Regal - Caribbean - Balcony v Interior Stateroom

[marinerslvr]

This is only our second cruise (the first one we "won" so we didn't have a lot of choice in cabins).

 

We are going to the Caribbean on the Regal Feb 15 (post Valentines... awww...:D) - I went ahead and booked the "cheapest" balcony figuring the cheapest balcony is better than an interior but wonder if it is worth the extra $? I know we will use the balcony if we have it but... it is an extra $300 (still hoping for an upgrade or price drop between now and the final payment being due....)

[Astro Flyer]

I don't know if it's possible for anyone to say whether the extra $300 is worth it to you. ;)

 

Whether it would be worth it or not for me could vary depending upon the itinerary. We don't spend much time in the sun due to health issues & enjoy a balcony more when it's shady to enjoy the view. Thus for us we might decide to use that $300 to more fully experience other things during our cruise. :)

 

The Regal & Royal balconies are smaller than the smallest balconies on other Princess ships...9'x4' vs. 9'x5' on other ships. If that's an issue for you then you may consider an inside cabin, sit in the sun elsewhere on the ship & have $300 to use for other things. While smaller, we still fully enjoyed our Ultimate Balcony Dinner.

[attilamom1217]

We love having a balcony and always book one. Sometimes we just sit and watch the water go by. I like to sit and read on the balcony. We also like to sit on the balcony with a drink or a cup of coffee. :D

 

We have ordered breakfast from room service and eaten on the balcony. It is a great way to start your morning - especially on a sea day.

 

The balcony gives you more space. If one of us is napping or sleeping late, the other one can sit on the balcony and relax.

 

On sea days especially, it is a quiet place to sit and relax - if you choose to do so!

 

Enjoy your balcony.

[eandj]

You don't mention an ocean view room. (window) If you don't want that larger cost, the o.v. won't be too bad. Plus you'll have natural daylight. I would go bonkers without any connection to outdoors.

We use a balcony a lot on warm weather trips.... we have light breakfasts there, wine predinner , and on sea days dh enjoys reading there.

 

I say if it won't fit your ship lifestyle, just go for a window.;)

[Mom33]

You don't mention an ocean view room. (window) If you don't want that larger cost, the o.v. won't be too bad. Plus you'll have natural daylight. I would go bonkers without any connection to outdoors.

We use a balcony a lot on warm weather trips.... we have light breakfasts there, wine predinner , and on sea days dh enjoys reading there.

 

I say if it won't fit your ship lifestyle, just go for a window.;)

 

The OP is sailing on Regal. There are no ocean view rooms. There are insides and balconies. :)

[Mom33]

We prefer a balcony and are prepared to pay for it. We never consider an inside. So for us, $300.00 would be worth it. Only you can really decide the importance of the price of your cabin. :)

[eandj]

The OP is sailing on Regal. There are no ocean view rooms. There are insides and balconies. :)

 

Wow...I didn't know that. I apologize. Thank you for setting me straight!!!:o

[antsp]

We have just booked a balcony on the regal for $549, only $100 pp more. That to me is worth it from and inside.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We have just booked a balcony on the regal for $549, only $100 pp more. That to me is worth it from and inside.

 

Great price!

[ar1950]

Speaking for ourselves a balcony is always worth the extra $$. :cool:

[amusea]

This is only our second cruise (the first one we "won" so we didn't have a lot of choice in cabins).

 

We are going to the Caribbean on the Regal Feb 15 (post Valentines... awww...:D) - I went ahead and booked the "cheapest" balcony figuring the cheapest balcony is better than an interior but wonder if it is worth the extra $? I know we will use the balcony if we have it but... it is an extra $300 (still hoping for an upgrade or price drop between now and the final payment being due....)

 

If you booked one the cheapest balcony rooms then it is most probably an obstructed view room on Emerald Deck. You should check the deck plan and other information on this site to determine how blocked your view will be. If you want a balcony room that is guaranteed to not be obstructed you will have to pay considerably more.

[lindasuej]

We are doing a 10 day on the Royal Oct 2015. We booked an inside. The balcony was almost $700 more per person.

[minabruuke]

If you booked one the cheapest balcony rooms then it is most probably an obstructed view room on Emerald Deck. You should check the deck plan and other information on this site to determine how blocked your view will be. If you want a balcony room that is guaranteed to not be obstructed you will have to pay considerably more.

 

For some reason the obstructed view balconies were not the cheapest balcony cabins on the Regal sailing we are currently booked for. An unobstructed BE, for example, shows as $599(this is not just a guarantee rate). Yet, the cheapest obstructed (BW) showing as available is showing as $889. I am guessing the difference in price is a result of the obstructed view cabins being slightly more mid-ship. This pricing is kind of crazy in my opinion but then again I realize some people really don't want to be all the way forward or aft even if that wouldn't matter to me at all.

 

So anyhow it is also very possible that the OP will not have to worry about an obstruction at the lower price point.

[Seago2]

I've had a string of balconies on other ships and just booked an interior on Regal Princess. Honestly this cruise is an "extra" for us, outside the normal pattern of cruising vacations, and I want to keep it reasonable (or assuage my guilt, one of the two :p). There's a big jump in cost between an interior guarantee (me) and an unobstructed balcony (wouldn't spring for obstructed). We use it a lot when we have it but this time we'll just have to use the bow cam and stay up on deck more.

