateroom at night. I think your room is tucked back far enough that u will avoid that power wash middle of night chore action above. 
 

otherwise the location is absolutely perfect. We had a great balcony but I ended up using spice h20 area more often.  The door to spice is at the end of hallway- the deck plans don’t show it but there’s a door right next to 10186 to enter Spice deck. Those inside staterooms looked really small but with the deck right outside the room I think I’d be fine. 

The Spirit is by far my favorite in the fleet.  So easy to get anywhere onboard. I got a Starbucks every morning and then would sit in spice h20 and watch the wake. Felt a lot more luxurious with padded loungers, a hot tub and panoramic views compared with our balcony. 
 

Probably more key for Alaska but the other bonus is how easy to do a quick check on how busy hot tubs are before putting swimsuit on.  
 

 

All very good information! Thanks everyone for the helpful comments. Littlelulu01, did you find the hot tubs to be warm enough? We were on the Spirit a few years ago and they were barely lukewarm, and certainly not hot enough for a cold weather cruise (we were in Norway). 

[littlelulu01]

46 minutes ago, luckybecky said:

 

Thanks for the pictures! Much appreciated. I can't quite tell from the photos -- was there any seating in the room besides the stool at the desk? Any sofa/chair/loveseat?

 

 

All very good information! Thanks everyone for the helpful comments. Littlelulu01, did you find the hot tubs to be warm enough? We were on the Spirit a few years ago and they were barely lukewarm, and certainly not hot enough for a cold weather cruise (we were in Norway). 

Hot tub was plenty warm.  I’ve had issues with hot tub temperatures on some of their other ships including not able to keep it warm enough in our balcony hot tub on the brand new Prima in Norway. We sailed the Spirit Alaska in May. In comparison to other refurbished ships, they really outdid themselves with the Spirit.  I understand the work was extensive and not just surface aesthetics.