Cabin Selection on S. Carib.: Balcony necessary?

[alw1977]

Hi everyone. Looking at the highly port-intensive Southern Caribbean itinerary on the Serenade for Jan/Feb of 2007. Only been on one cruise, had a PR cabin on Mariner. Liked it just fine. I thought we would certainly want a balcony cabin on our next cruise, but now that we're looking at pricing, I'm not so sure. An inside is $799 pp while a balcony is $1199 pp. That is an $800 difference for a couple. We are in port 5 of our 6 days. My husband and I take advantage of the ports and will likely not be on the ship often when we are in port. Given this, does a balcony make sense? Can anyone who has done this itinerary share their experiences?

[cbryteach]

We did this cruise a year ago. We had a balcony and absolutley loved it. We were not on the ship when we were in port, but used it for sail away and at night. There were 3 people in the room so it was mainly to give us another area to use. It is a steap price to pay for a couple and if you don't spend much time in your room then would suggest going with something other than a balcony. However, I think that I almost need a balcony now that I have had one for future cruises!

[LetsGoCruisN]

I've heard that once you go balcony, you don't go back! ;) :D So be prepared!

[Honey's Gal]

There is nothing like sitting on your balcony as you come into port. I agree with CBRY, if you have a balcony once, you usually want it always, so be careful of how you decide.........you money is in your hands.

[alw1977]

Problem is, we arrive in port at 7am each morning... not really THAT much of an early riser. I know I'd like the balcony, but $800 is pretty much our airfare to San Juan!

[BuyReallyLow]

As you can see by our signature, we were on Serenade this year on the same port-intensive itinerary that you will absolutely love!!

 

We had an aft cabin - and getting up each morning, opening your door and seeing the new port was the perfect start of each day! St. Thomas is beautiful - St. Maarten, St. Lucia... I could go on and on. And having the balcony may allow you to view the Monserat (sp?) volcano and the Pinons from the comfort of your cabin.

 

Also, having the balcony gives you the opportunity for the rare treat of enjoying breakfast, treats, drinks, ANYTHING while on the balcony. For us, the extra room and the beautiful scenery makes a balcony an absolute necessity!

 

San Juan is a tough port because of the cost of getting there. But strongly consider the balcony if you can swing it:)

[bluefish]

We are leaving on Serenade 12/17 and decided to go with 2 oceanview adjoining rooms, deck four. We have an inquisitive 4 yr old and worried about the balcony. We had a nice aft balcony on a recent Holland America cruise and really enjoyed it (but we had 2 sea days). I agree that with the ship basically being docked in a port almost every day, a balcony would not get much use. The scheduled arrival times are 7am but the ship may well come in at 6am--I won't be out there then. Also if tendering a lot the balcony would be nice while in port, but Serenade apparently doesn't have to tender much. A balcony at the dock is not so appealing.

Spend the extra money on excursions or gifts.

Good luck with you're decision. Will let you know how it worked out for us when we get back.

[bluefish]

We are leaving on Serenade 12/17 and decided to go with 2 oceanview adjoining rooms, deck four. We have an inquisitive 4 yr old and worried about the balcony. We had a nice aft balcony on a recent Holland America cruise and really enjoyed it (but we had 2 sea days). I agree that with the ship basically being docked in a port almost every day, a balcony would not get much use. The scheduled arrival times are 7am but the ship may well come in at 6am--I won't be out there then. Also if tendering a lot the balcony would be nice while in port, but Serenade apparently doesn't have to tender much. A balcony at the dock is not so appealing.

Spend the extra money on excursions or gifts.

Good luck with you're decision. Will let you know how it worked out for us when we get back.

[heartofamerica]

Problem is, we arrive in port at 7am each morning... not really THAT much of an early riser. I know I'd like the balcony, but $800 is pretty much our airfare to San Juan!

Hmmm...there's a lot of "ifs" here....we just got back from the Serenade. Captain Teige was our captain, and on our last sea day, he gave a magnificent cruise past Monserrat, St Kitts, Nevis, St. Eustasus(sp), and San Saba...our cabin was port side, so it didn't really matter, but a starboard balcony, you could laze on the balcony and watch the beautiful islands pass by. Or...you can take an inside cabin and relax on the starboard promenade deck and watch from there. I don't know if the "regular" captain would do the same thing.

[syndyj]

Hi everyone. Looking at the highly port-intensive Southern Caribbean itinerary on the Serenade for Jan/Feb of 2007. Only been on one cruise, had a PR cabin on Mariner. Liked it just fine. I thought we would certainly want a balcony cabin on our next cruise, but now that we're looking at pricing, I'm not so sure. An inside is $799 pp while a balcony is $1199 pp. That is an $800 difference for a couple. We are in port 5 of our 6 days. My husband and I take advantage of the ports and will likely not be on the ship often when we are in port. Given this, does a balcony make sense? Can anyone who has done this itinerary share their experiences?

 

We did this itineary on the Adventure of the Seas,and had an inside cabin. We had lots of excursions plan and were always first off the ship and last back on. When we were on the ship it was out and about exploring the Adventure, the one sea day we had we did so much stuff and still didn't get the time/chance to do everything.

