Upgrade room or no?

[Gracieismydog]

I just booked our first cruise about a month ago. I booked an inside room. I've spoken to a few people who told me that's fine because you're "never in the room anyway."

 

Today I spoke to a friend who works on the Disney Cruise line. (I am traveling on Norwegian.) He told me I should definitely try to upgrade to a balcony room. I looked at the price difference and it's only a difference of $550. I thought it was going to be much more. My question is...is it really worth it and should I spend the extra $550?

 

Any input would be appreciated!

[leaveitallbehind]

It is a personal choice in conjunction with your budget, but I can only say from personal experience that we booked our first balcony on our 4th cruise in 1996 and have only booked balconies since. (Prior to that it was ocean view rooms, which were the more common at the time).

 

The only exceptions were two cruises when we were in a forward Family Ocean View stateroom that with their front of the ship location did not have a balcony, but two large windows instead. Honestly we enjoyed the stateroom for its size, family convenience, and view but missed the balcony!

 

It just is our preference as we enjoy sitting out on the balcony at nights - in particular at sea - and enjoy the views it provides. We also like being able to see the ports of call as we enter them in the mornings with coffee and watch as we depart, often as we are getting ready for dinner.

 

Again it is a personal choice but for us it always is a balcony.

Edited May 21, 2014 by leaveitallbehind

[fishywood]

I also am someone who spends virtually no time in the cabin other than showering and sleeping.

I book inside cabins and have managed to get upgraded by inquiring after a price drop, or thankfully being visited by the upgrade wizard.

 

But I do consider it worth paying a little more just to have some daylight in the morning. So assuming the $550 difference is for two people on a seven night cruise, your cost is $39/pp/pd for that upgrade. I think that is a little high. Since you just booked, it may pay to wait until you are ready to make the final payment and see what the price is then.

[Mytime2014]

I just booked our first cruise about a month ago. I booked an inside room. I've spoken to a few people who told me that's fine because you're "never in the room anyway."

 

Today I spoke to a friend who works on the Disney Cruise line. (I am traveling on Norwegian.) He told me I should definitely try to upgrade to a balcony room. I looked at the price difference and it's only a difference of $550. I thought it was going to be much more. My question is...is it really worth it and should I spend the extra $550?

 

Any input would be appreciated!

 

"only" 550? for me, that would be a no. I am getting ready for my 1st cruise and kind of wish we had booked an inside instead of an ocean view. My rationale - $550 would pay for a big part of another cruise, an awesome excursion in Alaska etc. My friend and I have agreed on a $$ amount if an upgrade is offered. If they offered us a chunk of cash back in exchange for taking an inside room instead, we would jump on that. I would love to have a balcony - but unless its pretty cheap - I'll consider the promenade deck, the lido deck, and the bars my balcony.

 

however, if you think you may feel "less than" because of your friends advice and the money isn't an object, or won't keep you from buying groceries - then go for it. Or maybe wait and see if they offer any specials that you can tap into closer to cruise time. Whichever you decide - decide to have a great time!!

[Flatbush Flyer]

Don't find yourself guilty of what so many neophyte travelers find themselves doing: putting price before what you really want to have.

It's a vacation! Make it the best experience you can.

 

 

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[Lerin]

$550 is really steep for a balcony upgrade on NCL.

[papcx]

We've done it the other way round.

 

First 2 cruises were a balcony, next was an ocean view, last 2 insides, and the next 2 will be insides.

 

Having a balcony is great, but you pay for it. I worked out it's like taking a third person (vs the price of an inside) and for us that's the difference between a cruise every 2 years or every year.

 

We will probably have a balcony again, but we'll make sure there are some sea days on the itinerary.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Only you can decide if having the balcony is worth the extra money.

We do use our verandah a lot. It's great to be out there when arriving and leaving the ports.

And many times we like to sit out there with a cocktail and people watch. We choose port side as most times that side of the ship faces the port.

