Cheap prices on Aurora!

[Selbourne]

44 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

The standard balconies are so small I just can't get my head round why such a large surcharge and why people pay it?

 

But clearly they do

 

If people could sunbathe on the balconies I could perhaps understand paying so much extra as it becomes a really useful thing to have (when the sun is that side of the ship of course)?

 

It's working out at £50 plus per person per night for a balcony isn't it?

 

£100 per day to sit (not lay) normally in the shade with a one sided view no better than you can get anywhere on the decks in the sun

 

(I realise there are other benefits. My mum and dad like to have breakfast on their balcony most mornings for example. Even though they can't get same quality breakfast as outside their cabin)

 

I could have cruised twice for 2 weeks on Arvia in the Caribbean for the same price people with standard balcony were paying for one holiday

 

And the real irony is on sea days this couple were lying next to us on deck 16 sunbathing every day

 

When are they getting their £100 per day value out of their balcony? It's not during the day. They were up early just like us to get sunbeds in a prime spot on deck 16

 

I cant fathom it?

 

Let me say we could afford balconies if we could see the value for us. We like them as a nice to have

 

But it's similar to people querying £40 per day to use The Retreat.

 

I don't think that's good value

 

But honestly I think the surcharge for The Retreat is slightly more justified than people paying more than that each day to have a balcony which they can't be using a fraction of the time they could use the Retreat

 

 

We are all different. We never sunbathe but we would honestly rather stay at home than cruise in an inside cabin. We just love the outlook and the constantly changing scenery. We like watching the comings and goings in ports. We watch port departures from the privacy of our own balcony or, if the weather is poor, the sofa. We often sleep with the curtains open and wake to see the approaches to ports from bed. If the ship is busy on sea days we spend quite a bit of time in our cabin and have a constant view. We don’t need to use the balcony to get the views BTW - you get them from inside the cabin as well!
 

There are often things to see, even on sea days. We have often caught sight of dolphins, whales, flying fish and I even like seeing oil rigs, wind farms, other ships etc. One time we had an aft suite and as we were passing the Isle of Wight we heard a noise outside and went out to see multiple high powered ribs all full of Special Boat Service (special forces) doing a drill trying to board a ‘hijacked’ ship. Fascinating. Hardly anybody else on the ship was even aware of it. I could list countless other magical moments that we would have completely missed without a balcony.
 

Good luck to those who enjoy inside cabins and, of course, it’s a very cheap way to cruise, but there are very sound reasons why many of us happily pay a substantial premium to have a balcony and, in our case, it has nothing at all to do with sunbathing!

[NavyPanda]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

It's working out at £50 plus per person per night for a balcony isn't it?

 

Just because I like challenges involving numbers, I've worked it out. 

 

So from the 735 cruises on sale with both inside and balcony cabins available to book...

 

The average (mean) cost, based on two sharing, is £38.95 extra per person per night, the median is slightly lower at £35.71 extra.

 

There are three cruises with no price difference at the moment. These are 

Amsterdam (N316)   4 nights Ventura 20-Jun-23

Amsterdam (J316)    4 nights Arcadia 19-Nov-23

Belgium And Germany (R315)   5 nights Aurora 10-Aug-23

 

If you are looking at 

 

Spain Portugal And Canary Islands (B417N)  14 nights Britannia 05-Jul-24

 

Then a balcony will cost you an eye watering £3.57 extra pppn

 

If you fancy a balcony on the following tropical cruise

 

Belgium And Netherlands (J423) 5 nights Arcadia 29-Dec-24
 

It will be a mere £126.00 extra pppn

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

56 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

We are all different. We never sunbathe but we would honestly rather stay at home than cruise in an inside cabin. We just love the outlook and the constantly changing scenery. We like watching the comings and goings in ports. We watch port departures from the privacy of our own balcony or, if the weather is poor, the sofa. We often sleep with the curtains open and wake to see the approaches to ports from bed. If the ship is busy on sea days we spend quite a bit of time in our cabin and have a constant view. We don’t need to use the balcony to get the views BTW - you get them from inside the cabin as well!
 

There are often things to see, even on sea days. We have often caught sight of dolphins, whales, flying fish and I even like seeing oil rigs, wind farms, other ships etc. One time we had an aft suite and as we were passing the Isle of Wight we heard a noise outside and went out to see multiple high powered ribs all full of Special Boat Service (special forces) doing a drill trying to board a ‘hijacked’ ship. Fascinating. Hardly anybody else on the ship was even aware of it. I could list countless other magical moments that we would have completely missed without a balcony.
 

