Inside cabins

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

I have traveled in a variety of staterooms ranging from a mini-suite to an inside stateroom. For each cruise, I compare the prices of the different categories and consider the itinerary. If the itinerary is very port-intensive, I usually get less benefit from having a balcony. However, if the itinerary features many sea days, I usually receive more benefit from having a balcony. If the cost of upgrading to a balcony is reasonable and there are a number of sea days, I will probably book a balcony stateroom.

 

For example, I decided to book a mini-suite on a four-day cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver on the Coral Princess this past May because the room was reasonably priced. In contrast, I booked an inside stateroom on an eight-day (port-intensive) Japan cruise that I took on the Diamond Princess this past July.

 

There is nothing wrong with booking an inside stateroom. On the positive side, it is easier to sleep because the room can become very dark. However, I am always careful to set my travel alarm (it would very easy to oversleep and miss an early shore excursion).

 

Chuck

[Raring to go]

My husband needs total dark to sleep, so it's an inside cabin for us. If I travel with friends, we book a balcony if there are more than two or three sea days.

 

 

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[dmdiver]

I would say my preference is balcony, but the reality is that we don't spend a lot of time in the cabin. I've gone back & forth. I will say that inside cabins are great for catching a nap. They also tend to stay cool since there is no window area to let in the sun & heat. Only one time did we use the tv tuned to the bridge cam. It bugged me to have the tv on all the time. You could do a test run by doing a shorter trip in an inside if it's convenient to do so. Obviously if you have to fly to port, you might as well make it worth it & book at least a week. More than a week, I think I'd like at least a window, though.

[GUT2407]

Hi fellow cruisers we have always booked a balcony cabin - now considering doing inside, could you give me reasons why you wouldn't book an inside - our thinking is we would have more money for more cruises - any advice appreciated

 

1. I'm claustrophobic

 

2. Can't see hear or smell the ocean

 

3. No idea if it's day or night when I wake up

 

4. No idea if it's hot or cold when I dress for the day

 

5. Mrs Gut would kill me.

[joybook]

Our first 3 cruises were with a balcony. Ever since we have had inside cabins. To have a balcony is great but for the amount of time we actually spent on them we found it difficult to justify the extra cost. After all you can see everything (with more flexibility) from the decks anyway. I wasn't sure that I would be able to handle an inside cabin as I like the light but I have found them to be no problem at all and we have done cruises as long as 31 days duration in an inside. We are about to have another of 35 days.:)

[Siora7777]

I prefer a balcony and dislike insides. They are very small and I miss the natural light and fresh air. The kind of air you can only get by stepping outside. I miss not being able to go outside throughout the trip via my own cabin access. I mean really really miss not having a balcony cabin.

 

But it depends who I go with and cost difference of each. My next cruise is a balcony there wasn't a huge difference in price. But the one after that is an inside because the balcony is more than three times more for the same itinerary and I can't rationalize that.

 

I dislike insides but am just excited to be going on a cruise. It's not balcony or nothing for me. I'd rather take an inside and still go.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Siora7777

[Gwendy]

I prefer a balcony and dislike insides. They are very small and I miss the natural light and fresh air. The kind of air you can only get by stepping outside. I miss not being able to go outside throughout the trip via my own cabin access. I mean really really miss not having a balcony cabin.

 

But it depends who I go with and cost difference of each. My next cruise is a balcony there wasn't a huge difference in price. But the one after that is an inside because the balcony is more than three times more for the same itinerary and I can't rationalize that.

 

I dislike insides but am just excited to be going on a cruise. It's not balcony or nothing for me. I'd rather take an inside and still go.

My preference is a suite, balcony will do. BUT I cruise a lot on my own and on longer cruises so with the dreaded single supplement it is an inside for me with the top deck as my "balcony". Don't like all those other people sharing my balcony though. Lol

[DVC Calif]

It all depends on your personal preference and what you're comfortable spending. We've cruised on a number of lines (Princess, NCL, RCCL, Carnival and Disney). If we knew we wanted more room for the family, we'd book a suite. If we knew we wanted to enjoy the sea days, we'd book a balcony.

 

Lately, as empty nesters, we've been happy with Inside GTY. The space is adequate for our needs and we've been lucky with upgrades. OV's mostly but once to a family suite when we booked 2 insides.

 

That being said, if you have trouble deciding, just flip a coin. Then if you find yourself "rooting" for a certain outcome ("Balcony, Balcony!"), then you should probably book a balcony as that what your heart desires.

 

HTH, Steve

[awinte2]

Have done both and ov. Depends on the intinerary. Alaska I would definitely get a balcony . The scenery is breathtaking.

After so many carribbean cruises we book inside cabin to save the money to book another cruise. We are not in our cabin much and would sooner sit on promenade deck. I am also claustrophobic but have no problems and find the room great for 2 people.

[RMM34667]

My mom and I sailed for years happily in insides. Best sleep in have ever experienced in my life. I remember on my 2nd cruise waking up thinking it was early as I am normally an early riser and finding it was 10am. But now mom loves sitting on the balcony late at night while I am hanging out at the casino. I only book balconies for her. Since I can't smoke on them it is a waste of money for me.

[RMM34667]

Ok this thread got me excited. I just shared with my mom that I upgraded us to a balcony on our next cruise. A secret is have kept for months. But it made her happy. Life is good.

