British Isles - Do I need a balcony (scenic views)?

[nlooser]

Hi. We are planning on reserving the Princess 12-day British Isles cruise for summer 2014.

 

We normally only book insides. My question is: Are there tons of scenic views on this cruise that would make a balcony worth it? Or are the views minimal where we would just go up on deck a couple days and save ourselves the extra money?

 

Thanks for any input or ideas!

 

-Nels

 

 

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[Ashland]

Sorry but I for one can't imagine going anywhere especially where you'll be and the length of time in basically a walkin closet...The views and personal private space a balcony can give you is always well worth the extra expense at least to me..but only you can personally make that decision based on your needs and budget...Enjoy and have a wonderful cruise.

[orchestrapal]

Sorry but I for one can't imagine going anywhere especially where you'll be and the length of time in basically a walkin closet...The views and personal private space a balcony can give you is always well worth the extra expense at least to me..but only you can personally make that decision based on your needs and budget...Enjoy and have a wonderful cruise.

 

So glad someone besides me calls these small cabins "walk in closets."

I have never been able to imagine how ships could sell such a space but then again I'm spoiled. :confused:

[dsrdsrdsr]

Most of the inside cabins are the same size as the outside cabins, at least on the ships I've been on. Which presumably means that outside cabins are walk-in closets with a window.

 

The British Isles aren't particularly scenic for sail-ins and sail-aways, because the ports aren't normally that far inland. Not like Norway, for example. And they tend to sail well away from the coast going from place to place, because of rocks and shipping lanes. No special reason for a balcony IMO, so if you don't have one normally, you won't need one for this.

[pshaze]

Nels,

 

I’ll comment on your question rather than the “inside vs balcony” debate.

 

We just returned from this cruise and it was wonderful. The weather was great so that didn’t really factor in how much we used the balcony.

 

The itinerary is very port intensive. We spent most of our port days off the ship. We rarely returned till we needed to be back. Then had dinner, and by that time it was usually dark outside so there wasn’t much to see off the balcony.

We had a balcony room on the starboard side which faced the port in most stops. (Going in the clockwise route) We might have spent maybe 5-6 hours total on it, the whole 12 days, including 2 sea days. Most of that was going in and out of the ports, which you can see from the open decks. We never actually sat out there. It is also nice and convenient just to step out of the door to see it. We needed to be up early to get off for our excursions so we were awake early enough to enjoy it between getting ready. Only you can answer if the convenience is worth the extra cost. You can certainly book an inside close enough to one of the open decks to make it easy to see the same thing. A nice area to take pictures is in the aft near the pool. You can get some beautiful panoramic shots.

 

On the second sea day we spent time on the port side promenade deck because we were cruising off the coast of Scotland and we were close enough to really see it. So having the balcony certainly didn’t help us on that day. From our balcony we could see land but it was too far away to really enjoy the view. If I had to do it again I would book a balcony on port side or aft. (Just our preference)

 

I felt a little like I did after our Alaska cruise. We booked a balcony and spent maybe 2 hours total on it the whole cruise. We could see much more using the open decks on the ship.

Hope that helps!

[jtamchay]

We just returned from The British Isles Cruise August 16-28,2013. We had a port side cabin D514/with balcony.

We are accustomed to having a balcony and we used it in some way every day. We consider the expense of the balcony when cruising and never look back. We had great weather for the season and the location and that allowed us to use the balcony more than we expected.

We used it both sea days and for the sail aways that occurred port side.

Mornings we checked the weather and chose what outerwear to take with us off ship. We had snacks and beverages daily on our balcony. It was always daylight except for the day in Greenock/Glasgow when we returned from tours.

This is a subjective decision you make for yourselves and only you can decide if your budget allows for a balcony or whether it has merit for you.

[phabric]

We were also on the August 16-28 British Isles cruise.

 

We had an obstructed view cabin E406. There is a thread (started by Renmar) showing the views of the obstructed cabins for the different Princess ships. Check out the thread, you can get an obstructed cabin with a good view and cheaper than an oceanview cabin. We have been in an inside, ocean view, balcony, mini-suite. We choose an obstructed view cabin this time so we would have some light.

 

We were on deck for sail aways and on sea days. We were gone early and returned in time for dinner and did not miss a balcony.

 

With the British Isles cruise, you never know what the weather is going to be. Save the money for your tours.

 

FYI - The casino was not open much on the British Isles cruise.

[Ashland]

Most of the inside cabins are the same size as the outside cabins, at least on the ships I've been on. Which presumably means that outside cabins are walk-in closets with a window.

 

The British Isles aren't particularly scenic for sail-ins and sail-aways, because the ports aren't normally that far inland. Not like Norway, for example. And they tend to sail well away from the coast going from place to place, because of rocks and shipping lanes. No special reason for a balcony IMO, so if you don't have one normally, you won't need one for this.

