Why choose inside cabin?

[dockman]

The location to me is a major factor.  I would rather have an inside room with a great location than an OV room where i have to walk down endless corridors to get to the steps/elevators.

[kywildcatfanone]

We book inside cabins mostly,  typically side way ones. We actually spent most evenings in our room watching TV. It's how we reconnect from the daily work grind where our schedules clash.  I do appreciate princess having good on demand tv options.

[Torfamm]

8 hours ago, 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.

My kids loved them as teenagers They could sleep as late as they wanted in complete darkness 

[Mississippian]

13 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 think it is a sales technique. When they are priced like that, very few people will book insides and everyone will see the balconies as a great value and book them. As the ship fills up they can raise the rate on the balconies.

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, dockman said:

The location to me is a major factor.  I would rather have an inside room with a great location than an OV room where i have to walk down endless corridors to get to the steps/elevators.

 

The far aft OV cabins on Baja deck on Coral Princess are probably our favorite cabins. Yes, they are all the way aft but we love the location and don't mind the walk.

[SCX22]

On Royal Class ships, the sideways interior cabins are for sure bigger.  On the deck plans below from the Princess website, sideways ones are on average 175 sq. ft. and the regular ones are on average only 166 sq ft. 

[ChristopherTracy]

To me it depends on the line and the ship. On the newer P&O ships the OV are a sweet spot for us as a family of 3 as they have more usable space than the balcony cabins plus they are lower in the ship. 

 

For my next cruise on Sky I have one of those sideways inside cabins as the cost was so low that it was a fantastic deal - Northern Europe in May I'm not that likely to need a balcony anyway. I think I will miss the window though (planning to use the bridge cam).

[DallasGuy75219]

4 hours ago, SCX22 said:

On Royal Class ships, the sideways interior cabins are for sure bigger.  On the deck plans below from the Princess website, sideways ones are on average 175 sq. ft. and the regular ones are on average only 166 sq ft. 

9 sq ft is not a meaningful difference, only 5% more square footage.

[insidecabin]

 Having just been through a booking exercise a few observations.

 

Princess cabin sizes are very similar so going up does not get loads of space.

We don't use balconies but do like space and cabin location drive our choice.

Some cruise lines/ships there can be a significant jump in space going OV balcony.

 

Some cabins are not shown where some might look, eg obstructed can  to be under inside selection, often with low premium over inside compared to regular.

 

A balcony searcher may never realise there is the same cabin just a few down  over a lifeboat or if lucky one of the unobstructed will be available or the balcony might just not have glass fronted rail.

 

Eg. one I have booked, the current rates are

£799 Inside

£899 obs balcony(our choice for location near stairs)

£949 deluxe obs balcony

£999 balcony (deck 8 same as obstructed just a couple of cabins down)

...

A previous trip we found we were spending quite a bit of time in the retreat area, we wanted to try a cabin with very easy access to the retreat pool and bar, no insides available in that area so booked  balcony to try it, will review once done.

 

 

 

 

[Steelers36]

The reason we choose Inside is economical and actually started down that route when Sanctuary first came along and we were doing Caribbean sector voyages.  We would book Sanctuary for $15/day full voyage (back then it was the price) and say that was our Balcony.  We have found Insides suit us most of the time and we like to set the beds up as singles and have the nice space in between.  We aren't in the cabin all that much.  Leaves more money to invest in shore excursions (not PCL) for our longer voyages we do now.

 

That said, we do appreciate a Balcony when pricing is attractive because it is nice to have the natural light and to be able to step out to fresh air when in port.  We do not tend to hang out on a Balcony for any length of time.  It is also great to be able to do a UBD when in a Balcony as a special treat.

 

ETA:  We have been in sideways and regular and I do like the layout of the sideways.  The one disadvantage is the passageway door opens right at the foot of the bed whereas the regular layout has the small entrance with bathroom and closet first and then the bedroom area, so there is more privacy and less splash of light if one person returns to cabin after partner gone to bed.

Edited February 22 by Steelers36

[RNRcruisers]

We often book insides - mostly for price but I do sleep really well in them. We have had windows and balconies a few times and we do like the natural light and fresh air but if it is a large price difference then an inside is just fine. We had an obstructed balcony on our last cruise. It was very obstructed and we didn't spend a lot of time out there, but it was nice to step out once in a while and check out the weather.

 

[cheetosrevil]

Easy... I'm a solo cruiser so inside it is since I'm paying for two people.

[jdacombe]

We have always booked balcony cabins, as we like to spend a lot of cabin time on the balcony especially if there is lovely scenery (eg; Fjords).

We have recently considered inside cabins particularly if it is a winter cruise but not sure if I would like the claustrophobic feeling of an inside cabin

[karatemom2]

2 minutes ago, jdacombe said:

We have always booked balcony cabins, as we like to spend a lot of cabin time on the balcony especially if there is lovely scenery (eg; Fjords).