 

We are booked on the Freedom next and toyed with the idea of a balcony but knowing that ship will have even MORE stuff to do, we opted for a promenade room. No way would I give up $800.00 for a balcony if it was paying for my airfare! I would book a balcony if we got a very good deal however.

 

That means that the balcony is costing you $4.76 per hour for every day of your cruise or $114.24 per day!! You spend 8 hours alseep and about 9 hours in port, that is at least $80.92 of your money unused, how many dollars worth do you think you will get out of your balcony each day ? I would say about $19.04 worth or 4 hours out of the $114.24 per day you are paying extra for a balcony :) You can use part of that money and book your next cruise onboard ;) and get a discount on a balcony with room credits.

[CanadianMAG]

We did the Caribbean last year and I would recommend a balcony. There was nothing better then a knock on the door at 6am (wake up call and we are not morning people) with breakfast that is brought out to the balcony... then slowing getting up and going the balcony eating breakfast watching the ship cruise into port. Also, enjoying a nice glass of wine in the evening before dinner while the sun is setting on the privacy of your own balcony is priceless.

 

For those 2 moments a day I could spend with my DH in with the ocean and beautiful scenery is well worth the money.

[nerak]

We're spoiled to balconies...especially aft. Unfortunately, due to cost, we have an inside on our Christmas cruise....I can hardly stand the idea of it. BUT...I have convinced myself that it is better than not being on the cruise at all. We've done this cruise before and it is very port intensive, so it just depends on how much you think you would enjoy being out there. We like it to just step out and check the weather, relax a little, get a quick look at the port, watch the runners when it is time to be back on the ship, etc. Out of all of our cruises, this is the one I can do without the balcony...although the last sea day is great to go out there and view the islands you will be passing. Only you can decide...depends on how you want to spend your money and time. Either way, you will have a great cruise.

[alw1977]

Double post.

[alw1977]

Thanks for the input everyone. We have plenty of time to make this decision, but I was just considering options. I'm willing to bet that in the end, we'll do the balcony.

 

If we do a balcony on the Serenade, the next decision is: port or starboard?

[LetsGoCruisN]

Hmmm...there's a lot of "ifs" here....we just got back from the Serenade. Captain Teige was our captain, and on our last sea day, he gave a magnificent cruise past Monserrat, St Kitts, Nevis, St. Eustasus(sp), and San Saba...our cabin was port side, so it didn't really matter, but a starboard balcony, you could laze on the balcony and watch the beautiful islands pass by. Or...you can take an inside cabin and relax on the starboard promenade deck and watch from there. I don't know if the "regular" captain would do the same thing.

 

That should answer your question about port or starboard side. However, keep in mind that going down, the port side is better (so I've heard), but on the way back to San Juan, the starboard side seems like a better way to go according to heartofamerica. But I'm sure both are wonderful!

[Michuck]

DH and I always use our finances at the time to determine the type cabin we get. We've had lots of balconies, but also lots of inside cabins, and we don't mind an inside at all. If we want breakfast outside, we just go get something from the Windjammer, and eat it out on deck. To us, if we don't get a balcony, we'll opt for an inside. Having daylight in our cabin during the day when we're not there much anyway is no big deal, and it's dark at nite whether or not it's an oceanview. If we want to sit outside, we just go up to a quiet part of one of the decks and bring our chairs close and pretend that the entire deck is our own private balcony. We've been able to do a lot more cruising with this attitude toward balconies/insides......On a port intensive cruise, it's a coin toss, and we usually lean towards an inside....but we really try and do a balcony when there's lots of sea days.....

 

Michele

[fireguy091]

Give yourself a nice X-mas gift for next yr in the form of the Balcony. Decide to do it now and you have plenty of time to save the extra money...My wife won't even consider a cruise without a balcony..

[wrp96]

That should answer your question about port or starboard side. However, keep in mind that going down, the port side is better (so I've heard), but on the way back to San Juan, the starboard side seems like a better way to go according to heartofamerica. But I'm sure both are wonderful!

 

That's why I opted for AFT so I didn't have to make that decision.

[alw1977]

Aft just won't work for my stomach.

[sas80]

I'd skip it.

 

I've done the S. Carib on the Serenade (loved it!) but, unless you two are really romantic, or unless you plan on spending the majority of your ship time in your room, it wont be worth it.

 

The cruise is port intensive and you will be tired at night.

 

The best advice I can give you is to do an oceanview for this cruise and use this cruise to determine if you should have gotten a balcony or not - for future port intensive cruises.

 

When I do the S. Carib itinerary again I will most likely NOT do a balcony - and I am already one of the "once you go balcony you wont go back" posse.....

[familycruzer]

I've heard that once you go balcony, you don't go back! ;) :D So be prepared!

 

I guess I am the exception to this rule. I tried an aft JS balcony on my last cruise because it was to good of a deal to pass up and found that if I had to pay full price for this cabin it would not be worth the money. I am sticking to my ocean view and putting the money towards a second cabin for the kids.