Anyone else find a balcony not worth the price difference?

[Sunshinebear717]

You're not alone OP! I don't like balconies either. I find that as long as I have a good size window for natural light, I'm happy! I'm an active person and go on cruises for all the things there are to do, not to sit around. I'm barely in my room :)

[golfadj]

I wish I could cruise 2-3 times a year. But unfortunately getting to the cruise almost costs as much as the cruise itself.

 

We find flying very expensive out of our small airport so it is much cheaper to drive to Florida. Not to mention much more convenient to avoid hassles of flying.

[CarnieAddict]

So true. Airfare to Florida used to be in the mid 200's. Now it's in the mid 400's.

 

Well my airline tickets for my DW and I were a little over 1300 for the 2 of us. We live in Prince Edward Island Canada.

Edited January 16, 2014 by CarnieAddict

[rlkubi]

I love balconies and will get one if the price is right but normally cruise inside. To me the OV is worthless (note IMO only). We have had balconies on several cruises and loved it but I would rather cruise twice a year in insides :)

[mlrm]

Thumbs up for balcony. I've seen many complaints about smoke and door slamming. Maybe we are just lucky but I have never noticed either.

[CarnieAddict]

We find flying very expensive out of our small airport so it is much cheaper to drive to Florida. Not to mention much more convenient to avoid hassles of flying.

 

Im about a 33 hour drive.

[richfret]

I did have an Interior cabin on our first cruise. On the second cruise, we had a Window. Fourteen cruises later, they have all been Balcony Cabins. Why Balcony? You can tell day from night. You can tell if you are in port or at sea. You can see the weather conditions. You know if you are moving or not. You can tell Aft from Forward by how the waves are going. You can watch other ships and passing islands. You can watch the stars. If you have a power failure (Happened twice on 2 different ships), you can open the door for air. It's better for taking pictures.

 

On the other hand, an Interior Cabin has one big advantage. Once you close that door, it can get as dark as a cave and if you want to sleep, it will be no problem no matter what the time.

[Perfect Stranger]

You can feel the ship moving.

 

Plenty of other windows on the ship to check day/night (does it really matter?) and weather conditions.

[SociallyAwkward]

As many others pointed out, it is what you like to do and your personality and priorities (and I don't mean that in "wha you have crappy priorities way" but rather for lots of reasons people have reasonable differences in what they value) that influences how you feel about balconies.

 

For us, we booked a balcony room on our Alaskan cruise which was definitely nice but we didn't feel like we used it so much we have booked it on other cruises. The cost difference is usually enough that I would prefer to use that money on drinks, excursions whatever. However, an ocean view has become a must unless there is just some incredible deal on an inside. I enjoy the natural light etc. in the room and our scheduled got really weird the time we stayed in an inside.

 

 

 

 

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[LoriTX]

We splurged one time for a Balcony! Now have sailed 10 times all inside or ocean view. It just was not worth it to us!! Only in the room to change clothes or sleep!

:D

[Mysticks1]

I did have an Interior cabin on our first cruise. On the second cruise, we had a Window. Fourteen cruises later, they have all been Balcony Cabins. Why Balcony? You can tell day from night. You can tell if you are in port or at sea. You can see the weather conditions. You know if you are moving or not. You can tell Aft from Forward by how the waves are going. You can watch other ships and passing islands. You can watch the stars. If you have a power failure (Happened twice on 2 different ships), you can open the door for air. It's better for taking pictures.

 

On the other hand, an Interior Cabin has one big advantage. Once you close that door, it can get as dark as a cave and if you want to sleep, it will be no problem no matter what the time.

 

You can feel the ship moving.

 

Plenty of other windows on the ship to check day/night (does it really matter?) and weather conditions.

 

I agree with the first quote from Richfret, all those things matter to me. Yes, it does really matter to some. You can't go look out of just any window wrapped just in a towel straight out of the shower or in your underwear if you are straight out of the shower and want to see if you are approaching land or docking. You couldn't just throw on a robe and run out and take a quick photo.

 

I love ordering room service and having coffee outside on the balcony in PJ's before I get dressed in the morning or sitting out there with my kindle right before jumping in bed for the night. To me that is the most relaxing thing. And you can't always feel the ship moving on the bigger ships in calm waters. On our cruise to the Med and the one to the Baltics I had to look out to see if we were moving because there was no feeling of movement. I have to admit after the Triumph incident it does cross my mind that a balcony cabin's occupants were better off.

[put me on a ship]

It doesn't matter to us...generally, if we have a lot of sea days (3 or more), we will usually book a balcony or suite, but interior rooms are good, too. I have found if we have a balcony, we tend to stay in our room more, so don't meet as many people, but sometimes, that's what we want.

[sailor_jimc]

We were of the mindset that a Balcony was not worth the extra cost.. until we were on the Triumph 8 day float cruise. We happened to splurge for a Balcony on that one and by the time we were off the ship we realized it would have been hell without the balcony. Its only been 2 cruises since then but we make sure we have a balcony now. Not that we expect to ever be in that situation again, but then we never expected it in the first place.

[maurinsky2]

We've had suites, balconey's, oceanviews and insides....to us the most that matters is being on a cruise!

