We have done a half dozen cruises. The first was an ocean view room and all the rest were inside cabins. What little time we spent in our cabin was to sleep, shower, dress, or watch TV. I doubt any of those would be done from a balcony. Also, it's usually very windy at sea.
Nemo, Alan, and anyone else who's done transatlantic repositioning cruises.
- Thread starter rodi
- Start date
tmm99
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- May 15, 2008
- Messages
- 5,223
Could he be travelling? Does he usually stop posting when he is?
NW-Bound
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 35,712
Nice! You can have a party on the balcony.
PS. We still like to go out in public places to watch people though. Being homebodies, we are away from other people most of the time, particularly when we are up at our boondocks home when we see nobody for as long as we are there.
Last edited:
brett
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2010
- Messages
- 5,926
Keep in mind that the price may not be the price.
Typically final payment is 90 days out. We usually book 45 days out or less which means we pay in full when we book. Often 30 days, it has been as close as a week or twice even 3 days to anchors aweigh.
If you book outside the 90 day window do not book non refundable. You will pay a deposit. Then watch the prices. Daily. They go up and down. We have seen prices go down for a day and then zoom up. If you see a price decrease act immediately....request a re-price. Depending on how far out you book it is not unusual to have 2 or 3 reprices. Also watch for cabin category changes. You might book an outside, then see a price drop on a balcony cabin that narrows the difference between the two.
Insides tend to drop the fastest, then obstructed outsides. Obstructed could be fine depending on where it is. As an example we had a great obstructed balcony on Celebrity. The obstruction....the life boat was one floor below so we could not look directly over our balcony and see the sea. No biggie but it saved us some cash. Cabin type is a preference. The trick is to get on the ship....then you have access to everything!
On one cruise that we booked in advance we noticed that the prices were going down for all categories. We took a chance and cancelled. We rebooked inside the final payment window two weeks later and saved $500. We knew the risk and we took the chance because there were other ships leaving around the same time on the same itinerary. That is how we travel.
If you are selecting a cabin try to pick one with cabins above and below vs. under a public area, etc. Much less noise.
Just ensure that you deal with a TA that does NOT charge foe re-prices or cancellations.
Many on line TAs will provide a rebate in the form of an OBC (on board credit) to your cruise account. Anywhere from 3 to 8 percent of the commissionable fare. Ask for it if it is not offered.
You can sign up with some cruise lines such as Princess, HAL, Celebrity, RCI etc to receive special offers. Celebrity and RCI used to run, pre covid, Tuesday Specials. At one time these were very good but who knows going forward.
Get everything in writing. Shop a little, get to know the pricing between the various lines and cabin classes so that you will know a good price from an average price. Take a look at this site...cruisecompete.com
Typically final payment is 90 days out. We usually book 45 days out or less which means we pay in full when we book. Often 30 days, it has been as close as a week or twice even 3 days to anchors aweigh.
If you book outside the 90 day window do not book non refundable. You will pay a deposit. Then watch the prices. Daily. They go up and down. We have seen prices go down for a day and then zoom up. If you see a price decrease act immediately....request a re-price. Depending on how far out you book it is not unusual to have 2 or 3 reprices. Also watch for cabin category changes. You might book an outside, then see a price drop on a balcony cabin that narrows the difference between the two.
Insides tend to drop the fastest, then obstructed outsides. Obstructed could be fine depending on where it is. As an example we had a great obstructed balcony on Celebrity. The obstruction....the life boat was one floor below so we could not look directly over our balcony and see the sea. No biggie but it saved us some cash. Cabin type is a preference. The trick is to get on the ship....then you have access to everything!
On one cruise that we booked in advance we noticed that the prices were going down for all categories. We took a chance and cancelled. We rebooked inside the final payment window two weeks later and saved $500. We knew the risk and we took the chance because there were other ships leaving around the same time on the same itinerary. That is how we travel.
If you are selecting a cabin try to pick one with cabins above and below vs. under a public area, etc. Much less noise.
Just ensure that you deal with a TA that does NOT charge foe re-prices or cancellations.
Many on line TAs will provide a rebate in the form of an OBC (on board credit) to your cruise account. Anywhere from 3 to 8 percent of the commissionable fare. Ask for it if it is not offered.
You can sign up with some cruise lines such as Princess, HAL, Celebrity, RCI etc to receive special offers. Celebrity and RCI used to run, pre covid, Tuesday Specials. At one time these were very good but who knows going forward.
Get everything in writing. Shop a little, get to know the pricing between the various lines and cabin classes so that you will know a good price from an average price. Take a look at this site...cruisecompete.com
Last edited:
njhowie
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Messages
- 3,931
So, another minus for deliberately getting a balcony room --- you have no chance to be upgraded!
Oh, indeed you do!
We received a phone call from the upgrade fairy a couple weeks before our 25th anniversary cruise. RCL - upgraded us to one of those Sky Loft suites with upstairs + downstairs two full bathrooms, personal concierge (Genie), and the works.
