Have you stayed in an Inside cabin and would you again?

[evandbob]

We are Diamond on RCL and Platinum on CCL. Got there sailing inside cabins. For us the cabin is quantity over quality. Our vacation is spent outside of the cabin. If I was going to stay inside the cabin I would have no need to cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Good for you on getting loyalty comps. Lots of our cruise vacation consists of staying outside the cabin as well, and that to us means sitting out on the balcony.

[geoherb]

When we first started taking cruises in 1989, balcony cabins weren't a thing. There were a few suites with balconies, but not tons of cabins with them like the newer ships have. We started in an inside and moved up to outside cabins. Our first balcony cabin wasn't until 2001 on the Golden Princess. DH said he could never go back to an ocean view cabin. So I booked us an inside to keep him humble. The difference in price was enough to cover our airfare, excursions, and tips.

 

Last year we took an upsell offer to a suite on Princess that coincided with my birthday last year. It was terrific, but we went back to a balcony cabin on our next cruise and now have an inside booked for our upcoming one. The cost to upgrade to a balcony was around $600 for the two of us at the time we booked. That's more than I'm willing to pay. The ship we're going on (Royal Princess) doesn't have ocean view cabins without balconies. On the older Princess ships, we'll frequently book obstructed view cabins. DH likes the natural light.

 

Our last inside cabin was on the Caribbean Princess last August. It was a 12-day British isles itinerary. We had a fine time since it was very port intensive. It's going to be interesting to see how we do on the Royal for 15 nights in an inside cabin. We have nine days at sea.

[AnnaDarel]

Have stayed in an inside and think it's great. Love how dark it is. My traveling companion usually insists on a balcony, though. I don't need a balcony...BUT... We did our first aft last year and that was a total game changer. Holy cow did we spend a lot of time on that balcony.

[printingchick]

I have, but would not again unless it meant the difference between cruising and non-cruising. I like having a window, for the natural light, the view and to eye-ball the weather before heading up to breakfast. I haven't yet had a balcony. I just haven't been able to justify the cost. But I will pay extra for a window. That cost difference, to me, is well worth it.

[Yukonjake]

After six 3-month submarine patrols, I'm pretty sure that an inside cabin would be perfectly endurable. Heck, I never had a cabin before (enlisted, not officer)!

 

But, my first cruise is Alaska, and I think a balcony is essential, so long as I can afford it (this time).

[jazzydiver]

Five out of my six cruises have been insides. Balcony would be nice (have sailed with friends who got upgraded to one), but wallet doesn't really allow it. I'd rather cruise more often. I did enjoy the porthole cabin I got years ago (I think it was an upgrade).

 

 

I am used to insides and don't mind them at all. I nearly always turn on the TV to the bridge cam channel upon waking up to "see out". That suffices well enough for me until I can actually get out on deck.

 

 

I have cruised three times with three adults in a cabin. On the NCL Jewel-class ships I felt we had adequate room for fully unpacking and each person having a decent amount of room for their own stuff. However, on my cruise on the NCL Escape I thought it was ridiculous how much less storage space the inside cabins had! Only two shelves apiece and no drawers at all? Are you kidding? And unfortunately didn't figure out until too late that the little square stool had storage space inside.

 

 

I would certainly sail inside again, and am doing so 3-to-a-room on the Jade. But would not want to ever have 3-to-a-room on the Escape again.

[MicCanberra]

I don't think I ever want more than two in a room again, only times we had 3 was with my son as a child to a tweenager.

[soozles]

I sleep really well in an inside room. But I probably won’t do it again, I hate setting alarms on vacation, but I can easily sleep until 1 or 2 pm in an inside cabin because there’s no natural sunlight to wake me up.

[MicCanberra]

I sleep really well in an inside room. But I probably won’t do it again, I hate setting alarms on vacation, but I can easily sleep until 1 or 2 pm in an inside cabin because there’s no natural sunlight to wake me up.

