are cove balconies nice?

[ginger123snaps]

We are sailing Carnival Breeze. Trying to decide if we should get a cove balcony or a balcony on deck 9 close to lido deck? We have kids..so I like the idea of being closer to lido deck...however I hear great things about those cove balconies. Deck 9 is only $400 more then the cove balcony.

[tigresslea]

We will be sailing in a cove on the breeze in August for the first time. I've heard wonderful things about them. So close to the water and very shady. If you like a very sunny balcony, a cove is probably not for you.

[bkcoogler]

I absolutely love cove balconies... Being that close to the water is incredible. The only downside is after the first day everything was sticky and covered in salt. I guess that's the price you pay. I felt like they were much more private and the sea noise blocks out neighbors on their balconies.

[dolphin2012]

We have one booked on the breeze too! We had one on the magic and loved it! They are very close to the water and you can see flying fish and Dolphins. They are more enclosed and some have the dingy boats above but it still doesn't block the view. I like the privacy and the feeling of being so close to the water. Some coves can be noisy of they are under the galley . It really doesn't matter cause all balconies are great

[sarahlfiles]

I've been in a cove balcony once and standard balcony many times. For the view I absolutely recommend the cove balcony. There's something amazing about being so close to the water.

However, with littles, you may want a regular balcony because they will be able to see through the glass and not try to see up and over the rail as much.

For convenience, lido would outweigh the view for me. With kids playing at the pool it's a 2 minute trip for mom to grab a forgotten item from the stateroom while dad stays with the kids. Cove balcony is a 10 minute trip every time!

Hope this helps :)

[pdcat21]

Another vote for cove! Will be in my third one in April. Just can't beat that mesmerizing view of the ocean.

[kona_wahine]

I love a cove. Had lido balconies on last 2 cruises and opted for the cove on our upcoming b2b. It's actually a foot deeper than a regular balcony. Yes, it's farther to the lido, but if you take the stairs it helps with all the food. ;) we had one on the Dream. If you look at YouTube "carnival dream cove 2288" I posted a short video.

[k2excursion]

I disagree about the cove balcony being a 10-minute trip to lido deck. It's maybe 2-4 minutes usually, unless you're taking the stairs. There is very rarely much of a wait for an elevator, especially if you use the forward ones, where there are 10 elevators. The elevators are not slammed with people all day long. It's only at certain times that they are slammed, and those would be the times that people staying on lido deck need them, and people staying on deck 2 don't. From lido deck, getting to dining rooms or getting off/on the ship in port can be a 10+ minute trip easily. But people in cove balconies go up/down 1-2 sets of stairs, and they're there in under 2 minutes. So there are conveniences for deck 2 as well.

 

Having said all that, I do understand the psychological benefit to being close to the pools & waterslides, especially with kids.

 

In regards to the coves, not everybody likes them, but most people do love them. I loved it. We were below the midship dining room (2294), which was perfect, since it's carpeted & it's empty all night long. Stay forward of the midship elevators to avoid being below the noisy galley/kitchen. It's true that cove balconies do not have the glass barrier like the other balconies have, however, there are openings in the solid barrier, allowing for little ones to see out. I like that the coves actually look down to the water. Every other balcony will look down and see the public deck on deck 5. I don't remember much salt on the balcony, maybe a little moisture at times, nothing much to be bothered by. I think the further forward ones might get more of that. Cove balconies are 45 sq.ft, while the standard balconies like up on lido are 35 sq.ft.

[beachbum53]

I disagree about the cove balcony being a 10-minute trip to lido deck. It's maybe 2-4 minutes usually, unless you're taking the stairs. There is very rarely much of a wait for an elevator, especially if you use the forward ones, where there are 10 elevators. The elevators are not slammed with people all day long. It's only at certain times that they are slammed, and those would be the times that people staying on lido deck need them, and people staying on deck 2 don't. From lido deck, getting to dining rooms or getting off/on the ship in port can be a 10+ minute trip easily. But people in cove balconies go up/down 1-2 sets of stairs, and they're there in under 2 minutes. So there are conveniences for deck 2 as well.

