How do you feel about an interior room?

[Tatka]

40 minutes ago, poocher said:

Could not disagree more!  Looking out at the stars you can’t see on land (too much light for good visibility), ships passing in the distance.  This is the very definition of peaceful.  Plus coffee & pastries on the morning.  Quiet time in the afternoon.  Fresh air!! Balcony is bare minimum for me.  

We do not like to eat in our room, even on balcony. We need to walk for our food 🙂  and also more choices in Windjammer. I love smoothies on some ships like Anthem and other stuff that is not delivered by room service.

 

We love looking for stars. This why we walk to outside promenade or other places. Walking is essential for us as we cannot survive in good shape cruising 5 full size cruises a year. I am often in gym by 6 am so I see sunrise there or on my way back to cabin via pool deck. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Tatka

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, Rogueperson said:

My wife is sensitive to light when sleeping so she absolutely looks forward to an interior room when we cruise.  She says its the best sleep she ever gets.

I've heard people say that, but the super-dark room for sleeping is a non-issue for me.  

1 hour ago, Rogueperson said:

Also, when i book rooms, I never book guarantees, always specifically pick a location

We have done three guarantees and have been given great rooms three times!  They've always been midship, good rooms! 

Oddly, we always seem to land on Deck 6, which isn't a popular deck, but now we love it.  One floor down to the Promenade for snacks or drinks, close to dinner in the MDR, close to Deck 4 (which is a great place to sit or walk if you don't have a balcony).

1 hour ago, Rogueperson said:

We've gotten a Virtual balcony interior, which is paying extra for a big screen TV showing the outside.  We found it annoying and just turned it off.'

Admittedly, I've never had a virtual balcony, but I don't get the point.  I can see the weather (or time of day) on the regular stateroom TV.  I would not pay extra for this "benefit". 

1 hour ago, latebuyer said:

Thanks everyone. I think i'll give the interior a try. I guess i'll find out if i hate it in due time. I'll bring a night light. I don't think brilliance of the seas has fancy stuff like virtual balconies.

I think two different topics are going on in your post: 

- Interior room vs. fancier room 

- Older ship vs. newer ship 

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

if the difference is only $150, I will definitely book the balcony.

Unfortunately, most of the time the difference in price is staggering, so we have no choice but to book inside. Nothing wrong with it.

Yes, the price difference between an interior and balcony is rarely going to be $150; in fact, it's rarely going to be $150/person.  

[Mum2Mercury]

1 minute ago, Tatka said:

We do not like to eat in our room, even on balcony. We need to walk for our food 🙂  and also more choices in Windjammer. I love smoothies on some ships like Anthem and other stuff that is not delivered by room service.

I understand ... I do not like to eat outside.  

[Tatka]

On one of our favorite and most cruised ship Anthem we love interiors even more. It has VR. My video... Some fun.

 

We never book GTY cabins. We like to pick our locations so it is convenient to everything and higher than promenade deck.

[OCSC Mike]

3 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Admittedly, I've never had a virtual balcony, but I don't get the point.  I can see the weather (or time of day) on the regular stateroom TV.  I would not pay extra for this "benefit". 

 

We got one as a GTY interior once (woohoo, huge upgrade, lol). It was gimmicky to us and not something I would pay for but people seem to like them. It didn't bother me; it just didn't add much.

[loman]

I dont cruise that often , but when i do its a balcony . 

I would never consider an interior though. 

We typically sail on Oasis class and it has to be ocean view.

Had a boardwalk balcony once for the novelty , but went back to ocean view after that . 

[Tatka]

1 minute ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

We got one as a GTY interior once (woohoo, huge upgrade, lol). It was gimmicky to us and not something I would pay for but people seem to like them. It didn't bother me; it just didn't add much.

 

It is actually quite good. You have a nice view of the port (better than on TV) without going out on balcony.

 

On Anthem absolute majority of interior rooms have VR. But on Odyssey it is not a case. We won't pay for upgrade to VR,

 

 

[Tatka]

1 minute ago, loman said:

Had a boardwalk balcony once for the novelty , but went back to ocean view after that . 

We would probably avoid those, as they as so see through. IMHO not much privacy

[latebuyer]

Just to clarify to royal up to a balcony is 240 canadian. I travel solo.

[loman]

1 minute ago, Tatka said:

We would probably avoid those, as they as so see through. IMHO not much privacy

No privacy at all at night with the lights on in the room.

You need to pull the blinds for sure.

Daytime not so bad though. 

[missholly24]

Absolutely not. Usually its a few hundred dollars more for OV and that is a small amount in the grand scheme of your whole vacation. I wouldn't sail inside for free TBH. The ocean is why I'm there. I want to see it as much as possible. 

[Tatka]

1 minute ago, missholly24 said:

Absolutely not. Usually its a few hundred dollars more for OV and that is a small amount in the grand scheme of your whole vacation. I wouldn't sail inside for free TBH. The ocean is why I'm there. I want to see it as much as possible. 

 
Our first room was OV ... we discovered that it is the least useful room out of all. Windows are not panoramic and rather small, so it is not convenient to use them. Most of them are also on lower decks.

[BennyandBo]

2 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

You never get fresh air in a cabin without a balcony. This is not nice, especially on older ships with dirty filters in the Aircon. We also never book a hotel where you can not open a window for fresh air.

