Are balconies important?

[CcMookie]

Hello all - as you probably know from my last post I am a first time cruiser looking for information about how to choose the company and room... I think my husband and I decided we want to go on a Danube Cruise in the summer/fall time and we are in the process of choosing an itinerary right now.

Anyway, I am wondering what the deal with the "French Balcony" is. Is it important to have a balcony or is a lower room better? I also saw on the Scenic Tours website they have actual balconies... can I get some input as to what your preferences are?

As always, thank you for all you feedback, it is so helpful!

[tiggypooo]

I've done 2 cruises without a balcony and enjoyed each of them immensely.

I wouldn't give up sailing with Uniworld, to have a balcony on a different line.

In saying that, Uniworld does have their 2 newest ships with balconies, The River Royale and River Beatrice.

Of course balconies are nice, but not having one gets you up on the public deck to hang out with others. The socializing onboard, was one of my favorite parts of both cruises.

In just rating a room with or without a balcony, I think that the overwhelming majority would say that having a balcony anywhere is preferable.

I would not choose the company that I sail with though, on whether or not there is a balcony in the room. There is much more to the whole experience.

[letsgo39]

Dh and I sailed on The Avalon Tranquility, Budapest to Amsterdam in 2007 and we really enjoyed our French Balcony.It was wonderful to be able to open those double doors at night while we cruised along. I don't think I would like to be on the lower deck where the windows don't open but that is just me.I like my windows open at home too.On a 16 day cruise I get a little burned out with all the socializing and need some time to myself. The French Balconys are perfect for those times.

[npphotog]

Here's my 2 cents on the balcony issue. Been on a Amsterdam to Hungary river cruise and again on a China/Yangtze river boat. Both times booked bottom of the boat with small windows. You can see better on the top outside deck, AND it's cheaper. Save the money and have more wine. Your choice but you can see better sights out on the top deck. Willard

[pacmom]

On our Christmas market cruise, we had a french balcony. On all of our other cruises (7), we didn't. The real draw back to me is you can only see one side of the river. The lounge and sundeck provide views to both sides, especially if you sit towards the front of the boat.

On some lines the only way to get hotel style beds is to take one with balcony. You can't sit out on a french balcony. They are really glorified sliding doors. Pat

[webfoot]

Yes, a French Balcony is no more than sliding doors ... but I very much enjoyed having one on our first trip .. and will have one on this trip.

 

I enjoy getting up in the morning and opening the door to let in some fresh air. My husband loves them as he was ill on the last trip and spent part of his day in bed just watching the outside world.

 

We do spend quite a bit of time with others in the lounge ... but I also enjoy quality 'down' time just sitting on the chair looking out.

[H2Otstr]

Your balcony might face the sidewalk when docked, or might face another boat if another boat is tied up/stacked for docking. There was a man on our last cruise who complained to the cruise director that he was unable to have any privacy on his balcony because another boat was tied up to us in the evening. Of course the CD indicated that there was nothing that she could do about that situation. He was NOT happy.

[webfoot]

One morning we woke up to find another boat right besides ours ... well, once I knew about it and was dressed, I opened up the drapes to get some light in ... apparently the lady in the cabin opposite us on the other ship didn't seem to care that she was dressing ... and in various stages of undress ... in front of an open window.

[Hydrokitty]

We also love the french balcony and enjoy sitting in front of it having our morning coffee while reading the paper. As for being tied to another ship that has happened to us many times and usually only lasts a day. On the up side the first time it happened I opened our drapes and noticed the couple in the boat next to us sitting by their balcony, I waved, they waved and then we both opened our balcony doors and chatted for about 20 minutes over coffee! IThey were from England and it was delightful, comparing itineraries (they were going opposite direction of us so we really enjoyed telling each other what to expect) and ships. Second time was on the Nile and our ship was larger than the ship next to us so when I opened the drapes I was looking right on a couple on the sun deck having tea! Again I smiled and opened the door and met a lovely couple from France! So look on the tie up as an opportunity to meet someone new for a short period of time and just be sure it's closed when you're dressing!:)

[PCruzer]

Anyway, I am wondering what the deal with the "French Balcony" is. Is it important to have a balcony or is a lower room better? I also saw on the Scenic Tours website they have actual balconies... can I get some input as to what your preferences are?

