Alaska - Pay more for balcony vs outside cabin?

We’ve booked an Alaska trip on Solstice in August 2018. Haven’t paid anything yet due to no deposit at time of booking. Will have to pay full amount in May. We currently have booked a outside cabin. We know it rains at anytime in Alaska or could be cold or warm on any day. We would still have a large window in the cabin to view the shore and could always go up to a deck sporting a great view if we wanted to. But, we’ve always had a balcony on cruises to the Caribbean and we’ve enjoyed it. However, it rained most days on one of our cruises and having a balcony was pretty worthless. My question: would it be worth $500 extra to change our cabin to a balcony? :confused:

Yes. One of the at-sea stops is at a glacier where the ship pivots to capture a full view of a glacier. For mine, it was Hubbard Glacier. I was sitting on the balcony taking pictures like crazy while our room steward was making up the room.

Alaska is one place that you absolutely should have a balcony. If possible get an aft balcony since some sights are not there both ways. You may have wildlife on one side that may not be there coming back.

We’ve booked an Alaska trip on Solstice in August 2018. Haven’t paid anything yet due to no deposit at time of booking. Will have to pay full amount in May. We currently have booked a outside cabin. We know it rains at anytime in Alaska or could be cold or warm on any day. We would still have a large window in the cabin to view the shore and could always go up to a deck sporting a great view if we wanted to. But, we’ve always had a balcony on cruises to the Caribbean and we’ve enjoyed it. However, it rained most days on one of our cruises and having a balcony was pretty worthless. My question: would it be worth $500 extra to change our cabin to a balcony? :confused:

We have always sailed with a balcony except to Alaska. Unless I were booking Aqua class for the access to Blu it would not be worth $500 to us. Our cruise was the last week of June into July and it was too cold/rainy to enjoy the balcony had we had it. We had a large window in our cabin and between that the sky lounge we were able to see lots.

I will take a counter view here...

It really all depends on what that $500 is worth to you...and depends on your style of cruising.

Some people spend a lot of time in their cabin and out on their balcony--room service breakfast, pre-dinner glass of wine, or reading and relaxing on at-sea days. Others don't--they'd prefer to eat breakfast being served in the dining room (and it may be cold outside early in the day)...they may also prefer to have a drink in a bar or lounge among other people. Some people spend a lot of their cruise in their cabin, others are very social and like to spend their time out and about around the ship, enjoying meals, shows and activities.

Depending on your itinerary, you will likely have four full days in port...so, on those days, you may not get that much use out of the balcony. Yes, those two at-sea days include some time cruising into the inlet of Hubbard Glacier (on most itineraries) and the ship does turn around to give everyone a view...But, whenever I've visited (though one time, I had a suite with a very large balcony), I've preferred to view the glacier from an open deck--where my vision wasn't limited by the side of the ship I was on or by the partitions between balconies.

Yes, balcony cabins are nice--they feel less confined and give you the freedom to go outside directly from your cabin...but, ask yourself, "How much more am I willing to spend for that?" and "How much time do I really expect to spend in my cabin?".

For me, this next visit to Alaska, I've actually decided to go cheap...and booked an inside cabin. I'll sleep better with the outside being virtually 24 hours of daylight. I'll view Hubbard Glacier from the open deck (hopefully, they will again invite me out to the Heliport). I will probably just use the cabin to sleep, change clothes and use the bathroom. And I will save over $2000! And I can use those savings toward the next three cruises I've already booked--where I do care a little more about the view...like the Danube River cruise I'm leaving on one week after returning from Alaska--where I do want a view from the river ship...where there is more to see and the ship has fewer amenities...and my Southeast Asia cruise coming up later in the year--where I'm onboard for 14 nights and have several at sea days...

Really, the answer, though, is in "What is it worth to you?"...

I agree that in Alaska I preferred to be in a larger space to see the scenery...outside decks or Sky Lounge. I’d save the $500 towards another cruise.

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We’ve booked an Alaska trip on Solstice in August 2018. Haven’t paid anything yet due to no deposit at time of booking. Will have to pay full amount in May. We currently have booked a outside cabin. We know it rains at anytime in Alaska or could be cold or warm on any day. We would still have a large window in the cabin to view the shore and could always go up to a deck sporting a great view if we wanted to. But, we’ve always had a balcony on cruises to the Caribbean and we’ve enjoyed it. However, it rained most days on one of our cruises and having a balcony was pretty worthless. My question: would it be worth $500 extra to change our cabin to a balcony? :confused:

From flying up to Southern Alaska with my now x-husband who is Haida (First Nations) over many summers that have been both sweltering hot (mostly due to sun and reflection) and cold weather, it’s what you like. I can tell you August is typically in the mid-to-high 60s, so if this is cold for you that makes a difference right there, I like a balmy day and ocean air in the morning.

