Central Park view vs Interior Oasis

[foxrunner]

We have an interior cabin, deck 10 forward on Oasis for our 2024 summer cruise from Barcelona. it is a very port intensive cruies, with only one sea day. We have only cruised in oceanview balconies, but with the increasing cost of cruising, wanted to see if we could save some money and still enjoy cruising with the interior room. Our TA let us know that for $220 total(plus we would get $50 onboard credit), we could switch to a Central Park view cabin on deck 9.  @OCSC Mike, you seem to be the king of interior cabins.  I would love anyone's opinions about choosing an interior vs. a central park view cabin on Oasis.  

TIA

 

 

[asquared17]

i can't advise you on an interior, but i can tell you that a central park cabin is really nice. you will have a lot of natural daylight as well, which helps with sleeping habits, and resetting your circadian rhythm (if dealing with timezone changes).

here are some pics of a CP balcony room — this was on harmony, but will give you the general idea. 

 

[Ryan79]

Central Park would be my pick for the light, BUT remember that there are rooms across from Central Park who can look into your room should you leave the curtains open. Even with that said, it’s still a slam dunk choice for me. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

While we have never stayed in a CP view, we have stayed in a CP balcony and as @asquared17 said, it is very nice to have natural light.  I believe that @AshleyDillo has stayed in a CO view.

[CanHardlyWait]

I'll take up the other side. It's a port intensive trip and you already were comfortable with an inside cabin. The vote on this issue, on this site, will Never come out 50/50 on this. Why spend the money if you plan to be off in ports everyday. Inside cabins tend to stay much colder out of the sun, this will make it more comfortable after a long day out. Plus sleeping at night in total darkness is a dream. Don't up your bottom line price to line the pockets of your TAs commission. Stick with your original decision.

[OCSC Mike]

I stayed in a CP view interior for the 1st time last month on Allure and while we're still perfectly content with a regular interior (I have 4 booked), we really did like the CP view for the added space even though we spent maybe 5 minutes in 5 days looking out the window. The room is bigger and the light from window was nice.

That said, I would only spend any money at all if I had more of a reason. In our case, it was less than $100 total for 5 nights and allowed us to upgrade from a GTY and choose our cabin. Only you can determine the value of the slightly bigger room, bench, and window. I don't need any of that but they were nice features. It was eliminating the risk of getting an interior on a low deck or one of the many connecting interiors that were left that was a key factor for us.

Hope that helps.

[ChessE4]

On our first trip from Barcelona the interior room helped me sleep, but room was cramped with teenage son. We like a little more space, but I like being able to sleep after a long port day.

[Ditchdoc]

We have done a central park balcony and liked it. Its a nice view and allows you to people watch.

There was very talented acoustic guitar player that would play some evenings in central park and it was very nice to just sit on the balcony, listen, and enjoy a glass of wine.

All in all, I think central park is one of the most amazing things ever put on a ship.

[AshleyDillo]

Having stayed in one, I personally wouldn't pay extra but I don't value the natural light or the space.

All of the points @OCSC Mike made are completely valid on why it may be worth it to spring for the CP view. The location of the rooms are great and you the window seating makes the room seem a bit more spacious.

[foxrunner]

14 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

It was eliminating the risk of getting an interior on a low deck or one of the many connecting interiors that were left that was a key factor for us.

Hope that helps.

We do have a connecting interior cabin right now.  When we selected it, that was all that was avaialble for interiors.  Do you find them to be loud?

[OCSC Mike]

26 minutes ago, foxrunner said:

We do have a connecting interior cabin right now.  When we selected it, that was all that was available for interiors.  Do you find them to be loud?

Only had one once ever. I think it's largely dependent upon your neighbors. We had quiet ones but that was just dumb luck.

Another concern with some connecting interiors is some don't have the little couch/love seat b/c it can block the connecting door so you only get a chair depending on the layout. I actually use the little couch so I wouldn't want a chair room. I saw multiple videos of aft interiors on Wonder that had the chair even in non-connecting rooms so all our cabins are forward.

You know how little I care about my cabin but you do have some red flags that would make me consider the CP view, especially if you think you might make use of the bench/window and/or enjoy the natural light. And then there's the couch/chair thing. Dunno if you can find a pic/video of your exact cabin on cruisedeckplans.com or something if you'd care about not having a couch.

[WAAAYTOOO]

19 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Another concern with some connecting interiors is some don't have the little couch/love seat b/c it can block the connecting door so you only get a chair depending on the layout.

^^This^^

[DunkelBierJay]

On Oasis class, I have only stayed in CP balconies and like them. Given a port intensive itinerary, I would seriously consider staying with the inside for a lot of the reasons posted previously. I am usually up before sunrise walking around the open decks so I can catch sunrises and a coffee, so I get my Vit D. If I was inclined to order room service for breakfast, I would stay with the CP balcony, but since your alternative is a CP View...I would stay where I was and use the extra money for a couple of really nice lunches in port or specialty dining.

[Pattycruise]

My mothetinlaw had an interior on Oasis and it did not have a comfortable chair or sofa.  The cabin was quite small with o my the vanity seat.   I was in an OV and when I saw her cabin I felt bad for her.

ive had a CP interior and it was so light, airy and spacious. Your net cost is $170 because you can either use that OBC for purchases or take it out via the slot machine in the casino, or if it is refundable OBC and goes unused it will go to your credit card on file

[OCSC Mike]

7 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

My mothetinlaw had an interior on Oasis and it did not have a comfortable chair or sofa.

