Cove Balcony or....

We plan to be on the Vista in 2017 for a b2b. One leg will be a Havana Cabana. But, we can't afford this for both weeks. The other leg we are thinking Cove. The only balcony we've ever had is aft, upper decks.

What say you cruise critic? Pros and cons of Cove? Compared to upper afts? Or should we just go for mid-ship balcony? In my opinion, the afts aren't going to be the same on the Vista so I think those are out.

I did my first cove last month on Breeze. It was ok. One pro was we only had to come up 1 deck when coming back from ports while everyone else waited for the elevators. They're nice and close to the water. Personally, I probably won't book another as I prefer to be closer to lido. They're very very popular though and many will tell you to book it. Just choose your location carefully so you don't end up under the galley.

We picked a cove over the lido because we like the balcony better and love being closer to the water.

Coves are more secluded. Most of the upper deck balconies can be looked into from the Promenade as people are walking around so very little privacy. Plus being so close to the water is awesome. JMO.

AHOY SHIPMATES,

DW and I have cruised approx 100 times and prefer an EXTENDED balcony.

AFT is BEST and higher up is preferred because it is quicker to LIDO for coffee etc.

Mini SUITES and regular SUITES generally do not have the EXT balcony and we do not need the extra space inside so the AFT or cove is by far our preference on HAL and Carnival, which we cruise most often. IMHO.

Location pros: very close to the dining rooms, theater, nighttime entertainment, debarkation, and getting off/on the ship in port. Location cons: further away from lido deck, but is you use the forward elevators (10 of them), there is rarely much of any wait.

Like has been said, don't get a cove under the galley. Some of them are fine, some of them are very noisy above. Below the dining room is best. Get a cove forward of the midship elevators to avoid the galley.

I like that the coves are so close to the water. I liked that balcony far more than the balconies way up high or the ones in the middle. In extreme waves, they might lock you out of the cove, but this rarely happens. Plus, coves look straight down to the water; all other balconies see the deck 5 lanai when looking straight down. Not everyone likes coves, but I see more people that love them than those that don't.

We usually do a regular balcony, but we did our 1st cove in aug.

LOVED.....

*being close to the water

*private

*covered

*slightly bigger

HATED.....

*we were centered directly under the galley. noise all night long

*far away from everything. felt too secluded

*dried salt lined the railing, always had to wipe it down

*more humid, muggy with being closer to the water

FOR US, the cons killed the pros. we're going back up to our regular higher up balcony for our next cruise. not sure if we'll ever book a cove again

We usually do a regular balcony, but we did our 1st cove in aug.

 

 

 

LOVED.....

 

*being close to the water

 

*private

 

*covered

 

*slightly bigger

 

 

 

HATED.....

 

*we were centered directly under the galley. noise all night long

 

*far away from everything. felt too secluded

 

*dried salt lined the railing, always had to wipe it down

 

*more humid, muggy with being closer to the water

 

 

 

FOR US, the cons killed the pros. we're going back up to our regular higher up balcony for our next cruise. not sure if we'll ever book a cove again

Agree with everything you said, except we were below the dining room so we didn't experience noise.

I appreciate everyone's comments. Proximity is definitely not a concern...we go to the Lido as little as possible and love being secluded. We certainly don't want to be under the galley though. The idea of being close to the water is a totally new experience; the humidity comment is interesting.....

I appreciate everyone's comments. Proximity is definitely not a concern...we go to the Lido as little as possible and love being secluded. We certainly don't want to be under the galley though. The idea of being close to the water is a totally new experience; the humidity comment is interesting.....

I liked the cozy feeling being tucked in and not having the blaring sun. It's fun to watch pier runners. The salted railing is there, I just wiped it down. Salt is not exclusive to a cove;)

I had my first cove in September and loved it. It was peaceful. We saw dolphins one sea day. Since we were so close to the water we got a really good view of them.

I had my first cove in September and loved it. It was peaceful. We saw dolphins one sea day. Since we were so close to the water we got a really good view of them.

That would make it worth it for sure!

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

DW and I have cruised approx 100 times and prefer an EXTENDED balcony.

 

AFT is BEST and higher up is preferred because it is quicker to LIDO for coffee etc.

 

Mini SUITES and regular SUITES generally do not have the EXT balcony and we do not need the extra space inside so the AFT or cove is by far our preference on HAL and Carnival, which we cruise most often. IMHO.

Confused.

Even though you state that aft or high is best, you prefer the Cove on HAL?

Didn't even know that HAL had Coves.

Can you tell me which ships and which cabin categories?

Thanks,

gary