[BlessedAZWife]

We are booked in an obstructed balcony on Regal. I queried on this site some time back and amazingly, someone posted a website which has pictures that someone took of many cabins on various ships. Fortunately, the exact cabin that we are booked in was included. The "obstruction" is simply the very top of a lifeboat being level with the bottom of our balcony. Which is fine with us. We got spoiled by booking a balcony on our first cruise and now we both know that we could never not have a view of outside and access to fresh air. In short, a balcony was worth the extra $$ to us!

[Mameow]

Just one warning...once you do a balcony room you will not want to do interior room again !!! Our first two cruises were interior rooms, our last cruise to Alaska we decided to do balcony so we can enjoy the beautiful view from our own room. Well, next year we booked a mini-suite on Regal, so our twin boys can bath in the tub and we are prepared to spend a lot of time in our room.

[AKman2495]

We have always booked interiors and have never had a problem. My DW is frugal and prefers to spend money elsewhere than a balcony.

 

On our first cruise, my mother (who joined us) was upgraded to a balcony, so I have some idea what a balcony is like.

 

Yes, on occasion, they can be pleasant, but over the course of 2 weeks, we rarely spent time on the balcony as it was just too hot to enjoy it.

 

Obviously, others feel differently, but I thought I would present the other side.

 

We do not spend a huge amount of time in our cabin-why should we. There are just too many things to do and see elsewhere on the ship.

 

IMHO.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I was originally booked in an inside on our Regal cruisr, but when the free gratuities promo came out, the cost differential narrowed enough to justify going to obstructed balcony.

Edited October 6, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[Morgsmom]

For some reason the obstructed view balconies were not the cheapest balcony cabins on the Regal sailing we are currently booked for. An unobstructed BE, for example, shows as $599(this is not just a guarantee rate). Yet, the cheapest obstructed (BW) showing as available is showing as $889. I am guessing the difference in price is a result of the obstructed view cabins being slightly more mid-ship. This pricing is kind of crazy in my opinion but then again I realize some people really don't want to be all the way forward or aft even if that wouldn't matter to me at all.

 

So anyhow it is also very possible that the OP will not have to worry about an obstruction at the lower price point.

 

can you tell us which sailing this is?

[Amster12345]

You don't mention an ocean view room. (window) If you don't want that larger cost, the o.v. won't be too bad. Plus you'll have natural daylight. I would go bonkers without any connection to outdoors.

We use a balcony a lot on warm weather trips.... we have light breakfasts there, wine predinner , and on sea days dh enjoys reading there.

 

I say if it won't fit your ship lifestyle, just go for a window.;)

 

I'm on the Regal in January. I've booked a balcony. If there had been an oceanview available, I might have chosen that for a cheaper cost. I've been on one cruise in an interior cabin, and will never do that again. I can't wake up in the morning without seeing natural light. It threw off my whole body clock off to have the cabin pitch black both day and night unless the lights were turned on.

[Sailingpeace]

If I do the Baltic cruise again, I would not book a balcony. Barely used it last time. But in the Carribean, because we go to escape from a very cold winter, for us the balcony is a must. Opening the door in the morning is the first thing we do and walk out to enjoy warm sea air. We also spend a lot of time at night , relaxing outside. Have a great cruise.

[richstowe]

We are looking at booking the Regal for a March cruise. I was really surprised that

this ship ,and its sister ship, don't have any OVs . We are looking at the 300 P.P . difference

between balcony and interior and can't decide what to do. With the current promotion of

included gratuities we feel some pressure to book but I was very very surprised to discover

that with this promotion, the deposit is NOT refundable!

 

We have never booked an interior . Besides all these issues , the Regal has horizontal interior

cabins besides the usual vertical ones and we're trying to figure out which would be better.

What to do,what to do. :confused::confused::confused:

[marinerslvr]

I just looked at the floor plan for the Regal and the BZ Balcony which I booked. There aren't many BZ balconies listed - only 4 that I can see on the floorplan which are on the Lido level, L110, L114, L109, L115. These 4 balconies list the obstruction as: PART OBSTRUCTED VIEWGLASS BALCONY RAIL - this doesn't sound like an obstruction to me?

 

Thoughts? Does anyone know where I can find actual pictures of the rooms?

[BlessedAZWife]

This link might help. It has some pics of cabins on Regal and Royal. We are booked in an obstructed view balcony on Regal next Fall. The pics helped me to decide to book this obstructed view as it appears to me that the obstruction is not that much of an impact.

https://sites.google.com/site/royalregalprincess/

[MarKay525]

I just looked at the floor plan for the Regal and the BZ Balcony which I booked. There aren't many BZ balconies listed - only 4 that I can see on the floorplan which are on the Lido level, L110, L114, L109, L115. These 4 balconies list the obstruction as: PART OBSTRUCTED VIEWGLASS BALCONY RAIL - this doesn't sound like an obstruction to me?

 

Thoughts? Does anyone know where I can find actual pictures of the rooms?

 

Check out this thread - and the thread referenced in Post #5. They are related to the Royal Princess, but the layout is the same on the Regal.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1995145&highlight=royal+l110

 

EDIT - this post also has info:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41151920&postcount=4

Edited October 8, 2014 by MarKay525