Filters in ceiling of each cabin are changed out after every trip

[missholly24]

17 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 
Our first room was OV ... we discovered that it is the least useful room out of all. Windows are not panoramic and rather small, so it is not convenient to use them. Most of them are also on lower decks.

I book only balconies now but the windows were great when I couldn't afford them. I just would forego the cruise all together if I could only afford interior. I was answering the OP's question about how I feel about interior cabins. lol

[BennyandBo]

Inside only. Can't afford the $$$. Plus get the best sleep inside. I have a balcony at home and never go out on it. It's a place to shower and sleep to me. I like going topside so I can see left right and straight up at the sky. Too boxed in with balcony on either side and over my head.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Never thought I'd entertain an interior stateroom but then I sailed on MSC in the YC in a deluxe balcony stateroom.  YC was perfect but our room was hot all the time.  Found out that our neighbors were sleeping with the balcony door open which was deactivating our AC.  Since then, I booked an interior and had a room cold enough to hang meat...just the way I like it.  Moving forward, I will seriously consider an inside room every single time.

[BennyandBo]

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Never thought I'd entertain an interior stateroom but then I sailed on MSC in the YC in a deluxe balcony stateroom.  YC was perfect but our room was hot all the time.  Found out that our neighbors were sleeping with the balcony door open which was deactivating our AC.  Since then, I booked an interior and had a room cold enough to hang meat...just the way I like it.  Moving forward, I will seriously consider an inside room every single time.

OK, yes another good point. Inside get colder faster and stay cold. No heat or sun beating down on the glass.

[Cruisin'4Us]

I loved our interior room (on Celebrity.)  My wife hated it.  It was DARK.  Great for sleeping, but not great for waking up in the morning.  That said, we both like larger balcony cabins better. 

 

After seeing news footage of Carnival Triumph (2013) stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for about one week, I've insisted on balcony cabins.  Sleeping on the deck to get some relief from the heat inside the ship didn't appeal to me.

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

I would only do an interior room if the cruise was literally free. Otherwise it's a complete dealbreaker. 

[Tatka]

16 minutes ago, missholly24 said:

I book only balconies now but the windows were great when I couldn't afford them. I just would forego the cruise all together if I could only afford interior. I was answering the OP's question about how I feel about interior cabins. lol

We can do almost any rooms even with 5 cruises a year. We just found that they are not useful for us at all, just like balcony, but there I can at least dry my snorkeling equipment and swimwear. When we just started cruising 5 times a year I didn’t have enough vacation days so I usually worked 1-3 full days on 8 days Thanksgivings cruises. Then I had to spend continuous time in our room so we had balcony or JS. 
 

Now we don’t even have reason for this so now it’s mostly insides and random balcony if price for them is identical to insides.  

[BennyandBo]

8 minutes ago, Cruisin'4Us said:

I loved our interior room (on Celebrity.)  My wife hated it.  It was DARK.  Great for sleeping, but not great for waking up in the morning.  That said, we both like larger balcony cabins better. 

 

After seeing news footage of Carnival Triumph (2013) stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for about one week, I've insisted on balcony cabins.  Sleeping on the deck to get some relief from the heat inside the ship didn't appeal to me.

OK, everyone had to sleep on deck. You couldn't use your balcony because you couldn't use your cabin. Toilets backed up and 6 inches to a foot of toilet sewer water in cabins and halls. A balcony really didn't help anyone. Just saying.

[BennyandBo]

7 minutes ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

I would only do an interior room if the cruise was literally free. Otherwise it's a complete dealbreaker. 

Comeback and say that if it was the only option you could afford. After a few years or maybe 10 years without going anyplace, you might think differently.

[MD_Dan]

3 hours ago, twangster said:

I'm fine in an interior, especially Alaska.  I would much rather put money into excursions. 

 

I've sailed Alaska 7 times, twice in interior cabins.  The thousands I saved went into expensive excursions.  Helicopters, trains and planes for example.  I still remember those expereinces like they were yesterday.  My cruises in balconies and suites haven't left a lot of memories that involve the cabins.  Couldn't tell you much about those cabins but the excursions fill my memories.  

 

For $150 I'd upgrade to a balcony.  For $1,000?  Nope. 

    Totally agree about Alaska.  When the sun sets at 10pm and rises at 3am, you want it dark!

    Until this next cruise, we have only sailed in inside cabins.  And we have no complaints.  You'll want to get a small nightlight or two - look for motion sensing if possible.  We put a small light in the bathroom and leave the door cracked.   It is possible our next cruise will change my perspective.

    Many who quietly relax on their balcony for many hours and find balconies a necessity.  I like doing more social activities on the ship.  Neither paradigm is wrong - you just have to pick the right one for you.

 

[OCSC Mike]

20 minutes ago, Cruisin'4Us said:

After seeing news footage of Carnival Triumph (2013) stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for about one week, I've insisted on balcony cabins.  Sleeping on the deck to get some relief from the heat inside the ship didn't appeal to me.

 

To each his/her own but surely you realize how extremely unlikely something like is to occur, right?

[Cruisin'4Us]

3 minutes ago, BennyandBo said:

OK, everyone had to sleep on deck. You couldn't use your balcony because you couldn't use your cabin. Toilets backed up and 6 inches to a foot of toilet sewer water in cabins and halls. A balcony really didn't help anyone. Just saying.

Good point, and YUK !  I hope you weren't on-board?

How about "A balcony is a barely acceptable backup for an inoperative air conditioner"?  🙂