Never booked a balcony before questions:)!

[dixie54]

We have always booked a Promenade room. Anyway, what are the distinctions between the categories? When you are booking a balcony, and it is cold outside is it just windy and miserable out there? Do you use it?

 

What location is best on the Voyager? which ones not to book? Port or Stern on the Roatan, Belize, Cayman trip where you can face the Port? Any favorite room numbers?

 

thanks for any info!

[Cruising Erin]

You'll love your balcony and they say once you have a balcony, you can't go back. :-) We normally get a port side balcony and love the hump of the ship. Deck 9 is great as it's easy to get up to the pool area and down to the promenade. It can be chilly on the balcony as it is on deck 12 when you first leave Florida if you're going in the winter, otherwise it's perfect. We spend a lot of time on our balcony. It's nice to have breakfast or a drink out there. Have a great cruise!

[Buckeye State Cruisers]

Unless you are going to Alaska I doubt you will be cold on your balcony.:rolleyes: I find that is is nice to open the curtains in the morning and see the ocean, eat breakfast on the balcony and just stand and look at the water. Just remember once you have a balcony you will have a hard time going back to an inside. Happy Cruising.

[Cruising Erin]

The other thing I forgot to mention is that D cabins are larger than E cabins and the D1 will allow for a 3rd and 4th passenger as will the E2 I believe. We normally get D1's if we're with our son or D2's on our own. That extra space is worth it.

[dixie54]

We are now Platinum so we get $100 off a balcony. Is it combineable with a next cruise certificate or the Wow Sale? Or $100 OBC from a travel agent? thanks

[cb at sea]

I think cruising without a balcony is like going to a beach resort, and having a view of the parking lot....a balcony is the ONLY way, IMO, to cruise!

If you're headed south, it's in NO WAY "cold and miserable"!

Which side you book is of no matter...each side will have great views, and to be honest, the side AWAY from the dock is much more private. When you face the dock, the dockworkers and other passengers are always staring up at you!

[ehfl]

If it's miserable out, then I wouldn't use it....but if you love misery then go for it.

 

Balconies are ok, but we're just as happy with an inside. We seem to end up with smokers and/or noisy neighbors so we can't enjoy the fresh air and tranquility as much as we would like.

[yogimax]

You'll love your balcony and they say once you have a balcony, you can't go back.

 

Ah, but you can! We've sailed in balconies and easily return to inside cabins. The price difference allows you to sail more often!

[subtchr]

I don't know about Roatan or Belize, but Cayman is tendered, so it makes no difference which side of the ship you are on. And I do know that some (most?) ports when you are docked, the ship can face either direction, so it's the luck of the draw whether your balcony will face toward or away from the dock. I know that is the case with Kings Wharf in Bermuda. Our starboard balcony did face the dock, but I have seen photos of Explorer turned the other way.

 

We LOVED our hump balcony (7320) on Explorer (same class as Voyager). So handy to everything, since the stairs were only a few steps from the door, and great views forward and aft:

 

 

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Sue

[FreshOffTheBoat]

Before you book a balcony. You need to ask yourself, "How much time will I spend in my room?" . If the answer is a lot then book a balcony. If the answer is well idk, I like to go to the shows, activities and do a lot of the things on board, then just get an inside room and save the money. I had a balcony on my last cruise (yes it was nice, little more space and I liked the sunshine) however I rarely used it as I was out and about on the ship enjoying the many different activities and food.

[NorbertsNiece]

Unless you are going to Alaska I doubt you will be cold on your balcony.:rolleyes: I find that is is nice to open the curtains in the morning and see the ocean, eat breakfast on the balcony and just stand and look at the water. Just remember once you have a balcony you will have a hard time going back to an inside. Happy Cruising.

 

We weren't cold on our balcony in Alaska check out the t-shirt! :D

 

[lady_cruiser]

We are now Platinum so we get $100 off a balcony. Is it combineable with a next cruise certificate or the Wow Sale? Or $100 OBC from a travel agent? thanks

 

$100 OBC from your TA is a perk that comes from the travel agent. So yes you can combine it with your Platinum discount. I use the Platinum discount too and you can't use it with other perks, such as Stock Options. I might be wrong and someone will correct me if I am but I don't think it can combine the C&A discount with the Next Cruise Certificate or WOW Sale.

 

If you go to the Crown and Anchor Section of RCL you can probably find the answer to your question there.

[DonnaK]

I think I just read on the RCI website that effective June 1, you can combine next cruise with the C&A balcony discount?

 

Anyway, I wanted to chime in and say that on Voyager (Explorer and Adventure), the balcony fronts are steel topped with glass (not all glass like on other ships). On deck 6, the steel comes up much higher than it does on the other decks, so you have a narrower view - you cant see over the front while sitting. So, try to avoid a deck 6 balcony on these ships, if possible. It's not a deal breaker by any means, but if you have a choice, pick a higher deck.

[beachchick]

Our first balcony on was on a 4 day RCI cruise from Vancouver to Seattle (end of Alaska season). It was pretty cool out there a good deal of the time, but we used it a lot. We just put on a jacket if necessary, but mostly a good sweater was plenty. For the ports you list, I can't imagine it would be too cold or miserable, even if you have some rain. As long as the rain isn't driving in and as long as the wind isn't blowing directly on us, we will go out and relax in the fresh air. Since that first balcony, we've never cruised without one, period. I guess for a decade now we've been what are known as "balcony snobs.":D

 

beachchick

[hooked-on-travel]

Since you said Voyager, we boarded VY last January while TX had a cold snap. It was our first balcony. It was chilly out there for the first day, but TX was having highs in the 50s. Since home was below zero for day time highs, I wouldn't categorize the temp as miserable. However, some of the TX natives did disagree with me. Anyway, it was fine after that. And even in the chilly part, it was chilly all over the ship, so we were dressed appropriately, had jackets, etc.

 

As for my only balcony experience, we had 8570, which has a 3rd bed that pulls down over the head of the lower beds. Our balcony was all steel, floor to celing. I think that might have been a structural thing, though, b/c I could definitely see if I stuck my head out far enough that others had some amount of glass dividing them from the neighbors. I don't know if most people get to look forward and back b/c of the glass, but we didn't. However, there was a lot of privacy out there if you like to go out in your PJs.

 

Our next VY sailing is in a Promenade, which is also a first. I can definitely go back after a balcony. It was nice, but cheaper can be better, sometimes.

[oliviaonthe beach]

Balconies rule!!!!! Cruising Erin is right...never go back!

[WOWJr1]

We've sailed in balconies and easily return to inside cabins. The price difference allows you to sail more often!

 

Same here. We make the choice based on itinerary and available $$. For example, two cruises ago was Western Caribbean (multiple ports) and a balcony was well worth it. The cruise after that was Baltimore to Bermuda. Most of the cruising was on open ocean, so not much to look at except water. Once we were in Bermuda (the only port-of-call), we spent most of the time on the islands, not on the ship. We selected an inside for that cruise and used the savings to enjoy more on-shore activities.