How much would you pay for the following?

[USA41018]

We switch around but we would never get an inside unless it is a 4J with the window. Which is usually cheaper than an oceanview so we have never booked an oceanview. Depending on price, about 50% of the cruises have been balconies with 2 suites thrown in. Since my DH is not real sociable, he likes to sit and snooze on a balcony or look through his binoculars from his own outdoor space. The only time we paid to upgrade was one of the balconies to a suite. It was only $100pp more but we did it on our own. Have never had a call from the upsell/upgrade fairy and our next cruise is #21 on Carnival.

[CRUISE4JANE]

First 2 cruises, I was dumb. Paid the price when booked and that was that. This time, I got a balcony and for DH and I, it was around pretty close to $400 more. Haven't cruised yet to give an opinion, but hear a lot of people say if you get one, you will always get one. Guess I will find out. I do love the thought of have having morning coffee on it and a glass of wine at night. I am not one to hang in a room or nap, but morning and night on it sounds inviting. I booked ES this time, have been on CC and learned a lot, and have saved $650 so far. So I'm happy :). We had an OV once and it was OK, and we also had an inside................NEVER AGAIN :eek:. My OV in May at time of booking cost just about the same as my balcony in July at time of booking. Try to figure this out.

[lbow2006]

I'm not too sure how much difference ours would have been, but we are going on our first cruise in September and we booked one of the bowling alley balconies (it was more than the guarantee or obstructed view balconies for sure, but had we gone w/ an obstructed view I think the difference was tops $150 between that and an inside if I remember correctly.

[kmc500]

I have no idea how much more a balcony costs because it is the only cabin type we even look at. Worth.every.penny.to.us

 

I'm not spending the money for a cruise without being able to see, hear, & smell, that beautiful water & scenery anytime night or day in the comfort of my own room/balcony.

 

I can't say it any better. I am with you.

 

Kevin C

[kmc500]

I do love the thought of have having morning coffee on it and a glass of wine at night. I am not one to hang in a room or nap, but morning and night on it sounds inviting.

 

We do too - another wonderful advantage to a balcony cabin.

 

The sounds of the sea at night is so amazing, as well...

 

Kevin C

[Kato27]

I would never cruise without a balcony. If I cannot afford it then I do not go.

 

Same here, my first cruise we had a balcony.And we rebooked with a balcony again. I couldn cruise inside or oceanview after experiencing that.

Doesn't matter if ur not in ur room alot, but when u are, u have the balcony.

[vols_159]

First 2 cruises was inside .. 3rd cruise I thought i had to have the balcony.. Wife didnt want it because of the money.. But I booked it anyways.. It was alright nothing "special" or worth the xtra 200 per person.. The wife said never book a balcony again Just doesnt seem worth the added cost to her.. I would only for alaska or a cruise beside the carribeian/ bahamas.. Also I wouldn't pay over 100 per person between the inside to balcony.. But by all means if you wanna give me a free upgrade Ill take it but its back to inside for us

[adrianypr]

DH and I upgraded to a balcony when we sailed the Dream two summers ago. We were able to upgrade for a mere $20.00 per cabin, (we had a total of two rooms for our family) so we jumped on it (cove balcony.) However, we seldom used it.

 

Not to say we wouldn't do it again, but for now, that's the most we'd pay. (We'll definitely book a balcony if we ever do a Mediterranean cruise.):)

 

I always book an inside to save money... However, I did upgrade from an inside to a balcony for a Mediterranean cruise last year and I say go for it!

[firefly333]

I find most times of the year a balcony is too hot for me and I really do not hardly use it.

 

For me its a waste of money .. but I will get a window or port hole if I can for slightly more, maybe $20 pp.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

If you are a smoker, go for the balcony.

 

We have booked inside, OV, balcony, aft ext balcony etc. We obviously prefer a balcony but I usually won't pay more than $100/pp more for it unless the itinerary calls for a view like Hawaii/Alaska etc. My last cruise I booked a balcony and I rarely was out there. We enjoyed sailaway and docking in ports and that was it. We aren't smokers and would rather have the extra money to sail more often or spend elsewhere such as alcohol or excursions.

 

Window is nice to see (rainy/sunny weather, pulling into ports etc) but you can get that from the bow camera.

 

Balcony is nice for feeling the temperature, drinking coffee/breakfast in the morning on the balcony or sitting out there when the other is napping etc.

 

I am totally fine with insides and use the bow cam to see whats happening outside and read the tv for outside temps etc. I like the darkness of the insides too and who can beat the price. However, I usually like being up a little higher, aft section and sandwiched between cabins above & below me for noise filtering which often adds $ to the cost.

[sonsami]

Have never had a balcony but sure would love to try one but cannot justify the cost.

 

We have a trip coming up in August on The Pride and I have booked 2 4k Inside French Door Obstructed View cabins. . . one for hubby and I and one right next door for 3 teen sons.

