More cruises or more amenities?

[CruiseMrB]

Assuming you actually had a cruising budget, would you rather go a little more often and get a smaller (possibly interior stateroom) cabin or would you prefer to go a little less frequently but have more amenities (say, up to mini-suite level or so.) Does the uncertainty of our current circumstance play into your decisions?

 

I'll report my preference in a comment in the thread because I don't want to influence the conversation.

[snoozecrooze]

Before the pandemic, I would much prefer a higher frequency of cruises over more amenities, so I was doing just fine with interior cabins. The uncertainty of the circumstances that we're dealing with, however, is leaving me hanging. I do feel that quarantining in an interior cabin would be somewhat stifling, but at this point, I think I still prefer more cruises over more amenities. But regardless of that, I also don't have a cruise itch right now, so I'm just in a wait-and-see mode with seeing how cruise lines integrate virus tactics into their day-to-day experience over time and how successful they are.

[JF - retired RRT]

Our first cruise was in a mini. Then we were inside only and were taking 5+ cruises a year. Slowly worked up to balconies occasionally, OV a couple of times. Once cruising starts again we plan on 1 or 2 cruises a year. At least one will be in a full suite.

[CruiseMrB]

OP here.

Our standard was Oceanview, not Interior. We have scheduled a cruise for late 2021 on a boat that doesn't exist yet (Discovery Princess) and we booked a minisuite. We were going to go to at least Balcony, but we decided first time back we wanted a bit more in case we had to shelter-in-place or whatever happens.

That probably means more time between cruises, but that's where we are at the moment.

Plus, we might fall in love with the bigger room. Maybe not. We'll find out.

[Izzywiz]

The driving force for us is destination as we are keen to see and experience as much of the world as we can. Our budget is limited as are the years we have left so the cheapest inside cabin is our usual choice unless there is a specific reason to pay for a  higher grade. We have an aft balcony booked for our Celebrity Infinity cruise to the Antarctic because we know we will use it a lot but have the lowest grade inside on our Sky Princess round trip cruise from Southampton to Canada and New England.

[donswife]

Since I am still working and like my husband to cruise with me, it is primarily amenities with less frequency. That is the only way he will go. I was going to try an inside for the first time on a 3 day with my daughter, but we ended up getting an upgrade to a mini for less!!

 

[skynight]

We enjoy being on board b2b's for 5 or 6 weeks at a time. We always select a balcony cabin with the best promo possible. For us it isn't a choice between more cruises or more amenities. The choice is really what itineraries are available during the period we wish to be on board. 

[Astro Flyer]

More days in a less expensive cabin is our preference.

 

We aren’t in our cabin much & the other cruise experiences are the same except for the higher priced cabins which we never get.

 

For a couple of years I berthed in a Navy interior three bunk high berthing space on an aircraft carrier so even a cruise ship’s interior cabin is luxurious to me. ☺️ 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Astro Flyer

[atobols]

This is a conversation we often have as a family.  We love the nicer amenities but would also like to cruise as much as possible.  We're both working and our kids are still in middle and high school so our vacation time is limited.  I always say I'm willing to do an interior cabin but we never end up that way.  We usually end up at a balcony but have been know to flex anywhere between an OV and a mini-suite depending on the $/person.

[dog]

Before pandemic I went for more cruises, less amenities but never less then a balcony. 
after pandemic I am using up my FCC in a deluxe balcony, with the present offer of perks, specialty dinner, OBCs on a 12 day cruise.  And I will make my judgement after I try that if this March 2022 cruise sails. 

[neverbeenhere]

More cruises. Loyalty status (or should that be Frequency Status) brings us most the amenities we want on most lines. 

[CineGraphic]

We've cruised in everything from insides to mini-suites. (We had a suite booked on the Pacific Princess, but the sailing was cancelled)

 

Since there is an entire ship to enjoy, we don't spend much time in our cabin, and with insides often being half of the price of balconies, we stick with insides. Our "go-to" is an inside close to the aft pool so we are always only steps away from fresh air, food/drink, etc.

[casofilia]

We travel inside so we can do about 100 days a year; much prefer that than being able to do 50 in a balcony or 20 in a suite.   We cruise to see new places and talk to new people.

[PurpleHays]

I want a balcony at minimum. We splurged for a full suite 6/2021 for our 10th anniversary, but are cancelling that. 

