What's Your Financial Breakpoint In a Balcony?

[Daruma]

Hello, folks. 

 

Me again. 

 

So, let me explain the topic and my question. 

 

At what daily price break down do you say, "NOPE!!" to a balcony? 

 

I'm currently booked in an interior room for my 7 day cruise, but since day 7 is disembark day, I only consider it to be 6 days of cabin use. 

 

To change to a balcony for those actual 6 days of cabin use is $660... so $110/day.

 

I'd like a balcony, can afford a balcony, but the logical part of my brain is saying, "Are ye DAFT man?" lol. 

 

So, just curious, at what daily price differential do you decide that the balcony isn't worth it? 

 

I know that I can "split the difference" and go with an Ocean View room, but that doesn't interest me in the slightest. 

[Manchester is blue]

I’m with ye all the way. I  booked an outside room, as a balcony was virtually twice as much. Like you, can afford the balcony but don’t want to be ripped off.👍🏼

Edited May 13 by Manchester is blue

[www3traveler]

Questions:

  (1) What ship?  

  (2) Are you traveling Solo?

         If traveling Solo and there are Solo Balconies available (fairly new classification of cabins),

         what's the price?  Sometimes might be better and sometimes not.  Might be worth checking

         out.

[Manchester is blue]

Just now, www3traveler said:

Questions:

  (1) What ship?  

  (2) Are you traveling Solo?

         If traveling Solo and there are Solo Balconies available (fairly new classification of cabins),

         what's the price?  Sometimes might be better and sometimes not.  Might be worth checking

         out.

In fairness it’s an Alaskan itinerary, so I guess balconies are particularly sought after thus the high premiums for the cruise.

its the NCL Sun, and  we are sailing as a couple.

We would most certainly have preferred a balcony, but quite simply did not want to pay the asking price.

[schmoopie17]

8 minutes ago, Daruma said:

 

I know that I can "split the difference" and go with an Ocean View room, but that doesn't interest me in the slightest. 

That's funny, because inside cabins don't interest me in the slightest. I have to have some natural light, so either an ocean view or a balcony is a necessity. Mrs. Schmoopie thinks I'm typically in the dark, so I don't need to do it on a cruise.

 

We typically get a balcony, unless it's cold weather or a TA, and it doesn't make sense to spring for a balcony that will almost never be used. Also, if the balcony is about twice as much as an ocean view, give me the ocean view...for a lot less money. After all, everyone on the ship goes to the same places, so why pay more to do it?

 

Edited May 13 by schmoopie17

[Daruma]

Just now, www3traveler said:

Questions:

  (1) What ship?  

  (2) Are you traveling Solo?

         If traveling Solo and there are Solo Balconies available (fairly new classification of cabins),

         what's the price?  Sometimes might be better and sometimes not.  Might be worth checking

         out.

 

Encore. 

 

Solo Balcony is actually $800 more.

 

The $660 I was alluding to is on a Carnival cruise, but I figured that the question is cruise line agnostic. 

[Daruma]

Oh, and if it matters, I only do Caribbean/Bahamas cruises. 

[Andoria]

I got back a couple of weeks ago from a very cold, 7 day cruise to Bermuda.  My mom and I shared a balcony cabin and we were able to enjoy sitting out on it for less than 5 hours total.  Still worth every penny.

 

I cruised in an inside cabin in October and I wasn't a fan.

[Ellis1138]

I generally decide based more on the "Am I really going to use this balcony?" question. On the whole, my budget maxes out at $170 per night, regardless of the cabin type.

 

On a cold weather type cruise, I just go with the interior unless it's Alaska, where you do want the balcony. I also want a balcony for the Panama Canal, when I get to go, if the price is right.

 

We had thought the balcony on the Pride of America would be good, but without them doing Na Pali coast, it's not worth it. 

 

You don't say what your itinerary is, so I would say if there's nothing to see and you don't need the "fresh air" at night, remain inside and just go out on deck when you feel like it.

[jrt.mom]

I booked a balcony on my last Alaska cruise and I think the only time I would step on it was to see how freakin' cold it was outside...but in Hawai'i I lived on it, so for me it would depend where the cruise was if it were worth it or not.

[UKstages]

29 minutes ago, Daruma said:

I'm currently booked in an interior room for my 7 day cruise, but since day 7 is disembark day, I only consider it to be 6 days of cabin use. 

