will I really use a balcony in the Med?

[ISABELLA]

We just came back from 12 days Med cruise on the Star Princess and here my two cents on the subject. We almost never pay too much extra for a balcony. But we did this time - it was worth every penny. Even my DH, who almost never is voting to get a balcony or not- said to me that if we ever will repeat this cruise - only in the balcony room. The convenience of the balcony in the Med is tremendous. If you are visiting Venice - the veiw of entering Venice from the balcony no money can buy.
If budget allows - get a balcony.

[Artemis]

[quote name='ISABELLA']If you are visiting Venice - the veiw of entering Venice from the balcony no money can buy.[/QUOTE]

Seeing Venice from the ship is, indeed, awesome! When we entered Venice, everyone was out on deck--or, like lucky Isabella, on their balcony! To clarify, the most desirable view of Venice is off the starboard side of the ship when entering Venice & off the port side when leaving. The ship uses the Giudecca Canal.

[Cruise Miriam]

As you can see, there is no real yes or no or right or wrong answer here. I can tell you from my experiences, my first balcony cabin was on my first Med cruise and I LOVED it. After an extremely long day, it was so relaxing to sit out on the balcony, have some wine, watch us sail away and just unwind and reflect on the day. I have had only balcony cabins since then and have my routine.

Have you had a balcony before? If so, how much did you use it?

[daveandfred]

I have to thank everyone for the very helpful and obviously educated advice. We have been contemplating the Med. cruises but have not selected which line or which itinerary. Any advice? We are concerned about the heat and also prefer a quieter ship. What age range can we expect? We are upgrade hounds so no matter how much we tell ourselves that we will not upgrade we always end up going up a level. You only live once...etc. Any help with where to start our research. We are considering the fall of 2005

[usavvy2]

daveandfred - here's how I selected my 2004 itinerary -
1) we were on Royal Princess last summer & liked the intimacy of a smaller ship (1200 pax) and wanted a Med. itinerary for 2004.
2) we didn't want the heat of summer so hoped that Sept would be not too hot & humid (temp charts showed it 70s & low 80s)
3) we didn't want to get near Greece b'c of the Olympics this year
4) I was concerned Turkey wasn't safe enough so I eliminated itineraries with Greece and Turkey
5) I liked the idea of starting in London (shorter air hop over the pond)
So... we selected the Royal Princess for 4 September. And, as a bonus, we got a lower deposit rate for booking onboard plus a shipboard credit to boot!

now for my logic for 2005 -
1) I want to cruise into/out of Venice!
2) want a smaller ship (X Millie @ 1950 pax) vs. a larger (Golden Princess @2600 pax) [Royal is being turned over to P&O in May 05]
3) want different ports than 2004 (Greek isles, Croatia, Naples, Nice)
4) want to revisit ports that had a lot to see in '04 (Rome, Florence) since we won't see it all the first time around!
5) want fall 2005 and thinking that October might be better temp wise than September
6) want to be in port on days where the museums are open - not sure if I want to be in Rome on a Sunday or not....????
so... it looks like I'm leaning toward booking the Millie for October 2005.

re ages, from what I gather, "families" travel during the summer (school's out) and maybe there are those June brides cruising too... so there would probably be a broader age spread then. Seems the older crowd is drawn to the more 'exotic' (and I use that term lightly) itineraries such as the Norwegian fjords - perhaps b'c they've done the traditional itineraries in years past (i.e., Caribbean). Also am told that the older crowd typically enjoys the longer cruises more than the younger crowd (probably b'c of work vs. # of vacation or holiday days vs. retired vs. every day being a potential vacation or holiday day). Not sure what to expect in September (but don't rightly care either as we're comfortable being with each other or mingling so either way is fine). Did enjoy the mix of nations on our Norwegian cruise (mostly Americans, Canadians, Brits, Welsh, Scots); hope for more of the same.

