Balcony vs. Inside on POA?

[handbellplayer]

We are planning to book POA for May 2017. We are very undecided on cabin type for Hawaii.

 

Background: We are experienced Caribbean cruisers and have had all kinds of cabins up through Jr. Suite. We have determined that we ARE NOT balcony people. We've used our balconies very little on previous cruises. We are also perfectly happy in small cabins since we spend so little time there.

 

The difference in a balcony and an inside on POA is about $1500. My concern is that we might be missing something important - the views as we pull in and our of ports on a Hawaiian cruise. This is a "once in a a lifetime" for us and we want to make the most of it. Any advice would be appreciated!

[millineumwoman]

You can see everything on deck

[scrapmom1]

We've booked a cruise in August 2017 for our 20yr Anniversary and for this cruise we decided on a balcony cabin because of the views and me and the hubby wouldn't have to compete for deck space. Been on 3 previous cruises on RCCL staying in ocean view rooms. Personally I wouldn't book anything less than an ocean view because of the views.

[punkincc]

We are planning to book POA for May 2017. We are very undecided on cabin type for Hawaii.

 

Background: We are experienced Caribbean cruisers and have had all kinds of cabins up through Jr. Suite. We have determined that we ARE NOT balcony people. We've used our balconies very little on previous cruises. We are also perfectly happy in small cabins since we spend so little time there.

 

The difference in a balcony and an inside on POA is about $1500. My concern is that we might be missing something important - the views as we pull in and our of ports on a Hawaiian cruise. This is a "once in a a lifetime" for us and we want to make the most of it. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

 

If you are not balcony people, I think I'd go for the inside. $1,500 is a lot of cash that could be used for some extras to make your trip really memorable, like a helicopter tour of Kauai. Buy a three night specialty dining package. Or it would cover two or three days pre or post cruise in O'ahu or one of the other islands. There are no sea days on this itinerary, so there is very little time to use a balcony. A balcony would be convenient to pop out on occassionally to see what's going on, but with a little planning, you can be ready and out on deck when needed. The aft facing and covered Aloha Lanai ( same deck as buffet ) has very nice couches and chairs and is great for evenings and sailaways. I don't think you'll miss a balcony much.

[AryMay]

For the most part, the ports on this cruise are not especially scenic. Other than Kona, the ports are very industrial so I don't think you would be missing much by not having a balcony as you pull into and out of the ports.

 

The one place we used our balcony most was the last evening as we sailed by the Napali Coast. It was nice to have the private space to sit and watch rather than standing in a crowd on deck. Our balcony was on the port side...the starboard side got very little time to view as we turned and sailed away.

 

Perhaps you might want to compromise and consider an obstructed ocean view cabin. This is what we originally booked before we got a free upgrade to the balcony. Some of these cabins are only partially blocked and have floor to ceiling windows...at least you would have natural light and I think most also have a small couch. I have photos of a couple of these cabins on my blog if you are interested.

 

I agree with the others...use the savings and spend a few extra days either before and/or afterwards.

[horseymike]

Inside will save you $1500. You can use and will on other things in Hawaii.

We are going in September and have an inside booked.

Aloha have a great time in Hawaii :D

[Freehike]

This cruise is all about the ports. You spend almost no time on the ship, so the balcony is not as meaningful as it is on other cruises.

 

 

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[dani negreanu]

Got a useful tip here to see the Na-Pali sail by - go to deck 6. It was not crowded. The only cruise we've done not on a balcony, for us it was a 1000$ between OV and balcony, not worth the difference.

[greatlakesgirl]

Got a useful tip here to see the Na-Pali sail by - go to deck 6. It was not crowded. The only cruise we've done not on a balcony, for us it was a 1000$ between OV and balcony, not worth the difference.

This is what we did: deck six for Na Pali

 

We had an obstructed ocean view room. Floor to ceiling windows with just a small rescue boat to block our view, so it didn't really block our view! Room 7552 port side, deck seven, if you're interested.

Edited June 9, 2016 by greatlakesgirl

[acoralm]

Definitely book an inside and save the cash to use on shore. We sailed on the POA the week of May 14. I was in an inside cabin while someone else in our group was in a balcony cabin. For sail aways we would hang anywhere on the very front of the ship or the back. Neither were crowded. For the Na Pali Coast sail by I had read here on CC that deck 6 would be best. Such great advice! We had something to eat at the Cadillac Diner and then hung out for a while. It was not crowded at all. Great viewing spot!

