I Almost Always Book a Balcony Room When I Cruise and Why You Should Too

This topic seems to become a somewhat heated discussion when you find a frequent floater who always always always books an interior room vs. someone like me who almost always books (or upgrades) to a balcony room or suite. The interior bookers seem to have a mission to convince you why you are wrong and why they are right. Let’s dive in and see why they are wrong! 🙂 

First we will break down their arguments and I will then show you why they are, almost always, wrong in their choice of booking interior vs. a balcony. They say interior is better because:

• It’s so much cheaper saving you tons of money
• You only sleep in your cabin a few hours a night
• Interior rooms are often bigger than a balcony cabin
• The cabin service is exactly the same
• You can sleep so much better in a totally dark room
• Interior rooms are quieter than balconies
• You feel the ship move much less in interior cabins
• The wind never impacts your cabin door

Wow, that is such a long list they simply have to be right – right? Well not so fast and I can make a counter case for every single one of these points. Let’s begin.

When you see a price offered for a cruise either on the company website or other locations the one they show is almost always for the cheapest interior cabin based on double occupancy. If you want a “better” cabin you will pay more – maybe a lot more. But this is not always the case. If you are booking a long way out with maximum discounts applied the price to upgrade can be nominal and worth considering. So while yes the cheapest choices, the savings may not be so massive that it justifies sticking with an interior cabin. Point is, you can often still be cheap and get a nice balcony cabin.

The next point I think is so simple to argue against as your cabin is not just a bedroom. Sure if you are “stuck” in an interior room there is not much else to do but sleep, shower and dress and get out ASAP. But if you have a balcony room you may spend a substantial amount of time enjoying the world outside your room. From sail away, to days at sea to enjoying a morning cup of coffee and seeing the flying fish avoiding becoming someone else’s breakfast. I think you see my point that a balcony cabin can greatly improve your cruise experience so let’s move on.

Bigger cabin you say? I get the argument that by not losing space for the balcony you may have more interior space but this is not always the case and I would even argue rarely the case. Most of the interior cabins I have been in are so claustrophobic I could not stand being in the cabin for a few minutes let alone for an entire cruise. Now I know some ships (hello MSC) actuary have interior suites and those cabins are truly larger than most but this really is the exception not the rule. Overall you may gain a tiny bit of space this way but it is not a deal winner or breaker.

We have finally come to a point I agree with interior bookers – mostly. The outstanding room stewards are going to provide the same service no matter what cabin you book. The exception would be a suite where you have a butler providing additional service and maybe more frequent service than a standard cabin either inside or outside.

I know a lot of people who can only sleep in a pitch black room but I am not one of them. While it is hard to argue with the total darkness of an inside cabin the curtains on a balcony room are heavy and thick and if properly drawn light intrusion is minimal and the only time you are going to be slightly bothered is at sunrise when you should be getting up anyway. I guess if you 100% can ONLY sleep in a cave then OK interior might be slightly better for you.

There are a lot of noises on a ship that are just the nature of the beast when your entire hotel is a floating resort. I will agree you are not going to hear wind and wave noise against the hull (assuming your interior room is not against the hull that is). If quiet is your goal over anything else I yield you have a winning argument for interior but my choice would simply be a quality set of ear plugs.

I am sorry but this is just a false argument, that is, you feel the ship move less in an interior cabin. How much you feel the movement of the ship is a result of where your cabin is on the ship not if it is interior or exterior. A cabin toward the middle of the ship midway down is the best choice period. I guess the only way to remotely win this one is that if you are looking out at the waves from your balcony cabin you may “feel” in your mind the movement more than staring at a wall.

If you have ever booked a balcony cabin you know that opening the balcony door and then your cabin door results, if at sea, in a rather strong rush of wind. Even just opening and closing your balcony door can be interesting if the wind is up and yes at night you may hear some minor wind noise. Even after hundreds of nights at sea I can count on one hand the nights I have remotely been bothered by noise from my balcony door.

Now that we have definitely shown that an interior cabin does NOT win let’s expand on why a balcony is the winner choice.

• Sail aways.
• A quiet private space on huge ships
• Those who are sea sick
• Sight seeing 24/7
• Privacy for early risers

Sail away. One of the most amazing things you can only enjoy on a ship is sail away. Even after hundreds of nights at sea I still love sail away and from your own private balcony it is such a treat. Staring at the tiny TV screen in an interior cabin of the bow cam is not remotely the same thing.

Quiet space. All cruise ships are packed with people even in the Haven and suites. To have a private place where you can sit, relax, enjoy and look out at the port or sea is priceless. Sure an interior is private but also boring and dull.

A sea sickness fix. When I first started cruising I was fearful of getting sea sick. If I ever feel a tiny bit off some time on the balcony fixes everything. Having to run out of an interior room up on deck is not something that makes your vacation a memorable one. Well maybe so but not in a good way, right?

Seeing the sights 24/7. During my last 22 day Panama canal cruise (review up later here on the blog) as we sailed out of Tampa we looked down and saw a big pod of dolphins swimming along the ship and then they moved forward and played in front of the bow of the ship. During the canal crossing we spent a lot of time just watching everything up close and private. Sure you can go up on deck but it is just not the same.

Privacy for those who get up early. I wake up before my dear bride. She, especially on vacation, absolutely treasures her sleep and sleeping in. So much so I have to book shore excursions that do NOT depart too early (unless they are fantastic and the only time available). With a balcony I can quietly slip out and enjoy my wake-up time while she enjoys her rest. I bet I am not the only one who has an early riser in the family.

Bottom line is simply this – you should book (or upgrade to) a balcony if you can. A cruise vacation is one of the best ways to enjoy your time off and you have done a ton to get to the ship so why not make the most of the experience. I do and you should too! – Rene