(re cruise lines, I've traveled on Carnival b4 - no thanks; NCL - only if the itinerary is unbeatable; RCI - acceptable alternative if ship isn't too big and price is much cheaper than X; X - YES; Princess - YES if ship isn't a mega liner)

hope this helps... just my thoughts -

[Ms. B]

I'm booked on Brilliance Med for next year and yes we do have a balcony. I've decided that our med cruise will be a little more casual. So we'll order room service dinner and eat on the balcony a few nights. We'll do windjammer for dinner and we'll also splurge on Portofino and chops where we can eat at our leisure. I'm REALLY looking forward to enjoying my room service meals out on my balcony.

[suekay]

We use the balcony more than ever in the Med. After full day trips, I can't be bothered trailing up to the sundeck , so sit and read on the balcony. We're on the Splendour Med cruise in September and have gone for an inside as it was an "extra" cruise this year....I'll certainly miss the balcony

[cactuslady]

Haven't been to the Med yet, but a balcony is the thing for those early morning arrivals in port. There's nothing like waking up to see an old fort passing right by your cabin, and being able to jump right up (assuming you have worn something to bed ;) ) to see it up close and at eye level.

[daveandfred]

We loved waking up each morning and stepping outside to see where we had landed. We actually loved "more" was stepping outside late a night after an evening of dining and dancing and chatting with other cruisers. The cool night air and the whish of the sea was very soothing and incredibly romantic. I loved that quiet time used to discuss the past day's events and to gossip with my partner about all the interesting people we had met. Does anyone know what the actual "ride" is like? Is any time of year rougher than others? I would suspect the seas would be much calmer than the carribbean or pacific.

[Linda-E]

When we've had a balcony, we've loved it. Used it for breakfast in the morning, cocktails before dinner, sailing into and out of ports. Especially great on sea days!

We've done parts of the Med both ways, and I would never do it again without a balcony.

[Tony C]

Unequivocally YES! This was our first time getting a cabin with a "veranda" and we will never cruise without one again!! While we did shore excusions at all of the ten ports we went to, we still found time every day to relax on the veranda and look at the beautiful views. It was also nice to be able to open the sliding window while in the cabin and enjoy the nice breeze. Take my word for it, you will love it.

[ECCruise]

We've split our cruises about 50/50 between outside and balcony. For us, it is, even though we REALLY love sailing with a balcony, all about the amount of the extra cost. For example, on a 10 day Med. cruise if the difference outside to balcony is $700-800, e.g. ($70-80/day) we would go for it. If, however, the difference was $2000+ (and we have seen that, same basic cabin with/without balcony) gotta say "no way!" Even though we may spend a good bit of time on the balcony, at $200 a day EXTRA, not only is that maybe $100 an hour for balcony sitting time, for us it is the price of a whole cruise...and we're sure not going to trade another cruise for a few hours on a balcony.

[cathi]

What a neat discussion!! After a dozen cruises we opted for a balcony on our last cruise and it may have been a mistake. My DH took one look at our balcony cabin and said "don't ever ask me to cruise again without it!!" So yes I would book a balcony cabin in the Med and have for June 05. As others have said there is nothing like waking up to see a city gliding by or eating breakfast as you glide into port!! I love falling asleep to the sound of the waves. But the best part is not having the air conditioning on for the whole time!! For my 2 cents worth a balcony is the best dollars spent!!

[dbh62ark]

This is a fun thread, and I budget my travel dollars using the same rationale that ECCruise uses. I'm always thinking about my next trip, and we spend a lot on pre- and post-cruise stays. We've stayed in Switzerland, the U.K., Italy, and Portugal in the last couple of years, and I think the extra $$ spent on staying in 4 and 5 star hotels is sometimes a better use of upgrade money than to spend an extra $2,000 for the balcony since the cabins are not that much bigger and nicer and better located like a hotel room would be if you spent the extra $$ there. And we just do not spend a lot of time in our cabin in Europe because we stay in port as long as possible. So we use the same rule of thumb and just determine whether or not the extra $$ spent is worth it on each trip that we take. It's a lot easier in the Caribbean when it's only an extra $400 or so, but it's a lot harder to decide on the longer cruises and in Europe. If you do book a balcony in Europe, make sure to find out which side of the ship will be the most scenic because I've heard passengers complain that they thought they were going to have scenic sailing only to find out that they were on the water side for most of the trip.

