Which cabin do you choose and why...

[kandj05]

Hello! For those who have been cruising with RCI, how do you choose which level cabin you want?

 

I know for my DH and I, we like a room with a balcony because you will often find us sitting on it. We may be reading a book, having a drink, looking over the edge, or just relaxing. We also prefer mid ship, if possible.

 

I also have D+ friends who choose to take the cheapest room available. This allows them the luxury of taking several cruises a year.

 

What is your criteria when choosing your cabin?

 

Jackie

 

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[CRUISEBOY305]

Hello! For those who have been cruising with RCI, how do you choose which level cabin you want?

 

I know for my DH and I, we like a room with a balcony because you will often find us sitting on it. We may be reading a book, having a drink, looking over the edge, or just relaxing. We also prefer mid ship, if possible.

 

I also have D+ friends who choose to take the cheapest room available. This allows them the luxury of taking several cruises a year.

 

What is your criteria when choosing your cabin?

 

Jackie

 

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I'm one of the ones who book the cheapest room available and do several a year. But that's just me. Occasionally I'll book a balcony or a suite. And a number of times I've booked an inside and the balcony prices end up going so cheap I upgrade.

[FLACRUISER99]

For me it depends on the ship class and price.

[Folk Singer]

Hello! For those who have been cruising with RCI, how do you choose which level cabin you want?

 

I know for my DH and I, we like a room with a balcony because you will often find us sitting on it. We may be reading a book, having a drink, looking over the edge, or just relaxing. We also prefer mid ship, if possible.

 

I also have D+ friends who choose to take the cheapest room available. This allows them the luxury of taking several cruises a year.

 

What is your criteria when choosing your cabin?

 

Jackie

 

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What ever is on Sale and our mood at the time of booking.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Folk Singer

[PerferWarmWeather]

We like JS cat for the closet and tub with a nice view in center of ship around the hump area.

[DonnaK]

We usually choose a balcony, even though we hardly use it (too hot/humid out there) because we like the expansive window view and the more "open" feeling which connects us to the ocean.

 

Generally, with the C&A balcony discount, the price difference over an inside or OV isn't usually too much. However, we have no problem booking insides or OV cabins from time-to-time, especially if there is a huge price difference. This allows us to take additional cruises, which we wouldn't otherwise be able to afford.

 

We cruise as a family, so we are paying for 4 people (2 cabins), but I imagine that when it is just the two of us, we'll have a bit more financial flexibility to be able to choose a balcony all the time.

 

As far as cabin location, we like to be as low to the water as possible, so on most ships, that's deck 6 (the first deck with balconies) - on 1st generation Voyager class ships, we choose deck 7 because of the all-steel balcony fronts on deck 6.

 

I know that aft cabins are quite popular. We tried it once and didn't care for it at all despite the larger balcony. We much prefer side-facing balconies near the elevator/stair lobby.

[CamaCama]

Always the cheapest room, always book an inside... luckily first 4 cruises we were upgraded to either oceanview or balcony! Miracle cruise price dropped and we were able to upgrade to balcony for free and most recent cruise on Liberty we went with DH's work and they upgraded us to a balcony cabin and paid for it. :)

 

Upcoming cruise on Liberty in Nov is the first time we didn't book an inside/inside guarantee.. we are taking our 2 young kids and my mom and wanted a window of some kind so we are in connecting promenade cabins.

[ehfl]

We look for low prices and try to book guarantee when possible....why pay more for another cabin in the same class? We often book inside, but will get a balcony or higher if the price is good. We don't really care where the cabin is.

[EbayCruiser]

We have booked insides before but always ended up upgrading after the price drops.

 

I prefer a JS for the added space - but I am happy with a balcony! :)

 

I check prices two to three times daily and have always ended up upgrading and happy with the upcharge for a better room. We do spend time in our room everyday and enjoy our extra space immensely.

[sjb317]

It depends on the cruise. For a long cruise, such as a TA, we'll book a balcony. For a shorter cruise, 7 days or less, we go with an inside. Booking "cheaper" cabins means more cruises, so I'm willing to go inside if it means I can cruise more often!:)

 

Sherri:)

[Big_G]

It's has to be at least a seven day cruise and our last few have been the best deals possible on either a GS or JS. So far we've been able to get "special pricing" of some sort on everything booked since last January.

[LMaxwell]

My #1 criteria to be "sandwiched" with cabins above and below. After that I prefer mid to mid-aft locations. Then I price out insides. My wife loves inside cabins. So once we are "on the ship" I watch for price drops or a way to upgrade to Oceanview. We have had balconies and did not feel we got our monies worth; did not spend much time on the balcony.

[kandj05]

Do you guys get upgrades very often? Or see price drops very often? I rarely check for those but it appears I should be. :)

 

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[OKC Cruisers]

We almost always book an inside for the cost factor. As stated by others, by doing this, we can cruise more often. On our last cruise, which was on Oasis, we had booked an inside but the price drops were such that we were able to nab an upgrade to a Boardwalk Balcony for no extra cost. But to be honest we rarely use the balcony.

[mom4mom]

We have always booked insides but not guarantees since we have usually been assigned to ones way forward or aft and I'm prone to motion sickness. We now look for mid ship insides but not on the lowest level and neither too high up. Our splurge is a promenade on those ships that have it.

[leaveitallbehind]

Balcony staterooms and sometimes suites, depending on pricing and other criteria.

