Illmaxict

Here is my opinion; I know a lot of people don't agree, but you asked.

 

An ocean view balcony gives you a view of water, nothing but water. At night, you see black. I've had promenade inside cabins, Boardwalk and Central Park ones. I much prefer people watching when sitting on my balcony. I never worry about the people across from me. To be honest, it's rare that you ever have someone directly across at the same time you are there. If they are out, they're people watching, too...not watching you.

 

You do have to make sure drapes are closed when the lights are on.

 

There's a lot more action on the boardwalk, but the Central Park is so beautiful and peaceful at night. I actually liked the promenade one, but you have to be careful where you are. Once we were across from the champagne bar.....boring, no one was ever there.

 

On the Harmony, there are incentives for BW and CP balconies. I'm going over Thanksgiving and have a CP one this time.

thanks for the input! that's something to consider. i suppose it really is up to one's taste. since it's me and my lady, I tend to want to romanticize it, which is why I initially would opt for the privacy and intimacy of the ocean rather than the boardwalk, but definitely another angle to consider. thanks!

any takers? lol

We have a 10:00 am flight from Barcelona to NY that Royal booked for us so they must think we can make it.

I live in BCN. From the port, it's a quick jump onto ronda litoral, and a straight shot to the airport. The longest part of the trip I imagine would be making the line at the taxi stand. It should take no more than 30 mins to get to the airport, more like 15-20 with no traffic.

Hello all,

I'm planning a cruise with my girlfriend on the Harmony of the Seas this summer. I've been on three RCCL cruises prior, all voyager class, and on the last two, I've had balcony cabins, and honestly, don't want to go back to a stateroom that doesn't have a balcony.

Here is my dilemma. Both of the balcony stateroom I had were ocean view. Ideally, I would get another ocean view on the Harmony, but the price differential between an ocean view balcony and a central park or boardwalk balcony are significant. Now as I said, after having a balcony before, I feel like it's the only way to go, but that was when I was facing the open sea, not looking across at another person's balcony.

My question is this... Are the inner facing balconies worth it? Or would my money be better spent downgrading to an ocean view stateroom, minus the obvious balcony, but an unobstructed ocean view.

As I said in the subject, any and all opinions are welcome and appreciated.

¡¡Thanks!!

We have cruised with Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival.

 

Disney was great, but is just getting way too expensive so we don't even consider cruising again with them as we really don't feel you get that much more for so much more $$$.

 

Royal is a wonderful line, as is Carnival. Yes there are differences and to tell you the truth if the prices were the same I would more than likely choose Royal. I've been on the Mariner twice and loved that ship. It just seemed like a step up from Carnival in decor and I enjoyed the fact that you could have a hot breakfast delivered to your room in the morning, whereas on Carnival it's only a continental breakfast that can be ordered from room service. And I loved the ice skating shows and we did feel the food was a bit better (especially the buffet offerings) on Royal. Also loved spending time on the Promenade.

 

But. For the money spent Carnival delivers a wonderful cruise and that is why we keep going back to them. We have enjoyed our Carnival cruises, and we're not hard to please people. Love the comedy club on Carnival ships and attend as many of those shows as we possibly can. Not huge fans of the newer shows with video backgrounds, less singers and dancers and no live orchestra but the shows are still enjoyable. The food is good and we loved Guys Burgers. My favorite balcony stateroom was on the Conquest, as we had an aft balcony and it was wonderful being able to see from side-to-side instead of just one side of the ship, and we had a lounger on the balcony so that was great!

 

Enjoy your Carnival cruise, and then you can decide for yourself which cruiseline you like better.

In all honesty, and no disrespect to those that prefer Carnival, my first choice would be to stick with RCCL, if only for the simple fact that my past experiences with it were all great and memorable. That being said though, I cannot accurately pass judgement on Carnival, having never sailed with them before.

What made me look to Carnival was the prices. RCCL has gotten outrageously expensive in my opinion, leaving from the Mediterranean at least. I reside in spain, so it's my best bet for cruising. We want a balcony cabin, and on RCCL, compared to carnival, the prices are at least twice as much. Maybe I was lucky before, my first two cruises were Mediterranean as well, and I paid the current rates carnival is asking, maybe even a little less.

Hello everybody,

I've been on only three cruises before, and all were with Royal Caribbean. I enjoyed all three quite a bit. I have only been on two different ships and both were of the Voyager class, for those familiar with the RCCL class.

I loved the layout, the activities, the food, the secondary dining options, the night club, bars, gym, pool areas, casino, theater, etc. Basically everything. I'm not super picky, and I felt like there was a good balance between a party atmosphere and a more sophisticated relaxed atmosphere, for whatever mood i was in at any given moment.

Now, I am considering a Carnival cruise on the new ship Vista sailing in the Mediterranean. Now I know the ship is brand new, and to my knowledge, has yet to set sail with the general public, but for those familiar with Carnival and maybe even Royal Caribbean as well, it would be much appreciated if you could offer your opinions as to what I might expect, compared with my past experiences on RCCL. What might be the same, what might be different. From everything to ship layout, to dining, to general atmosphere, everything and anything!

I will be traveling with my girlfriend, both of us are 28 years old.

I look forward to your responses. Thank you all!

I am planning on taking a Med cruise, departing from Spain and returning to Spain. It stops in France and Italy.

My question is for folks that have been on a recent cruise to the Med.

Are there immigration checks when you arrive at your original disembarkation port to get on the ship and then when you get off at each port of call and finally when you disembark at your final destination?

Thanks.