Dream Cove Balcony vs. Interior cabin in great location

[MisterOJ2]

So, my family (me, the wife and two daughters, ages 12 and 10) will be on the Dream in October for a fall break cruise. We also cruised on the Dream over fall break in 2014 and loved it.

 

One the previous cruise, we were in an interior cabin in a great (for us) location - room 9424. It is just a few steps away from the stairs and once you go up one easy flight, you can turn left and head into the buffet for a quick and easy snack or drink; or right and you're on the back deck overlooking the ocean.

 

We liked the room so much that we booked the exact same room for our next Carnival cruise. I'm an early riser and I really liked how each morning, I could get dressed and head up and sip coffee on the back of the ship with a book, while the rest of my family snoozed. Most of the time, I was the only person up there and in some ways, it felt like my own huge private balcony.

 

The room was also super convenient for running up and grabbing a drink from the buffet before bed, or snagging a quick late-night. And, of course, with the girls it was good to be that close to the pool deck. The location made it really simple to move back and forth between the pool and the room for quick swimsuit changes and whatnot.

 

But now, I was just checking prices and saw that we could upgrade to a cove balcony for only about an additional $340. That seems like a good deal. This will be our 8th cruise overall. We got a balcony room once to try it out, and while it was nice - we all agreed it wasn't worth the extra money to us. But for less than $350... it might be. The only thing holding me back from making the switch at this point, is being all the way down on Deck 2. That just seems like a really inconvenient location.

 

So, I'm asking for the collective wisdom of the board. I have two main questions:

 

1) Is the $340 a pretty good deal for upgrading to a cove balcony?

 

and 2) What's your opinion of cove balconies. Is the location just too inconvenient, or does the coolness of the balcony make up for being that low in the ship?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Edited February 24, 2016 by MisterOJ2

[cherbear4000]

I would take a cove balcony over an inside any day no matter the location. Not only is the cabin bigger, but I love being able to step outside while in my cabin. I think $340 for 4 people to upgrade is a great deal.

[xrayann06]

So many people will tell.you to grab that balcony. However, I am with you on loving the convenience of being close to the lido deck. You never know for sure until you try though!

 

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[luv2trvlnow]

It's what you really want. Yes Deck 9 is close to the Lido deck. But Deck 2 is close to the theater, dining rooms, Oceans Plaza, and Deck 0. Deck 0 is where you get off and on the ship when in ports. It is nice not to have to wait for an elevator when everyone else is wanting to use it to, when getting back on in port, going to dinner, after a show, etc.

 

We had a cove balcony on the Breeze and never found it a problem to catch an elevator up to the Lido deck. Just be sure you don't get one under the Galley (can be noisy). The galley is between the aft and mid ship elevators. So forward of the mid ship elevators and you should be all right. We were in Cabin 2294 and heard it was pretty quiet.

[cruiser fanatic]

I think that is a good deal to upgrade to the Cove. I love the Cove Balcony and I think Deck 2 is a good location. You are close to the Lobby and Theater. It is also a convenient location to get off in the ports so you don't have to wait for an elevator. I think it is worth it to upgrade.

[RuthlessBoss]

So many people will tell.you to grab that balcony. However, I am with you on loving the convenience of being close to the lido deck. You never know for sure until you try though!

 

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The age of the kids sway me to keep the interior and more things they'd be interested in. I loved my cove, but didn't have kids with me so my interests were different.

[xrayann06]

The age of the kids sway me to keep the interior and more things they'd be interested in. I loved my cove, but didn't have kids with me so my interests were different.

That's why I love being closer to the decks. 3 kids who want to be at the waterslides and hot tubs all day. Plus camp carnival is on the upper decks. Lol. Personal preference and who you are traveling with is key! We will be on the magic in may and have decided to compromise a little and get one balcony and one interior on Deck 8 this time. I'm really looking forward to being on that balcony and it should still be close enough to the Lido and camps. :)

 

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[BigB0882]

Deck 2 has its advantages. One deck up and you are in the Atrium and have easy access to the dining room if you eat in Crimson. One deck down and you have easy access to gangway on port days.

 

Make sure you don't get a room under the galley! Look at deck plans to make sure of location. Can be very noisy all hours of the night under the galley.

[eeyoreme]

We had a cove balcony on the Breeze and never found it a problem to catch an elevator up to the Lido deck. Just be sure you don't get one under the Galley (can be noisy). The galley is between the aft and mid ship elevators. So forward of the mid ship elevators and you should be all right. We were in Cabin 2294 and heard it was pretty quiet.[/size][/font]

 

Not all of the coves between the elevators are under the galley. We had 2302 on the Dream, and it was under the mid-ship dining room - very quiet. And very convenient.

