Does the room really matter?

[skyscanr]

Now I really don't want a flame war here.

 

But I would really like to know does the room you have matter to you .

 

Now for my family it does matter. While some folks say "well you don't spend much time there " is this because the room is so small you just can't stand to spend any more time then you have too in it?

 

If you say you want to spend your money on other things , what do you spend it on ?

 

For the wife and I it just has to be a cat 12 for us and a room across for the kids. We choose this because we really only take one big vaction a year and want to be pampered and like a room that you are happy to go take a nap in or maybe have a little down time .

 

We also like to order room service and have the room to just spread out .

 

We do outings and such but maybe drink a little less then a lot of folks maybe having 2 to 3 drinks a day (after all I am on vaction and not driving any where :) )

[imnance]

The room matters very much to me. I'd love a suite, but a balcony does quite fine for us.

 

I get frustrated when folks say "you only sleep in the room". Um, no. I spend a lot of time in my cabin and a balcony is a must for me.

 

I like to feel like my vacation life is more luxurious than my normal life. :p

 

I can afford a suite, as I'm sure many folks can, but I just can't justify it in my own mind when a balcony suits me fine.

 

One can always hope for an upgrade! :)

[smurfm69]

On a 7 day cruise, we definitely prefer to have the balcony, but on a shorter 4 day cruise, an inside cabin is fine.

[Mrs Lewdawg]

I used to love balcony and window rooms... then on our last cruise we went for an inside room and slept SOOOOO nicely. I can see the virtues of both. I suppose if it was warm weather travel and just the 2 of us, I might book a nice balcony suite for private tanning purposes and for the spacious room, which I enjoy. But honestly, the darkness of an inside room is awesome. Maybe there are inside suites somewhere- that would be the perfect cabin for me!

[caribbean dreams]

Yes the cabin means alot to me, the nicer the cabin the more time we seem to spend in it;)

[glrounds]

I'm of the other persuasion . . . I cruise solo, so spending time in the cabin other than showering and sleeping would be pointless for me. I did get a balcony, however, when I took my son with me on one of my Mexican Riviera cruises, and we enjoyed it very much (had coffee and croissants on the balcony each morning). :)

[jonathansburden]

It sounds stupid, but I liked the porthole in the OV room we booked because it felt really boatish to me. Looking out a picture window and seeing the ocean is something I could do at home!! DH wants to try a cat.12 next year, so I guess we'll see if it's as good as everyone here says it is!!

[Corsair41]

WE like a balcony because of the other options it presents. But as Sly Stone sang, "different strokes for different folks.....":cool:

[tigerdadky]

I only book and oceanview because generally there is little difference between an OV and an inside cabin. However I am one of those who dont think the room makes a difference. We sleep in our room and maybe catch a little nap during the day on sea days but our room has always more than adequate, no I wont spend the money on a balcony or suite, more for the DOD.

[sandravb79]

We have booked an OV because there wasn't a big difference in price with an inside.

We don't plan to spend time in the room, I don't have to fly all the way across the Atlantic to sleep on a boat, I can nap/ sleep at home :)

 

Yes, we like to spend our money to other things. Like extra days in Florida. A shopping day while we are in Florida. All those other vacations we take during the year. etc etc etc

 

Everyone can do as much with 100 USD as I can, but we all spend it on something different. As long as we are all happy with what we spend it on, all is good :)

 

 

ETA: Now that I think about it, it was the other way around. Because we stay at a value Disney World resort, we could add the cruise!! :)

[ancfun]

We have had interior-suites and enjoyed having each one. It really depends on what size our group is. If it is just the 2 of us we might spring for the nicer rooms. If we cruise with several other people, we really do not spend any time in our cabin so an inside room is fine.

[MrPete]

As we have booked bigger and better rooms, we have found ourselves spending more time in them. I enjoy my time away from the masses, especially out on the balcony.

 

And then there's times I wish to mingle.

 

I think back to my first closet, and no wonder I spent so little time there!

[SunnieD]

I have only cruised in Balconies and suites so far. I am getting ready to do a short cruise with an oceanview room. We have a fairly small RV and our family of 5 with 3 dogs are just fine in there. I do love the balcony, but if it meant I could not go on a cruise, I would opt for an interior!

[HereIam]

I have only cruised in Balconies and suites so far. I am getting ready to do a short cruise with an oceanview room. We have a fairly small RV and our family of 5 with 3 dogs are just fine in there. I do love the balcony, but if it meant I could not go on a cruise, I would opt for an interior!

 

We've done the RV thing for many years and that is what I compare the staterooms to. We've only been on two cruises, one an inside and the other an OV. All in all, the OV was a little better, becasue of the light, and don't think we would go back to an inside unless that was all that was availalbe. It did seem that we spent more time in the OV, but that may be that the trip was longer.

