Balcony worth it?

[back.2.cruising]

Hello everyone,

 

Rogjt now I’m seeing a Balcony on our upcoming cruise would be about $500 or so or more dollars than I paid for our interior. However, it’s in the rate where you can’t pick your room. My cruise in July. If I decided to upgrade, when would you recommend it?

 

Thank you again. 

[ricew001]

I've cruised with and without balconies. Only you can decide if your budget works with the price. Hubby had always been of the mind set well we dont spend that much time in our room anyway - until I got a balcony for $100 and he LOVED IT. We may never sail without one again. I enjoyed the fresh air (I get sea sick) and how we got to see so much of the Mississippi River as we left New Orleans.

But for $500 I'd probably just take a shorter cruise with that money myself.

 

I often compromise with the ocean view.

[Hoosierpop]

This is one of those topics that really does depend on what you value. I know people who won’t cruise unless they have a balcony. For me, I’d rather spend that money on something else.

 

Have you had a balcony before or would this be your first?

[Joe817]

Last July was our first cruise. We booked late, as I later learned, around May 6. I wanted a balcony! My wife wanted an ocean view, because it was cheaper. In one of the few time in our loonnnggg history, I prevailed. We were going to have a balcony come hell or high water. My wife loved it! I knew I would, and I did. We spent SO much time out there.

 

When booking we had no idea what we were doing. We chose a GTY(guaranteed) cabin....let them choose. Well we wound up with a cove balcony on deck 2, cabin # 2375 on the Dream out of Galveston. It was more than I could have ever 'dreamed' of(pun intended). It was so relaxing, being so close to the water, and having the lifeboats above us was a blessing in disguise. It kept the sun off of us, in the shade, and even when it rained it shielded us from getting wet. Here's some pics of our cove balcony. Try it, you'll like it:

 

 

[Pyrate13]

Agree, this is a personal preference. We've had OV a couple of times but we find that we spend much more time in our cabin when we have a balcony and now, won't sail without one. It's our favorite place to sit and relax onboard.

[Darwal]

We sail with 4 people to a room and love having a balcony.  We think it makes the room feel bigger and being able to go sit and relax in your own privacy is wonderful.  I don’t think I would upgrade for $500 though, that seems a bit steep.

[thesmiths]

It is a personal preference and my personal preference is a balcony.

We had friends in a non balcony cabin, we went to visit and just felt closed in.

 

They came to our cabin and kept coming back to our cabin to enjoy the balcony.

 

We spend a lot of time out there.

 

My favorite part is .

And Enjoying the scenery from our balcony.

 

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by thesmiths

[LuckyStar]

25 minutes ago, ricew001 said:

I've cruised with and without balconies. Only you can decide if your budget works with the price. Hubby had always been of the mind set well we dont spend that much time in our room anyway - until I got a balcony for $100 and he LOVED IT. We may never sail without one again. I enjoyed the fresh air (I get sea sick) and how we got to see so much of the Mississippi River as we left New Orleans.

But for $500 I'd probably just take a shorter cruise with that money myself.

 

I often compromise with the ocean view.

When I cruise with my husband, we tend to sit on our balcony and drink coffee or a cocktail, so we have sailed with both.  With my sisters, we are never in our room and a balcony is totally wasted.  

[atobols]

A balcony is nice, but it's not always worth the added expense IMO.  In Alaska, I want a balcony because there is so much to see.  We did a cruise from SF to Hawaii.  That was 15 days long and we had a balcony.  It wasn't worth the added expense.  There wasn't much to see for most of that cruise.  It was rainy, cold, and we stayed inside until we got to the islands. 

 

That being said, we usually opt for the balcony because we're cramming 4 people in a room and two of them are teenage boys.  I need all the extra space I can get 🙂

[crzndeb]

As you can see by all the replies, it really is a personal choice. I have a hearing sensitivity to the doors slamming on Carnival balcony cabins, so after one time (for 25 days), I won’t have one again. 
Also be aware that some people can’t abide by the no smoking rules on balconies either, so there is always a chance you might be close to one of those people.

Don’t know what ship you are on, but do they have 4J cabins? Those are considered an interior, but have a window at the front of the ship, with a huge deck outside you can go out on. 
I would look at price for an OV first, before spending $500 more on a balcony that could be in a horrible location. But again, it’s your choice.

