Inside cabin compared to a window or balcony cabin.

[RetireeWannabee]

I will always only book an inside as it allows me to cruise more frequently ($$).

 

Of course, I don't hold court in my cabin, just sleep and change clothes, so it really is Just A Room for me. Room service doesn't really appeal to me so I don't need dining space.

 

DH is quite light-sensitive when sleeping so the inside is better for that also.

[HorrorFan]

Oh, and further to my previous post, and not that I want to fan (or start any) flames, but my wife smokes. So, since we travel with our children, and do not smoke inside at home or inside anywhere else for that matter, we (I quit after our last cruise) found always having to go out on deck a bit bothersome, so I know my wife will enjoy just being able to step outside instead of going up several decks and out to smoke. That will be a plus for a balcony.

[ABBE]

My husband enjoys quiet afternoons on the balcony, reading etc. We always get the least expensive balcony. However--if it meant cruising inside or not going--there is no question, GO inside. There are so many other things to do, you pay what you can afford! Happy cruising.

[Chip and Dale]

We did the Jewel in Feb and stayed in a 9052 with a balcony.We want to do RCCL again but maybe this time a inside cabin as we really were not on the balcony that much.What are some of the opinions of insiders on this site.I don't really think we can afford to cruise with the higher rates now if we don't get an inside as coming from Canada is almost 1000 bucks each for airfare now alone with all the taxes and fees and fuel surcharges.. Just not sure what to do so if any insiders have any advice much appreciated.Thanks

 

Hello Fellow Canadian!

We are on Georgian Bay - Ontario

 

We did a B2B on Legend of the Seas in February this year. 1st week we had cabin 3719 the inside of the inside and the second week 8512 a GS. The first week we kept thinking that we would love the GS the 2nd week and would find excellent service and amenities. Man were we wrong. Our cabin steward the first week was incredible and managed to find us and check in to see if everything was okay usually twice most days. It was small but the storage was absolutely perfect I hate to admit it. The only thing I could complain about was it was quite noisy when there were rough seas and there were rough seas most of the first week. Wilson did such a good job and was so incredibly accomodating, friendly and pleasant we made sure that we tipped him generously.

 

Then came week two in the GS. Although there was space galore we had to complain to have amenities replaced in the bathroom and have the room cleaned properly (coffee spills left on a table etc.). The cabin steward did not ask us if everything was okay, or if there was anything we needed or anything else for that matter even one time. We also tipped him accordingly. The cabin the first week was in excellent shape and had a new couch/chair, the 2nd week in the GS the carpet was filthy, the couch/sectional was even dirtier and everything was so worn it was like a run down hotel that had not been taken care of. We had access to the Concierge Lounge the 2nd week but became quite tired of some of the braggards and the number of people who filled it each night to drink free alcohol. We were also surrounded by smokers who leaned over the balcony invariably sending smoke onto ours. I am allergic and therefore, did not usually find it enjoyable being on our balcony. We also watched the same smokers flicking ashes and cigarettes off of their balconies.

 

To sum it up, we are quite glad that we tried the inside and will most likely do an inside many more times depending on the itinerary and the ship. The savings was unbelievable and sadly in our case the service was much better in the inside...go figure!

Dee

[WinterEscape]

My husband and I usually book inside cabins. Once, we had an aft balcony. Overall, we perferred the balcony, but....we can cruise twice a year on an inside cabin or once a year on a balcony. Although there are differences, we don't dislike the inside cabin, so we choose to cruise twice per year! By doing this, we usually end up spending more time outside the cabin and enjoying the ship more!

[flahagan]

We've done both inside and OV on our 7 previous cruises, and will have our 1st balcony next month on a 14-nt. transatlantic on the Navigator (our first RCI cruise). The only reason we're doing a balcony is that the price was ridiculously low and we decided to try it!

If you really want a LARGE inside, try HAL. We've sailed on the Zaandam and the Maasdam, and their insides are HUGE. They even have full-size bathtubs. I believe they're close to 200 sq. ft. The back wall is curtained and lighted, and it appears to be sunlight coming through.

Our solution to not knowing when it is daylight is to leave the TV on and tuned to the ship's channel, without sound, so that when the sun comes up, the TV lights up!

This will probably be our one and only balcony and will be quite a treat, I'm sure. But I won't hesitate to book an inside again on a ship with decent cabin sizes.

[robtulipe]

Our solution to not knowing when it is daylight is to leave the TV on and tuned to the ship's channel, without sound, so that when the sun comes up, the TV lights up!

On our last four RC cruises that wasn't possible because the ship's channel was not on the ship's web cam all of the time. It would alternate this with the route map and cruise information so most of the time the TV was lit up with information and it wasn't dark with the web cam's shot of the ocean at night.

[cujosmom]

We've done insides, oceanviews and balconies. While we love it when we find a good deal on a balcony cabin, we find we really don't use the balcony as we're rarely in the cabin during the day. If there is a cruise we want to take and can only afford an inside, we will be glad to sail in an inside cabin. OP, take the inside cabin and enjoy your cruise.

[kt0331]

You really aren't in your cabin enough for it to make a lot of difference. Yes - they are very dark and you'll have no idea what time it is so should definitely bring a clock that you can see when you wake up. I've only had balconies twice which worked when we squeezed more than two to a cabin - while enjoyable, insides are a very reasonably priced option and for me, doesn't deter from the cruise experience at all.

[jobowl]

We have had all three. I prefer the inside mainly we stay out late and I sleep much later in an inside cabin. The sun light at sea is brutal on me. We really don't spend much time in the cabin anyway. It is like said earlier two cruises or one. I will take two a year everytime. Now that being said would I turn down a great deal on a balcony no way. Now a window we have turned down 3 or 4 times.

[98Charlie]

I've never done an actual tally of the % of available time we spend in our cabin. However, when we have a balcony I really believe that we do spend more time there. It's not a good thing or a bad thing. It's just the way it is.

 

Charlie

[dondiane]

Have been in both insides and balconies...never had a problem with being inside. Never felt claustrophobic inside at all. They do have mirrors on the walls to give the illusion of openess. Sure, a balcony is nice...but more cruising is soooooooooooooo much better!!!!

[robtulipe]

We've had all three and will usually go with an inside unless the balcony or OV can be had for not much more. We try to be selective of ship we have our inside cabins on so we have good size insides like on the Radiance or Voyager (particularly the first three built which have larger insides than last two) class ships. Our first RC cruise on Empress, with it's 117 sq.ft. inside cabins, taught us to be selective about what ships we booked insides on.

For our upcoming Radiance Hawaii cruise our group has three cabins booked, one balcony (ours since we got C&A balcony discount) and two inside for friends. These were guarantees and we lucked out getting an E1 on deck 7 with extra large balcony, an H OV and a M inside. This way three of our friends who have never cruised with RC nor the the 4th who has like the rest has never had a balcony will get to enjoy ours with us.