That is why itinerary is a factor for us, sea days we don't care if we sleep in.:D

[shipgeeks]

Well, virtually every cruise ship has hundreds of inside cabins, and they are all booked, so they must be okay.

We cruise primarily to be on the ocean, so we prefer an oceanview cabin on a low deck.

But for those who cruise for the ports and/or the onboard amenities, an inside cabin could be just fine.

[LynnTTT]

Looking for info on inside cabins since we've never done it and are considering it.

a'

 

I look at it from a purely $$$$$$ view. Sometimes the price for an inside is literally one-half the price of a balcony. If I can go on two week long cruises in an inside a year for the price of one week in a balcony, I'll take the inside

[squick64]

There are people who will only do balconies, and there are those who will only do insides, and I guess there are those who will only do insides unless they can get upgraded for free or cheap. Most of my cruises have been/will be inside. I have an oceanview coming up, but that's only because it was the same price as an inside. I travel alone, so I'm paying more or less double as it is. I'm basically never in my cabin except to sleep and get changed and stuff, so there's no point to a balcony. I had one to Alaska, and I only went out on it a couple of times. Meanwhile, my parents won't cruise with anything less than a balcony.

 

The only thing I miss with an inside is the lack of natural light and being able to tell what's going on without having to leave my cabin, like if I wake up and wonder if it's daylight yet or if the ship's docked yet. I know there are these virtual windows/balconies, but they seem absurd to me.

[1980dory]

Over the years we have done every thing from suite to inside. Our favorite is obstructed view with us checking the floor plan for the deck and picking a cabin not so obstructed.

 

With that said, we will grab a inside if it is all that is left such as our Trans Atlantic last year from UK to USA for 15 days. The $199.00 each price tag was hard to beat.

 

When we do inside I bring battery operated tea lights that are set out on desk and in bathroom for night time visits. Works well.

 

Bob

 

 

15 days transatlantic for $199 P/P??? What ship was that? ! That's a bargain even in bilge class!

[pris993]

we have never booked inside, mostly book mini suite with balcony... i like fresh air in my cabin. Have done ocean view... can live with it. But the reason I responded is I have know a number of people who booked their first cruise as an inside and never cruised again..

[Markanddonna]

The lowest price TA I have ever seen was $399 but this was just one week before sailing. My personal best was $479.

[sykimball1498]

We have stayed in inside cabins and would do it again. We like the darkness where you can take a nap in the middle of the day. We also do OV or Balconies as well. We decide based on itinerary, price and perks included as to which type of room we will book. For instance, Celebrity you must book OV or higher to get the perks, but with NCL you can get 1 perk for an inside room. We are not in the room very much so it is manageable for a short time onboard.

[MCWescott]

We ‘field tested’ an inside on RC Brilliance just to see as we’ve always done (and loved) balconies on Brilliance before. If inside vs. balcony meant the difference between cruising or not, I’d take the inside. We know there are many many public areas to ‘sit and see’ on RC Radiance class ships that make a balcony less critical. One of reasons this our fav ship despite its age. That being said, love sleeping in an inside...dark and quiet!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[kids1stcruise]

We used to stay in insides because I was getting two cabins and this fit our budget

3 years ago the balcony cabins price was very close to an inside so I grabbed them

Now I had to book an inside gty because it was 3 weeks to the cruise and it was so.d out

I have a 4 k... and I’m thrilled

[tortoisegirl]

We spend quite a bit of time in our cabin, although that is likely at least primarily because we have only done balconies so far. My husband has insisted on them, even though he knows we could probably cruise every 18 instead of 12 months if we did insides. Even if I don't use the actual balcony much, I like lounging on the bed on sea days, reading or doing puzzle books or whatever and having a great private view outside. On each cruise the blackout curtains have been good enough to sleep during the day if desired, probably 95% blocking, but usually we'd at least leave them at least partially open to get some light to wake us up.

