Is a Balcony Cabin on an Alaskan Cruise worth the extra cost?

[NancyIL]

I'd love a balcony but need to save my pennies to get out on a boat where the odds of getting a real close look are very high (at least at Sitka they are).

Excellent point, Murray, and we did indeed see seas otters from Capt. Davey's boat in Sitka!

[InternetAgeTraveler]

I have been following this thread with some interest. If Life were easy...

 

For our last several cruises we haved booked balconies, including the Pearl to Alaska in 2007, and we really enjoyed them. We saw things we wouldn't have seen otherwise (like Porpoises playing in the ships wake). But many of our most memorable moments came outside of our room.

 

This year we are sailing on the Pearl again and we booked an Oceanview room. The difference was just over $800 (roughly 1/3 more). It came down to a decision of whether we could justify this or not. The answer after much discussion was no. Justifying the cruise itself this year was a tough enough decision. We were already on a budget.

 

Would we take a balcony at the same cost, you bet? If the prices dropped and the gap closed, maybe. There were dates and itineraries that were also cheaper, but the dates and itineraries also played into our decision in the first place.

 

Alaska, unlike a Carribean cruise does have things to see most of the way, so its not likely you are going to say you wasted your money...

 

You have to weigh all of the factors, take all of this great input, and make a decision. That's the way it works.

[randolph]

Sometimes you can book the first and last ships of the season and get 2 weeks for the price of one (nearly). Example" 4/30/10 14 day Alaska departing in San Diego; Lowest cost balcony is $1349pp + 20% port fees & taxes. I've seen one week balconies going for that much.

[bluejbird]

Thanks so much for all of the great input. I'm really looking forward to the 2 days of Glacier cruising on this cruise, so I"ve decided to go for the Balcony cabin. :) At this point, I'm not planning on a second trip to Alaska so I want to make the most of this one. Also, since this is my 1st Princess Cruise, I thought that if I booked an Oceanview Obstructed, I may be upgraded to a Balcony but I realize that that's a long shot and I would probably be disappointed if I didn't get the Balcony on this cruise. I think I'm going to enjoy the scenic cruising even more than the ports of call. Also, I looked at the layout of the Oceanview rooms and it seems like they don't make it convenient to even look out of your window. Looks like you would have to kneel on the bed to look out of the window. Thanks again Jo-RealLifeRealStoriesDOTcom

[NancyIL]

Sometimes you can book the first and last ships of the season and get 2 weeks for the price of one (nearly). Example" 4/30/10 14 day Alaska departing in San Diego; Lowest cost balcony is $1349pp + 20% port fees & taxes. I've seen one week balconies going for that much.

 

The repositioning cruises at the beginning and end of the season are almost always less expensive than during peak times. That cruise gets to Alaska VERY early in the season - which would be too early for many of us.

[InternetAgeTraveler]

If the prices dropped and the gap closed, maybe.

 

Well, someone with some influence must have read my post from earlier and said, "sounds like they really want a balcony, let me help out".

 

This last weekend, NCL put the balconies on sale for my cruise, a great deal, went from an Oceanview Room (deck 5) to a BC Balcony (deck 9) for only $368 more. That was the deal closer.

 

As I said, we've have done it either way, but this makes it more fun.

 

But I still agree that getting to go, is better than not going at all, at any price....

[A&Emom]

I would say yes.

 

Last year we booked our cruise at the last minute. My husband's parents and extend family were already going. When the prices got so low we almost couldn't afford not to go. But it really wasn't in our budget so I tried to save some money by booking my family of 4 into 2 ob/view cabins.

 

What the heck was I thinking?!?!?! That is just not who I am. I cruise so I can have the little luxury on my vacations that I don't have in my everyday life. The Monday before our departure I was on the phone begging my TA to find me a balcony. There were none to be had at any price.

 

Thankfully the gods having had their laugh, took pity on me. The day before we left, my TA called with an offer to swap our cabins for a mini-suite with a balcony.

 

We had amazing weather and used that balcony a lot. Our first day out in Glacier Bay, my husband & I were up at 6am enjoying a champagne breakfast on our balcony together, while our 2 children slept. Neither of us felt like we were missing something when we headed back to our cabin for our 2yo's daily nap. It was easy to get our 6yo ready for bed and let her stay up just a little longer to try and spot a whale. Plenty of people on this board have sniffed at me for this, but I would rather stay home than cruise without a balcony.

