Balcony vs. Outside Room

[megustamex]

Okay, I know this has been addressed in some threads but I am still on the fence. It is $1500 more for a balcony on a 7-day Western. Is it really worth it? I do have 2 small children but they stay up late and are on my schedule except for an afternoon nap, so being alone on the balcony is really only a factor for 2 hours a day. Did anyone find the window to be claustrophobic? Are there common areas outside near the outside rooms where you can go and sit on the deck?

[itutorfortravel]

well, i have not been on a dcl cruise so i cannot speak to the size of the cabin, but our family has gone back and forth on this topic as well. dh is a bit claustrophic so he insists on a balcony and i know we'd use it b/c dd falls asleep early. however, my budget-minded self thinks we should do an inside cabin. the window cabins sound nice, but they are either forward on an upper deck (think "lots of motion") or they are on a really low deck and under public areas. i have thought about booking a cat 11 on deck 7 - totally an inside cabin but i can get a cabin that is aft and close to a small public deck on deck 7. so that would be my vote if you are going to give up a verandah. the only issue with cat 11 is that it doesn't have a split bath, but we are a family of 3 and i don't think it would be a huge issue for us.

[bentpilot]

We haven't been on Disney yet, however, when we last sailed on another line, we did have a balcony - and it turned out to be very important when we were quarantined due to a norovirus outbreak. Imagaine being stuck in your cabin for three days without a balcony! We would have gone nuts without a balcony.

 

Plus - nothing beats waking up in the morning and haveing room service on your provate balcony! The sights, smells and sounds are worth it.

[DVC Mike]

We haven't been on Disney yet, however, when we last sailed on another line, we did have a balcony - and it turned out to be very important when we were quarantined due to a norovirus outbreak. Imagaine being stuck in your cabin for three days without a balcony! We would have gone nuts without a balcony.

 

Plus - nothing beats waking up in the morning and haveing room service on your provate balcony! The sights, smells and sounds are worth it.

 

My wife was quarantined in her room on our first Disney cruise. The balcony prevented her from going crazy. We are very glad we had it.

[belle907]

We've done, inside, outside and verandah on DCL and I would save the money and do a cat. 9 on deck 2 either midship or aft. Just look at the deck plans to make sure you aren't under one of the nightclubs.

We had a cat. 11 on our last cruise and I really missed the split bath, it took longer for us to get ready - a huge issue when traveling with a teenage girl.

Are you sure the kids will take a nap on the cruise? There's so much for them to do they may not even take one.

[crusinmama06]

For us, yes it's worth it and we won't cruise unless we can get a balcony for that sailing. So I have been known to move sailing dates until I can get a balcony.

 

BUT, $1,500 is a huge chunk of change. ;) If it's a major hit to your budget, then don't get a balcony.

[memeremouse]

We've sailed both with and without a balcony and can honestly say that we did not use the balcony enough to warrant the difference in cost. You can try for a navigator's balcony which is less expensive and safer with little ones.

[ducklite]

We would put the cruise off to save for another year if we couldn't get a balcony. We used ours a lot, we were on it for at least an hour or two every day, on sea days we spent up to four hours on it. It was great to sit and read or have a glass of wine after dinner. At one port (can't recall which) we came back after our shore excusrion several hours before the ship was to leave port and sat on the balcony having a glass of wine and just people watching the comings and goings.

[crsnfun]

I have done balcony, pothole and inside stateroom.

I loved the balcony but, felt I did not get as much use out of it except for the fact that I am a smoker and could smoke out there.

I now prefer the inside stateroom...dark, cool, rocking me to sleep at night...the porthole room is too much of a teaser!!

LOL

[Bigjdd]

We've been on three DCL cruises. Had 2 room Suite, Family balcony , and Navigators Balcony. The balcony are nice , I don't think you need to worry about kids getting out there as the doors are pretty heavy, and they have locks on the TOP of them. If your'e still concerned, go with the navigators

(Large Porthole). offers a great view. The only common deck areas are decks 4,

9,10. You wouldn't be able to see your balcony from them.

[crusinmama06]

I have done balcony, pothole and inside stateroom.

 

 

Pothole!!!! LOL!!!! :D :D I know it was just a typo but it was a funny one. :D :D :D

 

 

And for anyone that is concerned about balconies and children, don't be, a little common sense goes a long way and the railings are high.

 

Every cruise I take a picture of my kids on the balcony so I can reassure parents when I get back here.

 

Here is the balcony on a Disney ship - my kids are 50" tall and 40" tall. So you can see the railing (and there is plexiglass)

 

[megustamex]

Thanks for all the input - well, I think we are going to try the balcony for our first cruise. My husband is worried that the porthole will feel like he's in a washing machine (all the rooms available for our date are on the second floor).

[CeleBrat]

WE had a Navigator balcony on our last DCL cruise. It is a metal-sided balcony, with a HUGE oval sized non-glass window. It is just like a balcony, but costs LESS!!!

 

Try that!

 

CeleBrat

 

PS--I will try to find a picture to post...

[CeleBrat]

Found the pics!

 

Here is a view of the super-huge glass-less window from inside our cabin while in Port Canaveral. The Carnival Sensation is across the bay.

 

 

Also--the other neat thing about the Navigator balconies is the neat nautical themed furnishings: a compass and other gauges on the wall, a huge oversized nautical map with showing the location of Castaway Cay (in pic), smallish sized wooden table and chairs, and built-in bench (in pic). We LOVED it much more than a regular balcony. So cute!

 

[shelbell77]

We've always done balacony's, but we decided after last weeks cruise we weren't going to do it anymore due to smoking being permitted on balconies. Literally EVERY time we went out to relax on our balcony our neighbors were either out there smoking, or started within 3 minutes. At one point there was a shipwide announcement reminding people to only smoke in permitted areas and for those smoking on balconies to try and be mindful of your neighbors - but they stressed "neighbors with small children". Its too much more to pay and not be able to enjoy it..so we decided no more balcony for us in the future.

[megustamex]

Shelbell - Was this on a Disney cruise? That would be so disappointing.

[shelbell77]

Yes, last week on the Magic.