Potential first time Carnival cruiser: balcony questions

[kellyclayt]

I am considering a February 2013 cruise on the new Carnival Breeze, which is a Dream class ship. As I have never sailed Carnival before, I am looking for any expertise any of you can share with me on selecting the best balcony rooms. Thanks!

[kellyclayt]

So a friend that we'll be cruising with really likes the newer, bigger ships with lots of bells and whistles. Looking at the Allure of the Seas and the Carnival Breeze for the same week, the Carnival Breeze has a better itinerary and 8 nights for less than 7 on the Allure.

 

In looking at what pictures I can find of the Dream class ships, the one thing that I don't really think I like is that it looks like the balconies do not have floor to ceiling glass doors. Is this the case on all the balcony rooms?

[Froufie]

yes I believe this is the case - they are like a 'regular' door - altho with some glass - but not floor to ceiling.

 

You might want to try the cove balconies - which are are deck 2 and much closer to the water - getting many rave reviews!

 

As for location - if you are in a cove balcony (deck 2) just watch out what is above you. same for upper deck 6 (promenade deck below you with many public areas such as disco, casino)....and deck 8 verandah (some of which is below pool deck areas.

 

If noise isn't an issue then it doesn't matter. If money isn't an issue try to get one of the aft wrap balcony cabins!

[beerman2]

Love the Lido Deck can walk down the hall and be at the pool, coffee in the morning, pizza in the middle of the night, buffet for breakfast without having travel too far. Last 3 cruises have stayed on the Lido each time.

[firefly333]

yes I believe this is the case - they are like a 'regular' door - altho with some glass - but not floor to ceiling.

 

You might want to try the cove balconies - which are are deck 2 and much closer to the water - getting many rave reviews!

 

As for location - if you are in a cove balcony (deck 2) just watch out what is above you. same for upper deck 6 (promenade deck below you with many public areas such as disco, casino)....and deck 8 verandah (some of which is below pool deck areas.

 

If noise isn't an issue then it doesn't matter. If money isn't an issue try to get one of the aft wrap balcony cabins!

 

Cove balconys are in hull balconys with a cut out. Im thinking of the OP wants floor to ceiling windows, they would want more open .. though I agree, people love the coves.

[kellyclayt]

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check out the cove balconies. I typically love aft balconies, but it will depend on the price premium. And noise is definitely an issue.

 

I was just reading that the Breeze will be decorated by a new decorator and have a Caribbean theme. That sounds good to me!

 

yes I believe this is the case - they are like a 'regular' door - altho with some glass - but not floor to ceiling.

 

You might want to try the cove balconies - which are are deck 2 and much closer to the water - getting many rave reviews!

 

As for location - if you are in a cove balcony (deck 2) just watch out what is above you. same for upper deck 6 (promenade deck below you with many public areas such as disco, casino)....and deck 8 verandah (some of which is below pool deck areas.

 

If noise isn't an issue then it doesn't matter. If money isn't an issue try to get one of the aft wrap balcony cabins!

[kellyclayt]

Sounds good. Thanks for that info!

 

Love the Lido Deck can walk down the hall and be at the pool, coffee in the morning, pizza in the middle of the night, buffet for breakfast without having travel too far. Last 3 cruises have stayed on the Lido each time.

[Socref124]

Do not get a balcony on the Upper Deck, deck 6. The Promanade is just below and these balconies have little privacy. Plus some people will use the hot tubs or play with the chess sets at 2 and 3am while inebriated. We are trying the Lido Deck this time around.

[Tapi]

So a friend that we'll be cruising with really likes the newer, bigger ships with lots of bells and whistles. Looking at the Allure of the Seas and the Carnival Breeze for the same week...

 

Ask yourself what's most important to you. While Carnival delivers a great cruise experience at very reasonable prices, there's not a single ship in the Carnival fleet (or any cruise line) that comes anywhere near the Allure of the Seas. We just sailed on her a few months ago and it completely amazed us. It will blow your mind! Standard balconies in the Allure are 50sq ft while they are 35sq ft on Dream class ships.

 

However, sailing on a ship like the Allure comes at a price (literally and figuratively). We will be paying much less for a balcony on our upcoming Dream cruise than what we paid for a boardwalk window cabin on the Allure. Also, itineraries are much more limited (the focus is on the ship, not on the ports of call).

[fuzzmane]

We had a cove balcony (2337) on the Dream it was awesome. Have had regular balconies before, but cove was so much better. No balcony below you, life boats 2 decks up. Very very private and about 20-30 feet off the water.

[kellyclayt]

Yep, I hear what you're saying. As you can see from my signature, we will be sailing on the Allure at Christmastime. As you noted, though, the Allure is very expensive and also has very limited ports.

 

One of the things that I liked about the Breeze itinerary for February 2013 is that it goes to Grand Turk, Curacao, & the Dominican Republic which would all be new ports for us. On our Allure cruise, we will not be visiting any new ports (unless you consider Falmouth a port different from the other Jamaica ports, which I really don't).

 

Some of the friends who travel with us really like newer, larger ships and the Breeze will be such. Certainly not as large as the Allure, but newer. My husband is another story. We are diamond members with Royal Caribbean and he likes all the "perks" that come with that. I, myself, would love to try new things!

 

Ask yourself what's most important to you. While Carnival delivers a great cruise experience at very reasonable prices, there's not a single ship in the Carnival fleet (or any cruise line) that comes anywhere near the Allure of the Seas. We just sailed on her a few months ago and it completely amazed us. It will blow your mind! Standard balconies in the Allure are 50sq ft while they are 35sq ft on Dream class ships.

 

However, sailing on a ship like the Allure comes at a price (literally and figuratively). We will be paying much less for a balcony on our upcoming Dream cruise than what we paid for a boardwalk window cabin on the Allure. Also, itineraries are much more limited (the focus is on the ship, not on the ports of call).

[kellyclayt]

I did check out some youtube videos on the cove balconies and that is very intriguing to me. My main drawback to the Carnival balconies remains the door situation ( I am used to floor to ceiling glass sliding doors and like that ) but the cove balconies do seem to add another dimension

 

We had a cove balcony (2337) on the Dream it was awesome. Have had regular balconies before, but cove was so much better. No balcony below you, life boats 2 decks up. Very very private and about 20-30 feet off the water.