Balcony.....Is it Worth it?

[pe4all]

YES, it is worth every penny!

[madelinerose]

Yes, a balcony is "worth it". ;)

[Calker]

Are you in your room alot? Do you prefer to sit outside by yourself or do you enjoy people watching? Do you like to fall asleep and wake up to the sound of the water?

My husband and I have very different opinions on a balcony - we are rarely in our room, but I do like to site on the balcony to watch the sunrise and sunset - it's just not quite the same with hundreds of people around. I love to have the door open to fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean.

My husband feels that for the extra money he would prefer another visit to the spa for a massage, another excursion, a souvenir, or another deposit on a future cruise. Once you have had a cabin with a balcony you will find it hard to go back to an "ocean view" cabin.

So my final answer is "it depends" you have to weigh all of the pros and cons and decide for yourself.

[floridacruiser63]

We are planning our third cruise. We didnt have a balcony on our first two cruises and are considering a balcony for our next. We liked the inner cabins because they were very dark (great for sleeping) and it suited our needs as we werent in the room very much anyway (out of the room from 8am - 1am usually). However, your own private balcony sure does sound nice and DH could smoke his cigars out there. Is a balcony worth the extra money or should I just apply that money to my bar tab!! Thanks!

 

That is a personal decision, only you can decide if it is worth the extra money. In our case, we love balconies and sail in one every time we can (financially), otherwise we are happy with an outside cabin, even an inside if necessary.;)

[BePreparedAlways]

We love to leave the cabin door open while we sleep (weather permitting). We love the sound of the ocean waves.

[YooperGale]

We are planning our third cruise. We didnt have a balcony on our first two cruises and are considering a balcony for our next. We liked the inner cabins because they were very dark (great for sleeping) and it suited our needs as we werent in the room very much anyway (out of the room from 8am - 1am usually). However, your own private balcony sure does sound nice and DH could smoke his cigars out there. Is a balcony worth the extra money or should I just apply that money to my bar tab!! Thanks!

 

I've only been only been on 3 cruises and always had a balcony, so I don't know what it is like without one. However, I would say a balcony is a must for an Alaskan cruise--so much scenery! The scenery on our Western Caribbean cruise did not compare!

Gale

[Skruffy]

We went on our first cruise in March and had 2 rooms with balconies. My daughter was not feeling well the first 3 days of the cruise so the balcony became our haven. While she was resting in the cabin, I could still be close by and enjoy the fresh air and scenery. When she felt up to it she would join me on the balcony and sit in the sun. We ordered breakfast, lunch, she thought that was just fantastic.

 

Take the balcony!

 

Skruffy

[DreamTeam]

We are planning our third cruise. We didnt have a balcony on our first two cruises and are considering a balcony for our next. We liked the inner cabins because they were very dark (great for sleeping) and it suited our needs as we werent in the room very much anyway (out of the room from 8am - 1am usually). However, your own private balcony sure does sound nice and DH could smoke his cigars out there. Is a balcony worth the extra money or should I just apply that money to my bar tab!! Thanks!

 

We will let you know after our very first cruise in September lol

 

After originally being booked "inside" for both legs of our B2B, Sue scored a balcony for the Alaska leg for an extra $100 per night. A splurge we think will be worth it for Alaska.

 

Cost is big factor for us, as is with a lot of people. Especially when you need to fly half way round the world to get to some places to cruise.

 

We know we will enjoy both cruises but having the balcony for Alaska will be special.

 

Cheers

Col & Sue

[Jackrjc]

It appears this is a purely personal choice, and for some influenced by economics. Roughly, on the cruises I have looked at (spirit class) it appears that if you take a 4a guarantee instead of an 8a guarantee, it means two people could take about 4 one-week cruises versus 3 one-week cruises with a balcony and still have a few dollars left over. Of course the savings are greater if you compare a 4a to a Cat 11. This can probably be argued successfully from each perspective. Probably, largely based on one's economic situation and how often one wants to cruise. Spend the budget on one cruise "in style" or cruise more often or use the savings for something else. For us, at least right now, our decision for our next two planned cruises is a 4a guarantee.

I had a 5A on the Legend and was not in the room much. Maybe I would have been if I had a balcony, but instead I used the ship as my balcony at all hours. However, human nature being what it is, I think I would probably fall into the category of once having a balcony I would probably always prefer a balcony. I say this because once I began to fly internationally in business class, it became very difficult to fly on long trips in the cattle car, oh I'm sorry, I mean economy class. Just my opinion.