Balcony or Inside cabin to the Mediterranean?

[ycasey66]

We are planning a late October cruise to the Mediterranean, is a Balcony really worth the extra $1,000. -1,400. more?

 

My cruisemate makes a smaller salary and would prefer an inside cabin.

 

I make a slightly larger salary, but would like to splurge this one time on a balcony.

 

What are the pros and cons? Will it be too cold in late October for a balcony?

 

Thanks for all your replies.:)

[randolph]

We love balconies and suites on cruises. However, for our Med. cruise next month we chose an inside cabin because it is so port intensive (11 port in 12 days). Of course we will maximize our time onshore during the day so for us it was a waste of money. When there are lots of sea days or Caribbean ports, balconies are our preference. Really depends on your itenerary and available funds.

[globalnomads]

We loved having a balcony on our recent Med cruise. We enjoyed our front-row seats as we came into and left ports. A post-tour, pre-dinner cocktail with cheese and crackers from room service seems to taste better on a balcony! And although it's frowned upon, the wet swim suits and rinsed out undies dried much faster on the balcony. :o

 

Our kids were in an inside room, just across the hall. I was amazed at how much more storage space we had, too.

 

I can't comment on the weather in October, so maybe there will be others with insight on that.

[PTC]

Go up on deck and see the sail-ins and sail aways. You can take a drink with a snack and sit out and watch the sail away as well. You know how unpredictable the weather can be so consider your options carefully. Could rain the whole cruise or be sunny.

Sorry to put a damper on the romantic appeal of balconies but if you got money to burn, take the balcony.

Good point about sea days versus port days. Even with 2 or 3 sea days, just how much time do most people spend in their cabins?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Why not compromise and get a window cabin? Or is that not an alternative in this case? In late October, you might find you use the balcony less often. I will always opt for a window cabin if I have to, to make the cruise cost-effective. But I would draw the line at an inside cabin.

[cruisemom42]

This is such a matter of personal preference. I love having a balcony and we really enjoyed and made use of it on our med cruise in November -- it was definitely usable and it was partially covered (although we didn't have much bad weather). Having cheese and crackers (brought down from the buffet above) and wine on the balcony before dinner was our ritual!

 

However, for many people balconies aren't critical. Most ships have plenty of spots where you can go to watch the sail aways. You probably tend to meet more people because you will be out and about on the ship. Most days you will be in port and off the ship.

 

(Note: on some ships, like Princess, the inside, outside, and balcony cabins are all the same size, so you won't necessarily have any more space in your cabin if you opt for a balcony.)

[lambs2]

We had our first Med cruise this past May. Although I LOVE a balcony cabin (we had our very first last summer in Hawaii and boy was that trip delightful!), with the fast sinking US dollar against the Euro we chose to spend our available vacation funds this year a bit more wisely and so took an inside cabin for our trip. It turned out to be a wonderful decision for us as we added days before and after in Venice and still stayed within our planned vacation budget. This way we can take another cruise or two this year and still be able to pay our bills when we are at home! :eek:

[eh2zed]

I think it boils down to affordability. Mediterranean cruises are port intensive and if you will actively visit each port you will naturally use the balcony less. You will get less value for the extra cost. Likewise you will get more value on a less port intensive cruise. In either case a balcony is a nice to have but not a must have. It really is about affordability.

[judie43]

I would,of course,prefer a balcony...however with all the costs of a Med cruise it was an additional amount that we were just not ready to spend. We have sailed inside,outside and balconies,including the much talked about af cabin with a huge balcony. Every time we book an iside I swear,upon enter the room,that I will never do it again. After the first night I realize it is not bad at all.With the money we save going inside for our upcoming Med cruise we can almost do a quick 7 day Caribbean next spring

[fmax]

As mentioned, med is really port intensive and although you can definitely do excursions on your own, private excursions or even ship's ones are quite costly. You might be better saving the money, go inside, and use your savings for a few days pre-cruise in your originating port. I would definitely suggest you at least fly in one day ahead, if not more, to deal with any delays, jet lag etc.

 

A typical day on our med cruise was up and in the restaurant for around 6:45 - you can get room service or go to windjammer - as I liked started my day of with a good breakfast in the main dining room. A good chance to chat with fellow cruisers and get there take on the cruise.

 

Off the ship by 8:00 a.m. Back at the ship about an hour before it left. Back to the cabin, washed and changed, quick walk through the ship, drink at the bar then it was time for late seating for dinner (9:00 ish). After dinner, another stroll through the ship and turned in for a good night's sleep to be prepared for the day ahead. As you can tell I probably wouldn't really have had much use for a balcony on this cruise.

 

 

Frances

[cruz1234]

We absolutely loved our balcony on our Med Cruise. Even though we were in Port all but 1 day and off the Ship more than on it, we used our Balcony everyday! We could step outside and see the area around, we sat out there every afternoon as we left port and just admired the view. Our day at sea instead of fighting the crowds around the pool we just hung out on our balcony and enjoyed the fresh air, sea breeze and sunshine!

I don't know what the weather will be like in Oct. but I think it will still be nice enough to enjoy a balcony. We figured that we might never cruise that area again and wanted to be able to enjoy every minute.

