Balcony vs Inside? $$ for excursions?

[MomtoCCC]

Looking for opinions here..

 

We are currently booked on Southbound (Seward to Vancouver) Celebrity Millennium for June 2016. I booked a balcony for 3 of us (traveling with dd who will be 12 then) because I had read that the balcony is a must for Alaska (and we usually get a balcony on all other cruises).

 

However, the with price of excursions, I'm wondering if it is worth switching to an inside (maybe even get 2 connecting ones since they are smaller) and saving 1-2 thousand dollars that could be spent on really nice excursions like a float plane ride, whale watching, etc...

 

I've also read that to really see the full views you end up spending a lot of time on the upper decks so maybe balcony isn't that important? The other consideration is that it doesn't get completely dark at night and the insides might be better for sleeping..

 

Thoughts???

[Budget Queen]

This topic comes up frequently. Doing a board search will give you a lot of reading.

 

It all comes down to YOU. At face value, you've already made a valid point- you always get a balcony. Are you going to be happy, or resentful if you go lower?

 

Second important factor, is, if you go with the balcony- are you now lacking funds for your tours of interest? If not, then not a issue.

 

I caution you about making decisions based on what "other" people write and claim. Look to YOUR traveling style and plans first. Doesn't matter what other people do.

 

I find many times, when this balcony/inside debate comes up, the higher cost of the balcony, makes it sound "better" with some strong claims, that you are somehow shortchanging yourself if you don't get a balcony. I can't disagree more. :)

 

So, I suggest, first, you determine, what it is you want out of this trip, and what your budget may be (if there are going to be limits?) Determine- what tours you are going to include. THEN if fixed finances, what type of cabin fits in.

 

I am never an advocate of making any compromises on tours of interest. I'm a firm believer they are half of an Alaska trip. :)

[paulajj]

I completely agree. It's YOUR money. I have done 1 mini suite and 2 insides. I personally would rather do a longer cruise or a few more excursions and do my sight seeing on deck. I have a budget for Alaska so I booked the best inside room available and now I can also go and see some whales!

[varoo]

Looking for opinions here..

 

We are currently booked on Southbound (Seward to Vancouver) Celebrity Millennium for June 2016. I booked a balcony for 3 of us (traveling with dd who will be 12 then) because I had read that the balcony is a must for Alaska (and we usually get a balcony on all other cruises).

 

However, the with price of excursions, I'm wondering if it is worth switching to an inside (maybe even get 2 connecting ones since they are smaller) and saving 1-2 thousand dollars that could be spent on really nice excursions like a float plane ride, whale watching, etc...

 

I've also read that to really see the full views you end up spending a lot of time on the upper decks so maybe balcony isn't that important? The other consideration is that it doesn't get completely dark at night and the insides might be better for sleeping..

 

Thoughts???

That is such an individual decision. Different things are important to different people.

To us, having a balcony for Alaska is essential. It greatly enhances our enjoyment of the cruise.

 

We always step out to spend time there first thing whenever we wake up and last thing before going to sleep at night. I need that early morning room service coffee out on the balcony to start my day.

 

We enjoy having a glass of wine on the balcony later in the day while changing for dinner.

Sometimes we have dinner on the balcony while cruising through a scenic area.

 

It is nothing like a Caribbean cruise where you only see water most of the time while cruising along. On an Alaska cruise there are constantly changing scenic views to enjoy right outside our cabin.

We would miss them completely in an inside cabin with a solid wall between us and the scenery.

 

We get a covered balcony so we can use it even when it is raining.

 

We would never choose between a balcony and excursions as we enjoy both and one has nothing to do with the other.

If we needed to economize, there are so many other places to economize instead without giving up either the balcony or the excursions.

 

You can have darkness for sleeping in any cabin just by closing the curtains tightly, or wearing a dark eye shade if you are really sensitive to light. So to us that would not even be an issue.

 

With all the hours of daylight in Alaska, it is really nice being able to step out on the balcony to enjoy the views day or night without even needing to start getting dressed first or combing your hair or caring about how you look.

 

Having a balcony does not prevent you from using the public decks whenever you wish as well, so you have both.

With an inside cabin, you don't even get that choice.

 

It is especially nice having the balcony if someone is not feeling well. As has been mentioned many times, it would really be miserable if someone got sick and had to be confined in an inside cabin with no fresh air.

 

But if you are the healthy, energetic type who wakes up raring to go, immediately gets dressed and goes dashing out of the room, not to return until you are ready to go to sleep at night, then a balcony would not matter to you the way it does to us.

 

[donaldsc]

Looking for opinions here..

 

We are currently booked on Southbound (Seward to Vancouver) Celebrity Millennium for June 2016. I booked a balcony for 3 of us (traveling with dd who will be 12 then) because I had read that the balcony is a must for Alaska (and we usually get a balcony on all other cruises).

