DocLC Posted February 14, 2015 Report Share Posted February 14, 2015 On Episode 52 of the podcast and on this board, we debated balcony or not. My stance has always been they're nice, but only if reasonably priced compared to lower category cabins. My general rule is if they're $100 or so more per person, it's worth it. If more, then not. Applying this same logic to longer cruises would simply be to double the above stated amounts. However, my wife, who does none of the cruise planning, has vetoed this logic for our upcoming Norwegian Fjords/Iceland cruise. After showing her some YouTube videos--Thanks Matt for the suggestion in another post ;)--she has declared that we MUST have a balcony because of the scenic nature of the cruise. Her logic is that I justified a balcony on our two Alaska cruises, so this proves an exception to the rule. To add to the hypocrisy, we're in the same cabin as on the Jewel because it is the best midship cabin available even though I complained about the noise from the centrum previously. The plus side is that this cabin has a Pullman, which the same cabin on the Jewel did not have. Off to Hypocritics Annonymous . . . Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 Sometimes it feels good to be wrong! DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSoxFan Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 You're not a hypocrite, you just reevaluated your baseline standards taking into account new information unique to the situation. :D Not to hijack but which cabin did you have on the Jewel? I have a hump cabin booked on a 4 night on the Brilliance. I understand about the noise from the Centrum. On the Jewel a few weeks ago the people in the Centrum goaded the band into playing one more song and before they were halfway through the CD was down there shutting them down because people were calling quest services to complain. Matt and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobroo Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 I am a proud BALCONY SNOB! Give me balcony or give me death! The only way I would accept a lesser room is when RCL has those inside rooms for $30 or less per night. Only then I might consider another night in "a closet". WhiteSoxFan and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted February 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 We were in 7094, which is the same cabin we grabbed on the Brilliance mainly because it's a midship location (a necessity for my wife) and on the lowest deck possible (I think) for a balcony cabin. The Centrum noise was pretty bad. Fortunately, my wife uses a white noise app, so that helped quite a bit. You also can't go wrong with the large balcony and being so close to the Centrum, making it easy to get anywhere quickly, especially if using the center staircase. The downside on the Jewel is that we only had a sofa bed as an option for my son. On the Brilliance, the cabin has a pullman bunk, so that will make the room more useable as it was nearly impossible to pass the sofa bed when it was unfolded as it butted up to the desk area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSoxFan Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 I am a proud BALCONY SNOB! Give me balcony or give me death! The only way I would accept a lesser room is when RCL has those inside rooms for $30 or less per night. Only then I might consider another night in "a closet". We too are balcony snobs. Only once in nine cruises have we not had a balcony and that was on our first cruise on the Majesty. We were in 7094, which is the same cabin we grabbed on the Brilliance mainly because it's a midship location (a necessity for my wife) and on the lowest deck possible (I think) for a balcony cabin. The Centrum noise was pretty bad. Fortunately, my wife uses a white noise app, so that helped quite a bit. You also can't go wrong with the large balcony and being so close to the Centrum, making it easy to get anywhere quickly, especially if using the center staircase. The downside on the Jewel is that we only had a sofa bed as an option for my son. On the Brilliance, the cabin has a pullman bunk, so that will make the room more useable as it was nearly impossible to pass the sofa bed when it was unfolded as it butted up to the desk area. Great balcony on that cabin. I wanted to book any of the first two cabins foreward or aft of the elevators but they were taken so ai went on the starboard side. Not nearly as big a balcony but good views. DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted February 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Yes, they are great cabins given the size of the balcony. The real only downside, as mentioned, is the noise from the Centrum and the sofa bed location/layout. Fortunately, the later downside is on non-issue on the Brilliance with the pull down berth. I guess I should consider this an expensive "free" upgrade since we got a great deal on the airfare. That savings is now paying for the balcony; thus, the overall budget for the trip has remained the same. As for being a balcony snob, we've had everything from the largest suites/penthouses to the smallest insides and we find now that we don't use the balcony as much with an 8 year old compared to in the past. However, given that this is a longer and more scenic itinerary, I'm sure that it will be enjoyed as much as we enjoyed balconies on our Alaska cruises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 Well, after upgrading to a balcony,Netherlands prices for the insides and ocean view staterooms dropped dramatically, while the balcony staterooms stayed quite high. Unable to justify the now $2000 price difference for a balcony, we downgraded to an ocean view stateroom given that our Liberty cruise in January will now be paid for by the savings. I'll miss having the balcony in the fjords, but we're only in the fjords for three days and I'm guessing that I can get an excursion that will give me an even more up lose view for significantly less money. markinct and Matt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 Well, after upgrading to a balcony,Netherlands prices for the insides and ocean view staterooms dropped dramatically, while the balcony staterooms stayed quite high. Unable to justify the now $2000 price difference for a balcony, we downgraded to an ocean view stateroom given that our Liberty cruise in January will now be paid for by the savings. I'll miss having the balcony in the fjords, but we're only in the fjords for three days and I'm guessing that I can get an excursion that will give me an even more up lose view for significantly less money. Just keep thinking about the money you will save. I can't blame you for the decision. DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markinct Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 Just keep thinking about the money you will save and be able to spend on your next cruise. I can't blame you for the decision. There, I fixed it for you.... DocLC and mike 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 As a solo traveler, balcony rooms are out of the question. As nice as it would be, not worth it. It would come down to taking a trip or staying home. Cost is about 4x what I pay for an inside cabin. I spend NO time in my room at all(not because of the size), but because of my drink package..lol. Would i like to book a balcony room sometime? Sure...will i ever at the prices RCI charges solo travellers? Probably never..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Aren't there new solo traveler rooms/rates on the new Quantum ships ? I thought I remembered seeing something about that. I wonder if those would be more economical for single travelers. I don't know if any of those single rooms are balcony rooms or not. Probably not. I know that NCL has started special rooms and pricing for singles. I tell you they really do stick it to the single cruisers. You need to find a cruise buddy ! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted March 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Solo travelers do get hit hard. Fortunately, with NCL and RCI introducing single cabins, that should help some. We do find that we don't use the cabin/balcony nearly as much as we did when my son was taking naps. Now, we tend to be out and about more. We also don't use the balcony as much on colder itineraries. The good news is that we have an ocean view cabin, so we'll know to head up on deck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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