 

We've booked the Disney Dream for next summer and my longtime TA laughed at the thought of not booking us in a balcony.

[NancyIL]

We've booked the Disney Dream for next summer and my longtime TA laughed at the thought of not booking us in a balcony.

 

True to form, I booked an inside cabin (11C gty) on the Disney Dream for Feb. 2011! :D I was in a balcony cabin on my first Disney cruise, because I cruised with my mom and she wanted one. We had a handicap-accessible cat. 6 cabin at the very back of deck 6 with a HUGE balcony. It was nice to have, but it didn't spoil me for subsequent cruises. I haven't paid for another balcony since.

[tetleytea]

To balcony or not to balcony, that is the question.

 

This question keeps popping up, and it's often treated like a black-and-white issue when it's really a shade of grey. It depends on how much more the balcony is, and whether you can afford it. The market has done a pretty good job of factoring the extra value into the price already. I have noticed, though, that the price differential for a balcony vs. an interior in Alaska is really not that much greater than in the Caribbean, and the Alaska balcony is much more valuable. And you're already paying the airfare and a fixed amount of port charges already. Contrast that with the trans-Atlantic cruises, where the balcony is practically thrown in for free, but the view from the balcony on all the at-sea days is, um...are you thirsty?

 

You wouldn't fly all the way from New York to LA only to visit a museum and then fly back. Seeing Alaska is the point of you being there. You can see more of it from your balcony. To get a better picture of whether it's worth it, I think it's a mistake to compare the published interior fare vs. the published balcony fare. e.g. $500pp interior vs. $1000pp balcony. Instead you need to take your total budget and bump it by the extra cost of the balcony to see what you're really looking at. In other words, $2500 total (for two people, after interior room and airfare and port charges) vs. $3500 total. It's an oversimplification, of course, but the point is that the former comparison makes it look like the balcony is twice that of the interior room, when it's really not. A better question to ask is, can you afford the extra $1000 (plus tax and travel insurance, minus the extra ship OBC)?

 

Of course, as has been mentioned already, another good comparison is whether you would rather see that $1000 invested in a good excursion. The balcony is for 7 days, whereas the excursion is over in 4 hours. But OTOH if you think you are only going to actually use the balcony for 4 hours....

[NancyIL]

To balcony or not to balcony, that is the question.

 

This question keeps popping up, and it's often treated like a black-and-white issue when it's really a shade of grey. It depends on how much more the balcony is, and whether you can afford it. The market has done a pretty good job of factoring the extra value into the price already. I have noticed, though, that the price differential for a balcony vs. an interior in Alaska is really not that much greater than in the Caribbean, and the Alaska balcony is much more valuable. And you're already paying the airfare and a fixed amount of port charges already. Contrast that with the trans-Atlantic cruises, where the balcony is practically thrown in for free, but the view from the balcony on all the at-sea days is, um...are you thirsty?

 

You wouldn't fly all the way from New York to LA only to visit a museum and then fly back. Seeing Alaska is the point of you being there. You can see more of it from your balcony. To get a better picture of whether it's worth it, I think it's a mistake to compare the published interior fare vs. the published balcony fare. e.g. $500pp interior vs. $1000pp balcony. Instead you need to take your total budget and bump it by the extra cost of the balcony to see what you're really looking at. In other words, $2500 total (for two people, after interior room and airfare and port charges) vs. $3500 total. It's an oversimplification, of course, but the point is that the former comparison makes it look like the balcony is twice that of the interior room, when it's really not. A better question to ask is, can you afford the extra $1000 (plus tax and travel insurance, minus the extra ship OBC)?

 

Of course, as has been mentioned already, another good comparison is whether you would rather see that $1000 invested in a good excursion. The balcony is for 7 days, whereas the excursion is over in 4 hours. But OTOH if you think you are only going to actually use the balcony for 4 hours....

You've made some good points. I almost splurged for a balcony cabin on a Transatlantic cruise because the price was so reasonable. Then I decided I really don't want to take a chance on a chilly crossing, so opted for an oceanview cabin instead. Besides, my in-laws will have a balcony cabin, so we can hang out on theirs if the weather is nice! :D

 

I usually look at the "opportunity cost" - what I could do with x amount of money if I didn't spend it on a fancier cabin. So far the other options have always won.

