Doing Panama Canal or Alaska in an inside

[Dena]

Many people must have done an Alaska or Panama Canal cruise without a balcony, either for budget reasons or because the balconies were sold out. I know this isn't the ideal way to see these regions, but how bad is it. Is it reasonably easy to find a comfortable place to sit and view the scenery, or is one standing in a crowd at the rail of the promenade deck?

[Druke I]

I think either is doable with an inside.

 

We prefer an outside, but unlike many posters, we do not buy into the argument that once you have a balcony, you can never sail again without one. We did do Alaska once with an inside, bug subsequent trips we had an outside. We had outsides for our trips (3) through the Panama.

 

We spend little time in our cabins, and have always been able to find a good viewing spot, either from open decks or a topside lounge.

 

One word of caution about open decks for Panama - the sun can be brutal down there, and it is very easy to get burned.

[Host Caroline]

Have done Canal in an inside and Alaska in inside, outside and one balcony out of 6 cruises... never had a problem with the inside.. prefer to cruise often inexpensively so really never will get balcony unless it's really inexpensive.

Canal itin you need to find a cool place definitely as it is brutal -no, in May that's too mild a term! :eek: You need to be forward to get an appreciation for the locks etc for one set of locks but otherwise if the ship has a promenade deck that's ideal for viewing others.. AND in Alaska as well.

An inside on Lido or Aloha with doors nearby for deck access is great as you can use the open aft deck or Lido area as your "public balcony" .. Glacier viewing in Alaska you need to be on open decks anyway at least part of the time to appreciate it.. if it's bad weather the discos are great place to sit or conservatory.

 

My bottom line: cruise in an inside to save money or stay home till I can afford a balcony? First option wins every time!

[bjboothman]

We did our first canal trip on the Coral with an inside and our second with a balcony. As nice as it is to have a balcony, it is really too limiting to only view the transit from just one spot. You will want to visit various outside locations to see the transit from many angles. From my perspective, an inside is the same on a Canal transit as it is for any other cruise. I loooooove a balcony, but when the price is right, as it was on my first Coral, I would never turn down an inside. As others have mentioned, I can cruise twice as often if I sometimes take an inside and sometimes take a balcony.

[LisaH]

I think either is doable with an inside.

 

We prefer an outside, but unlike many posters, we do not buy into the argument that once you have a balcony, you can never sail again without one. We did do Alaska once with an inside, bug subsequent trips we had an outside. We had outsides for our trips (3) through the Panama.

 

We spend little time in our cabins, and have always been able to find a good viewing spot, either from open decks or a topside lounge.

 

One word of caution about open decks for Panama - the sun can be brutal down there, and it is very easy to get burned.

 

And I come from the exact opposite thought...if we cannot cruise with a balcony, we don't cruise. The balcony is part of the enjoyment for us - a major part. Although we are not on the balcony a huge amount of time, we use it enough that it is very important. We have coffee out there in the morning and the two times we went through the PC we spent the majority of the day on the balcony.

 

We are cruising Alaska for the first time next summer and we may use the balcony less but it is still important enough that we would change dates if the balcony cabin we wanted was not available. But as luck would have it,

B503 bumpout on the Island is waiting for us.

 

Happy cruising to all!

[DEL67]

We found plenty of places to view the scenery in Alaska.

 

It was very hot when we went through the canal and all the lounges with a view were jammed; however, there was plenty of space on the deck and as others have said, your probably will want to view it from several perspectives. Luckily we had an outside cabin in the front of the ship so we had a great view and air conditioning at one time!

[kendon]

I have done both itineraries and personally don't care for inside cabins at all (speaking from experience, one time). BUT, if I HAD to choose, the Panama Canal would be okay on in inside. You would be viewing the crossing from an upper deck anyway for a good and overall view. As for Alaska, you must have a window at the very least. Just getting dressed in the early evening we saw so much sea life out our stateroom window that we would have missed had we been inside.

