Cove Balcony, Pros and Cons

[Sarcastic Mama]

Thinking of booking a cove balcony on the Breeze. We have always had a balcony on the Lido deck and have had a good room.  But, I wanted to try a cabin in a different area of the ship.  Just asking what everyone thinks.  Thanks.  

[evandbob]

Pros:  Cheaper, closer to water, more private.

 

Cons:  Can get wet & salty, can be noisy, those with motion sickness can be more affected.

 

 Try it, why not, then next cruise try an aft, then an empress, etc. 

 

 We prefer mid ship mid deck balconies, but that's what we settled on after trying many of the available cabins.  

 

 

[Bevv]

Further from the action... you will spend a lot of time going up and down  the stairs and elevators to the Lido deck.

 

More protected from the weather,

Cheaper

Balcony is larger

closer to the gangway to get off the ship at port

[Sarcastic Mama]

Thank you. The extra walking will help work off the extra food.  🙂

 

[bury me at sea]

I love the coves.  They feel bigger and are at least partially shaded most of the time.

 

Be careful with location.  Any cabin forward of the midship elevators should be fine.  Most cabins aft of those elevators are under the galley.

[bakersdozen12]

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

Pros:  Cheaper, closer to water, more private.

 

Cons:  Can get wet & salty, can be noisy, those with motion sickness can be more affected.

 

 Try it, why not, then next cruise try an aft, then an empress, etc. 

 

 We prefer mid ship mid deck balconies, but that's what we settled on after trying many of the available cabins.  

 

 

 

Actually, coves are not always cheaper. There are times they are priced higher than regular balconies. It all depends on supply and demand.  And as far as motion sickness is concerned, you would feel less motion on the 2nd deck compared to higher decks. 

 

To the OP: I honestly cannot think of one reason why a regular balcony is better than a cove. Coves are my absolute favorite balconies on ships that have them. Being that close to the water is fantastic, and having a balcony with shade makes it more useable in my opinion. And they are much more private. 

[pwc115]

My husband and I just sailed on the Dream and had a cove balcony for the first time.  We absolutely loved it!  Our new favorite!

We loved being so close to the water - Several mornings, we saw pods of dolphins in the wake right beside our balcony! 

[mexicobob]

I really enjoyed a cove balcony.  Being close to the water was fantastic.  That being said, a cove towards the front looked like it would have a good deal of spray sometimes.  People have said that being under the galley can be very noisy.  In other words you have to pick your location carefully.  A good one is one of the best cabins at sea in my opinion, especially if you have many sea days.

[NebraskaSatellite]

We had a cove for our first cruise on the Breeze this summer.  Really enjoyed it, being just above the water was great and I liked having it be more shaded.  I didn't find it all that inconvenient for getting around the ship.  We were in 2290, which was convenient for going up one flight up to the atrium and the Sapphire MDR for Your Time Dining.  Also was nice not to need an elevator for embarkation and coming back from the excursions.  If I wanted to go up to the promenade, three flights wasn't too bad.  

 

[hockeyluver]

After cruising in a regular balcony and an "L" balcony many times, we are going to try a cove balcony on our next cruise also.  Enjoying reading the responses here.

[ProgRockCruiser]

We have a cove booked for our cruise to Bermuda next Summer/Fall.  We booked it specifically to get closer to the water, as far forward as we could.

 

As far as being the cheapest balconies:  To go to any other balcony on a higher deck increased the price - not much, maybe a few bucks per person per day, but the Coves were the only "price included" balconies on that cruise when we booked.

[beachbum53]

We've had a cove balcony twice. Once on the Breeze, and once on the Vista. Love the cove balconies! We have a cove balcony booked on our next two cruises, both on the Magic, and the same cabin on both cruises, although one is in 2019 and the other is in 2020. Doing your research ahead of time and studying the ship's deck plans can make it a little easier in choosing your cabin. If you book early enough, when the selections are greatest, you can avoid those that are prone to noise from above, such as the cabins below the galley. However, there's no guarantee that you won't have noisy neighbors. But then, that would be true no matter which cabin you choose.

[vipteam]

We had adjoining Cove balcony cabins on the Magic this past June and loved them. I think everybody's already stated the same things we loved about them: close to the water, private, and shaded.  It just felt more cozy to me. Highly recommend! Enjoy your trip.

