Inside Stateroom for First Cruise???

[teacherman]

We just came back from a 22 night S America/Antarctica cruise on HAL and had an inside cabin.  We loved it-quiet and decent size.  Now we are looking to book Azamara Journey for next February-12 night cruise in South Africa.   Considering the cost of air fare and the port intensive cruise, we are looking to get an inside room.  This will be our first time on Azamara and are wondering if the insides are "basically" the same size as an OV or Balcony stateroom (minus the balcony).  We would most likely be in the room only to sleep and change clothes.  I have looked at deck plans and the thread on staterooms, but would like some information specifically about an inside cabin on Journey.  Any information and advice is welcome.  Thank you.

[Mackdogmolly]

The interior staterooms are 158 sq ft, as opposed to 143 sq ft or 170 sq ft for ocean view ( depending on category) and 175 sq ft for verandas 

[Dr H]

• We did a very last minute booking for the intensive circumnavigation of Japan last August, and to save shekels, I booked an inside room. This coming off of a veranda on the trans-Pacific run. The room was small, definitely, but for want of a better word, very cozy. And incredibly quiet. My logic was that because there was minimal sailing and we would be in port daily, I didn't need to "waste" money for an ocean view or veranda. We were quite happy. And 2 days into the cruise, Azamara very generously moved us into a Veranda Plus room up front. The room was not noticeably larger, but the veranda was very bright, and very noisy in the morning. We got to greet the guys who dock and moor the boat over breakfast daily. Mack above me mentioned the ocean view room. Last year on our trans-Atlantic, we did an obstructed ocean view - 143 sq feet - and those rooms were dramatically smaller than either the inside or the veranda rooms. Personally, I won't book one of those again - great for a single, but you don't want to be bunking with my wife in one of those tiny rooms. An inside, having briefly been in one, would be much preferred. For us, the feeling is if we are doing a lot of sea days, the veranda is the way to go. If there are multiple ports every day or so, no need to waste the money for basically the identical Azamara product, book an inside. Hope this helps you. Oh, if you've never sailed on Azamara, you are in for a major treat. They could book you in the engine room, you will still have a fantastic time. 

[teacherman]

Thank you for a very good description.  We have 9 port days and 3 sea days, so I think we will just enjoy the sea days on the open decks.  We do not "dine" on our verandas, but only use them for some quiet reading with a glass of wine (or 2).  We are looking forward to the itinerary, and trying a new cruise line.  The way things are going with the new "virus", who knows what will happen before final payment is due in October.  Thanks, again.

[Redtravel]

Cruised before there were verandas.  Most cabins were small and had a porthole that did not open.  Later, more ships had verandas. We booked verandas. Nice to have private outdoor space and fresh air.  While nice, on most cruises, a veranda is not necessary.  Favorite cruise line is Windstar.  No verandas.  Getting outside is easy.  An Oceanview is fine most of the time.  Exception is recent a Diamond Princess.  Felt sorry for anyone stuck on that ship.  People in insides or ocean views were very limited in getting outside. After that, you will see more people booking verandas or not cruising.

[John E. Canuck]

Our first cruise was a transatlantic, 17 day passage. Inside cabin. Loved it. Tranquil. Forced us to get outdoors. Have since migrated to balcony stateroom, but don't understand why on December or winter sailings (5 pm sunsets in the Caribbean).  Wife prefers breakfast, etc. on the balcony....in case wondering why 🙂

 

Anyhow. To each his own. 

 

Go with your gut.

 

(BTW didn't like oceanview - aquarium feel to it)

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 2/27/2020 at 10:38 AM, teacherman said:

Thank you for a very good description.  We have 9 port days and 3 sea days, so I think we will just enjoy the sea days on the open decks.  We do not "dine" on our verandas, but only use them for some quiet reading with a glass of wine (or 2).  We are looking forward to the itinerary, and trying a new cruise line.  The way things are going with the new "virus", who knows what will happen before final payment is due in October.  Thanks, again.

 

You will find many public places on Azamara for quiet reading with a glass of wine (or 3...).  Our first cruise was on one of the Oceania sister ships to these in an inside cabin – and it was perfectly fine.

[flyingron]

We did the Journey in a Veranda room but we were travelling with two couples who had inside rooms.    The layout of the inside stateroom is actually a little nicer than the veranda room since they put the bed on the wall that would have been the windows.   Obviously you lose the square footage of the veranda itself, but otherwise the rooms seem comparable.

As pointed out, there's lots of nice spaces on the ship outside the staterooms and after they rip out the casinos, even more.  Sitting in the "Living Room" looking out the window was one of our favorite hangouts.