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Right-side Window or Left-side Balcony on NB Alaska Cruise?


baltodave

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We have a "Oceanview" (i.e. window) on the right side of Radiance on a northbound Alaska cruise (Vancouver -> Seward) and already thinking about possible doing a "RoyalUp".  So, I was wondering what peoples opinions were...

What would you prefer for a Radiance-class ship doing a one-way Northbound Alaskan cruise (Vancouver to Seward):

1. Oceanview (i.e. window) stateroom on the right side of the ship

2. Balcony on left side of ship.

Thanks!

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I'll play a bit of devil's advocate and say the view from your cabin in Alaska isn't nearly as big of a deal as people make it out to be. When there's something truly exciting to see, you're going to want to be up on a deck somewhere, not in your cabin, even if you have a balcony.

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4 hours ago, baltodave said:

We have a "Oceanview" (i.e. window) on the right side of Radiance on a northbound Alaska cruise (Vancouver -> Seward) and already thinking about possible doing a "RoyalUp".  So, I was wondering what peoples opinions were...

What would you prefer for a Radiance-class ship doing a one-way Northbound Alaskan cruise (Vancouver to Seward):

1. Oceanview (i.e. window) stateroom on the right side of the ship

2. Balcony on left side of ship.

Thanks!

RE: #2. option; If you are doing a "RoyalUp"; you will have no choice as to what side it is on.    That being said, personally I would save the money and use it for an excursion. You will want to be up high on the main deck as much as possible while in AK

 

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12 minutes ago, Qeyton Dude said:

RE: #2. option; If you are doing a "RoyalUp"; you will have no choice as to what side it is on.    That being said, personally I would save the money and use it for an excursion. You will want to be up high on the main deck as much as possible while in AK

 

Well,  we have an "oceanview" (window) on deck 4.  Odds are, if I'm successful with RoyalUp, we'll get a balcony on the left side.  And, that would mean a higher deck. (I don't think there are any balconies on deck 4).

 

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Having done a number of Alaska cruises in everything from interior to suites I would suggest it doesn't matter what side of the ship you are on.  

At times sailing along the coast you may see land in the distance and at times on a clear day you will see a mountain range that runs along the coast.  That's it.  There is no other reason to prefer that side of the ship.   Any marine life will be all over.  No one told the marine life to stay on the land side of all cruise ships so they run amok and appear everywhere.  

A balcony is not essential but always nice.   However even when I have had a balcony I tended to be all around the ship taking in Alaska from all sides.   

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All things being equal, I would always prefer a balcony.  Having said that, My wife and I sailed the southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver this past August.  I booked a balcony and paid what I considered a significant premium over an ocean view for this privilege and we did not use the balcony nearly enough to justify the premium.  There are some things to consider, first, this was our first and maybe only Alaska trip so we maximized our time in port.  We booked excursions everyday and explored the ports/towns after our excursions ended.  These cruises are port intensive, 4 port days, with a lot of time in port.  We were off the ship before 9:00 AM each day and didn't get back on until almost all aboard time.  Second, we were also very lucky in that the weather was beautiful, warm and sunny everyday, so it was very easy, even preferred, to be exploring in port or out on the deck for long periods of time.  I am sure we would have used the balcony a lot more if we hadn't booked as many excursions, if we had visited these ports previously or if the weather had not been so cooperative and the balcony offered sheltering from rain and wind.  Everyone cruises differently so only you can decide how much an upgrade is worth to you, but based upon my experience I wouldn't pay a large premium for the privilege of a balcony.  Hope this helps.

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12 minutes ago, SolariumSnoozer said:

All things being equal, I would always prefer a balcony.  Having said that, My wife and I sailed the southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver this past August.  I booked a balcony and paid what I considered a significant premium over an ocean view for this privilege and we did not use the balcony nearly enough to justify the premium.  There are some things to consider, first, this was our first and maybe only Alaska trip so we maximized our time in port.  We booked excursions everyday and explored the ports/towns after our excursions ended.  These cruises are port intensive, 4 port days, with a lot of time in port.  We were off the ship before 9:00 AM each day and didn't get back on until almost all aboard time.  Second, we were also very lucky in that the weather was beautiful, warm and sunny everyday, so it was very easy, even preferred, to be exploring in port or out on the deck for long periods of time.  I am sure we would have used the balcony a lot more if we hadn't booked as many excursions, if we had visited these ports previously or if the weather had not been so cooperative and the balcony offered sheltering from rain and wind.  Everyone cruises differently so only you can decide how much an upgrade is worth to you, but based upon my experience I wouldn't pay a large premium for the privilege of a balcony.  Hope this helps.

Thanks for your comments.  We are hoping for good weather as well since we are going in June.  We are currently booked in the window room and was just thinking about doing the RoyalUp (if it's not too much $$).  It seems on the Vision and Radiance class ships, the balcony rooms are a lot more expensive since there aren't that many of them (compared to the newer ships).   Also, we've booked the Mendenhall glacier/whale watching excursion in Juneau and the White Pass train in Skagway already.  

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52 minutes ago, baltodave said:

we've booked the Mendenhall glacier/whale watching excursion in Juneau

We also booked a Mendenhall glacier/whale watching excursion.  Ours was titled Alaska's whales, glaciers & Rainforest Trails.   I highly recommend this excursion, it was a small group and therefore a smaller whale watching boat that allowed the captain to get closer to the whales.  Here is a link with a couple of pictures from our trip:

 

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