Balcony or no Balcony

[Cathy Young]

We will be cruising to Alaska in May 2006 and have booked an inside cabin for 4 (Myself, my husband, son & daughter). It would be $1,000 more to have a window, and $2,000 more for a balcony. Is it worth $2,000 to have a balcony for a week? We thought we would just go on deck to see the view, and use the money we saved on shore excursions. Do you use the balcony a lot? I know we will not be in the room very much on the days we are in port.

[love2travel826]

We booked a balcony on the Radiance of the Seas (RCCL) for

June 3rd, 2006 departure. Everyone I talked to (and even reading posts on these boards) said if you are ever thinking about getting a balcony....Alaska is the one place that is worth spending the extra money to get one. So, we did just that! Hopefully it will benefit us the way we think it will. :)

[OnTheJourney]

Hi:

I heard the same thing from several people- that it is worth the extra money, although others who have gone have told me they had no problem with going out on the deck. I'm not much of a crowd-type person (so why am I going on an alaska trip??), so am looking forward to the verandah room that we booked with HAL.

 

Keith

[Budget Queen]

For $2000??? Never would be an option for me. I spend all my time out on deck and see it all. :) You can do a lot of great touring, which is always superior to any cabin with that money, especially if you have to cut back to pay for that more costly cabin.

[zarleydog]

We've just booked an inside cabin on Diamond Princess southbound. This will be my first inside cabin (five previous cruises, once to Alaska).

Our plan was to book an inside with easy access to the public decks. On Diamond, we looked at the Aloha deck aft, near the Terrace Pool, and also Lido deck directly under the Spa, and adjacent to the pool areas. We wanted to save on the cabin as we're touring inland five days pre-cruise. On our first Alaska cruise we spent the day in Glacier Bay up top, moving about for the best views (Window, no balcony only on that trip). I'll miss the window/balcony first thing in the morning, I suppose, but it saved us close to $1000 on the price.

[frames]

Last summer we booked an inside cabin for the four of us (wife, daughter, son, and myself). The price was just too good to pass up. The money we saved was used towards shore excursions. We had a great time.

 

On our first cruise to Alaska, just my wife and I, we did have an oceanview. We really did enjoy the views. If we (two of us) go again, we'll probably get oceanview/balcony.

 

Either way, you can't go wrong!

 

Enjoy Alaska!

[49holding]

I cruised to Alaska this past August on the Serenade of the seas in a balcony cabin and while we especially I enjoyed it,we had perfect weather. We also spent alot of time on deck and in the public rooms. For our balcony it was about $800 more total for the balcony cabin vs the inside across the hall for my kids. If your weather is terrible ( cold,rain,Fog) than the balcony is not worth it...its a crap shoot. Next time I think I would go with an inside to save money.

[robntawn]

We went on the Volendam last summer and had perfect weather, but still rarely used our balcony. It was nice, but not $2000 nice. This summer we are going on the Volendam again, and have booked an inside Aft cabin, which has a window and a semi-private balcony just outside our door!

[Casey2]

We were on the Radiance of the Seas this past Sept. We booked an inside cabin and used the money we saved for shore excursions and 3 days in Vancouver. This was our first cruise that we did not have a balcony. We were very rarely in our room and spent alot of time on deck watching scenery or doing other things.

[sk84fungirl]

Hello everyone! This is my first post here. Referred to this site by some Fodorites.

 

I've cruised a few times and prefer inside cabins. This will be my first Alaskan cruise (June 2006). Unless I can book the romance suite, or a really large cabin with a balcony at a reasonable price, I'm just going to skip it. I defintely don't have to have a window. Besides, I think June is the time when there is extended daylight. When I am IN my room, I will likely be sleeping. Don't want the sunlight to seep through a black curtain ;) .

[Chat Noir]

We had a balcony June 2005 Alaska cruise. Just booked a window for our May 2006 Alaska cruise. I don't think I'd like inside in Alaska, but we found we used our balcony more as a window than for the balcony itself. After I go enough times, maybe I'd be happy inside, but for now, I'm still looking forward to keeping curtains open for viewing while enjoying some quiet time occasionally.

[Crusin'Cousins]

We prefer the balcony also for the Alaska sailings. If you feel comfortable about getting a balcony, you may want to consider one at the very back of the ship. At the back of the ship you are protected from the cool, wendy breezes.

 

At times it was downright cold up on the deck but back in our aft cabin, on the balcony, we were actually able to soak up the sun's rays in our shirtsleeves for several hours on the sea days.

 

Either way, you will love your experiences in Alaska, we did!

