How bad will it be? Going from suite to inside

[Randyk47]

Lovn2liv - Thanks for the kind words. I certainly don't mean to demean inside cabins nor anybody who decides that inside cabins are their choice. It doesn't make inside bad or a bad choice, they're just not a good choice for us. I guess I'm spoiled but I could see that if I were traveling solo that an inside might be more than sufficient.

[lovn2liv]

randyk47/ No problem... different strokes for different folks, that's the beauty of these boards. I have been warming up to the idea after viewing many images of the inside cabins, and it reminds me of growing up with 8 other brothers and sisters and sharing a room with 3 sisters...squished but liveable.

 

I'm sure it will bring back memories, and feel like my sisters are away, and I have the room almost to myself, except having my DH alongside me....

 

We'll see. I've arranged the babysitter (Uncle Buck as we like to refer to him, due to the movie with that said title...). This will be good. And one never knows, maybe the upgrade fairy will wave her wand and place us in an outside...balcony/verandah...one never knows.

[cruisequeen10]

Of the 18 cruises I have been on, I have only had 3 cruises with outside and 1 with a balcony. Most have been the inside. That is on my wishlist to have the top category. Maybe one day it will come true.

[lovn2liv]

I hope your wish comes true. But on the flipside, I've been on 4 cruises pretty soon 5, and I've had a mix...but I would trade it in a second if I could be on 18 cruises. Sounds like good times!

[SoCal Cruiser78]

HAL has some of the largest and nicest inside cabins afloat, so it won't be as big as adjustment as it would be on some other lines. I've had inside, outside and balcony cabins over the years. Never a suite, though. It just depended on what my travel budget was at the time.

 

The only time I had an inside and really wished I had had an outside was on an Alaska cruise in September. It was WAY too cold to spend much time on deck and the lounges were crowded with other pax trying to stay warm and get a look at the view also.

 

I would not hesitate to book another HAL inside, especially on a warm-weather cruise when it is comfortable to spend time on deck.

[doone]

I did the same thing as you. I was on the Zuiderdam, suite 5187, corner aft, got off the Zuiderdam and got on the Volendam, inside cabin. I was afraid I would be disappointed after having the suite life, but you know, I was on a cruise ship and it was fine. Did I miss that huge suite and that spectacular balcony, absolutely, I'd be lying if I said no, but it truly wasn't bad, it will work out fine. Just remember, your able to take an extra cruise by sailing in an inside cabin. Have a wonderful cruise.

[BumperII]

Hi everyone,

We are booked for inside rooms on the Statendam back to back out of Vancouver. We have been using inside cabins from the start simply because we are independently poor.:D We booked both cruises because of a Mariner offer we couldn't refuse.

Since Christmas of 2005 we have cruised thirty-two days in inside cabins, all three cruises were super deals. Just get us on board, we don't care where the ship is going and we don't care when. We are still new to this and we really haven't been anywhere anyway. Over Christmas, HAL sent us an offer we couldn't refuse, out of Norfolk. It was a catagory L cabin, and the largest and nicest inside cabin we've ever had. And we were on the Princess Mexican Riveria Cruise with liv2cruise4ever. We have never done anything but inside cabins, and have been delighted with every cruise.

This August will be our third back to back cruise Vancouver to Alaska. We like to spend three or four days in Vancouver after the cruise, so we get an eighteen day vacation out of the airfare. And we like float plane excursions, crabbing and fishing trips, salmon bakes, etc. We just couldn't afford to do all this stuff if we booked a suite.

And that is what is so great about cruising vacations, there are a lot of options and one can really do a lot to tailor the cruise or cruises to your own preference. We have done this enough to know that HAL and Princess are our favorites.

We have fallen in love with cruise vacations but we still need to manage our money, and if we can get on three cruises for the price of a suite on one cruise, well, book us inside guarenteee every time!:D :D :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

DH and I have booked suites. There is no way that we could ever move to a smaller category. One of us would kill the other one - OH OH - another horror story for the cruise industry.

[frbob]

Just returned from a cruise on the new Noordam. Had a standard inside cabin. My walk-in closet at home is larger. Extreemly tiny. I assume all Vista Class HAL ships are so designed, but it's worth a check. Your only hope may be to be given an upgrade. I assume you're traveling with someone you really like. You'd better, because you'll be bumping into each other a lot. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. The designer of those tiny staterooms should be "sentenced" to live in one for a month as punishment for his crime.

[doone]

If I am not mistaken, I believe J category on the Vista ships are a nice size for an inside cabin. I think Revneal posted pictures of his cabin in J category once and it looked really nice, again, for an inside cabin.

[Randyk47]

As I've posted before in this thread I doubt seriously that we'd ever go to an inside cabin and, in fact, would probably not take a cruise if it came down to that's all we could get. I wanted to share that on the Oosterdam a couple of years ago I pointed out an inside cabin to my DW. The cabin was just across the passage way from ours and the door was open as the room steward was working in it. Her comment: "That's nice Honey....did you notice the stalactites hanging from the ceiling?" I got the message. :o

[frbob]

Your best bet is to hope for an upgrade. Just spent 20 days on Noordam in a tiny, tiny Cat. L standard inside cabin. When the cruise ended, I felt like I'd just been released from jail.:) The agenda was great though so we didn't stay in the room any more than was absolutely necessary.

[lovn2liv]

thanks for all of you that shared your experiences.

 

I think there is a first time for everything, and the more I think of it, getting on the ship with DH and no kids, closet life may be the life for me. At least for a week.

