Help with my Royal Carribean Cruise?

Question

1. How important is a balcony room? If I had to choose between interior and oceanview, I would choose interior in a heart beat to save money because I don't want to pay an extra couple hundred dollars for a little window, HOWEVER, is it worth the extra few hundred dollars to get a balcony room?

Some people say you hardly spend time in your room anyway so it doesn't matter, but I don't know. I think MAYBE if we had a balcony we would save on spending money because we could sometimes sit on the balcony and play games or something. On the other hand, I'll be pissed if we spend that extra money on the balcony room and never use it! Also, is the balcony private, or is it shared with neighbors?

2. How much do you think we'll spend per day? My husband and I both drink, and I gamble. The ports are Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, and Grand Cayman.

3. Is there a big difference between the "Mariner of the Seas" and the "Freedom of the Seas"?

Please help!

Answer 1

The balcony room is a matter of  prestige. If you want to save money, go with the interior room and spend your money on drinking and excursions.

I would count on at least $100/day, more if you're bad gamblers. :)

All the ships are top notch. You can compare cruises at spincitytravel.com. type in your dates and it will bring up all the available cruises to your destination for you to compare.  You can book right from the site

Answer 2

My wife and I enjoyed the balcony room we had on Royal Carribean.  We spent time out there reading and talking and playing games.  In terms of spending per day, the drinks can get expensive, and gambling can too, especially if you lose. ;)

2. I would suggest setting a gambling budget and stopping when you lose that much.  I wouldn't presume to suggest how much you should set the budget for.  As for drinking, figure 3 drinks a day at $8 per drink per person, which would be about $50 a day.

3. I haven't been on both ships so I can't tell you what the difference is.  We were on Mariner which was a nice ship.

Enjoy your cruise!

Dana

Answer 3

We are like you in trying to decide on what type of stateroom to get, we can’t see the value in paying $100 more for a window, so if we are choosing between a inside or oceanview stateroom we will take the inside stateroom to save the money.  Now choosing between an inside stateroom and a balcony stateroom is different.  You are getting more then a window for your money.  The balcony is private and has its own lounge chairs on it.  If you’re a smoker it gives you an outside spot to smoke.  The balcony staterooms are usually larger then the inside & oceanview staterooms.  Sometimes the balcony staterooms get little perks the other staterooms don’t, like robes you can wear to the pool.  It also depends on where you are cruising, if you are cruising in a location that has lots of scenic views then the balcony has that added plus of being able to sit on your balcony and watch the scenery.  My wife loves to grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and sit on the balcony just watching things go by.  Is the difference in price worth it?  Like I said, for us it depends on the itinerary.  For Alaska, and the Caribbean, we’d say yes.  For the Mexican Riviera or NE Canada, the balcony would have to have a very attractive price for us to take it.  So think about where you are going and what the views will be and go from there.  Also, you may want to try and figure which side of the ship may have the better views.  For the Alaska cruises it appears the Starboard side is preferred.  We also learned a lesson regarding where we place our cabin that we will use from now on, which is exercise.  We now choose to put our cabin as far from the stairs and preferably at the far aft or far fore or the ship so that we are forced to walk more when we are going around the ship.  On our last cruise we were averaging 3 miles a day of walking just because of where we put our cabin, helping to increase our calorie burn.

As for spending money, again you will need to take into consideration your own personal habits.  Also, don’t forget that there is a $10 per day per person gratuity that is expected of you and recently the cruise lines have all announced fuel surcharges that are ranging from $3-$10 per day per person as well (Check with your cruise line to see if it applies to your trip).  Personally we keep our spending to a minimum and bring aboard some wine and vodka for us to drink to keep our bar bill down.  Also there are some of the restaurants on the ship that have a per person surcharge to eat at them, so check that before you go as well to keep it in mind on your budget.  

Both the Mariner and Freedom are beautiful ships; they each have different features that make them unique.  The Freedom is newer but the Mariner looks terrific as well.  You will enjoy your trip on either of them.

Answer 4

A BALCONY IS A GREAT PLACE TO RELAX AND HAVE A DRINK OR MORNING COFFEE... I WOULD SPEND THE EXTRA EVERY TIME... HOW MUCH YOU SPEND IS UP TO YOU, IT'S YOUR MONEY... GET A NICE ROOM, WITH A GREAT VIEW, YOU'LL NEVER BE SORRY!!!

Answer 5

i just cruised for the first time and had an ocean view.  i didn't need to pay the extra for the balcony.  i wasn't planning on doing anything in the room but shower and sleep.  it was nice to be able to see outside, but it depends on preference.

Answer 6

I have been on this cruise twice.  Once on the Navigator of the Seas, which is just like the Mariner of the Seas.  That was in August 2004.  My second time on this itinerary was on the Freedom of the Seas in June 2007.  Both times I had a balcony.  I enjoy sitting on the balcony and having breakfast or typing my review on my computer.  Of my seven cruises I have had a balcony for five of them.  My first cruise was booked and paid for by someone else, so I had to accept what they gave me (an inside cabin).  The other ship didn't have any balcony cabins.  For cruises three through seven I have had a balcony.

