Traveling w/kids - Balcony or Inside?

[bbjmlawson]

We are going on our first cruise this May on the Conquest. I orginally decided that we were going as inexpensively as possible and booked an inside room. I have to say that my husband and I are not the partying type. I've been told that we would really enjoy the balcony where we could sit and enjoy by ourselves. So, here is my question. Do you think it is worth the extra money? We will have our kids with us, so I'm afraid, even if we want to go back to our room, we won't be able to. What do you all think?:confused:

 

FYI, these boards are amazing! I've learned so much. All the information is greatly appreciated!!!:D

[VentureMan_2000]

We get the balcony for the romance... this is the one week each year where we do not have our children, so we like to live it up a bit. We like to relax and have a few cocktails and enjoy the water going by. But it is exspensive.

 

 

If I brought kids... I would go as inexpensively as I could. No use wasting money if romance in the room will be non-existant.

 

I'd book a inside room Gty.

[jahumath]

Our first cruise was inside room with the kids and was very crowded. Second cruise on Conquest with balcony and kids...Priceless!! Our kids and my wife loved it. They got to look at the ocean and my wife and I had plenty alone time ;) . I feel it is worth the extra money. Have fun and enjoy your cruise, the Conquest is fantastic!!

[VentureMan_2000]

And I think the price difference is $740 or so between an inside cabin and a balcony. I'm assuming two adults and two children.

 

That's a lot of extra money for a balcony...:eek:

[bbjmlawson]

It would be two kids (9 and 11) and two adults. That IS a lot of money, but I would scrounge it up if it's worth it. This will be our one and only vacation this year.

 

All these opinions are great. It's really getting me to think about how I want our trip to be. :rolleyes:

 

Keep giving me your thoughts! What would you do?

[bewitchedwitch]

Wow, a price difference of $740? Holy cow. What about a cabin with a big window?? Just an idea...

 

We are booked on a cruise in November (2 kids as well) and originally we were going to book a cabin with a window. Well, the price difference between a window and a balcony (guarantee) for 4 people was only $200 so we just could not pass that up. I'm kind of glad about it because if the girls take a nap or go to bed early, we can always have some quiet/private time on the balcony withought having to be cooped up in the room inside.

[caribbean dreams]

I think it would depend on the ages of your children, but if you want to go as cheap as you can just book the inside.

[Mooncastle]

I'm spoiled on the balcony idea. I order room service every morning for coffee and sit on the balcony to not wake up every one else in the room. It is so peaceful early in the morning or late at night. Just watch so you don't let go of that balcony door or it will slam shut.

[truecruiser]

We are going on our first cruise this May on the Conquest. I orginally decided that we were going as inexpensively as possible and booked an inside room. I have to say that my husband and I are not the partying type. I've been told that we would really enjoy the balcony where we could sit and enjoy by ourselves. So, here is my question. Do you think it is worth the extra money? We will have our kids with us, so I'm afraid, even if we want to go back to our room, we won't be able to. What do you all think?:confused:

 

FYI, these boards are amazing! I've learned so much. All the information is greatly appreciated!!!:D

 

 

Yes! Yes! Yes! Especially w/ kids. don't know how old they are, but b/c you have kids w/ you, you'll be in your cabin more than you probably wld be (at least we always are w/ our 3 kids).

 

we always get a balcony whenever available. you will really enjoy it. Do it!

[19snapshot]

Although many people do, I don't like having an inside cabin. For me it is worth the extra cost to be able to see the sun when I first wake up in the morning. A balcony would be nice, but I go for the oceanview if the price is much diferent. A window is good enough for me.

[JoeSmooga]

Age and price are keys to me. I would love a balcony at some point, but fear that my 4 and 6 year old would do something stupid on the balcony (like climb up a chair and jump) where our family would end up on Nancy Grace for the next 12 months. This is one of the reasons I book oceanview rooms with a window... When in the room, I'll have them jump in the window well and look outside at the ocean with no worries. I've done inside rooms and enjoyed them just as well. Price jump from an inside room to an oceanview room isn't as bad as upgrading to a balcony, plus, an oceanview room has more square footage that either an inside room or a balcony (remember... the balcony rooms square footage measurements takes into consideration the balcony as well... it's 220 square feet for an oceanview room, while a balcony room is 185 square feet inside, and an additional 35 square feet on the balcony itself... doesn't sound like much, but it is. Inside rooms are 185 square feet standard).

 

Food for thought...

