Is balcony worth it?

[escapeready]

We have an inside cabin in October for Carribean. We have the opportunity for a balcony all the way forward on Baja deck.I've never had a balcony. Is it worth the difference in price? Is it too small to really enjoy? Can you fit a lounge chair on it? Any advice would be appreciated.

[grandmato4]

We love our balcony cabins and often book one on Baja. No, there is not room for a lounge chair on the regular balconies. Two chairs and a small table. We find it plenty of room for two for enjoying some quiet time in the beautiful Carribean temperatures early in the morning and late in the afternoon and evening. We usually bring breakfast back to our cabin several mornings to enjoy on our balcony. My own concern would be being all the way forward-as one usually feels a bit more of the motion there. I don't have to be perfectly midship but avoid "all the way" forward or fully aft but that is a personal thing so it may be fine for you. Enjoy your cruise!:)

[crusdiva]

We have an inside cabin in October for Carribean. We have the opportunity for a balcony all the way forward on Baja deck.I've never had a balcony. Is it worth the difference in price? Is it too small to really enjoy? Can you fit a lounge chair on it? Any advice would be appreciated.

Absolutely!

But be warned, once you sail with one you'll never want to go without it.

It's fabulous to get up in the morning and stroll across the cabin and open the doors and step outside to test the weather. Late at night go out and count the stars. Have coffee in the morning, a drink in the afternoon - watch a sunrise or sunset.

I say - go for it!

[mtaylor04]

We have stayed in an inside, balcony, mini suites and the VS suite. For us, it's worth it to have the balacony...but I think it's subjective depending on the person and the price.

 

If you can afford it, by all means make the change.....you won't regret it:D

[womancruiser]

We always book a balcony cabin, if its warm we love to sit out there and have a glass of wine and read a good book. Sometimes you need to get away from the crowds of people and with a balcony your still enjoying the weather and not inside a cabin. You can have your moring coffee or tea out there too or try having breakfast on the balcony. You will be hooked once you have a cabin with a balcony. Go for it.

[Shawnesville]

The balcony extends your cabin's square footage from (roughly) 270 to infinity. :D

[hughdm]

We never thought it would matter much to us. We always said, "We never spend time in the cabin anyway". Then Carnival upgraded us to a balcony cabin. Now we will never go back. We never spent time in our cabin BECAUSE we didn't have a balcony. No striving for deck chairs! If it's a matter of money, we'll wait until we can afford the balcony. But everyone likes different things... By the way, if you get a balcony on Princess, try the Ultimate Balcony Dinner!

[mii]

I said the same thing as all of the above posters said. For me balcony is a must. Been inside, oceanview, etc. If you can afford it go for it. You will not reqret it.

 

Marilyn

[tequilasunrise]

Just to play devil's advocate.....we started with balcony rooms and changed to insides. Obviously I can't argue that a balcony is better than no balcony, if all other things are equal. But, for two people it can be more than $600 more for a simple 7 day cruise, far more for exotics. if you truly don't spend much time in your room (that's us), are on a budget and want to do more shore excursions, or want to spend money in other areas (casino, specialty activities, etc) then an inside can be a great money saver.

 

Also, if you are sensitive to motion an inside midship can be a better deal than a balcony far forward or aft because of the motion.

 

I think it's a personal decision, because I sure can't argue against any of the reasons the other posters mentioned...I think they are all true. Only you can decide if the money difference makes it worth it to you. And it's not a sure thing that you will get those great moments either--there's always the risk of bad neighbors ruining those (smoke, intense perfume, noise, etc), or really bad weather, and then the money's just gone.

 

Whatever you do, enjoy your cruise!

[BigGuy25]

We always book a balcony cabin on the Lido deck. I agree with the others ... once you have one, you'll never want to sail without one. We spend a lot of time on deck, in the pools, etc. But, it's always nice to take in some "quiet" time on the balcony.

[cruzinchris]

Absolutely! But be warned, once you sail with one you'll never want to go without it. It's fabulous to get up in the morning and stroll across the cabin and open the doors and step outside to test the weather. Late at night go out and count the stars. Have coffee in the morning, a drink in the afternoon - watch a sunrise or sunset...

 

Hi, Sharon.

If having a balcony or sailing in an inside stateroom can make the difference between one or two cruises a year, I would rather cruise without a balcony :D

 

Mike and I have enjoyed balconies on most of our Princess cruises, but we've had enjoyable voyages in inside staterooms, as well. We've found inside accommodations to be very quiet day and night. We're also not forced to vacate our balcony when there are smokers or noisy passengers around as noted on some of our cruises. Princess ships have so many private nooks & crannies for reading, playing Scrabble, doing puzzles, etc. that it's easy to get out of our stateroom but still feel that we're not on a crowded ship.