[Lookingforfacts]

The OP is comparing an obstructed oceanview cabin with a balcony cabin. Some obstructed oceanview cabins are a good deal. Between lifeboats. Some give you a view of a lifeboat and not much else. A better question is if an obstructed oceanview cabin is better then an inside cabin.

[NancyIL]

The OP is comparing an obstructed oceanview cabin with a balcony cabin. Some obstructed oceanview cabins are a good deal. Between lifeboats. Some give you a view of a lifeboat and not much else. A better question is if an obstructed oceanview cabin is better then an inside cabin.

 

We originally booked an inside cabin on our Coral Princess Alaska cruise in 2007. Then prices went down on the obstructed OV cabins to less than what we were paying for the inside. We were in E510, and we had a lifeboat in front of our window. Although we couldn't see much from the window, we had some natural light. The best part was that the cabin was quite close to the library on the Emerald deck, and I loved sitting in a comfy chair in front of those big windows...watching the scenery go by. I wouldn't have paid more for an obstructed OV cabin than for an inside, but I was happy to switch cabins to save money.

 

I also booked an inside cabin on our HAL Veendam Alaska cruise in 2008. When prices dropped on a cat. HH "fully obstructed" view on the Lower Promenade deck, we changed cabins. There was a deck outside our window, but you could see the ocean if you looked at a slight angle. Our OV cabin was larger than an inside, and it had a bathtub. The best part about that cabin was the easy access to the outside Promenade deck. It was like having a great big balcony just 4 doors away from my cabin.

[tetleytea]

An obstructed OV is virtually identical to an interior in my book. Biggest difference I see is the daylight you get, and in Alaska I actually consider that a negative. I like the complete darkness of an interior. But I would gladly trade that for a balcony. We had another lovely experience on a Norwegian ship (not in Alaska) where the OV opened up to the jogging deck. Some people need to realize, we can see you in your underwear on your bed, watching television.

[Michael Kays]

great thread..we booked Sapphire Princess for June and were fortunate enough to grab both Caribe aft BB balconies..We have booked these specific cabins before and love view off the aft..plus bonus of having these aft cabins is no wind while underway, and completely covered overheads. So after reading this thread we are packing flannel jammies. securing deck blankets when we get onboard and planning on many breathtaking hours on our deck~

[Got2Cruise]

I am voting NO, it is not worth it. There are plenty of places on the ship to view the scenery/wildlife. Another reason is that the wildlife often are seen on only one side of the ship. If you are on deck, you can simply cross the deck, or the ship, depending on which deck you are on. How many hours can you sit in solitude, in the cold?? For me, not many. ;) I would rather use the money saved on the inside cabin and put it towards one of the many excursions such as a whale watching tour, or helicopter tour. jmo. btw, our friends who cruised Alaska last season took our advice, and their first words to us were "thank you", it would have been too cold to sit on the balcony for more than a few minutes at a time. And, btw, we both cruised Alaska in July.

Edited February 26, 2010 by Got2Cruise

[MaggieMayToo]

As a sailor at home (albeit on other peoples boats ;)) I wouldn't consider a cruise without a balcony cabin -- I want to hear and smell the water!

 

For our upcoming Alaska cruise, we have booked RC's Junior Suite aft cabin. So we will have a massive balcony AND a bit warmer temperatures. Plus, the Junior Suite has a walk-in closet, which provides some additional privacy when we all (2 adults & 2 kids) decide to get changed at once. This worked out wonderfully on our Europe cruise last year.

 

Obviously everyone has to balance money spent on their Room with their numerous other expenses, but for us the balcony is a must! For this cruise, our Junior Suite will amount to about 40% of our total cruise cost.... and for us, it is worth it!

[ellbon]

well, after the major Norovirus on the Murcury this week i would hate to be in any cabin that did not have a balcony. you are struck in there for days at least you can bundle up and get a blanket and sit on your balcony. ibwould freak out struck in a tiny cabin- at least you will have views ..

 

also i used my balcony almost daily on my last Alaskan cruise

[Scarlett3]

I haven't read the other responses, but back in 2007, my family and I took the NCL Pearl to Alaska and LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the balcony! Yes, it is worth it, because no matter what time of day, the beautiful surroundings are just... picture perfect!!!!

