Rhapsody - Ocean View or Balcony?????

[Lake Erie Boaters]

Hi, I am so torn, I paid for a oceanview on the Rhapsody of the Seas but after reading all the threads I'm so torn! This is our first cruise and my husband says a waste of money, I called our TA and its $740 more. I would be willing to for go a excursion or two since we will be going 7 nights. For all of you that have had them, is it worth it? I would just hate to be in between 2 smokers, do they have non smoking blocks? Well that really isn't my determining factor, but it sounds so appealing! Can you lay out on them, chairs??? Please any advise will be greatly appreciated! We leave 3-25. Anyone have pictures from the Rhapsody??? I would love to see some. Thank you all so much!!

Lori

[cruise.freak]

We have and a inside, oceanview and balcony. While I love the balcony to me I wouldn't pay the $740.00 more. I guess it depends how much time you spend in your room.

[sept10dsm]

There are no non-smoker blocks. In the beginning of the week there was a long thread on smoking on balconies. I personnally do not think a balcony is worth the difference in the cost. Most do not spend that much time in the room anyway. Good luck in what you choose! Have a great cruise!

[benandelena]

We were going through the same dilemma. Ultimately, we sat down and said

"What would we do with that extra money?"

 

Our conclusion was we could go on (at least) 2 excursions, buy a couple bottles of tequila in cozumel, and drink drink drink on our cruise! For that much more, it's just not worth it! We kept the OV because I love waking up to the sunrise...otherwise I'll sleep in till 2pm!

[HurricaneSally]

I have to admit that after 13 cruises in 7 years, I have never had a balcony. I just can't justify the price difference. After all, the meals are the same and the ambiance of the ship is the same, the ports are the same and for the price, I can take another cruise, drink what I want without checking to see if I have enough money, gamble a little, shop a little, etc. You get the picture.

 

Now, on the other hand, if I were rolling in the dough, you wouldn't catch me in anything but a balcony, at the minimum, and probably a suite.

 

Having said that, you weigh the pros and cons. If you do take a balcony you will probably never be satisfied in an outside cabin again (that's my biggest fear).

 

If you plan on only taking one cruise in your life, go for the balcony, but if you plan on cruising every year, take the cheaper route. That's my opinion.

[bethco]

I loved my deck 3 OV room last summer on the Rhapsody. It was wonderful to pop up in the morning, pull back the curtain and have the ocean view outside my window. We were perfectly happy with that room, feel no need to spend more money to see the ocean from a balcony. We found plenty of places to get away from the crowd even on a full ship. I'd rather put $740 on another cruise in the future. Have a great time. I loved my cruise on the Rhapsody and will miss her when she leaves Galveston. It's a great size ship.

[Steve&Karen]

Gosh you sound just like me I am so torn up over this decision. We were charged $1600 more for our balcony.And It is making me think of all the fun we could have with that money.So this is what I did. I booked the balcony....Check ever couple days to see if the price went down....and if I decide sooner to cruise that I cant pay that difference I will downgrade to a Ocean view and someone on a wait list for balcony will be stoked that one came up. But if I decide I can swing it then I have the reservation.

Good luck I know first hand how hard this choice is

ps I have cruised a lot and never had one and always had the BEST time

[cb at sea]

There isn't much sun on a balcony, unless the sun is low in the sky. The other decks shade it much of the time. A regular balcony room generally won't have lounge chairs--only regular chairs. The exception are the aft balconies, which are much deeper than the ones on the side.

Since you've never cruised, save your money this trip, and you will still have an AWESOME time! If you can afford it next time (and there will be a next time) then you can go for the balcony.

There are TONS of open deck spaces for you to be--while a balcony is lovely, it won't be missed if you've never had one!

[kruzerci]

On our last cruise, Navigator, we paid way too much for a balcony. The insides were going for $1029 P/P and we paid over $1650 P/P for a balcony cabin :eek: . Three were three of us and it really had a lot of extra space. We usually book inside or oceanviews and try to keep it under $1100 P/P for a 7 night cruise, but we really wanted to see what the balcony fuss was all about.

 

I can't say I regret paying the extra money. It really made the cruise. Since yours is a 7 day, I would say go for it. Theres no way I would pay that much extra for a balcony on a 4 day, so I got an oceanview on my next cruise, but the balcony really was great.

 

You also might want to book a regular cabin on your first cruise and a balcony on your next, so that you don't get too spoiled!

[Lake Erie Boaters]

As wonderful as it sounds, $740 is a lot of money for us, I am laid off at the time, and hearing a lot of cons to having the exta $$ is a nice thought too, jet-skis, scooters, drinks :D, heck its just a room right! I can't wait to meet people who are on these threads on our cruise, I would love to have a pen pal!!!! You are all so helpful, heres a big hug to you all!!!!

[springtxbill]

To us it is not worth the difference in the price except in the case of an Alaska cruise.:)

[scotts8826]

I have only booked insides. As long as I don't know what I'm missing, I'll stay with the most economical path. With a family of 5 we have to stretch our dollars. After my last cruise (on Rhapsody!) I enrolled for the RC Visa card. By next spring I will have enough points to upgrade to a balcony at the OV price. Then I will finally enjoy the amenities of a balcony without paying for it!

[Pam H.]

We love having a balcony. However, on our most recent cruise on the Rhapsody out of Galveston, some days it was too cool to sit out there. We have always taken our son with us (now 8 years old), and it adds to the space of the room. He loves having room service deliver hot cocoa and croissants to the room, sitting out on the balcony and having breakfast!

 

The only downfall is, once you have a balcony, you never want to go back!

[shmthaus]

Our first cruise on Rhapsody, we had a balcony and fell in love with it. We have also had an aft balcony in a JS and then another balcony. All have been on Rhapsody.

 

Our Carnival was an oceanview and though we could see outside, we were disappointed.

 

Our Grand Princess cruise was a minisuite w/ balcony. Though it was open overhead, we really enjoyed watching the sunsets with a glass of wine.

 

That being said, if you are having a hard time financially, go with the oceanview on your first cruise. As others have said, all the benefits of the ship are the same. When your situation changes, go balcony. As much as we love balconies, don't do it right now. Save your money for other fun things (or just save your money).

 

Whatever you do, you will love Rhapsody. She is a beautiful ship and fun crew. Of course she won't be in Galveston for long since she is going to the Asian itinerary.

[jtwisconsin]

We just returned from our very first cruise and had the same dilemma. We were on Radiance for a 6-night Western Caribbean cruise, and on my insistence I talked my wife into upgrading to the balcony room. While it was VERY nice to have that big window to look out and be able to leave the door cracked at night and listen to the ocean, it was awfully expensive and we hardly spent any time out there. And I was really surprised just how little time we spent in our cabin so part of me feels it wasn’t worth it. Our next cruise is on Majesty for 3-nights in March and we are going OV this time.

[WindinmySails]

On the Rhapsody, go to the card room on deck seven and in the back room, (the card room is actually divided into two rooms) You can sit out on that balcony. It was always private and so rarely used.