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Its true. Once you go balc you dont go back!


RAMSJUNKIE887

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Our first cruise was an "ocean view" & so is our 2nd one but I think when we book to celebrate our 40th bdays, DH & I are going balcony. I'm thinking I want an "aft balcony". :)

 

I will say that if an inside cabin was the only way I would be able to afford to cruise, I'd take it in a heartbeat. LOL! :D

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The first time we cruised we had an OV, 2nd time Balcony because of free upgrade. I am going at the beginning of March for my 3rd cruise with my sisters and we have an OV. So I will let you know after that. I think I could even cruise in an inside but DH says no. Now all he wants is balcony. I loved the balcony but I will do anything to get on the ship.

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our first 2 cruise were inside cabins and we were very happy with them, the next year we got a great deal on a balcony and could not ever go back. But what worries my hubby is this April we upgraded to an aft wrap balcony. He is worried now that we will never go back to a regular balcony. Time will tell. Enjoy your cruise

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We have had everything from inside to aft wrap and in between over our 25 or so cruises.

 

Last one was inside next one is a balcony. All depends upon price difference between the two.

 

A balcony might be worth a total of $ 300 more for us but is it worth $ 600? Nope that pays for our next cruise.

 

It is nice to get room service breakfast in the morning and have it on the balcony but honestly do not spend all that much time out there.

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We've done one inside and two ov's. Then last June we did a empress deck balcony on the Legend. What a F*****g difference it makes. Morning looking out as we pull into a port, afternoons at sea looking for whales or dolphins and such, night looking at the stars or laying on the bed listening to the ocean flowing over the stabilizers (sounds like waves against the shore underneath aan ocean front hotel). We put the door stop in the gap to keep the door open all night. So relaxing!!!

We're booked on the Veranda deck on the Liberty end of June, balcony of course. Only way I'll sail on an inside or even an ov again is if we do something on one of the more expensive lines(such as a crystal cruise). Imho, balconies make a HUGE difference in your cruising experience!

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I am an admitted balcony snob. There's no other option for us, it's part of the cruise budget. For us, if we are going to pay good money for a cruise on the beautiful seas, we want to be able to look out & see & hear & smell the water every possible minute, early mornings, late at night, and various times in between when we're not out & about the ship. I've never stayed in an inside room though, so can't really give an opinion there. We did stay in an OV when there was no other choice though. Different strokes for different folks... for some a balcony is not on their priority list. But it is a must on mine. :)

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Our first cruise was a 3 day cruise from LB to Mexico & back. So an inside was OK with us. When booking our next cruise, I did not want to have to leave the room in order to see anything. We will be on the Mediterranean Sea on the Magic for 9 days & so a balcony was a must. We are the type of people who actually get alot of use out of a simple hotel balcony when our room has one. We love quiet time just the 2 of us and after a lot of walking in the Europe ports, we will probably want some quiet alone time in the sea air. Plus, we get to see some great scenery without having to walk anywhere to see it. So we agreed a balcony will probably be a good investment for us.

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In 4 cruises we have had a balcony once. We will have another balcony on our upcoming cruise. We didn't spend alot of time on our last balcony so maybe this time we will use it more. Who knows, we shall see. We went to Alaska and didn't have a balcony. It wasn't that big a deal. We went up on deck and had panoramic views. The money we saved we spent on excursions. Alaska excursions are expensive. I don't care what type room I am in as long as it's in a good location and i'm on a cruise.

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another thing I sleep so much better with a balcolny, we brought a bungie cord with us on our last cruise to hold the door open it sounds like your sleeping right next to the beach its wonderful. If you do bring a bungie cord to hold the door open DO NOT open your cabin door while you have the balcolny door open! its like a tornado coming through your room!

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Most people who say they don't pay for a balcony because "you don't spend any time in your room anyway except to sleep". Well, you'd spend allot more time in your room if you had a balcony!:)

 

We're going on our 23 Carnival cruise in 11 days, and I can truely say that for us this just isn't the case.....We've intentionally booked 1 balcony (on a Med cruise, totally not worth it given how industrial the ports are) and been upgraded twice.

We've had 3 OV's and 1 Cat-12 suite (or what ever they are called now, sister won it playing bingo)........I'm usually up showered and on the Lido having coffee before sunrise..(then always to the MDR for breakfast)......Donna sleeps much later but likes to come to the Lido for her breakfast.

Neither one of us particularly like room service because of the mess and wait......

 

We've had balcony cabins twice out of 27 Carnival cruises. Frankly, it was a waste for me, as I only went out there a couple of times on each of those 7 day cruises. It's O.K. to have a balcony, but it certainly isn't worth the extra money for me. I'd much rather have 1/2 of another cruise. ;)

 

"SKY"

 

That's my point exactly......I'm having fun being out and around people all day, and we are currently cruising 3-4 times a year........We'll be increasing that to 4 to 6 times per year next year, so the savings really starts to add up when you cruise and play as much as we do............

