Please ease my fears

[spcopps]

Just booked 1st cruise on RCCL. My fears is we booked a family promenade room on the 8th floor (5, 2 adults and 3 kids ages 8, 5 and 5 at time of sailing). We have always booked suites on other cruise lines so I am afraid of not having a balcony. The room sizes are about the same so not worried about that just hoping I don't miss my balcony. I keep telling myself there will be so much for the kids to do we won't miss it but my mind keeps telling me I will :eek:. We are also doing Eastern which is a first for us so maybe the ports, dreamworks, and kids program will be enough for the kids and DH and I won't feel guilty about using the adult only areas when kids are in programs since we won't have a balcony...OK my fears have been revealed can anyone make me feel better about my decision :confused:

[cb at sea]

I can sympathize....the best part of the cruise (IMO) is having a balcony! But, you do what you have to do....and you already know you'll have PLENTY of open spaces to hang....

What ship are you on? Some have balcony cabins that connect (via in room doorway) to an inside cabin....you might want to check prices on that arrangement, if your ship has that set-up.

If it doesn't....stop thinking about it! You'll have a great time, no matter what kind of cabin you're in!

[momphoto]

I have gone from outside to inside to balcony back to inside and even though I always miss that balcony I end up having so much fun on the cruise that in the end it does not matter. Having the promenade room will be fun I think....to be able to sit and see what is going on down below would be great and you have a great vantage point for the parade! Eastern route is my favorite with St. Maarten being my fav island. Enjoy!

[Lazy Sea Days]

I always book a balcony and last October decided to do the Promenade cabin. I WAS NOT HAPPY! Sorry I can't ease those fears but I think once you do the balcony you'll never be happy with anything else. It felt stuffy and small. Nothing I liked about it.

[firefly333]

I loved the PR cabin the most, but then when the parades are going, I never can see them if I am down in the promenade.

 

I love having a window view of the promenade. I was so torn on Oasis between the inside and outside balcony. I enjoyed the outside balcony .. but I bet I would have also loved the inside balcony.

[Dinkachu]

We had a promenade room on Freedom after many balcony rooms.

 

Promenade Pros:

 

-Great views of parades, people watching, etc.

-Kids with us enjoyed the activity on the promenade and were safe

while we did not let them on the oceanview balcony alone

-Window seat offers nice additional seating.

-Room Stays cooler

 

Promenade Cons:

 

-You miss the ocean view - get up on deck every day

-If you leave the drapes open the guest across the promenade have a view of you!

-Even with the curtains drawn there is still some light from the promenade

 

You can book an ocean view on any ship - only a few have promenade rooms. We booked an Allure boardwalk balcony for December since only 2 ships offer that view.

 

Happy Cruising!

 

Radiance, 3/11; Legend (carn) 8/10; Freedom 12/10; Grandeur 12/09;

Mariner 12/08; Wonder (disn) 3/01; Emerald Seas 07/74

[spcopps]

I always book a balcony and last October decided to do the Promenade cabin. I WAS NOT HAPPY! Sorry I can't ease those fears but I think once you do the balcony you'll never be happy with anything else. It felt stuffy and small. Nothing I liked about it.

 

 

We actually have the family prom so it is the same (or about) as what we are used to at 300 SQ FT. Were you in one of these or the regular promenade rooms? Just wondering if I am also going to feel like it is small/stuffy.

[Dinkachu]

We were in a regular promenade room and did not feel stuffy at all.

The room stayed a lot cooler than balcony rooms since the a/c only works if the balcony doors are shut.

 

We went on a Christmas cruise and decorated the promenade window with

battery operated lights and window stickies.

 

I really loved the window seat for reading and resting. We missed on the

next cruise with an ocean view balcony.

 

Happy cruising!

[BecciBoo]

Love love love those balconies! But ya gotta do what ya gotta do. We are PR next cruise up. Low on cash this year:( I know I'll miss the balcony, but there are plenty of places where you can be on the ship and almost feel like it's yours. We go early to Solarium and almost no one there; feels like we have our own pool, to have coffee and breakfast. Same during the late afternoon when everybody else is dressing for dinner, we go out and take a cocktail and watch the sunset. And there are other spaces as well, make it an adventure to find them!

[spcopps]

I can sympathize....the best part of the cruise (IMO) is having a balcony! But, you do what you have to do....and you already know you'll have PLENTY of open spaces to hang....

What ship are you on? Some have balcony cabins that connect (via in room doorway) to an inside cabin....you might want to check prices on that arrangement, if your ship has that set-up.

If it doesn't....stop thinking about it! You'll have a great time, no matter what kind of cabin you're in!

 

We are going on the Freedom of the Seas and they do have the ov/balcony combos but they were all booked (even so it was like $1,000 more for that set up). Can't do the inside/balcony because each of those only hold 2 guest and we need a 3/2 combo.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

I was in a PR cabin last November. We were next door and across from a family PR. It was spacious and from what we could tell the kids AND adults enjoyed being able to watch the parades and people below.

 

The Family PR cabins seem to be perfectly situated near the Promenade Bridge where a lot of the events occur.

[houstoncruisers2001]

We had a promenade room on Freedom after many balcony rooms.

 

Same for us, but we booked a Promenade B2B instead of a balcony for one week. Sure, a balcony is better, but two weeks on Voyager more than made up for it.