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Choice between 2 cabins or 1 balcony

schwaja3

By schwaja3,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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schwaja3

schwaja3

Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

I am looking at the Gem this April, and have found myself in a slight (but good) dilemma. I'm am travelling with my wife, and 2 sons, aged 16 & 12. We have cruised before, in an oceanview room, about 3 years ago. Since then, my boys have grown.

 

We have a choise of getting 2 cabins, one oceanview (DD), for my wife & myself, and an inside (KK) for the boys directly across the hall. We have no problem with this. They are very responsible and we trust them in this situation.

 

Now, for about $50 more, we can get a balcony cabin (BA - deck 10).

 

My questions are: Is the balcony cabin going to big enough for all 4 of us? Is it better to be on deck 10 (or 9) than on deck 5? Will we be able to use the balcony, or will the wind be to much?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping to make a decision and book soon.

 

Jack

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johnql

johnql

Posted
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I would definitely opt for the two cabins instead of one. The space (especially the extra bathroom) is much more important to me than having a balcony. All four of you in one cabin would be much too crowded.

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fridaythe13th

fridaythe13th

Posted
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We love a balcony but I would NEVER put 4 people in one. You will literally be in eachothers way all week and probably get on eachothers nerves after the first day. With two cabins you will be happy to have two bathrooms, two TV's, mom not telling the kids to be quiet because dad is trying to sleep or the kids saying "dad snores too loud". It will just be a better cruise all around. I think I'm safe to say you will love the Gem! :D

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justcake

justcake

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Might as well add my 2 cents...2 cabins. Save a bit more money and go for 2 insides. An oceanview IMHO adds nothing to the experience. Our first cruise was an OV and the 5th an inside and I would take the inside anyday for the price difference.

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johnql

johnql

Posted
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Might as well add my 2 cents...2 cabins. Save a bit more money and go for 2 insides. An oceanview IMHO adds nothing to the experience. Our first cruise was an OV and the 5th an inside and I would take the inside anyday for the price difference.

Actually, I agree with this. An oceanview (without a balcony) isn't worth it to me. I'd rather save the money and just book the inside. So...I've modified my vote to two insides.

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garycarla

garycarla

Posted
Posted

Question:

 

Was the $50 more for just one of the cabins, or $50 more than the total of two cabins?

 

If it was just $50 for one of the cabins, then I would do a balcony with the inside across the hall.

 

If going from two cabins (OV and Inside) to one balcony. No way would I do that with grown boys.

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schwaja3

schwaja3

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  • Author
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All:

 

The price difference was total. As for the BA holding 3, the NCL site let me pick one with 4 of us in it. Maybe I pick a mini suite, not sure. I have notes all over the place! :)

 

My wife won't do an inside. She says she needs to see the outside.

 

I thought about a balcony/inside, but that was a couple of hundred more, so we decided against it.

 

Thnaks for the help, I think I will be getting 2 cabins.

 

Jack

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gerapau

gerapau

Posted
Posted

We were in a BA on the Pearl in December with our two boys 15 and 12. We got a great deal where the boys were free and we had a free upgrade to the BA (unless the Gem is different, yes you can get 4 in a BA). Including taxes it was just under $1400 total for the week. It was a great deal and would do it again at that price but if we could have gotten two rooms for the same price we would have liked that a lot better. With 4 it was quite cramped. I have included a pic of our BA with the beds turned down. With the beds down it was extreemly cramped and almost impossible to access the balcony. Basically the room turns into one big two story bed.

 

That said, we did enjoy the balcony (no wind problems) when we could access it but didn't spend much time in the room so the lack of space wasn't too bad (that small sofa is very uncomfortable to sit on though).

 

Cruise2010%20244b.jpg

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Ms belp

Ms belp

Posted
Posted
All:

 

The price difference was total. As for the BA holding 3, the NCL site let me pick one with 4 of us in it. Maybe I pick a mini suite, not sure. I have notes all over the place! :)

 

My wife won't do an inside. She says she needs to see the outside.

 

I thought about a balcony/inside, but that was a couple of hundred more, so we decided against it.

 

Thnaks for the help, I think I will be getting 2 cabins.

 

Jack

 

The mini suite is not a "suite" and is not much larger than the balcony. We had one on our first cruise. Same story, two small women, not much room.

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roger001

roger001

Posted
Posted
All:

 

The price difference was total. As for the BA holding 3, the NCL site let me pick one with 4 of us in it. Maybe I pick a mini suite, not sure. I have notes all over the place! :)

 

My wife won't do an inside. She says she needs to see the outside.

 

I thought about a balcony/inside, but that was a couple of hundred more, so we decided against it.

 

Thnaks for the help, I think I will be getting 2 cabins.

 

Jack

 

I don't mean to be trying to spend your money, but I'm such an advocate of balcony cabins (and your wife could certainly see outside then...and I don't blame her), may I suggest this. If you are within just a couple of hundred dollars (as in $200 I'm assuming), if you haven't tried pricing through a TA, it might not hurt to try one. Our TA always comes up with some savings over the price NCL has posted. Tell them what you want (the balcony/inside combination) and what you will pay. See if they can get it for you. They can negotiate some with NCL and also have a small amount they can throw in.

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mjkacmom

mjkacmom

Posted
Posted

We're a family of 7, kids range from 7 - 14, and we had 2 connecting BA cabins. I can't imagine have just one single cabin for 4 people - when the room was turned down at night for my 4 kids, it was like a giant mattress! Very little floor space (but they looked cozy ;)).

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kodiaknurse

kodiaknurse

Posted
Posted
Nope - there are some balconies that sleep 4.

 

I apologize, on the 2 sailings I checked for April, there were no 4 person occupancy BA's available. Also under the category description it states occupancy 3. So again I apologize, did not mean to mislead.

 

For me - I'd go with a balcony and an inside if you can get them across from each other. I like the balcony, something about being able to open the window!

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