Do you spend the extra money for a balcony cruise or get an interior?

[snshn3]

I went with an interior cabin since our cruise is so port intensive, but know I am doubting myself and wondered I should have gotten a balcony cabin in order to enjoy the views.

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=1683059817&m=567105281&r=567105281#567105281"]Roll Call on Brilliance of the Seas 06/17/05[/url]

Enchantment of the Seas, RCCL, 11/01 - Eastern Caribbean
Tropicale, Carnival 08/99 - Western Caribbean

[MSBYRDY]

Balcony

[Aussie Gal]

Up until our last cruise on the TP we had always a cabin with a window. But from now on I will always want the balcony.

We found the balcony great, especially in the warmer waters like Tahiti where you can go outside any time of day or night and leave the door open.

We will be on the Prinsendam in October and I changed our booking to a balcony when I returned home from Tahiti.

Jennie

The next cruise is always the best!

3RD OCTOBER, 2004 PRINSENDAM
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=228b22&cdt=2004;10;03;17;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]

[muzzy 10]

A different opinion: We have almost always opted for an interior cabin.My husband finds he sleeps much better in the total darkness , and we are hardly ever in our cabin except to sleep, so money saved can go towards other things. Especially in Europe every day a new port , out early and back at dinnertime, I dont'know when there would be enough time to sit out there. If one is a very early riser it would be nice to sit with a cup of coffee and watch the ship dock, and certain itinweeraries call out for a balcony{Alaska,Tahiti, scenic cruises) But I look at this cruise as a sightseeing tour of Europe with a floating hotel. Snshn, stop secondguessing yourself and ENJOY! Muzzy

[Aviendha]

Balcony. We use it sooo much.

[Makita]

We have had balconies in the past and on our last trip, we went to an outside cabin instead because:
-we were in our room so little, it wasn't worth a significant increase in price to us. (Insignificant, then I'd probably opt for a balcony again)
-the non balcony rooms are on lower decks and so you feel the movement of the ship less, so a little better if your prone to motion sickness
-on one trip, strange to say, the guests in an adjacent cabin smoked on their balcony and it really smelled bad out there sometimes. Fortunately, I believe this is an unusual problem.
Enjoy whatever you choose, Beth

[cruisintwinsmom]

Have done oceanview and balcony. It would depend on the price differential. The next cruise we are going on, gave the DDs an interior and us a balcony; figured they can share ours (and, yes, do feel a little guilty about it). On our cruise with the balcony, it was cheaper than an oceanview. Sure you will enjoy the cruise regardless - so don't worry and Happy Sailing!

[Bruin Steve]

Okay...I'm one of those who believe the only real important thing is to be on the ship. Period.

But, I am also fairly inconsistent...I'll be in two Sky Suites on the Summit in Alaska in a few weeks...I've also sailed in balcony cabins, window cabins and inside cabins...

When we did the Mediterranean on thge Millennium this past August, we did it from an INSIDE cabin...
I took a look at the itinerary and noticed it was incredibly port intensive--10 ports in 13 days...and when we were in port, we had shore excursions that lasted full days...We'd wake up, grab a quick breakfast and then rush off to our excursion...The excursions typically had us out and about until just before dinner time...So, we'd get back to the ship, be off to dinner...then a show...then other evening activities, then back to the cabin to bed...

We were in the room so few of our waking hours that a balcony, even a window, would have been wasted...

And we saved a couple of thousand dollars that paid for all of our shore excursions...

It also depends on your individual style...If you are like us--you take as much time in port as you can to squeeze in the entire experience...and you use your room, basically, to sleep, shower and change...then there's little reason to switch your cabin...

If you're one of those who orders room service and eats breakfast on the balcony, then comes back early from port and drinks on the balcony prior to late seating dinner, you may find that balcony a must...

You certainly don't need it "for the view"...most of the time you're on the ship, it's night...and you're probably on the wrong side of the ship anyway...

And for things like the sailaway out of Venice...we just went up to the top deck and shared the experience with our shipmates...and got a more panoramic view than we would have from a cabin...

Keep the inside, save the money for other things on your cruise...

PS. I agree with some of the others--if the price differential is insignificant, move up...it's always "nice" to have the spacious feel of the balcony cabin...but, if it's a sizable chunk of change, save it...

Summit, July 3, 2004: Alaska: 13 night cruisetour

[jody]

I've had inside, windows, and a balcony. I originally booked an inside for Europe as it is port intensive and it was cheaper. As time went on, prices went down and I was able to get a balcony for the price of the original inside cabin ($1499 for a 12 day Med). I could have paid $899 for the inside, but the extra money was well spent as I loved the balcony. Even though we spent a lot of time in port, I still spent a decent amount of time on the balcony. Also, there is nothing like sailing into Venice at 6 a.m. and looking out at the beautiful city from your own balcony (pjs optional). In the evenings, I'd have a night cap out on the balcony and watch the lights of the islands, etc. pass by. I wouldn't have thought it worth it, but if you have a balcony, you will put it to good use. You have to determine how much you'd spend and what that difference can buy if you don't a balcony and what seems more important to you. If the cost wasn't extremely more, I'd get another balcony. We also made friends with the folks around and below us and that was nice too.

NEXT UP: Tahitian Princess October 2004 (Tahiti)
Golden Princess May 2003 (Mediterranean)
Golden Princess January 2002 (Eastern Caribbean)
Sea Princess March 2001 (Western Caribbean)
Carnival Inspiration March 1997 (Southern Caribbean)

[irenen]

How do you know when prices have dropped significantly so you can swap from one category cabin to a higher one? I have checked the Celebrity web site every so often, but they do not display a full range of prices... only "from" and then only for a limited range of cabins. Advice please.

[missyal]

Irenen--check some travel websites(bestcruises.com, orbitz, etc.) and enter the info as if you were booking this cruise. Prices and rooms pop up. Different agencies buy different 'blocks' of rooms so the availability is not 100% accurate, but you will get a sense of pricing. I've found that our sailing has gone up quite a bit.
Missyal

[snshn3]

After reading all of these posts I think I am going to stick to my interior cabin. We could really use the extra money (difference of $1000 for both of us) towards excursions and that will probably be more valuable to us.

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=1683059817&m=567105281&r=567105281#567105281"]Roll Call on Brilliance of the Seas 06/17/05[/url]

Enchantment of the Seas, RCCL, 11/01 - Eastern Caribbean
Tropicale, Carnival 08/99 - Western Caribbean