Huge price difference between inside/outside??

[OzKiwiJJ]

I would never buy the drinks package. I might buy a wine package or a coffee card (not sure if RCL) have those.

 

I try and pre pay a lot of stuff prior to the cruise. That way I'm not hit with a huge bill at the end.

 

No, RCL don't have coffee cards.

 

We enjoy having cocktails when we're on holiday, it's something that says "holiday" to us as we rarely drink them otherwise. We also enjoy wine with our meals, so a drinks package does make sense for us. Plus they are very convenient. On our RCL cruise I waited until we boarded, checked the bar drinks lists and the MDR wine lists and it was a no-brainer, as the prices by the glass for the wines we prefer to drink were so ridiculously high.

 

DH is twisting my arm over the new Princess package. He likes the convenience of not having to sign for every drink, and not having to think about prices. I'm not totally convinced, as the wines by the glass are quite boring, but I crunched the numbers and even if we buy some wine by the bottle (at 40% off) the Princess package still works out cheaper than the RCL package.

 

I don't worry abour prepaying usually, but I do draw up a budget so I know what to expect at the end. However I'm going to get some extra OBC for our Celebrity cruise to help avoid exchange rate shock.

[GUT2407]

To me a soda package is a no brainer.

 

Even if I didn't get great value (and I do) not having to think about do I want to spend the money, just cries, "I am on hols".

 

DW doesn't get value as a rule but we still tend to get something for the same reason, on Princess coffee cards, on Celebrity the soda package that includes coffees.

[GUT2407]

On our first 3 cruises we had balconies (Diamond and Sapphire) and while we certainly enjoyed them all our cruises since have been inside cabins. I like to get value for money and just could not justify the price difference between balcony cabins and inside cabins. With just minimal inconvenience you can get all the benefits of a balcony elsewhere on the ship without having to pay for it. We wondered how we would cope with an inside but can honestly say it has not been a problem at all and we will continue to book them. I love the activity going on with port arrivals and departures but even for these you can get, what I would say better, views up on decks. To each his own of course and this is just our feelings on the subject.:)

 

 

Actually I disagree.

 

You can't get the light and ability to see the ocean from you bed elsewhere on the ship.

 

But that's why they offer options, what I want you may not.

[Esilef]

On a lighter note...

 

 

 

A person who had never been on a cruise before was making a booking and the agent asked if they wanted an Inside or an Outside cabin..

 

 

 

Definitely inside , they replied....it might rain.....:D:D:D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lol

[MMDown Under]

On our first 3 cruises we had balconies (Diamond and Sapphire) and while we certainly enjoyed them all our cruises since have been inside cabins. I like to get value for money and just could not justify the price difference between balcony cabins and inside cabins. With just minimal inconvenience you can get all the benefits of a balcony elsewhere on the ship without having to pay for it. We wondered how we would cope with an inside but can honestly say it has not been a problem at all and we will continue to book them. I love the activity going on with port arrivals and departures but even for these you can get, what I would say better, views up on decks. To each his own of course and this is just our feelings on the subject.:)

 

I agree with your feelings with regard to value for your money. I can only afford to travel every year by making good value decisions.

[jasmith52]

In the long run, prices for each category are set by what people (in mass) are willing to pay. Based on price, evidently insides are less desirable than outsides which are less desirable than balconies. There is a reason that all the new cruise ships have all those balconies... Many people will pay more for them.

 

For me, the price of the cabin is one portion of the cost of a cruise vacation. The all-in total price of the cruise isn't all that much more being in a balcony cabin. And those mornings on the balcony relaxing with some coffee or afternoons with a cold one can't be beat. Pulling out of port at sunset is also pretty darn good.

Edited July 16, 2015 by jasmith52

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I think balconies are becoming the norm .

We have moved on from the old days when ships had 3 classes , and they squeezed as many people on board as they could .

A cruise is now a vacation rather than a means of getting somewhere.

In the top end market , the new builds are all Outside Suites. Inside cabins do not exist.

 

.

[woodyren]

I think balconies are becoming the norm .

We have moved on from the old days when ships had 3 classes , and they squeezed as many people on board as they could .

A cruise is now a vacation rather than a means of getting somewhere.

In the top end market , the new builds are all Outside Suites. Inside cabins do not exist.

 

.

 

Even the newest ships, while squeezing as many balconies as possible still have large amounts of inside cabins. Sure proportionally the amount of balcony/inside is growing but the inside numbers are still large.

 

The trend at RCL is to install virtual balconies in their new build and retro fit them to others. Large LED screens that look like a window.

 

I prefer balconies but when value keeps me to an inside I have always been able to find a cosy viewing spot to relax and take in the sites.

 

Just a little inconvenience compared to having our own space.