balcony worth the xtra $$ with a toddler??

[KyleesMom]

Hi. Yall. We are debating on upgrading from an oceanview to a balcony room ( about $600 different) so our toddler can take naps and go to bed and me and hubby do not that to "nap" too. Has anyone had a toddler in an oceanview room and how well did it go over? Any advice would be great. This is a last minute vacation so funds are low.

Thanks!

Tiffany

[rebeccalouise]

Get the balcony. It will make a nice retreat for the two of you at night while Junior is sleeping. I think it is a great idea to upgrade. Easy for me to spend you money for you, huh?

[Imani68]

We did an OV cabin when we went to Alaska w/our then 1.5 year old son. One of us did have to stay in the room when he napped but we survived. We are in a balcony for our next cruise but we will now be sharing a room w/ a 4 year old and a his nearly 1 year old sister and will need to escape. :)

[crusinmama06]

Oh this is a great time to ask this question. Go to the Carnival board and read the great debate on "Balcony Snobs" (yes you will understand why I have that in my signature after you read THAT thread)

 

And to answer your question, yes I would upgrade, no doubt.

 

Have I done an OV with a toddler....yes. Was it hell? No, not at all. I did have a REALLY hard time getting her to fall asleep the first night. She kept yapping away to me. And forget naps, not happening.

 

But that's my toddler, she can't fall asleep with anyone in the room cause she is afraid she is going to miss all of the action. ;)

[cruisinjerseygirl]

We have a 6 year old and we really liked the balcony because at night she will not be able to sleep with us in the room with her because she will talk our heads off and we will probably have to go to bed at 8pm also so it is nice to have the balcony we can go out and relax and talk although she did come knocking on the door a few times I think that it was much better than an OV where she would be talking and talking and refuse to go to sleep and we would be subjected to watching cartoons all night which is not what we really want to do on our vacation.

[EmmaJean]

I didn't book the balcony because I was a afraid my 2 year old would wake up during the night and jump over the edge. . . is that a possibility? Haven't been on a cruise yet...

[1alexcartermom]

On Carnival, the door is too heavy and the door lock is too high for a two year old to be able to open the door to get to the balcony so long as the door is closed and locked while all are asleep.

[Jotul]

When my daughter was 3.5, we went on a Disney cruise with a balcony. I was so happy I upgraded -- it was such a nice retreat. I also had a balcony when when she was five and my son was six months. I'm glad I had it, but found I didn't use it as much as I did on the previous cruise, but was still glad I had it.

[rebeccalouise]

The balcony doors are so hard to open that I sometimes wonder if elderly people have trouble opening them. There is no way a two year old could open the balcony door. I never left my child unsupervised on the balcony either. When I came in- he came in. So don't worry about kids and balconies- chances are they won't be that interested anyway if you aren't out there.

[iceman0]

Yeh, I agree a balcony is a must. We also slept with the balcony door open and it was very relaxing to hear the sound of the sea. My children aged 7 and 5 were not allowed on the balcony unless accompanied by an adult. It think having a balcony helps to stop the feelings of claustrophobia. I think I would have gone stir crazy without the balcony. It is also great to stand on the balcony in the cool of the evening when the kids are in bed going to sleep.

[iceman0]

Yeh, I would say a balcony is a must if you can afford it. We excaped onto the balcony when the kids aged 6 and 8 were going to sleep. We also left the balcony door open during the night. It was really peaceful and relaxing hearing the sound of the sea.:D

[JRsMom]

Oh this is a great time to ask this question. Go to the Carnival board and read the great debate on "Balcony Snobs" (yes you will understand why I have that in my signature after you read THAT thread)

 

And to answer your question, yes I would upgrade, no doubt.

 

Have I done an OV with a toddler....yes. Was it hell? No, not at all. I did have a REALLY hard time getting her to fall asleep the first night. She kept yapping away to me. And forget naps, not happening.

 

But that's my toddler, she can't fall asleep with anyone in the room cause she is afraid she is going to miss all of the action. ;)

 

 

I just go done reading a bunch of the "Balcony Snobs" tread!!!

 

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!

 

I guess I'm a balcony snob too!!!! I'll save the extra $$$ to get a balcony room.:p Actually, I have to be honest, when I price out a cruise I only price out Balcony Rooms!!!:D

[crusinmama06]

I just go done reading a bunch of the "Balcony Snobs" tread!!!

 

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!

 

I guess I'm a balcony snob too!!!! I'll save the extra $$$ to get a balcony room.:p Actually, I have to be honest, when I price out a cruise I only price out Balcony Rooms!!!:D

 

What a great thread that was huh? :rolleyes:

 

Have a nice cruise in your balcony...you snob. ;)

[BGinGA]

You should definitely get the balcony! We are balcony snobs too but had to make this tough choice for our first cruise with the little one last month. We paid the extra and never regretted it. I was particularly glad that we chose an aft balcony for the extra room. While DH and DS napped, I was able to lay in a lounge chair in the sun. I was right there if they needed me but I was still able to get my sun. At night, we would sit on the balcony and talk, eat, play cards, etc. without bothering my sleeping son. I found the door hard to open myself -- there was no way my son could open it (and yes, he did try many times)!

 

HTH!

Bridgett

[james'mom]

I would go with the balcony. We booked a balcony on my son's second cruise and my husband won't book anything lower at all now. The extra space is great. It's nice to have a place to escape to when the little one is sleeping or watching the wiggles for the 50th time that trip. And there is no chance the kiddo will go over the edge. By the time they are big enough to drag a chair over to the rail and hike their leg up over the rail they should be old enough to know it's a really stupid thing to do.