Cabin Change Advice

[DubNHub]

So we are fully capable of making our own decision, but I'm hoping to see if this community can offer anything else that maybe we haven't thought of!

 

First, the basics. We booked early saver rate several weeks ago for a 2018 sailing. I am already familiar with the fees, etc as it relates to changing or cancelling this rate.

 

We are currently booked in an aft wrap on the Sunshine. Originally on deck 8, but I read some reviews about noise from Havana above deck 8 continuing into the early morning hours. We typically stay out late, but since we also want to relax on our cruise, I recently moved our cabin to an aft wrap on deck 7. We've never had an aft wrap, and our one and only cruise (with NCL) was an OV. I got excited when I saw the aft wrap and just booked it without really thinking about anything else. So, we are only in for $100 at this point.

 

Then we thought.... On just a 5 day cruise, how much time will we actually spend out there to justify the extra cost? It's only a 5 day cruise.... We are going to want to be elsewhere on the ship mostly, instead of staying in the room. Then we thought....being aft sure is far away from the main deck, and we may have difficulty finding two chairs at the pool. So now... We are thinking of cancelling our reservation (thus losing the $100) and re-booking a standard balcony on deck 9, about 8-10 cabins up from the exit to the pool deck. This will save us $300 total after accounting for our $100 loss, which is money we could put towards the Cheers program (which we intended to get anyways). We want to experience the balcony.... Having coffee in the morning, sitting outside at night, and setting up a time lapse camera, all that good stuff.

 

So... Should we re-book now since they have another early saver going on? Or should we wait a few weeks to see if they offer up some kind of OBC deal with the standard deposit? Even if we get $50 OBC, I would consider that some type of compensation for losing our $100. We'd be paying money towards the cruise anyways, whether it's $100 for ES or $300 for the regular rate or whatever it comes out to. There still a ton of balcony options available for this sailing so we don't have the pressure of having to decide right now.

 

Im still trying to convince DW to change the trip altogether to the Conquest out of Ft Lauderdale - same ports as the Sunshine cruise with the addition of one or two others depending on the date, and it's a 6 day instead of 5, and would cost roughly the same. But that's a whole different topic haha.

 

Thanks, and oh yeah..... Go Cocks!

[jsglow]

Personally, I'd stick with the specialty cabin you currently have.

 

And congrats from a Marquette alum. Helluva run so far.

[DubNHub]

Personally, I'd stick with the specialty cabin you currently have.

 

And congrats from a Marquette alum. Helluva run so far.

 

 

Sticking with the aft wrap is certainly very tempting. But saving $300 is also very tempting, especially if we can re-book with some type of OBC in a future promotion. We are going to have a great time no matter what, I just hope I'm not stressing myself out too much before then.

 

And thanks! Our basketball team has always been average-decent. Clearly not a powerhouse, as evidenced by our lack of NCAA tourney appearances. Women's basketball is doing great also, and our men's baseball team was awesome a few years ago! I'm personally all about college football, though, and I was very worried with the hiring of Muschamps. He has a lot to prove, and there are going to be some major issues if he doesn't produce for our football program sooner rather than later. I can't see potential top recruits being excited to come here to play for him like they were for Spurrier. His scouts are going to have to earn their money, that's for sure.

[shellster1]

• Another vote in favor for keeping the aft-wrap! I noticed one great feature of the wraps is if it's too windy on one side of your balcony, you can move to the other side, and the wind seems to disappear! I usually don't devote much time on the balcony either. However, I noticed when I had the wrap it was so much more enjoyable, and it was so nice to retreat to my balcony when the lido starts to overflow with guests...and this was only on a 4-day cruise. For me, I discovered it was money well spent! Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip!!
  

[DubNHub]

• Another vote in favor for keeping the aft-wrap! I noticed one great feature of the wraps is if it's too windy on one side of your balcony, you can move to the other side, and the wind seems to disappear! I usually don't devote much time on the balcony either. However, I noticed when I had the wrap it was so much more enjoyable, and it was so nice to retreat to my balcony when the lido starts to overflow with guests...and this was only on a 4-day cruise. For me, I discovered it was money well spent! Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip!!
  

 

 

I didn't think about retreating to our huge aft wrap when the pool deck gets too crowded. It WOULD make an appropriate substitution it seems, since it's so large.

 

For me, it's still a money thing. We most certainly aren't rich or anywhere near it. We live comfortably and can be both frugal and foolish with our money at times. $300, to us, is enough to make us think twice about our choice though. :confused:

[ray98]

People really overthink things sometimes.

[DubNHub]

People really overthink things sometimes.

 

:confused:

 

Let's see.... New cruiser posts on community board seeking the input of HELPFUL and INTELLIGENT members of this community.... Check

 

New cruiser is concerned about cabin placement and the potential to save money.... Check

 

Obligatory grumpy thread-troll pops into a thread that is clearly labeled "advice" and posts a one-liner offering up no help, which is more a waste of your time for having to read through my overthinking than it is a waste of my time.... Check (this is you I'm talking about Ray)

 

(y)

 

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[Micahs Grandad]

:confused:

 

Let's see.... New cruiser posts on community board seeking the input of HELPFUL and INTELLIGENT members of this community.... Check

 

New cruiser is concerned about cabin placement and the potential to save money.... Check

 

Obligatory grumpy thread-troll pops into a thread that is clearly labeled "advice" and posts a one-liner offering up no help, which is more a waste of your time for having to read through my overthinking than it is a waste of my time.... Check (this is you I'm talking about Ray)

 

(y)

 

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

I would stay with the aft wrap just to experience it.