Happy travels to all,
Donna

[jody]

I booked my first balcony cabin last year in the Med and it was worth every penny and I used it every day. That said, I originally booked an outside and when prices went down I moved to a balcony for the same price. We paid $1500 pp for a 12 day balcony versus $900 for inside (the prices were low last May due to the War in Iraq). I'm sure at some point, the additional cost of the balcony would not be worth it to me as the Med is very cruise intensive and you're off the ship a lot. If you can justify the extra expense, I think people will find it totally worth it. Of course, if you have a balcony you will use it. If you don't have one, you'll adjust your activities to accomodate the loss and you won't notice it so much.

I found a balcony great when sailing into port in the early morning each day. I could step out on the balcony while getting ready (or even in my pjs) and watch us dock. If I had to make myself totally presentable to go up on deck, I would have missed a few sites. Also, breakfast on your balcony is great and the balcony gives you a quiet place to relax, write postcards, or read at any time, even if your spouse or traveling companion wants to sleep in the darkened cabin.

I found the cost to be worth it for a balcony in the Med but it depends upon the size of the additional cost whether I did it next time (but I probably will!).

[BeachBum Girl]

[size=2]We are going through this same dilemma. We would love to book a balcony since we have never stayed in one (only been in inside & outside rooms) but because this is a long & costly trip, we would like to save money for more of the tours and shopping. But with a lot of the helpful advice from the expert cruisers on this board, we decided to go with a balcony. We figured we really want to have a memorable trip since this will be our first cruise to the Mediterranean and our anniversary. Plus we do have plenty of time to save up for the pre-cruise stay and the tours. We are willing to spend less on our current entertainment (concerts, restaurants, shows/movies, etc) inorder to be able to spend more on our future cruise.

[/size]

[TWOFERTWO]

[QUOTE] have to thank everyone for the very helpful and obviously educated advice. We have been contemplating the Med. cruises but have not selected which line or which itinerary. Any advice? We are concerned about the heat and also prefer a quieter ship. What age range can we expect? We are upgrade hounds so no matter how much we tell ourselves that we will not upgrade we always end up going up a level. You only live once...etc. Any help with where to start our research. We are considering the fall of 2005[/QUOTE]
Next year will be our first Mediterranean cruise. I can't speak of the age mix on those cruises. We booked ours with Celebrity, becuse we have become such huge fans of the line and they have, for us an ideal intinerary for 2005. The late date (Oct.7th) in the season will mean fewer children and an older crowd. That is generally the case with Celebrity, slightly older age group.
We also choose it because we wanted to expirence Italy, before a planned land vaction. This intinerary also starts and ends in Rome (civitavecchia). We save on air fare, roundtrip, vs one ways. It is a 10 day cruise with the ports of, Naples, Mykonos and Santorini Greece, Missina (Sicily), Villefranche(nice) and Genoa Italy. We have not been on the Galaxy before, we have been on her sister ship, the Mecury, we loved it. We also like the larger 'M' class Celebrity ships. We are not fond of smaller size ships, though. :)

We had our first veranda aboard the Mercury in 2001. We have not gone back to either inside or outside cabins. As others have said, it is veranda or not at all! As for being worth the price difference (regardless of what you pay), if you have had a veranda in the past and dwell on the the money, DO NOT book one. IMHO :D We do not use our veranda that much, time wise. We had one in Alaska last year and did use it mostly in ports.All too many ports in general, are not all that nice to look at. That being said, we still would not consider sailing without one. (unless nearly free!) LOL.

