Is a balcony worth the money?

[cantwaitfornextcruise]

Balcony on Caribe which are large or a mini suite for us tried an inside and hated it, you will love a balcony

[bdjam]

I always get a balcony whether I'm sailing solo or with a cabin mate, but I like to sit out on the balcony a lot. I think if you're apt to want to be out on deck with the rest of the passengers, the balcony might not be worth it for you. For me, it's worth every penny...

[srlafleur]

We definitely prefer our balconies (for the last several cruises - aft-facing)! But if, or when, it comes down to "do we get an inside because it's all we can afford", I suppose we'll settle for inside.

We like the balcony because, in addition to having our own little piece of outdoor real estate for sight-seeing, watching the port goings-on, etc. it's also like have a second room. Hubby can nap inside and I can read outside (and nap if the sounds of the sea lull me to sleep - that happens a whole lot) We love having some wine and privacy, or room service coffee in our skivvies.

[2little time]

I love going out on the balcony for fresh air. I can't imagine not having one!

[Katie333]

I would never cruise without a balcony (again). Our first cruise was oceanview and then we upgraded and have never looked back. I love the fact that I can wake up and go out on my balcony, eat on my balcony, read on my balcony all to my own hearts content. We are not ones for crowds and group activities and having a balcony allows us to experience cruising the way we truly enjoy. Definitely pick up a bottle of champagne/wine for sail-away and do it in style. :)

 

Regarding the Lido, definitely it is convenient though we have preferred the balconies that are larger on lower decks (usually Caribe though we got a nice one on the Coral between the suites on a different deck). I also like having a deck of passengers above and below to avoid any 'party' or chair scraping noises.

[framer]

I've done 12 cruises 1MS 1B 1OV 2OOV 7I I enjoyed them all. The balcony chairs are worthless IMHO. There are some great hidden spots to hang out but I'm not telling....;). Go inside and spend the savings exploring.

 

framer

[Ship's Wake]

I love going out on the balcony for fresh air. I can't imagine not having one!

 

I have to smile at your post :). Seems almost like paradise.

 

Having just participated in a thread on the Holland America boards about smokers being ever present on balconies smoking away, I can really appreciate Princess and their non smoking policy on balconies.

 

I too love enjoying watching the waves and being in a marine environment and for a warm weather cruise a balcony to me is a must if it falls within my travel budget.

 

Plus, we tend to have a more relaxed cruise when we have a balcony, as I tend to not rush my wife each and every morning to get ready faster and out of the cabin since we order room service and I can see us pull into port and satisfy my need to "be somewhere".

[piper28]

Based on the comments in the OP, that person may find that upgrading to a balcony isn't really that big of a gain. For people that like to constantly be out and about in the ship, the balcony isn't nearly as much use.

 

Personally, I'm a balcony person, even on cold weather cruises. I like having some place to retreat from all the people. I'll sit there reading a book, just watching the water go by. South America, I watched Albatross fly behind the ship, that was fascinating.

 

I did the coastals that I did, one in an inside, one in an oceanview. Didn't particularly care for them, but at least those were short cruises. Found the rooms to be small, and just really felt pretty confined without having that balcony.

[Momma Mojito]

I'm sure you're going to get a bunch of replies on this question, but for us, we simply won't cruise without a balcony. We love eating out there, getting up in the morning and watching as we pull into port, having drinks as we sail away in the evening, and sometimes sitting out there late at night in our 'jammies' just star gazing and listening to the wake. We enjoy the public spaces on the ship, but it's just a treat to have your own private area to relax and enjoy the view and sea air.

 

I suppose your cruise 'style' greatly impacts how one uses or enjoys a balcony. If you're a person who wants to be on the open decks with a crowd all the time, or around the pools, then maybe a balcony isn't a 'must have' for you. But we cruise to relax, unwind, and enjoy each other's company, so a balcony is a big part of the experience.

 

This is just how we feel about having a balcony!!!

[BoPippy]

This is just how we feel about having a balcony!!!

