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Veranda or not?

Rambler5678

By Rambler5678,
in Alaska

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fleckle

fleckle

Posted
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Would you splurge on a veranda or use the money to stay in Vancouver a couple of days and tour the local sites? We are a family with two kids 12 and 5.

 

Thanks,

We would do both, and would economize someplace else if necessary.

 

We especially love having a veranda for Alaska cruises, with the constantly changing scenery right there outside your cabin from the moment you open your eyes in the morning until you shut them to fall asleep at night.

 

We also love Vancouver, one of our favorite cities.

 

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port msp

port msp

Posted
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Would you splurge on a veranda or use the money to stay in Vancouver a couple of days and tour the local sites? We are a family with two kids 12 and 5.

 

Thanks,

 

I always go for the Veranda, and have on each of our cruises. Sometimes, I want to view the scenery without other people's commentary. Plus, with a 5 year old, you have your own viewing gallery if the tot is "peopled out" and needs some alone time with a parent. Just a thought.

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Trip Biatch

Trip Biatch

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I totally agree with Fleckle and port msp:

Forgive me but I can't figure out the quote boxes but...

We would do both, and would economize someplace else if necessary. For us, it was a once in a lifetime trip on my bucket list.

We especially love having a veranda for Alaska cruises, with the constantly changing scenery right there outside your cabin from the moment you open your eyes in the morning until you shut them to fall asleep at night.

 

Plus, with a 5 year old, you have your own viewing gallery if the tot is "peopled out" and needs some alone time with a parent. Just a thought.

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NoobCruise

NoobCruise

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We spent a LOT of time on our verandah. I recommend one on the back of the ship facing the wake because you can see both shores and you are protected from the wind. We had a corner aft wrap and the side balcony was way too cold and windy to spend much time on, but the back was much warmer!

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sherryf

sherryf

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I'd take an inside room if it means more sights and activities !!

 

IMO, it's just a room .... I'll only be there to sleep and shower.

 

I'm with mapleleaves on this one!

 

I'd much rather go to Alaska with an inside cabin and have some great experiences than waste money on a balcony. I have had a balcony, and just didn't use it as much as I thought I would. I'm on a tight budget, so just can't justify the balcony if I can go out on deck for free.

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agabbymama

agabbymama

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Everyone is different. My first two cruises were in ocean view and I was okay with that, then my 3rd cruise I got a terrific sale for a junior suite for the price of an ocean view, and I have never looked back.

 

If I couldn't afford the balcony, I wouldn't cruise until I could. For me, the interior of the ship could be used for something besides cabins, as I would NEVER book one, as a matter of fact, wouldn't stay in one if it was free. I would be terribly claustrophobic. We did a cabin crawl on one cruise, seeing inside, regular balcony, two bedroom suite, and Penthouse Suite (oh my!) in addition to our Aft balcony. Really interesting to see the different cabins, but the interior cabin was dark and small with no natural light.

 

Only you OP can determine what works best for you. We can only say what works for us.

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amarvel

amarvel

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And if it rains a lot, which it does in Alaska, does that make much of a difference?

How much time do you all spend out on the balcony on a typical Alaska cruise?

 

Thanks

lots if the time. It doesn't rain non stop. We had meals delivered and just enjoyed the scenery.we watched for whales, watched sunsets etc.

 

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

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fishin' musician

fishin' musician

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And if it rains a lot, which it does in Alaska, does that make much of a difference?

How much time do you all spend out on the balcony on a typical Alaska cruise?

 

Thanks

 

My first cruise to Alaska was in an inside, it rained almost non-stop. Got lucky there as we would have spent very little time on a balcony. Second cruise was in a balcony, weather was sunny and warm, we spent lots of time on the balcony. Got lucky again. Personally I would be fine in steerage on an Alaska cruise. Passing if you can't have a balcony seems quite silly to me. There are great viewing areas throughout the ship and even you have a balcony you are very limited in the viewing area, especially in scenic areas like fjords and glaciers. Last year we were on the Coral Princess and had one of the back corner balconies, this ship has no stern/aft balconies, but the rear deck is completely open for viewing. We just go out our cabin door, through the door immediately on the right and we were on the rear deck. This afforded us aprx 300 degrees of viewing.

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fleckle

fleckle

Posted
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e

And if it rains a lot, which it does in Alaska, does that make much of a difference?

Rain can make the open public decks unusable, especially when there is wind along with the rain.

 

But if you have your own covered, sheltered balcony, you can sit outside and enjoy it in any kind of weather.

Some cruise ship balconies are covered while others are not, so that would be a feature to consider if it is something that matters to you.

 

One of our favorite things to do on rainy days as we are cruising along when it is really pouring hard outside is to sit out on our balcony wrapped up in deck blankets, warm and dry, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate or coffee while watching the rain and the passing scenery.

 

 

Even when relaxing on the couch inside the cabin in your bathrobe or PJs, it is so nice being able to enjoy the expansive floor-to-ceiling views through those big glass balcony doors instead of having a sold wall there.

 

We like to keep binoculars and cameras by the couch, so if wildlife is spotted, you can just open the balcony door and step right outside without even needing to get dressed or comb your hair.

 

How much time do you all spend out on the balcony on a typical Alaska cruise?
We are out there first thing every morning and last thing every night before getting into bed, and enjoy having a drink out there in late afternoon before changing for dinner.

 

We like having early morning room service coffee out on the balcony to start the day, and sometimes dinner as well if we are cruising through a scenic area.

 

But even when we are not physically out there, we really like having those large floor-to-ceiling glass doors for the non-stop views from the cabin.

They just make our entire cruise so much more pleasant and enjoyable.

 

 

Not everyone feels the same way. Some want nothing less than a top level suite, while others are content with an inside cabin.

Just pick whatever works best for you.

 

 

Though for anyone cruising with a small child who does not plan to pay for baby sitting services every night, do consider where you intend to spend your time while you are baby sitting the sleeping child at night, or at nap time during the day.

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amarvel

amarvel

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e

 

But even when we are not physically out there, we really like having those large floor-to-ceiling glass doors for the non-stop views from the cabin.

They just make our entire cruise so much more pleasant and enjoyable.

 

Exactly! I was sitting on the bed last year when a whale breeched right in front of our cabin.it was amazing. and I wasn't even looking for the whales at that time.

 

And I guess it depends on your tolerance for rain. I'm from Seattle so rain doesn't stop me from doing anything or enjoying scenery. Probably sways my opinion as well since I don't have to purchase airfare.but I really couldn't imagine staying in an inside cabin to Alaska. Its just so beautiful!

 

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

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aarrcc2

aarrcc2

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We've been on ten trips to Alaska. Have had balconies, outside cabins and once an inside cabin. No matter which cabin we had, we were outside (rain or shine) on the topmost deck to see the 360 degree range of scenery. I didn't want to miss a thing--if I sat on the balcony, I always wondered what was on the other side. Each to his own, but I'd definitely extend my vacation and take a few days in and around the beautiful city of Vancouver!

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choccy14

choccy14

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Are you likely to be going to Alaska again? How keen are the kids to see Vancouver? Is this a once in a lifetime trip? I think these are the questions you need to ask yourself! We are a family of 4 from the UK with 2 teenagers. We are squeezing ourselves into an Inside cabin in order to allow us to even see Alaska, do some excursions and spend some time in The Canadian Rockies. Without some cutbacks it just wouldn't be possible for us. If money was no object then yes, balcony every time but not if it stops you doing other exciting trips IMHO !

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