We never opt for a balcony when we do Carribean cruise...So all the money we've saved from getting O/V on those we used to get a Balcony this time.

I figure we would have blown that money on SOMETHING so it might as well have been a balcony :)

[Angiebear]

Hi

Returned a few weeks ago from a Med cruise and did not have a balcony had an inside. I really hated it...even though we went "up top" for sail aways, etc.. BUT with the money we saved iby getting an inside I was able to purchase a Turkish Carpet in Kusadasi for a room in my house that we are re-doing. it has become my inspiration piece for the rest of the room. So although I missed my balcony, I got something that I will see every day to remind me of my fantastic vacation. And that made it worh while.

Perhaps think about doing something like that, or as another poster said, what about an oceanview room?

Angela

[kanigeta]

Hi

Returned a few weeks ago from a Med cruise and did not have a balcony had an inside. I really hated it...even though we went "up top" for sail aways, etc.. BUT with the money we saved iby getting an inside I was able to purchase a Turkish Carpet in Kusadasi for a room in my house that we are re-doing. it has become my inspiration piece for the rest of the room. So although I missed my balcony, I got something that I will see every day to remind me of my fantastic vacation. And that made it worh while.

Perhaps think about doing something like that, or as another poster said, what about an oceanview room?

Angela

 

Angela, I couldn't resist responding because of your screen name. My daughter is Angela too & I've called her AngieBear since she was a baby. She's 18 now and I just moved her into her own apartment this weekend. I think your carpet purchase to remind you of the vacation is fantastic!

 

Anyway.....I was in this thread because I splurged on a balcony cabin for my upcoming TA Mediterranean cruise, in October, plus I'm paying the solo rate so I was looking for info to solidify my actions. Hmmmm, didn't find much to help me but I still feel good about it. Of course, I'll be a lot more days at sea since it's a TA.

[mitaxi]

Angela, I couldn't resist responding because of your screen name. My daughter is Angela too & I've called her AngieBear since she was a baby. She's 18 now and I just moved her into her own apartment this weekend. I think your carpet purchase to remind you of the vacation is fantastic!

 

Anyway.....I was in this thread because I splurged on a balcony cabin for my upcoming TA Mediterranean cruise, in October, plus I'm paying the solo rate so I was looking for info to solidify my actions. Hmmmm, didn't find much to help me but I still feel good about it. Of course, I'll be a lot more days at sea since it's a TA.

 

I am also doing a TA solo next year...and like you splurged for a balcony....have done the Med. before with my kids and had the balcony...we loved it, but didn't use it that much... however with more sea days on the TA,.... I absolutely wanted the balcony...many more sunrises with leisurely coffee, etc. to enjoy on the TA. I think we both will be happy with our "splurge" :D

[ollienbertsmum]

Weather in the Med in November - hmmm could be fantastic, just the right temperature for visiting ports, but then again it could rain.

 

 

If you have a balcony you are more likely than not to have enough good days that you will probably use it, but if you don't you will find a way to fill that gap - find your 'regular' bar, or hang out near a coffee machine.

 

Your friend is not as comfortable as you finance-wise. I personally would go for the inside and use the extra cash on a good purchase or to buy your friend and yourself a massage. It is not a good start to a holiday for your friend when she is already thinking that she cannot afford what she is doing.

[ktpc2005]

My thinking behind it is with so many ports I saved the money I would have spent on a balcony and will use it for other parts of my cruise. With the inside cabin I have all I have to do is go up one deck and I am outside.:D

[crusierpj]

My only comment, a window is useless if you can't do balcony do inside

[DebNJoe]

My only comment, a window is useless if you can't do balcony do inside

That was our thought for our Med cruise in Oct 05.

We got a great group rate on an inside cabin that was approx half what the balcony would have cost. We considered the oceanview, but the inside was still $800/person less. The $1600 saved went a long way on tours etc. As others have said a Med cruise is very port intensive and in Oct the daylight is shorter. Often when you return to the ship the sun is already starting to go down.

[kanigeta]

I am also doing a TA solo next year...and like you splurged for a balcony....have done the Med. before with my kids and had the balcony...we loved it, but didn't use it that much... however with more sea days on the TA,.... I absolutely wanted the balcony...many more sunrises with leisurely coffee, etc. to enjoy on the TA. I think we both will be happy with our "splurge" :D

 

 

YAY!! Thanks for your post. I'm so excited - will land in Rome 7 weeks from today. The packing has begun! :D

[mouse1961]

On our July Freedom cruise, we had both. My husband and I had a balcony, while our 17 and 25 year old shared an inside cabin (both were Lido deck). By the second day, both kids were telling us never to put them in a windowless cabin. This was our son's third cruise, so he was used to cruising. Their complaints were: 1) they could never tell what time it was, so they weren't sure when to get up 2) they said the walls were closing in on them 3) the rough seas made the room seem even smaller. I spent some time in the cabin also and there is no way I could have survived without a window. The balcony was very nice when we pulled in to the Med Ports. As we passed Stromboli and entered Venice, we sat on the deck. We've had balconies in the past but this is the first time we really used it daily.