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The value proposition for balcony depends upon the price.  When there is a big jump for the balcony, I avoid it.  When it is nearer to the ocean view price, I go for it.  This varies by ship and cruise destination.  You do get more square footage for balcony (e.g., 180 sq ft vs 150), but only you can judge whether that is worthwhile.  When my wife and I are the only travelers, the 145-150 sq ft size is adequate.  With our son, we prefer the balcony.  On the Oasis class ships, the Boardwalk Balcony was a good deal for us.  We were comfortable, got free coke packages, and had a couple of free specialty dining opportunities.  I have found that I don't spend a lot of time in the stateroom, but that would likely change on a repositioning cruise that included a lot of sea days.  If you aren't yet at Diamond status, it may make sense to take more cruises with smaller rooms than splurge on a balcony, which doesn't affect your loyalty points at all.  We enjoy the Diamond perks more than the extra 30 square feet.  Also, given a finite budget, one needs to decide whether something like a nice excursion is more meaningful than extra closet space.  We all allocate our $$ in different ways.  Know what pleases you the most, and go for it!

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If money is no object then a balcony is nice.  The counter argument is who spends a lot of time in their cabin?  Some do, some don't.

As I have climbed up the C&A loyalty ladder my balcony discounts have gotten better so I sometimes will get a balcony depending on price.  I'm cruising a fair bit at the moment so a balcony isn't that important.  If I was only doing a cruise once every so many years I might be tempted to splurge for a balcony.  When cruising often it's much less of a "must have" feature and saving money on the cabin translates into money available for excursions or drink packages.

My best cruise memories almost always occur away from my cabin, out experiencing the ship or ports of call.  

It all depends on the cost to upgrade.

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I didn't have a balcony on my last cruise and I decided that I just can't do a cruise without it. When people say "you never spend any time in your room anyway", that may be true for some.  And in a room without a balcony, that's true for me.  But if I have a balcony, I actually do spend more time in my room, on the balcony, relaxing away from everyone else.   So it's really a personal thing.

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4 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I didn't have a balcony on my last cruise and I decided that I just can't do a cruise without it. When people say "you never spend any time in your room anyway", that may be true for some.  And in a room without a balcony, that's true for me.  But if I have a balcony, I actually do spend more time in my room, on the balcony, relaxing away from everyone else.   So it's really a personal thing.

Amen.

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We have booked a cabin without a balcony only once. Never again. We do spend time, especially in the afternoons, after excursions, etc. on the balcony enjoying a good book and perhaps an adult beverage. Given that we have to fly to any embarkation port, the incremental cost is not so great. And worth every dollar to us.

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39 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I didn't have a balcony on my last cruise and I decided that I just can't do a cruise without it. When people say "you never spend any time in your room anyway", that may be true for some.  And in a room without a balcony, that's true for me.  But if I have a balcony, I actually do spend more time in my room, on the balcony, relaxing away from everyone else.   So it's really a personal thing.

Amen +1

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1 hour ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I didn't have a balcony on my last cruise and I decided that I just can't do a cruise without it. When people say "you never spend any time in your room anyway", that may be true for some.  And in a room without a balcony, that's true for me.  But if I have a balcony, I actually do spend more time in my room, on the balcony, relaxing away from everyone else.   So it's really a personal thing.

I love the balcony and do spend time there. Most relaxing time is enjoying breakfast.

I try not to spend too much time on negative thoughts, but before we first started cruising, one of the rare events had just made the headlines....don't remember if it was a quarantine or what. Of course, it's those things that always make the news, but it did get me thinking. If something occurs that keeps us from leaving the cabin, or we get sick or there is a plumbing issue, I want to be able to go outside for some fresh air. The balcony gives us that peace of mind. Just my opinion.

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For the first time in a long time we didn't do a balcony on the Indy out of Southampton U.K.  and didn't miss it one bit.  Now with the said the weather while sailing wasn't exactly warm and only in the mid 50's so that definitely played a part!  This time the outside/window only was too good of price to pass up on so we saved the cash for deluxe drink packages.

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My wife and I always go for a balcony cabin since we do not have the opportunity to cruise nearly often enough (currently once every 2-3 years). We love the early morning and late evenings on the balcony (and I love watching the ship dock or leave port). On our last cruise on Allure, we went with a neighborhood balcony (Central Park) and were pleasantly surprised. We enjoyed listening to the musicians playing down in CP from our balcony and the view of CP all lit up at night. Also, there was a really nice breeze in Central Park on most days/nights.