[dcward89]

Won't cruise without a balcony and have made the decision on which week to book based on whether or not we can our beloved aft balcony. I know alot of people love inside cabins but we spend a TON of time on our balcony and I would rather stay home than cruise in an inside cabin.

[Sitzmark]

New to RCI, but we made sure to be away from elevators and stairways and near the end of a long corridor to keep traffic past our door to a minimum.

[cruisegirl1]

Good Question - one I am asked a lot.

 

We book different categories or locations for different cruises and/or ships .

 

 

We've been fortunate to have sailed in most of the "desirable cabins" ( corner aft, center hump, center aft etc.) over the years, so a specific cabin is not always a factor. We can also go from a balcony on one cruise and then an OV on the next.

 

 

Cruise length and type:

A longer cruise (10 or more days) with fewer ports - we like a mid ship balcony as we are running back and forth to the cabin and want a convenient location.

 

A longer cruise, port intensive - any balcony will do as we are off the ship most every day.

 

Seven night - most any balcony, as we can live with anything for 7 days. This is a perfect occasion for us to select a guarantee balcony if offered. ( for most ships)

 

Five days or shorter we might book an OV as we are generally off the ship more than we are on it. If we decided on an OV we will definitely look for an OV guarantee. We had a interior for a 3 night once and did not mind it as much as we thought we would. If the price was right ( the time we booked the interior they were practically giving away the interior cabins) we would book it again.

 

Ships

Radiance class - still love the afts and the ship is smaller so the walk back and forth to the cabin is not a deal breaker .

 

Oasis Class - prefer anything mid ship. No Central Park or BW balcony. Would likely not take a guarantee on this ship class.

 

Freedom class - Most anywhere

 

Vision class - anywhere BUT prefer NO deck 8

 

Sovereign class - SOV on deck 9, other cabins are simply too small.

 

I did not mention Suites as we generally do not book suites. We prefer to sail more often ( 6-8 times a year), we find a balcony is large enough for us and we are not point chasing. If funds were unlimited, and if we did not have to travel to port, I would likely book a suite more often.

 

bottom line- we'll take most anything if we can sail.

M

[slyster]

Interesting thread...it gets me thinking about our priority in choices: ship, itinerary, cabin, etc.

 

we have had two oceanview cabins and the rest have been balcony cabins. Historically, we prefer hump cabins, or close to mid ship as possible. My goal is always middle of the hump though. On our upcoming cruise, we chose a aft for the first time. Jewel is one of the smaller ships so i'm hoping we love the AFT!

[artypharty]

Do you guys get upgrades very often? Or see price drops very often? I rarely check for those but it appears I should be. :)

 

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On my first cruise, I booked and that was it. I never checked the price again. Because of CC, I now know better. I have upgraded or gotten a reduced rate on every cruise since the first. I check constantly and it has paid off. I usually book the the cabin I would be happy in, no matter what happens. I cannot book another interior, tried it, hated it. I need to at least see outside.

 

Depending on the length of the cruise and the destination, we book anything form OV's to GS's. I still get excited everytime I get a price reduction or upgrade. On the last cruise, I got a free upgrade from Balcony to GS... that one had me doing the happy dance.

[BillOh]

om available. This allows them the luxury of taking several cruises a year.

 

What is your criteria when choosing your cabin?

 

 

I'll read all the interesting replies you receive. We are an empty nest couples we prefer a balcony, will do other. We are fairly mobile and have no mobility problems.

 

On Voyager or Freedom Class ships we like the center hump D class balconies and like to have one deck of isolation between us and the pool deck. So that means deck 9 on Freedom class and deck 8 on the Voyager class. Twice on Allure we have done deck 12 for the same reason. The first time we were under the solarium and that was bad news on one night. The 2nd time we got the last ocean view balcony on the aft end and loved having the public balcony near us. (rumors are that may go away)

 

We have only did two cruises on a Radiance class and once we got the extended depth hump balcony with the loungers. I will someday try to get a corner aft on this class, but I messed that up last time.

 

Majesty I pretty much take what I can get at a good price. We have done inside, ocean view, and JS balcony on her. I watch for good tips for particular ships here.

[Guest maddycat]

When we first started cruising we always chose an inside cabin. It was what we could afford at the time. Then we moved up to ocean view cabins for a couple of cruises. Now we only cruise in a balcony cabin.

 

We love the wall of windows in a balcony cabin. It makes the cabin feel much larger. We don't eat on the balcony but do spend time just relaxing in the fresh air.

 

We get a cabin close to mid ship, more aft than forward and always with cabins above and below. We always get a cabin that does not have a connecting door. We think that they are quieter.

[BillOh]

New to RCI, but we made sure to be away from elevators and stairways and near the end of a long corridor to keep traffic past our door to a minimum.

 

 

After your first RC cruise you may rethink that. I've stayed near elevators many times and the way they are laid out the noise is minimal. Now, you may end up with the rowdy bunch that changes that, but we have had no noise issues on Voyager or larger ships being near the elevator. I see your going on Oasis. Its at least 100 yards from the elevator to teh back of teh ship.

[TheInnocentAge]

Up until now I have always booked a mid-ship balcony, sometimes a suite. Due to all the threads I saw that mentioned how popular the aft corner cabins are, I decided to try that. So, for my next two cruises we have JS 8088 on the Vision and D2 9256 on Brilliance. After that we have an OS on the Oasis (couldn't pass up the BOGOHO price for that one; less than a JS is going for now).