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Never had an inside.......yet. 1 OV, and the rest have been balcony staterooms or suites.

 

Because of work schedules and kid's school schedules, we can usually only cruise once a year, so we splurge. Personally I get a ton of use from the balcony. I spend a lot of time out there just watching the ocean and reading my book. I like the privacy and peacefulness of it.

 

That said, we are booked in an inside on Carnival Elation for a 4-day this Thanksgiving (which will be a bonus 2nd cruise for us this year). The only balconies on that ship are suites, and we just couldn't justify the extra $$ for a 4-day cruise. The price of the inside, combined with the fact that we live less than 20 min from the Mobile cruise terminal make it a very affordable vacation. :)

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I pretty much stick with OV now because the last time I had a balcony my entire experience was ruined by the horrific smell coming from the next balcony over. That is right the next person over wore a gallon of the worst smelling purfume you can imagine and would refresh it each time she came out. I also had to put up with the noise of her and her other half enjoying the balcony in a romantic....I guess you could call it that....way.

 

I think I will just stick to OV from now on.

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I pretty much stick with OV now because the last time I had a balcony my entire experience was ruined by the horrific smell coming from the next balcony over. That is right the next person over wore a gallon of the worst smelling purfume you can imagine and would refresh it each time she came out. I also had to put up with the noise of her and her other half enjoying the balcony in a romantic....I guess you could call it that....way.

 

I think I will just stick to OV from now on.

 

nothing wrong with a little lovin on your balcolny!

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I cannot imagine doing an inside cabin. Going on a cruise is all about enjoying the beauty of the sea, the only way that I could even fatham having an inside cabine would be if I wanted to sleep the whole cruise or planned on being in a bar or the casino the whole cruise. NOT!

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We have cruised 3 times. The first 2 times in a balcony and the third we went for a inside cabin because of the price difference and thought we would spend the difference for other cruise related activities. ...... We spent just as much as we normally do and found out we would never go back to an inside stateroom. Why? We do enjoy spending time to ourselves and sometimes that means going back to our stateroom for a nap or just re grouping. YOU never have to find a seat when you have a balcony. We could never sleep well in an inside room because we didn't want to risk the chance of missing out on something by not knowing if it was day or night. However we did start leaving the channel on the tv that pointed to the front of the ship at least you knew it was dark.

We are now book for next year on the Carnival Liberty. Guess what my hubby says he is NOT going if he doesn't have at least a Balcony. Guess what? He got his way because I'm not staying home. He is an admitted Balcony Brat. I personally would go no matter where I slept if it came down to going or not going.

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In our short cruise history we have never had an inside cab in, always ocean view at least. Last cruise was a double length balcony and I am now spoiled for life! We spent a lot of time out there and plan to on our upcoming cruise this fall.

 

In all honesty I will always look for the best deal in a balcony room then worry about ports.

 

With only 4 or 5 cruises under our belt we can do that.

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Although I don't have as many cruises under my belt as others, I can not imagine not having a balcony. Our first cruise was in an extended aft on the Conquest and the last two were the aft-wraps. We also have the aft-wrap booked for the Magic on our cruise in December. My husband LOVES that balcony and so do I.

 

Although I am not a physician I believe he as ADHD and can not stand still unless he is asleep. He can go out on the balcony in his robe at any time day or night and be happy as a lark. We also smoked on all of our cruises and having the aft-wrap allowed us the freedom to smoke outside, and not worry about bothering other cabin occupants. We don't smoke in our house, so we don't smoke in our cabin either.

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I say it all depends on what you want to pay. We enjoy the balcony rooms. We do not spend much time in the room, but it is nice to have some open air. Breakfast in the mornings and a few drinks before bed on the balcony is a nice time for us to be alone together.

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First cruise, my wife and I went on we were in an inside cabin. After that experience we said we would never cruise inside again. Next we had ocean view cabins but even that didn't satisfy us. Then we had our first balcony, there was no going back to an ocean view after that. Then we experienced a PT Suite, sorry but a regular balcony doesn't do it any more. our last eight cruises have been suites. I know people will say that a suite is a waste of money but if you have stressful jobs like my wife and I, we believe that our vacations should not be limited by cost since we are so busy most of the year. I think I deserve the best that I can afford and if it means a suite then a suite it is.

 

Rick

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Most people who say they don't pay for a balcony because "you don't spend any time in your room anyway except to sleep". Well, you'd spend allot more time in your room if you had a balcony!:)

 

I used to say that too. Then I had a balcony and everything changed. I still have no problems in an inside, especially last year when I was able to cruise 3 times. One was in a balcony and the two shorter cruises were in insides.

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Question:

 

On Carnival Glory .. if we have 2 Balcony Rooms (standard balcony) next to each other, can it be opened up in the middle to make it one long balcony?

 

or is there a door in-between, or what?

 

Thanks in advance :)

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