Oceanview vs. Balcony

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Dawnie1981

Guest
Help! First Time Cruiser here!! I currently have an OV Guarantee room booked on the Conquest and I would much rather a balcony room and may upgrade... I am undecided!! I want this to be the best vacation ever! I want to know from personal experiences which is better?!?
 
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MoJo2Rusty

Guest
I had an OV on the Triumph on my first cruise, Love it! Some of my friends had a balcony room. It seemed smaller to me, but the balcony takes up some of the room from the room it's self. I'd say if you think you'd use the balcony go for it. I doubt I would have used it that much if I had had one. Maybe to step out and take a few pics.
I'm going on the Conquest in Dec. Have an inside room this time around. Last time I was only in the room to shower, change cloths and sleep, so figured I'd save some money.

HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME:dance
 
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Babushka

Guest
I say you should DEFINATELY go with a balcony cabin!!! I have had ocean view and balcony rooms and by far I prefer the balcony. There is nothing better than sleeping at night with your door open! I know that you don't spend all your time in your room, but the time that you are there it's a great bonus! I love going out on my balcony early in the morning when we are pulling in to port, or when we're at sea I love sitting out there too. A lot of people order breakfast to eat on their balcony, we've never done this but I've heard it's really nice. Sometimes when it's really crowded up by the pools, it's nice just to go back to your room and relax on your balcony. I love to read and this is a nice quiet spot to do so.

If you want to make the most out of your vacation I say go with the balcony! I will never travel without one and it really doesn't cost that much more when you look at the total cost. I know that some say you lose a little space in your actual room, but I'd rather have it be a little more crowded and have the balcony. Just to let you know, we've never felt our rooms were too small when we've had the balcony. We were just recently on the Glory and loved our rooms.
 
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SandyBeach

Guest
From reading posts for several years....I've noticed that people who like the before or after dinner drinks on their balcony...or those people who like to relax a lot really enjoy their balcony. My husband doesn't like to sit out on the balcony nor do we do the before/after dinner drinks so we don't usually get a balcony. We would rather save our money for a balcony when we travel to Alaska, or like we had in Hawaii (even though we didn't use it much then because we traveled mainly at night). We don't spend much time in our cabin when on a cruise....other people might.

I don't think we'd go back to an interior cabin (unless it was a year when we had traveled already). We do really like the Ocean View Windows and that is what we usually book when we cruise now.

Having said all of that....check and see how much it would cost to upgrade to a balcony since there are so many on the Conquest...it might turn out to not cost that much more making it worth the change.
 
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Jeff & Susana

Guest
We've had ocean view rooms on our last 3 cruises and are opting for a balcony on our next.
I purposely booked a room aft right by the stairs so I can easily zoom up to the Lido deck in the mornings and grab a couple plates full of food and race back to our room.
 
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tutak

Guest
In our humble opinion, there are only two types of cabins, inside or balcony. If you get a window cabin, you will be paying about the same for that window as if you bought a Pella window for your home. You will spend no more time in your cabin than you would if you had an inside cabin. You will hardly ever look out that window.

If you get a balcony, you have a place to go if you wake up early, but your spouse is still asleep. You don't jave to wory about finding a deck chair. You can enjoy a couple of cocktails while you watch the ocean go by.
 
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megamind

Guest
Like everyone else, we have been in all three. Balcony wins hands down. You won't be sorry you got a balcony. As a first time cruiser, this will be a learning experience. We can't tell you if this is for you or not. Try one or the other and next time you can make a better informed decision. I am always excited for first time cruisers. Take lots of pictures, and when you get back write a review. It is always nice to read a review by a first timer. Best of luck on the decision, and enjoy the cruise !!

Megamind
 
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Belizemama

Guest
We just had our first balcony on the Conquest early this month. It was wonderful. I too like the idea of going out first thing in the morning, and just being on the ocean. My husband is a late sleeper and I could just go there rather than up above by myself. We ordered breakfast room service almost every morning.
I hated the one time we had an inside room. So dark and you could not tell if it was daylight or dark out. OV is okay, but it makes you yearn to actually be outside.
We will never get anything else again, unless we are on a ship where there are no balcony cabins (except with a suite which we usually cannot afford).

