Oh oh, am I in trouble?

[TiredOl6]

Not only is it nearly impossible to even consider not having a balcony once you have crossed that line; next you join the rest of us in the quest for the cabin with the "best" balcony.

 

 

Good Luck!!

[cruiserbryce]

we have been in balcony cabins and had no problem switching back and forth to other categories...recently it has been about value for us. The difference in cabin cost has off set our on board account bill. If we arent going to one of the prettier routes or have many port days then we dont go balcony b/c we just wont use it enough to get the value out of it. Some can switch back...some cant

[Cuizer2]

I heard that once you go balcony, you never go back. Wonder how bad it really is.....

 

For the first time ever we booked a balcony cabin on the Freedom for October. DH is thrilled about this trip because it will be our very first BIG ship cruise trip and on a balcony cabin. And that is only because the price was too good to pass up when I first booked it last May.

 

Well it just hit me that last week I booked a cruise for April 2010 on a Radiance class ship on the Jewel on our usual an interior cabin. DH is going to freak after going from this big, fun ship on a balcony to an elegant, no so fun ship on a dark room!! I go for the ports, not so much the ship itself, but DH goes for ships. He could go on a big mega ship on a cruise nowhere and be happy. I need great ports too.

 

I hope he does not get too disappointed after the Freedom cruise. At this point I cannot upgrade our interior cabin on the Jewel, the price difference for a balcony cabin is $1300 for all 3 of us. Too much for us to pay. I guess is better than staying home. But I hope I did not ruin our bargain cruises by spoiling him with a balcony.

I've been in ocean view cabins after being in both balcony cabins and suites. In fact, my next cruise is in an inside cabin (with a window - it is a promenade view cabin). My next cruise after that is in a balcony.

[firefly333]

I've been in ocean view cabins after being in both balcony cabins and suites. In fact, my next cruise is in an inside cabin (with a window - it is a promenade view cabin). My next cruise after that is in a balcony.

 

Well that answers my question, lol, I wondered if you had gotten upgraded to a balcony.

 

Next year I got a couple balconys booked, variety is the spice of life.

[DireMongoose]

I don't want to draw the wrath of the Cult of Balcony, but we did book a balcony for one cruise and have since gone back to interior rooms.

 

The balcony was a nice-to-have, but given how little we were using it it's hard to justify the price vs. spending the money elsewhere on the vacation for us.

[RetireeWannabee]

I had no difficulty going back after having some cruises with a balcony. While I enjoy having a balcony, I personally think they are generally over-priced. Often people end up paying $150 per day or more for a balcony versus an Oceanview of Inside stateroom (based on double occupancy).

Yep. I had a last-minute upgrade to a balcony cabin for an Alaskan cruise. It was nice, sure, and I used the balcony, but there was Much More to see from other areas of the ship.

 

I can't justify the $$$$.

[firefly333]

We ended up compromising on a PR cabin for our Oasis Inaugural.

 

I admit to not booking Oasis early like most here. By the time we booked the few PRs left on my sailing were more than a balcony :eek: My TA said well there are not as many PRs on Oasis as if that excused the ridiculous price.

 

PS even worse, at least to me, the ocean view balconies are going for less than balconies facing the interior of the ship??!!

[ECCruise]

For us, it is all about the price. 34 cruises, 0 inside, 18 OV, 15 balcony, 1 suite. Definitely can go back and forth with no problem. Just did 11 days on Brilliance w/balcony, have 30 days next month on Constellation OV, 18 days on Ruby Princess in October OV. $50 per day extra OV to balcony is about our limit. My mouth drops open when I see people spend $1500 or more EXTRA for a balcony on a 7 day cruise. Yikes, that's another whole cruise for us.

[CrusinAgain]

We had 2 balconies but found for the price of one cruise with a balcony we can do 2 cruises a year for an oceanview so doing 2 cruises a year helps with the withdrawals between them. We found that we would go out on the balcony but to pay the higher price you have to spend alot of time out there. So there is hope you can go back to a different category.

[shaggyofwv]

That is very much the truth. My first cruise back in 2001 was a balcony. I can't get anything less now. Once you get that taste it just stay's in your mouth.

 

 

Agreed. We only cruise if we can get a balcony on the top passenger deck. If we can't get the room we want at the price we want, then we keep looking until we find it.

[karena1]

We also now love our balconies! But we do the OV on the 3 nighters.

 

As much as I love having a balcony, I have to say that if it came down to an OV or inside or not cruising, I could do it. But as long as we can afford the balconies on 7 night cruises, I am not willing to go into any less.

 

Actually, I am more afraid we are going to get even more spoiled as we were able to upgrade to a bigger D1 balcony vs an E2 on Serenade b/c of price breaks. I am hoping the extra room doesn't spoil me! But I think I will be okay with going back to E2's as long as I have a balcony:D

[Bruins14]

Balcony or no balcony, as long as I'm on a cruise i'm happy

[RCCL_NVcruiser]

Agreed. We only cruise if we can get a balcony on the top passenger deck. If we can't get the room we want at the price we want, then we keep looking until we find it.