 

As someone else stated, you will have a larger cabin than an interior plus the balcony. We loved being so close to the water.

[tkportersat]

For me personally I would take the interior cabin in a good location over the Cove. I like being close to the action, plus if you do this you will be out having fun more instead of staying in the cabin. I'm sure either is great but that $300 will be nice to have to spend on other things.

 

So, my family (me, the wife and two daughters, ages 12 and 10) will be on the Dream in October for a fall break cruise. We also cruised on the Dream over fall break in 2014 and loved it.

 

One the previous cruise, we were in an interior cabin in a great (for us) location - room 9424. It is just a few steps away from the stairs and once you go up one easy flight, you can turn left and head into the buffet for a quick and easy snack or drink; or right and you're on the back deck overlooking the ocean.

 

We liked the room so much that we booked the exact same room for our next Carnival cruise. I'm an early riser and I really liked how each morning, I could get dressed and head up and sip coffee on the back of the ship with a book, while the rest of my family snoozed. Most of the time, I was the only person up there and in some ways, it felt like my own huge private balcony.

 

The room was also super convenient for running up and grabbing a drink from the buffet before bed, or snagging a quick late-night. And, of course, with the girls it was good to be that close to the pool deck. The location made it really simple to move back and forth between the pool and the room for quick swimsuit changes and whatnot.

 

But now, I was just checking prices and saw that we could upgrade to a cove balcony for only about an additional $340. That seems like a good deal. This will be our 8th cruise overall. We got a balcony room once to try it out, and while it was nice - we all agreed it wasn't worth the extra money to us. But for less than $350... it might be. The only thing holding me back from making the switch at this point, is being all the way down on Deck 2. That just seems like a really inconvenient location.

 

So, I'm asking for the collective wisdom of the board. I have two main questions:

 

1) Is the $340 a pretty good deal for upgrading to a cove balcony?

 

and 2) What's your opinion of cove balconies. Is the location just too inconvenient, or does the coolness of the balcony make up for being that low in the ship?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[luv2trvlnow]

Not all of the coves between the elevators are under the galley. We had 2302 on the Dream, and it was under the mid-ship dining room - very quiet. And very convenient.

 

As someone else stated, you will have a larger cabin than an interior plus the balcony. We loved being so close to the water.

 

Cabin 2302 isn't between the aft elevators and the mid ship elevators, it is between the mid ship and forward elevators. That is the location I said would be all right. There are 3 sets of elevators and you want to be forward of the mid ship ones.

[RuthlessBoss]

Deck 2 has its advantages. One deck up and you are in the Atrium and have easy access to the dining room if you eat in Crimson. One deck down and you have easy access to gangway on port days.

 

Make sure you don't get a room under the galley! Look at deck plans to make sure of location. Can be very noisy all hours of the night under the galley.

 

But kids don't care about these, they want lido and easy food.

[momonthego17]

We had a cove balcony on Breeze with two DDs (12 & 14 at time of cruise) and found it very convenient. Access to Lido wasn't an issue, seemed like there was always an elevator waiting. Like others have said, theatre is close and so is the exit for ports.

I loved the closeness to the water! It felt like sailing on a sailboat, if you know what I mean with the proximity to the water.

Have a great cruise, whatever you decide!

[RuthlessBoss]

We had a cove balcony on Breeze with two DDs (12 & 14 at time of cruise) and found it very convenient. Access to Lido wasn't an issue, seemed like there was always an elevator waiting. Like others have said, theatre is close and so is the exit for ports.

I loved the closeness to the water! It felt like sailing on a sailboat, if you know what I mean with the proximity to the water.

Have a great cruise, whatever you decide!

 

I feel there's a big difference in maturity here. A 12 and 14 y.o. is different than 12 and 10 y.o.

[smyliecruising]

I had a cove and I actually thought they were a bit dreary as I had no sun. I left early each morning alone with a carafe of coffee and went to an aft deck up top and enjoyed the rising sun nearly by myself each day. I much prefer the open space of the open deck to a cove balcony. If your cove is in the aft it wouldn't be a big deal to travel up to the top floor but if you must travel the length of the ship also that can get tiresome each time you need something from the room.

[momonthego17]

I feel there's a big difference in maturity here. A 12 and 14 y.o. is different than 12 and 10 y.o.