Sorry...but the question is about an inside vs balcony...not about an oceanview catagory...

 

You don't necessarily need to see "land" to enjoy the outside private space a balcony can provide ;):)

[nlooser]

Thanks everyone. Based upon feedback here and some other research, we have booked an inside room on Ruby Princess in August, 2014. This will be a grand adventure! :)

[phabric]

Thanks everyone. Based upon feedback here and some other research, we have booked an inside room on Ruby Princess in August, 2014. This will be a grand adventure! :)

 

I would suggest you join your Roll Call if one has been started, if not start one. We had a very Roll Call for the August 16 cruise.

 

I saved over $1,000 doing private tours vs Princess' tours. Check out our Roll Call for ideas for private tours.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Sorry...but the question is about an inside vs balcony...not about an oceanview catagory...

 

You don't necessarily need to see "land" to enjoy the outside private space a balcony can provide ;):)

I should have said, of course, that "presumably an outside cabin is a walk-in closet with an extra door and an outside private space". But as the OP was asking specifically about views, I didn't really think the "private space" element was relevant. Either way, having a balcony doesn't make the room any bigger.

[leavingocalaagain]

Nels,

 

I’ll comment on your question rather than the “inside vs balcony” debate.

 

We just returned from this cruise and it was wonderful. The weather was great so that didn’t really factor in how much we used the balcony.

 

The itinerary is very port intensive. We spent most of our port days off the ship. We rarely returned till we needed to be back. Then had dinner, and by that time it was usually dark outside so there wasn’t much to see off the balcony.

We had a balcony room on the starboard side which faced the port in most stops. (Going in the clockwise route) We might have spent maybe 5-6 hours total on it, the whole 12 days, including 2 sea days. Most of that was going in and out of the ports, which you can see from the open decks. We never actually sat out there. It is also nice and convenient just to step out of the door to see it. We needed to be up early to get off for our excursions so we were awake early enough to enjoy it between getting ready. Only you can answer if the convenience is worth the extra cost. You can certainly book an inside close enough to one of the open decks to make it easy to see the same thing. A nice area to take pictures is in the aft near the pool. You can get some beautiful panoramic shots.

 

On the second sea day we spent time on the port side promenade deck because we were cruising off the coast of Scotland and we were close enough to really see it. So having the balcony certainly didn’t help us on that day. From our balcony we could see land but it was too far away to really enjoy the view. If I had to do it again I would book a balcony on port side or aft. (Just our preference)

 

I felt a little like I did after our Alaska cruise. We booked a balcony and spent maybe 2 hours total on it the whole cruise. We could see much more using the open decks on the ship.

Hope that helps!

 

 

I'm hoping for a clarification on your comments. If you were going clockwise, heading north between Ireland and Scotland, then around the top of Scotland and then south .... wouldn't Scotland have been on the starboard side? Was it a particular area where the land was on the port side? Heading into and out of ports, for example?

 

As you can see, we will be doing this trip next summer on the Ruby in June in the clockwise direction and want to make sure we get the best use of our balcony. Thanks

[pshaze]

I'm hoping for a clarification on your comments. If you were going clockwise, heading north between Ireland and Scotland, then around the top of Scotland and then south .... wouldn't Scotland have been on the starboard side? Was it a particular area where the land was on the port side? Heading into and out of ports, for example?

 

As you can see, we will be doing this trip next summer on the Ruby in June in the clockwise direction and want to make sure we get the best use of our balcony. Thanks

 

Sorry.... I totally messed that up.

 

We had A730 on the PORT side. So that should read I would book on the Starboard or AFT to get more use out of our balcony. Sorry.

 

I went back and looked and it was the first sea day not the second when we saw the best views. We left Belfast and were cruising towards the Orkney Islands.

 

We docked port side to the pier in Cobh. The views were nice coming and going on the port side. It is a really pretty little town. The sail away pictures are some of my favorite from here. There is also a beautiful lighthouse you see on the port side leaving so make sure not to miss that. They had a band playing while we were leaving. We were to far back on the ship to get any good pictures so I went down on the Promenade for the sail away.

 

Going into Dublin there was a nice red light house on the port side. On the starboard side there was a black and white striped lighthouse. You also can get some nice pictures of the city. Most of the port area is very industrial. We left late, and it got dark quickly, so I couldn't take many pictures during sail away.

 

Going into Glasgow it was really foggy and I didn't take any pictures. Can't remember which side we docked. We left port at 2am and I was asleep. ;-)

 

Belfast is also an industrial port. We docked port side. You can see the Titanic Museum and the building where they film the Game of Thrones from the port side. There are some nice cliffs and caves on sail away on the port side.

 

Orkney Island we docked port side. You can see Kirkwall but it is far for a nice picture. When we were leaving they had a bagpipe band playing for us. Again we were to far back so I went onto the Promenade to take pictures. On sail away there are some really nice views of the islands and a few lighthouses on the port side.