 

We have only been on 1 river cruise on the Seine. The company was Grand Circle. We originally had booked a lower deck cabin with a large window. We considered booking a balcony cabin, but for the outside space it would have given us, we felt the higher price was not justified. (It would have been $1,000 more to have a balcony.) As it turned out, we ended up being upgraded to a balcony cabin anyway. Yes, we enjoyed having the balcony, if only for the extra light it brought into the room....but we would never pay $1,000 extra for this feature! The balcony space is really small. There are 2 folding director-type chairs on it. They do not face out but face each other, and you can't turn them to face out. Maybe not all riverboat balconies are like this. I don't know. We probably would not book a balcony cabin in the future unless the cost was more reasonable.

[Hydrokitty]

I wouldn't pay extra for that either! Most of the river boats have french balconies, which as you know, are only for standing and looking out, but they do provide a lot more fresh air, light and an open feeling. On the Nile cruise we had a french balcony but on the Lake Nasser cruise we had an actual balcony with two chairs and a table and walking room between them! That was lovely and it wasn't that much more than a room without a balcony. Like everything else, you just have to do the research!

[JerseyGem]

Hello all - as you probably know from my last post I am a first time cruiser looking for information about how to choose the company and room... I think my husband and I decided we want to go on a Danube Cruise in the summer/fall time and we are in the process of choosing an itinerary right now.

 

Anyway, I am wondering what the deal with the "French Balcony" is. Is it important to have a balcony or is a lower room better? I also saw on the Scenic Tours website they have actual balconies... can I get some input as to what your preferences are?

 

Since balconies vary in their size, configuration, etc., I suggest posting here when you have chosen a particular ship. Hopefully one of the CC members has actually had a balcony cabin on that ship and can give you concrete advice.

 

I have only been on two GCT European river cruises. We did not pay extra for a balcony (and would never do so), but we did see those cabins (as we met people who had them). On that ship, the balcony was very narrow; as someone mentioned above, the two folding chairs had to be placed sideways, not facing out. Also, the balcony space took a few feet away from the size of the cabin (mostly, it seemed, in the bathroom & closet areas).

 

We enjoyed our large picture window, but usually spent most of our time up on the sun deck or in the lounge, since the scenery is on both sides of the river.

[jamarho]

We just returned from the Burgundy/Provence cruise with Uniworld on the River Royale. Our cabin was on the upper deck with a balcony, which was wonderful! We really enjoyed having the balcony. However, I agree with an earlier post that I would sail Uniworld without a balcony before sailing with another company. The service, crew, food, wine, excursions, and everything else were fantastic! We could not have had a better time than we did on the Uniworld cruise. If you take Uniworld, though, I do recommend a balcony. There seem to be lots of incentives today, so you may be able to upgrade at little to no additional cost.

[usavvy2]

I'm a first-time river cruiser, with my trip starting NEXT WEEK :D! I originally thought we'd take a cabin on deck 2 of 3 but saw the price for the top cabin deck was only a few hundred dollars more (for both of us) so upgraded us on the Avalon Tapestry to the top deck with a french balcony.

 

The additional cost was minimal so that pushed my decision but now I am SO GRATEFUL I went with a balcony. For these reasons,

1) if we don't feel up to socializing or are too exhausted to go up to the sundeck, we'll hopefully still have an opportunity to see something

2) it's closer to the sun deck :cool: to get to the top to see something of interest that we might not see from our cabin

3) fresh air

4) light for these old and tired eyes of mine (I never have enough light these days!)

5) I've read that folks on the bottom deck can sometimes hear the scraping of the boat in the locks during the night (and I'm a light sleeper so I'd be awake for a week)

6) I've read that folks on the bottom deck can sometimes hear other boats passing by and things hitting the hull (I assume the boat bumpers but could be trash from the river IDK).

7) DH is a curious chap - he loves to see and look at EVERYTHING! If he's tired, he'd push himself to be on the skydeck so he wouldn't miss anything. This way I MIGHT be able to convince him to just stay in the room and relax on the bed for awhile - which will keep his battery charged longer! (I HOPE)

8) I believe you can lean over the french balcony to see what's coming up or what you just passed - I don't think you can do that on the bottom deck.

 

I should tell you too, that I've been on many river cruises - with and without balconies. A 2 week sail around the Horn in South America we had a balcony and used it alot - it was wonderful. A 2 week sail in the Med we have an inside cabin and was on the go so much, we didn't miss the balcony - we flopped at the end of the touring day - with 5 touring days IN A ROW! In the past, my motto was GET ME ON THE SHIP - I don't care about the cabin as long as it's midship and not noisy. Now, the older I get, the more I "appreciate" the ability to do nothing in the privacy of my room, peering out the window with a cup of tea. So I think I'm gonna love having a balcony! (Stay tuned, I'll let you know after my trip how it lives up to my expectations.) :cool:

[letsgo39]

usavvy2,

 

Hope you have a great time. We were on the Tranquility in 2007 and loved it.

