Interior cabin size vs. balcony and smoking

[happy flamingo]

Because of the economy we will probably book an interior cabin on Crown Princess rather than a balcony (and not too happy about it either but oh, well, rather have an interior cabin than no cruise at all!). Can anyone tell me if the regular balcony and interior cabin sizes are the same?

Considering the Aloha or Baja decks. Also, DH enjoys cigar and pipe. I know there's a cigar bar on the Crown but can he smoke his pipe on one side of the Lido deck if he feels the need during the day? Having only been on Carinval in the past, I know that people can smoke on one side of the Lido deck. I really, really, really hate to pay for a balcony just so he can smoke that pipe. Thanks.

[TwinCruiserMom]

The balcony rooms are just a little longer (maybe 2 feet), but of course, they appear much larger because of the huge window and furniture arrangement. We have only gotten a balcony cabin once and while they are wonderful, the insides are perfectly fine.

 

The closet/bath area is exactly the same for both rooms. The insides have a huge mirror on the far inside wall. They have the same desk and refrigerator/tv area.

 

One benefit of the insides is they are nice and dark which helps if you want an afternoon rest.

 

We have had up to 4 in an inside cabin and while it was a bit close at times, everyone was perfectly comfortable and we had plenty of room. Two people in an inside cabin seems rather roomy to us :)

 

We have side by side insides for our Emerald cruise because of cost. I cannot justify spending the extra money so DH and I can have a balcony - the difference was way too much. With so many ports, we won't have much time in the room anyhow.

 

As for smoking, there are areas of the ship posted for smoking purposes. They are listed in the patters and I believe the port side of the pool deck is one of the places listed.