Star Legend "balcony" cabin Spanish Serenade

My husband wants to book the Deck 6 balcony cabin for the Spanish Serenade (Star Legend). That's $500 per person more than an ocean view cabin on the same deck and I'm wondering if it is worth it for French doors that open without a real balcony. One can get fresh air and see the view without windows in the way.

The cabin is 318.

If you stayed in one of the balcony cabins, did you feel it was worth it?

Not sure if you mentioned what time of year?

We had a french balcony for Glitter and Glam of the Riviera in October last year, and would definitely do it again. But this is probably pretty subjective - everyone's idea of worth it would be different.

In cool to mild weather it is quite nice to be able to open the doors and look out, or to get some fresh air if you are so inclined.

In hot weather, forget it, if you like to keep your cabin cool. The only way to use the balcony is with the doors open.

We would never pay for one, but were kindly upgraded by Windstar for the second leg of our recent B2B. Beware of cabin 313; right next to a service area with 24 hour banging.

We had cabin 222 (same location as 318 but one deck up) for the San Juan and Virgin Islands cruise in January and really enjoyed it. Like you, I wasn't sure it would be worth it at first but decided just to go for it.

I can't remember how much we took advantage of the open air when we were sailing, but when we had long days anchored, it was really nice to sit in the cabin with the doors open. There's also just enough bump-out space to be able to stand and rest your arms on the railing so that you can at least see straight out both sides, although it's not like you'd want to spend hours in that position.

As was mentioned earlier, the weather will play a big role on whether it's worth it. We had great weather on our cruise so we took advantage when we could. Of course, since we paid for the balcony, we also felt like we wanted to get our money's worth, so that probably contributed to the time spent standing there looking out as well. :)

We had a balcony on our repositioning from St. Maartens to Colon last December on the Breeze, we were on the 6 th deck ,midship. We are the opposite since the weather was glorious and hot we enjoyed the open balcony and sleeping with the fresh air. We received an upgrade and took it, glad we did. That being said we could not afford the Caribbean balcones at $ 500 pp-$1000 pp extra. I think the balconies woukd be great in the Caribbean when it is more vacation time but in Europe or Northern Europe when you are on a trip and off the boat for a good part of the day touring I do not think a balcony would be worth it. I would prefer the balcony in the heat. I have to say the rooms are great balcony or not. Happy Sailing

I recently made that choice. At first I was ready to book the balcony until I realized that the trip was port intensive and it was only a french balcony.. On a port intensive cruise, I don't spend much time sitting on any balcony. I booked a regular suite. If I do want to sit outside, there are lots of places on the ship. On my recent Baltic cruise on the Windsurf (no balconies available), we were off the ship in every port. On the only full sea day, the wind was very strong. Nobody sat outside. Later in the trip, we did spend some time outside on the rear deck near the pool. It was a nice time to relax after a day touring. I would not spend an extra $500pp for the balcony. It's only a french balcony. If you sit near the open window, you also may get bugs in the cabin. I made that mistake on a river cruise. Now I never book a french balcony.

Is the extra light, slightly more cabin space (no windowsills taking up one or two cubic feet of cabin area) and the option of letting in fresh sea air (weather permitting - the sliding doors can be electronically locked by the captain) worth the cost of upgrading? To me, no, because the basic suites on the three Windstar 'motor yachts' are so nice to begin with.

I've been upgraded [at no cost] to a balcony suite a few times sailing Windstar (last time was early this Fall on the Legend to suite #318) and while we would never turn down a no cost balcony upgrade on the three Windstar 'yachts' we know we can find a much better way to liberate $1,000.00 while traveling. Upgrading airline accommodations certainly comes to mind. My wife and I still don't know why airlines even bother to put seats in economy class? Standing would actually be more comfortable.

On ships that carry more than 600 guests, which we try to avoid for a cruise, a balcony/veranda with two chairs and table is a must primarily to get a recess from the sometimes large crowds that tend to 'rail hog' when not at sea.