I will say - we were so spoiled that DW has absolutely no interest on going on another cruise, since it could never be topped and we would never spend the kind of money to get that suite again. So, in a way, in the long run, it will save us a lot of money.
RetireeRobert
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Nice!
My brother and his wife went on a cruise for the first time some years ago. They booked a run-of-the-mill "affordable" cabin. Got upgraded to a full suite with balcony on an upper deck etc. Next time they went on a cruise, they booked run-of-the-mill again, and my brother kept waiting for an "upgrade" notice, again. Never happened. They did not enjoy that second cruise nearly as much, and I don't think they have been on another cruise since!
I have taken two transatlantic cruises, one with an inside cabin and one with an oceanview cabin.
The first transatlantic cruise was in an inside cabin. It was one of the best cruises that we have taken. We spent very little time in the cabin. However, it was the worst cabin that we have had. It was smaller than any other cabin on other cruises. There was not enough room to walk on either side of the bed. The bed had to be against the wall. One afternoon I thought I would go to the room and read but it just felt too small and confined and this is someone who typically books an inside cabin. The point being, not all inside cabins are alike.
Our second transatlantic cruise, we booked an oceanview cabin. It was large enough that the bed did not have to be against the wall and I appreciated the daylight in the morning.
We also took a cruise from California to Hawaii and back…so a number of sea days. For that we had a balcony cabin. While the balcony was nice, we didn’t use it much.
Most of the cruises we have taken have been in inside cabins. My theory is that I would rather take two or three cruises with an inside cabin versus one cruise with a balcony cabin. We are definitely not fat fire and look for ways to travel economically.
The first transatlantic cruise was in an inside cabin. It was one of the best cruises that we have taken. We spent very little time in the cabin. However, it was the worst cabin that we have had. It was smaller than any other cabin on other cruises. There was not enough room to walk on either side of the bed. The bed had to be against the wall. One afternoon I thought I would go to the room and read but it just felt too small and confined and this is someone who typically books an inside cabin. The point being, not all inside cabins are alike.
Our second transatlantic cruise, we booked an oceanview cabin. It was large enough that the bed did not have to be against the wall and I appreciated the daylight in the morning.
We also took a cruise from California to Hawaii and back…so a number of sea days. For that we had a balcony cabin. While the balcony was nice, we didn’t use it much.
Most of the cruises we have taken have been in inside cabins. My theory is that I would rather take two or three cruises with an inside cabin versus one cruise with a balcony cabin. We are definitely not fat fire and look for ways to travel economically.
Sunset
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Size of inside cabins do vary.
We had an inside port hole cabin, at the bow, 1st floor. Due to super load banging which shook the room , we changed cabins happily to an inside large one.
I think it was larger as it was handicap accessible.
We had an inside port hole cabin, at the bow, 1st floor. Due to super load banging which shook the room , we changed cabins happily to an inside large one.
I think it was larger as it was handicap accessible.
RetireeRobert
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Yes, as I recall when booking our cruise, somewhere I got information (I think form a local AAA presentation) that some of the quieter and "smoother-riding" rooms are closer to, or at, midship, rather than close to bow or very stern. Also, decks at least a few decks higher from engine room level.
In this regard, my guess would be that inside rooms would not have as much side-to-side roll as very outside edge rooms. But I think bow to stern roll would be more bothersome than any side-to-side roll on modern huge behemoth cruise ships with stabilizers. I offer all this info as a person who has taken only one cruise in my life, and that on the Alaska Inside Passage!
Something to consider is the risk of a required quarantine.
Whether it is because you develop a stomach bug or a COVID related outbreak.
I remember seeing folks trapped on ships for many days that were not allowed to leave their room. I think a balcony would have been a huge benefit.
Hopefully, this does not happen but it if it were me, I would consider this risk when trying to make my decision.
Happy sailing
️
Whether it is because you develop a stomach bug or a COVID related outbreak.
I remember seeing folks trapped on ships for many days that were not allowed to leave their room. I think a balcony would have been a huge benefit.
Hopefully, this does not happen but it if it were me, I would consider this risk when trying to make my decision.
Happy sailing
️
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2010
- Messages
- 10,763
I've done 5 or 6 trans-Atlantics. I did the inside cabin twice that I can recall. One was the most recent, and one was the one DW says she didn't like the inside cabin. But there might have been a third.
I like to watch the process of getting the ship into port, so the inside cabin has me on deck with bed-head pretty often, hehehe! The TV has the bow-cam and deck-cam, so you can see if it's light and what the weather is. The TV also has temp and wind speed, typically.
The savings isn't quite as much as the difference between the brochure prices... both prices have a lot of additional expenses (tips, drinks, shore excursions, etc). So you might think you'll save 40% and in the end you save 20% (wild guess to make the point clear).
Already mentioned, I think, is the dark, but once morning comes, it's still harder to sleep than in the middle of the night because there's more clunks and bumps noises in the hall.
The inability to see out bugged DW. She found it kind of depressing, but she spends a lot more time in the cabin than I do. If I'm not sleeping, showering or watching a movie, I'm not in there. I get it...she likes to putter for hours in her jammies, and spends an hour getting ready for dinner. I rinse off the day's sweat, toss on some long pants and go to the bar for most of that hour.