 

We are the same way - always a balcony - always the top passenger deck. Now, don't get me wrong, in our earlier days of cruising (in our past lives before "us"), we had both cruised in inside rooms, and I had an OV once. However, we have now vowed never to cruise without a balcony - we spend hours on it every day. If we can't afford it - then no cruise. .

 

And now its worse... we are going from JS to GS! Yikes! What's next! I sincerely hope that we think the GS is just too big for the 2 of us and we will be happy with a smaller cabin next time - LOL :D

 

Enjoy your cruise!!!!!

[DireMongoose]

However, we have now vowed never to cruise without a balcony - we spend hours on it every day.

 

Spending that much time on your balcony, I'd say the balcony cost is completely justified for you.

 

That being said... you don't feel like you're missing out on all the fun stuff going on in the rest of the ship? I usually spend maybe an hour a day in my cabin and not asleep -- and half of that's in the bathroom showering and the like.

[nomoreknothead]

I guess we are in the minority. We have stayed in balconies, oceanviews, & promenades. While I loved the balcony it did not "MAKE" my cruise. I have enjoyed them all, we like to cruise and if we can cruise more often in a promenade instead of a balcony that's what happens. The balconies we've had didn't get much use, we like to be up and out!!! Our cabin is for sleeping & dressing.

[RCCL_NVcruiser]

Spending that much time on your balcony, I'd say the balcony cost is completely justified for you.

 

That being said... you don't feel like you're missing out on all the fun stuff going on in the rest of the ship? I usually spend maybe an hour a day in my cabin and not asleep -- and half of that's in the bathroom showering and the like.

 

No - we honestly don't feel like we are missing out on anything because we still do so much! We see the shows - even the late night comedy/Quest/etc. We play Bingo (yes - we are in our 30's and love Bingo!). And we do things like dance classes, wine tasting, shopping on board, etc.

 

However, when we wake up we easily spend 30-60 min on the balcony, we are there between most of the days events reading, relaxing, or whatever, and we spend an hour or more before dinner each night relaxing and getting ready. DH spends more time than I do on it, of course, because I take longer to get ready :p

 

We are "room" people - we don't like the big crowds and having to fight for a spot near the rail on deck.

 

The things we choose to miss are things like the sail away party, and other "crowded" events - we much enjoy having our own private sail-away party with each other, or with friends if we are on the same cruise, on our balcony.

[Cuizer2]

There is a reason that there are some many categories to choose from. The reason is, one size does not fit all.

[wowcruisers]

Wait until you joing the balcony club, then you'll REALLY never be able to go back to an inside or OV room. :p

[temple1]

I can't do an inside cabin - we're both a little claustraphobic. I really enjoyed our cruise on Enchantment with the balcony and our upcoming cruise we are also in a balcony cabin, but our last cruise was an ocean view. That was fine. I missed my coffee out on the balcony and a night cap etc. But no way in heck am I paying for a suite on a 3 night cruise.

[Mark_K]

I heard that once you go balcony, you never go back. Wonder how bad it really is.....

I thought the saying was... Once you try aft you'll never hump again.

[abhb]

We have a balcony booked for our June cruise. It will be our 1st balcony. I guess I will have to try the balcony club:D. We have only had interior or PR. We really like PR.

[mikeqube]

The first cruise I ever took, I had a balcony. I've had one ever since, cant picture being in an inside room.

[Arizona Laura]

We enjoy the balcony more than the ports.

Love the peaceful feelings being on the balcony gives you...spiritual... when you look at the beauty.

Love to be on the balcony at sail away with our friends and relatives in cabins on both sides of us.

Love to hang out on the balcony as we approach and are in ports.

Love to wave to people from the balcony. People on excursion boats leaving and returning to shore will always wave and yell up to you.

Love to go out on the balcony every time we go back to our cabin and check it out.

Love to take pics from the balcony.

Love to look for other ships at night in the distance from the balcony.

Love to look at the sunrise, sunset, and everything in between.

Love the breeze.

Love to go out during the storms.

Love the openness to the cabin it brings.

Love when the balcony door is open at night and you can hear the water.

Love to look down and watch the ship as it moves through the water.

Love to hang out on the balcony when DH is getting ready for our meals, excursions etc.

Just plain love the balcony.

 

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR A BALCONY........TO HAVE SOME PLACE FOR DH TO GO WHEN HE GETS YOU KNOW..gas..FROM EATING WINDJAMMER FOOD!!! He would die if he knew I posted that. Can't believe I did.. but I cannot believe it does not serve that purpose for other men.

 

Never an inside cabin for us. I know some go on more cruises with the savings of an inside cabin but since we work still don't have the time for any more cruises now.

Laura

[luckycruiser]

I've cruised in a balcony several times and even a grand suite. Although I love love love them, sometimes the cheap deal for an inside room can't be beat when I just want to get away, so Ive booked inside rooms as well. The only thing I miss is eating out on the balcony and enjoying the seabreeze thru my opened door.

[pscruzinboyz]

24 Cruises, We always do a balcony on Big Ships, Small ships, we take the interior. We booked our first Big Ship, RCCL Mariner ( May 31 ) with an interior room. I think it will be fine. Smaller Room means less to bring and will make us get out and do more then we already do. The only thing I will miss will be the morning View, but will not miss the people next door talking and/or Smoking. :(

 

Mike and Bill