[usavvy2]

usavvy2,

 

Hope you have a great time. We were on the Tranquility in 2007 and loved it.

 

OT - Thanks letsgo39! We're so excited. The Intercontinental in Budapest just upgraded us to a room with a view of the Danube!

 

OP - in post #14 I meant to say I'd been on many OCEAN cruises (zero river cruises so far).

[letsgo39]

Budapest is a beautiful city. IMHO it ranks in beauty right up there with Paris and Venice.We were there for 4 days and I would go back in a second.Your view from the hotel will be amazing.

[no fuss travel]

If you are sailing on the Mainz River, a balcony is a plus as the sun deck is closed on the ships due to low bridge clearance. This way at least you can look out from your own cabin without having to deal with smokers on the small outside decks that are still accessible.

[hillslife]

Pcruzer - thanks for your post on being upgraded on GCT. We are booked in the lowest cabin for March 2010 and I wondered if they every upgraded anyone on the river cruises. Our history is with large cruise ships...

 

Appreciate the anticipation of a possible 'upgrade'.

[Pugwash123]

Hello all - as you probably know from my last post I am a first time cruiser looking for information about how to choose the company and room... I think my husband and I decided we want to go on a Danube Cruise in the summer/fall time and we are in the process of choosing an itinerary right now.

Anyway, I am wondering what the deal with the "French Balcony" is. Is it important to have a balcony or is a lower room better? I also saw on the Scenic Tours website they have actual balconies... can I get some input as to what your preferences are?

As always, thank you for all you feedback, it is so helpful!

Just returned from a Scenic cruise, suit with proper balcony, I would have prefered to have a french balcony and had additional cabin space. River ship cabins are small in comparison to ocean cruise ships so unless you realy want to spend your holiday in a shoe box I would go for the biggest cabin you can afford.

[letsgo39]

Avalon and AMAwaterways both have regular cabins with French balconies that are 172 sq ft. That is not at all small and we never felt cramped on our Avalon Budapest to Amsterdam cruise.There was also lots of storage space.

[TSS Olympia]

We have taken three river cruise and have had three balconys. That said, any cabin on a river cruise is a good cabin, the sq footage is the same. But, when we overnighted in Budapest we were directly across from the Hungarian Parliament Building. The building was wonderfully lighted and spectacular to see from our balcony. On another cruise, through Holland to Belguim we sat out on our balcony and watched the countryside drift bye as we sat with drinks and munchies till dark at 10 30 pm. As others have said you can just go up on the deck and watch too, but many times the smole from the smoking crowd is very dense. Bottom line you can not go wrong with what ever cabin you choose. Have fun!

[Travelbyboat]

Hi Pugwash123,

 

Did you like your Scenic cruise? Did you like the ship, the food?

What didn't you like? We are booked on Amsterdam to Budapest cruise in August 2010.

 

Thanks!

[Pugwash123]

Hi Pugwash123,

 

Did you like your Scenic cruise? Did you like the ship, the food?

What didn't you like? We are booked on Amsterdam to Budapest cruise in August 2010.

 

Thanks!

Hello travelbyboat, yes we liked our Scenic cruise, the ship is modern and spacious the food is good although the service at dinner was too slow for my liking and the complementary wines were generaly not to my taste. The Portobello restaurant is a nice experience. The cabins and bathrooms have plenty of storage space and are kept spotlessly clean. All staff on the ships are well turned out, friendly and willing to help you in any way possible. Tours are well organised and led by experienced guides. Our fellow passengers were mostly Australian who proved to be freindly and amiable traveling companions

[rundent]

Just in the process of booking a cruise on the Avalon Creativity on their top deck which has the French balcony. On our only other river cruise 3 years ago on the Poetry we had a bottom [bilge] deck cabin. We heard the water rushing by [not as pleasant as one might think] and it was dark when the ship lowered itself [guess there are tanks to fill like a submarine] and the porthole was 1/2 under water. There was also an occasional toilet smell in the passageway outside our cabin - I think that this last item was ship specific. For a few dollars more be in the sunshine!