Why choose inside cabin?

[rowingmachine]

I have never been on a Princess Cruise before, but recently booked a Sky Princess 14 day cruise for November this year.  I was amazed at how cheap it was compared to the cruise lines I have booked before.  What especially surprised me was the closeness in price of Inside cabins to Mini Balconies.  On the Cruise in question (no flight) the prices are £970 inside, £1096 cheapest balcony, £1367 cheapest mini suite. The Sky suite was admittedly a tad more at £12,500 or so. Our very first cruise in 2013 with Costa in Balcony without drinks   cost £950 for 11 nights cruise hotel and flight. All prices per person We thought that was good value.  Add on the Premier offer at the moment for less than £50 pppn inc everything, it does seem like a pleasant way to spend half of November

[PacnGoNow]

Many times the inside is a lot less expensive, so some go for the lower price.  Also, others like the darkness for sleeping.  On a port

intensive cruise, some say they aren’t in the cabin much anyway.

 

IMO, we like balconies, to relax, to have a glass of wine (or two), an ultimate balcony dinner and get away from crowds, etc.  

 

Everyone is different.

 

Welcome to the Princess forum and the Sky is a beautiful ship.  Enjoy.
 

 

[karatemom2]

I think a lot of the pricing also depends on the itinerary and time of year. We don’t book inside cabins anymore, but when our kids were young and we were paying for the whole family to travel we did. We were limited to traveling at peak season when school was out and the prices were high. We did the LA to Hawaii cruise with our kids at Christmas for four years in a row and even the price of an inside on that particular cruise was very expensive. Also a balcony is not always that great on a Pacific or Atlantic crossing so it may be easier to skip it for certain itineraries. 
 

Now we always book a balcony - we especially like the forward balconies on the Royal class ships. You will really love the Sky - we did a Med cruise on her last year out of Southampton and are coming back this summer for a Norway cruise. Enjoy your upcoming cruise!!
 

 

[CrazyTrain2]

We sail both inside cabins and balconies. It depends on the pricing.  I have never slept so well as in an inside cabin.  Additionally, I have never had an inside cabin that was noisy.

 

What I will not do is bid up for a balcony.  It can often end poorly in that the Balcony cabins you get are the ones NOBODY else wanted.  It is just a game by the cruise line preying on your excitement.

 

Some lines like Virgin Voyages have amenities on Balcony Cabins I am willing to pay for.

 

Enjoy!

[MissP22]

13 minutes ago, CrazyTrain2 said:

We sail both inside cabins and balconies. It depends on the pricing.  I have never slept so well as in an inside cabin.  Additionally, I have never had an inside cabin that was noisy.

 

What I will not do is bid up for a balcony.  It can often end poorly in that the Balcony cabins you get are the ones NOBODY else wanted.  It is just a game by the cruise line preying on your excitement.

 

Some lines like Virgin Voyages have amenities on Balcony Cabins I am willing to pay for.

 

Enjoy!

Exactly. If we wanted an upgraded cabin in the first place we would have paid for it & know that we're in a decent location & not wind up in a cabin under the lido deck to be woken up at 5  AM as they arranged the deck chairs. 😉

[moodyb1]

My husband and I love the "sideways" inside cabins that can be found on the newer ships. They may be the same square footage as the regular inside cabins but they do seem bigger to us. The configuration of the room is different and you do get a bigger desk and more cabinet space in them. There aren't too many of them on a ship, so we are often shut out if we don't book early. We book many cruises a year, so in order to save many we book inside cabins. 

 

Arlene

[MissP22]

13 minutes ago, moodyb1 said:

My husband and I love the "sideways" inside cabins that can be found on the newer ships. They may be the same square footage as the regular inside cabins but they do seem bigger to us. The configuration of the room is different and you do get a bigger desk and more cabinet space in them. There aren't too many of them on a ship, so we are often shut out if we don't book early. We book many cruises a year, so in order to save many we book inside cabins. 

