Inside cabin or not?

[derheld]

Hi,

 

my wife and me are planning a cruise with the Tahitian Princess. It is our first cruise so I am undecided what cabin type.

My wife wants an inside cabin, because it is cheaper and she says, we will not be in the cabin as much anyway ...

from your experience is she right or is it better to have at least limited view outside?

[wwinfl91]

We did an inside cabin on our first and then on our second we got a window. We have never went back to an inside. Although the size and configuration of an outside and inside cabin will be very similar it is just nice to be able to see outside anytime you want without having to get dressed and walk down a hallway and find an outside view. Generally you can find cruise deals where you end up paying about the same for an outside cabin as you would for an inside.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[Cats' slave]

I've been in insides, one oceanview and balconies.

 

My favorite is a balcony and for me, it's worth the extra money. I love sitting out all by myself and watching the ocean go by. At night it's just spectacular. My husband says he likes the extra light it gives the room, but otherwise the balcony doesn't mean much to him. He gets it for me.

 

From our perspective, we'd just as soon have an inside as an oceanview.

 

An inside is so quiet and it's the best place in the world to sleep. It's true that you need to be dressed to see the ocean, but an inside is a nice little nest of peace.

 

If it were me, I'd shop hard for a balcony and if not, get an inside.

[middy]

I'm an insider, always book them, did once get upgraded to an outside didn't impress me much, was across the corridor from the inside we had the year before, it might have had a window but it was actually a lot smaller, never tried a balcony.

Inside nice and quiet, nice and dark to sleep even for catnap in middle of day, also cheaper meaning I can have more cruises. Can always see the sea on the bridge cam on the telly.

[madelinerose]

First cruise, October 2004 - balcony cabin.

 

Second cruise, September 2006 - larger balcony and larger cabin.

 

During our first cruise, DH said we needed to agree that we would never cruise without a balcony. Done.

 

IMHO, having the ability to step outside without going to a public deck with tons of others, makes all the difference in the world. Sitting on the balcony first thing in the morning drinking coffee in your robe watching the sunrise and during sunset with the drink of your choice is one of the things we love about cruising. Having a balcony adds another dimension to your cruise and your cabin. And, yes, if you have a balcony, you most likely will find it a place of refuge, not just a changing room.

 

Unlike many other CCers, we would rather cruise less in a nicer cabin than cruise frequently in a non-balcony cabin/suite. ;)

[maclady]

We have cruised about 10 times-when we have had an outside cabin-the view from our cabin was mostly wide open ocean. In Alaska when we cruised College Fiord-the best place to be was on the front deck with the ships naturalist and a panoramic view of the glaciers. Views from a cabin or balcony on either side would have missed so much! We had an outside cabin on the Tahitian Princess and I know that at no time did we sit in the cabin and look out the window. Approaching and departing Bora Bora is beautiful,but you can see that on deck.The Tahitian Princess is a lovely smaller ship. There were a number of hidden little deck nooks and it never seemed crowded. For some reason a balcony on a ship makes me nervous. I don't drink, but sometimes when I travel ,I wake up a little disoriented. I would hate to wander out on a balcony and--whoops---its a long way down!Certainly heavy partyers might want to avoid balconies. Anyway to each his own. I have never met a cruise I didn't love-and the cabin had little to do with that fact. The Tahitian Princess cruise is wonderful-enjoy!

[Gaprofitt]

I tend to disagree with most. We think that the price difference between balcony cabins and inside cabins are way too much. Usually it's at least 30-40% more. Our opinion is we would rather cruise more often for lower cost than go big bucks on each cruise. I am 29 years old and our cruise next month will be my 7th. It's costing us only $440.00 a person. Without going cheap this wouldn't be my 7th cruise. I enjoyed the balcony cabin we tried last year I just can't justify the price difference. It's just not worth it.

[elsje]

My MIL and I are going on our 4th cruise and we booked again an inside. We have never done any other. My DH is 6'9" and on his first cruise we did inside as well. We are hardly in our cabin and so much loved the space and the large views of the decks. We always found many quiet places.

 

I guess it is what you prefer. For us the price difference is just not worth it and I am sure a balcony is nice to have like some reason other posters stated but not to us.

