1st Time for a Balcony - Pro's and Con's

[patchofheaven]

We are booked on the Conquest in our 1st balcony room for 3 (me, my husband and our 17 yr old son) This will be our 7th cruise with Carnival and we are excited and looking forward having our own balcony, but I know there are always pro's and con's.

 

One that I'm kind of worried about is being surrounded by smokers. Nothing against smokers in fact we were both smokers and quit about 10 years ago - just don't want to have their 2nd hand smoke ruining our balcony experience.

 

Also, is there a "better location" to be in? (mid ship, aft or front?) Which deck is best? We received an email today saying we could upgrade to a higher deck for $40 more, we are currently on Empress deck 7.

[evandbob]

We are booked on the Conquest in our 1st balcony room for 3 (me, my husband and our 17 yr old son) This will be our 7th cruise with Carnival and we are excited and looking forward having our own balcony, but I know there are always pro's and con's.

 

One that I'm kind of worried about is being surrounded by smokers. Nothing against smokers in fact we were both smokers and quit about 10 years ago - just don't want to have their 2nd hand smoke ruining our balcony experience.

 

Also, is there a "better location" to be in? (mid ship, aft or front?) Which deck is best? We received an email today saying we could upgrade to a higher deck for $40 more, we are currently on Empress deck 7.

 

 

Book forward if you are concerned with smoke.......I like empress deck too.....might want to see deck plans to make sure there's overhead coverage.

[PSkinner]

We were on the Conquest in 2011 and had a balcony on the Lido deck. LOVED IT!!! Close to everything! Never had issues with smoke. In fact we had balconies on most of our cruise and have never had a problem. Enjoy the balcony.

[PSkinner]

The elevators dinging bothered us more than the smoke; but once I feel asleep nothing bothered me!

[flounder315]

balconies are awesome. it is hard to go to an interior

[hornonaboat]

We are booked on the Conquest in our 1st balcony room for 3 (me, my husband and our 17 yr old son) This will be our 7th cruise with Carnival and we are excited and looking forward having our own balcony, but I know there are always pro's and con's.

 

One that I'm kind of worried about is being surrounded by smokers. Nothing against smokers in fact we were both smokers and quit about 10 years ago - just don't want to have their 2nd hand smoke ruining our balcony experience.

 

Also, is there a "better location" to be in? (mid ship, aft or front?) Which deck is best? We received an email today saying we could upgrade to a higher deck for $40 more, we are currently on Empress deck 7.

That's a good deck. I always like midship cabins. Smokers are annoying for sure. Your balcony experience will be less annoying than some of the entertainment and drinking venues. Some of those places just have that stale smoke smell all the time. Even if you avoid those venues, you'll have to pass through the smell at times. Just remember that your path will eventually get you to clear air.

[cellogirl51]

hello, I am new to the boards. Can someone PLEASE tell me how to post a question?

 

Sorry tobother this thread-- can't find anything to help me

 

'Im a senior- still learning all this !

 

THANKS

[mephistoles]

hello, I am new to the boards. Can someone PLEASE tell me how to post a question?

 

Sorry tobother this thread-- can't find anything to help me

 

'Im a senior- still learning all this !

 

THANKS

 

If you're trying to post a question to the board, there's a button (for lack of a better word) on the upper left corner that reads NEW THREAD. Click on that and you should be able to post your question. To get to it, just back out of this thread and you should see it. Hope this helps.

[GPop&Nana]

hello, I am new to the boards. Can someone PLEASE tell me how to post a question?

 

Sorry tobother this thread-- can't find anything to help me

 

'Im a senior- still learning all this !

 

THANKS

 

Just go to the main forum - Carnival Cruise Lines in this case. At the topish left corner there is a 'button' that says something along the lines of New Thread. Click it and off you go.

Good Luck and Welcome to CC

Nana

[skiorcruise]

The only problem with a balcony is that you never want to go back to anything less.

 

Smokers can be anoying, but even they stop at times. It is a "luck of the draw" thing. To improve your odds, go farther forward and lower.

 

I have had heavy smokers below me and it didn't spoil my cruise. It made me think of the Paradise when she was smoke free, but I still enjoyed the trip.