 

Since I am still working and DH is retired, we only take one a year or so.

[donaldsc]

Outside but not a balcony.  I need outside light so an inside is unacceptable.  A balcony or anything higher is a waste of money as I can go outside on the deck if I want to be in the open air.

 

DON

[triple7tahoe]

Interesting that this got posted today. DW and I were doing some wine tasting this afternoon and talking about many of the cruises we hope to take. This came up in our discussion and almost immediately my wife said she would like to stay away from inside because "If we get disallowed from returning to a port, i don' t want to be stuck in an inside cabin".. I had not even thought about that and now find this post perfect timing 🙂

 

[suekel]

We only cruise twice a year (there have been exceptions if the casino makes an offer).  We're still working and living in Iowa, it costs to get there. So, at the minimum we do a mini suite.  Next 4 cruises are CC mini, mini, mini and full suite.  

[casofilia]

@triple7tahoe

 

We had 15 days without a port call; Muscat to Cape Town; no problem being in an Inside at all.  We were able to do everything as normal.   On another cruise we had Noro on the ship and hadn't a problem being Inside.   I can see the only problem would be if you were confined to a cabin.

[getting older slowly]

We go a cruise... for the cruise first.... ports second ... so cabin to us is important  

 

So to answer your question :- 

Assuming you actually had a cruising budget,   

 Yes we Do    

Would you rather go a little more often and get a smaller cabin or would you prefer to go a little less frequently but have more amenities like a suite   

We would most likely only go in a Suite

 Does the uncertainty of our current circumstance play into your decisions?

 No.. infact would not, if there wasn't a suite available wouldn't go

 

Don

Edited January 11, 2021 by getting older slowly

[gmjc2]

Book balcony unless tooo expensive. We love to sit outside and read with privacy, watch as we enter or leave a port and last look at the stars at night before bed!

Have cruised in oceanviews on occasion but only 2 times in an inside. Hated those!!

Elite status levels on several lines so have the perks we need. Like to cruise at least 3 times a year. 52 cruises since 2006.

[cruzsnooze]

I wouldn't sail in anything below a mini suite category. It's not enjoyable to me to sail in less so why waste my time and money.

[Kenosha Cruiser]

This is a interesting topic. I myself would probably book a interior cabin to save some money and do more cruises, but my wife says no, so we always book ocean view or balcony cabins and do 2 to 3 cruises per year. When you live in the midwest, we also have to consider flight cost, so we like to book with a good cruise promotion when all possible. I'm just happy to cruise and that my wife enjoys it as much as I do! 

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

[roxievegas]

We have done all categories of cabins.  The inside is too small, the ocean view is small, the balcony on Princess is small, but you can go outside on a small balcony (we have done the majority of travels prior to covid on Celebrity and their balcony's are larger).  We have done one suite (with Celebrity) and REALY liked it.  

Post Covid we are planning to travel in Oceanview minimum, but prefer Balcony when going with Princess.  We will have to go out of LA or San Diego and have no plans to fly.  

Now our cruising will be limited to Mexico, California Coast, Hawaii, so we will be doing a lot of repeat cruises - which is fine with us, we enjoy the cruising.

Once we hit the lottery we will be in the Suites all the time

happy sailing

[fluffybunny22]

We always book a balcony. Usually we book the biggest balcony we can find. We have an aft facing Baja deck balcony on the Enchanted booked and those are a little bit bigger than some of the other decks. We've tried interiors and found we need natural light. We've done oceanviews but once we splurged on a balcony there was no going back. This is the reason I won't book a suite because I'll never get my husband back into a balcony if he get a taste of suite life.

[voljeep]

17 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

We've cruised in everything from insides to mini-suites. (We had a suite booked on the Pacific Princess, but the sailing was cancelled)

 

Since there is an entire ship to enjoy, we don't spend much time in our cabin, and with insides often being half of the price of balconies, we stick with insides. Our "go-to" is an inside close to the aft pool so we are always only steps away from fresh air, food/drink, etc.

that was us - Pre-Corona - no problem with an aft inside - now, not so much - an obstructed balcony will be the lowest cat we will book - we usually have been going on one 7-10 day cruise, maybe 2 ( 4 to 5 ) day cruises and don't expect that to change for 21 ( if sailing ) or 2022

 

2023 is the next date projected for fly/cruise trips now for us