Promenade Cabins-Pros and Cons

[KATHYMAC68]

I’m booking a 5 night Bermuda cruise on Adventure. 1st leg of a b2b of a 9 night in a balcony to Can/NE.  So we just wanted a cheaper inside cabin.

What are the pros and cons for the Promenade cabins? Never stayed in one and I saw on a video that you can see right inside them. That’s a con… lol

What about noise from the Promenade?

Thanks in advance!

[time4u2go]

You are right...you can see into them very easily.  Be sure to keep the curtains closed when you don't want people looking in.

 

As far as noise, it depends on where the cabin is (what it's above).

[flamingos]

We did it once. It was fun and novel.

 

We won't do it again.  

[KATHYMAC68]

I just called RCI and for $142 more I got a Spacious Balcony. So I went with  that. Didn’t like that you can see into them. They should be made with the one way glass. Lol

 

[LuCruise]

We like the promenade rooms as good option for a less cost.  The extra window seat is nice plus we I enjoy just being able to look out and people watch.  Sure, people can see in but not a big deal to just close the curtains when changing.  Noise too is only an issue on say 70s night but it stops when we go to bed so a non-issue.

 

P,S, - Just saw your updated post.  Great upgrade.  Usually it's a bigger difference.

Edited June 18, 2022 by LuCruise

[brillohead]

I would avoid being over Cafe Promenade -- the drunks tend to hang out there when the nightclub shuts down, and the conversation can get loud.  

Other than that, Promenade View rooms are a budget-friendly alternative.

 

[smokeybandit]

They're a cheaper, non-claustrophobic alternative to ocean view cabins. That's really about it.

[cruiselvr04]

I prefer an inside for privacy but the set up is nice with 2 places to sit instead of one.  

[KATHYMAC68]

53 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

We like the promenade rooms as good option for a less cost.  The extra window seat is nice plus we I enjoy just being able to look out and people watch.  Sure, people can see in but not a big deal to just close the curtains when changing.  Noise too is only an issue on say 70s night but it stops when we go to bed so a non-issue.

 

P,S, - Just saw your updated post.  Great upgrade.  Usually it's a bigger difference.

That’s what I was thinking too. So it was a no brainer to just go with the balcony. I’m on a b2b too so I was able to get a room 2 doors down so it’s an easy transfer. My room was already booked ☹️

[pcur]

I have stayed in both Promenade View and Virtual Balcony inside cabins.  I like them both for the extra light coming in. 

 

Curtains need to be attended to in both rooms:  the VB lightens as the sun comes up, so close the curtains if you don't want a giant window waking you up at dawn!

[ARandomTraveler]

I've done a promenade room twice, once on the Adventure on the 7th floor (the ideal location of the 3 floors because it's not as noisy, but you're still close enough to the promenade to do some quality people watching), and the other time on the Freedom in the Ben and Jerry "sweet" which is on the 6th floor (room #6305 on the 3 Freedom class ships).
 

The Ben and Jerry suite was a fun novelty. You get some of the suite benefits like access to the concierge lounge where there's free happy hour drinks and snacks, reserved seating at the show venue, reserved pool seating, and one free ice cream cone per day (per person) at Ben and Jerry's. 
 

This will likely be an unpopular opinion, but I didn't find the suite benefits to be very enjoyable and not something I would pay extra money for, so I was glad to try them out for "free" (I do however see the benefit in paying extra for a bigger room sometimes, so I'm not knocking the suite people, just offering a differing opinion).

The lounge was small and boring. Every time I went in there, there was some blow-hard who had been over-served talking as loudly as possible about all of his crystal blocks and trying to one-up everyone he talked to about how many cruises he's taken.

 

I'm not a big drinker so while I did have a drink of wine or two during the week, I didn't find a benefit to that perk as I could have just as easily paid $25 for 2 glasses of wine, (granted, I was on vacation with my child so drinking wasn't really on my agenda and didn't fit in with the activities or  particular "vibe" of that vacation). Plus when I do drink, I generally only have a few drinks and would be fine paying out of pocket for something I wanted vs being limited to what they offer for free in the lounge. I also didn't find the snacks to be anything to write home about, and with all the free food on the ship, I didn't see this as a particular benefit.
 

The pool seating at the pool was really only a benefit (to me) when watching the belly flop contest because it was a good location for that, but I'm otherwise perfectly happy to be anywhere else on the ship where there's a lounge chair (and prefer the ones above the pool deck where I can stare out at the ocean).

 

The preferred seating at the shows was only a benefit for the ice show where most seats were filled and we showed up at the last minute. 
 

And the ice cream was fun for the first 3 days, but it was a struggle to eat ice cream 7 days in a row. My daughter and I had fun the rest of the week randomly treating strangers to free ice cream. 
 

I don't know, I think I'm just not someone who finds a lot of value in having a separate special area when there are otherwise nice places on the ship to be.

 

But I digress, my whole point was to say that the Ben and Jerry "sweet" was on the 6th floor so it was a little louder (but not that much), the view was blocked by the cow butts, so people watching wasn't a benefit, and the perks they offered in return, while fun, were not worth booking that suite again, given I didn't value them that much, and I had to give up the thing I liked about the room, which is the people watching, and I had to be on the 6th floor, which I didn't like as much as being on the 7th floor. However, I wanted to offer that insight for people who might be considering a promenade room, who may not know about the Ben and Jerry "sweet" and want to consider it. 
 

Having to close the curtains when getting dressed and sleeping didn't bother me. I like the promenade rooms, they're a good inside room option. They're also not as humid as the balcony rooms, which can be a nice change (your hair and clothes dry faster). And they're cheaper. There's lots of good reasons to book one. But also some reasons people don't like them (or prefer a different room category more). I like them, they're not terrible. I'm doing a balcony on my next cruise, and considering a crown loft suite for another, simply because I think the room is really cool, plus it has 2 bathrooms, but we'll see. 

