How do you feel about an interior room?

[Cruise5life]

23 minutes ago, joeyancho said:

It depends on a few things. On a short cruise an interior in no big deal to me. For example we are taking a repo from LA to Vancouver, 5 day. For me a balcony is not necessary. Not much to see, cool weather. In December we are taking a 10 day Panama Canal. Balcony is mandatory.  Warm weather,  so much to see.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever done alaska?     Arctic circle?   Europe Mediterranean?   

[missholly24]

6 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

We're retired and can cruise when we please now, and we're only paying a couple hundred for any given cruise ticket.  Seriously ... our last three cruise prices were $364 (7 days on Grandeur), $380 (8 days on Explorer) and $99 (3 nights on Indy).  The point:  An inside can save real money.  

Totally agree.  I understand the thought process behind a balcony.  I understand the thought process behind an inside.  But what does an ocean view offer?  

Lots of us CAN afford the $$$ but don't see the point in spending it.  

Eh, I don't know.  When our kids were still at home, we always went with a balcony ... we needed the space.  At that point I figured, "This is the room we'll always choose".  But then, once we retired, we wanted to see just how cheaply we could cruise and have a good time, and we found that an inside is great! 

We really weren't sure when we went into an inside the first time ... but it took us about a day to realize we were entirely satisfied, especially for the price we paid!  

In all fairness, you can end up with a bad neighbor in any room, BUT it's likely to affect you more if you have a balcony.  

Something we used to do when our kids were small:  We'd bring light sticks ... like the ones kids use at Halloween.  You can get them at the Dollar Store.  They're a soft light, just enough for a kid to keep in bed as a small light /just enough light to go to the rest room /not enough light to fully wake you, if you're sensitive.  

Then we're oddballs too.  I won't say I prefer interiors, but I do prefer cruising more often /spending less.  If the rooms were the same price, I'd take the balcony, but since that's never going to be the case, I like spending less.  

Ehh I meant it when I said I wouldn’t go in an inside room if it were free. To each his own! Thats why the OP asked what we each thought of inside cabins. 

[joeyancho]

1 hour ago, Cruise5life said:

Have you ever done alaska?     Arctic circle?   Europe Mediterranean?   

Alaska yes.  Balcony  mandatory.  

[Cruise a holic]

I couldn't stand an inside room.  What if you got quarantined?  I would feel like I was in a closet.  At least an oceanview for me.  Perhaps kids wouldn't mind, but I am not a kid.

[Deeliteful]

My first couple of cruises were in an inside cabin, I got “upgraded” to an OV on my first RCI cruise, when I got a bonus at work I upgraded myself to a balcony.  I have also sailed in the prom view cabins.

I am happy to be cruising no matter which cabin I have but I prefer an inside to an OV, a balcony especially when I cruise to somewhere like Alaska or the Norwegian Fjords.

 

Also as a solo cruiser mostly, the money does matter.

 

I don’t necessarily sleep better in an inside but I definitely sleep for longer!

 

Bottom line, any cabin that I can afford as long as I’m cruising will be just fine but I would put them in this order (I can’t afford a suite as a solo!)

1. Balcony pref midship or overlooking the wake

2. An inside, midship

3. An OV with window seat, midship

4. A prom view cabin 

 

 

 

[CGinMTL]

On 4/14/2023 at 12:46 PM, OCSC Mike said:

We love them and actually prefer the total darkness when trying to sleep. We never use our balcony when we have one and view our cabin as a place to sleep, shower, and change, so we'd rather use the savings elsewhere. Different strokes...

 

We've never brought one but I know many people use those small fake candles that run on battery as night lights.

Prefer to travel more often in inside 

We usually bring a nightlife.

We just booked 2 insides for a family cruise 

One cabin will have a 2 yr old 

Just sent a note to DD to bring the clock she has at home 

Lets little one know if he can get up 

How would little one know in an inside hihi 

 

[mspeg]

I’ve sailed every category of cabin and loved every one but I booked a last minute 10 night cruise and took a inside cabin on the Jewel. It was the most peaceful, restful sleep I’ve ever had. 

[vjmatty]

I've actually booked us two connecting insides as solos, when the junior suite prices are outrageous and the itinerary or season doesn't make a balcony useful.  Two bathrooms, twice the closet space and the ability to use one of the rooms as more of a sitting area, an double points a lot cheaper than some JS cabins have been.  Also my being more of a morning person than hubby has made this arrangement really convenient.  Every once in a while there will be a ship where an inside connects to an OV or balcony which is even better.