 

Good luck on deciding ~ whatever you end up with you will have a great cruise;) ~ Els

 

9/2006 - Sun Prinsess - Panama Canal

5/2006 - Celebrity Galaxy - Trans Atlantic

9/2005 - Carnival Conquest - Western Caribbean

3/2005 - Carnival Conquest - Western Caribbean

[serene56]

its your first cruise- you have nothing to comapre it to. take the inside and save the money.

 

BUT how many sea days are you looking at?? a port intensive cruise youdont need a balcony. but with a ship that has a few sea days a balcony is very nice to get away from the crowds.

[gamecockvic]

I prefer a balcony cabin, but they are almost always $1,500 more per cabin when I can go. So, I book an inside cabin most of the time. An outside is always higher priced and is often on the bottom decks. i would prefer to pay less and be inside on a higher deck. The window is not used except to check the weather or to see if it is daylight out. The ship's camera does that on most ships.

 

Have a great time no matter what cabin you choose!

[bygoner]

This will be our fourth cruise with RCCL. Past three cruises were all in cabins with windows. Cruises ranged from 7 to 16 days. Now however for the cruise on Explorer of the Seas on Oct 20 we chose an inside cabin. It is on Deck Ten about midships. A couple of reasons for the change. Cost was a consideration and also the fact we only spend time in the cabin to sleep and cleanup and change clothes. We are planning another cruise for January 2008 and this time will purchase a Suite. Gotta save the pennies for it but we are looking at a 12 day cruise with the suite. It is gonna be a special cruise also, 58 years married.

[VaBeachcruiser897]

I vote for a balcony.... if possible. I understand it is expensive and if the increased cost will decrease your cruise frequency do not do it!! This may only be your first cruise but by the end of your first cruise you will realize that you have taken the first of atleast 20 that you will take.

 

Here are a couple things to consider...

- You are taking a vacation

- Figure out how much you spent on clothing for this trip

- Air fare if you had to fly

- You will probably spend between 100-200 a day while on your cruise

- Knick nacks etc - Junk from destination

- So if an upgrade is $100 it may be worth it...

 

Why?? I dont know. I enjoy sitting on the balcony while my wife is getting ready and I enjoy talking to my neighbors. Much like we share info online you will often have a neighbor that is willing to share info.

 

Having rambled on... you are either on the ship or not! I would sleep in the engine room if I did not have a choice...

[cricket_h]

I've sailed in inside, oceanview and balcony cabins...and definitely prefer the oceanview or balcony!

 

I've heard a lot of people say "you don't spend much time in your cabin anyway" -- and if you have an inside cabin, that's definitely true! The inside cabin I stayed in reminded me of a very spacious, nicely decorated walk-in closet! (And who wants to spend 7 - 10 days in a closet?) :confused: On the other hand, when we book a balcony cabin, we find that we use it a lot more as a "home base" -- a place to rest and relax between activities. Not just a place to change clothes and sleep!

 

I found an inside cabin to be disorienting -- without a natural light source, its harder to get a "feel" for what time it is when you wake up. It's surprising how much our bodies depend on light to run our "internal clocks." :-)

 

Also -- I have some members of my family that LOVE to cruise, but have a little trouble with motion sickness. They tell me that an oceanview cabin really helps....being able to see the horizon makes a big difference.

 

Cruising is wonderful wherever you stay -- so if it's a choice between an inside cabin and staying home....take the inside cabin. In my opinion, if you can budget for an ocean view (or splurge on the balcony), you'll have a higher quality experience. Like most things, with cruising, you do get what you pay for!

 

Have a wonderful time!

 

Cricket

[wbrown52]

For us the savings equal more cruising. We like to cruise twice a year. We spend very little time in the cabin. There are great views all throughout the ship. When in port we are off the ship. If you want a nap, just turn off the light. But the bottom line is the money. Would rather spend it in port, before, or after the cruise. For us saving money = more fun!

[Calicruisefamily]

On our first cruise we had a inside cabin it was ok. Then we started to cruise again last year and booked a balcony(I'm Hooked) :D I would go with a balcony if you can.

Voyager W. Caribbean 12/16/06 "Our First AFT 1688"

Voyager E. Caribbean 11/05

S.S. Azure Seas Baja 11/90

[Jhawktx]

Hi,

 

my wife and me are planning a cruise with the Tahitian Princess. It is our first cruise so I am undecided what cabin type.

My wife wants an inside cabin, because it is cheaper and she says, we will not be in the cabin as much anyway ...

from your experience is she right or is it better to have at least limited view outside?