 

your initial statement is cooking the books to a degree. you've somehow decided that you uniquely consider a 7-day cruise to actually be a six day cruise. that's fuzzy math. a 7-day cruise is in fact a 7-day cruise!  you'll sleep 7 nights in your cabin. and while it's true that you're only in your cabin for a few hours on the day you disembark, that's actually the eighth day! so, you've artificially inflated the cost per day for your cruise by cutting out a day. you can, perhaps, argue that you won't be in your cabin till 2 or 3 pm on embarkation day. but that's no different than any land-based resort. that's simply the way hotels and vacations work. 

 

look, i have no dog in this race, but you've set yourself up with an impossible task... you're trying to rationalize the cost of something you don't believe in and so you're making it appear that it is more expensive than it is. if you go back and look at your itinerary and place your finger over each day and count, you'll discover that it is actually a 7-day itinerary.

 

if you don't think so... then why stop there? make this 7-day cruise into a 4-night or 3-night cruise! why count the days you're off the ship in port when you're unable to use your cabin?

 

Edited May 13 by UKstages

[debenson0723]

It's more about itinerary than money for me.  If I am on a port intensive cruise where there are no or only 1 sea day, then an inside works well for me. The ship is more a floating hotel and I am there to mostly sleep and eat. On those cruises I don't even get the FAS as I won't have time to use it. If I want to be outside near the water or watch the ocean, I use the Waterfront or Observation Lounge. I know you don't have those options on a Carnival cruise.

I would rather save my money and cruise more often to places I have not been to than on a balcony that I will rarely use. One of the best cabins I have had is the forward facing Oceanview...they are large and have great views. If those drop in price to the same as an inside, I will try to make the switch. I think others have discovered them as they are harder to find.

[schmoopie17]

6 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

One of the best cabins I have had is the forward facing Oceanview...they are large and have great views. If those drop in price to the same as an inside, I will try to make the switch. I think others have discovered them as they are harder to find.

Those sound great, but don't you feel more up and down motion being way in the front? That's why we typically try to get as close to mid-ship as possible.

[debenson0723]

3 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Those sound great, but don't you feel more up and down motion being way in the front? That's why we typically try to get as close to mid-ship as possible.

I really didn't and stayed in them several times (all Caribbean sailings). But once on the Encore, the first night there was banging that kept me awake for awhile. Someone told me that was the waves hitting the bow. I didn't think that could possibly be right and was determined to find the Captain and ask him. That night I found him and did ask.  He confirmed it was the waves. I told him to knock it off as it was annoying and he said that night would be the last night, due to our location and the weather. And he was right! 

I typically don't get seasick but when I have, I was in a mid-ship cabin. Twice off the coast of Oregon on a Pacific Coastal (notorius for rough seas) and once between Miami and Colombia on a PC cruise. I just take a Bonine and a long nap and am better by the lunch. 

Sorry OP for getting off topic.  You can blame @schmoopie17 LOL.

[schmoopie17]

3 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

 

Sorry OP for getting off topic.  You can blame @schmoopie17 LOL.

That's okay...I'm used to it. 🤪

 

Now back to our originally scheduled discussion...

[Daruma]

38 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

your initial statement is cooking the books to a degree. you've somehow decided that you uniquely consider a 7-day cruise to actually be a six day cruise. that's fuzzy math. a 7-day cruise is in fact a 7-day cruise!  you'll sleep 7 nights in your cabin. and while it's true that you're only in your cabin for a few hours on the day you disembark, that's actually the eighth day! so, you've artificially inflated the cost per day for your cruise by cutting out a day. you can, perhaps, argue that you won't be in your cabin till 2 or 3 pm on embarkation day. but that's no different than any land-based resort. that's simply the way hotels and vacations work. 

 

look, i have no dog in this race, but you've set yourself up with an impossible task... you're trying to rationalize the cost of something you don't believe in and so you're making it appear that it is more expensive than it is. if you go back and look at your itinerary and place your finger over each day and count, you'll discover that it is actually a 7-day itinerary.

 

if you don't think so... then why stop there? make this 7-day cruise into a 4-night or 3-night cruise! why count the days you're off the ship in port when you're unable to use your cabin?

 

 

Thank you, and point taken on the math. 