 

DITTO!!!! WE could never go on a cruise without a Balcony! Love leaving door open and listening to ocean while sailing(shut off air)waking up early to see what the day is like,coming into port and everything you mentioned.I guess that is why new cruise ships are adding more and more balconies on their ships.:)

[itravelalot]

Absolutely yes!! For all the reasons that everyone has said it is worth it, I agree 100%. Go for it. Is a great way to start and finish your day.

[iluvcruzin]

I personally am not one that can't cruise with any option other than a balcony. Depending on which line I chose, or where I'm going, and price determines whether I go with a balcony or not. Most of the time I choose insides so I can cruise more often. If there is a deal in which the Balcony is a minor increase I go that route. RCCL has balcony perks so I've taken advantage of that in the past. But as a general rule, I don't find it necessary to enjoy my cruise.

[dchip]

We have had every type of cabin but would much rather have a balcony. After our second inside cabin, I realized I need to see daylight. As a photographer, I love being able to pop out and get great sunrise or sunset photos. We both enjoy our time sitting quietly and just watching the sea go by.

 

As you can see from the photo, I use the balcony no matter what the weather!

 

Cheers, Denise

 

[shepp]

If you want to try a balcony but want to save some money, you may want to consider a guarantee. Just make sure you would be happy with any balcony location.

 

Not sure what you mean. On Princess, you get no discount for booking a guarantee rather than an assigned cabin in the same category. The only time you'd save money is if the lowest-fared available balcony category is already on guarantee only.

 

And though many think a guarantee makes it more likely that you'll get an upgrade, that's absolutely not to be counted on.

[austinlw]

Maybe we've just been lucky, but last fall on Ruby and this fall on Emerald we booked a sale price on a balcony guarantee in the spring and ended up with Caribe deck cabins, which have extra large balconies.

 

To answer the original question, our first cruise we booked an inside cabin and I missed having a window to see outside. I determined at that point we would book either an outside cabin or balcony from then on. Now we always book a balcony and we enjoy spending some time on it almost every day. It's almost like a private retreat. I enjoy just sitting on it watching the sea go by - nothing like it. Occasionally we've seen dolphins and flying fish - almost like our own private show. Sunrises and sunsets at sea, with all the subtle pastel colors, are incredibly peaceful. I even enjoy sitting out there at night (if the ship lights are not too bright) and watching the stars. After returning to our cabin from a port, we like to relax out there and have a glass of wine before we get ready to head to dinner. To us it's worth the extra bucks, because we make good use of it.

[bling19572010]

My first cruise I stayed in an inside cabin...didn't know anything thing different and the cabin was very dark so I slept well, but now, I would never cruise without having a balcony! Enjoy!

[vmom]

Not sure what you mean. On Princess, you get no discount for booking a guarantee rather than an assigned cabin in the same category. The only time you'd save money is if the lowest-fared available balcony category is already on guarantee only.

 

And though many think a guarantee makes it more likely that you'll get an upgrade, that's absolutely not to be counted on.

 

What I meant was that often you can book the lowest price balcony on a guarantee and may possibly be upgraded to a different level balcony, thus saving money.

 

The OP original post stated he was concerned about the extra money for a balcony. He/she then stated in a different post that he/she was considering a balcony on the Lido deck, which is a BA category, which is the most expensive category for a balcony. I did state in my post that it is important when booking a guarantee to make sure that any cabin of that guarantee level or higher would be okay. I think its a good strategy for people who would be happy with any cabin in that category or higher, but want to try out something new and maybe save some money. In this case he/she is concerned as to whether a balcony is worth the money which I interpreted as saying he/she was trying to save some money on cabin costs. A way to try that at a slightly reduced cost would be to book a lower level balcony which are often on a guarantee and thus trying it out rather than booking the most expensive level balcony. It was a suggestion to him/her as an alternative to booking the most expensive balcony level. I didn't mean to be misleading in my post.

 

In the case which I used as an example, I had booked a BF guarantee and got a BB balcony. It has been my observation after being on these boards for a while, that many people do not like to book cabins under public areas and I have noticed that when there are threads reporting an "upgrade" that many of the "upgrades" have been to cabins under the Lido deck. Obviously there is no guarantee, which is why I stated that when booking a guarantee it is important to be satisfied with any cabin in that category or higher.