 

I believe she is absolutely right. You will only be in your cabin to sleep. Look at it this way, if you find you are spending a whole lot of time in your cabin, cruising must not be for you. Too much other stuff to do.

[RDSLS]

Fisrt cruise we had an inside cabin.

Second cruise we had a window cabin.

Upcoming cruise we have a balcony.

 

We were very happy on the Conquest in an inside room. But you could have put us in the boiler room and we'd have been happy!

 

Just remember - You are on a beautiful ship and on vacation!

[etoile]

For Alaska trips I definitely recommend at least an unobstructed outside. The views are beautiful the whole way along the Inside Passage and it would be a shame to miss them. (For the same reason I wouldn't recommend any cabins with balconies facing directly forward or directly aft.)

 

As for whether you want an inside or not...the price difference varies. Sometimes it's as little as $50 and sometimes it's as much as $250 or even more. If the difference is slight, I'd say spring for the outside. If it's a big difference but you really like the ship/itinerary and you know you want to do that cruise, go for an inside.

[Alaska06]

My wife and I recently cruised the inside passage in an oceanview. We napped in the afternoon without any problem and we were able to see whales from our room while we were still in bed, both in the morning and after napping. Also, I enjoy the natural light.

We have done two oceanview cruises, a four day and a seven day. I think the upgrade was less then $200 for the two of us each time. As a percentage of the total trip, it was very small, especially the Alaska trip. We enjoy cruising and we also enjoy some time in the room decompressing from all of the activity. We would not enjoy that as much without the window.

I suppose a suite would be nice, but I think a window is a good compromise. By the same token, an inside cabin is better than no cruise.

 

Bill

[cod]

I have to admit that, yes, I prefer an ocv..and even better yet, a balcony. But cost definately plays a part in our cabin choice. We've been on 10 cruises..3 ins, 5 ocv and 2 balconies. Of those 10 we actually booked 5 ins's but one was a free upgrade to an ocv on RC and one other was a 'cheap' upgrade to a balcony on NCL.

 

Our next cruise is the Liberty transatlantic in November. We are in an upper deck inside and it would cost us $800 to upgrade to a 6a or b. (And more than twice than amount to go to a balcony!) My only shot at a ocv is to watch the pricing which I do daily. I'm not holding out much hope though because there is such a price difference.

 

Like other posters, I am just happy to be going and want to keep cruising so price is very important.

[luvcruzen]

First cruise, October 2004 - balcony cabin.

 

Unlike many other CCers, we would rather cruise less in a nicer cabin than cruise frequently in a non-balcony cabin/suite. ;)

 

My husband and I totally agree with you ! I was wondering how so many people have cruised so often but then I read that many of them usually cruise in inside or less expensive rooms. My husband and I just started cruising in 2003 for our 20th anniversary, and booked an oceanview cabin. We didn't want to spend too much money, in case we didn't like cruising. (Yeah like that was going to happen!) Our next time was in a JS , with balcony, of course. Last December, we took our 2 boys and booked an Aft Suite with large balcony. Next Spring, we are going for the OS. We also have another OS booked for Mar 2008.

 

I asked my husband the other day, if he was sure he wanted the larger suite because we could cruise more often if we didn't. He said NO WAY ! We enjoy the extra room because we enjoy being able to hang out on the balcony or in the room to relax. We don't spend all of our time in there but the time that we do, we want to be comfortable.

 

We cruise less often than many, but we sure enjoy them every time we do !

[Michael Kays]

I totally agree on the balcony..we have had inside ocv and balcony..since we have had a balcony we have never had anything less..we like to sleep with the ait on and sliding doors and drapes open!! What a beautiful way to sleep with the sound of the sea, not to mention awakening and being able to sit on your balcony and enjoy the first glimpse of a new port while you sip your morning coffe and chart the days activities.

When you are done with a full day of fun, we return to the ship, have a shower, well DW showers while I make a dash to the buffet for snacks before our traditional late seating dinner (on the Caribbean Princess they had an incredible seafood buufet several mights, lobster, alaskan crab to die for and shrimp! I have some great pictures of us on our balcony at sunset enjoying the fabulous snacks:).

After dinner and dancing, and strolling on deck..we love to sit out on the balcony, our own little piece of heaven, and watch the flying dish~

and like the commercial..it's priceless~