[MCManders99]

When I was on the Sun Princess in May 05, we booked a balcony, which was our first cruise. I don't regret it. I am a short person, and not an early bird either. I spent most of my time looking out my balcony rather than the top deck. By the time I got on deck, it was crowded, especially in Glacier Bay and College Fjord. Half the time, I saw back of heads while on top deck. I saw more whales from my balcony than the deck. When whales were spotted, I couldn't see and if it were on my side of the ship, I went back to the room and watched them from the balcony.

But everyone is different. Oh Yeah It was our honeymoon, so we spent time in our room and spent time alone on our balcony.

[Lorabelle]

I've cruised Alaska both in an inside cabin and also a room with a balcony. We absolutely loved the balcony, used it all the time and would highly recommend it if it is affordable to you and reasonably priced compared to an inside.

 

That said, I think $2000 is waaaay too much extra to pay just for a balcony. You can do some nice excursions with that money, and that's what I would do with it.

 

Lori

[Host Caroline]

If you book an inside on a deck that is close or on the "open" decks you will be have easy access! We had an inside on Lido deck on Diamond Princess this year and it was great.. have done Alaska in insides, oceanviews and balconies and would not pay significantly more for a balcony.. there are so many other things to spend your $$ on there -- tours etc.

[Cathy Young]

Thanks everyone for the great posts. We would love to have a balcony, but after reading everyones response we have decided to stick with the inside cabin. It sounds like most of you that had balconies enjoyed them, and if it was a small difference in price we would up grade, but considering the jump in cost, we will be enjoying the view form the deck!

[TrentS]

The problem with balconies is they're only on one side (or the back)... But I like to see BOTH sides, not to mention what's in front and back as well. I like having an outside with a window, but we never used our balcony in Alaska. There are so many things to see all around you that we spent most of the time out on deck. You miss a lot if you're stuck on a balcony - I don't like to miss anything ;)

[mbisson]

We will be cruising to Alaska in May 2006 and have booked an inside cabin for 4 (Myself, my husband, son & daughter). It would be $1,000 more to have a window, and $2,000 more for a balcony. Is it worth $2,000 to have a balcony for a week? .

 

For $2000 you can book yourselves a Caribbean cruise for 4 later in the year!

Yes, I like balconies, but to me personally, that's just too much of an increase.

 

-Monte

[flashdog_1]

All of the above. As BQ says, by limiting yourself to viewing only from your cabin you are missing 50% or more of the scenery. If you're exhausted and want to kick back then a balcony is wonderful. But Alaska is not like the Caribbean with the balmy breezes! Even people in balcony staterooms go on deck so they'll have the ability to rush to the other side of the ship to catch the opposing view. Believe me, there are non-crowded places for viewing on decks or from observation lounges, indoors or outdoors. You don't have to be bunched up with all the tall people where you can't see.

[winterstar]

I've never had a balcony so I don't know what I'm missing, BUT we booked an inside on our Alaska trip (ended up getting bumped to a room with a window). We were hardly ever in our room, and when we were, we were exhausted and ready for bed. We had a very busy active port schedule and used the extra money for expensive flight tours. :D

[bluedevil72]

That's a tough question and probably one only you can answer. We did have a balcony on our cruise to Alaska this past June, but it was just the two of us; I don't think there's any way I could pay $2000. Alaska is the only itinerary where I would consider paying extra for a balcony. We did think we got our money's worth because even though we spent most of our time out on the deck, it was pleasant to sit out on the balcony early in the morning, late at night , or waiting the few extra minutes while my wife got ready before going out for the evening. There's no doubt that the next time we go to the carribbean we will just have an inside and use the extra for excursions. (On second thought, when we get to go to Canada/New England some fall after we retire from teaching, we might be tempted to get a balcony then.)

[SailAways]

I certainly would not spend extra money on a balcony.

 

There are so many wonderful excursions in Alaska - and they are

rather pricey - so I would opt for those instead of a rarely used balcony

.

We had an inside cabin, and will always have one on Alaska cruises.

The only time we would opt for a balcony would probably be to the

Panama Canal.

 

There are wonderful views the entire cruise on the Inside Passage.

We spent any time we were not sleeping or eating right out on deck.

 

Absolutely breath taking - Enjoy your cruise.

[alaskanbabes]

We crusied for the first time july 2005 and we spent more time on the balcony then anywhere else on the ship. looking at all that scenery in your pajamas sipping hot chocolate from room service everyday was the greatest relaxation i've ever experienced.

 

We are going back this summer!

[Love Cruis'n]

If you can swing a balcony -WITHOUT SACRAFICING ANY EXCURSIONS - than I'd go with a balcony. Loved ours in Alaska last summer. BUT - if it means not taking a helicopter to land on a glacier, or some other excursion, then go with the inside cabin.

 

However, perhaps if there is enough time you can find a way to " eat mac and cheese" one night a week, and give up some other things before the cruise, so you can do the balcony & the excursions.

 

Just an idea.:)

[Onessa]

Balcony - well worth the price!