Do you really need to get a balcony on an Alaskan cruise?

[Cruise Raider]

9 hours ago, Teechur said:

You have never had a balcony, yet you know all of this to be true? I was in Alaska on the Majestic earlier this month (3 mini suites), and we used our connecting balconies constantly. It was not cold or rainy and we had happy hour there every afternoon before dinner. It was wonderful, and we didn't have to compete for viewing areas with all of the people from inside cabins. BTW: No wind whistles either. 

Like you, we’ve encountered beautiful weather in Alaska on several of our cruises up there.  A few times, I never used my jacket or umbrella once but did use a whole tube of sun screen, as we were at pool or out on our balcony with shorts and tshirts or in our swimsuits.  
 

[Vooshee]

A Balcony Cabin is a " no brainer". Do it. You will be overwhelmed with the scenery and the Balcony is a great place to soak it all in. Bear in mind the weather could be cool, wet, foggy so stay warm  and dry on your Balcony. 

[PR-Texas]

The Royal Princess doesn't have any Oceanview rooms so the cost difference between inside and balconies isn't as great as on ships with Oceanview staterooms.  We normally do inside staterooms but have chosen a balcony on our upcoming New Zealand cruise because of the number of sea days and the scenic cruising day.  It would have been nice to have a balcony on the Alaska cruise my daughter and I did but we were going for absolute lowest price at that time.

[mya603]

On 2/20/2023 at 12:27 AM, leahthecaterer said:

We've cruised 10 times but never on Princess and never an Alaskan cruise.  Just wondering your thoughts on whether it's worth the extra money to get a balcony instead of an inside cabin.  We are thinking about Royal Princess.  It's an inside passage with Glacier Bay seven-day cruise.

 

Any tips you have would be wonderful! 

Thanks!
Leah

No.  You don't need to.  But you will need to spend time on deck to see the amazing views!  I have gotten balcony both of my past Alaska cruises and it was so worth it!  I spent a lot of time on my deck.  And its peaceful to sit out there for a while at night before going to bed.  My next cruise in 2026 I have booked a vista suite for a wake view.   I will always book a balcony room on an Alaska cruise.    

 

[Tinknock50]

If you do get a balcony, just keep in mind you could miss perhaps half of the awesome glacier calvings. If your ship has a good promenade deck, be sure and spend time there on glacier days so you can change sides easily to see more. From my experience, they are not packed at the rails.

Edited Friday at 05:41 PM by Tinknock50

[Vooshee]

Yep. The promenade deck is a good idea but the cruise ship usually takes a 360 degree turn during the viewing of the glaciers so that all balcony cabins have an uninterrupted view of the great scenery.