I just can't imagine sailing around the [B]Mediterrean without a veranda![/B] :eek:

[Boreus]

I think the decision on a balcony depends in part on the ports you will be calling at. I agree with the comments above about Venice and a balcony. Morning or night, sailing into Venice is memorable, and viewing it from your own balcony is better. Starbord is to be preferred, but port isn't bad either with its view of San Giorgio Maggiore. Other ports in the Med. that are best seen from a balcony are, in my opinion: Istanbul, Tangiers, Valetta, and any port in the Greek islands. The Tagus River empties into the Atlantic, but Lisbon is on many Med cruises and going upstream port side gives some fine views including the Manueline tower. I think few people would recommend a balcony for the views of other ports such as Marseilles, Civitavecchia, Livorno, or Barcelona. Barcelona is a wonderful city, but when you have seen one commercial port you have seen them all, and you don't need a balcony.

[Cruise Junky]

Dave and Fred.... we're on the October 13th 2005, Barcelona to Venice on the Millennium cruise...sounds perfect for you.. you should join us :) with a balcony of course ;)

[Live the good life]

Our thoughts are very much like those by dbh62ark...It depends on whether you intend to spend most of the time at the European ports...The money would be better spent on tours, souvenirs, and nice pre, and post hotels...

We had a balcony room, but hardly used it as we had private tour guides in all the ports, and preferred spending the entire day (9-10 hours) on these magnificant European ports...We almost upgraded to a penthouse suite, but fortunately for us, this suite was no longer available when we inquired about it at embarkation (shown on the internet as still available 5 days before the cruise!!!)...The point is, we would not mind spend the money to enjoy a balcony suite for a destination like Tahiti or so, but not if we don't intend to stay much in it...In hindsight, we would have been perfectly OK with an inside room...

We are actually leaving for a Carribean cruise on the Princess in a few days and will be staying on a Penthouse Suite, since this time, we intend to view the ship as a destination itself, and just want to kick back and enjoy...

Kim

[DasCruise]

We booked inside cabins for our 2005 Medi cruise. Of the last 7 cruises, 4 have been balconies. I'm still mixed with balconies. I really love to have the door open and bringing in the fresh air while I get some needed rest. The thing that annoys me about them is that every time I seem to open the door, some smoker is outside and all of the smoke comes in the cabin!!! If you are a smoker, this this isn't a problem.... I guess a solution would be getting a balcony in the FRONT of the ship!

[Host Karen]

We have always booked balconies and our upcoming Med cruise is no exception. I realize that we will be in port approximately nine out of 12 days, but we love to be able to step out our door and get some fresh air, relax with a drink before dinner or watch the sun rise.

We were very lucky with this cruise, as the price for an inside cabin is now about the same price as what we are paying for a balcony. If you book early, you can save quite a bit of money right off the bat -- and perhaps use that as an excuse to book a balcony!

[Luvcrusin']

Several of our first cruises we took the inside cabins for the obvious reason, to save some $$$. Once we had a balcony and experienced the open feeling, the feeling of privacy, waking up and walking outside to watch us pull into port, evenings of walking out to listen to the rushing of the ocean beneath our ship & how amazingly bright the stars are out over the vast blackness of the sea......nothing like it!! Once you experience a balcony it would be very difficult to go back to an interior room, if not impossible, so think about your decision carefully!!!!!

[Luvcrusin']

Favorite balcony locations:
1.) Aft. - the very back of the ship!!
2.) on the Princess - Caribe deck - larger & more private

[Tania]

I've sailed in them all, insides, outsides, balconies and minis with huge balconies. My reasoning follows.

In the Caribbean, a balcony is a must for us. We travel during holidays and I wish to escape from the uncontrolled children on deck. We LIVE on our balcony, only leaving to go into port and to eat. Aft minis are the best.

In Alaska, it was nice to go out on the balcony in our robes with a coffee to view the glaciers in College Fjiord etc up close. No preening with the crowd on deck.

In Europe, we've had an obstructed outside and an inside. For the Med next summer, I've booked an inside, although I toyed with the idea of a balcony. On a port intensive cruise, I finally decided it wasn't necessary. I admit it would have been nice to have a balcony when we cruised into Venice. I did end up finding a quiet, breezy place on the ship to rest my tired legs at the end of the day.

To each their own!