 

Sure is! I made my comment more about the ease we had getting to the Lido from the Cove Balcony. And how much I enjoyed being close to the water. The OP just knows I had two DDs travelling with me.

Now they are really mature at 13 & 15, not!:D

[MisterOJ2]

Hey guys,

 

Thanks for the info so far. Just checked today and the price is still the same, but we are still on the fence. Youngest daughter and I are leaning toward staying up to in the interior, but the wife and eldest daughter are leaning toward the cove balcony.

 

The two rooms we're looking at are 2275 and 2279. I think those will not be under the galley, but could someone a bit more knowledgeable about these things confirm that for me?

 

Thanks again!

[BigB0882]

2275 and 2279 are under Guest Services. No noise at all. I stayed in one of those cabins on my first Dream cruise. It was a great cabin and we loved the location. If you eat in the Crimson Dining Room it is super convenient to that. Do you guys have Anytime Dining?

 

I realize someone said kids don't care about the things I mentioned as being positives and they are right, that is for each person/family to consider for themselves what is most important.

Edited February 25, 2016 by BigB0882

[luv2trvlnow]

Hey guys,

 

Thanks for the info so far. Just checked today and the price is still the same, but we are still on the fence. Youngest daughter and I are leaning toward staying up to in the interior, but the wife and eldest daughter are leaning toward the cove balcony.

 

The two rooms we're looking at are 2275 and 2279. I think those will not be under the galley, but could someone a bit more knowledgeable about these things confirm that for me?

 

Thanks again!

 

Those cabins are not under the galley, but under guest services. Should be quiet. I would choose 2279 over 2275, because Cabin 2275 is a connecting cabin.

[MexicoCruzinMomma]

It's what you really want. Yes Deck 9 is close to the Lido deck. But Deck 2 is close to the theater, dining rooms, Oceans Plaza, and Deck 0. Deck 0 is where you get off and on the ship when in ports. It is nice not to have to wait for an elevator when everyone else is wanting to use it to, when getting back on in port, going to dinner, after a show, etc.

 

We had a cove balcony on the Breeze and never found it a problem to catch an elevator up to the Lido deck. Just be sure you don't get one under the Galley (can be noisy). The galley is between the aft and mid ship elevators. So forward of the mid ship elevators and you should be all right. We were in Cabin 2294 and heard it was pretty quiet.

 

 

Hey Im staying in 2294 in 46 days, but on the Dream..

Edited February 25, 2016 by MexicoCruzinMomma
add

[eeyoreme]

These 2 cabins are both under the Guest Services desk.

[MisterOJ2]

2275 and 2279 are under Guest Services. No noise at all. I stayed in one of those cabins on my first Dream cruise. It was a great cabin and we loved the location. If you eat in the Crimson Dining Room it is super convenient to that. Do you guys have Anytime Dining?

 

I realize someone said kids don't care about the things I mentioned as being positives and they are right, that is for each person/family to consider for themselves what is most important.

 

We will be doing Anytime Dining, but we really don't like eating in the MDR all that often. Ideally, we'd only eat there a couple times on a 7-day cruise. I don't think we attended a single event in the theater on our last cruise on the Dream either.

 

So really, the location of the cove cabins doesn't offer us much of anything - other than easy debarking on our two ports. (I'm assuming it doesn't really help at a tender port like Grand Cayman.)

 

We'd really only choose it for the cabin itself.

[fmrlkr]

DH and I will be in cabin 2277 on the March 6th cruise. This will be our third cove and will continue to choose them anytime we can. The only cabin we liked better was an aft wrap around balcony we lucked into one time. We have never had an inside cabin and only a few times have we had an ocean view. DH and I enjoy walking around the ship so location is not a factor. We also like to spend time on the balcony. We will order room service in the morning and drink coffee as the sun comes up. In the afternoon we will sit out there and read. After dinner we will go out and watch the waves break. I prefer that the balcony is not in direct sun since I am not supposed to be in direct sun (which makes for interesting Caribbean cruises.) We like to watch people coming and going on port days. We love that it is so close to the water.

[RuthlessBoss]

Hey guys,

 

Thanks for the info so far. Just checked today and the price is still the same, but we are still on the fence. Youngest daughter and I are leaning toward staying up to in the interior, but the wife and eldest daughter are leaning toward the cove balcony.

 

The two rooms we're looking at are 2275 and 2279. I think those will not be under the galley, but could someone a bit more knowledgeable about these things confirm that for me?

 

Thanks again!

 

The coves are indeed great, but my references to lido is it would be easier for kids to reach the things easily and for you to track them more easily instead of always dealing with elevators.