Cabin Selection for Australia/NewZealand?

[Elusive_Cruiser]

We've always booked a veranda cabin while sailing the Caribbean, which has been our only cruises to this point.  We usually do enjoy sitting out there while on sea days.  However, the past few cruises, we've spent a lot less time on the balcony, having enjoyed more time at the various outdoor areas.

 

Has anyone decided to move to an OV cabin, after having the balcony many times?  I'm worried that we may feel claustrophobic. We do enjoy standing out on the balcony during sailaway, but this is not a deal breaker.

 

More importantly, we're looking to book an Australia/New Zealand cruise, and the current  difference in price is over $1K CAD for the 2 of us. Any opinions or comments?

 

[mahdnc]

We just got back from an Australia/New Zealand cruise.  We had a balcony, but we didn't use it as much as I thought we would because the weather (Dec/Jan) was on the cool side.  

 

I cannot answer your OV question, but I wish you good luck with your decision.

[ericosmith]

With the even remote possibility of quarantine due to Noro or something else, I book a balcony if for no other reason than I would go nuts without being able to at least get outside.  

[Essiesmom]

We move back and forth depending on bargains.  EM

[cruise kitty]

hmmm, we had a balcony on our Aus/NZ cruise, & honestly, we used it a lot,  one of the greatest sights to me was our early morning cruise into Sydney Harbor, with the sunrise reflecting on the Opera House, the bridge, the other boats...

 

During the sailing through the 3 fjords we watched on the way in from a forward outside deck, & on the way out on our balcony with our feet up on the rails, sun shining  & cocktails ....  personally it was very, very much worth it to me :)  

 

We also spotted dolphins & other sea life from our balcony, & sat our there before bedtime, watching the sun set at 11:00 at night. 

[middlehaitch]

Our very first cruise was in a hump cabin with the bigger veranda, we used it infrequently preferring being on deck.

 

Since then we have planned on booking Oceanview cabins almost exclusively.

(we learnt, for us, a veranda is a case of under use and over pay)

 

If you are on an S class ship deck 3 by the Passport bar is a good location for OV, not too far down the corridor (we like 3154 bed by window). There is no noise from the bar, and, because you are not down a long hallway, don't feel hemmed in. The window gives good light and you can always put the TV on to see where the ship is going. You are also close to the elevators/stairs, a hop, skip, and jump to Cafe al Bacio for morning coffee.

 

We did the Panama canal on an M class ship and found the best sightseeing while in transit was going from side to side on the deck so were glad we had  not got a veranda but opted for an OV cabin on deck 3 (3142), I think from 3112-3144, especially the latter numbers, have a huge circular window. I'm 5' tall and could stand in ours like Da Vinci's Vitruvian man it was so big. So glad we didn't splurge for a balcony on that one we would have missed a lot.

 

All that said to to say we didn't find moving to an Oceanview claustrophobic because quite honestly we only sleep, shower, and change there. We enjoy being on deck enjoying everything that is going on rather than sitting on a private balcony.

 

Cheers, heather 🥂

Edited March 3, 2020 by middlehaitch

[mahdnc]

10 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

hmmm, we had a balcony on our Aus/NZ cruise, & honestly, we used it a lot,  one of the greatest sights to me was our early morning cruise into Sydney Harbor, with the sunrise reflecting on the Opera House, the bridge, the other boats...

 

During the sailing through the 3 fjords we watched on the way in from a forward outside deck, & on the way out on our balcony with our feet up on the rails, sun shining  & cocktails ....  personally it was very, very much worth it to me 🙂  

 

We also spotted dolphins & other sea life from our balcony, & sat our there before bedtime, watching the sun set at 11:00 at night. 

 

I agree.  I still wanted a balcony for this cruise because there is a lot to see.  However we didn't use it nearly as much as we dis in the Caribbean because of the cooler weather (in New Zealand).