[Luckynana]

We stayed in a Promenade cabin several years ago, and I truly enjoyed it!  We usually are in OV balconies, and have stayed twice in Oceanview cabins, which is fine, also.  Before we booked the Promenade cabin, I checked carefully to make sure it wasn't near a venue that would/could be noisy.  We were on deck 6;  noise was not a problem for us due to the cabins location, and I loved the fact that there were 2 loveseats, one of which you sat on and people-watched.  We are booked on Adventure in September, and while I was looking into staying in another Promenade cabin, my TA gave me a great price on an OV balcony that I just couldn't refuse!

[edrussell]

We did a promenade view on floor 7, above guest services last month and loved our stateroom.  The light coming in was a huge plus.  We enjoyed people watching through the window also.  It is definitely true staterooms opposing yours the pax have a great view in your stateroom so be aware of that.  This sailing was a casino comp and this stateroom was a VERY cheap Royal Up from our original inside stateroom.  We would happily booked one again.

[davekathy]

Cons...inside cabin at a higher price and zero natural light. 

 

Pros...

[georgemoe]

We have connecting promenade view rooms in September on Voyager and looking forward to it. Wife likes balcony but we rarely use them. This cruise I get to try an inside. Any privacy issues are a curtain close away. Unless my MIL opens the connecting door. 🤣

[pyrateslife4me84]

They are less claustrophobia-triggering than true interiors but with kids, I’m not a huge fan of balconies. Plus the view is actually pretty cool! And Spacious Promenade View Interiors are enormous!

 

As for privacy…I don’t really care. If someone decides to peep into my window and sees something, that’s on them. Don’t look into someone else’s window. If they have compliments or critiques to share with me on the pool deck, I guess that’s fine. 
 

I also like the Central Park View Interiors on Oasis class. Actual light is nice. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by pyrateslife4me84

[KATHYMAC68]

3 hours ago, edrussell said:

We did a promenade view on floor 7, above guest services last month and loved our stateroom.  The light coming in was a huge plus.  We enjoyed people watching through the window also.  It is definitely true staterooms opposing yours the pax have a great view in your stateroom so be aware of that.  This sailing was a casino comp and this stateroom was a VERY cheap Royal Up from our original inside stateroom.  We would happily booked one again.

How do you go about getting a casino comp for a cruise?

[time4u2go]

14 minutes ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

How do you go about getting a casino comp for a cruise?

Lose a lot of money in the casino. 

[KATHYMAC68]

2 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

Lose a lot of money in the casino. 

I do that on every cruise! But my a lot of money my be different from someone else’s… lol

[edrussell]

43 minutes ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

How do you go about getting a casino comp for a cruise?

 

Gambling...  We have never once paid the base fair for any sailings.  We have 2 more full COMP on the books right now, one in Sept and one in Feb of 2023.

 

For what its worth we don't lose LOTS of money, we have a very strict budget and we made prime on our first cruise back in Jan of this year with about a 650 loss.  Now at the time it was only 1600 points, now it is back to 2500.  However we are almost 1/2 way there for this year.  We rarely budget more than about 200 USD per day and rarely spend the entire budget for the day.

 

On our sailing last month we actually left about 40 up.  At one point we were down about 750, but had a swing of luck and ended up for the trip.    

Edited June 20, 2022 by edrussell

[neverbeenhere]

All I can say about these rooms is close the curtain and that the sheer is not a curtain. 

[Gardener5b]

Love the promenade cabins--I prefer deck 7 for a little more "quiet".    The extra light and space from the window seat make the cabin feel much bigger than an interior.    You do have to close your drapes for privacy.   When they used to do the parades, etc. in the promenade, it was a great place to watch from.

[Mum2Mercury]

I've never stayed in one of these, but the pictures look so cute!  I'd assume that the lower floors would be more noisy, but would be better for watching the parades.  Maybe the middle floor would be most desirable? 

[ARandomTraveler]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I've never stayed in one of these, but the pictures look so cute!  I'd assume that the lower floors would be more noisy, but would be better for watching the parades.  Maybe the middle floor would be most desirable? 

Promenade rooms are on floors 6, 7 and 8. I think 7th floor is best, then 6th, then 8th. 
 

Reason being is that the 7th floor is a little more "removed" from the promenade in both sound and visibility. It's not a huge difference, but some rooms on the 6th floor will be noisier if above a popular venue. The noise from the actual promenade (like the hallway part, not the stores/restaurants/bars) in general isn't that different between 6th floor and 7th floor.

 

Rooms on 6th floor are more visible to people on the promenade. When they look up, the windows of the 6th floor are what they see first. Again, not a huge deal. 
 

7th floor felt like a nice compromise of being a little removed from the noise/eyes of the promenade, but I did feel like if I had been one floor higher (on the 8th floor) it would be too high to do good people and parade watching. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 6/19/2022 at 5:50 PM, pyrateslife4me84 said:

They are less claustrophobia-triggering than true interiors but with kids, I’m not a huge fan of balconies. Plus the view is actually pretty cool! And Spacious Promenade View Interiors are enormous!

 

As for privacy…I don’t really care. If someone decides to peep into my window and sees something, that’s on them. Don’t look into someone else’s window. If they have compliments or critiques to share with me on the pool deck, I guess that’s fine. 
 

I also like the Central Park View Interiors on Oasis class. Actual light is nice. 

What is the Spacious Promenade View Interior? Do they have those on the Navigator?  If so, where are they located?  Thanks!