Is it worth it to get a balcony?

[jamscckmc]

If you are going to Hawaii, Alaska or Europe you need a balcony. We are doing our 6th carribean this summer and do have a balcony and if you can afford it go for it. As the other poster stated the forward cabins are much more windy. WE like mid ship or if available the corner afts, no more $, but the 1st to go. In Alaska people crowd on deck in the cold trying to get near the rail to get pictures. You could be sitting on your balcony with your hot cocoa! If you are on a port intensive carribean and you don't spend much time in your room, go for a OV. I personally could not go back to an inside, I am too claustrafobic.

[Jsipes]

Breakfast on the Balcony, in your Bathrobe, is simply the best !!:)

[travelmatron]

We cruised for years, quite happy with an ocean view cabin. Then we had a cabin directly over the speakers in the disco. The bass literally rocked our room. We were moved to an inside cabin over the anchor which wasn't a huge improvement, and finally upgraded to a cabin. That was both good and bad. Good because we loved it, bad, because we've never cruised without one since. Breakfast without needing to get dressed, a place to let our snorkel equipement dry out, opening the door and listening to the ocean instead of the hall noises at night, and sometimes just getting out of each others way, have all made it worthwhile to us. But having said all that, it's still a personal choice.

[Sunrunner3]

I've been on 6 cruises and 4 of them have been in balconies....I wouldn't go any other way especially on longer cruises!!!

[Kellie Poodle]

We always do "ocean view" because I am claustrophobic and need the window.

 

As for balconies, we only book them when the cruise is going to hug coastline. We did balcony to Alaska and just this past October for Australia and New Zealand.

 

We are doing a Western Caribbean (really the Yucatan) in a few weeks on Voyager of the Seas and we've booked a mid-ship deck 2 cabin with ocean view. Once you've seen the coast of Mexico, it's not so exciting that I'd pay for a balcony.

 

We hope to do back to backs in the Fall in Barcelona and will do the Med cruise with a balcony, but the Trans-Atlantic from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale will be another deck 2 mid-ship. That's a 12 day cruise and I want the extra inside square footage that the ocean view affords. The balcony cabins on that ship are smaller.

 

We don't have any hard and fast rules about cabins as long as there is some kind of glass in the wall with a view of water. Would definitely NOT want to do a promenade cabin and sleep in a fish bowl.

[cruiserking]

A balcony it worth every extra penny. From the moment you board and every spare moment in between you will adore the freedom of having your own private space on the high seas.

 

Here are three great reasons.

 

1. Breakfast on your balcony while you arrive in port.

 

2. An afternoon nap on the balcony after a busy day of running around.

 

3. Watching the stars and moonlight from your balcony.

 

Jonathan

[JoeTN]

First off, why can't any of you admit you want the balcony to get busy with your significant other ? ;)

 

That being said, it really depends on your cruise mentality. I've been on one inside (and booked another in September), and I think "I could pay for a window or a balcony..OR..I could use that money to book another cruise!")..

 

The *only* downside to an inside is its always pitch black (something I plan to remedy on my next cruise ;))..i slept a little more then I wanted too.

 

But, that being said, theres SOOO much to do on a ship I found myself in my cabin about ~30 minutes a day when I wasen't sleeping...why pay so much money to stay in a hotel room ? ;)

[tigervixxxen]

I had a balcony once and loved it, I sat out there all the time to read or watch the ocean go by. BUT $600 is a lot of money to me, something I'm not willing to pay to have a balcony. It depends on how valuable that cost is to you, thats nearly all the spending money we would use on the trip. My suggestion is to do an oceanview guarantee, that way you might get a balcony and not have to pay for it. Thats how we got our one balcony, we got upgraded :)

[bean]

We had two cruises in the Baltic, both in September, and did not get a balcony because (1) we were going to be in the North Sea in September and the chance of us actually being able to hang out on the balcony were very low; and (2) the Baltic (Russia and Scandanavia) are very port intensive. However, we are cruising Alaska southbound in early September and we did get a balcony because we are spending several days at sea with the purpose being the glacier cruising. So, this was a major factor. We are also planning to go to Egypt and Greece for our 25th wedding anniversary, and we will get a balcony becuase the weather will be warm and there are several days at sea.