That's my first-hand experience with inside cabins. I'd certainly do them again, given a significant savings.
I like to watch the process of getting the ship into port, so the inside cabin has me on deck with bed-head pretty often, hehehe! The TV has the bow-cam and deck-cam, so you can see if it's light and what the weather is. The TV also has temp and wind speed, typically.
The savings isn't quite as much as the difference between the brochure prices... both prices have a lot of additional expenses (tips, drinks, shore excursions, etc). So you might think you'll save 40% and in the end you save 20% (wild guess to make the point clear).
Already mentioned, I think, is the dark, but once morning comes, it's still harder to sleep than in the middle of the night because there's more clunks and bumps noises in the hall.
The inability to see out bugged DW. She found it kind of depressing, but she spends a lot more time in the cabin than I do. If I'm not sleeping, showering or watching a movie, I'm not in there. I get it...she likes to putter for hours in her jammies, and spends an hour getting ready for dinner. I rinse off the day's sweat, toss on some long pants and go to the bar for most of that hour.
That's my first-hand experience with inside cabins. I'd certainly do them again, given a significant savings.
pacergal
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2015
- Messages
- 5,896
I am also claustrophobic, the only way I cruise is with a balcony, love to have the door open for fresh air, especially during the night. When we cruised to Alaska, I loved being able to sit on the balcony and see the animals, both in the water and along the shore. Tried going to the decks, but all of the chairs were always taken :-(.
If i wasn't so claustrophobic, I would consider an inside stateroom, as they are less expensive. My ongoing concern is always the possibility of quarantine, Noro virus, covid, etc.
If i wasn't so claustrophobic, I would consider an inside stateroom, as they are less expensive. My ongoing concern is always the possibility of quarantine, Noro virus, covid, etc.
OP
OP
I put a deposit down. Balcony. The idea of being quarantined/stuck in port but not allowed off the boat was the decision maker for me. Also justified it because I have a milestone birthday this Fall and DH has a milestone birthday in the new year. Cruise is in April.
Only mid-ship cabins available were view obstructed... Moved up two decks and am *towards* mid ship in the front.
If we cancel, not that much money on the line. Set up calendar reminders to price the same deal to see if I can get a rebate.
This is the cruise:
https://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=32995
(you have to log in to vacationstogo to see it). Didn't book with them because it was cheaper to book directly with MSC. They had a great deal on internet/drink... on a 19 day cruise- that is a nice thing to have.
Only mid-ship cabins available were view obstructed... Moved up two decks and am *towards* mid ship in the front.
If we cancel, not that much money on the line. Set up calendar reminders to price the same deal to see if I can get a rebate.
This is the cruise:
https://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=32995
(you have to log in to vacationstogo to see it). Didn't book with them because it was cheaper to book directly with MSC. They had a great deal on internet/drink... on a 19 day cruise- that is a nice thing to have.
MrsHaloFIRE
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2018
- Messages
- 929
We did transatlantic 2 weeks inside room. If you in any way have they money, get the balcony. If nothing else for the added sitting area and I love to sun and or have breakfast with room service on the balcony. DH got a respiratory bug underway and the fresh air would have been better for him than interior. If I recall we ended up begging for a room change due to noise as he couldn't rest well and they moved us for free. Don't count on that.
rodi, I think you made an outstanding choice! Enjoy it.
NW-Bound
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 35,712
I went on vacationtogo, then onto MSC to look. That's not a bad deal, with balcony only $1000 more than interior room for a couple. It's worth it to be sure you don't get stuck in a windowless room in case of Covid.
Makes me itchy to plan my next trip.
NW-Bound
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 35,712
I have not done a repositioning cruise, but contemplate doing this in the future. It takes time, but that's what a retiree has plenty of.
My only concern is I may get bored, then drink and eat too much.
My only concern is I may get bored, then drink and eat too much.
NW-Bound
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 35,712
If I have free Internet, that will help a lot. I wonder what speed they have on the ship.
PS. I like to read books, but only printed books which I don't want to bring in my luggage. I do not like to read books on a screen.
PS. I like to read books, but only printed books which I don't want to bring in my luggage. I do not like to read books on a screen.
Sunset
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Internet on a ship is slow and expensive.
NW-Bound
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 35,712
MSC offers a deal for drinks and Internet, and I think the OP took it.
PS. It's $191/person for the 19-day trip.
PS. It's $191/person for the 19-day trip.
Last edited:
OP
OP
Yep - that's what we got. It's the "easy plus" drink package which means we can get a latte or espresso in the morning, and an aperol spritz in the late afternoon. The wifi package is for 2 devices, unlimited gb's. But it will be slow.
bearkeley
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2005
- Messages
- 299
We were on repositions cruises via Panama Canal and Antarctica just before Covid and now planning to do one of the longer Transatlantic to experience the Arctic for a day or two next spring. We love hot weather so no better way to see the Arctic and Norway and other cold areas than a luxury cruise! Great post!