 

Joe

[bewitchedwitch]

JoeSmooga, I did take the larger ocean-view cabins into consideration, but I was told by two different travel agencies that the ocean-view cabins are only on decks 1 and 2. Is this true? We don't want to be that low. We originally would have loved an ocean-view cabin on deck 7 or higher.

[JoeSmooga]

The travel agencies are right... the only decks on Conquest class ships with OV rooms are Riveria (1) and Main (2). If you wanted to be up high with a view you took the only option available, which would have been a balcony.

 

Fantasy class ships have OV rooms up to at least the Empress Deck, which (without looking) I believe is deck 7. There may be more higher that this, but that's all the higher I have ever gone on this ships. (Note: Fantasy class OV rooms have the same square footage as it's inside rooms... 185 sq ft).

 

I just asked my TA for an OV room on the Legend and he told me that ship only has one deck (Riviera) that it's available. Everything else is either inside rooms, balcony's, or suites (which I will never see now that someone in Missouri hit the Powerball jackpot last night). With more and more ships coming out with balcony's, somethings got to give, and in Carnival's case it's been the OV rooms which I totally understand. Those of us who like the OV rooms are more of a niche than anything else, and from a business perspective if they can build balcony's and charge a higher cruise rate for them, all the more power to them. Maybe one of these day's I'll book an OV GTY for the heck of it and get a balcony thrown my way as an upgrade :). That may change my mind. Until then, I'll keep with the OV rooms down low on the ship.

 

Joe

[markandstacie00]

If it is your first cruise, maybe you should save money and leave that for the trip for just the two lovebirds. If money is not tight, you could spend the extra and have quiet time after the kids go to bed. I love to sit out there after even my wife is asleep and just watch the ocean.

 

It's also a great threat to throw your kids overboard if they act like one of mine has recently.:rolleyes:

[colombiangirl]

We originally booked a balcony room for us and an inside cabin for our kids (9 and 17). The price difference was so minimal that we ended up moving the kids to a balcony room next door to ours. I cant wait to sit early mornings on the balcony with a cup of coffee or to have a romantic nightcap with my hubby at the end of the day.

[PaulMedik]

We always book a balcony for my wife and I and an adjacent balcony for our three sons. We have the balcony divider opened by our steward

 

 

so the cabins are connected without going out in the hallway.

 

Yes, the balcony is nice for couples, but it's also nice to see your sons enjoying the view and knowing they have their 'own' space on the ship.

 

 

I constantly talk to them about prior to the cruise climbing on chairs and leaning over the rail and how people can and have died by making poor choices and I have never seen them disregard the rules I lay out for the balcony. (20 years working emergency medicine tends to build up quite a few actual examples)

[paulgduck]

Our family has done 7 cruises, two kids starting at age 1 & 6, (now 9 & 14), our first was OV, then inside, then OV, and finally balcony. After having done a balcony, would never go back to inside or OV. (doing Penthouse on Fantasy Mar 24). It's just too nice to sit out on the balcony and watch the ocean go by in peace, or watch the ports come into and out of view.

 

We have never had problems with the kids attempting to go overboard. They can just as easily climb on a chair on the top decks as they can on the balcony. We just give them the usual first day lecture.

 

The camp carnival is lots of fun, the kids spend quite a bit of time in there, so there's always opportunites to enjoy romance on the balcony without the kids bothering you.

[buddyjo143]

We are going on our first cruise this May on the Conquest. I orginally decided that we were going as inexpensively as possible and booked an inside room. I have to say that my husband and I are not the partying type. I've been told that we would really enjoy the balcony where we could sit and enjoy by ourselves. So, here is my question. Do you think it is worth the extra money? We will have our kids with us, so I'm afraid, even if we want to go back to our room, we won't be able to. What do you all think?:confused:

 

FYI, these boards are amazing! I've learned so much. All the information is greatly appreciated!!!:D

 

Why won't you be able to go to your room alone? Will the kids not go to Camp Carnival even for a couple of hours? ;)

 

Our nieces and nephew loved going and there were nights when we grown ups had to stay awake to go pick up the kids, they were having so much fun with their friends. I think you will find alone time and it is a nice family place in the morning or afternoon or evening. Heck it was fun anytime. We had 3 adjoining balcony cabins and loved it.

[njs]

We like booking adjoining balcony cabins for our family of 5 so we can open the divider.

However, I would say I would rather have an inside or ov cabin on a good deck, than a balcony on a poor deck(i.e. lounges/casino/galley/lido noise from above or below) that might keep the kids awake. That is always my first consideration.

