Help me decide if a balcony is worth it! June 5 day on Glory to New England

[mkleblanc]

Just a little tip since I'm from New England.... June could be 60 degrees or 90 degrees, you never know. Be prepared and bring some jeans/pants, a fleece pullover, a hooded sweatshirt, and maybe even a windbreaker/waterproof material jacket in addition to normal summer clothes. Pack an umbrella too.

 

I think OV was a wise decision. Have a great trip!! Hopefully you can spend some time in Boston beforehand and see the sights, catch a Sox game, walk the freedom trail,and go to Faneuil Hall!

[Maryscooking]

Just a little tip since I'm from New England.... June could be 60 degrees or 90 degrees, you never know. Be prepared and bring some jeans/pants, a fleece pullover, a hooded sweatshirt, and maybe even a windbreaker/waterproof material jacket in addition to normal summer clothes. Pack an umbrella too.

 

I think OV was a wise decision. Have a great trip!! Hopefully you can spend some time in Boston beforehand and see the sights, catch a Sox game, walk the freedom trail,and go to Faneuil Hall!

 

Thanks for the tips! We are very excited to see a bit of New England, and mostly for our daughter to see another part of the country. Well, she has seen Orlando :) if that counts. And lots of Caribbean Islands. But now that she is getting old enough to remember what she is seeing, we would like to broaden her horizons beyond "Oh look another perfect sandy beach!"

 

One nice thing about driving up will be that we don't have to worry about carry on vs. checked bags, and so can pack a wider variety of clothes and outer wear.

 

It looks like we'll have three days in Boston. Now to find an affordable hotel...

[Leslie401972]

On our first cruise we booked a window cabin. Then I got a call from Carnival to upgrade to a balcony for a cheap amount. I took it in a heart beat. I am so glad I did. It was the best decision. There is nothing like sitting on that private balcony, drinking a cup of coffee, looking out at the ocean. Trust me it is worth every penny. While we were on the ship, I booked our second cruise and my husband didn't hesitate getting a balcony. He is a penny pincher and even said the balcony is well worth it.

[Maryscooking]

Yay!!! Did you happen to get one of the big OV rooms? We were lucky to have snagged 2470 and 2473 for our upcoming Glory cruise :)

 

No, we didn't. There is not all that much availability for cabins that sleep 3 right now. Nothing aft at all (at least deck 2). I was mostly focused on not getting a connecting room.

 

I would love to take a girls cruise. But most of my close friends still have multiple little ones at home (I am 34) so it is very hard to leave for any length of time. I've been trying to talk my mom into going with my daughter and I, so maybe that will happen someday :)

[Maryscooking]

On our first cruise we booked a window cabin. Then I got a call from Carnival to upgrade to a balcony for a cheap amount. I took it in a heart beat. I am so glad I did. It was the best decision. There is nothing like sitting on that private balcony, drinking a cup of coffee, looking out at the ocean. Trust me it is worth every penny. While we were on the ship, I booked our second cruise and my husband didn't hesitate getting a balcony. He is a penny pincher and even said the balcony is well worth it.

 

Oh believe me, I know. Our last 4 or 5 cruises have been balconies, and we've never cruised without one with our daughter. We definitely felt like a balcony was a must have. But on our cruise on the Dream last summer, I actually found myself feeling guilty that we were never out there using it.

 

Now that our daughter doesn't need naps or rest periods during the day, and wants to go to camp all the time, we just found ourselves out and about on the ship waaay more than we were ever in the room.

 

I will miss waking up and going out there first thing, but that is not something I think is worth an extra $600 at this point. That $600 will pay for so many experiences and adventures on this trip that far outweigh the balcony experience.

 

And if we end up hating the OV? At least it is only five days, right :D?

[gospelle]

 

Except then I chickened out and secretly changed our reservation to our usual upper deck balcony without telling my husband. (Don't worry, he doesn't read here, lol!).

...

 

But $590 is a big price to pay for the location, especially considering how cheap the cruise is!

 

Help me decide!

 

Without knowing you or your husband, I have no idea how "surprise honey, I just spent $600 more than we agreed on" will go over, but I know divorce lawyers cost more than that so whether you got a "deal" or not, time will tell. ;)

 

If it were me, I'd stick to what you agreed on and surprise him instead with a new bit of lingerie or something. At least then you know you'll you get a good reaction.