We have recently considered inside cabins particularly if it is a winter cruise but not sure if I would like the claustrophobic feeling of an inside cabin

It is probably hard to know if you will be comfortable until you give it a try, but we never felt claustrophobic - just cozy, like our little cocoon. But some people will share that keeping the TV tuned into the bow cam can help. Like a virtual window to the outside. 

[CrazyTrain2]

This topic is making the ship designer's head spin around and possibly explode.  For decades they have been designing for more balconies is mo' better into their ship designs and this thread shows folks the benefits of ICs. 

 

In the old days balconies WERE the luxury cabin.

[MacMadame]

I've only been in inside cabins on my cruises. I like how dark they are while sleeping and we never spent much time in them. Just sleeping and changing clothes. However, our next cruise has a lot of scenery and a lot of port days so we're springing for a balcony. Time will tell if this was a good decision.

[SCX22]

3 hours ago, CrazyTrain2 said:

This topic is making the ship designer's head spin around and possibly explode.  For decades they have been designing for more balconies is mo' better into their ship designs and this thread shows folks the benefits of ICs. 

 

In the old days balconies WERE the luxury cabin.

 

Balconies come with a premium in fare and bring in more revenue, which is why cruise lines want more of them on their ships.  If interiors were more popular, it would be good for cruise lines because they would always sell out and passengers would have to book into a higher category.  What I did think was a bonehead design move was eliminating the Ocean View categories on the early Royal Class builds and not having enough of them on the later Royal Class builds.  The fare structure on these ships is really messed up, as compared to Grand Class ships, as the Obstructed Balcony categories are the only buffer between Interior and Balcony.  Early on in the life of Royal Class ships, I booked IA guarantees.  IA is a really popular location category because it is midship.  ~75% of the time I would get an upgrade to an Obstructed Balcony or Balcony.  Pretty sure Princess caught on a because it stopped after a few years and Princess simplified the BW/DW category by not designating location differences.

Edited February 22 by SCX22

[tulok]

16 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

The far aft OV cabins on Baja deck on Coral Princess are probably our favorite cabins. Yes, they are all the way aft but we love the location and don't mind the walk.

Aft or mid-aft is our favorite location. And more walking means more calories can be consumed. There usually are elevators near enough.

[insidecabin]

6 minutes ago, tulok said:

Aft or mid-aft is our favorite location. And more walking means more calories can be consumed. There usually are elevators near enough.

Often either the forward or aft stairs are the ones near locations that we use a lot.

 

Short walk home from one of our preferred late night venue is quite attractive.

[Wishing on a star]

I like my natural light and fresh air.   We wouldn't really consider an inside...  Just doesn't work for us.

And, we do spend time in our cabin, throughout the cruise..  More space and fresh air make the resting/downtime between all of the busy activities,  and possible enjoyable leisurely mornings and evenings in your home-away-from-home.   That is a big part of a vacation.  I am not getting any younger!!!  So enjoying our time, being comfortable in our room is a huge factor....  

 

We would def. consider OV cabins...  If they were laid out and had the space that balcony cabins do.  But the small ones with a 'porthole' above the bed just don't do it...   

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

Why doesn't Princess have any inside suites? Everything a suite has just no windows or balcony.

 

😄

 

Obviously that is a joke... but seriously, don't you think that there might be a market for bigger inside cabins for people that love the inside experience but want more space.

 

Why should having an inside always mean a ultra small cabin?

Edited February 22 by Snaxmuppet

[PacnGoNow]

27 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

 

Obviously that is a joke... but seriously, don't you think that there might be a market for bigger inside cabins for people that love the inside experience but want more space.

I think this is a question?

Uh NO!

🤣

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

5 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I think this is a question?

Uh NO!

🤣

Well, if I were to consider an inside cabin I'd not necessarily do it just because it is cheap. It might be that I just prefer inside for the many reasons quoted in this thread and so I might appreciate a bit more space. 

[PacnGoNow]

1 minute ago, Snaxmuppet said:

Well, if I were to consider an inside cabin I'd not necessarily do it just because it is cheap. It might be that I just prefer inside for the many reasons quoted in this thread and so I might appreciate a bit more space. 

I get it.  Just kidding you. 😀

[Outerdog]

57 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

but seriously, don't you think that there might be a market for bigger inside cabins for people that love the inside experience but want more space.

 

This is like 10 people.

 

It turns out, back in reality, people in the market for bigger cabins and can afford them also want things like windows and balcony doors. Sometimes two balcony doors.

 

Most of the responses in favor of inside cabins are from folks with budget constraints (self-imposed or otherwise). One can sleep in and be "cozy" in a balcony cabin and do whatever else folks attribute as exclusive to insides, I assure you.