 

We sailed Princess and loved the anytime dining and the Grand was a nice ship with plenty of places to hang out. An inside was fine because of the weather and port intensity. So, you have to decide yourself what your priority is as many on this post have said before. Many port days and cooler weather to me means you could forego the balcony. However, Alaska might be the exception. But, the balcony does cost you so much more (at least on Princess). that you have to consider the entire cruise. In addition, if the cruise is long (12 days or more), that might be another consideration. Another example is the Panama Canal. I would not do that cruise without a balcony. If I could not afford the balcony, I would wait until I could. But, that is me.

 

You have to judge for yourself what your priority is.

[DonnaK]

We've always booked a balcony cabin, but on our last two cruises, we hardly used them. It was just too hot/humid out there. Therefore, we decided that next time, we wouldn't spring for the balcony unless the price difference was very small.

 

Now, I am looking at booking an inside, and to be honest, it's the only way we can afford to cruise this summer. So, squeezing all four of us into a quad and sacrificing the balcony versus no cruise at all, well, it's an easy decision.

[arb18]

I have stayed in an inside, oceanview, and balcony room and all were just fine...ok the balcony was the best, but it was also a good price for an aft balcony (which fit lounge chairs, chairs, and tables) and it was for 3 sea days. I am going on a cruise this March on the Crown Princess and am booking an inside due to the first day being the only sea day...and I will be out by the pool. Will I miss my balcony when my boyfriend is asleep and I would like to read on the balcony instead of going to bed, oh yeah, but if we did get the balcony we would not be able to go on the cruise...so right now it is inside room for 477 a person or no cruise at all in March, hum...I choose the inside room!!!

[yeahbaby]

hey the upper deck (#5) on miracle's 7a category's aren't that bad ... it was only about $200 more for 3 of us...just make sure it's in-between 2 lifeboats,so ya have some view while sitting, and towards the back of the ship because the 1st 3 lifeboats are much bigger and will give you less view... the lifeboat only comes up to the railing. just a thought for those of us who wanna spend that extra dough in the casino!

[CRUISEVIEW]

For those of you who have chosen to have a balcony room, was it worth it? My DH and I are planning our second cruise and I would love to have a balcony, but the website shows it will be $600 extra for a 7 day cruise. I love sitting and watching the ocean and the night sky, but my DH is completely bored with that, so the balcony would be great for me (since I am leery about going off on the ship without him). I'm just thinking that this is $600 that we could spend elsewhere and that we probably wouldn't get enough use out of it to justify spending the extra money (we already have a tight budget). Then again, I think on a 7 day cruise it might keep us from getting cabin fever (no pun intended).

 

So, what is everyone's opinion on balconies??

 

Personally, I'd never cruise without at least a balcony room. My DH also doesn't have much use for it, except to periodically check that we're still in the water;). I, on the other hand, absolutely love it. I spend lots of time in the room, on the balcony, relaxing, sometimes reading and enjoying the view of the ocean (it's a vacation!)....and don't forget that fresh air is readily available!

[Guil]

Hi,

 

I love my balcony and will never cruise without a balcony:D

 

p.s. if it's a ship with no balconys then a window, NO INSIDE CABIN FOR ME :rolleyes:

[vtjean]

I've been on 4 cruises, 4 balconies. I'm not a snob, but I wouldn't cruise without having a balcony. I can't imagine waking up and having to get dressed to go outside. Having a balcony is the cruise for me. I love to wake up and walk out to the balcony for coffee. During the day, if I want to rest, I go to my room, open the door to my balcony, hear and see the water, lie down and nap, there's nothing like it! Having a balcony is a life choice for me. It's worth the extra money. I never price an inside room. I enjoy being on the balcony too much to not have one. I think that people who say they don't spend much time in their room to justify paying for a balcony, would spend more time in their room if they did have a balcony.

[98Charlie]

We're in the "it depends" category.

• More sea days = more desire to have a balcony.
  
• Price differential between a bacony and an inside. $600 is nearly $100 per day. That's more than we would normally go for.
  
