Crazy question..

[movinout]

We have never been on a cruise to the ports in the Baltics but have booked the new Carnival Splendor next July. I managed to snag a balcony on the tail of the ship..now my crazy question to those of you who have cruised here...is it worth all the expense? With the euro, airfare, and the cruise itself and now a fuel surcharge...it's climbing up there. We're weighing spending the money on this as opposed to a lot of trips here in the US. I know, it's all relative and kind of a who can tell me question...but did you think it an experience well worth the costs? Is it a scenic cruise? Thanks for any input. :confused:

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

It's definitely a matter of personal perspective and financial resources. We go on 3-4 cruises per year and the only way we can afford to do that is to go with the very cheapest inside cabins. Those of us who favor inside cabins will tell you that you spend so little time in your cabin during the day and you sleep at night so why bother having a window let alone a balcony. The price difference between inside and balcony on European cruises is usually substantial and that's money that can be used on excursions or store purchases....or simply money not spent.

 

Going into and out of ports (particularly in Europe) can be quite breathtaking from a balcony so I can't argue with those that prefer that method of cruising. I also can't argue with those that feel inside cabins are claustrophobic since that is not a problem I have; they're cozy to me. The only cruise I recommend balcony cabins to clients on are Alaska cruises since nearly all of the cruise is spent within distance of shoreline and mountains. That is not the case in the Baltic or Med where the ship remains quite a distance away from land (most of the time).

 

So again, this is a choice only you can make for yourself. I would not give up your Baltic cruise as the experience is well-beyond anything you'd encounter in the Caribbean. But if finances are tight because of it then seriously consider going inside and save thousands of dollars immediately.

 

BobK/Orlando

[Essiesmom]

What time of year are you going? We had our first balcony on Millennium for northern Europe, late August, first two weeks of Sept., and it was a bit chilly to be out on it. As for an aft balcony, I would prefer to be topside, to see what is on both sides of the ship as we travel...not be seeing things as we are almost past them. Our balcony only gave us views of one side of the ship. Of course, we saw things on that side as we went into port, the other side as we left...As for the expense...We loved the idea of a balcony, enjoyed it some...But as I am now retired, and my sister has gone through a divorce and had to renter the labor force at 60, I now go with what Bob does...book the cheapest inside so I can go more often. EM

[movinout]

Thanks for your input..we've never done an inside cabin and do intend to try one in the future for the savings alone...cozy or claustraphobic...we'll have to see. The insides on this Baltic cruise are now going for what we booked the balcony! We're going in July. Thanks again.

[sailingkiwi]

My husband and I spent 10 days in Scandinavia last June (not a cruise, but a land trip). We didn't have a lot to spend, so did a lot of things that are free, or low cost. I think that with a bit of research you could approach all of your ports, with the exception of St Petersburg, in this way.

 

We used the Lonely Planet Scandinavia guide book, as well as Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, this book includes sections on Tallin and St Petersburg. As this book is aimed at people travelling on a budget it has great recommendations on lower cost activities and places to eat.

[kestrel]

The best views of my Baltic cruise are in Oslofjord and the Swedish Archipelago outside of Stockholm. We did not have a balcony, so we enjoyed the view from the deck.

[Bruin Steve]

If the insides are now going for what your balcony is booked for, it's all moot anyway...there's no advantage to switching...

 

For future reference, my opinion is this:

 

I like balconies. They make the cabin feel much bigger...and you do have extra room to venture outside, your own private deck, etc. If the price differential between a balcony and an inside is not overly large, I typically pay a little more and take the balcony, regardless of the itinerary.

 

However, and again regardless of the itinerary, I have no problem whatsoever with an inside cabin. All of the cabins go to the same ports, eat the same food, see the same entertainment.

 

You can usually save a great deal of money with the inside cabin...and, if you're the type who only use the cabin to sleep, change clothes and use the bathroom, you'll hardly notice that it's inside...And yes, for any great views, like sailing into Stockholm, just go out on deck...

 

We'll be cruising the Baltic this July on the Constellation in an inside cabin...The difference in price on my cruise between an inside and a balcony is about $1500 pp...That's THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS total...That pays for my airfare and my tips and my taxis...or, another way to look at it is that I've tacked on three extra nights in Stockholm and three extra nights in London...My hotels for those three nights will cost around $1200 total...If I spend another $100 a day in food and another $50 a day in taxis, admissions and activities, the cost of those extra 6 days of vacation will only cost me around $2100...And I've got a three week vacation instead of just a two week cruise...and still have $900 left to play with...

 

And what have I given up? A balcony that's usually too chilly to use anyway...on a port-intensive itinerary where we'll be touring some city 11 days out of 14 anyway and not getting back to the aship until dinner time...

[breakiron]

The Baltic cruise is the only cruise I've ever taken where the beer onboard was less expensive then the beer onshore. The only exception where the beer was less expensive onshore was in Gdansk, Poland. Ken...

[movinout]

Thanks for all your responses...I like the idea of no balcony and instead using the $$ for the airfare...should have thought of that sooner!:rolleyes: Have to try one of those insides, he's retiring soon and we need to keep up the cruising by whatever means. As for the beer...I'll pass that along to the DH! Those bar bills add up too.:)

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Thanks for your input..we've never done an inside cabin and do intend to try one in the future for the savings alone...cozy or claustraphobic...we'll have to see. The insides on this Baltic cruise are now going for what we booked the balcony! We're going in July. Thanks again.