 

However, the with price of excursions, I'm wondering if it is worth switching to an inside (maybe even get 2 connecting ones since they are smaller) and saving 1-2 thousand dollars that could be spent on really nice excursions like a float plane ride, whale watching, etc...

 

I've also read that to really see the full views you end up spending a lot of time on the upper decks so maybe balcony isn't that important? The other consideration is that it doesn't get completely dark at night and the insides might be better for sleeping..

 

Thoughts???

 

Luckily I can afford to cruise in OV cabins so I do not have the problem choosing a cabin that you have. I personally do not feel that a balcony cabin is worth the cost unless this cost in minimal or free. Regardless, excursions in AK are very important so if I was in the position that you are in, I would take the inside cabin and do the excursions. You are right that you do get better views up on the deck. On a balcony, you only get to see 180 degrees of outside, not 360 degrees.

 

DON

[Mercruiser]

On our first cruise to Alaska, we booked a balcony cabin. I enjoyed being able to look out the window any time and then go outside for a photo whenever I wanted. However, when the ship was underway, it was too cold to spend much time on the balcony.

 

For our next Alaska cruise, we booked a porthole cabin. I didn't really miss the balcony. We spent lots of time on the promenade deck and the pool deck (in the wind sheltered areas.) We used the money we saved to go on a flightseeing trip.

 

Our next Alaska cruise is in June. We are going for an inside cabin again. I'd rather use the money saved for something else like excursions or other cruises.

 

For tropical cruises, I will always go for a balcony cabin, as long as I can afford it. On our Panama Canal cruise, we spent more time on the balcony than in the cabin. But on an Alaska cruise, I'm not going to spend nearly as much time on the balcony. It's just too cold when underway.

 

If I did get a balcony in Alaska, I'd try to get one aft so that it's not windy when underway. We had an aft bacony on Solstice for our New Zealand - Sydney cruise. That worked really well for a cool weather cruise in New Zealand waters.

[Mercruiser]

On our first cruise to Alaska, we booked a balcony cabin. I enjoyed being able to look out the window any time and then go outside for a photo whenever I wanted. However, when the ship was underway, it was too cold to spend much time on the balcony.

 

For our next Alaska cruise, we booked a porthole cabin. I didn't really miss the balcony. We spent lots of time on the promenade deck and the pool deck (in the wind sheltered areas.) We used the money we saved to go on a flightseeing trip.

 

Our next Alaska cruise is in June. We are going for an inside cabin again. I'd rather use the money saved for something else like excursions or other cruises.

 

For tropical cruises, I will always go for a balcony cabin, as long as I can afford it. On our Panama Canal cruise, we spent more time on the balcony than in the cabin. But on an Alaska cruise, I'm not going to spend nearly as much time on the balcony. It's just too cold when underway.

 

If I did get a balcony in Alaska, I'd try to get one aft so that it's not windy when underway. We had an aft bacony on Solstice for our New Zealand - Sydney cruise. That worked really well for a cool weather cruise in New Zealand waters.

[xlxo]

For us... we did not use the balcony much.

• Too busy eating or on excursions.
  
• Found the balcony windy and cold
  

Our last trip we decided to save money by getting the Big porthole on the Disney Wonder. It felt like an enclosed balcony and worked great.

 

My next cruises will be the biggest oceanview window cabins.

[moonbeams558]

My 2 cents...

 

Bf and I, after much, much deliberation - decided to spend the extra gazillion dollars to get a balcony on the upcoming cruise.

 

Reason being we like to spend time sleeping in, and bf especially. We like lounging in the room and I don't see us up and about the ship 9 am to 9 pm. For me, traveling about going til you drop and seeing everything. For bf, the time off is vacation time - time to relax, see some cool stuff and enjoy things in slow motion. We usually compromise and he does a little more than he would like and I do a little less.

 

The reason we have a balcony is so that instead of bugging him to get up and out, I can enjoy some of Alaska right from our balcony, have breakfast out there, etc. And see something while he is still getting ready to go.

 

To us, having that luxury for both of us to be happier, maybe get a little more sleep on glacier bay day, allow me to whale watch from the balcony while he snoozes, etc., it is worth it.

 

So if that sounds at all like you, think about it.

[klr6773]

What's the cost of the " happy medium" Ocean view stateroom?

 

The difference on our sailing was just a few hundred to get the picture window,but over $1200 from there to go balcony. We decided to save the money for excursions and spending and booked an OA gty,knowing there was a tiny dream of upgrade (lol... didn't happen,got the OA)

[Bruin Steve]

I've been on 40 cruises or so...

Mostly, I book a balcony cabin...1) Because I can afford to...2) Because it feels like we have more space 3) Because we can quickly step outside for fresh air or a nice view...