 

However, that doesn't change the gist of the question... 

 

At what point, say on a tropical cruise, do you consider the cost differential, be it broken down per day, or simply the total cost difference, do you say "no" to a balcony? 

 

Some may never say "no," some may never even look at a balcony, but IF you're torn between the two categories, what is your, "Nope, not worth it," cost difference? 

[debenson0723]

14 minutes ago, Daruma said:

Some may never say "no," some may never even look at a balcony, but IF you're torn between the two categories, what is your, "Nope, not worth it," cost difference? 

IF I had to pick a price point, I would say anything above 50% more than what I have already paid would be a deal breaker for me on a tropical cruise. 

[complawyer]

to me it doesnt matter when where or how, regardless of the ship or the itinerary, im going to book either a club balcony, or a suite, and usually a suite.

 

not bragging, just trying to answer the question honesty. by the way if the cost to upgrade to a balcony is only $880, to me that;s a no brainer.. DO IT!

[pghflyer]

Wish I could convince my SO to follow along with these very logic based, financial decision making discussion ha ha ha

[N-8]

It's really going to depend on the person and what you want out of a cruise and your budget, I've done several CCL/RCL cruises to the Bahamas, Jamaica, Mexico and Caribbean. It was all either inside cabin or outside cabin with a window/porthole. Honestly, we were pretty much done with cruising but the family wanted to do an Alaskan cruise. We finally upgraded to balcony for that Alaskan cruise and after that, I have zero interest in booking anything lower than a balcony. For us, the default room is balcony so there is no price differential. It's nice to be able to let me wife sleep and I can sit on the balcony and enjoy my coffee while watching the waves go by. It's also nice to be able to get up in the morning and see the new port that you are in.

[julig22]

I've never booked interior, probably never will.  I like to, at the very least, see outside when I'm in my room. And I'm a home-body, so I do spend time in my room. Balcony depends more on the itinerary, not the incremental cost. But I also use my NCL credit card points to upgrade to a balcony, from an OV - so my "cost" is only the $300 in statement credit, regardless of the length of the cruise.

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, Daruma said:

At what daily price break down do you say, "NOPE!!" to a balcony? 

Twenty-five bucks per day. I've upgraded from inside to balcony twice for less than that.  Otherwise, I sleep and shower just fine in an inside.  If I need more light, I flip on another switch.

[Daruma]

32 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Twenty-five bucks per day. I've upgraded from inside to balcony twice for less than that.  Otherwise, I sleep and shower just fine in an inside.  If I need more light, I flip on another switch.

 

I've only scratched the surface in getting to know you a bit via this forum... but I must say... from what I've gathered from your posts... I'm surprised you'd go up to $25 😂🤣

[cruiseny4life]

You asked what my breakpoint is....and so...well, it ain't happening. I can't afford a $50,000 divorce! 

[graphicguy]

In addition to comparing fares to other cruise lines, itineraries, cruise ships, time of year, etc...I compare the fares to a land based vacation, too.

 

For example, I'm in OH.  I like Chicago.  Spend lots of long weekends there.

 

A hotel, either around the museums or Michigan Ave, where all the activities are, is going to run me at least $200-$250/nite (at least for a decent one).  Add in parking ($40-$75/nite).  Add in food ($150-$200/day).  Gas to drive there and back ...$100 (that's low, but I drive a hybrid).  Activities (like Shedd Aquarium, Natural History Museum, Art Museum, etc)...$20-$40 ea for entry.  Chicago River Tour is $54/pp.

 

So, let's say you stay 3 nites for an average cost of $225/nite=$675

Parking for 3 nites=$120 (minimum)

Parking at museums is $10 each=$30

Museum entrance charges (3)=$60/ea

Food=$450

Gas=$100

Total=$1,495 (and that's being WAY conservative with no drinks)...add in another $100 for the river cruise.

 

So, using that as a base, search for a cruise in that price range to wherever it is you want to cruise.  More than likely, you'll find one with Free at Sea and free 2nd person flight.  And, your cruise will include meals.  You can do as much or as little, spend as much (or nothing) on board and at the port(s).

 

Is a balcony worth it to you?  We don't know.  Value is a personal measurement.  You decide.

 

A little leg work will yield good results.  Good luck in your search.

 

 

 

Edited May 13 by graphicguy