Booked Our First Interior - Any Hints - Tips - Tricks?

[grandmarnnurse]

10 hours ago, edspec said:

Love interior cabins.  As others have said the sleep is wonderful.  I liken it to buying the least expensive house in the best neighborhood, always a smart move:)  Cannot wait to retire and take nice long cruises!

This was our plan——to cruise more, and longer. But a retirement budget doesn’t always allow for that, so we’ve been stuck with just once a year cruises in inside cabins. This is our first B2B, making the cruise 14 days, and we are super excited. My advice to anyone thinking of retirement—-do not, until ALL your debt is paid off. We struggled for first 3 years, paying off a HUGE equity loan we took that put 5 children through college, and paid for 3 daughters weddings, and assisted with payment on two sons weddings, etc. kids are expensive! But we are now totally debt free, and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and we hope to be able to do more now. So, that’s my advice. Do not even think about retirement until you are totally debt free, because it is really tough. 

[vbscoot]

We only book interior cabins.....can take more cruises that way.  Never had any problems with having enough light during the day.  We actually roll up a towel to cover the space under the cabin door to block out light from the hall.  Sleep like rocks!!  🙂

[DukeASUGirl]

I actually LOVE interiors because of how dark they get. I sleep like a baby! If I need to see what the weather looks like outside, I just turn the TV on to the ship's camera.

[Doggielover68]

On 3/20/2019 at 1:19 PM, naxer said:

I had my first interior on the Glory last month.  I really didn't notice a difference in terms of how it affected me or my cruise. 

Same, the lack of windows really makes no difference to me. I spend most of my time elsewhere anyway. I still sleep the same number of hours as usual. We usually leave the bathroom light on with the door closed and the TV is on quietly at night to help me fall asleep. The rooms already have a fridge too.

 

Note: we have taken many back to back cruises in interior cabins

Edited March 22, 2019 by Doggielover68

[K&RCurt]

We did 9 days on the Sunshine the end of January / Beginning of February.  We decided to save some money and book an interior.  We had a great location just steps away from the Lido pool area, but we did decide "Never again."

 

It wasn't BAD, we just missed knowing when the sun came up, we had to set alarms to wake up and it felt cramped to us.  It wasn't a bad experience and if you like to sleep in it will facilitate that for sure.  It just made us feel "disconnected" somehow.

 

For the savings it is sometimes well worth the try.  Many of our friends love insides and prefer them over balconies.

 

On our next 2 cruises we have booked a Mini-Suite on the Paradise and an Aft extended balcony on the Legend!

[grandmarnnurse]

9 minutes ago, K&RCurt said:

We did 9 days on the Sunshine the end of January / Beginning of February.  We decided to save some money and book an interior.  We had a great location just steps away from the Lido pool area, but we did decide "Never again."

 

It wasn't BAD, we just missed knowing when the sun came up, we had to set alarms to wake up and it felt cramped to us.  It wasn't a bad experience and if you like to sleep in it will facilitate that for sure.  It just made us feel "disconnected" somehow.

 

For the savings it is sometimes well worth the try.  Many of our friends love insides and prefer them over balconies.

 

On our next 2 cruises we have booked a Mini-Suite on the Paradise and an Aft extended balcony on the Legend!

That’s all well and good if you can afford balconies and suites, but for most of us retirees, those expensive cabins are way out of our budget. If I had the money, I would definitely choose a balcony, or even an OV, over an inside cabin. But the reality to most of us retirees, is that is not going to happen, if we want to continue to cruise in retirement. So, I will be finding myself in my inside cabin next year, celebrating my 50th Anniversary, but very thankful for the ability to cruise at all, at least once a year. 

[TNMIMI6]

On 3/20/2019 at 1:26 PM, 805Trent said:

just got off the Glory last month on the Journey cruise ... dont know I could do 12 days interior ... but good to know 

 

We were also on the Glory Journey Cruise and had an interior cabin. This was a first for us and it was fine. 

[TNMIMI6]

On 3/20/2019 at 1:37 PM, naxer said:

When I got off, you got on.  That Journey cruise was all the crew was talking about during my cruise.  It started giving us a complex. lol  Actually, when I got off I did a side to side and got on another ship for another 7 day cruise in an interior, so it was 14 days for me.  It was fine.

We (hubby and I) were on the Journey cruise. It was fabulous!

[MalleyCat]

We always book interiors-with portholes or obstructed view cabins. Nothing like having a window at interior price!

 

[sw33twif3]

My DW and I always get interiors. We like the darkness, and use electric tealights for night lights. 

And we use our phones (in airplane mode) as alarms if we want to wake up early for an excursion.

 

Great for napping and sleeping late.

 

Our room is where we sleep and change clothes. Otherwise, we are on deck or about on the ship somewhere.

