inside vs ocean view

[crusingici]

A friend of ours is also planning to cruise Hawaii -- they are thinking of going with an inside -- will they be missing much scenery by not having an ocean view?

 

They are accustomed to going to the Caribbean and not seeing land till right before they get to port.

 

Thanks!

[franksandy]

I have had almost every type of cabin from the royal suite to inside single cabins...Inside is OK for me, I'm rarely in my cabin...On a cruise to Alaska I wouldn't want anything but a balcany....but for Hawaii RT with so many sea days...There really isn't anything to see but water. I'm taking the Diamond in a month with my partner, and we will be in a Inside cabin..

 

Sandy

[JLC@SD]

a cruise to Hawaii with lots of sea days is probably the best time to book an inside cabin. Not much scenery on the way.

[mitsguy2001]

I always book oceanview, since I've been told that inside rooms screw up your circadian rhythms, which can especially be a problem when you have jet lag.

[dotsebeil]

I guess that would depend on who they are cruising... we cruised NCL, you start and end in Hawai'i and never go more than a few miles offshore, except in the middle of the night, when its too dark to see anyway. For our cruise, there was a LOT to see.

 

With the NCL 7-day cruises, you spend a lot of time hugging the islands, or going in between them. We had a balcony, and we spent quite a lot of time there watching the scenery. At some points in the trip, they told us what we were seeing over the intercom, or told us to look out for things.

 

Regarding the inside room vs. ocean view... my personal preference was best phrased by a comedian on a Holland America cruise years ago, "Inside an inside room is too much inside." You go to sleep in complete darkness, wake the same way, don't have a clock in the room, depend entirely on your friends, your green led travel clock, or wakeup calls. To me it is worth the upgrade. We got a free upgrade to a balcony for this trip and it was really fantastic!

 

[jnc411]

We have had both outside and inside cabins, sort of depends on the cruise I think, I like outside for Alaska, and Panama Canal , but we were fine with inside on Mexico and Carribbean cruises, we spend so little time in the cabin , so it works for us. If you are people that like to lounge around in the cabin then I would go for outside or balcony cabin. We are booked on the 15 day round trip out of LA to Hawaii and we booked an inside sort of last minute so it works for us. Good luck , Happy Cruising

Cori

[CC Help Michell]

A friend of ours is also planning to cruise Hawaii -- they are thinking of going with an inside -- will they be missing much scenery by not having an ocean view?

 

They are accustomed to going to the Caribbean and not seeing land till right before they get to port.

 

Thanks!

 

Do your friends normally book an inside cabin? I ask because I've done it, once, and never again -- I discovered that for me, it just didn't work. I obtained new empathy for our classroom pets waiting for somebody to get there and turn a light on! Another factor is the cruiseline -- on NCL, the ships do a Napali Coast sailby and the people on the port side of the ship have a marvelous view (particularly from a balcony) in the privacy of their cabins, while the inside cabins have to go to a public deck to jockey for viewing/photography space. You might want to pass along that info, as well, if your friends are considering NCL.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I've only cruised once and had an inside cabin on deck 8 right in the center of the ship. I don't feel disappointed at all. My friends had a balcony and we didn't feel like we really missed anything. We actually enjoyed total darkness for when we were sleeping and we were only in the cabin to shower & get ready or sleeping so for us, the inside was the way to go and price couldn't be beat.

 

Now my next cruise to Mexican Riviera, I booked a balcony guarantee just because all my friends (28 of us) all booked balcony guarantees. It might be nice to have a balcony to drink my coffee in the mornings but I really don't stay in the cabin much anyway. It is a matter of what you plan to do. If you like the idea of eating on the deck room service food or spend a lot of time just relaxing in your room, then splurge. If you are tight on money and plan to "see Hawaii" more than relax, then you won't be disappointed with an inside room. I personally wouldn't waste my money on a window room. Either get a balcony or an inside. JMO - others will disagree but it is how "I" feel.

[Lyncruiser]

We cruised around the islands and then crossed the Pacific to Ensenada. We loved the balcony for the islands, but weren't able to use it after about the first day on the crossing.

[LakeErieLady]

I'm not a million mile cruiser- our 11 day in Hawaii will only be our 2nd cruise. But on our Caribbean - I would wake up at night and just look out the window at the stars and you could see the wake near the ship- it was wonderful. I just couldn't see the price of a balcony. Inside- I'm afraid I'd feel like I was living in a closet! Just my two cents worth.

[flamomo]

We loved having a balcony on the Princess 15 day r/t LA <-> Hawaii cruise. We used our balcony as a quiet place for relaxation every day. That's not to say that we didn't spend time up on deck or out and about on the ship. But just knowing we had our own place to sit out and watch the sea going by or read a book was so nice. And when we were in the Islands, when we reboarded after being ashore, what a great place to kick off our shoes, prop up our feet and have a cool drink. Good way to "recharge our batteries" before dinner and the evening's avtivities.

If I were to go solo, I would do that itinerary in an inside cabin if it were the only way I could afford to go, but my preference is for a balcony whenever I can.

[Jade's Fire]

We compromised and went with an obstructed view room. That way we weren't all closed in and feeling claustrophobic but it was less expensive than an oceanview or balconey room. And we had more of a view than I expected: you could easily see beyond the lifeboat.

[Disneyworld]

We had booked an inside cabin on deck 9. DH developed some sort of allergy to cleaning agent used in the room and could hardly breathe. We spoke to reception about trying to remedy problem. They tried a number of different things, all helped a little but the problem didn't go away. We attended the "latitudes" party which is a party they throw for people who have done at least 1 Norwegian cruise and signed up to be latitudes members. The reception had speakers and one said if we needed anything to let them know. My DH told her about his problem. Within a day we had another cabin. This one was on a much lower deck, 4, but it was an onceanview.

So we actually got an oceanview for inside price. But, remember it was on a much lower deck which meant we heard the engines a little more, but not bad at all. I loved the oceanview. We had to get ready for an event when we sailed by the Molokai coast and we were able to get ready in our cabin without missing a thing. On this 11 day cruise both of our sea days were cruising by islands so the view was wonderful (when we sailed the Napali coast we went on deck) I highly recommend oceanview, but since we didn't pay any more for it, it's hard for me to say if it is worth the price. I think I'd go with a prior post and if cost is an issue, go with obstructed view that way you get the best of both worlds, or with oceanview on a lower deck. If you are on the POA get port side, that is the side we sail by the islands on. JMO.

[shell03]

There is nothing like waking up early in the morning and enjoying a cup of coffee or breakfast on your balcony in your pj's - especially in Hawaii. It really is like having an additional room and improves the quality of the time that you spend in the cabin.

 

If you can do it, I recommend it highly. However, any cabin is a good one when you are sailing in Hawaii!! :D

[murphysmum]

Hi....

 

In my opinion, Hawaii is one place where I would definitely want a balcony room. Comments have been made about scenery pro and con, but my reason would be to enjoy the tropical air. On a ship in the tropics, it's lovely to leave the door open all of the time to hear the ocean and feel the warm humid air and afternoon trade winds. You're in your room enough of the time for this to make a difference and can sleep all night with the door open.

 

I've cruised several times...all over the world...The truth is that I've never cruised in Hawaii because I wouldn't want to miss a minute of time on the beach, in the water and enjoying the smell of the fresh salt air tinged with tropical floral scent in many areas. Living in California, it's quite easy to get to Hawaii so it's my little "addiction".

 

I guess my rambling point is that if you can afford the balcony, go for it. It would be SO worth it.

 

Enjoy those beautiful islands....

 

murphysmum;)