[caribill]

In the case which I used as an example, I had booked a BF guarantee and got a BB balcony.

 

This was a good possibility with the current categories of cabins as BF on some ships only had four cabins in it and a GTY would mean all but four bookings would get upgraded.

 

But with the new categories that are in effect starting next spring, the BF category on most of the ships can have from 88 to 104 cabins, so the possibility of an upgrade with a GTY is much reduced.

 

The Upgrade Fairy may become unemployed.

[Kinkacruiser]

If a balcony is double the price of an interior, I'd give it a wide berth. If it's only a few hundred dollars difference, I'd go for it.

On our recent Syd-Hawaii-Tahiti-Sydney 35 day cruise, the balcony price was about $10,000 pp, interiors were half that.

You can get another cruise in with that saving.

[vmom]

This was a good possibility with the current categories of cabins as BF on some ships only had four cabins in it and a GTY would mean all but four bookings would get upgraded.

 

But with the new categories that are in effect starting next spring, the BF category on most of the ships can have from 88 to 104 cabins, so the possibility of an upgrade with a GTY is much reduced.

 

The Upgrade Fairy may become unemployed.

 

Interesting. I did not know they were re-doing the categories. Makes sense to me since I often thought that some of the lower level categories were more desirable than some of the higher priced ones.

[pris993]

Most of the time we book a balcony or a mini suite. We have though booked an ocean view a couple of times, when we either could not get a balcony (already booked) or we did not feel we would use the balcony enough... weather cold.

 

While we feel a balcony is worth it, we have had some great cruises with out one, there was a time balconies were rare.

 

If we don't have a balcony we use more of the public areas on a ship. With a balcony we spend a lot of time on the balcony - especially while at sea or late afternoon after returning from port.

[resordanis]

Most of the time we book a balcony or a mini suite. We have though booked an ocean view a couple of times, when we either could not get a balcony (already booked) or we did not feel we would use the balcony enough... weather cold.

 

While we feel a balcony is worth it, we have had some great cruises with out one, there was a time balconies were rare.

 

If we don't have a balcony we use more of the public areas on a ship. With a balcony we spend a lot of time on the balcony - especially while at sea or late afternoon after returning from port.

 

I agree with pris993, we have had some great cruises in balconies BUT some of te best cruises have been in O/vs. Horses for courses I say! As long as someone is cooking for me and making my bed I am having a great time. Our next cruise is in a full suite so that will be interesting!:D

[fi'fi]

First two cruises ocean view. All cruises after that balcony all the way.

We love watching the sun come up and down.

Spending quiet time together away from the crowds. Of course fresh air for the cabin. Sometimes we sit on the balcony and read.

[Andos]

Hi,

we did our first cruise last year and opted for inside cabins as we were paying for the children also. The main disadvantage we found was that we never knew what time of the day it was in terms of getting up in the mornings. We found this very disorientating and it felt a bit like extended jet lag for the first few days of our cruise.

 

This year, however, we have opted for a mini-suite with balcony (as it is just the two of us this time!). Imho, I think that if you're able, the balcony would be the more enjoyable option. Obviously, I imagine that you won't be spending that much time in cabin anyway. But, it always nice to have the choice.

 

Rgds,

 

Andos.

[srlafleur]

Hi,

we did our first cruise last year and opted for inside cabins as we were paying for the children also. The main disadvantage we found was that we never knew what time of the day it was in terms of getting up in the mornings. We found this very disorientating and it felt a bit like extended jet lag for the first few days of our cruise.

 

I do have to agree with the disorientation and jet lag feeling. I had an inside with my 3 kids (teenage to college-age). I figured they'd all be out in the evening at the disco or taking in the shows. I mean, that age stays up late and parties til all hours, right? Nu-uh. We'd finish dinner, go back to the room to freshen-up/loosen our belts (fully intending to go back out) and all fall asleep (I do believe some of us slept in our clothes). Granted, we were on a 3 hour time difference, but it was crazy how pooped we were so early. My son (the youngest) and I only managed to catch a show the last night (of a 4-nighter).

I've never experienced such somnolence with a balcony - not even on a Hawaiian cruise (even more hours difference).