[buzzard05]

Prepare to have the best sleep you have ever had :)

 

I am one of those that wakes as soon as it is daylight outside and had two cruises this past year with interior cabins and was able to get GREAT sleep.

 

We did bring a small travel fan for some white noise and to keep the air circulating.

[mkcurran]

Glow sticks make great night lights. We used one in the hallway so we could find the bathroom door and one in the bathroom. The little tea light candles didn't put out enough light for us. Also magnetic wall hooks help for keeping the cabin organized. 

[h_blond2]

I love the interior rooms...they are super dark for sleeping and seem a little cooler. When we want to see outside, we just turn the TV to one of the camera channels and we are good to go! 

[Top_of_the_Cube]

Wife and I have done interior, ocean view, and balcony (not on the same cruise).  I like the light, my wife prefers total darkness, so we usually go with interior.  As has already been mentioned by someone else, the wife has me roll up a towel to block light coming underneath the door when she sleeps.

 

A suggestion:  I have an alarm that mimics a sunrise as it gradually increases light intensity matching the actual sunrise time.  This can be run on a phone, tablet, or laptop.  I also run the clock screen saver so I can check the time during the night.  For overnight sleeping, the night time mode is switched on causing the screen to cast a darker "glow" than the regular blue emmission.

[dctravel]

4 hours ago, K&RCurt said:

we had to set alarms to wake up 

This is an important point that several have made. With the state of plugs in cabins (very few), you will either need something to provide you with extra plugs (just make sure it doesn't have a surge protector on it, as that is a big no-no on a closed system ship) so you can use your phone, or get a battery powered travel alarm :).

[jsglow]

4 hours ago, MalleyCat said:

We always book interiors-with portholes or obstructed view cabins. Nothing like having a window at interior price!

 

An obstructed OV can be great.  We did Alaska that way and had an incredible time.

[Joebucks]

My favorite trick for booking interiors is pocketing the money and using it on more vacations. There's no need to be in your room.

[805Trent]

Thank you all for the awesome ideas. Already picked up the fan, ordered more magnets for the room and swung by the dollar store store for the tea lights. 🙂 Looking forward to a great time on the cruise and some great sleep. Thank you again for your time and input. Happy Cruising 

[Bob NC]

On 3/20/2019 at 1:09 PM, purplephenom said:

 

 

The biggest thing is find quiet spots to hang out elsewhere on the ship, so you're not sitting in your room thinking about how small and dark it is.

That sounds so pitiful.

[LuckyStar]

On 3/21/2019 at 5:58 AM, grandmarnnurse said:

This was our plan——to cruise more, and longer. But a retirement budget doesn’t always allow for that, so we’ve been stuck with just once a year cruises in inside cabins. This is our first B2B, making the cruise 14 days, and we are super excited. My advice to anyone thinking of retirement—-do not, until ALL your debt is paid off. We struggled for first 3 years, paying off a HUGE equity loan we took that put 5 children through college, and paid for 3 daughters weddings, and assisted with payment on two sons weddings, etc. kids are expensive! But we are now totally debt free, and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and we hope to be able to do more now. So, that’s my advice. Do not even think about retirement until you are totally debt free, because it is really tough. 

YOU are my inspiration.  We are retiring in two years at 59 1/2.  Kids are grown, mortgage is paid off and college is saved for.  Nothing left but us to spend our money on.   

[grandmarnnurse]

28 minutes ago, LuckyStar said:

YOU are my inspiration.  We are retiring in two years at 59 1/2.  Kids are grown, mortgage is paid off and college is saved for.  Nothing left but us to spend our money on.   

That sounds like you are all set for a fabulous retirement! Best wishes! It is grand! 😎

[useyourwords]

I was on the Fascination a couple weeks ago in an interior cabin. I loved it. I tried the TV on the bridge cam trick, but the TV turned itself off after a bit of time. I'm not exactly sure how long it was, but when we woke up, it was turned off. 

[beshears]

We are getting ready to do the Fascination (first time on this ship) this Sunday.  I have done inner/balcony, ocean view, and liked them all, but normally come back to the interior room.  For us, we just sleep/shower/change clothes, and we are out of our room!!!  I don't feel "shut in," as I'm not in the room long enough to make me feel that way. 🙂 One thing I like, I have always found plenty of room to put (as my sons say I take the "whole house" with me) my luggage away, etc.

[livingthedream1]

We have had both but the last few years have been inside cabins but up high I would rather be up high then below on the bottom levels. This way we save money on a cabin we are barely  in and  spend our money on all the fun stuff we like to do.

 Cheers package, Steakhouse and all the other little things. And we can cruise more this way.  Trying a spa cabin for the first time In November on the Sunrise so this might be our new cabin category. 

[crusinpsychRN]

You've talked me into an inside. I've done it before but not in a long while. Like to be able to use the extra money for excursions.