Help with cabin choice on Insignia

[LadyCruisers]

We are currently booked on 10-nite May 17th "Pearls of the Riviera" on Insignia Barcelona to Rome in a Cat 1 oceanview cabin. (Ports include Barcelona, Valencia, Palma, St. Tropez, Marseille, Portofino, Monte Carlo, Florence, Amalfi/Positano, Sorrento and Rome).This a port intensive trip and when originally booked thought a balcony would not be necessary. I am now considering bumping up to a verandah cabin, which I think might amount to about $400 more pp. This is our first cruise on Oceania. Beside the balcony, it seems that the verandah cabin has about 50 sq. ft more space than the oceanview and considering this particular itinerary thought the balcony might really be worthwhile. We've cruised on HAL, Celebrity, Princess and others and have had inside, oceanview and balcony cabins both smaller and larger and are easy to please and have been happy with all of them. Would appreciate feedback from anyone who has done an itinerary with these ports and thoughts on the oceanview versus balcony for it. I plan on calling our travel agent on Monday to see about changing. Thanks for the help.

[hondorner]

There is no additional interior space in a veranda cabin versus an ocean view. If you have seen a statistic that specifies more space for the veranda cabin, it probably includes the veranda, which I remember as being 42 square feet.

 

In fact, the Ocean View cabin is very, very slightly more usable as there is a recess under the window that can serve as a shelf, handy as one additional spot to put things (I should add that our family suffers from HSS, Horizontal Surface Syndrome, in which we are compelled to stack things on any horizontal surface above floor level that we encounter).

 

We just returned from a short (7 day) Regent Voyager cruise to the Western Caribbean that was port intensive -- one sea day. There was so much to do when we were aboard, and so seldom were we in the cabin with long excursions almost every day, that we really used the balcony just to check the weather to see how to dress. I remember towards the end of the week thinking to myself that I was glad we had not paid extra to have a balcony (Voyager has only balcony cabins and we had snagged one of the lowest cost category cabins).

 

On the other hand, if the weather is nice, one of the best ways to start off each day that includes an early excursion is breakfast on the balcony.

[LHT28]

The A, B, C & D cabins are all the same size C & D Cat do not have the balcony but same size cabins

Choose one that you will happy with

 

We had Balcony cabin but hardly used the balcony

We prefer to be on deck but many people use their balcony a lot

It is a personal choice

 

Lyn

[ORV]

On our Med cruise we booked a balcony but due to it being port intensive hardly ever used it. On our next couple of cruises we've booked oceanview.

[lmarmors]

On our Med cruise we booked a balcony but due to it being port intensive hardly ever used it. On our next couple of cruises we've booked oceanview.

 

We booked a balcony on our Tahiti and Carribean cruises, but didn't use it because it was hot and humid...just used the balcony for drying bathing suits and to take a couple of pictures...

 

For us, its not worth the extra expense...but if you are the type to use room service alot, or like to drink cocktails on your balcony, I imagine it would be worthed. I agree that port-intensive itineraries would also be something to consider.

[Emmaline]

We did 2 cruises this year with Oceania, both on Insignia: 14 Day Barcelona to Athens in stateroom 7001 (forward) and loved going outside on our veranda each morning as we approached the hillside ports. We just returned from the 15 Day Transatlantic in an oceanview stateroom which was smaller but it worked for us mainly because we did not consider the ports as picturesque. However, I did miss easy access to fresh sea and stateroom readiness on the day of arrival. Our higher level stateroom was available around 1 PM and luggage delivered soon after. At the Oceanview level, these occurred many hours later.

[marilynfaye]

We have been all over the ship when it comes to cabins from deck 6 balcony to the oversized oceanview on deck 7 forward to a PH on deck 8. On our trip in November on Nautica (same layout), we found ourselves in an oceanview on deck 4 for the first time. It was a port intensive cruise and we thought it would be an interesting experiment.

 

On the one hand, upon entry, the cabin seemed a little small, but our last two cruises were in the above mentioned large oceanview & PH so that might account for our initial reaction. Plus, it had been almost three years since we cruised and our memory is probably foggy. Also, the bed was at the far end of the cabin, right next to the window so getting around it seemed a little tight. I should say that we had plenty of space for our stuff. It was the walking around part.

