My money was wasted on a balcony!

[Drew B]

I felt my balcony was wasted in Alaska. Yes, the scenery was amazing, but I'm thin blooded, and I had to bundle up so much just to spend 5 minutes out there, it wasn't worth it. I spent more time in places that were indoors with windows...

 

Still, I booked a balcony for my upcoming B2B in the Caribbean. Hopefully, I will appreciate it more in a warm climate...

[nwiacpl]

Our first cruise we had an interior cabin. Second cruise a balcony. We wont ever cruise without a balcony room again!!! That was our place to go and be alone yet enjoy being outside. We ordered coffee (room service) to be delivered and sat on the balcony to enjoy entering port.

[cruisedarling]

I am going on my 4th cruise June 1 on the Conquest with my sister. I would like to surprise her with a balcony, but the Panorama 8E's seem to be all that are left? Isn't this too high if you might be prone to motion sickness? I will be wearing my patch, but I don't want to mess up perfection as we haven't ever been sea sick before...Any ideas??Thank you!!

[BooBooMonkey]

We have never booked a balcony cabin, and I'm not sure I would. First of all, we don't spend much time in the cabin. Second, we've had insides and outsides, and there really was no difference aside from the fact that the sun wakes you up when you're not ready to get up yet in the window cabin. Third, we would prefer to cruise more often in a lower cost cabin than less often in a higher priced one. And, finally, if we had a balcony cabin, I don't think we'd ever leave the room!

 

To each his own! We definitely wouldn't turn down a visit from the upgrade fairy for a balcony room...which brings up point five:

Don't want to get spoiled with a balcony and then (see point three)...

[misguidedangel]

I don't think booking a balcony is a waste of money. My last cruise we had a Cat 11 suite, which is pricy. I can safely say we got every penny's worth out of our balcony, especially me. I was not fortunate to be able to sleep through nonstop snoring and barely got four hours of sleep a night, which is fine. I was usually up before my mother or niece AND I would usually be on the balcony sit relaxing while trying to wake up. I woke up at 5:15am the day we were to dock in Grand Cayman and I couldn't get back to sleep (my mother was snoring so loud), so I decided to get up and watch us sail in. I got there just in time to catch us hit the Southeast edge of GC and stayed on the balcony until 6:30-6:45 until we docked. If I didn't have a balcony cabin I would have been laying in bed for that whole time twiddling my thumbs because NOTHING would be open on deck, that and I would look rather silly wlaking around deck with unbrushed hair and in my nightgown.....

[okgirl]

I agree with the OP and what's great about all of our experiences is we all get to do what we want.

 

I have also had 4A to cat 12 (usually through upgrades) but even when I've had a balcony I just wasn't out there all that much.

 

I'm up and out really early in the mornings and my favorite place to gaze out at the ocean is either aft on the Lido, or in a comfy chair on the promenade. I usually read 2 or 3 books each cruise and I've never really had anyone (besides sister :rolleyes: ) interrupt me. I have the ability to completely turn off all noise around me when I'm reading, sis sometimes has to touch me to get my attention.:p

[WestTxCruiser]

I am going on my 4th cruise June 1 on the Conquest with my sister. I would like to surprise her with a balcony, but the Panorama 8E's seem to be all that are left? Isn't this too high if you might be prone to motion sickness? I will be wearing my patch, but I don't want to mess up perfection as we haven't ever been sea sick before...Any ideas??Thank you!!

We are on the same cruise. Are you on the roll call? We are on the Verandah Deck, 3 balconies together. We were on Main deck last year, inside cabin. No probs at all with sea sickness. Hoping the same for this year. 61 days!!

[griswalds]

I like the balcony so when my DW is using the hair dryer in the cabin I can be a in a quiet place. The ability to allow fresh air and more light into the room is another bonus. As well I am not sure how the captain would ever safely dock the ship without all of us on the balconies helping out?

 

Bad weather or a chain smoking neighbour can negate the value of the balcony tho. Now that there is no smoking in the rooms on most cruise lines, guess where the smokers go...!

 

Griswalds.

[fresnel468]

I found the balcony to be uninhabitable for a large part of the day when sailing the Caribbean in summer. It was like sitting in an oven. Early mornings and late evenings were more pleasant.

[enjoyinglife]

I'm glad to hear it actually. I've heard so many people say that once you cruise on a balcony you will never go back to an inside cabin and that scares me cuz I cannot afford to cruise balcony price. I got a deal on my cruise in 2 weeks and have a extended aft balcony which is crazy exciting. However, I was totally fine with my inside cabin when I went to Hawaii cuz it was all about the ports and what excursions we had planned. Very busy so no time to use the cabin except to sleep, shower, change etc. This cruise is all about the rest and relaxation so a balcony sounds really nice. I like the idea of sitting on the balcony drinking a cup of coffee in the morning or a jack & coke before dinner.

 

I hope I don't get addicted to a balcony cuz I really liked my inside cabin - always dark, slept like a baby, super quiet. Can't complain at all about either one. As long as I get to cruise, I'll be happy.