Good luck to those who enjoy inside cabins and, of course, it’s a very cheap way to cruise, but there are very sound reasons why many of us happily pay a substantial premium to have a balcony and, in our case, it has nothing at all to do with sunbathing!

That all makes great sense

 

I think with us we just love the facilities on the ship so much and love to be doing stuff on the ship itself or off the ship that right now we just don't have time to enjoy the benefits a balcony brings

 

We don't have time as it is to do all the things we want to do on the ship

 

I can barely sit still on holiday!

 

Lol

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[terrierjohn]

33 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

That all makes great sense

 

I think with us we just love the facilities on the ship so much and love to be doing stuff on the ship itself or off the ship that right now we just don't have time to enjoy the benefits a balcony brings

 

We don't have time as it is to do all the things we want to do on the ship

 

I can barely sit still on holiday!

 

Lol

 

There will come a time when you will be more than happy to sit still and just relax on your balcony, so you enjoy all the activities while you can.

[Interestedcruisefan]

23 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

There will come a time when you will be more than happy to sit still and just relax on your balcony, so you enjoy all the activities while you can.

Yep I'm sure that will happen

 

We obviously are still working as well

 

A lot of you guys have retired now and so have got used to relaxing more

 

My parents are in that mode. My dad's 80 this year. They would never consider not having a balcony. No matter how many times I send them great deals for cruises. It always has to be the balcony price.

 

I've sent them a Canaries one on Azura from the cheap lists above

 

But they like Princess cruises now. Very set in their ways

 

(They get launderette for free and early boarding and some kind of canape night from having done 15 cruises with them now and that over rules pretty much any deal I show them!)

 

Lol

 

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Cardiff girl]

On 3/16/2023 at 10:45 AM, NavyPanda said:

 

With regards to the solo offers, it seems that the 'no single supplement' offer has been withdrawn. I can't see any cruises which currently have 0% single supplement. All cruises seem to have the seemingly standard 60% supplement instead. Has anyone else seen any cruises still with a 0% supplement? 

 

Updated tables as at 16th March 2023 AM

 

Inside under £60 pppn

 

Cruise	Nights	Ship	Date	Amount	Per Night
Spain And Portugal (G438)	14	Iona	23-Nov-24	£679	£48.50
Portugal And Canary Islands (N307)	12	Ventura	06-Apr-23	£599	£49.92
Spain Portugal And Canary Islands (G307)	14	Iona	18-Mar-23	£699	£49.93
Mediterranean (K308)	14	Arvia	16-Apr-23	£699	£49.93
Northern Europe And Scandinavia (B312)	14	Britannia	12-May-23	£699	£49.93
Mediterranean (K311)	14	Arvia	28-May-23	£699	£49.93
Spain And Portugal (G338)	14	Iona	25-Nov-23	£699	£49.93
Northern Europe And Scandinavia (R307)	16	Aurora	02-May-23	£849	£53.06
Mediterranean (K309)	14	Arvia	30-Apr-23	£749	£53.50
Spain And Portugal (G402)	14	Iona	27-Jan-24	£749	£53.50
Spain And Portugal (N429)	13	Ventura	05-Nov-24	£699	£53.77
Norwegian Fjords (J303)	12	Arcadia	02-May-23	£649	£54.08
Spain Portugal And Canary Islands (J420)	16	Arcadia	28-Nov-24	£899	£56.19
Spain And Portugal (N333)	12	Ventura	11-Nov-23	£679	£56.58
Spain And Portugal (G336)	14	Iona	28-Oct-23	£799	£57.07
Spain Portugal And Canary Islands (G437)	14	Iona	09-Nov-24	£799	£57.07
Spain And Portugal (B309)	12	Britannia	16-Apr-23	£699	£58.25
Spain And Portugal (N335)	12	Ventura	05-Dec-23	£699	£58.25
Spain And Portugal (J319)	12	Arcadia	09-Dec-23	£699	£58.25
Spain And Portugal (N432)	12	Ventura	05-Dec-24	£699	£58.25
Mediterranean And Canary Islands (A426C)	16	Azura	10-Oct-24	£949	£59.31
Spain And Portugal (N311)	10	Ventura	06-May-23	£599	£59.90
Caribbean Transatlantic (K306A)	15	Arvia	18-Mar-23	£899	£59.93
Canary Islands And Mediterranean (A410A)	20	Azura	08-Mar-24	£1,199	£59.95