 

I think I'd be more ok with an ocean view if it was a huge window and the bed/couch was positioned to see outside easily. All the ones I've seen have the (small) window above the head of the bed, above the line of sight, so not too useful except for natural light. Also seems like ships don't have too many ocean view cabins - only those outside cabins that are too close to the water for balconies yet still above the crew decks.

[Floridiana]

I would rather stay home than cruise inside. We spend a lot of time on our balcony and even go out in cold weather. We never close the dark drapes and open them every night after the steward has closed them.

 

On one cruise, we had dinner with a couple who cruises in inside cabins so they could afford more cruises. They were outgoing and loved to sit and chat with other passengers in the lounges. They put the tv on the ship's forward camera to see 'outside'. If you are that type of person, an inside cabin is just fine.

[Joebucks]

I did a balcony once. It was a great room with a great view. Only sat on the balcony for about 2 hours total. I would recommend it for those who want privacy, quiet, and relaxation. Great place to read or to enjoy some wine. I also enjoyed having an extra couch

 

For me, I would probably never book one again, unless it was some kind of screaming deal. Again, I didn't use it much. It's hundreds of dollars more. I feel putting that money towards excursions, drinks, or even another cruise add more to my vacationing than the balcony. I like to be out and about on the ship, finding things to do. There's no shortage of places to see the water. Plus, I do appreciate the dark room when trying to sleep. I find the balcony to be a superior room, but a waste of money.

 

Ultimately, one of the most important things to me is going on a cruise every 6 months or so (trying to do more). Doing two balconies hurts that chance a lot as it would probably add about $1000+ vs an interior. That is not $1000 of value to me. If I had to sacrifice one cruise a year because of it, the balcony is absolutely not worth that. No not ever.

[CanobieFan]

Outside of one balcony, one exterior window, and one interior window, everything I've done has been fully interior. I like to walk around a lot so if I wanna go outside, I'd rather be on a deck and able to move around a lot rather than just the balcony.... and there's always been enough places to sit and even places not full of other people in public areas to satisfy me. Plus the bonus of the Interior being extra dark at night and not dealing with wind hitting the window/door.

[1980dory]

Five out of my six cruises have been insides. Balcony would be nice (have sailed with friends who got upgraded to one), but wallet doesn't really allow it. I'd rather cruise more often. I did enjoy the porthole cabin I got years ago (I think it was an upgrade).

 

 

I am used to insides and don't mind them at all. I nearly always turn on the TV to the bridge cam channel upon waking up to "see out". That suffices well enough for me until I can actually get out on deck.

 

 

I have cruised three times with three adults in a cabin. On the NCL Jewel-class ships I felt we had adequate room for fully unpacking and each person having a decent amount of room for their own stuff. However, on my cruise on the NCL Escape I thought it was ridiculous how much less storage space the inside cabins had! Only two shelves apiece and no drawers at all? Are you kidding? And unfortunately didn't figure out until too late that the little square stool had storage space inside.

 

 

I would certainly sail inside again, and am doing so 3-to-a-room on the Jade. But would not want to ever have 3-to-a-room on the Escape again.

 

Your first clue: Why do you think they named it, "Escape"?

[pacruise804]

I don't have much to add on topic since I've only sailed balconies. I have no problem napping during the day if I'm tired and love the privacy/extra space. If circumstances were right though I would sail inside vs. not sailing at all.

 

I do have an off topic question for Yukonjake, though:

 

Thank you for your service:) I've often wondered if in a submarine you feel the ocean like on a ship or not really since you are surrounded by the water:confused:

 

Thanks and sorry for the thread jack.

 

After six 3-month submarine patrols, I'm pretty sure that an inside cabin would be perfectly endurable. Heck, I never had a cabin before (enlisted, not officer)!

 

But, my first cruise is Alaska, and I think a balcony is essential, so long as I can afford it (this time).

[KKB]

Yes. Prefer a balcony these days & have been getting a balcony with drink package & other perks thrown in for price we would pay for interior plus paying for drink package.

BUT ANY cruise is better than NO cruise. So yes, in a heartbeat.