[SDPadreFan]

If the weather supports it, there is nothing better than enjoying room service coffee on the balcony as the day starts. That said, there are times when I think a balcony can be wasted. We did a 12 day Med cruise in mid November one year. Went with just an inside cabin and saved a bunch of cash (to be used on tours). Our port calls started early and ended as the sun was setting (shorter days in Nov). We knew our mornings would be spent loading up on breakfast and at the end of the day with darkness approaching we would be getting ready for dinner. So a balcony just wouldn't be used that much and the inside cabin was just fine over those 12 days.

 

Itinerary matters, so think about how/when you would use a balcony and make your decision with that knowledge. We love balconies (especially when we can score a bigger one than normal) 45 sq ft is usable, but get lucky and get an 85 sq ft one or larger and you will be in heaven. That doesn't necessarily mean an aft balcony - you just have to look for the others.

[ray98]

Depends on the price for us.  Balconies aren't worth doubling the fare for us.  We probably end up in them 1/4th of the time when it is budget friendly.

[dlphn501]

I'm just repeating more of what's been said here, but itinerary definitely matters.  I think the aforementioned Alaskan cruise would be worthy of a balcony.  I am cheap, and i'd rather save the money for Cheers and excursions.  There are secret decks and serenity where you can get the views shown in the photos above.  you also need to factor in how long the cruise is.  I just got back from a 3-day on Liberty that cost $500 for 3 of us (oceanview), so no way I'd be paying another $500 for a balcony. I would like to point out the size difference of a balcony cabin compared to an oceanview, as several have mentioned they like the "extra space".  Standard balcony cabins are smaller than oceanview cabins on most ships, so you do not have more space.  You do have "separate" or "private" space, however, if you want to close the curtains and "put the boys outside while the girls get ready" kind of situation.  Also, since you can't pick the cabin, you are taking a gamble that the $500 is actually an upgrade.  Look at the deck plans to make sure you would be okay with ANY balcony cabin on the ship.

As much as I appreciate the extra space of a standard ocean view cabin, I would be tempted to "splurge" for a balcony IF I could pick my cabin AND it wasn't much of a price increase.  Finally, if young kids will be in the cabin, it would make me nervous to leave them alone for even a minute.

[coevan]

We would never sail without a balcony. Like the Padre Fan, we enjoy room service every morning on the balcony, great way to start the day

[jeditden]

My general rule of thumb is I need to have at least 2 days "at sea" where I'll be able to really enjoy the balcony.  I wouldn't think I'd get my true money's worth if I was i a port every day, not being able to really take advantage of the open air nothingness.  Just my opinion though.  I'm sure there's some folks who love a balcony for people watching in ports 😋

[john91498]

We started only reserving balconies 5 years ago when my children were very young. We used to only do ocean view, but we got an upgrade offer to a balcony for $120. Since then, we only get balcony.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

2 hours ago, back.2.cruising said:

Hello everyone,

 

Rogjt now I’m seeing a Balcony on our upcoming cruise would be about $500 or so or more dollars than I paid for our interior. However, it’s in the rate where you can’t pick your room. My cruise in July. If I decided to upgrade, when would you recommend it?

 

Thank you again. 

Only if you end up using it a lot.  We have cruised in every different room available below and including a full suite. Our choice for years has been the ocean view. Sometimes the ship only has balcony rooms. We might sit out there a few times to get some sun. Take some pictures form it. Other than that, not for us at all. That money can better be spent donating to the casino 😎 Remember, most of the time you only sleep, get dressed and leave, return and change for the evening and leave. If you went to the beach or the pool or any other sweating activity you take a shower get dressed and leave. So consider on how much you might use it before spending the money. You can always do it once. Then you will know for sure.

[dmdiver]

I've sailed in inside, window & balcony cabins.  Insides are great for climate control, since you don't have the large expanse of glass.  Also, they are great if you like to take naps.  However, if you spend a lot of time in your cabin, you may prefer a window or balcony.  I enjoy a balcony, even though I don't spend lots of time out there.  They are great for just relaxing without all the noise that you would experience out on a public deck.  They are a fantastic place to read a book.  A lot of times, if it is just hubby & me, we will get an inside.  When we travel with our friends from out of state, we get balconies that can have the divider opened between them so we can all sit out & talk.  For Alaska, we are sailing in a balcony because it is a scenic cruise.  Whether we spend lots of time out there will depend on the weather, but at least if there is something photo-worthy, I can go out to get some pics & go back inside.  

