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10 sea days to/from Hawaii--is a veranda useful?


calteacher
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Currently we are booked in an ocean view, but I'm wondering if I should upgrade to a veranda (if the price is right). I know that the first and last days into and out of San Diego are cool and usually rough. However, were you able to use the veranda a lot on those days approaching and departing the islands?

 

Thanks.

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Currently we are booked in an ocean view, but I'm wondering if I should upgrade to a veranda (if the price is right). I know that the first and last days into and out of San Diego are cool and usually rough. However, were you able to use the veranda a lot on those days approaching and departing the islands?

 

Thanks.

 

We sailed in 2016 (Hawaii, Tahiti Marquesas) so we did have all those sea days (and a few more that were unplanned).

 

We made good use of the verandah and I was glad we had it.

 

Our weather out of San Diego was better than I expected. Coming back still useable.

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A veranda is always useful. In 21 cruises, 20 in a balcony cabin or above, we have never regretted a balcony.

 

I agree with CruiserBruce. There is no substitute for a balcony...JMHO. Just to go out and smell the sea air when you want to is wonderful to me....without having to go up on one of the public decks.

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Yes...IMO...living in CA I assume you are used to "fresh air"...and to me that is super important on a cruise...with all the A/C on board. We have sailed a number of times R/T out of SD to HI and we have always had a balcony...to me...I "won't leave home without it"...but I do love the fresh air. Yes..it can be "cool" coming and going out of SD...but it is still good to have that "door" to open IMO!! :) LuAnn

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A veranda is always useful. In 21 cruises, 20 in a balcony cabin or above, we have never regretted a balcony.

Totally agree. Even if you do not set foot on the verandah once during the cruise, the verandah gives your cabin a roomier feel the minute you enter. The bigger door window allows more light into the room making it feel spacier.

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I've only had a balcony once and it was on the Circle Hawaii cruise with all it's lovely sea days. There's just nothing like sitting out on a balcony especially at night just enjoying the air and water. It it's chilly you can just put on a sweater. I loved sitting on the balcony reading in my pajamas. I'm going on a Panama Canal cruise in 11 days!!!!!! (I'm not excited or anything). We have a balcony this time and I'm looking forward to it even if the weather is pretty lousy.

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If it is in your budget, I would highly recommend a verandah. There is nothing like going out on the verandah first thing in the morning ( providing the weather is OK) and just looking out at the ocean. On a Hawaii cruise, there would be a real advantage to seeing the islands from the comfort of your own balcony. Mind you, each to his/her own, but in my opinion a balcony is a "must" on all cruises. J.

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Thanks for the advice. However, when I checked with our TA, it would be nearly $1,000 more per person because of what we would lose and the extra we would need to pay. (We had a great deal when we booked.) So, we'll keep what we have and be glad to be sailing. And, we can always hope for an upsell--an upgrade is probably too much to hope for.

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You know what? You'll be perfectly fine in an OV. If you get an upsell to a verandah at a price that works for you, great, but don't worry about it if you don't. We did a RT Vancouver to Hawaii cruise in an OV and we were fine. In our case, we were on the Zaandam, so the verandahs were quite a bit more expensive than the OVs. I'd rather spend the extra money on something else, like shore excursions, or heck, even just keeping the money in the bank. Sure it would be nice to get fresh air on a whim and in your PJs, if you wanted to, but it's not a big deal to do it right after getting dressed in the morning or before you go to bed at night and anytime in between, on a public deck.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

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Thanks. That was my reaction, too. We have had verandas in the past, but we've also had insides and outsides, and once were actually upgraded to a Neptune (that will never happen again, I'm sure.) We've enjoyed all of our cruises. In fact, when we had the Neptune suite, we didn't actually go around in the ship much because we felt like we needed to enjoy what we had!

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Did the cruise, first time with a veranda. Couldn't open the veranda on the way over, big storm off of Alaska Rained at Hilo, beautiful day in Lahina,. Stuck in Honolulu for two nights, Big storm at Lanai, couldn't dock there.. Couldn't open the Veranda door on the way back. Storm had moved to the south Pacific. No crowds at dinner, lot of seasickness. Pretty neat to see the waves breaking half way back. Hi humidity on the ship, gooey. Everywhere you went the AC was full blast, cold.

 

None of the above should happen to you, but it does happen..

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For me after my experience - I would not pay for a veranda on this cruise. My huge disappointment on the San Diago Hawaii round trip cruise was that for all of the sea days it was way too cool and windy to enjoy being outside for long. At least on the open decks there are nooks to "hide" from the wind. Yes, getting a breath of fresh air at will was nice, but not for the price FOR ME! Obviously others think differently. (Now for tips to the South Pacific, South America in the winter, and such - YES to a Veranda and the higher cost. JMO

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We did the balcony both times to Hawaii. If you have an aft, you'll get sunrises or sunsets daily. I also prefer the floor to ceiling windows. Most Oceanview cabins have a picture window right above the bed. But I think the panoramic OV on Royal Caribbean ships does better with the windows since these rooms started out as public space. But I'm not inclined to book them, because I don't approve of them converting public spaces to staterooms. Makes for more congestion.

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We have enjoyed both oceanview and verandah staterooms. Obviously, the verandah is better but saving thousands of dollars is also nice. Both are good choices.

 

I have no problem sitting out on the public decks and often do so even when we have our own balcony. The only real hassle is when so much of the outside promenade deck is reserved for the lanai staterooms on some of the older ships.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the advice. However, when I checked with our TA, it would be nearly $1,000 more per person because of what we would lose and the extra we would need to pay. (We had a great deal when we booked.) So, we'll keep what we have and be glad to be sailing. And, we can always hope for an upsell--an upgrade is probably too much to hope for.
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As a solo traveller, I normally travel inside cabin. Doing a 25 night Hawaain cruise in January and have burst the bank for a balcony! Beyond excited!

 

Awesome! Have fun! Hawaii is a blast. Go to Cheeseburger in Paradise on Maui, Lahaina. HUGE burgers and the best Pina Colada's anywhere. :D

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