Unless the ocean view balcony is closer in price (was about $500-$600 more on our sailing) when we look to book, I think we'll once again go for the CP balcony on our next cruise (targeting Harmony in 2021) to save the cash for some other perks.

If we cruise any other class of ship, we'll go for an ocean view balcony. However, when we have the opportunity to cruise more often down the road, we would definitely be open to inside cabins if the price is right. Also, if we do not get adjoining cabins with friends on our next cruise, I may just take a shot at the Royal Up bidding program!

I definitely agree it's a personal decision... what is a balcony with a table and chairs and fresh air worth to you? How much time will be spent on your balcony?

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5 minutes ago, twangster said:

Including ships with no balcony cabins or only ships that have balcony cabins?

My first thought was "you are not only a photography genius, you are also a comedian". Then I thought "wait, it may be a serious question".

Figuring that all the above is true, let's go with only ships that have balcony cabins.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Skid said:

My first thought was "you are not only a photography genius, you are also a comedian". Then I thought "wait, it may be a serious question".

Figuring that all the above is true, let's go with only ships that have balcony cabins.

Royal ships only, or all lines that I've cruised?

Virtual balconies or physical balconies?

I'm just messing with you... I only track balcony and suites, everything else is left over.

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For us it depends which balcony , if it is the small 50sq with only regular chairs we bearly use it , mainly to dry our clothes (after we secure them so they will not roam anyware). If it is bigger balcony which has the recliners my spouse enjoy to get some sun in it and I like to read a book there from time to time.

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We got a balcony room on our 1st RC cruise and have gotten one ever since.  I like to order a pot of coffee from room service first thing in the morning and really enjoy standing out on the balcony with my cup of tasty brew.  My take on the price difference is if you can afford it , get it.  You only have one go around in life so make it the most enjoyable.

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Our first cruise we went to CHEAP and last minute...so we had an interior room.  I was miserable... the whole time...seasick.  I decided I WOULD NEVER CRUISE AGAIN. 

Plus I'm claustrophobic.  But honestly, all we did was sleep and get ready in the room.  We were NEVER in the room. 

BUT, ff two years and we looked at cruises for our 25th anniversary.  The only way I would go was if we could splurge a bit and try a balcony to see if that helped my seasickness and claustrophobi.  I don't know if it was the balcony, or the LACK of dramamine...but it was a much better cruise.  We, or should I say EYE, am hooked on cruises.  After much research, I believe on that first cruise, I MADE MYSELF SEASICK by taking non-drowsy dramamine every day, even if I didn't realize I didn't need it. 

So, yes, like others have said, it is definitely a personal choice.  We have friends who cruise 2-3 times a year and they tried a balcony and hated it because it was money they couldn't spend on an excursion/drinks/extras. 

 

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With the caveat that I've only done two cruises so far, with two more coming up, I also feel that a balcony of some kind is normally a must-have. BUT, to every rule there is an exception, and I found mine in the Iceland & Greenland sailing I'm doing next year with Celebrity.

This particular cruise has a lot of factors that make getting a balcony cabin less than ideal:

  • It's a northern Transatlantic sailing, and even though it's going in early August it's going to get chilly for sitting on the balcony once we're north of Halifax
  • It's a somewhat port-intensive sailing -- I'll be in port 7 out of the 14 days, plus a day sailing a fjord where I expect to be wandering around the decks all day; two of those port days are an overnight in Reykjavik, where we're planning to pull an all-nighter off the ship
  • I'm expecting to spend a lot of time on sea days enjoying the live music on board, as well as the public spaces on the ship. So there's even less time in the cabin!
  • As a unique sailing, the pricing at every cabin level was bananas when I booked it, and it's only gotten worse since then; as in, I could buy a late-model used Honda CR-V for the price they're quoting for two balcony cabins right now, and a new Acura for a pair of Sky Suites! That's money I'd much rather put into the excursion budget!

So for this one sailing, I've booked two mid-ship inside cabins instead of two balconies or a suite. This may change if inventory opens back up after final payment and prices plummet, but with how popular this itinerary is proving so far, that's a really big "IF"!

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