More cruises or nicer cabins?

[OCSC Mike]

15 minutes ago, George C said:

The thing about suites is not just the size of the cabin, it’s suite restaurant, suite lounges, priority in boarding, sometimes specialty restaurants, etc etc.

 

Couldn't agree more. As someone who doesn't care about the cabin itself, I loved my first time in a GS recently almost entirely because of the Oasis class perks. I can appreciate that the room was nice and big and the bigger shower was nice but I enjoyed the perks 1000x more than the room itself.

[LMaxwell]

For a short cruise an Inside or an OV would be alright; but ....probably 5 nights or more, I would want a balcony. It's generally been a good balance between enjoyment of the balcony and the additional cost; not so high that it negatively impacts the frequency of our cruising, but enhances the pleasure we get from it. Slightly reducing the cost to spend more time in an environment we didn't enjoy would not necessarily translate to a better overall experience. 

 

With all the ancillary costs associated to the cruise (travel to/from ports, grats, taxes, insurance, excursions, onboard upgrades and experiences), the cabin fare becomes a less significant variable overall. 

 

Does booking an inside help you get to more unique ports/new places/experience new ships? If so, that should weigh in it.  If you're doing the same itinerary over and over and over; I'd rather do it a bit less and a bit nicer. 

[CanadaRob]

Solid question, after  2 1/2 year absence from cruising I want the whole experience again.  After I get the 1st/2nd one out of my system, moving forward I would still look at where I'm going and look at overall cost of experience, as noted by a previous poster to have some flexibility as to what room to book.  If it is an itinerary that is a little or a lot pricier would consider a lesser cabin to make it happen vs waiting another year to afford the nicer perks. 

[davekathy]

More cruises. Our personal and current preferences when booking. 

[rrraydon]

2 hours ago, DukeASUGirl said:

Sounds like they aren't interested in any of the itineraries or find the COVID restrictions to onerous to make cruising interesting to them.

Well, truth be told, the Covid hurdles are a pain...

[Nunagoras]

6 hours ago, cruisin from florida said:

That's us... We live in Florida, so it's really easy to cruise a lot.... cruise plus gas and parking. And an inside cabin can be a great little inexpensive getaway.

That's it!... I hope that by 2028 or so, as promised, we can have high speed trains like this (FRECCIAROSSA run through the high-speed line with fast and frequent connections - Frecce - Trenitalia) here from Lisbon to Barcelona. At that point a single nightly travel the night before the cruise will to be such an easy and economically sustainable way to catch a low season cruise and return at the end of it! No need to book hotels or expensive flights whatsoever. Even a no frills economy ticket will make me to go overnight from the 2 cities to enjoy... But hey: 2028 is far away, and the works on the line have not even to begin, so, they'll end up far delayed as usual, so...

[island lady]

6 minutes ago, rrraydon said:

Well, truth be told, the Covid hurdles are a pain...

 

Not as much as it was when masks were mandatory on the ships.   

 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by island lady

[lovescats5]

Didn't read all the posts but we can only cruise 2 times a year because we live on the Left Coast.  Our airfare can sometimes be almost as much as the cruise so we always cruise in a suite.  Now that we will be D+ in two more cruises we might go with a smaller ship and do JR suites or Grand suites and save a little money but when you have to fly you need to factor that in.  Really envious of all you who live near a cruise port or within driving distance.

[island lady]

1 hour ago, lovescats5 said:

.  Really envious of all you who live near a cruise port or within driving distance.

 

We live near cruise ports....but 70-80% of our booked cruises involve flights to elsewhere.  😉 

[ARandomTraveler]

2 hours ago, lovescats5 said:

Didn't read all the posts but we can only cruise 2 times a year because we live on the Left Coast.  Our airfare can sometimes be almost as much as the cruise so we always cruise in a suite.  Now that we will be D+ in two more cruises we might go with a smaller ship and do JR suites or Grand suites and save a little money but when you have to fly you need to factor that in.  Really envious of all you who live near a cruise port or within driving distance.

Yep I get that. Our 2 flights from the west coast for our Thanksgiving cruise cost me $2,550, and our ocean view balcony cruise fare is only $2,514.

 

Oh - and hotel for 2 nights before (because you never know how the snow might affect flights so we're coming in early) is costing me $700.
 

The flights and hotel cost more than the cruise 😵‍

 

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[Cruise a holic]

17 hours ago, George C said:

The thing about suites is not just the size of the cabin, it’s suite restaurant, suite lounges, priority in boarding, sometimes specialty restaurants, etc etc.

I agree- we love the suite amenities, especially on a newer ships.  We recently sailed on another older ship and had a Jr. suite- we typically have a full suite, but family members were in balcony cabins.  The ship was old, but because we were with family we stayed in a Jr. suite- I wouldn't sail on anything but an Oasis class ship- Even if in a balcony cabin.  We loved being with family, but the ship was such a disappointment.  My advice new ship- decent cabin even if not a suite.  Helps to make the sailing more enjoyable.  