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[Pam in CA]

For me, it all depends. I thoroughly enjoy having my own balcony and when I book a cabin with a balcony, I use it for watching sailaways, quiet reading during the day, sleeping with the door open at night, etc. However, if I'm going on an expensive, port-intensive cruise, I opt for a basic oceanview cabin since I'll be mostly just sleeping in the cabin. If there are lots of sea days, I opt for a balcony cabin.

[elou]

Hi, personally I would not pay the difference since I cruise 3-4 times per year. I rather save for that extra cruise. Since I live in South Florida, I must say that it is usually still hot and humid in October. Floridians hope it cools off sometime in November, if lucky. If the possibility of high humidity might not bother you on the balcony, go for it. Just enjoy your cruise.

[Druke I]

I tend to go along with what Pam in Ca says.

 

We like a balcony cabin on itineraries with a lot of sea days - nice to sit out there, relax, read a book, and watch the ocean.

 

On a port-intensive cruise, we are very happy with an oceanview cabin.

[flag fan]

One advantage of a balcony that hasn't been mentioned is the ready access to fresh air. Even if you don't sit out on the balcony much, that could be a major benefit, particularly if you are on a ship with air conditioning problems (like the Caribbean Princess is having and which will continue to have for some cabins until it goes into dry dock next year). However, I think tequilasunrise makes a good point; location is also important and if you are moving from low mid-ship to a higher deck at the front of the ship, there will be more movement in the cabin, which may be a factor if you are concerned about seasickness.

[paul929207]

For us the answer is yes, but it depends on your preferences and finances.

[Jeter02]

Totally worth it. I have traveled only with a balcong and can never seeing myself doing anything below a balcony. They are so relaxing and the views are absolutely breath taking. I love going out to sit on the balcony to to lay back and enjoy the wonderful fresh air.

[yorky]

I think it depends on price. we had a balcony cabin on QM2 in April for the first time on our honeymoon and we loved it. However we are in an inside with Princess again in January.

 

Why? the difference in price is a staggering £4400 or $8700 for the two of us between an inside and a standard balcony for a 14 night cruise.

I don't believe you can justify that level of difference for any 14 night cruise when you think what you could buy for that money given everything else on the ship is the same regardless.

[cdngrl]

lump me in with the rest: i love a balconly. however, i usually book interior or ov as that's far more in my budget. at least i'm on the ship! :)

[PescadoAmarillo]

For us, a balcony is like apartment living, and an inside is like single family house living. There is a definite feeling of lack of privacy with a balcony cabin, and your enjoyment of your balcony is dependent upon the behavior of your neighbors. We actually prefer the peace and quiet of an inside cabin.

[donaldsc]

IMHO, generally a balcony is not worth the extra cost. You can get as good a view of the outside as you can from your balcony. The only caveat is that you can not do it with no clothes on.

 

That said, certain trips such as Alaska would be worth it to have the balcony.

 

DON

[rebeccalouise]

I have sailed in an inside twice now (out of 27 cruises) and I have come to the conclusion that I can afford to cruise more often if I do insides.

 

I thought that I would feel claustrophobic but I didn't. We did a 12 night cruise through the British Isles for $3000 instead of $ 5000. I spent $ 1000 onboard and about $ 500 on land. So all in toll, we spent about $4500 instead of $ 6500. It just depends on what is more important to you- the money or the view from your stateroom.

 

The big advantage to having a balcony is that you can sit out there in your robe with room service breakfast or dinner. That's a very nice option!

[madelinerose]

We never spent time in our cabin BECAUSE we didn't have a balcony.

 

Amen, this says it all in one short sentence. ;)

[rcacace]

If you only do a cruise once in a while & the price doesn't hold you back - do it. For us, we are always cruising & only if the price is right we we opt for one. On 15 day cruise to Hawaii we didn't use it all that much one year (to cool) & didn't get on the second year we went but In the Caribbean you can use it an any time.

[cruisecrasy]

IMHO, generally a balcony is not worth the extra cost. You can get as good a view of the outside as you can from your balcony. The only caveat is that you can not do it with no clothes on.

 

That said, certain trips such as Alaska would be worth it to have the balcony.

 

DON

 

While a balcony is nice & I agree perhaps for a first trip to Alaska, a window also provides great views without the huge expense for a balcony so I recommend u not bother with a balcony in Alaska. If u want/need lite simply book a window cabin.

 

The costs 'skyrocket' from inside & window to balcony anyway and because of the cooler weather in May & Sept and this is something to consider also - the weather can be very unpredictable in Alaska all season - like 2008s so far for example.

U likely won't use it much, if at all in Alaska, so why not save the $ & spend it elsewhere or even better on another cruise? :)

 

Have happy cruisin'!