Should I book a balcony?

[allfloridagirl]

I'm thinking of booking a cruise on the Royal Princess next October for New England. Is it worth booking a balcony for this trip? I normally save the money and book an inside & outside cabins (they do not have outside) but understand cruises to Alaska and such, it does pay to have a balcony, as there is a lot of scenery. Is this the case with the New England cruise?

[Happy2cruise]

We always book a balcony because we enjoy being able to sit outside while enjoying our morning coffee, a glass of wine before dinner or just to relax and soak in the beautiful sea air and beautiful water. Also love being on the balcony when entering and leaving a port.

[sassyredhat]

We always book a balcony because we enjoy being able to sit outside while enjoying our morning coffee, a glass of wine before dinner or just to relax and soak in the beautiful sea air and beautiful water. Also love being on the balcony when entering and leaving a port.

 

We do too, for the same reasons. :)

Pat

[IdahoCruises]

We have friends on this cruise right now. They have a balcony and have told

us the views and fall foliage are getting really beautiful at this point.

 

These friends are avid life long boaters and cruisers and this is their first

New England cruise.

 

They are enjoying the UBD and morning coffee and afternoon adult beverages

as well.

[skynight]

We always book a balcony and use it for various things. If cost is your concern then you should be able to get an obstructed view balcony on the Royal for a good price. Do your deck plan research, about 10% of the Royal's balconies are larger than the standard 9'x4' size.

[Seafoam Green]

Balconies are great. New England weather is a mixed bag of temperatures in the fall, so consider that you might be able to be on your balcony in shorts OR you might need a fleece jacket and mittens.

 

:D

[Clutterlady]

We are booked for the 9/27/14 Canada/New England cruise. This will be our fourth cruise with this itinerary. We use to cruise the first week in Sept., but the Royal starts later next year. We always had a balcony as the weather was always warm that time of year. This year we are trying our first inside! Two reasons...1st is the weather may be very cool and 2nd is the price for a balcony! Hopefully the price will come down before final payment. Either way, you will enjoy this cruise. The ports are wonderful:)

[allfloridagirl]

We have friends on this cruise right now. They have a balcony and have told

us the views and fall foliage are getting really beautiful at this point.

 

These friends are avid life long boaters and cruisers and this is their first

New England cruise.

 

They are enjoying the UBD and morning coffee and afternoon adult beverages

as well.

 

I was wondering if I should book early in October, instead of mid-October and now with your post, I reconsidering the date of the cruise. I know if varies from season to season but if someone is up there now on 9/18 and are already seeing a good deal of fall foliage, I may book earlier than once thought.

 

I have done balconies in the past but always in the Caribbean and did enjoy having room service brought every morning and I would sit out and enjoy my breakfast. We've opted for inside/outside cabins recently, just to save a buck or two.

 

Thank you for your input.

[allfloridagirl]

We always book a balcony and use it for various things. If cost is your concern then you should be able to get an obstructed view balcony on the Royal for a good price. Do your deck plan research, about 10% of the Royal's balconies are larger than the standard 9'x4' size.

 

That is what I was thinking of, as the cost is only $100 or so between the highest inside category and the obstructed balcony category. I was thinking of just booking a guarantee obstructed balcony, hoping to get a better cabin. I know I can't count on that but ALL times we've booked guarantee cabins, we've always been given 2 to 3 categories higher but within the same class of cabin. I know I can't count on being upgraded to a mini-suite from the obstructed balcony cabin but since I'm booking this early on, I have a good chance at getting a non-obstructed balcony. If I don't get the upgrade, so well, it's a crap shoot. I'll be happy either way.

[allfloridagirl]

Balconies are great. New England weather is a mixed bag of temperatures in the fall, so consider that you might be able to be on your balcony in shorts OR you might need a fleece jacket and mittens.

 

:D

 

Great point. I didn't even think about how cool it may be outside of the ship. Even though I'm a native Floridian and have lived in this state all my life, my husband and I nearly always book vacations in much cooler climates, in fact we go to Utah every February to ski for 2 weeks. As long as it's not cooler than that, we should be fine but I'm glad you brought up this point. I will certainly have to get a robe for that cruise.