[GTO-Girl]

Because this is your first cruise I highly doubt you are going to be spending much time in your room except to sleep.......:p

 

There is so much to see and do on a cruise that as a first timer you will probably try to do it all (which won't happen), but that will leave little room to enjoy a balcony.....(in my opinion).

 

I would save my money this time and when you cruise in the future you may want a more relaxing......sit on the balcony......kind of cruise.

 

There is NOTHING like your first cruise! I hope you have a wonderful time!

[dsrdsrdsr]

I've only had a balcony once, and that because it was just £50 late upgrade cost. Even at that, it was arguable whether it was worth it. I could have had an extra excursion for the money.

[dorisis]

$550 could mean another cruise with an inside cabin. Or several excursions. Or extra money to spend onboard. How important is it to YOU?

[spookwife]

I just booked our first cruise about a month ago. I booked an inside room. I've spoken to a few people who told me that's fine because you're "never in the room anyway."

 

Today I spoke to a friend who works on the Disney Cruise line. (I am traveling on Norwegian.) He told me I should definitely try to upgrade to a balcony room. I looked at the price difference and it's only a difference of $550. I thought it was going to be much more. My question is...is it really worth it and should I spend the extra $550?

 

Any input would be appreciated!

 

strictly personal preference . there is no way in hell I would EVER book anything LESS than a balcony. I like the fresh air and the ability to see the sunrise in my jammies. $550 total for a week long cruise is a good price IF you are happy with that price.. some people will not spend $50 to upgrade, others will not blink twice and $1000.

 

in fact I really only sail in suites these days but we spend a lot of time in the room and don't mind paying for the little extras you get.

[dolita22]

Like others have said, personal preference. We've been in inside and oceanview rooms, and our last three cruises have had balconies. Now that we've sailed in balconies, my husband will only sail in balconies. For us, the additional cost for the balcony is worth it. We do only sail once a year, though, because we go on land-based vacation in addition to cruises.

 

I watch prices for our upcoming cruise, and the balcony we had reserved has fallen in cost. We have gotten the reduced rate by calling to request it. Depending on how close you are to final payment, you may want to watch prices for balconies to see if they align closer to that of what you're currently paying for the inside stateroom.

 

Enjoy your first cruise!

[Krissica]

I just booked our first cruise about a month ago. I booked an inside room. I've spoken to a few people who told me that's fine because you're "never in the room anyway."

 

Today I spoke to a friend who works on the Disney Cruise line. (I am traveling on Norwegian.) He told me I should definitely try to upgrade to a balcony room. I looked at the price difference and it's only a difference of $550. I thought it was going to be much more. My question is...is it really worth it and should I spend the extra $550?

 

Any input would be appreciated!

 

As others have said it is really an individual personal choice. We have cruises inside, port hole, and most recently balcony. We got an amazing deal on the balcony thorugh our PVP, only $100 more total, so we decided to go for it. While it was nice to have the balcony, we weren't on it nearly as much because we are the type of people that rarely ever spend time in our room except to nap, shower, get ready, and sleep. So for us and our upcoming cruises we booked inside again because the price is right.

[MCC retired]

Depending on the length of the cruise $550 more is either excessive or a good deal.

 

If $550 seems too much wait , monitor rates until closer to sailing for a promo that may occur which you can pay less to upgrade.

 

Sure , if you're in an Inside cabin you may not wish to spend too much time in it . With a balcony you may spend much more time in your cabin.

[Krissica]

Depending on the length of the cruise $550 more is either excessive or a good deal.

 

 

Sure , if you're in an Inside cabin you may not wish to spend too much time in it . With a balcony you may spend much more time in your cabin.

 

I absolutely agree with the first statement and respectfully disagree with the last statement. I still think it comes down to your personality type, whether you're the type that like to lounge in your rooms or not. For us we aren't that type, and that won't change because we are in a different room type. We found that out the hard way.