[TravelBluebird]

I have never in 30 years of cruising cruised in an Interior room.

 

That is about to change.  I also have never been on a Royal Caribbean ship, and its about time that I sail on one! Want to try out Wonder of the Seas this October. Husband can’t go, but he said I should go anyway, but only if I get the cheapest room available.

 

Which, of course, is an interior room.  Since I write/vlog about cruising, I think this is also an experience I should have.  

 

Excited about sailing Royal, but honestly nervous I’ll feel claustrophobic in the interior. We shall see how I do!

[IRMO12HD]

On 4/14/2023 at 1:55 PM, Tatka said:

On one of our favorite and most cruised ship Anthem we love interiors even more. It has VR. My video... Some fun.

 

We never book GTY cabins. We like to pick our locations so it is convenient to everything and higher than promenade deck.

That is really interesting that the view on your VB screen changes!  On Navigator's VB screen, I think it's just one camera view/feed, from a camera on the starboard side of the bridge.

[IRMO12HD]

On 4/14/2023 at 9:21 AM, latebuyer said:

I received one of those royalup offers. I was disregarding it but now i wonder what its like waking up and not having the natural sunlight in the room in a interior. Are people leaving the light on in the bathroom or maybe bring a nightlight so there is some light in the morning?

@latebuyer, since you didn't mention which ship you'll be on, it's not clear to what classes of cabin you could upgrade to.  Having been in Interior, Interior Virtual Balcony, Interior Promenade View, and Oceanview (as well as Oceanview Balcony and Junior Suite), I will say this about light:  it's totally up to you.  In an Interior or Interior VB (or Promenade View, for that matter), you won't have any "natural" light.  However, you can always (a) leave a light on in the bathroom and leave the door cracked; (b) bring a nightlight; (c) put your phone right by the bed so you can grab it if you need a light.  Otherwise, yes, it will be really dark at night, or during the day when you don't have any lights on.  The Virtual Balcony is a great source of "simulated natural light," as it will show you the ambient light outside plus some "unnatural light" in the form of the simulated balcony image on the screen.  Here's what it looks like: 

[IRMO12HD]

The above picture was taken at about 6 a.m. coming into the Los Angeles port.  As you can see, the simulated balcony railing is pretty bright, so I actually kept the curtain mostly closed on the VB at night.  You can also see the light shining under the bathroom door.  It was completely closed, but let the light through underneath.

[KmomChicago]

I prefer interior rooms overall but I am in the minority. I sleep better in the total darkness, I love the tomblike silence and don’t like nightlights at home or traveling.
 

When I have a balcony I use it some, but not enough to impact my enjoyment of the cruise very much. When I have a window, same. I have been in everything from awful little interior on Carnival Fantasy Class to Grand Suite on Carnival Spirit Class (and most Carnival categories in between), standard interior on Oasis of the Seas to Jr. Suite on Adventure of the Seas, my favorite room ever because of the generous floor space more so than the oversized balcony on the hump. 
 

For me that interior space is a more appreciated luxury than a “backyard” as I am slightly claustrophobic, use the room for privacy and downtime and I can always find a good spot somewhere on a deck to see the sea. Often the balcony is just carved out of what would otherwise be room space and I prefer the 4th wall pushed out a bit further.
 

 

[OCSC Mike]

52 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

I prefer interior rooms overall but I am in the minority. I sleep better in the total darkness, I love the tomblike silence and don’t like nightlights at home or traveling.
 

When I have a balcony I use it some, but not enough to impact my enjoyment of the cruise very much.

 

You might be in the minority but if you've skimmed this topic, you're far from alone.

We also enjoy interiors b/c we don't use our balcony when we have one, we use the room for sleeping, showering, changing, and we also love the darkness for sleeping. We affectionately call it our cave.

[simon.hed]

topics like these are really interesting to me. different strokes, etc.

 

I like a balcony. I sit on them in the afternoons, it is one of the most calming/peaceful places on earth to me.

 

We had an interior on Independence last year and my wife h a t e d it.  Like despised it. I have endeavored to make my wife happy for 31 or so years, so.

 

It is very interesting to hear everyone's opinions of promenade interiors on voyager/freedom class. The wife doesnt mind them at all. I personally think it's the bed config being in the end of the room on the interior cabins. Something off-putting about it, idk. 

 

We did book an interior on Allure for next year with adult children. They didnt want to spend the extra for a balcony (+$600 per cabin or so for 4 nights). I suspect we may make our first RoyalUp interactions when we get close enough.

[Tatka]

3 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

When I have a balcony I use it some, but not enough to impact my enjoyment of the cruise very much. When I have a window, same.