[allfloridagirl]

We are booked for the 9/27/14 Canada/New England cruise. This will be our fourth cruise with this itinerary. We use to cruise the first week in Sept., but the Royal starts later next year. We always had a balcony as the weather was always warm that time of year. This year we are trying our first inside! Two reasons...1st is the weather may be very cool and 2nd is the price for a balcony! Hopefully the price will come down before final payment. Either way, you will enjoy this cruise. The ports are wonderful:)

 

Was it worth booking balconies on your previous cruises to New England? I mentioned Alaska, as so many people stated that balconies were so nice, as there was a lot of beautiful scenery between Vancouver and Seward, along with the glaciers.

 

The balcony prices aren't too much higher than booking the highest inside cabin, so I could go either way.

[Bruin Steve]

I typically book balconies (though I've cruised in everything from inside cabins to GIANT suites)...But, I think part of it, at this point in my life, is that I can easily afford it...In my younger days, when money was more of an issue, we tended to try to conserve money by booking inside cabins...

 

My motto has always been "Just get me on the ship!"...

 

But, here's the deal: Balconies are NICE...More space, more open feeling, easy to go outside for fresh air, nice convenient, private place to enjoy the scenery, etc.

 

On the other hand, you sometimes have to ask yourself "How much use will I really get from this balcony?"...The more at sea days you have, the warmer the itinerary, the more days of "scenic cruising", the more likely you use it...

But, it still comes down to personal style...Some people aren't all that social...they like "alone time", like to drink in their cabin, maybe have room service breakfast on the balcony...Others get along just fine without a balcony...Use the pool deck or one of the open decks as THEIR balcony...You want to enjoy the view? There are plenty of places on the ship from which you can enjoy the view...and sometimes better than your balcony. Sometimes the view is on the Starboard side and YOUR balcony is on the Port side (or vice versa). Maybe you like to have your drinks in a bar and talk to other people...or your breakfast in the main dining room...

 

In the end, a balcony is worth more to some people than others...

And it also comes down to that price differential...If it's narrow, go with the balcony...If it's wide, perhaps save the money...

 

For $100, for ME, it would be a no-brainer....but $100 doesn't mean that much to me...For some people, it means quite a bit...

 

Oh, this particular itinerary...It may vary depending on the precise route, but, a lot of the time, you're not close enough to shore to see much anyway...or it's on the other side of the ship...or you're passing through some nice scenery, but the time is such that you're otherwise occupied--eating or being entertained...I would rarely base the decision on the itinerary...We had two suites on our Alaska cruise (one for us, one for our daughters)...with really nice balconies...The day we were at Hubbard Glacier, we chose to view the glacier from the Helipad instead (private invite--and much more spectacular than the limited view from the balcony) and the day we cruised through the Inland Passage, the ship was delayed at Ketchikan and most of the passage ended up being AT NIGHT!!!

 

New England has some beautiful scenery, but you're not going to really see that much of it from your balcony...I think the fact that it's only $100 more is the more important factor here...You WILL get $100 worth of use...

[Clutterlady]

Was it worth booking balconies on your previous cruises to New England? I mentioned Alaska, as so many people stated that balconies were so nice, as there was a lot of beautiful scenery between Vancouver and Seward, along with the glaciers.

 

The balcony prices aren't too much higher than booking the highest inside cabin, so I could go either way.

 

We did save a couple hundred dollars by booking a inside compared to the lowest priced balcony cabin. Yes, it was worth having a balcony on our other New England cruises because the weather was always warm. But, as far as scenery, you won't really see that much from the balcony. Are you doing the 7 day? If you are, remember, you only have one sea day. The rest you will be busy at port all day long.

[allfloridagirl]

We did save a couple hundred dollars by booking a inside compared to the lowest priced balcony cabin. Yes, it was worth having a balcony on our other New England cruises because the weather was always warm. But, as far as scenery, you won't really see that much from the balcony. Are you doing the 7 day? If you are, remember, you only have one sea day. The rest you will be busy at port all day long.