 

Now, let me tell you the delight of being on deck 4. We were close to the Reception desk whenever we needed anything. There is a whole "living room" outside your door. We would sit there and read late in the afternoon while the chamber ensemble was playing just up the grand staircase. And, maybe best of all, there was one night when the ship did a little rockin' and rollin', We didn't feel a thing. We've booked a C1 for our cruise in March.

 

Speaking of . . . Emmaline, we are taking the Insignia T/A in March which docks at most of the same ports you did. If you are willing to give me your thoughts and recommendations I would really appreciate it. My email address is marilynfaye2@yahoo.com.

 

To the O/P: Each location has its advantages. It's all good. You'll enjoy your cruise regardless of where you hang your hat.

 

Marilyn

[capecodder2]

Most everything has been said about oceanview vs balcony, but I would like to throw in another few words. We love having a balcony regardless of the number of ports or itinerary. I like the open feeling of the "wall of glass", I like opening the door and greeting the morning with fresh air blowing on my face (or warm, humid air, if that is what it is to be). I enjoy a few minutes on the balcony before bed when recounting the day. I love sitting out there and reading on a sea day, or if returning to the room early (or leaving late). I have never figured out if we spend a lot more time in our cabin than most or not (doesn't really matter in the greater scheme of things) but we do get our money's worth of pleasure from having a balcony. I might also add that the night before a cruise a few years ago we both got food poisoning and had to spend the first 2 days of the cruise in our cabin - WOW were we glad we could open that balcony door and get some fresh air into that cabin and sit out there occasionally! Hope that never happens again.

Whichever you choose, have a wonderful cruise.

[DOJO466]

Most everything has been said about oceanview vs balcony, but I would like to throw in another few words. We love having a balcony regardless of the number of ports or itinerary. I like the open feeling of the "wall of glass", I like opening the door and greeting the morning with fresh air blowing on my face (or warm, humid air, if that is what it is to be). I enjoy a few minutes on the balcony before bed when recounting the day. I love sitting out there and reading on a sea day, or if returning to the room early (or leaving late). I have never figured out if we spend a lot more time in our cabin than most or not (doesn't really matter in the greater scheme of things) but we do get our money's worth of pleasure from having a balcony. I might also add that the night before a cruise a few years ago we both got food poisoning and had to spend the first 2 days of the cruise in our cabin - WOW were we glad we could open that balcony door and get some fresh air into that cabin and sit out there occasionally! Hope that never happens again.

 

Whichever you choose, have a wonderful cruise.

 

 

My thoughts Exactly

[LadyCruisers]

Thank you all for the great feedback and quick responses. For this cruise we have a starboard oceanview Cat C1 on deck 4. For an oceanview, I'm very pleased with the location - low and center (6 cabins forward of the reception hall) and with cabins under us on deck 3 and the open portion of deck 5 above us. There are no public areas of any concern above or below us nor any unknown blanks on the deckplans which could possibly be a problem. Also, as with our previous oceanview cabins, I've always loved having that shelf right under window. We use it as additional storage as well as keeping our binoculars there to check out the views or whatever else might be of interest as we go along. I also have personally liked having the bed near the window in the past with an oceanview cabin. I am leaning toward keeping what we currently have, but will have contact TA tomorrow to see if Oceania has a verandah cabin Cat B1 or B2 available for a price that may warrant serious consideration.

 

One other question - on deck the 5, are there lounge chairs to sit on?

 

Thank you all again.

[LHT28]

One other question - on deck the 5, are there lounge chairs to sit on?

 

Yes there are a few

[LadyCruisers]

After calling TA today, result was that a Cat B1 verandah would have cost $600 pp additional and with the one cabin left in that CAT, the location to me was undesirable. To upgrade to Cat B2 verandah, it would be a guarantee at $500 pp. I passed on this and have decided to stick with a well located oceanview. That additional money can be well spent on private excursion. Thanks again for everybody's help and experience. What a valuable resource Cruise Critic is.