[Sea Green]

Depends on personal preference AND the type of cruise.

 

Had a balcony cabin in the fjords and spent some time sitting out, it was nice to sit out for a while and also see the scenery - much of the scenic sailing through the fjords was early morning and evening

 

But just back from two weeks in the Baltics in an outside and was genuinely only in the room to sleep and dress. Even on sea days.

 

Maybe as this is cruise number one see how you get on in an inside? A handy tip if you miss a window is to leave the bridgecam TV channel on with volume off.

[GoGoJules]

DH and I had an inside cabin for a 4-night cruise with Carnival last year, and it was perfect. We spent the vast majority of our time on the Serenity deck, and I sincerely think a balcony would have been wasted on us.

 

That being said, we're on a 11 day cruise in the Caribbean this December with Celebrity, and booked a CC room as we'll have our (at that time) 11mo and 23mo DDs with us. If I'm going to sit somewhere for naps then it's going to have a view gosh dangit! :-)

 

 

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[Gracieismydog]

Thank you to all who have replied.

 

I booked my cruise through Travelocity and was "assigned" a travel agent. I have contacted him and asked if I can upgrade. With that being said, some of you said to look at the prices before the final payment is made. I paid for the cruise in full, so there is no final payment. Should I had not done that? Some also mentioned that there is an "upgrade fairy" who may offer one anyway or to look for upgrade offers. Where would I even find those offers??

 

As I mentioned this is my first cruise but also a 40th birthday present for my boyfriend (and myself) so I really want to make sure I'm doing it right. We are both very outgoing and although don't plan to spend much time in the room, I guess my thought was it would be nice to have natural light and a place to relax if we just needed to.

 

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I am doing this right.

[leaveitallbehind]

Thank you to all who have replied.

 

I booked my cruise through Travelocity and was "assigned" a travel agent. I have contacted him and asked if I can upgrade. With that being said, some of you said to look at the prices before the final payment is made. I paid for the cruise in full, so there is no final payment. Should I had not done that? Some also mentioned that there is an "upgrade fairy" who may offer one anyway or to look for upgrade offers. Where would I even find those offers??

 

As I mentioned this is my first cruise but also a 40th birthday present for my boyfriend (and myself) so I really want to make sure I'm doing it right. We are both very outgoing and although don't plan to spend much time in the room, I guess my thought was it would be nice to have natural light and a place to relax if we just needed to.

 

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I am doing this right.

 

Check with your TA to determine - based on your departure date - when final payment is actually due with NCL. Different cruise lines have different policies but if you paid in full prior to the actual due date you likely have no charge options regarding stateroom changes, other than for any actual difference in stateroom rates.

 

However, your TA may have their own policies regarding that and may impose a fee for any changes. (Many TA's don't do that and in the future I would check to understand all their policies regarding separate fees charged by them for originating, modifying, or cancelling a cruise and find one that doesn't charge any outside those imposed by the cruise lines).

 

BTW you cannot name or discuss specific TA's on CC.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[MCC retired]

Even though OP paid in full earlier than the cruise line required , a refund for an adjustment is done as long as it is not beyond the cruise lines official Final Payment date (the only FP date that counts)

[ducklite]

I have sailed balcony and window. I would not sail inside--claustrophobic and I like the natural light and to be able to look outside and see if we are in port, if it's day or night, etc.

 

On large ships I would not cruise without a balcony. I need that space to get away from the crowds. Seriously, I would stay home before I'd cruise an inside room.

 

On the small ships I've done both with and without, and to be honest, in the future would save the money and book a window room--we just didn't use the balcony that much, and that was in French Polynesia no less.

[Gracieismydog]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I upgraded to the balcony today. I figured it is my first cruise I should do it right!

[tmcon01]

We were offered a reduced rate upgrade to a balcony for $250 about 2 weeks after buying a window room and grabbed it. I think it will be worth every penny.