Balcony a must? - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

jstducky · 10-20-2005, 02:12 PM

Is a balcony cabin on a Panama Canal cruise an absolute must???

If so, port or starboard?

hanna · 10-20-2005, 04:08 PM

We had a balcony on the port side. We were able to stand and look down (9thdeck)
and see all the goings on. Took some neat pictures too. I would not go without a balcony. Not sure about the starboard side.

LuLu · 10-21-2005, 11:48 PM

Agree with hanna!

Even if you don't normally book a balcony, it is well worth it on a Panama Canal cruise! It takes a LONG time (very very long time ) so it is very nice to be able to do this from your own cabin.

Very best, LuLu

Ziggy7 · 10-22-2005, 12:06 AM

I agree with LuLu too! Of all the times a balcony would be a good idea, one of them would be during the panama canal cruise. It's 5 or 6 hours long without stopping at the lakes, so being able to view everything in comfort is a good thing

JMHO

jstducky · 10-24-2005, 01:35 PM

any opinions as to port side or starboard? or does it matter?

Sea Otter · 10-24-2005, 01:56 PM

We loved having the balcony on our canal cruise. We did the 10 cruise that only goes through 1 set of locks.

We did not get off the ship for any tours. We saw a lot when we went back through the locks.

One nice feature is you can run in your cabin to cool off.

It makes no difference which side of the ship you are on since the ship doesn't know which lock they are going to use until they get to the canal.

We lucked out. Going into the lake we were in the right most lock. Coming back through we were in the same set of locks allowing us to see lots of ships coming through the other lock.

sailyn · 10-24-2005, 02:01 PM

We did not have a balcony on our Panama Canal cruise and I enjoyed it still. It was fun being on deck with everyone else sharing the experience. Of course a balcony is always nice, but not a must in my opinion. We spent the first part of the transit up top and then we went down to deck four to watch. It was more fun on deck four because you were right at the level of the canal and could see the ship rise and fall better. What a fantastic experience it was! I would love to do it again.

jstducky · 10-24-2005, 02:12 PM

Mike, I had no idea that you were on a PC cruise... oh the questions I could bombard you with.

Sea Otter - thank you for your response.

Geez the decision of balcony/no balcony is a tough one. In the end, as always, everything comes down to a money issue.

Mike, I am glad to hear that I can do it without a balcony and not be sorely disappointed. Sometimes I feel that its good enough to have an outside cabin and save my money for shore excursions, etc.

flacruiser · 11-06-2005, 02:16 PM

Did the PC in the Zenith and it was fine, but for my SA trip aboard the Millennium i booked a balcony.

sailyn · 11-06-2005, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jstducky

Mike, I had no idea that you were on a PC cruise... oh the questions I could bombard you with.

Bombard away!

I'll try to get some of the pictures from the cruise into the gallery. This was my favorite crusie of all time. It was a 12 day cruise on the Splendour of the Seas!