 

It really is a very personal decision.  You have to kind of walk through a typical day at sea & determine how much you will actually use a balcony.  I think if there are more than 2 in a cabin, a balcony would make the week a lot easier.  Sometimes you may have to consider whether you want to save that balcony money to go toward excursions or sock it away for your next cruise.

[rukkian]

My wife and I would rather cruise less than not get a balcony, but not everybody is like us.  I like to get away from crowds periodically during the day and get some downtime.  Being out by the pool with blaring rap music is not my idea of relaxing on a cruise.  I love sitting on my balcony, and just watching the waves go by.  I really loved it in the middle of the night, sometimes I would wake up, and go out and just look at the stars, and the ocean going by, it is so peaceful.

 

[lenquixote66]

3 hours ago, back.2.cruising said:

Hello everyone,

 

Rogjt now I’m seeing a Balcony on our upcoming cruise would be about $500 or so or more dollars than I paid for our interior. However, it’s in the rate where you can’t pick your room. My cruise in July. If I decided to upgrade, when would you recommend it?

 

Thank you again. 

We prefer an OV to a balcony.We like to look outside but do not need to sit outside.

[capecruzer]

I recently booked an inside for what was originally going to be myself, solo, on a 3 day Victory cruise.  Just prior to booking my sister decided to join and I kept the room I had been pricing for about a month.  Not having to pay the solo supplement saved me half the price (approximately $200).   I kept checking the price after booking and found a one day sale for past guests where a balcony would cost $125 and grabbed it when I found reviews for a particular stateroom (#6459) that was L-shaped.  Figured I'd try it.  

 

Will it be worth the extra $125?  I think so.  I'm an early riser, sister not so much.  I'll enjoy having my coffee on the balcony in the morning, drinks in the afternoon while we each shower and get ready.  There is only one port day (Nassau) and if we get off at all it'll only be for a few hours to have wifi and check out Junkanoo Beach.  

 

I've stayed Inside, OV, balcony and aft balcony, never a suite.  I love having a balcony but it all depends on the price, the ports, the travelling partner.  I think for $40/night it makes sense....$100/night not so much.

[bahacca]

Inside- Pros- super dark. We never knew what time it was when we went to bed or woke up. My husband's phone was all wonky in AK, so we woke up on disembarkation day thinking we had an hour and 15 minutes to leave the room. We had 15! 

OV- Natural light peeks in in the morning, can look outside without weather concerns. We do these when we go in Jan. to Catalina and Ensenada. We do not play weather roulette during that time of year. Every year it has been stormy. (And I think Imagination and Inspiration have no balconies or very few of them anyway)

Balcony- I will get one in the Caribbean where it is generally warm and nice to be one one. My parents had one in AK that was great for watching scenery, but it was too cold for my Phoenix/S. CA blood. Also, the view is so narrow, that I preferred to be on one of the upper decks to really take in the WHOLE view. 

My next cruise in the Caribbean I sprung for a balcony. For a 7 day, it was less than $450/person, and we didn't do a vacation last year. I would not spend $500 for 2 people to upgrade to a balcony.

[Firepath]

2 hours ago, crzndeb said:

As you can see by all the replies, it really is a personal choice. I have a hearing sensitivity to the doors slamming on Carnival balcony cabins, so after one time (for 25 days), I won’t have one again. 
Also be aware that some people can’t abide by the no smoking rules on balconies either, so there is always a chance you might be close to one of those people.

Don’t know what ship you are on, but do they have 4J cabins? Those are considered an interior, but have a window at the front of the ship, with a huge deck outside you can go out on. 
I would look at price for an OV first, before spending $500 more on a balcony that could be in a horrible location. But again, it’s your choice.

Those 4J's sound like a win-win. Does anyone know what ships or lines have them?

[Zach1213]

37 minutes ago, rukkian said:

My wife and I would rather cruise less than not get a balcony

 

 

Exactly how we are. If we can't afford a balcony, then it's not a time to cruise...we'll look at a different itinerary, or different type of vacation. We need the view to avoid claustrophobia, but also an escape from all of the damn people. The best thing to do on a vacation, for us, is to sit on that balcony and enjoy the view. It doesn't matter if that view is just of endless ocean, it's a necessity. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

Those who do inside cabins have the opportunity to put on the bridge cam on the TV. During the sleeping hours it is dark and as the sun comes up. You get to see how the day is.