Cja921 Posted July 13, 2019 #1 Share Posted July 13, 2019 My husband and I are taking our first cruise in November for our 20th Anniversary! We are on Carnival Paradise for a 5 day cruise and are going to the Grand Cayman Islands and to Cozumel. To upgrade from an ocean-view room to a balcony room it is almost $900 additional. For those who have do e this before is the balcony worth that much or should I spend my money elsewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmoo here Posted July 13, 2019 #2 Share Posted July 13, 2019 4 minutes ago, Cja921 said: My husband and I are taking our first cruise in November for our 20th Anniversary! We are on Carnival Paradise for a 5 day cruise and are going to the Grand Cayman Islands and to Cozumel. To upgrade from an ocean-view room to a balcony room it is almost $900 additional. For those who have do e this before is the balcony worth that much or should I spend my money elsewhere? So that's $90 per person per day to have a balcony. For me - not worth it. I'd use the extra money for an excursion. But, if you're people who plan to spend most of your time in your room, on a balcony (if you have one), it could be worth it to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted July 13, 2019 #3 Share Posted July 13, 2019 After booking a balcony/veranda for our upcoming S. America cruise in December, I read here about how if it's going to be really hot (YES!) or really cold, then it might be a waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted July 13, 2019 #4 Share Posted July 13, 2019 I agree with Shmoo, $90 per person per day is too much. Have a great cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasekeye Posted July 13, 2019 #5 Share Posted July 13, 2019 For a longer cruise with lots of sea days we spring for a Balcony, but that sounds expensive to me, so I wouldn’t bother at that price and length of cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted July 13, 2019 #6 Share Posted July 13, 2019 (edited) Balcony cabins are quite addictive - once you've experienced one you'll want to repeat. There basically weren't balcony cabins on the sort of cruise ships we sailed for some years, we didn't know what we were missing - so we didn't miss it. And if you stick with ocean-view for your first cruise, you won't miss having a balcony either. But if during the cruise you hanker for a balcony cabin, console yourselves with a cocktail or two. Or three or four - and you're still in profit for the day BTW, balcony cabins are anti-social. You'll tend to hide away on your balcony instead of mixing. Yes, we've had balcony cabins. But we're picky about the cost and the value. Cost & value don't mean the same thing - at a given price a cruise in good weather, with lots of sea-days, and a few wonderful sail-ins a balcony is worth so much more than on an itinerary or at a time of year when the weather is cool or unreliable, and the ports come thick & fast. (Clo - I don't know about the west coast, but if your cruise is east coast then it fits the former . And the Rio sail-in especially is great ) Just MHO as always JB Edited July 13, 2019 by John Bull 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipmaster Posted July 13, 2019 #7 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Balcony / port - partial view versus inside, and also suite are all very personal. There is the can you afford it ( IE by splurging ) does anything else get cut or do you get a bill that you can't pay when you return? If none of that comes down to your principle of luxury, value and decadence, LOL. We've been mostly insider cruisers as we spend little time in our cabin, we have splurged for suite/balcony and on our Alaska, found it neat, but from a value/space, while nice clearly not money well spent. I'd take a cruise inside, worse cabin on ideal ports/schedule for same money on a less ideal cruise with suite anyday. All other things like food/service the same, says whether I'd pay one cent more. But having said that we always look at the differential and most often than not opt for the cheapest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed01106 Posted July 13, 2019 #8 Share Posted July 13, 2019 I don’t think it is worth it. First, I would rather spend my money elsewhere. Second, I would rather spend my time elsewhere. If I had a balcony, I would be tempted to sit on it, rather than go up to the pool deck. But hiding in my room defeats much of the point of traveling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted July 13, 2019 #9 Share Posted July 13, 2019 I always take a balcony, but gee that seems high for 5 nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted July 13, 2019 #10 Share Posted July 13, 2019 2 hours ago, John Bull said: (Clo - I don't know about the west coast, but if your cruise is east coast then it fits the former . And the Rio sail-in especially is great ) We're sailing Rio to Buenos Aires. I bet that sail-in is stunning. It's a beautiful city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armac Posted July 14, 2019 #11 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Over the years we have sailed in everything from a suite to an inside on deck two in no particular order. I agree with most posters that each cruise should be assessed individually. Sometimes the price and itinerary (warm weather) make sense for a balcony and sometimes not. We currently have three future cruises booked one inside one balcony and one window. Whichever you choose have a great cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalspin Posted July 14, 2019 #12 Share Posted July 14, 2019 When it's just my husband and I, our habit is to stick with an oceanview and scope out the best places to sit/read/drink foo-foo drinks with a view. But economy can (and should) be a factor. We have two balconies booked where our group will be five, and two cabins with balconies were just about the same cost as three OVs, so we went with that! I'm one of those people that have had balconies where it's either too hot or too cold to get much use from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kartgv Posted July 14, 2019 #13 Share Posted July 14, 2019 (edited) That is pretty high, but it all depends on your preferences. For our first few cruises, we couldn't afford balconies, in fact very few ships even had many back when we first started cruising (+/- 1980), so