Balcony or inside for family of 3?

[kosoffj]

been on many cruises, our son is 2.5 and has already been on 4 so we are good there. We've always gotten an inside cabin (cheaper, darker s o good for sleeping). We are considering the NCL Jade for a 13 night European cruise this summer. For the first time we are considering "springing" for a balcony.

 

We tend not to spend a ton of time in our room (our son is an awesome traveler and can sleep anywhere) but i thought it would be nice to have the space (plus the layout of the balcony over the outside/inside is a better setup for our little portable toddler bed). Price difference is alot thhough, about 1k total.

 

so what do you think? worth it?

[Baxter]

For us, it wouldn't be. We have sailed in everything from inside to mini-suite, and we are perfectly content with the inside cabin. Like you, we don't spend much time in the cabin and, frankly, we don't want to spend a lot of time in the cabin. 1k would pay for a number of nice excursions...

[azspring]

been on many cruises, our son is 2.5 and has already been on 4 so we are good there. We've always gotten an inside cabin (cheaper, darker s o good for sleeping). We are considering the NCL Jade for a 13 night European cruise this summer. For the first time we are considering "springing" for a balcony.

 

We tend not to spend a ton of time in our room (our son is an awesome traveler and can sleep anywhere) but i thought it would be nice to have the space (plus the layout of the balcony over the outside/inside is a better setup for our little portable toddler bed). Price difference is alot thhough, about 1k total.

 

so what do you think? worth it?

 

With a toddler, I would stick with an inside cabin. I would worry about the safety of a toddler on the balcony. Since you don't spend a lot of time in your room, why pay the extra money?

[AJI2596]

We had a balcony and it worked out great. When he would take a nap or go to bed early, we could just relax out on the balcony. It was perfect. And I was worried about safety until I actually got in the room. The doors are so heavy you def couldn't open them plus they had a children's lock up high. And I never let him out there by himself.

[crusinmama06]

Well usually I can't cruise without a balcony. I don't like to go to bed early with the kids so I would rather have a balcony to hang out on.

 

BUT, if you are used to an inside and content with an inside, then why spend the money?

 

azspring - With common sense, there are no safety issues with kids on balconies. When was the last time you read a "child overboard" story. ;)

 

Balconies on the newer ships are all glass. So unless the child jumps off a chair (easy to remove the chairs and pull them away from the edge) and you keep a constant eye on the tot...they'll be fine.

 

 

[mcfam5]

been on many cruises, our son is 2.5 and has already been on 4 so we are good there. We've always gotten an inside cabin (cheaper, darker s o good for sleeping). We are considering the NCL Jade for a 13 night European cruise this summer. For the first time we are considering "springing" for a balcony.

 

We tend not to spend a ton of time in our room (our son is an awesome traveler and can sleep anywhere) but i thought it would be nice to have the space (plus the layout of the balcony over the outside/inside is a better setup for our little portable toddler bed). Price difference is alot thhough, about 1k total.

 

so what do you think? worth it?

 

I say if you are just as happy with an inside ~ go inside. Use the $1000 as the deposit on your next cruise!

 

Enjoy!

[Nuttycruisegirl]

Well usually I can't cruise without a balcony. I don't like to go to bed early with the kids so I would rather have a balcony to hang out on.

 

BUT, if you are used to an inside and content with an inside, then why spend the money?

 

azspring - With common sense, there are no safety issues with kids on balconies. When was the last time you read a "child overboard" story. ;)

 

Balconies on the newer ships are all glass. So unless the child jumps off a chair (easy to remove the chairs and pull them away from the edge) and you keep a constant eye on the tot...they'll be fine.

 

 

Cruisinmama...I cannot thank you enough for the link to the kids schedules! I know that took time to do and I sooo appreciate it! Now my son thinks the activities may be "cool" instead of "lame" :) You saved me! Thanks again! BTW...The girls are adorable!

[kosoffj]

we considered the balcony cause it appears on the ncl jade there is a 1 person pull out sofa (our son is too big for the travel crib but is used to sleeping in a crib at home so i thought this and rails would be good).

 

also it's a long cruise so the chances he has an off night or 2 go up :) hence more room might be a good thing!

 

i don't mind the inside i just wish it was bigger, i don't care so much about the outdoor space, just the space if you get what i mean. we took a 9 night this past winter and their were several days we were cursing ourselves for not getting a bigger cabin

 

decision decisions, but i do appreciate all your help and awnsers, thanks!

