Worth upgrading from inside room to balcony??

[dna515]

On my first cruise, I ad an interior room. I didn't know any better and loved it. (ignorance is bliss!) On my second cruise, we booked a balcony. Sometimes I think that I shouldn't have spoiled myself so soon because now I can never go back! There is nothing like waking up n the morning and walking out on your balcony. Or having a pre-dinner glass of wine. Or getting out of the shower and walking on your balcony. Or doing ANYTHING on your balcony!

 

If you plan on cruising again in the future, you might not want to spoil yourself too soon bc it is a few hundred dollars more. On the other hand, my philosophy is "I'll be rich a day later!" and enjoy your vacation to the fullest.

 

Either way, have a wonderful time!

[pe4all]

We have been fortunate to be able to book balcony cabins only. Couldn't live without ours, as we travel with our 2 teens, and it adds an extra room. We love the privacy of the balcony (for many reasons:cool:) - but most of all, after a day "with the crowds" on deck, with music blasting, or being wall to wall lounges, the peace, quiet and solitude of our balcony can't be substituted for anything else. It becomes our own private "island". And we love watching the late-comers running back to the ships at the ports! If you can swing it, go for the balcony.

[NYcruiserNY]

I too am on the Carnival but July 9th with a balcony that was 150 extra per person to have which I felt was worth it....Let me know how your cruise goes..Thanks

[Shadow3]

Last November we (me, DH, and 2 DD's) went on the Victory and had an inside cabin with 1 queen bed and 2 upper bunks. We were cramped in that room and vowed to never to an inside cabin again. Plus, when we were in port everyday, we would see people on their balconies and were jealous.

Well, we just booked the Legend for next August and the difference between an inside and balcony was $500. Before I booked the cruise my DH and I talked about which cabin to go with and he was happy with the inside cabin (how easily we forget!! :)) so I booked the inside cabin. Well, the reviews I was reading for the ship we are going on, alot of people were talking about how wonderful a balcony is......so I called Carnival and asked what the upgrade would cost for the balcony and it was still $500 and I went ahead and booked it and no I did not tell my DH! I have decided to SURPRISE him and the kids when we get on the ship and when the cabin door is opened. I'm putting money aside to pay for the difference and pay it before the final payment is due. I know he will be happy and the kids will be beside themselves. We had a balcony many years ago and we loved it and I'm looking forward to our next cruise.

 

If your able to afford it, go for it, you won't regret it!

[deepnite10]

it s like doing drugs..

 

one cruise in a balcony and your addicted.:p

[misguidedangel]

Balcony all the way!!!!

 

You can't watch sailaway privately if your on deck with everyone else.

 

You can't get up early and enjoy the sunrise if you have an inside cabin. You'd have to go on deck, and I doubt at 5-6am you'd wanna get dressed or go out in your jammies (with a robe) on deck to watch the sunrise, or a sail into port.

 

When total solitude/peace and quiet is needed your balcony is a nice place to go to go

 

The breeze is mother natures blow drier--hang out on deck for 10-15 minutes with wet hair and it will be dry. In the case of my hair, one slow circuit around Panorama deck and then breakfast dries my hair enough to put in a ponytail for the day

 

There is nothing like relaxing out on the balcony before bedtime

 

Some ports have "entetainers" near the ships gangway to entertain you. A balcony means you can sit or stand and watch the free entertainment. I warn you, tossing money down is welcomed by them, but do it when no one is around cuz I'm sure a quarter thrown from the height of a 6-11 story building would hurt if it hit someone....

 

The balcony is a nice place to plop oneself down after a LONG day of shopping in port!!

 

I've had breakfast on my balcony and it is nice...I've also had pizza, ice cream, Mexican, etc and it is nice to not have to try to find a table...

 

GO for it!!!!

[cmlmich]

Thanks everyone. We have decided to spend the extra $500 for the balcony. We still have seven months to pay for this cruise so we have time. My friend just took this exact same cruise in Feb. and spent close to what we will and he had a interior room. :D

[FlaKrznNubie]

Hi,

 

First time user on the forum and I will be cruising for our first time. We are planning on booking the Victory cruise for Jan. 31. Would it be worth the extra $$ to upgrade to a balcony room instead of a standard inside room?

 

Thanks for any opinions.

 

Curt

 

Hard to say what you want more... balcony or some extra cash ?

 

I will never sail without a balcony and consider it the lowest level of cabin which is acceptable to my tastes. To be able to open the door and step outside of the little steel box of a cabin makes a big difference to me.

 

It is different for many others.

[Diving Rabbit]

Thanks everyone for the responses. To answer some of the questions, it is a seven day southern caribbean and the cost difference from inside with no window to balcony would be $580 total, which covers both of our tickets. Having our morning coffee and watching sunsets from our own deck does sound pretty nice. All of your responses does help out alot.

 

Also, blingbling mentioned looking for free or low cost upgrades, how do I do that??

 

Our first two cruises were ocean view. The third cruise, we were upgraded to a balcony when the price of our cruise dropped 4 times in a month. I found out about checking for price drops and calling for onboard credits due to those price drops on the cruise site forums. I would have never known without it. Each time the price was lower, I called Carnival, which I had booked directly with. Each time, they gave me an onboard credit for the difference. On the fourth call, they upgraded me from an OV to a balcony, let me keep the onboard credit and said "We will do all of this so long as you promise to not call again." LOL Persistance paid off!!!

 

The balcony, to us, was like a completely new cruise experience. Coffee and sunrise, late nights watching the stars, keeping the door open to listen to the waves and the sea air. Another great thing about the balcony is pulling into port and leaving port.

 

I will only book a balcony from now on. Let that be a warning to you, though. Once you get a balcony, it's hard to go back, which means it's not just the cost difference on this cruise, but all cruises from now on.

 

Have a great cruise.

[thomarvin]

Even though you are booked keep checking the prices DAILY. Our price dropped for a short time and I got back over 200 per person. I saved over $1000 just by checking all the time. But then it started to go up again. You can get the price drop untill final payment is made.