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Studio Balcony or Ocean View


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I've made a reservation for a 7-night Alaskan cruise on the Ovation of the Seas for August 30, 2019.  Right now I'm booked for a Studio Balcony Stateroom.  The Ocean View room costs $200 more than the Studio Balcony.  Which would be better, the balcony or the 7 additional points I get for paying the supplement?  This will be my first Alaskan cruise.

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8 minutes ago, RatedPG said:

I've made a reservation for a 7-night Alaskan cruise on the Ovation of the Seas for August 30, 2019.  Right now I'm booked for a Studio Balcony Stateroom.  There's a $200 difference for an Ocean View room.  Which would be better, the balcony or the 7 additional points I get for paying the supplement?  This will be my first Alaskan cruise.

Tagging @twangster as he has done this quite a few times.

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24 minutes ago, ellcee said:

Depends on what you’re looking for. Personally, I’m probably not gonna make it to Diamond in my lifetime so I don’t care about points. I’d enjoy the balcony. 

Also ?????? 

 
 

I always travel solo. By my estimate, I will just need three to four 7-Night cruises to get to Diamond.  That's why I'm considering the additional points.

My Stateroom, 6652, is being reported by some sites as having an obstructed view.  I called RCL about this and they told me that the obstruction doesn't get past the height of the balcony.  I hope someone on this forum knows exactly how the room looks like.  That'll make the decision making easier.

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25 minutes ago, RatedPG said:

My Stateroom, 6652, is being reported by some sites as having an obstructed view.

All deck 6 staterooms on Quantum class have the lifeboats directly below the balcony. That's the obstruction -- you don't have a clear view down to the ocean.This YouTube video I put below should give you some idea of what your view will be like. The room is just three cabins down from you, so the balcony view  will be similar. You may not have all the lifeboat crane / winch hardware in the way like this cabin does, but then again you might have something pretty similar. Starting at 1 minute in, you can see the balcony view. What I noted as I watched it was that right at 1:14 (and ONLY for that 1 second) you can start to see further down to the left that the lifeboats and winch hardware appears to be a bit lower, so there may be a bit less of an obstructed view there. I've put a screen shot of that particular frame below the video. Going to the left is heading towards your room, as this same YouTuber has another video of cabin 6660, which I can see is located on the right side of 6658.

 

Still frame showing the next winch just barely visible to the left of the one sticking above the balcony line. That next winch is almost hidden by the balcony divider and glass.

Still_shot.thumb.jpg.dca6171cca3fc28ff0905b68119e10b9.jpg

 

So, you may have a slightly less obstructed view than this room has, depending on where your cabin falls relative to the lifeboats and winch hardware.

Honestly, from @twangster's reporting on his multiple Alaska trips, it might be worth it to switch to the ocean view and get the extra loyalty points with the single supplement fee, as long as you are OK with spending that extra bit of money (or getting it back? Not clear if the $200 difference is less or more for the OV room). He noted that he was constantly moving around the ships he was on when they would go to the glaciers, or would be sailing through the channels and giving lots of scenic views on both sides of the ship. Had he been in a balcony room and just staying on his balcony, he'd have missed a lot of great views.

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If points are important then $200 for what amounts to a whole other cruise is very compelling.  My last two Alaska sailing were in interior cabins.  I think those live blogs and my photos should prove you don't have to have a balcony in Alaska.   

The deck 6 balconies are blocked by the lifeboats and davits that hold them.  Yes you can look straight out but every wide picture you take will include them.  For that reason I'm not a huge fan of those cabins unless the price was close to a studio interior. 

If you are even talking points $200 for twice as many would be impossible for me to resist.  If you decide OV try to find one convenient to stairs so you can quickly make it outside if you see something.  

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