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Downgrading is my new philosophy


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Started out with a balcony on my first cruise, and thought I couldn't live any other way. Then I discovered the fabulous real estate of aft balconies and thought I couldn't live any other way.

 

But I have turned to the other side. That is, the inside. I'm going on a ten-day Med cruise this fall for about $1400 per person, inside. Versus twice that much each for a balcony. I think we can use all the real estate of the ship pretty easily if we need to be outside and seeing things. Plus we have all the real estate on the ship at our disposal, not just the limited view from one balcony.

 

Just checked my Caribbean cruise prices. We booked $1900 pp for an aft balcony. We can cruise for under a thousand pp for a room with a view.

 

The food is the same for us in all the venues. The entertainment is the same. The amenities of the ship are the same.

 

I believe I have turned into a downgrader!

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The best sleep we ever got on a cruise was in a pitch-dark inside cabin :) We got a balcony room, just to see how we would enjoy it, and realized that we really didn't care that much. We used the balcony because it was there, and it was nice - but we don't miss it.

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The best sleep we ever got on a cruise was in a pitch-dark inside cabin :) We got a balcony room, just to see how we would enjoy it, and realized that we really didn't care that much. We used the balcony because it was there, and it was nice - but we don't miss it.

 

Totally agree. When we started cruising I booked us an outside cabin, because I figured we HAD to have a window at least and couldn't afford a balcony. Did the same thing on our second cruise. Then we splurged on an awesome HAL double wide balcony. And we discovered that it was wonderful..... but not worth the extra cost.

 

So we figured let's try the opposite extreme, and booked a HAL inside J (largest of the bunch). We LOVED it!!

 

We've since switched over to Princess and are perfectly satisfied with their little inside cabins. Love the darkness, love the money we save, and love my husband enough after 35 years to do weeks together in "our little hole"! :D

Edited by canadarocks
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We usually stay in an inside cabin.

 

Cruising in a balcony cabin or a suite seems to be some of the most expensive real estate you can rent. The additional cost per square foot per day is astounding when you realize almost all of the cruising amenities are the same for an inside cabin.

 

Scott & Karen

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My first real cruise was an inside solo cabin on NCL Epic, since I was traveling on my own I didn´t spend that much time in the cabin and I didn´t mind having an inside.

 

My second cruise was on Serende O.T.S, were supposed to share the cabin with one of the guys that I got to know from the Epic cruise. He had to cancel and I had a balcony cabin on my own, think that I spent 2-3 hours on it on the whole cruise.

 

The 3rd cruise was on Allure O.T.S with my fiance, since she´s still studing at the university we decide to take an inside cabin to keep the cost down. Our cruise had hugh pricedrops and we ended up with a balcony cabin (and still gott some cash back).

 

This time we decided to make an B2B instead of taking an expensive cabin, our first leg will be an inside and the second leg will be an ocean view. We see it as a test if we would be happy without an balcony or not.

 

This will be her graduation trip, a total of 25 nights away from home. :)

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To each his/her own. Many people feel that insides provide great bargains. If one is in there only to sleep, shower, and change clothes then the view - or lack of any - is irrelevant. For me however it wouldn't work - it would be like staying in a bomb bunker.

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To each his/her own. Many people feel that insides provide great bargains. If one is in there only to sleep, shower, and change clothes then the view - or lack of any - is irrelevant. For me however it wouldn't work - it would be like staying in a bomb bunker.

 

same here. i spend a majority of my time in the cabin and I REQUIRE natural light and the ability to quickly get fresh air.

 

for us not only do we not sail in interiors we only sail in suites for the most part. sure that means we can only sail once a year or every other year, but okay.

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My mom refuses to spend money on anything but an inside cabin...for all the reasons you mentioned. Everything else is the same for everyone...food, shows, views, etc....whatever works for you is how you should do it!

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We just had our second balcony cabin and DW saw a dolphin from it, just as she did from our first balcony cabin. I am afraid that no matter the price differential I am doomed to always book balconies.;)

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I'm about to join the Insiders Club! I, too, assumed we "needed" a balcony cabin. Perhaps one might on certain ships if there weren't wonderful spots to sit and read or enjoy watching the ocean go by, etc. But on our favorite ship, Celebrity Reflection, we have plenty of places we like to hang out so we're about to try an inside for our next transatlantic cruise!

 

Less $$ on the cabin means more cruises!

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The food is the same for us in all the venues. The entertainment is the same. The amenities of the ship are the same.

 

Yup, and you're fortunate if that's all that matters to you, because there are good deals to be had if the cabin size and location isn't important. Different strokes for different folks.

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I have been on 6 cruises so far (with my 7th one booked). I'm one of those folks that only uses the cabin for sleeping, showering, getting ready to leave the cabin and go check out the port/ship.

 

Based on my budget, I can definitely cruise more often by "renting" an inside cabin. Of course, I've never had a balcony so I don't know how awesome it might be (and frankly, I'm afraid to get hooked....lol).

 

So far, I've been immensly happy with my little cabin in the dungeon, as I call it (since not only do I book inside cabins, but I usually book on a lower deck since I notice the movement less that way) :D

 

To each his own though :)

 

Melissa

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The best sleep we ever got on a cruise was in a pitch-dark inside cabin :) We got a balcony room, just to see how we would enjoy it, and realized that we really didn't care that much. We used the balcony because it was there, and it was nice - but we don't miss it.

 

I absolutely agree with this! We have cruised inside, porthole, and then finally last December we tried a balcony. It was nice, don't get me wrong, but we are the type of people that are in our rooms for showering, sleeping, getting ready, and that's it so overall we realized the price was just not worth it. Instead we use the extra money to do other things, whether its a few extra drinks of the day or something else in port.

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I would favour the cheaper, inside option. However, on our last cruise, I was ill for a day and confined to the cabin most of the day. My DW said that, if it were not for the balcony, she would have either smothered me with a pillow or spent the whole day on deck. This was the Epic with its notorious wc set up!:o Balconies for us all the way now!

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Just as there are cruise lines to fit everyone's tastes from Carnival to Regent, there are cabins to fit everyone's taste and pocketbook.

That being said, we opt for a balcony. We love the privacy, especially on sea days, where we set up our "day camp". We have our Kindle and Nook, minispeakers (turned very low), a glass of wine, a private close by bathroom, room service,and each other. It is not quite like Omar Khayyam, (a loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou beside me in the wilderness) but close enough.

IMG_4357.jpg.327ada3aab9138f6724cc6c325b0ad38.jpg

Edited by Talisker92
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I am one of those people that need light. I can sleep in bright light without a problem. I need at least a window. My last cruise was my first with a balcony and I loved it. It was especially nice to be able to get fresh air when I was sick.

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This is going to be our first cruise (15 days - wow; never thought *we* would go on a 15-day cruise!!) and because of the price difference we did an inside cabin. It's what we could afford. But we, too, plan on doing things outside of the room (I accidentally just typed "toom"... phonetic Freudian slip? lol), and while I also feel like I need light and air, that's what decks are for! But I may put the TV on the deck cam channel and put it on mute to imitate a window ;-)

 

I see SO many people on this board who swear life's just not right without a balcony and I just :rolleyes: and think about how nice it must be to have that kind of cashola. I figure, as many have said, by booking an indoor, it doesn't bankrupt us so we can be more likely to afford to cruise again in the future! ;-)

 

It's refreshing to see people who are totally cool with being indoorsers lol

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