 

Yes, it is a 7 day and it does look like we'll only have 1 day at sea. That makes a difference for me. We have a habit of being one of the first people off the ship each port day and we don't return until they blow the horn!!! I think I'll stick with the inside cabin on this cruise.

 

Thanks for your replies.

[Clutterlady]

Yes, it is a 7 day and it does look like we'll only have 1 day at sea. That makes a difference for me. We have a habit of being one of the first people off the ship each port day and we don't return until they blow the horn!!! I think I'll stick with the inside cabin on this cruise.

 

Thanks for your replies.

 

If there is only a hundred dollar difference, then keep your balcony! Whatever your choice enjoy...:)

[voyagerusa]

I'm planning to take cruise just 1~2 nights with my friends and my question is what type of identifications are required.

 

We're mix of U.S. Citizen, Non-U.S. Citizen, and Alien Residents of the U.S.

 

We all have passports and that'll be enough or we need more documents?

 

Thank you in advance and have a nice day~!

 

 

P.S. : I'll appreciate if anyone explain (describe in detail) embarkation & disembarkation process as well.

[Beachdude]

Except for Alaska, we saw more whales and dolphins on our New England/Canada cruise last year than any other cruise. I would get the balcony for that alone. Even enjoying a cup of coffee on the balcony while quietly cruising into the port in the early morning is an experience to be remembered.

 

Burt

[Clutterlady]

Except for Alaska, we saw more whales and dolphins on our New England/Canada cruise last year than any other cruise. I would get the balcony for that alone. Even enjoying a cup of coffee on the balcony while quietly cruising into the port in the early morning is an experience to be remembered.

 

Burt

 

Wow Burt were you lucky! This will be our 4th NE/Canada cruise and have never seen any. We were looking, but always disappointed:(

[Beachdude]

Wow Burt were you lucky! This will be our 4th NE/Canada cruise and have never seen any. We were looking, but always disappointed:(

 

I guess we were. The whales where a ways off and I had to use binoculars to see them clearly, but we saw them two different days. We saw dolphins close to the ship just about every day. It was a good cruise all around. Can't wait to do it again.

 

Burt

[allfloridagirl]

Except for Alaska, we saw more whales and dolphins on our New England/Canada cruise last year than any other cruise. I would get the balcony for that alone. Even enjoying a cup of coffee on the balcony while quietly cruising into the port in the early morning is an experience to be remembered.

 

Burt

 

That's so cool. Okay, a balcony it is. I'll have better chance of seeing the whales and dophins from the peaceful abode of my balcony. Also, I forgot about the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast. They started this AFTER I stopped booking the balcony category.

[redtogo]

We have sailed in different type cabins as others have. I enjoy having the sunshine/daylight greet me each morning. It doesn't have to be a balcony, but I do like balconies.

 

I read that one cruise ship may start having a projection on the cabin wall of a sunrise so that inside cabins aren't so dark. Does that make sense? You wake up in the morning and the sun is shining over on the left (or right) just as if you have a window. Then, I've read where others leave their television on, tuned into the ship's channel so that the sunrise is taking place when they awake.

 

Regardless, no matter which cabin type you choose, you are going to have a wonderful time.

[Jules59]

For us, it's always been a balcony or mini-suite. Love that fresh air. 7 cruises so far. 8th and 9th booked. Nothing better than that first cup of coffee on your own balcony.

[springfire]

ln Alaska we used our balcony all the time. When we were in the Caribbean, we were up on the pool deck more often. I would say do what feels best for you. Thais is your cruise.

[Happy2cruise]

My friend took her first cruise ever and booked an inside. Unfortunately, she became sick the second day with either food poising or stomach flu and the doctor quarantined her to her room for 3 days. After relating the story, she said never again will I get an inside and said she would of given anything to be able to just go sit on a balcony. I never forgot her story and it does give you something to think about:eek:

[hubofhockey]

I live in New England and have never taken a cruise from here, but might at some point, some summer.

 

Mid-October is actually peak foliage season in New England. Can foliage be seen from the ocean along the coast? If any can, then that would be a bonus to having a balcony during that particular time of the year.