[SmileEh]

I have cruised 4 times with an interior cabin... then on our last cruise Carnival called us I think three days before the cruise and asked us if we'd like to upgrade to a balcony cabin for x amount of dollars so we decided to go for it... well now I can't go back to an interior cabin lol... just booked our Jan back2back both with a balcony cabin... As for the smoking I would imagine you will smell it... the reason I say this is because everytime my fiance or I would go out for a smoke (which was all the time, we're chain smokers) our neighbors always went inside... sorry but the cruise line has limited smokers to almost no where so its not insane to think that the smokers are hitting their balconies way more then they would of before the smoking policy changes... if I'm right, smokers can only really smoke on their balcony, 1/4 or the casino and on deck 10 way forward in the open air with a few chairs thrown together... I do hope for you that you are lucky enough to not have one of us smokers beside you as I could understand how that could bug a non-smoker... I guess in these situations smokers aren't happy with a lot of policies and neither are non-smokers... but I can tell you this, if I was a non-smoker that was extremely bothered by smoke I would book on a smoke free cruise line... in any event, enjoy your cruise!!

[dainew]

I love the balcony ever since i was upgrade to one for free and we have not gone back....we are all ways do midship bc i get seasick...but we love it

[mairead224]

Only all pro's and no cons.....Balconies are fab!!!

[mikel24m]

We are booked on the Conquest in our 1st balcony room for 3 (me, my husband and our 17 yr old son) This will be our 7th cruise with Carnival and we are excited and looking forward having our own balcony, but I know there are always pro's and con's.

 

One that I'm kind of worried about is being surrounded by smokers. Nothing against smokers in fact we were both smokers and quit about 10 years ago - just don't want to have their 2nd hand smoke ruining our balcony experience.

 

Also, is there a "better location" to be in? (mid ship, aft or front?) Which deck is best? We received an email today saying we could upgrade to a higher deck for $40 more, we are currently on Empress deck 7.

 

If I were you I would try to book as close to 9293 as you can !! Great location pretty quiet(you have a semi private hallway up until 9295) and close to all the action.We stay this area on all conquest class ships and not really any smoking problems.Just a side note you cannot pick your cabin neighbors,if they smoke they will be on their balcony regardless of location

[tinkerbell_82]

If I were you I would try to book as close to 9293 as you can !! Great location pretty quiet(you have a semi private hallway up until 9295) and close to all the action.We stay this area on all conquest class ships and not really any smoking problems.Just a side note you cannot pick your cabin neighbors,if they smoke they will be on their balcony regardless of location

 

This made me so happy! I'm in 9293 on our upcoming Glory cruise this Sunday!! :D

[Gilligan777]

The one con about a balcony, you can never sail without one again....:D

[Ciardasully]

As an asthmatic, I had the worry that people would be smoking but we didn't notice anything on our Glory cruise. Fingers crossed I have the same luck on my upcoming Sunshine Cruise!

[poptart]

The only con to getting your first balcony is---you'll never want to go back!!!

:D:D:D:D:D

[deedle7544]

The only con to getting your first balcony is---you'll never want to go back!!!

:D:D:D:D:D

 

 

Agreed! And while I travel with smokers, I don't smoke and I haven't been bothered by others.

 

The only dilemma is in deciding what to order from Room Service to enjpy on my balcony

[patchofheaven]

Well, the consensus is clear that "once you go balcony, you never go back" ;) Thank you all for your input.

 

I called about getting the $40 upgrade, but no balconies for 3 were available above the Empress deck on our cruise. So the email was just a tease...we will stay in our original balcony cabin unless something comes available like a Balcony Suite for a $40 upgrade teehee (our luck is not that great!) :rolleyes:

[T. Advisor King]

Con - usually more expensive

 

Despite the discussion about smokers, I've never had a problem with heavy smokers nearby. I don't spend much time in my cabin when the ship is not moving (i.e., in port), so maybe that is when it happens the most.

 

Pros - I don't think there are any pros that aren't intuitive. You can go outside, eat, drink, "play" on your balcony. I guess the one thing is that you can step out and get a pretty good idea of the weather, but for most destinations, it isn't usually an issue.

[deadmoney]

If you have not already read it, DO NOT open both the balcony and cabin door at the same time.

[Swayde]

If you have not already read it, DO NOT open both the balcony and cabin door at the same time.

 

Why is that?

[deadmoney]

It causes a wind tunnel in your room:eek:

You don't want that, trust me.

[e150club]

On our last cruise we had six balcony cabins almost in a row. Out of seven cabins in a row we had one light smoker. I haven't had a cigarette in three and a half years.[using a e-cigg] more and more people are quiting smoking.