[dwp10mm]

Very timely thread.  I am going to say I lean more towards the "more cruises" side.  From my cruise history, my very first was a true inside cabin for 4 nights on Enchantment in 2007.  Being my first cruise I didn't know what to expect.  We followed that up with a balcony on Freedom the following year.  Now we started to get hooked.  Fast forward 2 more years and we decide we could share a balcony with our kids (10 and 7 at the time).  Uhm, that is not going to work.  So our next few cruise all consisted of connecting Promenade view rooms on various ships. I didn't mind them at all and it kept the cost low enough for a family of 4.  That morphed into neighborhood balcony rooms on Oasis class ships.  Then finally, our first JS on Odyssey this year.  Now with Diamond status, I will always gravitate towards a balcony room for the discount.  But that all changed this past week when I saw a crazy low prices on inside rooms on Independence for late August.  Since it is only 4 days I think we are going to jump on an inside room and give it a try.  Too cheap to pass up.  Sure it is hurricane season.  But so were a few of those ones I mentioned earlier.  And the kids are all in college now.  So this will truly be a cheap getaway.  But I suspect I will always lean towards the balcony cabin on longer cruises.  I will try a Crown Loft Suite at some point just to say I did it.  But only if I can find a good deal on it.  No rush.

[Seville2Cabo]

We usually limit ourselves to 10 to 20 days a year.  Just because we have too many other things we do and don't have time.  We spend a lot of time in Mexico and make other trips to see friends and family.  Plus, our daughter watches our dog when we cruise and don't want to wear out the welcome. 

 

Our first cruise, about 1980, was Sunward 11 (NCL) in an inside - we did not know any better.  Now it is JR suite or above unless we are taking family and then everyone gets a balcony.  Just watching the water go by and the view is important to us.  Would never do an inside again.  I will say that I don't understand the dark thing people say.  Many mornings I have to open the curtains a little to see if it is light outside and get hit with crazy sun in my sleepy eyes.  Usually pisses my sleeping wife off.

[CatDi]

I travel solo and can cruise more often so I actually prefer an inside room.  Pitch dark room is also a definite plus for me. 

 

My last cruise I was in a deluxe balcony. While it was nice, I probably would not do it again.  I'm a bit of a penny pincher so inside for me unless I'm with another family member. 

[nferr]

More cruises for sure. 

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 7/9/2022 at 9:23 AM, cruisin from florida said:

After years of balconies with occasional JSs, we're now retired and have a lot more time to cruise. 

I'm thinking about switching to inside cabins going forward. Pros: save $$$, cruise more, sleep and nap well in nice dark cabin. Schooner Bar becomes our living room.

Cons: obviously, no balcony, no sea view, smaller cabins (so less pleasant to just hang out there).

 

What's your arithmetic? More cruise nights or nicer cabins?

 

(Obviously this is going to be based on personal preference, so there's no right or wrong answers... Or need for feuds 😁)

Before retirement we only did balcony and an occasional suite. Now retired. Ocean view only. Wife wants to see out. We only did 1-2 a year when I was working. Now 4-5 sometimes 6 a year. The lower cost works out to more cruises.👍

[Tatka]

Of course more cruises.

But it is not a choice for us. We will cruise anyway 5-6 a year. We can afford balconies, but never use them anyway. So for us it is inside cabin unless I must work and have meetings. Out of 53 cruises we had about 13-14 balconies, 2 OV and the rest are insides.

[cruiselvr04]

I’m a little surprised by the response to this thread.  Although it’s not a poll I think most who answered would rather cruise more and have a smaller cabin.  
 

Does anyone have any numbers as to what the Pins book most or how they got there?  Just curious. 

 

 

[Z0nker]

Depends on the price difference. 

[Biker19]

52 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Does anyone have any numbers as to what the Pins book most or how they got there?

Way too much variation to generalize. 

[cruisin from florida]

1 hour ago, cruiselvr04 said:

I’m a little surprised by the response to this thread.  Although it’s not a poll I think most who answered would rather cruise more and have a smaller cabin.  
 

Does anyone have any numbers as to what the Pins book most or how they got there?  Just curious. 

 

 

The highest pinnacle on a couple of our cruises got there by practically living on the ships in inside cabins, he said.

 

 

 

https://*****/royal-caribbean-symphony-of-the-seas-super-mario-lives-on-royal-caribbean-ships/

[SummerBeee]

More cruises for me, usually an inside if I’m solo. Occasionally the price for a OV or balcony is just a few $ more than inside so I’ll grab that. Jewel Jan and Feb this year had some crazy deals, of course I lost 3 cruises when the ship became a hospital.

We have done suites, usually a grand when we travel as a family, usually 1-2 times a year.

We bought a FL condo last year and it became my goal to hit pinnacle before my 50th in December. I’m doing most of those solo or sharing a room with friends. I also consider this training for that crazy long 2023 cruise in an inside cabin. Told hubs if he changed his mind and wanted to go he had to get his own room.

 

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

6 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

I’m a little surprised by the response to this thread.  Although it’s not a poll I think most who answered would rather cruise more and have a smaller cabin.  
 

Does anyone have any numbers as to what the Pins book most or how they got there?  Just curious. 

 

 

Ocean view and balcony are usually the same sq.ft. without the balcony.

[frank808]

On 7/9/2022 at 7:01 AM, John&LaLa said:

 

Try a VP on Voyager or Freedom Class if balcony not important. Huge space, full suite benefits, and similar price point to JS

Terrible rooms John! Why would you want to stay in a VP. Don't let the secret out John.

 

I book these any chance I get. Love that the Navigator out of Long Beach has the VP rooms. I love the windows and being able to see the ocean go by without sweating. Can't wait to be back in that cabin in a couple months.

[John&LaLa]

On 7/11/2022 at 4:29 PM, cruiselvr04 said:

I’m a little surprised by the response to this thread.  Although it’s not a poll I think most who answered would rather cruise more and have a smaller cabin.  
 

Does anyone have any numbers as to what the Pins book most or how they got there?  Just curious. 

 

 

 

Solo cruises😉