[CaptainKing]

We did the Panama Canal on the Coral last January and had an inside cabin because it was all that was left last minute. It really is not a problem, because you can watch the entire passage from 6 am onward through the canal from the very forward crew area door on baja deck by going through the crew only door onto a great empty bow deck. there are many boards that talk about this secret passage all over cruise critic. that's how we learned about it. it is not violating any rule to go there, the ship personnel have no problem with it for the panama sightings. Thus, I would not forgo an inside room if ecomony or other thing slike availability dictate choosing it just because of the view. the view is great and perhaps better from the forward secret deck.

[Len3]

We're cruised with all 3 types of cabins. Certainly, we enjoyed the balcony cabin the most. But do whatever fits into your budget. As posted above, there are lots of places for viewing.

[Colo Cruiser]

We're cruised with all 3 types of cabins. Certainly, we enjoyed the balcony cabin the most. But do whatever fits into your budget. As posted above, there are lots of places for viewing.

 

I agree. :)

[NZYU]

We did the canal on the Coral with a balcony this spring but we hardly used the balcony.

 

 

Viewed the canal from a front and aft deck. Used the aft deck a lot for photographing ports.

 

Other posters have said a balcony is a must for Alaska because there is a lot to see along the way.

[AALCRUISER]

We were on Splendar in 2003 and had an inside cabin. My parents had a balcony, and all you could see was the canal itself, (Concrete). We went up to the upper decks and moved around, and I know we saw more then we would have sitting on the balcony. We will be on the Coral Princess on August 28, 2006. My parents will have a balcony, and we have an oveanview, obstructed, but hey the price was the same as an inside. We always choose to cruise with the least expensive cabin, so we may cruise more. We have had oceanview before, and the last time we actually received it, because I kept watching the prices, and the oceanview price came down to what I was paying for an inside, and they moved me. No hassle. It is really warm during the crossing, but keep a cup of ice in your hand, and it is not bad, plus make sure you have a hat, and it will stay on. A baseball hat works great. Whatever you choose just have a great time

[mr green]

A balcony for Alaska is well worth the extra money, get one on the port side if possible. You will find it a lot warmer, with less wind, and you can go inside to warm up if need be. You can't go inside on an open deck, wituot loosing your place! Put the TV on so that you can hear the ranger speaking. For the P.C., an outside cabin is OK, there is lots of room on deck, and you may wish to see both sides. Remember though, when they tell you that a crocodile may be seen, you will ALWAYS be on the wrong side of the ship! Have fun. john

[Denisern2]

Hi there

I have done every cat cabin from inside to a full suite. Alaska is the best bet in my opinion for an inside. Without a covered balcony the weather is iffy and many use their balcony very little.

The canel I have done it twice once in a suite and once in an inside the suite was great but it all depends on my budget. FYI I went out to the front of the ship to watch some of the transit more action on the public decks.

 

All in all you will be fine in either. The one cat I have never purchased is a window waste of mony (imho)! Bon Voyage.

[DougH]

I've done both and an inside cabin is fine with me, there are always lots of places to view things from around the ship. I'm the type that even if I had a balcony I'd be wondering what I was missing on the other side of the ship!

 

IMHO I'd rather have 2 trips in an inside cabin than one with a balcony. My latest trick is to book an obstructed to get some light and take advantge of the higher cabin credits with an onboard booking as its considerd an outside.

 

Doug

[goldminer]

You'll probably want to be outside and all over the ship checking out every angle posibble. I was on the Regal when it made it's first pass ever through the canal. A guy next to me was so excited he fumbled with his camera and dropped it right over the ship railing and I watched it fall right into the water. These kinds of funny thing can never be experienced from an inside cabin.

 

Mark

[cruisinfromcanada]

We had a balcony for our Panama Canal which was nice but I still spent a lot of my time moving around the ship to see all the angles anyway. You also get to meet a lot of nice people that way. I really don't think I would have been unhappy cruising the canal in an inside cabin.

 

Happy sailing