[KerCar]

we considered the balcony cause it appears on the ncl jade there is a 1 person pull out sofa (our son is too big for the travel crib but is used to sleeping in a crib at home so i thought this and rails would be good).

 

also it's a long cruise so the chances he has an off night or 2 go up :) hence more room might be a good thing!

 

i don't mind the inside i just wish it was bigger, i don't care so much about the outdoor space, just the space if you get what i mean. we took a 9 night this past winter and their were several days we were cursing ourselves for not getting a bigger cabin

 

decision decisions, but i do appreciate all your help and awnsers, thanks!

 

Check to see if the Jade has any larger inside cabins. I am just off the Spirit. I was able to snag one of these desirable cabins and it was a lot bigger than the regular inside we had last year. It was also bigger than the balcony rooms that the rest in our party were staying in. You can usually tell by looking at the deck plan where these cabins are. They are not handicapped rooms and will cost you the same amount of $$$ as a regular inside in the same catagory.

[kosoffj]

kercar - how would i find it (if that's not too dumb of a question) i know some of the older ships (like the majesty) have superior insides, but i don't think the jade has those...

[azspring]

You could explain your situation to your TA or the cruise line and book an inside with a standby for a handicapped cabin (if they aren't booked by people who need them). That way you can still save money on the inside and possibly get the extra space too.

[crusinmama06]

Cruisinmama...I cannot thank you enough for the link to the kids schedules! I know that took time to do and I sooo appreciate it! Now my son thinks the activities may be "cool" instead of "lame" :) You saved me! Thanks again! BTW...The girls are adorable!

 

Not a problem. After your cruise, if you bring back some of the kid schedules from your trip, you can email them to me and I'll add those as well. :D

[KerCar]

kercar - how would i find it (if that's not too dumb of a question) i know some of the older ships (like the majesty) have superior insides, but i don't think the jade has those...

 

Not a dumb question at all:) All you have to do is go to the ncl web site and pretend like you are booking your cruise. When you get to the cabin selection page, you can enter in any cabin number to see if it is still available. If it looks bigger, it most likely is. If the cabin is still available you can click on the number and the sq footage will be disclosed. Skip the huge cabins with the black square icon as these are handicap rooms. The larger insides are very popular so if there are any on the Jade chances are they might not be available, but it doesn't hurt to look!

 

Also, if the above method is way too much, you can always ask on the main NCL board if anyone knows if there are larger insides on the Jade and what #'s they are:)

[CruisinEurope]

Not a problem. After your cruise, if you bring back some of the kid schedules from your trip, you can email them to me and I'll add those as well. :D

 

Does anyone have any from the Jade??

 

We're doing the Dec 12th with a (then) 5 & 7 yr olds and would LOVE a heads up as to what type of things we can expect.

 

 

ALSO - as a side note - - thanks to THIS thread, we are going to spring for the balcony for our first family cruise. My worries of them going overboard, and issues with bed configuration have been totally answered by this great forum!

 

THANKS!!

[crusinmama06]

Does anyone have any from the Jade??

 

We're doing the Dec 12th with a (then) 5 & 7 yr olds and would LOVE a heads up as to what type of things we can expect.

 

 

ALSO - as a side note - - thanks to THIS thread, we are going to spring for the balcony for our first family cruise. My worries of them going overboard, and issues with bed configuration have been totally answered by this great forum!

 

THANKS!!

 

I don't have Jade. For some reason, I only have Spirit. But you are welcome to show the kids those pages and tell them that these are the type of activities they will be doing...

 

http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb196/cruisinmama06/NCL%20Kids%20Crew/

[kosoffj]

we decide to do bermuda over europe (cheaper, we needed a more relaxing vaca, etc..) and the ship we picked had no balconies, so i'll save all this info for next time!

[Dr_DNA]

We had an oceanview on our last with our 3 year old. While we didn't use our room that much either, we really longed for a balcony! It would have been really nice to have when he was sleeping. A balcony is a must on our next one!

[rebeccalouise]

I did my first inside last March and loved it for several reasons. Less motion and my son slept better and later.

 

However, in Europe- it would be really nice to be able to be out on the balcony for sail ins and that sort of thing.

 

I really think it depends on how strapped for cash you are. I would do the balcony for the cruise you are talking about.

 

I wouldn't do a balcony for a caribbean cruise (you are always docked too early to really appreciate a sail-in) or transatlantic (too windy)or a particulary cold or rocky cruise (like Northern Europe). I say this because the inside cabins are more stable in rough waters.