 

I also loved my inside room because it was dark, and made sleeping easier. I protested when my DH wanted to pay extra for something I thought we would not use enough since we were never in our cabin. Why would we want to pay more - that's crazy!(yep, thats what I said plus more:D ) I gave in because friends were getting another balcony that they loved. Guess what? After teh cruise with the first balcony, I am the one who is sold on balconies now! It was so peacful out there having my breakfast. Last cruise, I even brought a warm chaocolate melting cake to my room for later that evening and ate it out there! Wow! What a combo! We have seen many flying fish (i love to count them) and a few dolphins and sitting on my balcony looking at some of our ports, WOW!

 

Having said that, I have another balcony booked for next year on the Miracle, but, if I could find a cheapo inside for just me and DH in the summer, I would book an inside again, if it meant an extra cruise. Since my balcony 3 cruises ago, I wouldn't mind the opportunity to slide in a "inside testing cruise" to test and see how we fare in the inside now! Hummm, I wonder if this arguement would hold up with hubby! :D :D

[caribsun]

Inside GTY for us, had a BL one time and we hardly used it.

[zonacruiser25]

We like deals and will take what we can get to do more cruises. That said, DW LOVES the balcony! We have a balcony to Alaska but inside on our next 2 short ones. We will be sailing with family in NY so we wouldn't get the use out of the balcony. 1 week or longer, we will try for a balcony every time!

[rpclmc]

I went from inside 1st cruise, to OV 2nd cruise to balcony 3rd cruise. My preference was inside. Now that doesn't mean that I wouldn't take an upgrade, but that does mean that I don't find it worth the extra money for the balcony.

 

My family doesn't know how to sit, be quiet and relax, so a balcony does us no good. But I am jealous of those that can enjoy it. Maybe someday when the child has moved out and the DH is old and crippled;) . Until then insides will be my families choice, unless we do an Alaskan cruise, then it would be OV - I have heard the scenerary on those are incredible.

[marcia014]

For me, it depends on the time of year and location. My only balcony out of 7 cruises was to the Panama Canal after Thanksgiving. It was cold, rainy and windy and the balcony rarely was used. Maybe for Alaska, Hawaii, or a temperate time of year in the Caribbean, but for now I prefer oceanview.

[LisaT12]

Well..now you know for next time, what type of cabin is more for you.

[rpclmc]

Well..now you know for next time, what type of cabin is more for you.

 

I don't know if that was meant for me, but that is exactly how I feel. I don't fee I wasted money, but learned what I prefer. Lucky for me, it means saving some bucks.

[rimau]

We now book inside. Had a balcony in the Western Car. in January. I found it too cold to stay outside. DH did use it but overall decided it was not worth the extra price.

[halos]

The reason I cruise is for the ocean. The ports and activities on the ship are just an added bonus.

I need a balcony.

[spartygrad95]

The reason I cruise is for the ocean. The ports and activities on the ship are just an added bonus.

I need a balcony.

 

 

I dont need a balcony because it usually only takes me a few hours to get myself in trouble enough with the g/f to have a bed on the Lido deck for a few nights.

[gargoyle999]

For me, those miles and miles of water are exactly what I'm looking for. Peace and quiet is at a premium in my life.

 

Exactly! Sooo relaxing. Best part of the cruise for me! Wouldn't cruise without a balcony.

[MonaCK]

We are going to be in our first balcony this upcoming cruise - and I'm hoping I don't get hooked on the balcony. ;) We generally cruise in inside cabins. Last cruise we were on we were upgraded to an outside cabin, and I know that I wouldn't spend the money for that.

 

lets see how it goes - but I have a feeling that I'll be happy in an inside cabin if it means I can cruise more often :)

[halos]

I dont need a balcony because it usually only takes me a few hours to get myself in trouble enough with the g/f to have a bed on the Lido deck for a few nights.

 

lol!!

roflmao!! :D

I think that's the first thing you've posted that I actually believe!!!! :p

[Jeanny]

I am going on my 4th cruise in Oct, and I booked my first baloney, I am very excited about that. So I hope I dont feel like I wasted my money, I still think its going to be really nice to be able to go out there in the morning with my coffee, and smell the ocean air.

 

I sure hope it is worth the extra money.

 

I'm not sure if your "baloney" is worth the extra money, but a "balcony" sure is worth it!!! :D

[AZaTaz]

At least you now know what type of cabin is for you.

 

We chose insides for short cruises but like our balcony for longer. We enjoy sitting out morning and at night.

[Wspinelli]

On our 1st cruise we did an inside with DW & 2 children, we didn't spend any time in the cabin except to change, sleep and bump into one another. The second cruise was only us 2, the children stayed stayed home and we opted for the balcony. We loved it; the balcony door was open all night long to listen to the sound of the ocean and the smell of the ocean. We sat out there in the morning and watched the sun set in the evening smoking a cigar and enjoying a cocktail.

 

Cruise 3 we got 2 staterooms, we realized the reason the 4 of us didn't spend any time in the cabin was there was no room. As a compromise we got 2 adjoining oceanview staterooms. We really missed the balcony.

 

Cruise 4 is in the process of booking this week. We found on the Miracle, 2 adjoining staterooms, one a balcony and the adjoining is an interior stateroom. So far the best compromise, DW and I get our balcony and we don't have to leave the children home.

 

I guess this is a longwinded way of saying the balcony is worth every penny. We really enjoyed it.