[Snow24]

I'm in total agreement with everyone else that it is an amazing experience and well worth the money to have a balcony room on this cruise. Of any cruise we've been on this is the one that we used the balcony most and enjoyed it most!! We had a baja deck balcony which is category BE on the Diamond - second to the cheapest balconies and it was wonderful! We usually get Baja 242 or around there on the port side for the classes of ships we were on (Star, Diamond, Emerald, and upcoming on Caribbean). Love being near the front of the ship and up high - not much movement either! And I have a tendancy to get sea sick sometimes, and not once on all of our cruises! In fact our friends had Caribe deck in the aft on our last cruise and we had Baja 238 and there was less movement in our room than their's!

 

Port side (left side) is the way to go for upward cruises from Vancouver/Seattle to Whittier. Going back down you'll want a Starboard Side room (right side). We went up from Vancouver to Whitter one way and it was incredible!!!

 

Go for it without question and enjoy enjoy enjoy!!! :)

 

PS - i should also metion we were on one of the first cruises of the season in May and it was warm most days and just incredible weather to be on the balcony!!

 

Hi,

I am interested in your comment about cruising north from Vancouver and choosing the Port side of the ship for a balcony cabin. I realize that you are cruising most of the time with scenery on both sides but as the harbors are on the Starboard side, I was assuming that would be best. We are doing a one-way trip in June 2015

Chris

[Budget Queen]

Hi,

I am interested in your comment about cruising north from Vancouver and choosing the Port side of the ship for a balcony cabin. I realize that you are cruising most of the time with scenery on both sides but as the harbors are on the Starboard side, I was assuming that would be best. We are doing a one-way trip in June 2015

Chris

 

Depending what cruise you are taking, a port side would be a must for anyone, sailing Glacier Bay and NOT wanting to leave their cabin during the sailing. all the first views line up with the commentary on this side. Otherwise there are "views" on both sides, and what ever side you are on, you are missing the other with side balconies. :)

[richard1s]

On our recent Alaskan cruise, we booked an aft Sky Suite on Solstice. This was a great choice since the view is an amazing 180 with limited wind exposure. These decisions are often budget driven, however a balcony, especially an aft offers a great, comfy, private experience on an Alaskan itinerary.

[fleckle]

Hi,

I'm planning on taking an Alaskan Cruise on the Diamond Princess this year and I can't decide if I should pay double the amount of an oceanview obstructed to get a cabin with a balcony. :confused: I'm assuming I'll be able to enjoy the glacier cruising from the balcony, but maybe the cabin will be on the wrong side of the ship. A lot of people say you're hardly in your cabin to take advantage of it, so I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone have an opinion on the subject?

We love having a balcony and would not want to take an Alaska cruise without one, but as you can see from the replies, there are others who feel differently.

 

Even for those of us who love balconies, there is a price point that limits how much we are willing to pay for a balcony on any particular cruise.

 

For example, a few years ago we wanted a unique 14 day Alaska itinerary that was being offered on the HAL Amsterdam, but we thought their balcony prices were outrageous.

We did not want to take the cruise without a balcony, and their balcony prices did not drop, so we went with a different cruise line instead.

 

Then the following year, we again kept an eye on that unique Alaska itinerary and noticed that the balconies were not selling well at the exorbitant prices they were asking. So we just kept watching and waiting.

 

As the cruise date drew closer there was a big balcony closeout sale in a category for which we qualified, so we jumped on it.

We were very happy that we had waited because we ended up paying half what it would have cost if we had booked the balcony at the original price.

But of course you can't count on that always happening.

 

Although we all have opinions when it comes to what we ourselves would do, the fact remains that you are the only one who can determine whether or not a balcony is worth the cost to you on any particular cruise, the same way that you are the only one who can determine whether or not a suite is worth the extra cost.

 

You may instead want to consider another Alaska cruise on a different ship where a balcony will not be double the amount of an oceanview.

 

Another possibility if any guarantees should be offered: sometimes you can get a very good price if you are willing to accept a balcony guarantee, but there again some people are satisfied with booking guarantees, while others are only happy if they can pick the particular cabin they want.

 

 

:D So now after all this prolonged discussion, I just noticed that somebody revived this old thread from 2010.

That will teach me to look at dates first before responding. ;)

 

 

Edited August 10, 2014 by fleckle

[dateacher]

Can't read through all of these posts but I just posted my opinion in a trip report about the Volendam on July 30.

[mr green]

This thread started in 2010. Since then there have been countless others on the same subject!!!

 

john