[sedbandmom]

We sailed last year on glory's first Canada sailing in June. Go for OV. It was so foggy and rainy our departure was delayed a day. On the return home it was so foggy the outside decks were closed because it was like pea soup. And it was slick to walk. When I say outside decks I mean the sports deck, serenity area and limited walking on lido. The Aft pool w retractable roof is adult area so very nice.

 

I was on that cruise, too. Booked the five night 25 June cruise this year.

Sandy

[Maryscooking]

Without knowing you or your husband, I have no idea how "surprise honey, I just spent $600 more than we agreed on" will go over, but I know divorce lawyers cost more than that so whether you got a "deal" or not, time will tell. ;)

 

If it were me, I'd stick to what you agreed on and surprise him instead with a new bit of lingerie or something. At least then you know you'll you get a good reaction.

 

LOL! My hubs is so tolerant of my whims. But in all seriousness, when I upgraded from oceanview to balcony (before this drop in prices), it was only $160 more, which felt like a reasonable number for the much better location plus a balcony.

 

Then the oceanview prices dropped so far that it didn't seem so reasonable anymore. He would never have known, because he doesn't track cruise pricing. But the new cost difference was too much for me to swallow regardless.

[Maryscooking]

I was on that cruise, too. Booked the five night 25 June cruise this year.

Sandy

 

That's the cruise we will be on!

 

Did you get OBC or an upgrade for this sale?

[cruiselvr1]

So we booked this trip because we want to see a bit of New England/Canada, and it is affordable. Price is definitely a consideration. Not like the mortgage won't get paid, but it could impact other trips we take or not this summer.

 

We have never cruised with our daughter (6) without a balcony, but on our last trip, we realized that due to spending so much time at camp (her) and Serenity/Cloud Nine Spa (us) that we didn't really get our money's worth from the balcony. So this time we booked an oceanview to see how it would work for us. Figured a five day was a good amt of time to experiment.

 

Except then I chickened out and secretly changed our reservation to our usual upper deck balcony without telling my husband. (Don't worry, he doesn't read here, lol!).

 

Now prices have come waaaay down on oceanviews. And I'm trying to decide if I should switch us back. The checkbook thinks it is a good idea and I know what DH would say :) but I am having a hard time giving up the balcony.

 

So here are the cost scenarios (for three people):

 

Deck 1 midship oceanview: $1096

 

Deck 6 aft balcony (NOT extended, just regular balcony): $1486 - the cheapest balcony available.

 

Deck 9 forward (Lido) balcony, what I have booked right now: $1686

 

So you can see there is a $590 difference in what I have now vs. what my husband thinks we are staying in (although when we booked it, the price was $1525 with $150 OBC so he doesn't know how cheap it is now). He obviously would be fine with the OV because he doesn't know about my prime location balcony - I LOVE being on the Lido deck, super close to all the places we spend our time.

 

But $590 is a big price to pay for the location, especially considering how cheap the cruise is!

 

Help me decide!

I would have a problem with a inside cabin, except on a short cruise like yours. On our Hawaiian cruise, we didn't get to use it much on the return to SFO. We had a side wind that made it impossible to sit out there. I have wanted to take a short cruise, to see how a inside would be. We don't do a lot ship activities, just relax on the balcony.

[readytotravel44]

No question in my mind. I would definitely take the cheaper room.

1. Canada is cold in June. I think it is highly unlikely you'll be enjoying the sunshine and warm weather out there. I've been on this cruise in June before. It was sunny for us but chilly. I FROZE at Peggy's Cove. They told us it had been raining/pouring daily prior to our cruise.

2. You said it could make a difference on if you could take another vacation. Go for the 2nd vacation!

3. We just booked the same cruise leaving 6/20 and picked the cheapie room - inside cabin - $249 pp. Love the savings! Can't beat the deal. We spend very little time in our room.

[readytotravel44]

Without knowing you or your husband, I have no idea how "surprise honey, I just spent $600 more than we agreed on" will go over, but I know divorce lawyers cost more than that so whether you got a "deal" or not, time will tell. ;)

 

If it were me, I'd stick to what you agreed on and surprise him instead with a new bit of lingerie or something. At least then you know you'll you get a good reaction.

 

Alpha! That is great! Sooooo agree!