[5forcruise]

Last year our family of 5, kids 8,10, and 3 had two balcony cabins. It was wonderful, the divider was open and we had a double wide balcony. What was really nice is once the kids were asleep we could enjoy the balcony. With a three year old, many nights she got tired early leaving us in the room. I would have gone stir crazy if I had not had the balcony to sit out on. On sea days she would nap and we would sit out on the balcony all afternoon, just took turns going to the bar for drinks.:)

This year we are going again but have to cut back a bit so we are booking one balcony and one inside room. I'm going to miss that extra wide balcony along with easier access to the other room.:rolleyes:

[Quilting_Cruiser]

We always book balconies--our first cruise was an inside cabin because that was all that was available and we had no clue, but after that it's been balconies every time. We use our balcony a lot! If you look at my signature, you'll see the ages my DD was on each of our cruises--never an issue with safety when we've had a balcony. When our older DD comes with us we book two balcony cabins. As someone stated, it's great to see your kids enjoying their own balcony--I can't imagine putting them in an inside across the hall...they'd be over in our cabin all the time to spend time on our balcony!

 

You should have plenty of alone time on your balcony even with the kids along. If they're like many kids, they'll love Camp Carnival and want to spend a lot to time there--DD would spend the entire cruise in Camp Carnival if she could! Sometimes I tell her she has to spend an hour with me just so I get to enjoy her company, too!

 

We're in the penthouse suite for our upcoming Alaska cruise--can't wait for the bigger room and, even better, the bigger balcony!

 

I'm sure you'll enjoy it either way, but if it were me, I'd book the balcony--especially with kids along!

 

Cheers,

Jayne

 

:)

[TennisLover]

I would go for the balcony, if you opt for one cabin. We did that 3 times... then I can get away from the cartoons and the kids mess and just sit outside. Especially handy when everyone is getting ready for dinner at the same time. (I get ready first and get out of the way.).

 

Last Feb, when they were 10 and 13, we got them their own inside cabin across the hall. I like that best. We all had our own space (and 2 bathrooms!). They knew the rules, and I was just more comfortable with them in an inside rather than having a balcony.

[WorkingMomNeedsaVacation]

Personally, I would go with the balcony. Yes, that is big price difference, but DH is claustrophobic (sp?) so an inside would never be an option for us anyway. DH and I sailed alone on our honeymoon in an OV (back when balconies were only available for suites). Two years ago, we sailed with a balcony with our 2 kids, then ages 9 and 7. It was so nice to have some extra room. We fit fine in the balcony cabin, but having some extra space when getting ready for dinner was wonderful.

 

Next cruise, in 3 weeks, we have 2 connecting balcony cabins!!! We originally had all 4 of us in one balcony cabin, but I called my PVP one day to inquire about connecting cabins (never believing we could do it). It is a long story, but the extra cabin only cost us $200 more. For that, we get 2 bathrooms, 2 TVs, double balcony space, WOW! Granted, our situation was unique - we were on a promotional cruise (free for 2 adults) that my husband won from work. We were paying OOP for the kids at 3rd and 4th passenger rates. My PVP figured out that if we split DH and I up on the reservation, we qualified for the past guest rate on the second cabin, which was only $100 more than the 3rd/4th passenger rate. It was a no-brainer! We really lucked out. IMHO, our set up is even better than a suite!

 

Obviously, I vote balcony all the way!

[truecruiser]

JoeSmooga, I did take the larger ocean-view cabins into consideration, but I was told by two different travel agencies that the ocean-view cabins are only on decks 1 and 2. Is this true? We don't want to be that low. We originally would have loved an ocean-view cabin on deck 7 or higher.

 

i still vote for the balcony, but re: your comment above, on Conquest all of these OV rooms shld be above ocean level anyway. maybe on Riviera you might hear some slapping of the water, but you certainly shldn't hear it as much on Main, though directly above you is a busy deck (dining rooms, galley, etc.).

[bbjmlawson]

I just had to write back and let you know what I did. I decided to give ***** a try and see what quote they gave me for a balcony room. I already had my reservation with Carnival for an inside room. Well.... they gave me a quote for $400 more for the balcony. That was all that I needed. I just got off the phone with them and made the switch.

 

Balcony... here we come!!! I'm so excited. I think that I always wanted a balcony but had a hard time justifying the extra money. After I heard all the comments, I knew that it would be worth it.

 

I just did a Balcony Gaurantee. We will just get whatever they have left, but I think that's better than inside for me right now.

 

Thanks to everyone who gave their opinion. It really did help!!!