Inside "Cabin Dweller" does a balcony

[WeatherFx]

Whoohoo! We always book an inside cabin for the usual reasons, cheaper = cruise more often, dark for sleeping and hardly ever in it. But with the 30/30 was able to upgrade to deck 8, "D8 Balcony" from "Q" on Anthem for $114. How could I say no to that? :)

 

.

[Sandy Sails]

Good for you, you'll love the balcony! Beware...you may never go back!

[WeatherFx]

Good for you, you'll love the balcony! Beware...you may never go back!

 

Always wanted to try a balcony. Would tell my DW that if we could get it for around $200 additional, then it would be worth it. Getting for a total of $114 additional was a pleasant surprise.

 

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[trev71]

Congrats you wont want to go back we did that once and it was horrible

[Royal2464]

Good deal Weather! Enjoy your cruise.

[js4rq]

Good for you, you'll love the balcony! Beware...you may never go back!

 

Hehehe so true!! :D the last 2 cruises we booked a balcony, loved it so much we're booked in a balcony cabin again with RCCL. :D

 

To the OP, enjoy!! You'll love the balcony! :D

[C2174]

Once we booked a balcony we have never gone back... buyer beware. :-)

[tomahawk246]

I upgraded today, went from an inside to a balcony on Anthem for 178 dollars per person. This is a 9 day cruise, I think it was worth the price for a balcony.

[Justmekaren918]

Whoohoo! We always book an inside cabin for the usual reasons, cheaper = cruise more often, dark for sleeping and hardly ever in it. But with the 30/30 was able to upgrade to deck 8, "D8 Balcony" from "Q" on Anthem for $114. How could I say no to that? :)

 

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Congrats! You'll never go back once you see 1 sunset, and wake up the next am and open that slider! Enjoy! Happy cruising!

[big al]

Whoohoo! We always book an inside cabin for the usual reasons, cheaper = cruise more often, dark for sleeping and hardly ever in it. But with the 30/30 was able to upgrade to deck 8, "D8 Balcony" from "Q" on Anthem for $114. How could I say no to that? :)

 

.

 

Great decision..I hope you have read my famous post on "cabin selection tips" on balconies called,"Thanks, cruise ship balcony, a commentary"..you will learn a lot of things to do & experience, and now will be a part of the sea experience...besides what I wrote, read the next few pages on what others say about balconies...BTW, you are hardly ever in your inside cabin because there's nothing to see, hear, smell, FEEL, etc...I wasn't either & hated my inside cabin..but no more broom closets for me anymore..read here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1947393

 

Congratulations! A balcony completely changes your whole cruise experience- now you will see the sea, instead of seeing 4 walls...have a great cruise!!

 

Big Al

[WeatherFx]

Great decision..I hope you have read my famous post on "cabin selection tips" on balconies called,"Thanks, cruise ship balcony, a commentary"..you will learn a lot of things to do & experience, and now will be a part of the sea experience...besides what I wrote, read the next few pages on what others say about balconies...BTW, you are hardly ever in your inside cabin because there's nothing to see, hear, smell, FEEL, etc...I wasn't either & hated my inside cabin..but no more broom closets for me anymore..read here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1947393

 

Congratulations! A balcony completely changes your whole cruise experience- now you will see the sea, instead of seeing 4 walls...have a great cruise!!

 

Big Al

 

Took some time to read over the posts and perspectives. Unfortunately, I will have to wait 15 months to experience it. Though I am looking forward to it. Will revive the post with my thoughts afterwards.

 

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[janabelle61]

A balcony completely changes your whole cruise experience- now you will see the sea......

Big Al

 

This is spot on, Al (and I loved your 'ode to a balcony' :)!! My second cruise was in a balcony - because someone else paid for it. I wouldn't think of every going back. You experience the water and the world around you in a way you never can sailing an inside or even outside with a 'window'.

 

OP - Enjoy your cruise. Enjoy the anticipation and planning all of the wonderful experiences you'll have in your first balcony cabin!

[tlatrice]

Read the ode to balconies!!! Summed up my feelings EXACTLY!!!! I love having a balcony and won't sail without one. :D

[NC-CRUISERS]

We always book an inside room. One time we got a upgrade to a balcony. Once was enough. We went back to inside and wont let them upgrade us. :D

[big al]

We always book an inside room. One time we got a upgrade to a balcony. Once was enough. We went back to inside and wont let them upgrade us. :D

 

You should have an MRI, IMO...one inside was enough for me..even if I cruise FREE, I won't sail in an inside cabin..no adventure, no sun, no salt air, no waves, no sounds, no dolphins swimming up next to the ship, no seeing the port as you approach, no seeing other cruise ships sail by, no breakfast on the balcony as you watch the amazing blue waters, no nothing..just 4 walls...that's like asking for a hotel room without a window..horrible..BUT, to each their own...read my thread and decide and see what you missed...

[monctonguy]

Wow...I wish I could find these kind of deals!!

 

I must always be booking and looking at the wrong ships...my price has gone up with the "new promo" and if I want a balcony it almost doubles my cost for the cruise....

[big al]

Wow...I wish I could find these kind of deals!!

 

I must always be booking and looking at the wrong ships...my price has gone up with the "new promo" and if I want a balcony it almost doubles my cost for the cruise....

 

You must be...cruise agent here..many times a balcony is only a few hundred dollars more than an inside...we budget for a balcony & go up from there..always...if we can't afford it, we don't cruise until we can...FYI average prices per diem are $75-150 pp per day for insides, and usually $125-200 per person per day for balconies..I was on the Oasis last Oct.. a balcony was $1200 for the 5 night Halloween cruise, insides were $1050...not much difference IMO...sign up for specials from the cruise line ( s) you like...last year, friends went on MSC Divina for $900 for TWO people in a balcony for a 7 night Eastern Caribb!!!! that's $450 PP for a balcony for a week!! You must look carefully!! Great cruise they said, BTW..gorgeous ship BTW....