 

 

  My exact feelings. If we have balcony we use it only for pre-dinner drink ... but only because we have balcony and need to use it somehow other than to dry my swimming wear faster ! 🙂 

 

   At home we have large beautiful backyard and porch which are greatly underused because if we have a free time we rather go somewhere (ocean, city, etc) than just sit there. I was always imagining what happens if I am in some high suite... I would be torn as I will still want to be mostly in Solarium (especially on ships like Anthem), listen to music somewhere in Boleros, playing shuffleboard etc.

[OCSC Mike]

18 minutes ago, simon.hed said:

It is very interesting to hear everyone's opinions of promenade interiors on voyager/freedom class. The wife doesnt mind them at all. I personally think it's the bed config being in the end of the room on the interior cabins. Something off-putting about it, idk. 

We Royaled Up to one on Indy last summer just for the heck of it for an insignificant amount of money & both my wife & I hated it. We didn’t like the layout compared to a standard interior & wife didn’t like being able to hear the music/beat from the Promenade parties at night if we crashed early.

[KmomChicago]

4 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

  My exact feelings. If we have balcony we use it only for pre-dinner drink ... but only because we have balcony and need to use it somehow other than to dry my swimming wear faster ! 🙂 

 

   At home we have large beautiful backyard and porch which are greatly underused because if we have a free time we rather go somewhere (ocean, city, etc) than just sit there. I was always imagining what happens if I am in some high suite... I would be torn as I will still want to be mostly in Solarium (especially on ships like Anthem), listen to music somewhere in Boleros, playing shuffleboard etc.

Having tried suites only because I was rooming with my mom who insisted, I would never choose them. They are not slightly more expensive but exorbitantly more. We could have gotten two adjacent balcony rooms at single occupancy and paid slightly less than the grand suite on Carnival Legend. And it wasn’t that great a suite imho, one open room about the size of two cabins. 
 

To your point I then did feel pressured to spend some awake time sitting in the suite because well you bought it, ya better use it. But I don’t cruise to sit in the room, any room. It’s still just a room. The ship has all the fun amenities and experiences we want. But not in the room.

[time4u2go]

I'd rather be on a cruise ship in an interior room than not on a cruise ship.

[simon.hed]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

We Royaled Up to one on Indy last summer just for the heck of it for an insignificant amount of money & both my wife & I hated it. We didn’t like the layout compared to a standard interior & wife didn’t like being able to hear the music/beat from the Promenade parties at night if we crashed early.

we have been in promenade cabins on Mariner twice, and the sound wasn't bad (after reasonable bedtime for us). The interior we stayed in on Independence was far worse about transmitting sound from promenade.  It seriously seemed like the sound was pumped in, it was strange (9291 fwiw). That was a big reason (I think) for the wife hating that cabin so bad. It was the noisiest one we've ever had on a cruise.

[OCSC Mike]

21 minutes ago, simon.hed said:

The interior we stayed in on Independence was far worse about transmitting sound from promenade.  It seriously seemed like the sound was pumped in, it was strange (9291 fwiw). That was a big reason (I think) for the wife hating that cabin so bad. It was the noisiest one we've ever had on a cruise.

 

Sounds like just an unlucky bad location for the interior. Obviously they are all over the place and most should be pretty darn quiet (we've never had a noisy one).

[davekathy]

52 minutes ago, simon.hed said:

we have been in promenade cabins on Mariner twice, and the sound wasn't bad (after reasonable bedtime for us). The interior we stayed in on Independence was far worse about transmitting sound from promenade.  It seriously seemed like the sound was pumped in, it was strange (9291 fwiw). That was a big reason (I think) for the wife hating that cabin so bad. It was the noisiest one we've ever had on a cruise.

Location, no matter the type of cabin. 

[simon.hed]

agreed @davekathy & @OCSC Mike, just one of those things

[FamilyCruiserUK]

For me its inside rooms all the way unless its a very very small difference between a balcony or inboard. Id rather have a nice cheap room and be able to spend the money saved on other things on the cruise or towards a new cruise. I still have the same access as everyone else to shows, resturants etc to those who have paid a lot more for a balcony. I prefer to sleep in pitch black but we have a night light which we bring along for our daughter. We dont spend enough time in the cabin to justify the extra cost for a balcony. 

[DirtyDawg]

I would not sail in an inside but I'm glad others like them and buy that real estate on the ships.

If it wasn't for inside cruisers we'd all have to pay more for our balcony real estate.

 

Or share the ship with these guys. 

 

😁