[markandallan]

We have only done three cruises as a family of three (seven year old daughter). One in a junior suite on RCCL, Balcony on P&O and ocean view on Carnival.

We have found we are very rarely in the cabin and when we are even with a balcony, we just want to get out and about on the ship.

So our next cruise is an ocean view and one after that is an inside cabin.

It will mean more cruisers if we find it ok. It's a lot off extra money to pay for a slightly bigger room and a balcony that we hardly use.

There are huge balconies all over the ship that are free[emoji846]

 

 

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[neverbeenhere]

Almost every time we book a balcony, we do just one cruise. When we book an inside we do b2b or more. I love inside for sleeping darkness.

[cruiselvr1]

Hi fellow cruisers we have always booked a balcony cabin - now considering doing inside, could you give me reasons why you wouldn't book an inside - our thinking is we would have more money for more cruises - any advice appreciated

My DW and I were once asking each other the same question. Then we realized we spend most of our time on a balcony. That ended the question we had.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I think you adapt and get used to whichever cabin type you select....

 

I agree, but then I am not claustrophobic. I have booked insides, OVs and balconies depending on the prevailing fares and my travel budget at the time. I've never done a suite, though. Maybe someday on an upsell :).

[GUT2407]

I might be tempted by a cabin with a window the size of the door, but no balcony, but I spend a lot of time in my cabin and like to see, hear and smell the ocean.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I've stopped booking balcony cabins and am booking oceanview or insides for several reasons. One is that I find the balcony furniture excruciatingly uncomfortable and can't sit in one of those chairs for more than 5-10 minutes or else I'll be in pain.

 

Another reason is cost. I'd much rather save my money and book the Sanctuary instead.

 

 

I agree with Pam on both those points, however it does depend on the cruise line and the itinerary and the deals:

- On Princess, with the uncomfortable balcony furniture, and for most itineraries, we save money by having an inside cabin and spending some of the savings on the Sanctuary. However for the Med cruise we have booked for next years we have chosen a balcony.

- On Celebrity, for NZ cruises, we choose a balcony as we can get the drinks package as a perk.

 

We're quite comfortable in inside cabins. I sleep very well in those cabins, and have never had a problem with the air-con.

Edited October 15, 2016 by OzKiwiJJ

[OzKiwiJJ]

Hi,

 

I have traveled in a variety of staterooms ranging from a mini-suite to an inside stateroom. For each cruise, I compare the prices of the different categories and consider the itinerary. If the itinerary is very port-intensive, I usually get less benefit from having a balcony. However, if the itinerary features many sea days, I usually receive more benefit from having a balcony. If the cost of upgrading to a balcony is reasonable and there are a number of sea days, I will probably book a balcony stateroom.

 

 

I'm the opposite - lots of sea days = inside cabin plus Sanctuary. Lots on interesting port sailaways and I'm tempted to get a balcony. We always choose the late dinner sitting so one of us can enjoy the sights from the balcony while the other is showering.

[ukellie]

What ship???

 

We have cruised on emerald, celebrity millinium, solstice, and eclipse

[#love2cruise]

Hi fellow cruisers we have always booked a balcony cabin - now considering doing inside, could you give me reasons why you wouldn't book an inside - our thinking is we would have more money for more cruises - any advice appreciated

 

We went from balcony cabins to an interior on our Feb 2016 cruise on Royal Princess. We, also, did this to save $$ so we could cruise more often. We had no problem with the interior...nice and quite and dark. When we are not sleeping or showering or napping, we are out on the upper decks to socialize, swim ,etc or we are down on decks 5,6 and 7. GO FOR IT... and enjoy!!

[debut]

Just booked one for the trans-Atlantic on the Regal in Sept. Are they a little bigger, didn't even know about them till I read something about one the other day ,,first time on the royal ships. We are elite, most times we sail inside rooms, love it cause we get to do at least one more cruise a year! We have had 3 balconys that I remember and 2 ocean views. As long as we are on the ship, it is all good

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Just booked one for the trans-Atlantic on the Regal in Sept. Are they a little bigger, didn't even know about them till I read something about one the other day...

 

I don't know if the "sideways" insides are any larger, but their layout often makes them seem more spacious.

[martin jenkins]

the money saved on an inside goes towards our beverage package.

[DrivesLikeMario]

When I travel solo, I really don't mind an inside cabin at all. I leave the TV on to the ship's cam so I always have a "view" out to sea. I prefer having a window at least, but an inside isn't bad on a port-intensive itinerary.

For DH though, there is no way he will ever cruise in an inside cabin. Claustrophobia hits him hard and he feels trapped. Just depends on what works for you personally. ;)

[cruisue]

We have sailed on many cruises, have had outside cabins, once a balcony and now we always get a mid-ship inside cabin. Didn't feel we got much out of the balcony cabin because most of the time, the ship is sailing at night when we weren't interested in sitting on the small balcony. The outside cabins, again, not much to see when sailing and we found the windows didn't have much space to sit to look out. Inside cabins are fine for us, we don't find them too small for the 2 of us. The ones we've had gave us plenty of storage space for our belongings. We like the darkness of the room when we sleep. If we want to know what the weather is like, we put the TV on the bridge cam. Plus, the best part is the price. We are able to take a few extra excursions with the money we have saved. Don't get me wrong, if we were able to get an outside or balcony for the same price as an inside and the location was where we like to be, we would be happy to take it!