[Sarcastic Mama]

Lots of good info.  Talked with the hubby and he wants to stay on the Lido deck, so be it.  If you are sailing on the Breeze September 21, 2019, I'll see you then.  🍹

[teknoge3k]

On 11/10/2018 at 11:19 AM, evandbob said:

Cons:  Can get wet & salty, can be noisy, those with motion sickness can be more affected.

 

The lower you are the less motion you feel. I am very prone to motion sickness and our last sailing on the Magic we had a cove balcony and sailed through a tropical storm. I sat on the balcony and watched the giant waves and loved every minute of it. I wasn't the least bit bothered.

 

We like them because they're shaded and more private. It's also quicker to get to your room when you're coming back from ports or getting off of the ship when you get to ports. 

[riclop]

Lido deck much better than a cove.

[cwr322]

I have seen pictures of the cove balconies and the railing appears lower than on other balconies. Is it lower or does it just appear that way? It almost looks like an invitation to sit on that white shelf like thing in the picture.

 

[beachbum53]

7 hours ago, cwr322 said:

I have seen pictures of the cove balconies and the railing appears lower than on other balconies. Is it lower or does it just appear that way? It almost looks like an invitation to sit on that white shelf like thing in the picture.

 

 

No. The railing on a cove balcony is the same height as the railing on a regular balcony. That "white shelf like thing" you refer to is  part of the metal section that goes across the front of the balconies. Unless you have a really tiny butt and are bendable like a bendy toy, you won't be able to sit on that lip. It's just wide enough to put your coffee cup or wine glass on there, but not your tush. If you look closer at the pictures (or videos) you've seen, you'll notice that there is a wooden rail several inches above the metal lip. Go here and take a closer look at the railing in the photos:      https://www.google.com/search?q=carnival+cove+balcony+photos&safe=strict&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjWzoKs7M7eAhWn4IMKHca7CpAQsAR6BAgBEAE&biw=1024&bih=688

 

Edited November 12, 2018 by beachbum53

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, beachbum53 said:

 

No. The railing on a cove balcony is the same height as the railing on a regular balcony. That "white shelf like thing" you refer to is  part of the metal section that goes across the front of the balconies. Unless you have a really tiny butt and are bendable like a bendy toy, you won't be able to sit on that lip. It's just wide enough to put your coffee cup or wine glass on there, but not your tush. If you look closer at the pictures (or videos) you've seen, you'll notice that there is a wooden rail several inches above the metal lip. Go here and take a closer look at the railing in the photos:      https://www.google.com/search?q=carnival+cove+balcony+photos&safe=strict&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjWzoKs7M7eAhWn4IMKHca7CpAQsAR6BAgBEAE&biw=1024&bih=688

 

OK, that was really mean of you, because now I want to go on my Cove balcony cruise tomorrow!!!!

 

(I keed, I keed, thanks for the photos to get me inspired...)

[beachbum53]

11 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

OK, that was really mean of you, because now I want to go on my Cove balcony cruise tomorrow!!!!

 

(I keed, I keed, thanks for the photos to get me inspired...)

 

There is an added benefit to a cove balcony that rarely gets mentioned. Being that close to the water, it's an excellent place to do some deep sea fishing! Casting can be a bit of a challenge though. 

[cwr322]

Thanks for speedy replies. We decided to go with a regular balcony, but maybe next time we will try the cove.

[rukkian]

Thanks for the discussion.  We were thinking about switching, however, the only rooms available on our sailing are under the galley for the cove and way in the back for the interior for our kids, so might just keep our deck 7 balcony and interior.  Might have to try one in the future.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

Pros: Great location near water line

Cons: Can be shaded

I always choose Cove over regular balcony's because it feels more secluded and more connected with the sea.

Edited November 27, 2018 by ATL_Miami_Cruiser

[tandemcruzr]

On 11/11/2018 at 10:42 PM, riclop said:

Lido deck much better than a cove.

Have you ever been in a Cove? View of the water is much better from Deck 2 than the Lido.

[amyjoy202697]

So happy to hear that they are getting good reviews. I just booked Thanksgiving 2019 on the Horizon and booked a cove balcony. It was much cheaper than a regular balcony.  We are mid ship deck 2 under the atrium...do you think we will hear lots of noise from above?