• Overall cruise budget for the year. Cruising is our hobby, period. We budget for 4 a year. If the prices are right, we'll be on a balcony more often than not. There have been times when we have had 4 insides.
  

 

Just my 2¢

 

Charlie

[alicam]

I booked an oceanview cabin back in June on the Serenade of the Seas for $899 CAD. This price I was very happy with. Yesterday (Feb 26) I checked Royal Caribbean's website and saw that a balcony guarantee was available for $919 CAD. I called reservations and changed my reservation to the balcony reservation for a total cost of $40 CAD for the 2 of us. Today I got my stateroom assignment....7th deck. I'm quite happy paying $40 for an upgrade so it was definitely worth it. To say the least, I paid a lot more for my balcony on the Grand Princess, but it was our first cruise so I splurged on that one. My advice...book what you want and then keep looking to see if a bargain comes along....that is what I did and it paid off for me...

[Denny01]

Selecting a Balcony is a personal deicsion, but for my wife and I, we go with a Balcony unless it's a short cruise. We started with Oceanviews and were quite happy with them until we make an 11-day South Carribean cruise. Celebrity offered a Balcony for just $200 so we took it. And we LOVED it! I'll never go back to an Oceanview unless it's a short cruise less than 7 days.

 

I know this is probably not true for most (yeah, right), but it takes my wife a few more minutes to get ready. So instead of standing around 'helping' her, I go out to the Balcony and just relax. Watching the flying fish, the sea birds (got a book on them to ID the types), and see the passing ships is neat. In fact, she'll be ready to go and I'll want to sit and enjoy the Balcony.

We have breakfast there, coffee in the morning, or just step out and get fresh air and the sound of the ocean in the evening before bed. You can check the weather, watch the port and see who almost misses the ship! We get a kick off watching people pulling up in a cab and running for the gangway.

The balcony gives you so much more of an expanse. We've seen whales and dolphin, sailing ships, and a ton of other stuff. Love it.

 

Denny and Karen

Going on a Panama Canal cruise in March and a balcony is a MUST to go through the Canal all day.

[smallgee]

If you are the type who doesn't stay in your room alot dont spend the money for the balcony. So if there alot of ports to visit you will not be in your room then its not worth the expense in my opinion.

Gina

[yeahbaby]

for my first cruise i thought it would be great to sit out there in the morning drinking coffee and relaxing in my pj's until my kids wake up... i'm already going for broke, so what the heck!! actually, i saved a few bucks by booking a 7a on deck 5, towards the back of the ship so it's not as obstructed.,, i also look forward to getting fresh sea air inside the cabin, and sitting out there at 3 a.m.:cool:

[Putterdude]

We have only done balconies so far and I have to say that they are the way to go. However we are doing a 6 day Pacific Coastal in May so we thought for that short of a trip and with the weather being ify in May we would try an OV for the first time and just see how it is. I will say that it is surprising how little people really do use their balconies, however those that do use them use them a lot.

[traveler/]

We always get a balcony now. Our favorites are the aft balconies, but they usually must be reserved very early since there are not as many of those. We will always remember vividly the Panama Canal transit in an aft balcony.

[ILoveScotland]

I don't think either of us could take an Inside. DH has claustrophobia, and I crave light.

 

If it's a really, really port intensive cruise an Ocean View will do as it did last fall in the Eastern Mediterranean.

 

But, mainly, give me a balcony. We enjoy being with people, but I love the solitude of the balcony, and I love sitting out there reading a book and enjoying the wind and the unending sea. To me that's heaven, and it's worth the extra cost.

[bgr]

Oh my it is sooooooooo worth it. We have been on 4 cruises and all with a wonderful balcony. It truly adds so much. Breakfast on the balcony is just the best!!!!! Do it and enjoy it!!!!

[cruisegirl1]

We prefer a balcony but would take a cruise with no balcony over NO CRUISE any day!

 

We’ve had one for most all 7 night (or longer) cruises and about 50/50 for 3 or 4 night cruises It does add to the enjoyment. I guess only you can determine your budget.

 

If money is no object – YES take the balcony - heck take a suite!

 

M