 

Balcony under £80 pppn

 

Northern Europe And Scandinavia (B312)	14	Britannia	12-May-23	£799	£57.07
Spain And Portugal (B309)	12	Britannia	16-Apr-23	£749	£62.42
Northern Europe And Scandinavia (R307)	16	Aurora	02-May-23	£999	£62.44
Caribbean Transatlantic (B306A)	13	Britannia	25-Mar-23	£899	£69.15
Northern European City Escape (G308)	7	Iona	01-Apr-23	£499	£71.29
Mediterranean (K307)	14	Arvia	02-Apr-23	£999	£71.36
Spain And Portugal (G338)	14	Iona	25-Nov-23	£999	£71.36
Spain And Portugal (G438)	14	Iona	23-Nov-24	£999	£71.36
Belgium And France (B308)	4	Britannia	12-Apr-23	£299	£74.75
Amsterdam (N308)	4	Ventura	18-Apr-23	£299	£74.75
Amsterdam (N312)	4	Ventura	16-May-23	£299	£74.75
Spain And Portugal (N333)	12	Ventura	11-Nov-23	£899	£74.92
Caribbean Transatlantic (B306)	14	Britannia	24-Mar-23	£1,049	£74.93
Mediterranean (K308)	14	Arvia	16-Apr-23	£1,049	£74.93
Spain And Portugal (N429)	13	Ventura	05-Nov-24	£999	£76.85
Mediterranean And Canary Islands (A326F)	23	Azura	12-Oct-23	£1,799	£78.22
Norwegian Fjords (J303)	12	Arcadia	02-May-23	£949	£79.08
Spain And Portugal (N335)	12	Ventura	05-Dec-23	£949	£79.08
Portugal And Canary Islands (N431)	12	Ventura	23-Nov-24	£949	£79.08
Mediterranean And Canary Islands (A426C)	16	Azura	10-Oct-24	£1,279	£79.94

NavyPanda, would you be able to do tables of best value offers based on solo occupancy and/or date? 

 

[jeanlyon]

On 3/16/2023 at 6:58 PM, terrierjohn said:

There will come a time when you will be more than happy to sit still and just relax on your balcony, so you enjoy all the activities while you can.

Not happened to us yet!!  |Much prefer to be up and about on the ship watching the comings and goings from the Prom deck

[wowzz]

18 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Not happened to us yet!!  |Much prefer to be up and about on the ship watching the comings and goings from the Prom deck

All well and good, but after three sea days in heavy seas, with the outside decks shut, it's lovely to be in the peace and quiet of your cabin, looking at the rough weather through your balcony windows.

[jh1809]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

All well and good, but after three sea days in heavy seas, with the outside decks shut, it's lovely to be in the peace and quiet of your cabin, looking at the rough weather through your balcony windows.

Though in that case you'd be just as well off in an outside cabin with no balcony. I've only had a balcony cabin twice - once with P&O and once, perforce, with Saga. In both cases the weather was too poor to get much use out of the balcony.

[wowzz]

3 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

Though in that case you'd be just as well off in an outside cabin with no balcony. I've only had a balcony cabin twice - once with P&O and once, perforce, with Saga. In both cases the weather was too poor to get much use out of the balcony.

But you can see virtually nothing out of those small windows .

[gsjnd]

On 3/16/2023 at 4:28 PM, Interestedcruisefan said:

The standard balconies are so small I just can't get my head round why such a large surcharge and why people pay it?

 

But clearly they do

 

If people could sunbathe on the balconies I could perhaps understand paying so much extra as it becomes a really useful thing to have (when the sun is that side of the ship of course)?

 

It's working out at £50 plus per person per night for a balcony isn't it?

 

£100 per day to sit (not lay) normally in the shade with a one sided view no better than you can get anywhere on the decks in the sun

 

(I realise there are other benefits. My mum and dad like to have breakfast on their balcony most mornings for example. Even though they can't get same quality breakfast as outside their cabin)

 

I could have cruised twice for 2 weeks on Arvia in the Caribbean for the same price people with standard balcony were paying for one holiday

 

And the real irony is on sea days this couple were lying next to us on deck 16 sunbathing every day

 

When are they getting their £100 per day value out of their balcony? It's not during the day. They were up early just like us to get sunbeds in a prime spot on deck 16

 

I cant fathom it?