 

Having said all that, I do understand the psychological benefit to being close to the pools & waterslides, especially with kids.

 

In regards to the coves, not everybody likes them, but most people do love them. I loved it. We were below the midship dining room (2294), which was perfect, since it's carpeted & it's empty all night long. Stay forward of the midship elevators to avoid being below the noisy galley/kitchen. It's true that cove balconies do not have the glass barrier like the other balconies have, however, there are openings in the solid barrier, allowing for little ones to see out. I like that the coves actually look down to the water. Every other balcony will look down and see the public deck on deck 5. I don't remember much salt on the balcony, maybe a little moisture at times, nothing much to be bothered by. I think the further forward ones might get more of that. Cove balconies are 45 sq.ft, while the standard balconies like up on lido are 35 sq.ft.

 

10 minutes to get from Deck 2 to Deck 10? Depends on how long it takes someone to go up 8 decks by taking the stairs. As far as the elevators are concerned, the forward elevators are very busy on Embarkation Day with staff delivering luggage, and the mid elevators aren't much better. The aft elevators will be the least busiest. The same will be true for Debarkation Day. To the OP, when choosing your cabin, study the deck plans, and try not to get one directly under the galley, to avoid potential noise from above.

[k2excursion]

10 minutes to get from Deck 2 to Deck 10? Depends on how long it takes someone to go up 8 decks by taking the stairs. As far as the elevators are concerned, the forward elevators are very busy on Embarkation Day with staff delivering luggage, and the mid elevators aren't much better. The aft elevators will be the least busiest. The same will be true for Debarkation Day. To the OP, when choosing your cabin, study the deck plans, and try not to get one directly under the galley, to avoid potential noise from above.

 

During embarkation, the midship elevators are usually blocked off for luggage. At least, that's what they have used on my cruises. The forward elevators were free for guests to use, and weren't used for delivering luggage. But since that's where everyone is coming in at, and the midship ones are blocked, that increases the demand of the forward ones. For debarkation, the forward lobby is where we get off, so that causes those elevators to be slammed at that time, but deck 2 people don't need to use the elevators then. Other than that, forward elevators are the best, because there are 10, including the glass ones. I always use the forward ones, and almost never have much of a wait, unless I'm using it during those times when all elevators are slammed (which I don't need them then). So to get up to or back from lido deck when staying on deck 2, it only takes about 2-4 minutes using the elevators. Walking it all would take longer, but I can't imagine that very many people are always taking that many stairs every time. Some will, but most don't.

[rlkubi]

Can the partitions be opened between cove balconies like other balconies? We are going with friends in June and would like to open the partition.

[Jenhem31]

We had a cove on the Breeze. It was ok, but I'm not sure if book one again. The biggest pro was coming back from port and being able to just go up a flight of stairs and get to the room quickly. We did not like being so far from Lido deck. I also would have preferred to have more sun. It wasn't bad, just not our favorite.

We had 2298 below Blush and only heard noise a couple times. Just don't book under the galley.

[FSUDAVE]

Had 2290 cove balcony on the Breeze and loved it. Close to front and middle elevators. Very quite and peaceful!

[WhyIsTheRumGone23]

We had one on the Breeze and absolutely loved it! It's close to the water and so much more private. It's a great spot for morning coffee and to enjoy watching the pier runners and sail away at each port. As others mentioned, the coves are much more shaded all day, keeps the room cooler though. Ours was under the galley and we would definitely avoid that next time. It was really noisy around 4am.

 

rlkubi - yes, the partitions can be opened between cove balconies as well.

[terri-eddie]

We booked a cove balcony on our Breeze cruise last year, and while it was nice being so close to the water, we won't book a cove again...

 

Every surface was covered in a sticky salt spray film, all the time. The floor, the rail, the chairs. Unusable unless we took a wet cloth and wiped everything down before sitting. Even just standing out there meant sticky bottoms on footwear.