I’ve done this cruise the last two years, both cabins with terraces— once on the starboard side of the bow and once on the aft of the ship— we had our door open a lot of the time, even while raining. I love having this option, fresh air/view without getting formal clothing on (anything more than jammies) but I’m also an outdoor person who hikes and camps, even in winter. I like to pre-order breakfast for the morning at the glacier, and not be up on a deck viewing with others, but I must say the helicopter viewing area always looks fun too. This cruise goes by quickly— because there’s so much amazing to take in, and there’s no overnights— so you’d be fine without a terrace. 500 will pay for a sweet helicopter ride over the glaciers and some nice chowder. That you’re asking this question makes me wonder if you don’t already know deep inside what you want to do... ? I am curious now what you decide! [emoji846][emoji1303] Enjoy!

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Definitely book a balcony. Alaska is the place to book a balcony for sure. The best balcony to book is an aft balcony. That way, you don't get the chilly wind and you have wonderful views.

I vote for the balcony, and if you can swing it, snag an aft balcony. You get protection from the wind, and you don't have to worry about what side of the ship to be on.

Rollie

I will say NO. We were upgraded to a balcony when we sailed to AK, and we only used it for an hour or so the entire 10 days. We spent all our waking hours on the open decks, enjoying the 360 views and the sunshine.

If I had it to do again, even if oceanview and balcony were the same price, I would choose oceanview.

We’ve booked an Alaska trip on Solstice in August 2018. Haven’t paid anything yet due to no deposit at time of booking. Will have to pay full amount in May. We currently have booked a outside cabin. We know it rains at anytime in Alaska or could be cold or warm on any day. We would still have a large window in the cabin to view the shore and could always go up to a deck sporting a great view if we wanted to. But, we’ve always had a balcony on cruises to the Caribbean and we’ve enjoyed it. However, it rained most days on one of our cruises and having a balcony was pretty worthless. My question: would it be worth $500 extra to change our cabin to a balcony? :confused:

I was on the Solstice last August to Alaska. We were in a Sky Suite. Rained every day—rarely got to go out on the balcony. I went out only to take a few pictures when I could.

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For me it would be fairly important to have a balcony; Alaska is such a beautiful area and the views are so much more panoramic and alive from a balcony than through a window. While it is important to spend some time viewing top-side for even more panoramic vistas, it is nice having the balcony for times where you want some privacy and personal space while taking in Alaska. If you think that the weather would be too cold for you to be comfortable outside or if it is a big financial strain to splurge for the balcony, you do not need to feel it is essential (you certainly can still have a wonderful experience without) but it definitely is a nice luxury to have.

We spent lots and lots of hours on our balcony when we cruised Alaska. The sun doesn't set until quite late, so we were able to enjoy the scenery passing by while we searched for whales, which we did see more than a few times from our balcony. Our cabin steward put an extra lap blanket in our room for when it got chilly on the balcony. We found this to be easier than hunting for seating on the open decks. I'd say go with an inside if you don't want to pay the balcony rate. You could also wait until your final payment is due and hope for a price drop on veranda cabins.

We prefer to watch the scenery from a larger space for the better view. The 500 for us was better spent on fabulous excursions, which are pricey in Alaska.

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I have sailed to Alaska on the Alaskan Marine Hwy, and sailed back a couple years later on a HAL. Both times, I had an inside cabin, and I felt a balcony would have been a luxury. It was shocking to me how little people were on deck (esp on the HAL cruise--I had the aft of the ship past the Lido buffet all to myself for DAYS. People came out, shivered, and left. I was called a "sturdy sort," by some kiwis who couldn't believe I had been out there all day, lol. :) Keep in mind that a window or balcony means your room may be pretty light late into the evening.

That said, we booked an aft balcony on our trip in May. Previous trips were budget, and for actual moves to and from Alaska (we lived there 2 years). We'll use our balcony, but I'm sure even without one, we could find great places for viewing the ocean, inside passage, and wildlife on the public decks.