 

Let me say we could afford balconies if we could see the value for us. We like them as a nice to have

 

But it's similar to people querying £40 per day to use The Retreat.

 

I don't think that's good value

 

But honestly I think the surcharge for The Retreat is slightly more justified than people paying more than that each day to have a balcony which they can't be using a fraction of the time they could use the Retreat

 

 

I totally agree with you but just remember while people are prepared to pay such a premium for a balcony we can get a great deal on inside cabin.

[Clodia]

On 3/4/2023 at 3:58 PM, jeanlyon said:

Agree, still a shame though.  I'm not keen on any of the offerings in the paid for ones.  Certainly not the Beach Hut.  Wish they would do an Italian one perhaps.

Just got off Iona and she has the Olive Grove, a Mediterranean restaurant with most menu items being included and small extra charges for paella or hanging kebabs. The lasagne was wonderful. I thought I would hate Iona because she's so big and Aurora is my favourite ship, but the design is good with things split into sections so it doesn't feel as big. Review pending moderation at present,  hopefully published soon.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

But you can see virtually nothing out of those small windows .

We always get a window cabin on Brittany ferries. Overnight it is dark and they are often in need of a good clean....but.🤣

[gsmt47471015]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

But you can see virtually nothing out of those small windows .

Just had 65 nights on Aurora and had a front facing window cabin overlooking the bow , absolutely loved it and would have the same again on her, actually we HAVE booked a similar cabin on her 2025 Amazon cruise .

It was by no means small (not porthole size) and gave oodles of natural light, once again though personal choice

[Selbourne]

48 minutes ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Just had 65 nights on Aurora and had a front facing window cabin overlooking the bow , absolutely loved it and would have the same again on her, actually we HAVE booked a similar cabin on her 2025 Amazon cruise .

It was by no means small (not porthole size) and gave oodles of natural light, once again though personal choice

We’ve done a couple of cruises on Britannia in a forward suite and also loved the views over the bow from the bedroom. The room was plenty big enough to accommodate a couple of chairs, which gave us our own private Crows Nest, and we could also watch port approaches from bed! We also had the additional benefit of a side balcony, accessed from the lounge though, so I guess had the best of both worlds. 

[paulatsea]

8 hours ago, Selbourne said:

We’ve done a couple of cruises on Britannia in a forward suite and also loved the views over the bow from the bedroom. The room was plenty big enough to accommodate a couple of chairs, which gave us our own private Crows Nest, and we could also watch port approaches from bed! We also had the additional benefit of a side balcony, accessed from the lounge though, so I guess had the best of both worlds. 

That sounds fantastic. I would love that.

[Fionboard]

Just off Aurora. Great cruise. Some rough seas (force 12 coming home) but great weather for Norway.

[Britboys]

17 hours ago, wowzz said:

But you can see virtually nothing out of those small windows .

I've never felt the windows are small and have been quite happy with the views.

[Astrajet]

41 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I've never felt the windows are small and have been quite happy with the views.

Agreed - always happy with a seaview cabin on Aurora.  

[Fionboard]

First time ever in a seaview as balcony covered in snow did not appeal! Very cosy and light.

[Fionboard]

[jeanlyon]

21 hours ago, wowzz said:

All well and good, but after three sea days in heavy seas, with the outside decks shut, it's lovely to be in the peace and quiet of your cabin, looking at the rough weather through your balcony windows.

Nope, we just go to the Crow's nest with a book!

[Josy1953]

17 hours ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Just had 65 nights on Aurora and had a front facing window cabin overlooking the bow , absolutely loved it and would have the same again on her, actually we HAVE booked a similar cabin on her 2025 Amazon cruise .

It was by no means small (not porthole size) and gave oodles of natural light, once again though personal choice

We also loved the front facing window on Aurora when we booked one and would book one again if it was a cold weather cruise but for warm weather cruises we prefer a balcony.  As you say it is personal choice

 

[Josy1953]

13 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Nope, we just go to the Crow's nest with a book!

If you can find a seat in the Crows Nest when the weather is too rough to be on the open decks.

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

If you can find a seat in the Crows Nest when the weather is too rough to be on the open decks.

Yes, my idea of hell is to be sitting with hundreds of others in rough weather.