Should we get a Balcony or Inside for first time cruising???

[lilybug23]

My husband and I are about to book our first Cruise. We are going on the Dream on 7/24/2009 Western Carribian. I am wondering if it is worth the money to get a balcony for our first time or should we book an inside room and hope to get upgraded??:confused:

[family cruisers]

I will tell you that we've had both and in all honesty theres nothing nicer than a balcony.

I've been in 4 inside cabins and 1 balcony cabin. We're cruising again NOV. 1st and this time have booked a balcony guarantee cabin meaning it could have a bit of an obstruction or not.

 

You do get very spoiled in a balcony cabin. Just sitting out there first thing in the morning ordering room service of coffee and juice or whatever you'd like relaxing and enjoying what a balcony cabin is all about, Beautiful.

Then again in the evening as you unwind before hitting the sheets it's so peaceful, listening to the ocean , looking up at the stars and moon .

 

If price isn't a problem go balcony , but we've had our days when we could only afford inside . You're really not in the cabin that much but we tend to enjoy it a bit more when we do have the fresh air..

 

Have a great cruise.

My husband and I are about to book our first Cruise. We are going on the Dream on 7/24/2009 Western Carribian. I am wondering if it is worth the money to get a balcony for our first time or should we book an inside room and hope to get upgraded??:confused:

[Charlie2na]

We had a BALCONY ON OUR FIRST AND LOVED IT....the next two were on a budget and we got insides....we are looking again and want o splurge on a balcony. My theory is, if you have it you'll enjoy your room lots more, if not, you'll be out in the public areas more.....if youn can swing it , get it!

[flynnsport]

My husband and I are about to book our first Cruise. We are going on the Dream on 7/24/2009 Western Carribian. I am wondering if it is worth the money to get a balcony for our first time or should we book an inside room and hope to get upgraded??:confused:

if you have the $$$, i would say go for the balcony...it's a refreshing getaway. but if the price difference is significant then you can have more $$ to spend on other things during your cruise. In my opinion balconies are great...especially for 7+ day cruises.

[KGF]

Two cruises on to two different ships (CCL and RCL) and had interiors both times. The only time we're in there is to sleep so it doesn't bother us one bit. This last time we went with my parents and they had a balcony and yes it was nice but nothing that made me kick my head for not getting one myself. But that's just me!

[flounder315]

The ocean view (1st cruise was a waste) can't see anything after dark. Windows dingy! :(

 

The inside cabins, are very dark when the lights are turned off. But the A/C works great, doesn't have to complete against the sunshine. :D

 

The balcony is awesome, there is nothing like the fresh air, sound of waves and entering & exiting ports from your balcony! :D:D

 

If you can swing it, you will not regret booking a balcony.

[Joules1111]

My husband and I had an inside cabin on our first cruise (my sister picked an expensive week during spring break, so we went economy class). We actually liked it a lot - pitch black so it was very easy to sleep.

 

On our next cruise I splurged and upgraded us to a balcony room. It was nice enough, but unlike most cruisers the bang-for-buck ratio just wasn't there for us. We used the balcony mostly for drying wet bathing suites, and, honestly, at 5'1" if I sat down in a chair on the balcony the rail was right in my line of sight and ruined the view. :o

 

My vote would be get the balcony the first time (if you can afford it), and then you'll know whether it is important to you or not.

[mosel]

Don't hope for an upgrade. It might seem by reading these boards that it happens often but it doesn't. An inside to a balcony is almost unheard of and is a very special gift for a very good cruiser from the upgrade fairy. If you book an inside quarantee you might end up with an inside on a different deck but that is all you can expect. The downside is you might end up with an inside with location problems. Just amke sure you will be happy with whatever you book because chances are that is what you will end up. Cindy

[yesterdaystime]

If you can swing it, the balcony is the only way to go! :) I would guess, that the Dream would sail "full" and that an upgrade from an inside cabin to a balcony would be next to impossible.

[reno3]

If you have the extra $$ go for the balcony.

We did inside twice and once we went balcony there is no going back:D

[SmogMonster]

My husband and I are about to book our first Cruise. We are going on the Dream on 7/24/2009 Western Carribian. I am wondering if it is worth the money to get a balcony for our first time or should we book an inside room and hope to get upgraded??:confused:

 

I say get a balcony for your first cruise. There is nothing like a first cruise. Everything is a brand new experience that will not be repeated. On our first cruise there was something new and amazing around every corner. We felt like we were royalty. While all of our subsequent cruises have been just as fantastic, they are not quite the same as that first one. kinda of the "been there, done that, seen that" thing.

[ManyMore]

Balconies are great but if its your first cruise you are in the cabin even less then those who have cruised a lot. If you are a smoker it might be more handy but otherwise, depends on if you have the extra money.

[Goddess of Gadding About]

Try going into your closet (at home) shut the door & turn off the lights! If you are real o.k. with that, than you know that you will be o.k. with saving the mony by going on an inside. For me.......I always WANT a balcony, but I can not always afford a balcoy so settle for a window.