 

Arlene

They seem to be laid out better to provide more storage space. At least it seemed that way. 

[BamaVol]

We had a balcony for a mid-May Mediterranean cruise years back and barely used it.  The cruise stopped at a different port every day and while we were underway, the balcony felt too cool and windy to enjoy.  I could have saved a little money by selecting a lesser cabin. But, as a rule, we enjoy seeing outside and had a balcony for Alaska, even though it was chilly because there was so much to see and photograph without leaving the cabin.

[hatchda]

If you want to be able to sleep like a Vampire.. then an inside cabin is perfect. Some of the best sleep I have had was in one. Once I was in the room, I had no idea if it was day or night.

[BamaVol]

Just now, hatchda said:

If you want to be able to sleep like a Vampire.. then an inside cabin is perfect. Some of the best sleep I have had was in one. Once I was in the room, I had no idea if it was day or night.

I get the same effect from 5 Manhattans.

[moodyb1]

56 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

They seem to be laid out better to provide more storage space. At least it seemed that way. 

A few times we had balcony cabins that we hardly used because the weather was either too cold or too hot. We feel the sideways cabins have more room than the balcony cabins.

[Cruise_Rookie_2010]

We're happy to sail inside for two main reasons

(i) savings - which we then put towards another cruise, meant we did 3 cruises in 2023 & have 3 planned this year, choosing a balcony every time would probably reduce that.

(ii) barely used the balcony when we've had one previously (4 occasions), much prefer to be out & about the ship, & dislike eating breakfast in the cabin.

 

Cruising is a broad church with room for all regardless of their preferences, long may it stay that way.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

I think that there is room for all tastes. We will never have an inside or a ocean view cabin as my DW needs to be able to get outside and feel the air as she gets a bit claustrophobic but I can see the benefit of an inside... more money for more cruising and what is wrong with that? 🙂  

[karatemom2]

I will add that one of the things I remember loving about our inside cabin is how cozy it felt. Since a lot of the time we were cruising at Christmas, we always had a little tree with lights and the cabin was so dark at night with all the lights turned off and we would turn on the tree and the channel on the TV with the crackling yule log fireplace. Best memories ever with my littles snuggled up and feeling the ship rocking us to sleep. The nicest balcony cabin we have ever had since can never live up to those days!

[lx200gps]

4 hours ago, rowingmachine said:

I have never been on a Princess Cruise before, but recently booked a Sky Princess 14 day cruise for November this year.  I was amazed at how cheap it was compared to the cruise lines I have booked before.  What especially surprised me was the closeness in price of Inside cabins to Mini Balconies.  On the Cruise in question (no flight) the prices are £970 inside, £1096 cheapest balcony, £1367 cheapest mini suite. The Sky suite was admittedly a tad more at £12,500 or so. Our very first cruise in 2013 with Costa in Balcony without drinks   cost £950 for 11 nights cruise hotel and flight. All prices per person We thought that was good value.  Add on the Premier offer at the moment for less than £50 pppn inc everything, it does seem like a pleasant way to spend half of November

 

I've always noticed that as well. Trouble is, by the time I drill down and find EXACTLY the Mini-Suite we want, the price has magically exploded and is far more expensive than the low-priced Minis (or Balconies or Insides) quoted. Those low-priced Minis that are "close" in price to an inside are guarantees in the lowest possible fare/cabin class, usually in a less than ideal location.  Count is among those who absolutely must know our exact cabin location before booking.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

The headline, low-priced, cabins are always at the bottom of the category and in the least desirable places (Fore, aft). By the time you have chosen the area you want (often mid) the price will have gone up by quite a lot. It catches me out every time. I see a cruise for say £700 for an inside and end up paying £1500 for a mini-suite!

[rowingmachine]

Thanks everybody. Nuances there I had not considered being ever overly concerned with price rather than personal value for which I am constantly castigated by DW.  As with Snaxmuppet my better half would not countenance an inside  or oceanview cabin; she would like a way out if it sinks.  I am sure we shall enjoy immensely - we always do.