[kgymn]

We spent a ton of time on our balcony on the POA and even so for $1500 more I would not find it worth that much extra money. For that price difference, especially with you knowing you don't utilize the balcony much, doesn't make sense. Like others have said you can see the views up on deck just fine.

 

~Katy

[carmzav]

Save the money and skip the balcony!

[NutsAboutGolf]

First, just booking the cheapest balcony doesn't guarantee you'll get a port side one so I'd imagine a lot of people would be disappoint to not get port side...

 

Outside of that, unless there's an extreme introvert in your group I really don't think you can make a bad decision...

[punkincc]

First, just booking the cheapest balcony doesn't guarantee you'll get a port side one so I'd imagine a lot of people would be disappoint to not get port side...

 

Outside of that, unless there's an extreme introvert in your group I really don't think you can make a bad decision...

 

If you are talking about booking a balcony "guarantee" to save a few dollars, I agree, totally not worth it. Spend a few extra dollars and pick your own cabin. If I'm going to spend that kind of money, no use leaving it up to chance. Get the deck plans and give some thought to where you want to be located, then talk to an agent to see which cabins are available and book the one you want.

 

Your last comment totally lost me. What has personality type got to do with the type of cabin? Are you saying you should leave the introverts at home? Or maybe they'd be happier in an inside? Those introverts are excellent listeners, allowing those extreme extroverts to chatter mindlessly for hours.:)

 

Seriously, one tactic might be to book the inside, and then watch prices after final payment. Sometimes prices for balcony only go up, but occassionally they drop as well. If you are lucky, you might be able to upsell into a price dropped balcony for not much more, or at least an ocean view.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Your last comment totally lost me. What has personality type got to do with the type of cabin? Are you saying you should leave the introverts at home? Or maybe they'd be happier in an inside? Those introverts are excellent listeners, allowing those extreme extroverts to chatter mindlessly for hours.:)

 

You took it to the extreme but yes :) On my last cruise, met a very nice couple at the gym...As friendly as the girl was in person, she almost never left the room and ate every meal in her room whether room service or had her boyfriend bring her food back for her...He was pretty much with our third wheel the entire time (fine by us)...Just saying that some people enjoy time in their room.

[leastprime]

Just finished POL. June 11-18. Inside cabin, 10th forward. Sun rises and sunsets are about 0545 and 1900hrs and they were not much to see because of the cloud banks.

 

Port arrival is only about a half hour before schedule. Kauai is the best.

 

Agree on viewing Na Pali coast best seen from deck 6. It is the only time when the ship is close enough to the shore to see anything.

 

Spend your time and money off ship. This cruise is designed for off-ship experiences. NCL doesn't seem to place much emphasis on this cruise for fantastic ship experiences. Get off the ship early. Do some excursions. Eat locally. Enjoy the tropics and weather. We really liked it and we are PNW people. Son (31) accompanied us since he got the bunk bed at 1/3 of our cost. He's outdoorsy person and He like it.

 

This is our 2nd cruise on NCL. The first was a repositioning Coastal Pacific, April 30, 2016. We also had a inside cabin. Lots of sailing and again not much to see.

 

We have yet to have an outside cabin. :D

[mongee]

Definitely book an inside and save the cash to use on shore. We sailed on the POA the week of May 14. I was in an inside cabin while someone else in our group was in a balcony cabin. For sail aways we would hang anywhere on the very front of the ship or the back. Neither were crowded. For the Na Pali Coast sail by I had read here on CC that deck 6 would be best. Such great advice! We had something to eat at the Cadillac Diner and then hung out for a while. It was not crowded at all. Great viewing spot!

 

I was on the same cruise and also was on deck 6 near the Cadillac diner for the Napali sail by. Probably not that far from where you were! Fantastic viewing from there and not that crowded, heaps of room.

[Lovex4]

You won't miss anything. We are usually balcony people but booked an inside on deck 11 for POA two months ago. We went with the inside because you are in port everyday. It worked great for us!