 

I think the OP is overthinking the whole thing. Young enough to just go out and enjoy her cruise and book more in the years to come.

[CdnSunshine]

I'm pretty damn frugal but I agree - keep your aft wrap! If it were me, I'd try to find another place to save that $300: skip souvenirs, avoid the casino, don't buy Carnival photos, fly a basic carrier with no frills (or even cheaper, drive), use Hotwire to book a cheap hot rate hotel for your night before, skip doing an excursion at one port, etc, etc. - it's amazing how little things add up! 😎

 

Good luck and happy cruising!! 👍

[evandbob]

If you are doing the 5 day Bahamas out of Charleston, you have 2 full sea days to enjoy your aft wrap. That's 40% of your cruise time.

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy your cruise.

[DubNHub]

Lots of votes for keeping the aft wrap! Just gotta convince DW to go that route.

 

And our cruise is 5 days, not out of Charleston but that doesn't really matter. But breaking it down by saying 40% of the trip is sea days is a smart way of looking at it. On our very first and only cruise, we enjoyed a nice afternoon nap in our cabin on the sea days. I imagine we'd enjoy it more with a nice wake view and a huge balcony!

 

Thanks for all the input! Only about 410 days to go haha

[DubNHub]

I'm pretty damn frugal but I agree - keep your aft wrap! If it were me, I'd try to find another place to save that $300: skip souvenirs, avoid the casino, don't buy Carnival photos, fly a basic carrier with no frills (or even cheaper, drive), use Hotwire to book a cheap hot rate hotel for your night before, skip doing an excursion at one port, etc, etc. - it's amazing how little things add up! 😎

 

Good luck and happy cruising!! 👍

 

 

All great ideas! I've already given up my morning Starbucks run. I just get regular coffee but that saves me about $13/week. I drink the free coffee at work instead! Since we aren't cruising for another 58 weeks or so, that's a lot of money! We don't spend much on trinkets, we budget for the casino and have never bought the cruise photos. This is only our second cruise....but we didn't intend to buy any this time either. We have a very nice camera and take a ton of our own photos. We also are driving to the port the morning of. Last year we went a day early but it's because we had a free night at Days Inn. And I don't think we are gonna do any excursions. Amber cove and Turks are the only 2 ports.

 

We also have to budget for our dogs being boarded. But if I can steer clear of Starbucks, I can cover that too!

[jsglow]

I'm pretty damn frugal but I agree - keep your aft wrap! If it were me, I'd try to find another place to save that $300: skip souvenirs, avoid the casino, don't buy Carnival photos, fly a basic carrier with no frills (or even cheaper, drive), use Hotwire to book a cheap hot rate hotel for your night before, skip doing an excursion at one port, etc, etc. - it's amazing how little things add up! 😎

 

Good luck and happy cruising!! 👍

 

That's funny. We do that every cruise. Well, except for skipping excursions. But we do always book our own. :D

[shellster1]

Some great advice on how to save $$!

OP, just for the record...I don't think you're over thinking things. It's YOUR vacation! IMO, it's way better to "overthink" everything, rather than be kicking yourself afterwards, true? I'm more of a within 3 months, or totally last-minute cruiser, thank goodness. Otherwise, I might be on this site all year long, driving myself nuts! I hope you and your DW make the best decision for your vacation. It's so much fun to plan ahead. Don't be bugged by the less than enthusiastic comments. Most of us on this forum are all the same: We have an upcoming cruise, and are SUPER EXCITED!! (I still hope you guys keep the aft-wrap!) :D

[mkmom514]

Change cabins if you think it will put a damper on your fun from worrying about what you could've done with the extra money. Keep it if spending the extra will not put a damper on your fun.

[Nic6318]

Hi there

 

I have to contribute. Your thought of going on the 6 day is the option I would choose. 6 days is always better than 5, doesn't matter what kind of cabin, with or without balcony.

 

I also suggest trying a regular balcony. The reality is that while many think they are fantastic, many others are just as happy sailing without one. Try a regular and see how you feel. Like you said, the difference in price is quite a bit if you only spend few hours out there. If you really "love" being out there (can you tell: I'm not really a big balcony fan), then you can make plans for your next cruise and have something to look forward to...sitting on your super duper balcony, sipping your "whatever". :D

 

hope this helps

[DubNHub]

Hi there

 

I have to contribute. Your thought of going on the 6 day is the option I would choose. 6 days is always better than 5, doesn't matter what kind of cabin, with or without balcony.

 

I also suggest trying a regular balcony. The reality is that while many think they are fantastic, many others are just as happy sailing without one. Try a regular and see how you feel. Like you said, the difference in price is quite a bit if you only spend few hours out there. If you really "love" being out there (can you tell: I'm not really a big balcony fan), then you can make plans for your next cruise and have something to look forward to...sitting on your super duper balcony, sipping your "whatever". :D

 

hope this helps

 

 

Thanks! We just finished discussing moving to the 6 day on the Conquest, it's nearly the same price with 2 extra ports and only a 2 hour extra drive. I think I've almost got her convinced to change! Especially with dry-dock coming up this fall for the Conqust!