 

Growing up I shared a tiny house with 1 bathroom 8 siblings and mom and dad and it wasn't difficult because I didn't know any better. It was fine. Today I live in a significantly large home with 4 bathrooms, and have all the space that I could ever need.

 

Living in this room for 1 week, will bring me back to old times...gosh, I hope I'll be just as comfortable as I was as a kid. If not, we'll do something differently next time.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments.

[refman]

from a suite to an inside, in a word (horrible)

[LHC]

I cannot afford a veranda, or a suite...but as for me and my DD just being on the SHIP is enough. I do not have people making up my bed, cleaning my bathroom, setting my table, serving me at home, so all the wonderful HAL services are the royal treatment for me.

We enjoy the time together, no matter where we are....Attitude and desire to enjoy things goes so very far.

Enjoy, no matter if you are in the lowliest cabin or the Penthouse, as we all should. It is a gift.

Linda

[MMastell]

I recently cruised on a 14 day China, Korea and Japan cruise on Statendam and had a fantastic cruise because the ship is beautiful, the ports were fantastic and the staff was wonderful but after 19 cruises we had our first non-suite, non-balcony cabin. We had an inside category L. I had my worries about the cabin and it went something like this:

 

Day 1: Hey! This cabin is great: Nice size, plenty of closet space and storage, great bed. This will be easy.

 

Day 2: I'll have to watch not to trip on the table and that couch sure takes up a lot of space. A chair or loveseat sure would have been better.

 

Day 3: That darn table is constantly in the way. We should get rid of it but we need it to put stuff on. Darned if we do and darned if we don't.

 

Day 4: This @&$^ is driving me crazy. It's just wasting space. we only set on one corner of it and the rest of it just has stuff piled on it. It's not even good for putting stuff on. It just falls off. ahhh! :eek:

 

Day 5: Darn Ship view station doesn't show anything unless it's light. I'm getting tired of walking up one deck just to see what the weather is. I hope no one sees me in my sweat pants, t-shirt and un-brushed teeth.

 

Day 9: If I push the couch into the hall and up the escalator, out the door and over the side, I bet they won't notice.

 

Day 10: If I use my Leatherman to cut the couch in half. The job will be easier.

 

Day 11: Get rid of the darn curtain: Who are they trying to fool. There is no window back there!!! :eek:

 

Day 12: Deck hand wakes me up and tells me I can't sleep on deck.

 

Day 13: Couch gets wedged in the hall when I try to push it out the door. :o

 

Moral of the story: You don't get really psychotic until day 7. So it's fine for a 7 day cruise. :D

 

Take care,

Mike

[Atomica]

Normally when I cruise I book an inside guarantee and see what happens. The last two times I've been lucky and have been given outside cabins, but I am actually quite happy with an inside - I have the best sleeps because it's nice and dark, but as Mike pointed out, expect to bash yourself on some of the furniture at some point!

 

Now, I'd book an inside again in a second, but having a S-Suite on the Veendam last month really spoiled me (REALLY). So much that when we do Alaska in September, I booked a Cat VC Verandah stateroom. I have to credit my girlfriend with this (she didn't like the idea of an inside), and now I am hooked on balcony cabins :)

 

But I'd still do an inside (at least, I say that now...lol)

[JEWELS7]

Please advise

 

We are taking a costly cruise this summer on the new Crown Princess. However, just got a Mariner special pricing deal and can take another cruise (which wasn't planned) very inexpensively $499 inside room in the fall on the Westerdam. So for the two of us, overall, about $1200 bucks.

 

Last year at this time, we had a corner "aft" cabin/balcony and loved it so much that we practically never left the room during the day, because the balcony was so fabulous. Neptune Lounge coffee...just loved the whole experience.

 

In reality we really never experienced much of the ship during the day. So if we stay in an inside, then we will be spending more time on the decks, etc.

 

 

So to get another unexpected cruise under our belt, we need to make some sacrifices.

 

Has anyone gone from one extreme to another on a cruise in regards to accomodations, and lived to experience a positive story?

 

I know this does seem like a silly question, but I'm anxious to know what that experience was like. How tough is an inside to boot?

 

Thank you.

Colleen

 

Have you ever been to Disney World? It's like going from the Floridian to

the Disney Sports Resort. The difference between Disney hotels and a cruise, you can always leave your room and enjoy the SHIP. You sound like you'll have fun no matter what type of room you have! Enjoy!

[Aussie Gal]

We would be one of the minority and just would not cruise if we had to have an inside cabin. I am claustrophobic and last year on the Maasdam on the very last night of a 17 day cruise, I had a panic attack. We were in an oceanview cabin and we realized then that never again could we even go back to that. I have to have a verandah at the least so that if I need to get outside and have fresh air, it is not far too walk.

 

I know the price is good etc and it would be very tempting but I know it would be a disaster for me if I had to spend time in an inside cabin.

 

Jennie

[iliv2cruz]

thanks for all of you that shared your experiences.

 

I think there is a first time for everything, and the more I think of it, getting on the ship with DH and no kids, closet life may be the life for me. At least for a week.

 

Growing up I shared a tiny house with 1 bathroom 8 siblings and mom and dad and it wasn't difficult because I didn't know any better. It was fine. Today I live in a significantly large home with 4 bathrooms, and have all the space that I could ever need.

 

Living in this room for 1 week, will bring me back to old times...gosh, I hope I'll be just as comfortable as I was as a kid. If not, we'll do something differently next time.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments.

 

Any inside room will still be better than 22-d!!!!