we didn't know what we were missing. Now we couldn't stand being without one. One of our favorite things about a cruise is the ability to step out onto the balcony early in the morning or late at night, just to snap a sunrise photo, get a breath of fresh sea air, and admire the skies and the sound of the waves - in our PJ's, without all the preparations that would be necessary to go to a public deck for a similar experience. We don't often sit out on the balcony for extended periods, but we've experienced so many ocean/shoreline/port details from our balcony that would have been missed if we hadn't had a balcony. I'd say, if you can afford it, go for it - you won't regret it. Edited July 14, 2019 by Kartgv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean_B Posted July 14, 2019 #14 Share Posted July 14, 2019 We are taking our first cruise in Oct 2020 and we decided to Balcony. Deck 8, so sandwiched between two passenger decks (less noise) and mid-ship, so less ship movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCC retired Posted July 14, 2019 #15 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Way too much for a Balcony on a short 5 night cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALWAYS CRUZIN Posted July 14, 2019 #16 Share Posted July 14, 2019 No matter the price. You must consider how much you would use a balcony. Some use it a lot to sit out and enjoy the weather and get some sun. All we ever did was watch when the ship is arriving or departing a port. Can do the same on deck. Also. many balcony cabins take away from the room size for the balcony. In that case. An OV cabin can actually be much larger. On some ships, if the OV cabin is directly below a balcony cabin and the same size of the balcony cabin including the balcony itself. It will have two bath rooms. One with a tub / shower and a sink. The other with the commode etc. So it depends a lot on what you might like and the ship itself. As everyone is saying. In this case. To expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquahound Posted July 14, 2019 #17 Share Posted July 14, 2019 $90 per person per day? For a 5 day cruise? This may not be the answer you're looking for but if I was to be totally honest, I wouldn't upgrade to a balcony. I would use that money to upgrade to a better ship. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare SRQbeachgirl Posted July 14, 2019 #18 Share Posted July 14, 2019 For 5 days on the Paradise, I wouldn't pay that much. Paradise has a really good Serenity area, so if you want some relaxation and a great view, I highly recommend spending time there and saving that $900 for something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lenquixote66 Posted July 14, 2019 #19 Share Posted July 14, 2019 On 7/13/2019 at 4:49 PM, Cja921 said: My husband and I are taking our first cruise in November for our 20th Anniversary! We are on Carnival Paradise for a 5 day cruise and are going to the Grand Cayman Islands and to Cozumel. To upgrade from an ocean-view room to a balcony room it is almost $900 additional. For those who have do e this before is the balcony worth that much or should I spend my money elsewhere? We did an upgrade in 2008 to a balcony for a 7 day cruise.I was on the balcony twice and my wife 3 times.We will never do this again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erby2283 Posted July 15, 2019 #20 Share Posted July 15, 2019 I can usually find an entire 7 day cruise on a balcony for less than $900 (each) so to pay that much to upgrade to for two people seems quite high to me. For your first cruise, I think an oceanview would be just fine. Asses how much you're outdoors to get a feel for whether you'd want one next time. Use the money on excursions for some dinners at some of the pay restaurants...or don't and use it for your next cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted July 15, 2019 #21 Share Posted July 15, 2019 I personally think that a balcony is a total waste of money - unless it is free. However, different strokes etc. DON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sauer-kraut Posted July 16, 2019 #22 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Way too much for a balcony .... you can use that $900 and go on another cruise!!! I just did an Alaska cruise at the end of May for $350 per person. Granted it was an inside cabin, but it was fine and we had great views from other areas of the ship. No way would I pay that much for a balcony! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted July 16, 2019 #23 Share Posted July 16, 2019 On 7/13/2019 at 4:49 PM, Cja921 said: My husband and I are taking our first cruise in November for our 20th Anniversary! We are on Carnival Paradise for a 5 day cruise and are going to the Grand Cayman Islands and to Cozumel. To upgrade from an ocean-view room to a balcony room it is almost $900 additional. For those who have do e this before is the balcony worth that much or should I spend my money elsewhere? An additional $450 per person increase for a balcony, or $90 more per day, seems absurd for a Carnival ship. Don’t they run just about $100 per person/day for the ocean view? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF Posted July 16, 2019 #24 Share Posted July 16, 2019 That is a big price spread. And I say that as someone who always cruises in a suite. 😄 I really like having a balcony. Getting up early and sitting watching the waves march by. Or late at night, to enjoy the sound of the water and seeing the stars. And in a "practical" matter, you cannot join the balcony club, without a balcony. 😄 😄😄 Only you can decide. If this will be your only cruise, or only for a long time, I would splurge. But if this is the start of many cruises, wait, book your next one further ahead and get a balcony at a better price. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KmomChicago Posted July 16, 2019 #25 Share Posted July 16, 2019 This is one of the problems with Fantasy class ships. They were the last big mass market ships built without tons of balconies. Some have been welded onto the ship but they are still scarce and command this ridiculous premium price. On any of the newer Carnival ships there are a lot more balconies and so typically the price difference is less drastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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