If the difference is not too much, I say go for the balcony. We had 8A
Balcony Gnty and were upgraded to 8C.
 
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mlzangel78

Guest
heres another consideration too... my friend and i are smokers.. we had an inside on our last cruise together ... YUCK,, we smoked ourselves out of the room, smoke goes into the hallway,, which isnt nice to the other passengers.. hubby and i had a balcony on the next cruise,,, what a difference.. we did spend a good amount of time on the balcony,.. breakfast outside in the morning soooo nice... i will never cruise without it again. It keeps the room nice and airy, and the sound of the ocean at night is so cool.
 
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Anthony_Jones

Guest
Balcony is best---but having done balcony and oceanview, I WOULD do ocean view again to save a few $$$ if budget was tight. We loved our window, but the balcony is something special. I would never be able to do interior--too closed up!

Neither OV or balcony will "make or break" your cruise, thats for sure.
 
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purplecorvette

Guest
My first cruise was a balcony room and it was amazing. The best part of the day is at about 4:00 pm when you are tired from all the sun. You can go back to the room, relax and sit outside on your private balcony, order a snack through room service, have some coffee. My husband enjoys the time out there while I take a shower and get ready for dinner. We always do late dinner so we have a fair amount of time we spend out there. For the first cruise, I would not recommend doing it any other way. It just really adds to the whole experience.
 
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Dawnie1981

Guest
Thanks everyone for all of your thoughts!! I have decided to go with the balcony!! I am so excited!
 
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Cruisin Gal

Guest
Balcony for me! Lots of people say it doesn't matter because you're never in your cabin except to sleep. Not me! I enjoy going to my cabin to nap or read, I enjoy taking the sun on the balcony and I enjoy the quiet of it. I love hearing the ship slice through the waves all night long and just lull me to sleep and I love being able to go out onto the balcony with a cup of coffee early in the morning and watch us pull into a port!

Yup, I love the balcony and I won't cruise if I can't have one.
 
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Tropicalconcrete

Guest
Balcony is the only way for us to go. Took my wife on our first cruise with a balcony and showed her an inside. She just looked at me and said "ya right"!

Besides, we usually go in a group of 12 or more for family vacations. On lots of ships the divider can be removed by the cabin stewart which we have done. Then when the girls are in the cabins getting ready, the boys can have some cigars and drinks outside while waitting and still watch the kids.
 
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CaribbeanKitty

Guest
It depends on when and where you're going. If you expect the weather to be really cold, I'd go with the OV. Otherwise, I absolutely LOVED having a balcony room!
 
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Nanni-B.

Guest
Had inside cabin 1st time around and never missed having a balcony, but didn't know what I was missing either :lol

Last 2 cruises have had balconies, and there are LOTS of "things" one, or two :grin can do on a balcony!

When first boarding the ship and finding our cabin, I went right away and watched the ship being loaded up with supplies. I love going on the balcony late at night and listen to the waves in the privacy of our cabin. We are not big night life people. We enjoy staying in and drinking wine and talking more and it is a great place for a glass of wine, and like others mentioned, coffee and a roll first thing. When leaving Jamaica, we sat out on the balcony and watched a local band play while pulling away from the dock. AND FINALLY, waking up and stepping out to see the home pier on the day you get back.....



Post Edited (05-29-04 21:57)
 
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cantwaittosail

Guest
I had an OV room in 1995. It was nice but I did long to be outside everytime I looked out of it. On CCL Legend this September I have a balcony.

You said you wanted it to be the best vacation ever so I say "go for the balcony" !!

Happy Sailing
 
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Angel73921

Guest
I was on my first cruise earlier this month and booked an OV guarantee. We were upgraded to a balcony and loved it so much and would never book anything else. We were definitely spoiled and the balcony is the only way to go from now on (for me anyways). Happy cruising!
 
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LUV2Cruz2

Guest
It never bothered me not to have a balcony as long as I had a window...until I got a taste of balcony sailing. I choose the balcony every time now. We always check for balcony specials too. It can get pretty expensive.
 
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