 

That said, sometimes the intinery calls for one. On our Hawaii inter-island cruises, we really enjoyed the balcony during specific cruising times. Also, on our next trip, we are looking for total relaxation and crowd avoidance options during Spring Break, so we have a balcony. Otherwise, we haven't had one in a long time, and were very content going inside or oceanview.

 

I am sure you have and will get a lot of opinions on this topic!

 

 

My upcoming cruise is only my second. We had a balcony on my first cruise 15 or 16 years ago, and I loved it and used it a lot, but I did think that the reason we spent more time in the room was because of the balcony. I was prepared to get an inside for this cruise, but my fiance wanted the balcony. He's an introvert and I think it will be good for him if he needs to recharge from all the activities.

 

Also, we're going on the Splendor during a probably spring break period, 4 sea days on the cruise - I think we'll all enjoy having our own balcony!

[PCHENG]

I don't need a balcony to enjoy my cruise, but it is nice to have one. Being able to feel the ocean breeze and hear the sound of the waves right from your bed is very soothing, not to mention balcony cabins have better ventilation and gets more light. If the price difference is less than a couple hundred bucks, I will probably go for one.

[CarnieAddict]

All in all it's a good thing that people have different preferences. If all like balcony or all liked interior it would really make it hard to get the room we like. Just saying. .......

[PortSideCruzan]

Hi :)

 

Of course it comes down to personal preference when deciding to have/enjoy

a balcony or not. My wife & I always book a balcony stateroom no matter

what cruise line we are traveling on.

 

We like to wake up & sit on the balcony, have snacks on the balcony, drinks

on the balcony, awesome views when arriving & departing a port on the balcony,

wonderful sounds/scents of the sea on the balcony, a peaceful place to relax & read

on the balcony, a nice place to go when when the other is getting ready,

showering/dressing/hair dryer, and so on & on & on. The list goes on.

 

Love having a balcony! And when it seems as if we are not using it all that

much at a particular time, we are usually proven wrong, because the time

used does add up in the course of an entire vacation. Worth every penny!

 

Our only balcony issue lately is that we are now four years in as non-smokers.

Balcony location is very important to us due to smoke, and will only reserve

forward cabins so we can fully enjoy it.

:)

Edited January 16, 2014 by PortSideCruzan

[L&J]

Balcony is definitely worth the extra money for us.

[Aggiebuttercup]

Balconies are great for families with small children - mine go to bed early and take naps sometimes. The balcony gives me a place to sit and relax while still watching over them - and I don't have to sit in the dark!! If I cruise with the kids I'll either have a balcony or adjoining rooms that are balcony or OV.

 

I am glad I didn't have a balcony on my Alaska cruise (too cold), and I don't think I'd have one on a European cruise that is extremely port intensive either.

[Athankfulheart]

We have had a few balconies and really have gotten a lot of use out of them. We especially loved the aft corner wrap. We had a spa balcony on our sailing last week and were only out there two or 3 short times. The weather was horrible and we felt like we spent an extra $400 for nothing :( The weather ruined a lot of our plans but we are trying to look on the bright side. It was still a cruise and we still went on vacation ;) We will get a balcony in the future, but we aren't the "balcony or nothing" folks.

[lukeduke07]

Balconies are great for families with small children - mine go to bed early and take naps sometimes. The balcony gives me a place to sit and relax while still watching over them - and I don't have to sit in the dark!! If I cruise with the kids I'll either have a balcony or adjoining rooms that are balcony or OV.

 

I am glad I didn't have a balcony on my Alaska cruise (too cold), and I don't think I'd have one on a European cruise that is extremely port intensive either.

 

I totally agree. When we were on the Dream last September, we splurged and got a balcony due to the fact we were cruising with our 4 and 5 year olds. The first cruise with the kids we had an inside room and ill never do that again. When they go to sleep theres nothing else to do but go to sleep yourself. With a balcony, My wife and I would sit out there and sip wine while looking out at the moon reflecting off the water. Awesome. :)

[cruisinbabs]

for me personally i enjoy our balcony when we get one.. we like having breakfast out there and when we want to get away from the hustle and bustle of public areas for fresh air, its just a nice place to be.. i have had an interior & ocean view before and i just really prefer a balcony.. just my two cents. to each their own. :D

[kteachcruiser52]

We were on the Breeze in October and had our first balcony, we chose the "large" balcony toward the back of the ship next to the aft wrap. We found that we used it very little and spending the extra money to have a balcony was not worth it. On sea days we had breakfast delivered to our room and ate on the balcony, besides that we spend little time in our cabin, we would rather be up on deck with people and see what is going on. If we do return to our cabin its usually to take a nap before dinner and find the bed more comfortable than sleeping in a chair, our balcony did have a lounge chair on it but again not as comfortable. Many people said, once you have a balcony you will never want anything else. Wonder how many others feel the same way?

 

it depends on the cruise. For the 15 day Hawaii cruise in January, we got a balcony and wish we had saved the almost $2000 by getting an interior as we didn't use it much. On some Caribbean cruises we used it a lot. On port intensive cruises like the ones from San Juan we are trying a 4j room - an interior with a window that is near door for the front balcony.

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

I agree with you OP 100 percent. Had a balcony once and it was for our honeymoon. After that I could never justify the extra cost. I too like to be where the action is and only sleep or shower in my cabin

[Andoria]

This is me 60% of my time on the cruise. I don't like people/noise all that much and wouldn't cruise without a balcony.