These aren't common (I've never had one) but those are the interiors I mentioned that I'd prefer to avoid.

[Larry Muster]

We bounce back and forth between all cabin types but the one we were looking forward to the most was our Central Park Balcony.  However, it fell flat.  We did NOT enjoy CPB because of the noise.  There was always noise from CP or from the top deck.  We agreed that we'd prefer an ocean-facing balcony or an interior much better.

[asquared17]

^^ i would add an addendum to my earlier comments in a similar vein to this that we avoided a deck 14 CPB due to pool deck noise spillover.

but then again we tend to skip deck 14 for that reason entirely, anyway.

[steverk]

I had a CP balcony once. For me, never again. I felt like the there was no privacy. We had some noise bleed from above, but it was tolerable. The privacy was my big irritation. 

On the other hand, my kids love a CP balcony. They especially like hearing the music in the evening. 

[Linda R]

I would go for CP view personally.  I like having a window and the light.    CP balconies are nice too.  Less money than an ocean view balcony and can get fresh air and some sun.

[Cactus527]

We had a CP view cabin on Allure this summer. LOVED it for the extra space, the window seat, light from window, and people watching. I spent time in the cabin while my teens galavanted about because I was working, so I loved being able to curl up on the window seat with my laptop and do my work there. I would definitely recommend!

[Senior Cruisers]

On 11/24/2023 at 1:51 PM, foxrunner said:

We have an interior cabin, deck 10 forward on Oasis for our 2024 summer cruise from Barcelona. it is a very port intensive cruies, with only one sea day. We have only cruised in oceanview balconies, but with the increasing cost of cruising, wanted to see if we could save some money and still enjoy cruising with the interior room. Our TA let us know that for $220 total(plus we would get $50 onboard credit), we could switch to a Central Park view cabin on deck 9.  @OCSC Mike, you seem to be the king of interior cabins.  I would love anyone's opinions about choosing an interior vs. a central park view cabin on Oasis.  

TIA

If you've never booked an interior cabin I would suggest passing on it until you actually get on board a ship and actually check out an interior cabin...always dark night and day.  (Unless you get a "virtual" balcony if available which is nothing more than a giant screen/window that shows a camera view of the outdoors.)  We've had a Central Park balcony once and it was okay...looked more like you're in a land-based apartment building as view across the park space never changes but out on the balcony it is nice for the fresh air.  In both cabin settings you have no feeling of moving because the ship is so big and smooth.  Absolutely go with the Central Park cabin and, while there, ask your room steward, our just walk down the hall and look into an inside cabin that is being cleaned so the door is open.  Actually, we've had both and once was enough...I want to see outside and look at the ocean and port when docked.  Once was enough for us on both of these settings.  The Central Park was nice.  I've never had a Promenade cabin with a window on that but I think that would also be fun with all of the activity but again, once would probably be enough.  Just got off the Harmony of the Sea two weeks ago.  Senior citizen couple with 33 cruises so far. 

 

 

[Happy Cruisers]

On 11/25/2023 at 11:27 AM, DunkelBierJay said:

On Oasis class, I have only stayed in CP balconies and like them. Given a port intensive itinerary, I would seriously consider staying with the inside for a lot of the reasons posted previously. I am usually up before sunrise walking around the open decks so I can catch sunrises and a coffee, so I get my Vit D. If I was inclined to order room service for breakfast, I would stay with the CP balcony, but since your alternative is a CP View...I would stay where I was and use the extra money for a couple of really nice lunches in port or specialty dining.

Agreed, particularly for OP's itinerary.  Beyond showering and sleeping, we spent very little time in our cabin during our European itinerary last summer. 

Honestly, you'll likely be out exploring - all day - each day of your cruise.  The evenings, you'll be trying to do as much as you want to do on the ship while getting ready for the next day.  Other than maybe to the extent the natural light will help you wake up a bit more easily in the morning (you know, unless you close the curtains for privacy...), I don't see the value in this.  

And as someone else said, people can look directly into your cabin when your curtains are open.  That fact is really easy to forget in the moment.  Probably around two decades ago now (college-ish?), I was booked into a Prominade view interior cabin on a family trip back when those were the hot new thing and I think I might have accidentally overshared some personal details with some innocent passers by at some point   

Bottom line: I don't think the CP view is worth even a dollar more than the interior cabin on your particular itinerary.  Stick to what you initially booked and spend the money elsewhere.  Royal will make sure that you have plenty of opportunities to do so. 

[JimnKathy]

On 11/25/2023 at 5:53 AM, Ditchdoc said:

We have done a central park balcony and liked it. Its a nice view and allows you to people watch.

There was very talented acoustic guitar player that would play some evenings in central park and it was very nice to just sit on the balcony, listen, and enjoy a glass of wine.

All in all, I think central park is one of the most amazing things ever put on a ship.

Kathy and I love the CP balconies for all of the above reasons as well...our favorite decks are 10 and 11.

Just keep your shade drawn at night to maintain your privacy and you'll be good to go.

Happy Sailing!  

[foxrunner]

To close out this thread, thank you all for your excelent responces. We did move up to the central park view, predominatly because of our fear of noise bleed from the connecting interior. I'll report back post cruise about our findings! Keep cruising!