[charliedalrymple]

We like balcony staterooms simply for the light and sense of openness afforded by a wall of glass, whether we actually use the balcony or not.  We also like being out on the balcony when we are arriving or departing ports.

[startedwithamouse]

No slamming balcony doors, loud talkers, loud music or smell of weed. 

 

We love our inside cabin bookings. 

 

Since we book GTY, we're the lowest price on the ship and have received two Move Over offers in the past.

 

We've only had a couple (splurge) suites on Princess, but we don't miss them. 

  

Edited February 21 by startedwithamouse

[westcoaster]

I always book inside cabins.  I'm a light sleeper, so I find that I sleep much better in the darker and quieter inside cabins.  It's also easier to control the temperature of inside cabins.  

 

I've been upgraded to a balcony a few times, and it has only reconfirmed for me that I'm not a balcony person.  I found the layout of the balcony cabins to be less efficient compared with inside cabins since you lose the back wall. 

 

I also found that I rarely used the balcony.  When I'm outside on a cruise, I like to roam around on the open deck and view things from different angles.  I don't like being confined to one spot on a balcony.

[wcflats]

We prefer the balcony cabins for the feeling of openness and the ability to just walk outside and sit away from the crowds.   The cost is what it is.  Many times we have cabins next to family and friends so  we open the balcony doors to enjoy a gathering .

[SCX22]

The choice is personal as with many things cruising.  There are some who spend very little time in their cabins and see their cabins only as a place to sleep, as place to store their belongings, and as a place to practice hygiene.  These people are usually very active on the ship and in port.

 

Pricing on cruises fluctuates depending on a variety of factors.  At one interval in time the price difference between inside and balcony might be thousands of dollars, which is the usually the case for longer cruises.  I've seen some Drop and Go rates where a balcony is cheaper than an interior because there was more balcony availability than interior.

 

Up to the cruiser to decide as to how best to spend their money and decide if the tradeoffs, if they see any, are worth it.

[Firefly74]

4 hours ago, BamaVol said:

We had a balcony for a mid-May Mediterranean cruise years back and barely used it.  The cruise stopped at a different port every day and while we were underway, the balcony felt too cool and windy to enjoy.  I could have saved a little money by selecting a lesser cabin. But, as a rule, we enjoy seeing outside and had a balcony for Alaska, even though it was chilly because there was so much to see and photograph without leaving the cabin.

We had a balcony on our first cruise (to Alaska). We barely used it. We were rarely in our cabin. We liked being with others to hear the comments about the scenery. We found little nooks for reading to relax. We just did not use the balcony.

 

Besides, I need sleep and I do better with that with an inside cabin.

 

And I can do more cruises with the money I save.

 

So, yes, I am an inside cabin person.

[Thrak]

For an Inside cabin I agree that the Sideways cabins are great. More storage to be sure and the room just "feels" bigger. One reason to sail in an Inside cabin is if you want to purchase the Plus or Premier fare. An Inside cabin with Premier is less than a Balcony with Plus. Gotta be a wise shopper... (Of course, having said the above, our next cruise is once again in a Balcony cabin. We have sailed in Inside and Ocean View as well and had no problems with the cabins. On our recent 63 day trip we spent the first 31 days in an Inside cabin and the last 32 days in a Balcony. (The steward for the Inside was great. The steward for the Balcony was terrible.)

[Over from NZ]

Our last cruise.. it was an extra $5k for a balcony. We couldn't justify it. We've had balconies in the past and never got the use from them. I don't like being cooped up.. so a balcony is wasted on me. I don't go on holiday to stay in my room. Particularly when we have itineraries with port days almost every day. That said.. we've got a balcony room later this year on a Pacific cruise because it wasn't much dearer and we might spend possibly a few hours in it maybe.