 

The french doors supposedly open inward so you can have some fresh air and natural daylight. You also have whatever view you can get by peeking around the life-boat that hangs right outside.

 

Am watching prices like a hawk but so far it will cost +$400 to upgrade our 4k to a balcony (and another +$400 if we wanted to upgrade sons too because their cabin has to be no more than a certain distance from our cabin as they are all under 21).

 

I think I would be willing to pay $200 more but not more than that. AND I'd have to be able to leave the teens where they are.

[marshhawk]

cruise 1 -had a balcony, on the verandah on a fantasy class, stared right at our neighbors most of the time, so small you couldn't walk past the chair to get to the other chair. the new aft balconies on the fantasy class are worth it.

cruise 2-extended balcony)bowling alley type on the Legend. HUGE. If the ship was not moving, we were melting. And that was in February. No real wind(unless the door was open to the cabin, and then someone opened the cabin door) WOW

cruise 3-fantasy class, already knew about the balconies, did an interior with port hole, which was so wonderfully inexpensive, we booked cruise 4

cruise 4-fantasy class with a porthole, visited freinds who had aft balcony-very nice, unstand why they loved it, but if we did that we couldn't do

cruise 5-spirit class, 4K, french doors, booked early, got a cabin between the lifeboats, will let you know. It 's going to be hot out on a balcony in September in the Caribbean. I just want the light and the ability to smell the sea.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I think you will really like the 4K marshhawk. I did & want to do it again when the miracle comes to the west coast next year.

[dillonsmimi]

With price drops (booked ES) and a $30 (ttl) out of pocket upgrade have landed in a 8F on Panorama deck for 800 pp.

This is a Tksgiving 7 day so will be happy if no more drops, but have a feeling that I will be able to shave some more $$$ off the total price or land some OBC before then.

Had to cancel my $1800 wrap on Conquest Veranda deck (ttl for 2 people) last Tksgiving (Carnival ins paid 95% back for an illness in the family).

It pays to check prices and be aware what is covered in the ES contract as well as look at every detail and be flexible in regards to cabin changes.

NEVER be afraid to send in a request for ES claims.

The worst they can say is no.

 

mimi

[boomonster]

Both Carnival cruises we had a balcony absolutely loved the balcony but hated that on both cruises we had a chainsmoker next to us . I will not book another balcony on Carnival for that reason. Not worth the money to me to just look at the water and not be able to open the door. Can do that in an oceanview. But book a balcony everytime on Celebrity (no smoking on balconies)

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

We had some neighbors smoking wacky tobacky so DH avoided the balcony because he didn't want to get second hand smoke and test positive on his drug tests just because someone else did something wrong. I get frustrated with smokers but it is cigars that bother me the most. I can live with the others but if I smell a stogie, I immediately go inside. Yuk.

[Malinger]

. My friends got one on the Alaska cruise and they were on it for a total of about 20 minutes combined lol.

 

On our Alaskan I was on the Balcony ALOT.

[Rockfan2]

We usually book an outside but on our recent repositioning cruise on the Oosterdam in April (San Diego to Vancouver) the prices were so reasonable, we booked a verandah (it was only $500/person for 4 nights. We had an email from HAL a week before offering to upgrade to the Superior Verandah for $70/person. We upgraded and took full advantage of all the amenities.

 

Loved our wrap around verandah on Deck 8. The Neptune Lounge on Deck 7. Breakfast in the Pinnacle.

 

We enjoyed breakfast on the verandah two mornings then we got too far north and it was too cold.

 

We usually book an aft cabin and enjoy the public aft deck, usually to ourselves, for an evening cocktail.:)

 

Rockfan2

[fishtaco]

I have had inside/OV and balconies,I just paid $450 extra for an upgrade on a 7 nighter from Balcony to aft extended balcony!:eek:

 

I love having a balcony and if the price wasnt too much i would choose a balcony at booking because they are great.

 

I also would not care if i was in an Inside if money was tight,its just a different cruise experience,with a balcony you tend to spend more time in the cabin,with an inside you spend as little time you need to then get out and about.

 

You do tend to see a bit more on a balcony when approaching ports that you can miss if you only visit the public open decks.

 

Saying this i am not a cabin snob and an inside suits me fine even though i am a smoker.

 

Den

[Graham_In_Brisneyland]

We've only done one cruise so far, but for it (and our next) we booked balconies.

 

I tend to get seasick in the bathtub, and the fresh air from the balcony door (we chock it open overnight) is a real help.

 

It also really helps to be able to see the horizon - which is why French Doors aren't enough ... even if they open (and I gather that many don't), they are almost invariably 'restricted view'.

 

I sort of think of balconies as being like travel insurance ... if you can't afford 'em, you can't afford to go :-)

 

Cheers

 

GraC