 

Big Al

[monctonguy]

Well it is normally about double in all my bookings..just an oceanview is usually close to 25-50% more, balcony is usually 50-100% more.

 

I am currently booked for inside room, price was $966 at booking, taxes and gratuities all in. Balcony with new promo is $1600 PLUS gratuities so about $1700 for a 5 day cruise.....insane!

 

If anyone can find me all these deals out there like rain falling from heaven it seems for everyone else around here..I would be more than happy to call RCI and take advantage!!

 

Good luck...lmao.

 

I check RCI everyday, I also use the fish site, as well as 3-4 travel websites daily......it's not my first rodeo with travelling or cruising.

Edited June 2, 2015 by monctonguy

[big al]

Well it is normally about double in all my bookings..just an oceanview is usually close to 25-50% more, balcony is usually 50-100% more.

 

I am currently booked for inside room, price was $966 at booking, taxes and gratuities all in. Balcony with new promo is $1600 PLUS gratuities so about $1700 for a 5 day cruise.....insane!

 

If anyone can find me all these deals out there like rain falling from heaven it seems for everyone else around here..I would be more than happy to call RCI and take advantage!!

 

Good luck...lmao.

 

I check RCI everyday, I also use the fish site, as well as 3-4 travel websites daily......it's not my first rodeo with travelling or cruising.

 

You will not find many great deals on RCI...nor Princess, Celebrity, HAL or Disney..most deals can be found on Carnival, MSC, NCL and Costa...I cruise on all, though Diamond on RCI, we love Disney ( much more $$ than the rest..) , just sailed the new Regal Princess, and have never cruised only MSC & Costa...a tip- if you are set on only RCI, you will get stuck with prices,since they only discount occasionally ( even with the BOGO sales)..I am cruising on the RCI AOS in Nov, 7 nights Southern in a Jr. Suite for only $2000!! Great deal I found..everything since has not even been close...book early if possible..as early as you can..prices tend to go up as you get closer to sailing date, UNLESS ship is not full...NCL & Princess like to upgrade a lot FYI....

 

Big Al

[WeatherFx]

Wow...I wish I could find these kind of deals!!

 

I must always be booking and looking at the wrong ships...my price has gone up with the "new promo" and if I want a balcony it almost doubles my cost for the cruise....

 

This is the first one that went my way, like others have said, usually a balcony is 50%-100% more than what I book an inside room at since I usually book 2 years out. With the 30/30, out of 7 bookings, only the 1 went down. All the others are currently a couple of hundred dollars more than I booked them at.

 

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[CruiseDucks]

We always book an inside room. One time we got a upgrade to a balcony. Once was enough. We went back to inside and wont let them upgrade us. :D

 

You're not alone in preferring inside rooms to balconies!

 

We chose a balcony room for our first cruise and found we barely used it. We've booked inside rooms ever since and are perfectly happy with that - much cheaper and we don't feel like we're missing anything (and yes, I've read the Ode to a Balcony :) Great that balconies make so many people happy, but for us it's still a case of "could take it or leave it").

 

Although for our upcoming Anthem cruise we'll actually be in a forward Oceanview room for the first time (got a good deal on it), so we'll see what we make of that - could be a good compromise between the two.

[Cinerama]

For our first cruise we also choosed a balcony. We only used it for a few minutes each day so, our next four cruises were inside and we didn't miss it.

 

Our last cruise we reserved an inside but months later the balcony was only about $50 more (this was a seven day cruise on the Regal Princess) so we upgraded it. We also did the drink package and did spend some time on the balcony having a drink but not a whole lot.

 

Our next cruise I decided to try RCL (previous were all Princess) to see what cruising on the Oasis is like. The inside was about $1000, balcony $1200. For only $200 more I was thinking of doing the balcony. When I went to the TA web site that we used for our last cruise, I was surprised to see the Ocean View cabin was only $759, saving about $900 for the two of us if we had done a balcony.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Cinerama

[squadron]

We always book an inside room. One time we got a upgrade to a balcony. Once was enough. We went back to inside and wont let them upgrade us. :D

 

Had a balcony once and found I never used it - too much to do and see on the ship or else away on excursion. I'm happy with either inside, or oceanview.

[Homosassa]

We always book an inside room. One time we got a upgrade to a balcony. Once was enough. We went back to inside and wont let them upgrade us. :D

 

My husband and I completely agree with you. We were upgraded on another line from an inside cabin to a balcony cabin.

 

The cruise was a partial transit of the Panama Canal. The balcony was a complete waste as it was too hot to be in the sun for long and the large sliders allowed so much heat into the room that the curtains had to be kept drawn to keep the room cool.

 

Then there was the noise in the evening from the guests partying on their balconies when we wished to sleep.

 

Lesson learned. We make sure our reservations are marked no upgrade so that we do not lose our carefully selected low and amidship inside cabin.

[spunks]

We could not agree more about preferring insides to balconies. We have cruised in both in our 600 plus days at sea. Not only is the price better but the inside rooms are better....for us anyway. The main reason is the bed orientation on insides is preferable to those in balcony cabins.Inside it is perpendicular to the ship....balcony it is parallel. In balcony cabins we tend to roll out of bed ...inside we are rocked to sleep. Inside, we can sit in bed and look straight ahead at the tv. Balconies we have to look to the side and get a crick.You cannot,no matter what you do make a balcony cabin dark, even at night. Some fool ALWAYS leaves his outside light on....and....if you are paying $75./PP for an inside, you need a different agent.

 

Doug

Edited June 3, 2015 by spunks