Thread: Cabin Does not matter to me.

You got that! I keep looking at Regency. Their prices are quite a bit higher than the mainline cruise lines but when you add in all the extras and the upgrades from the main lines, it is almost worth the price differential.

Originally Posted by nealberk

You got that! I keep looking at Regency. Their prices are quite a bit higher than the mainline cruise lines but when you add in all the extras and the upgrades from the main lines, it is almost worth the price differential.

Here's a direct comparison between Regent and Royal Caribbean - well done and worth a read: Huge Value in Luxury all-inclusive cruise pricing | CruiseSource

For a seven day Med cruise booking in the UK we are talking about $12 -$1500 for an inside cabin, almost double for a balcony. Booking in the states is an awful lot cheaper but we still have extortionate air fares to get there, as Europe and UK are piling taxes on all flights.


That is why Stephen the same as us is content with an inside cabin.

That is darn similar to the numbers I pulled except that I was using the numbers for a suite on RCL compared to a suite on Regent. I think the suite price is more in line with what the author used ($3600 for a suite compared to $2400 for a balcony) as his price and is a far fairer comparison to the Regent cabins. But our kicker is the drink costs. Neither my wife or I drink (except water and sodas) so we have an additional $400 difference in cost. And, I don't think all shore excursions are included, just some, so that price is a bit inflated too.

In short, the price of Regent is still about 20% higher than RCL. If I was getting a suite, I would definitely consider it.

We tend to book insides. Not only to save money as we also try to be out and about the cruise ship but my hubby prefers to sleep in complete darkness -- he even installed blackout curtains in the master bedroom when he moved into this house (years before he met me) because he worked the graveyard shift at the 9-1-1 dispatch center. He had even disconnected the doorbell.

When we had decided to book our last cruise, it was just weeks before the sailing date that all the inside cabins were taken. So we grabbed an obstructed OV. I had looked at the deck plan and saw that it might not be so obstructed...but even better, it was midships -- very important for me on a Hawaiian cruise. I did get a call that an inside became available, but it was far forward so I said forget that and we'll just keep this one. It actually had a great view if you looked around the ropes and stuff.

Originally Posted by nealberk

On the other extreme, the balcony on the Noordam was a lifesaver. I caught Noro while on the ship and was confined to my cabin for three days. If it were not for the balcony and the little bit of fresh air that I got, I would have gone crazy. .

Hear you, Neal! If we had not had a balcony when DH got Noro on Veendam, I'd have gone nuts!

Definitely prefer a window or a balcony rather than an inside. With our family of 4 including 2 teenagers, I find it challenging to share a single 185 sq ft stateroom. We booked a Grand Suite on our last cruise and absolutely loved it. Not only was the stateroom over twice the size of a balcony class, the much bigger bathroom was great to say the least. Oh, and the suite perks were much to speak about as well.

Originally Posted by hanna

Funny how peoples opinions vary. We love our balcony and use it frequently.

I won't sail without one.

I would say that too but must take an exception for my first cruise because it is only three days with one port day (same one Gloria is on now, but maybe with different port hours). For that cruise all I need is an outside cabin - with a real window, not two portholes and a horrible location. I absolutely refuse to book any cabin with no windows and after my first cruise, will always get a balcony. In fact my second cruise will have a balcony. It will be very useful for me.

Reason to get a balcony cabin:

1. No problem trying to take pictures during docking and tenders without other passengers being in them. I can't tell you how many times I had to make someone stop walking for me, I didn't take a picture because people were in the area, and someone was in a picture I took. A balcony prevents that problem from happening if I am in my cabin when the ship arrives at and departs from ports.

2. Ship decks have kids, smokers, and no shade. I need privacy, shade, and a break from annoying passengers.

Of course, this does not mean I will never be on the open decks - that would be missing out on part of the cruise experience. But in busy times onboard I don't want to spend too much time on open decks.

Originally Posted by talin401

Hello Everyone,

In my opinion, the cabin does not matter to me, I can be in an inside cabin, because all I do is just shower, change, sleep a few hours and I am out from the room again. I do not spend a lot of time in the room. Its a place where I keep my stuff and I don't want to waste vacation time by spending hours and hours and hours in a room when I can be out, enjoying the ship and its ammenities, and enjoying the destinations, interacting with other cruisers, making friends, going to the nightly entertainment, dining, so on and so forth and if I want to nap on the ship, I can just go on deck, enjoy the beautiful sailing, and have a breath of clean fresh air.

Although ordering room service is nice and you eat in your room and stuff which is nice, but I think its better to dine out and see people and just enjoy the ambience....

I am agree with you in every words. I do same. I used to book inside cabin and spend lots of time on public areas or on upper decks. Lots of ship life is in public rooms and on upper deck.