Mariner of the Seas - Oceanview vs Balcony

Getting ready to book my cruise aboard the Mariner of the Seas and am trying to decide if the upgrade to a balcony room is worth it? We would be looking at an Oceanview stateroom on decks 3 or 7, or a balcony room on deck 9. The cost difference is about $600 total between the 2 for our 7 night cruise. Is this a worthy upgrade in your opinion? We have 3 cruising days at sea on our itinerary, however I am just wondering if the balcony is big enough or open enough to be worth it and able to spend time on during our days at sea? Will we be able to catch any sun on this balcony or no?

Give me your thoughts and opinions please. The cost of this upgrade would about cover our drinks on board the ship for the vacation, but if it is a worthy upgrade, I will definitely spring for it! Thanks!

Jon

Balcony cabins are dangerous. Once you use one you get spoiled and always want one.

But budget can play a big part. We have sailed in ocean view and balconies and if I wanted to keep the cost down I would be happy to go in an ocean view again.

I should add, we sailed on Mariner in a "hump" balcony cabin and loved it. I think it's worth the extra cost.

-Bill

Balcony cabins are dangerous. Once you use one you get spoiled and always want one.

 

But budget can play a big part. We have sailed in ocean view and balconies and if I wanted to keep the cost down I would be happy to go in an ocean view again.

 

I should add, we sailed on Mariner in a "hump" balcony cabin and loved it. I think it's worth the extra cost.

 

-Bill

Thanks Bill! Was the balcony on the Mariner enough to catch son sun on or is it covered, too small, etc?

Where we were there was plenty of sun. Some higher cabins might have overhangs that shade the balcony. Decks 7 and 8 are the best guarantee to avoid shade, with deck 10 the worst.

Check the upper deck layouts to find where the overhangs are.

Also check the itinerary route map to determine which side of the ship will be most often facing south or west and book on that side for most sun. Why on our eastbound TA we went for Starboard this time instead of usual preference for Port. We'll just have to deal with watching the water go from left to right instead of the other way. ;) Overhang won't matter a lot if sun is on the other side of the ship.

Hence the term "POSH".

It means Port Over, Starboard Home. They used to charge a premium for the warmer cabins and those that could afford to pay were considered "POSH".

;)