 

Well then you got a great bargain for your balcony cabin if people are now paying the same amount for an inside cabin! You don't want to let that go. Also keep in mind that you've pretty much locked-in the price of a high-season 2008 European vacation at 2007 prices. While certainly there will be other expenses incurred, your cruise fare is a done deal no matter how terrible the dollar continues to fall.

 

BobK/Orlando

[TigerPooh]

We were booked in an aft balcony for what was the Inaugural Cruise of the Splendor in July. There are now two cruises in front of it, so it is the third cruise. With the cost of the cruise, airfare, airport transfers, hotels, excursions, the fuel surcharge and the euro, the cost was climbing fast. Since it was no longer the Inaugural Cruise, we decided to cancel and do some other cruises instead.

[Peregrina651]

We have never been on a cruise to the ports in the Baltics but have booked the new Carnival Splendor next July. I managed to snag a balcony on the tail of the ship..now my crazy question to those of you who have cruised here...is it worth all the expense? With the euro, airfare, and the cruise itself and now a fuel surcharge...it's climbing up there. We're weighing spending the money on this as opposed to a lot of trips here in the US. I know, it's all relative and kind of a who can tell me question...but did you think it an experience well worth the costs? Is it a scenic cruise? Thanks for any input. :confused:

We splurged a bit on a balcony (though not an aft balcony) this past summer and were so glad that we did. It was a treat (and we deserve one every now and then). Besides the fact that we ate breakfast out there on port days (and avoided the lines at the buffet), it was very nice to have our own balcony for watching the scenery go by. It was a guaranteed front row seat.

 

Yes, it was a scenic trip; you can see land most of the time even if it is in the distance and in early July, you are still in the period of the White Nights when the sun never seems to go down (we missed that). The best scenery was transiting the archipelago into Stockholm. It was nice not to have to get up before sunrise to get dressed so that we could find a spot on deck-- we just watched from the balcony in our bathrobes, and ate our breakfast. Transiting the Ij River on our way out of Amsterdam was pretty cool, too--watching the city slowly give way to the bright green of the countryside.

The balcony also provided hubby a comfortable, quiet place to sit while waiting for me to take my turn in the bathroom and it was a quiet refuge on sea days.

 

We ignored the downsides: it was a bit chilly in the morning (but those terry robes solved that problem) and the balcony had no protection against the rain.

[sailaway5]

We have never been on a cruise to the ports in the Baltics but have booked the new Carnival Splendor next July. I managed to snag a balcony on the tail of the ship..now my crazy question to those of you who have cruised here...is it worth all the expense? With the euro, airfare, and the cruise itself and now a fuel surcharge...it's climbing up there. We're weighing spending the money on this as opposed to a lot of trips here in the US. I know, it's all relative and kind of a who can tell me question...but did you think it an experience well worth the costs? Is it a scenic cruise? Thanks for any input. :confused:

 

We had an aft balcony cabin on our Baltic cruise last July. This has become our favorite cruise. We definitely enjoyed the balcony and the weather was cool but nice. You are protected from wind on the aft balcony. We had wonderful views and enjoyed all sailaways from the various ports from the back of the ship. Especially enjoyed Stockholm, Oslo and Kiel canal thru Germany. Saw alot of land and other ships. Enjoy your cruise - you won't be sorry.

[dog]

If you are staying in Copenhagen pre or post go to priceline.com and biddingfortravel.com to see what hotel prices are going at. This can be one of your most expensive costs as well as dining in places like Tivoli Copenhagen. I found the Scandinavian countries to be very expensive compared to the other countries on the Baltic cruise. Budget for the unexpected.

I'd say it was one of the best cruises I've been on (Star Princess) with the most interesting ports.

[mycruz]

This is certainly one of our favorite cruises and worth every bit we spent. Not once when we returned did we have any regrets about going. We were fortunate to have frequent flyer miles we used for flights, we did all ports on our own with the exception of St. Petersburg and Gdansk, went with private tour companies and saved over the cruise lines prices. We had a balcony cabin, usually book mini suites, but this is such a port intensive cruise that we were not in the room much. One of my favorite memories of this cruise was sailing out of St. Petersburg and standing on our balcony. If you are going to wait for the dollar to get stronger in Europe, you may be waiting a while.:)

[belle907]

We were booked in an aft balcony for what was the Inaugural Cruise of the Splendor in July. There are now two cruises in front of it, so it is the third cruise. With the cost of the cruise, airfare, airport transfers, hotels, excursions, the fuel surcharge and the euro, the cost was climbing fast. Since it was no longer the Inaugural Cruise, we decided to cancel and do some other cruises instead.

We have a spa suite booked for this cruise. Yes, we now know it's not an innaugural cruise and are hoping they get the 'kinks' worked out before we board.

We are looking forward to experiencing the new ports on our verandah no matter what the temps are.

We have a starboard cabin and hope the views are good ones.

[Luckysll]

I'm booked on the Splendor for Aug. 18/08 and have an oceanview cabin. I would have loved to have a balcony on this one, but I travel solo, and am doing a two week bus tour of England pre-cruise, so I had to cut costs and went without the balcony this time.

 

And I'm so glad I booked it early (the first day bookings were open), because if I had waited, I'm sure I wouldn't have booked given the price increases. There are no oceanview cabins left and an interior, solo rate, is going for almost $2000 more than I paid for my oceanview!

[CruisinMinnie]

The Baltic cruise is the only cruise I've ever taken where the beer onboard was less expensive then the beer onshore. The only exception where the beer was less expensive onshore was in Gdansk, Poland. Ken...

 

 

Now this is a post I'll have to show to DH! He does like his beer. :D