I just want to get down to the sea anyway I can;)

[lesters]

Our first cruise we ended up on a balcony (one of those rare upgrades but it was on the Disney Wonder). We were sooooo thankful to have the balcony and decided that there was no way we would have enjoyed it even half as much had we had the inside room. We peaked into an inside room that was being made up and wow it seemed so much smaller than ours - even though it really wasnt that much of a difference.

 

Nothing like hanging out on your own balcony with a glass of wine listening to the waves go by! The feeling can't be beat. Sure you can do that on one of the public decks but the quiet of relaxing in your own space is priceless if you ask me!!! ;)

[etwright]

We have taken two cruises. The first was an OV. Second was Inside. In our opinion, we weren't very thrilled with the Inside. We will always at least have an OV. Loved just sitting in the room at night looking out over the ocean! Our next cruise, we are trying the Balcony. I have a feeling we may never go back after this cruise:eek:

[milton333]

A lot of this is about your vacation personality. I personally like to spend time relaxing in my room on vacation. I'm not the "go, go, go" kind of person. I need to recharge a bit from dealing with people and from all the excitement. I like to "get away" to my own private space. I prefer a balcony room for those reasons.

 

If you're the type to know that you'll be on the go all the time, and it's not important for you to spend time in your room other than to sleep, shower, and dress, then it's probably not worth the money to get a balcony.

[jerseygirl79]

If you think you'd actually spend time on the balcony and can afford it, go for it. If not, don't.

 

My first two cruises were OV. I did enjoy being able to look out (during the day) and see the sea, island, sunrise, sunset. My last cruise, we had a balcony. Not worth it to me. We hardly stepped foot out there.

 

If you have a balcony or patio at home, do you use it a lot? My balcony at my old apartment was for smokers who visted. And now, I only go on my deck to watch the husband grill.

 

When we vacationed in Jamaica, I never went on the balcony at the resort either.

 

It really is based on your personality.

 

My FIL sat for hours on his balcony and just watched the Ocean.

[MszKitty]

If your budget can afford a balcony I'd say go for it.

But there is also the 3rd option of an oceanview. Its cheaper than a balcony and gives you the option of natural light over the darkness of an inside.

[travelntreats]

Some will say the stateroom is a very important factor in their cruise... some will say it is not.

 

If you are considering an inside stateroom and HOPING for an upgrade... you may be setting yourself up for disappointment in what the end result may be.

 

Have you considered and oceanview stateroom so that you will have the natural light and views ? The chances of possibly getting an upgrade to a balcony (if booked as a GTY) are more possible if booking an oceanview than an inside stateroom.

 

It's all a matter of finance and personal requirements...

 

Personally I would start off with the basic oceanview stateroom and if you find cruising is your cup of tea, then perhaps to step up to a balcony for the next cruise.

 

The stateroom in my eyes was NOT the determining factor on my first cruise... it was the food, entertainment, activities offered onboard, pampering, and ports of call that got me hooked.....JM2cents on that.

[Sdallnct]

Do you go to Vegas? What type of room do you get there?

 

If you get a nice room that is part of the vacation experience, then get a balcony.

 

If you get the cheapest room possible as you only want some place to shower and sleep for a few hours, then save the money for excursions, etc.

 

One big difference in this is that ship cabins are tinny. You might literally feel uncomfortable in an interior cabin if you not use to it.

[TrikeRider]

Balcony!!! For your first cruise - IMO - it is the only way to go.

[dahkota]

If in doubt, get the highest class cabin you can afford. If you spend too much for the cabin, you will pinch pennies and worry about every dollar spent. If you spend too little, you may not like the cabin which also will negatively impact your cruise experience.

 

In my opinion only, for a first cruise, go with at least an ocean view. If you greatly enjoy it but wish you had a balcony, you can try that next cruise. If you didn't even notice you had a window, next cruise you can get an inside. The worst possible thing is to figure out you are claustrophobic when on a seven day cruise. Makes for a very long trip where you feel trapped and unable to enjoy your cabin at all.

 

And, on particular ships, there are the spa ocean views which are floor to ceiling windows - the only thing missing is the breeze...

[ronkay]

oiur first cruise was an inside, all since then (5) have been balcony's we enjoy it alot. here are some of our reasons:

 

room serivce breakfast on the balcony in the morning, being able to wake up and walk out and see the port, being able to enjoy pleasent evenings sitting out without the crowd, some xtra activities......

[Rochmom]

Do you have a budget for the trip? If you do, factor in everything, like gratuities, bar tab, souvenirs, shore excursions, etc. If you can still afford to do a balcony, then do it.

 

I've only done inside cabins, so I can't compare; but I've been satisfied with the inside accommodations. We considering upgrading this year, but decided that we would rather spend the money on other parts of our trip instead (like a splurge on a private tour of one port, instead of a group tour). And going inside makes it so that we can cruise more frequently because we spend less each trip!

[Milaandra]

I'm going to bring up another consideration...do you know if you get seasick? An inside on a lower deck has less movement. Neither my husband nor I were very comfortable on higher decks...particularly in the first couple of days until we got used to the sway.

 

I've booked three inside cabins. I think I would only go for a balcony if a) it was a great value or b) it was a sea-day intensive cruise and I would get plenty of time to veg out staring at the water

 

Of course, the promenade is a great balcony and doesn't cost anything extra! :)