However, sometimes, we've booked suites, sometimes Concierge class, sometimes Ocean Views...and sometimes even Insides...It usually comes down to comparative price...if the price differential is minor, well move up...if it's a major savings, we might move down...

After all, MOST of the time, we're in port, in the dining room, in the show room, out and about on the ship...What we mostly do in our cabin is sleep and change clothes...and ALL the cabins get to go to the same ports, see the same shows, eat the same food, etc.

 

Last time we went to Alaska, we brought our kids and booked two Sky Suites...

We ended up watching Hubbard Glacier from the heliport (better view than our balcony)...when it came to the Inside Passage, our ship was delayed at Ketchikan and most of the passage ended up being at night...

 

We are returning to Alaska in June on the southbound Millenium...

This time, we've booked an Inside cabin...

Why? The balcony cabins on our cruise were going for $2099 pp and up...We got an inside for $599 pp...That's a $3,000 difference!

And we've got three other cruises booked after this one...starting with a very expensive Galapagos cruisetour twelve days after we return home from Alaska...followed by a Caribbean cruise...and a two-week cruise in Spain and Portugal...All in nicer cabins...Oh, and I recently retired, so, we're now on a "fixed income", so to speak...

 

So, for $3,000, on this one, we'll just use the pool deck as our balcony!

[Coral]

IMO - the best views on Glacier Days are not on your balcony. I have booked everything (insides to suites) and on Glacier Days, I am still on the public decks as the view is the best there.

[TexasGal#35]

Thank you for your post. I feel better about having an inside cabin on our May 2015 Southbound Radiance cruise. We've never stayed in an IC and always had a balcony so I've been giving DH a hard time.

 

This is what we can afford on this cruise since we did a Southern Caribbean Cruise out of Puerto Rico in February for our 40th. We were in a Grand Suite and didn't even use all the drawers available. This was probably our one and only time to live it up.

 

I've been looking at what was available in a balcony room and the prices are ridiculous. IMHO. I think the only thing I will have to do is run a brush through my hair and throw on some jeans to get that first view of the port!

 

I guess I'll apologize to DH and just be glad we're on the ship!

 

Gloria

[CowPrincess]

I've done mostly oceanviews, with a few insides. Last year I splashed out and got a balcony which was, for me, a colossal waste of money. I spent nearly all my time out on the public decks. If it is a choice between doing all the excursions you want or having a balcony cabin, IMHO the best way to experience Alaska is getting onshore and doing things.

[ikirumata]

Thank you for your post. I feel better about having an inside cabin on our May 2015 Southbound Radiance cruise. We've never stayed in an IC and always had a balcony so I've been giving DH a hard time.

 

This is what we can afford on this cruise since we did a Southern Caribbean Cruise out of Puerto Rico in February for our 40th. We were in a Grand Suite and didn't even use all the drawers available. This was probably our one and only time to live it up.

 

I've been looking at what was available in a balcony room and the prices are ridiculous. IMHO. I think the only thing I will have to do is run a brush through my hair and throw on some jeans to get that first view of the port!

 

I guess I'll apologize to DH and just be glad we're on the ship!

 

Gloria

 

You guys made a smart choice. Choosing the inside vs not going at all seems to me a winner. My routine was to get up early, throw on some warm clothes, grab the camera, hit Park Cafe for some coffee, and then up to the front of deck 12 and watch Alaska.

 

Have a great time!

[chipmaster]

Another vote for inside if you have to tradeoff excursion. Lots of free deck space when the sightes are good. The reality is that on our last cruise even on the sunny days I found few on the balcony, and when the sightseeing is good the public/free decks clear out quickly as everyone scurries to warm confines.

 

Go inside, take great excursions, bring extra warm hat, gloves, layered clothes and have a great time!

Edited March 29, 2015 by chipmaster

[Kristalght]

I would keep the balcony until it's closer to your final payment. It's always easier to find a lesser cabin than it is to keep a nicer one. I booked a balcony for our cruise because of the offers ended up being the same price as an outside room.

 

I will say for our Caribbean cruise I was VERY happy having an inside room and spending the money on excursions. I think I would sacrifice a balcony over missing out on excursions. There's always a deck you can sit out on if you want to see things.

[judynorth]

We have done 5 AK cruises. This will be our 6th. On the first 2 we booked balcony cabins but used them very little. The one exception was going through Tracy Arm in the cold rain on our first cruise. I'm not one to just sit on the balcony and watch the world go by and in AK it is cold out there. On our other cruises we booked OV cabins and didn't miss the balcony at all. I like to be able to see out though so I haven't tried an inside cabin. On HAL the difference between an inside and an OV is only a few hundred dollars at most whereas a veranda cabin is at least $1000 more. For us, the OV is a good compromise. You save a lot of money and you still have a view.