 

In Inverness we docked port side. Another nice little town. They also had a bagpipe group playing for sail away you can see from the port side. We were in open water quickly so not much to see but the beautiful skies.

 

Edinburgh was a tender port but we were anchored with port side to the dock area. We watched the tenders going back and forth.

 

LaHarve we were docked Starboard side to the dock. The dock area is industrial. NOTHING to see at all.

 

So I guess if you like seeing the port area when you are docked then the port side would be best. For scenic views on sea days I would pick the Starboard.

Maybe someone who was on the Starboard side can give you their opinion.

 

We loved the Ruby.....wish it was on the itinerary this year instead of the Caribbean Princess.

[bunzini]

We are thinking of booking an inside cabin on a British Isles cruise next summer. As much as I love a balcony, I am having a hard time justifying nearly 2300.00 more. To me -that will pay for my spring break cruise! Just sailed on the Silhouette in August and had a balcony cabin, which of course I loved, but I don't think for the price difference on this cruise it is worth it. On my Med cruise in August, it was too hot to sit on the balcony. Honestly, I kind of like being up on top deck looking at the sights anyways so I think for us we are going to go with the inside unless a better deal comes up!

[leavingocalaagain]

Pshaze,

 

Thanks for responding with the correction. I thought maybe my age was catching up to me. Normally, we book inside by my SO really wanted a balcony. My DS and her DH are going and will have the stateroom next to us. At least we can pass the wine if the sights are not great all the time. Your description of the docking locations was also helpful!

 

We will be on the Ruby which we sailed for a TA from Venice to Port Everglades last year. Really liked the ship. It did get a little rough as we came in behind Hurr. Sandy as it headed north. We had to divert south to avoid her.

[Chesie]

We are thinking of booking an inside cabin on a British Isles cruise next summer. As much as I love a balcony, I am having a hard time justifying nearly 2300.00 more. To me -that will pay for my spring break cruise! Just sailed on the Silhouette in August and had a balcony cabin, which of course I loved, but I don't think for the price difference on this cruise it is worth it. On my Med cruise in August, it was too hot to sit on the balcony. Honestly, I kind of like being up on top deck looking at the sights anyways so I think for us we are going to go with the inside unless a better deal comes up!

 

 

We just returned on the CB. Had partial obstructed view port E404 and loved it. We just wanted to look out in the morning to see if it was raining to dress accordingly. We had a good view and saved a boat load of money for the tours, which we did privately.

[melody hounddog]

Great thread. We too are struggling between sticking with our balcony cabin or booking an inside to save money. I guess I have some time to figure it out. In the meantime, thanks for all the advice!

[melody hounddog]

We are thinking of booking an inside cabin on a British Isles cruise next summer. As much as I love a balcony, I am having a hard time justifying nearly 2300.00 more. To me -that will pay for my spring break cruise! Just sailed on the Silhouette in August and had a balcony cabin, which of course I loved, but I don't think for the price difference on this cruise it is worth it. On my Med cruise in August, it was too hot to sit on the balcony. Honestly, I kind of like being up on top deck looking at the sights anyways so I think for us we are going to go with the inside unless a better deal comes up!

 

Have you booked yet? With the sale that Princess is having right now, we saved just over $1000 on our balcony cabin, received $100 OBC pp and a free night in a specialty restaurant.

[jtamchay]

Have you booked yet? With the sale that Princess is having right now, we saved just over $1000 on our balcony cabin, received $100 OBC pp and a free night in a specialty restaurant.

 

Melody, we had 3 meals at the specialty restaurants...we could not recommend Sabatini's...our food was just ok and the service was non existent. I make better Italian at home.

We ate 2x at The Crown Grill...the menu is very good, excellent quality of steaks, veal chops and lamb chops...everyone around us was ordering the lobster entrée as an appetizer so the next time we ate at The CG we each ordered the lobster as the appetizer...it was delicious and happily prepared and brought to the table.

The service was well paced and efficient.

[bunzini]

We booked the Infinity inside. Princess and Celebrity both had special offers, but in the end we went with Celebrity and still chose an inside. Even with the special the inside was 1000 cheaper than the outside. That is a lot of money for shore excursions.

[melody hounddog]

Melody, we had 3 meals at the specialty restaurants...we could not recommend Sabatini's...our food was just ok and the service was non existent. I make better Italian at home.

We ate 2x at The Crown Grill...the menu is very good, excellent quality of steaks, veal chops and lamb chops...everyone around us was ordering the lobster entrée as an appetizer so the next time we ate at The CG we each ordered the lobster as the appetizer...it was delicious and happily prepared and brought to the table.

The service was well paced and efficient.

 

Thanks for the info. I think we will try the Crown Grill. My husband loves a good ribeye and says that my Italian is better than anything we can eat out!