Balcony question

[Spontaneous girl]

When people say that a balcony is a "must" I get a bit nervous.

 

My husband, two kids (ages 11 & 6), mom, and I will be traveling on the Zaandam on a 7-day Alaskan cruise on 6/19 (departing from Seattle). This was a last-minute whim of mine, as we were already traveling up to the area for a wedding and wanted to kick our Seattle plans up a notch. I also tend to be a very last-minute traveler, with some of my happiest memories coming when a trip materialized out of a whim.

 

We got extremely lucky, IMO, even finding this cruise. We had tight constraints w/time and budget, considering this wasn't something we were planning. We ended up booking 2 outside rooms. Had we been traveling w/out my mom, it would have made sense to pony up the extra money for a balcony suite since we would only be needing one room and the kids' cost is negligible. Because we invited my mom, we had to get two rooms (3- and 2-people) and thus only got the "kid break" for one of the kids, rather than both. By being nice, we greatly increased the cost of our trip (aw...but grandma's worth it!). :rolleyes:

 

The bottom line is that it would have been a fortune to cover the cost of two suites. We just felt lucky to pull this surprise trip together. None of us has ever been on a cruise, nor have we toured Alaska.

 

That said, how "critical" is not having a balcony going to be? I went from being psyched about my first cruise to worrying that we're going to be quite disappointed. I just assumed (when I booked) that a cruise would be fantastic regardless of my room. HAL gets great reviews. Then again, I have nothing to which to compare it.

 

Thoughts?

[jtl513]

We've done two AK cruises without a veranda cabin. A friend with us on our last one who had a veranda got very little use out of it because of poor weather. We spend very little time in our cabin, and consider a veranda a nicety, but certainly not a necessity in AK. Your best viewing of the glaciers will be from a forward public deck and not a private veranda anyway. And if something is said over the public address about something to see while you are in your cabin, the Lower Promenade is never very far away from OVs on the Main and Dolphin decks.

 

You'll still have a great time without a verandah!!

 

P.S. - Welcome to Cruise Critic! :D

[Sailorgirlseattle]

I wouldn't worry about not having a balcony. Yeah, they're great ... but they're not necessary. I find myself up in the Crows Next lounge a lot, watching the world go by from there, and there are a ton of other public spaces, both indoor and outdoor, that you can all enjoy. You should have a great time!

[Jewel99]

I just wanted to clarify one thing... you mentioned not being able to afford two suites, but there are verandah staterooms that aren't suites, so you might be able to get a verandah within your budget.

 

Even still, when we did an Alaska cruise about 11 years ago, we had an oceanview stateroom - we didn't spend much time in our room, and we really enjoyed the sights from the various decks and public areas (including a large pod of whales that went by one night during dinner).

 

From my point of view - a cruise you can afford in any stateroom is better than something you can't afford in a fancy suite. Having grandma along is way, way, way better than a balcony :-)

 

If you really wanted a balcony, one other option would be to see if you could get rooms across the hall from one another.

 

Also - bear in mind - for Alaska cruise, a lot of the views will depend on which side of the ship you're on, so a balcony might not give you the views you'd want, so I'd save the money and use it for some cool excursion for the family.

[Mary Ellen]

That said, how "critical" is not having a balcony going to be?

IMHO - not at ALL! We've sailed to Alaska 5 times. Two of those we did have a verandah - due to my step-mom's severe claustrophobia. We REALLY didn't use our verandahs, having been to Alaska before, we felt VERY limited out the on the verandah. We were only seeing half the scenery (it is all around the ship). We spent our time out on the decks. I'm sure on one cruise I was only out on our verandah 15-min TOTAL the entire cruise. DH was out less than that. The other cruise - maybe half and hour.

 

We've been back to Alaska once since those cruises. We were without my 'parental units' and had a regular old outside cabin. Didn't miss the verandah at all. Now, the extra space in an 'S' suite - that is a different matter..... ;)

 

Go - enjoy yourselves. Certainly don't worry about this. Have a GREAT cruise!

[RuthC]

That said, how "critical" is not having a balcony going to be?

It's not at all critical. And don't let the idea that it is rain on your parade (there's enough rain in Alaska already ;)).

 

I've cruised to Alaska four times, and I'm a confirmed cave dweller. I would be so grateful to have a window! :D

I spend most of my time outdoors appreciating the scenery all around me. I can't imagine being limited by one narrow view.

 

Go and enjoy.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!!

No matter what cabin you are in -- you will have an excellent cruise.

Go and enjoy Alaska!!

[Spontaneous girl]

I feel a lot better. I was beginning to worry about my decision. My friend who has cruised several times (and is a particularly picky individual) kept pushing the point that I "really should try to upgrade..." which made me feel pretty crummy, which is why I posted the question. I am relieved to hear that many of you didn't use your verandah much.

 

It's going to be fun. I insist!

[mtnmusic]

I feel a lot better. I was beginning to worry about my decision. My friend who has cruised several times (and is a particularly picky individual) kept pushing the point that I "really should try to upgrade..." which made me feel pretty crummy, which is why I posted the question. I am relieved to hear that many of you didn't use your verandah much.

 

It's going to be fun. I insist!

"Ditto" to not needing a balcony. The absolute only time we used ours was when we were in Glacier Bay and even then there was a better view from the Crow's Nest or any of the open decks.

[Jewel99]

Also - remember that it's all relative and subjective.

 

There will always be someone who comments to someone booked into an inside cabin that they can't imagine not having at least a window. Then there's someone who'll think they could never book at outside stateroom without having a balcony. Then someone else will think that a cruise can't be enjoyed unless you're in a suite. And to go full circle, there will be some who will say they can't imagine paying a single penny more than necessary as all they need is a bed and love spending their money elsewhere than on a bigger room, or on a better view, or having a concierge, etc.

 

It really is all subjective, and you'll have an amazing time wherever you end up with rooms. What is important for some people won't be important to you, etc. I can't wait to hear all about your trip if you decide to post a review. :-)