[Tightlinerods]

Give me a low deck inside room as cheap as possible..

 

I do 3 things in my room

 

 

Sleep

 

Shower

 

and get busy...lol..

 

If I'm in my room for more than 30 mins and the lights are not off trying to sleep I am wasteing my money....

 

 

john

[gail811]

It makes a difference to us. We like to spend time on our balcony, away from the crowds. My new favorite is the corner aft! Oh how I wish I could just book those from now on when we cruise! We travel with family and friends and our balcony and cabin is a great gathering place.

[Yvonne]

Yes, the room matters. DH and I enjoy having our own balcony. While we've never had a suite we do enjoy a room with a balcony. With just the two of us a regular room is fine, as it usually has a sitting area and for us that is enough.

 

We enjoy having our morning coffee, croissants, etc. out on our balcony.

 

We enjoy coming back to the room in the afternoon to sit out on the balcony and read.

 

We enjoy sitting on the balcony at night, watching the stars.

 

And we enjoy leaving the balcony door open at night to be lulled to sleep by the sounds of the ocean and the breeze.

[Name game]

I'm of the other persuasion . . . I cruise solo, so spending time in the cabin other than showering and sleeping would be pointless for me. I did get a balcony, however, when I took my son with me on one of my Mexican Riviera cruises, and we enjoyed it very much (had coffee and croissants on the balcony each morning). :)

 

Most people who have answered this thread use "we" instead of "I". I often book my room as a single and the cost difference for a single inside vs. a single balcony is huge. If I was sharing a cabin then I would definitely want that balcony but for me alone, the inside is just fine.

 

What else do I spend the savings on? Let's see, excursions, spa, drinking, shopping, etc...

[firefly333]

I frankly dont know, maybe Im just too new to cruising for it to matter enough to pay extra.

 

Im now debating about paying extra for a PR cabin on RCI not because Im keen on it, but because it would be something different. My sister is a people watcher.

[firefly333]

On a 7 day cruise, we definitely prefer to have the balcony, but on a shorter 4 day cruise, an inside cabin is fine.

 

That's interesting. I think a good thing about shorter cruises is you can stay in a cabin that maybe you wouldnt spring for otherwise....that idea would be worth exploring how people feel about which cabins shorter vs. longer cruises.

[halos]

I don't do the spa thing and I'm not a big shopper, so we usually have a balcony room. To be honest, it depends on the cruise too. If it is a longer cruise with a few sea days, a balcony is a must, but on shorter cruises or cruises that are itinerary packed, anocean view will do just fine.

I'm a practical woman, so the added expense of a suite isn't justifiable to me.

[UpstateCruizer]

The cabin matters very much to me but more so the location of the cabin vs the balcony. I have sailed on 2 cruises and both had balconies. I wouldn't mind trying an ocean view if it meant a substaintial savings. My husband on the other hand loves getting up early and sitting on the balcony. I'm not so sure he'd go for a 7 day ocean view but I'm looking into a back to back for a 4 then 5 nighter. It may be the perfect time to try an ocean view. Last cruise I would have preferred an ocean view if it meant that I could at least cat nap once in awhile vs the people noise we had by the elevators.

[bewitchedwitch]

Travelling with two small kids, we decided to splurge on a balcony since our youngest will take a nap each afternoon. This way we won't be cooped up in a dark room, waiting for her 3 hour nap to end:eek: I know a lot of people here say they don't spend that much time in their room and I can totally see their point of view. On the other hand, we do have two small kids, so we see ourselves spending a bit more time in our room than if we were travelling 'childless'.

[Rowan555]

We book inside guarantees for almost every cruise, so I'd have to say NO, the room doesn't really matter to us! We try to take 3 vacations a year, so I keep costs at a minimum every way possible. As long as I'm on the ship, I'm happy. On Fantasy class ships I prefer interior rooms to oceanview. When we sail on a larger ship, we go for oceanview. I've never had a balcony stateroom or suite, and at this rate probably never will. Our next "step" will be to have a room for us and a room for the kids when they get a little older. But for now, it's the 4 of us in a regular stateroom, and we have no problems with that.

[keishashadow]

I need at least an OV, prone to sea-sickness (even with the patch), vertigo and a bit of claustraphobia:o ; staring @ the horizon thru the window helps me significantly:)

 

Booked a balcony this time, hoping the fresh air will be a benefit when i'm getting queasy.

 

DH, years in Navy on carrier, finds it's amusing that i can't seem to find my sea legs...perhaps a few more cruises & i'll be set.;)