No way too much $$$.

That's relatively cheap for Alaska, I've seen them go for $800 - $1,000, or more. Still, I would save the money, don't like to pay more than $200 for an upgrade, maybe $300 for Alaska. We lucked out on our HAL cruise, $150 for the half a week we're on the ship, including Tracy Arm Fjord. Also our Transpacific hits Sitka, so I guess we'll see Alaska in segments from a balcony, on the cheap. :)

Thank you all for your reasons. Unless we get a better deal to upgrade, we decided that the outside cabin will be worth the money we’re spending. It’s already the most expensive cruise we’ve taken.

Thank you all for your reasons. Unless we get a better deal to upgrade, we decided that the outside cabin will be worth the money we’re spending. It’s already the most expensive cruise we’ve taken.

That's definitely a great idea. We cruise up to Alaska often and have now been very happy in an oceanview cabin. The ones are deck three, on the starboard side not too far from the Passport Bar, are in a great location.

We do love having a balcony when it is affordable but see ourselves spending less and less time on it with each cruise. Now, it would have to be a pretty good deal for me to book one over an oceanview. There are just too many outdoor areas to get better views of all that beautiful scenery that are available to justify anything more than that for me. My DH would probably disagree ... he just loves having a balcony!

Be sure to just keep your eyes open for price drops, especially in the month leading up to the sail date. We always do that and have taken an upgrade to a balcony for very little more than our original payment.

We have found that when cruising by scenic places, that sometimes viewing from the public places of the ship, like at the bow or the upper deck above the pool deck can be so crowded that you have to look over others or look through plexiglas, that just doesn't work out that well. When we went around the Horn of South America, at Cape Horn, we were on the port side (wrong side) and had to view from the deck above the pool deck. The deck was jammed with people and our viewing was not the best.

Sometimes it may be better from public places than your balcony, but when doing Alaska, like the Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay, the ship does a 360 so you can see it all from your own balcony. It is so much better there.

We've done 2 Alaskan cruises and had balconies on both. One was the 1st sailing of the year in May and I enjoyed the balcony quite often in just jeans & a sweatshirt. We had 3 days of rain, otherwise dry but not always sunny. Our other cruise was the last cruise of the season in Sept. That time I usually sat out in a t-shirt & capris and was very comfortable. We really lucked out on that trip and had no rain at all. I preferred sitting out on the balcony as opposed to the public decks because there wasn't so much wind. You're going to see some beautiful scenery on your cruise, a decent pair of binoculars will be helpful. Have a great trip.

We sailed Celebrity to Alaska in a regular veranda cabin. While sailing one afternoon we had the cabin door open and heard a bit of a commotion outside. Upon running out to our balcony we could hear "whale, whale"! Sure enough, there was a whale swimming right alongside the ship. Every once in awhile it would surface to take a breath. It looked close enough that you could touch it if you were at the water line. One of the best memories of cruising we have! Alaska is one of those destinations where a balcony is worth every penny, Sometimes you might be so close to shore you can spot the bald eagles in the treetops. Grab an extra blanket and soak in the sights from your balcony chairs. I wouldn't cruise Alaska without a balcony.

If it is within your budged I would get a balcony.

If you will stretch your budget and it will mean cutting back on excursions I would not as some of the best views from the ship will be on the open deck.

Keith

This is what I like about Cruisecritic. If you post an intelligent question, you’ll get intelligent answers and opinions. Thank you all. I currently have a cabin on deck 3, starboard side. But I still might get a balcony if the price is right. Plus, it has a few more square feet to stretch out in!

This is what I like about Cruisecritic. If you post an intelligent question, you’ll get intelligent answers and opinions. Thank you all. I currently have a cabin on deck 3, starboard side. But I still might get a balcony if the price is right. Plus, it has a few more square feet to stretch out in!

If you are looking at the Solstice for 8/24/18, check current prices.

Right now I am seeing lots of veranda staterooms for $1749, and category X (veranda guarantee) for $1649.

I don't know what you paid for your OV, but those are the same prices currently also showing for the OV categories!

If you can snag a covered balcony, you can sit out there and stay dry while you enjoy the views, even when it is raining.

Pick up a couple of deck blankets from the pool deck to keep in your cabin so you can snuggle up and stay warm on your balcony if it is a chilly day.

But you may have some very warm days (shorts and t-shirt days) in Alaska in August.