I have five future cruises booked, and only two are in a balcony cabins.  The reason is, one ship does not have any balconies, a second only spends one day at sea and the third is the Mariner.  I decided to try one of the promenade view cabins on the Mariner because I had never been in one.  Otherwise I would have taken a balcony cabin.  For the other two cruises I have a forward facing balcony on one and a side facing balcony on the other.

So in my case the number of days at sea are important, for the reason you mention.  If I am in port, I am not in my cabin.  If I am not in my cabin, why should I pay extra for a balcony?

So, how important is a balcony?  It depends on how much time you spend in your cabin.  If you don't spend much time in your cabin, than a balcony is not very important.  If you do spend time in your cabin, then it is nice to be able to go out on the balcony and watch the world go by.  It is also a great spot to be when coming into port.  And as I mentioned, I like to have breakfast on the balcony in the morning and type my reviews on the balcony at night.

The balcony is private in that you don't have to share it with anyone else.  However, it is not so private that other can not see into the balcony.  

Here is a photo of a rear balcony on the Carnival Glory ...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/Z...

And the side balconies on the Carnival Glory ...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/Z...

These next two photos were take from my rear facing balconies ...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/Z...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/Z...

Here is a close of of the forward facing balconies on the NCL Star (Royal Caribbean does not have any forward facing balconies) ...

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b103/Z...

Royal Caribbean's balconies are very similar to the above balconies.  As you can see, each cabin has its own private space.  However, others can still see into your space.

I don't drink much and don't gamble, so I can not answer your spending question.  Usually $100 per day per person is fine.  However, if you are going to drink and gamble, you might need $300 per day per person.

The Freedom of the Seas is basically a larger version of the Mariner of the Seas.  The major differences are, the Freedom  of the Seas has a mini water park (H2OZone - which is a big plus if you have kids), and a Flowrider (surf simulator) instead of an inline skate track.  Also the rock climbing wall on the Freedom has more routes than the rock wall on the Mariner.  The Freedom also has more family sized cabin choices than the Mariner.  Otherwise, the two ships are very similar.

Answer 7

it depends on what you like to do i have had interior and balcony. if u like privacy and to sit and watch/hear waves  or to have breakfast on your balcony then maybe its for you  no you don't have to share a balcony.if the cruise stops at alot of ports its probably  not worth the extra money for the balcony sometimes it cost almost $700 more. i have actually gone on that Cruise route. keep in mind at those ports except for Haiti there are no beaches in walking distance so you  might want to save money  for  that instead and freedom of the seas is a new ship mariner is a bit older and smaller. hope i helped have fun !

Answer 8

The balcomy rooms on Royal Carribean are very nice. But it's true, you don't spend a lot of time in your room. There is always something going on board the ship that you never have time to go to your cabin. The balcony is somewhat private. The only thing that separates you and your neighbors is a glass wall.

Be expected to spend a lot of money on drinks. They will charge you for every alcholoic drink you order and then there is the tip. Before you know it, by the end of the cruise you will have to pay at least $1000. When you go to some of these places, Mexcio especially, you can bargain for items that you would like to buy. It's very easy. The only place that I know you won't be able to bargain is Grand Cayman because it is owned by the English and a lot of the places are very overly priced.

I think Freedom of the Seas is Royal Carribean's newest ship and if it is, that would be their largest ship. So if it is their largest ship, there will be more activities than Mariner of the Seas because of the space.

Answer 9

We usually do the inside room but have splurged a couple of times on balcony rooms. Yes, it's private and that's its chief advantage. On Caribbean sea days, we spend a good portion of either the morning or afternoon eliminating tan lines(depends on which direction our side of the ship is going relative to the sun) ; that sort of thing is usually frowned on out on the decks. We don't smoke, but notice that a lot of folks also use it for that.  

The same or better views are available on the public decks, just not two steps from your bed.

We had room service breakfast on the balcony once on a HAL trip. A 2x2 table and 40 pounds of china. Totally ridiculous!

I don't know what kind of games you had in mind, but be advised that it can be downright windy. I wouldn't count on using anything that might blow away.

Depending on where you are on the ship, it may or may not be a quiet place.

And, unless you book an "aft cabin" or one of a few odd cabins with non-standard balconies, it will be cozy; OK make that just plain small. Two chairs, one of which will extend out, a little table, and basically nowhere to move.

Without some indication of how much you drink and gamble, a prediction of those expenses is meaningless. And, be advised that they have even more opportunities for you to spend money on things like the spa, premium restaurant, shore excursions, photographs, and ship shops. They hand you the ship card and many folks don't see or think about the bill (aka the surprise) until the end of the trip. That makes it real easy to spend more than you intended. Some lines let you pull up your bill on the cabin TV. You should do this if allowed even if you're highly disciplined at spending because errors can and do occur.

Also be advised that there are plenty of opportunities to spend money at the ports of call. It greatly depends on what you plan to do. The cruise critic "ports of call" board is a great resource.

Finally, a big difference in ships? Probably not. Freedom is somewhat bigger and newer but they share menus and most shipboard activities and venues. Is Freedom TOO big? Judge for yourself...

Answer 10

My family we just go with the ocean view. there only about 100dollars more, but I wouldnt upgrade to the balcony. We were in are room, for changing, sleeping, and that was it.

MArinier os the seas os smaller.

go to www.RoyalCarribean.com

and click on ships. and you can look at both freedom of the seas and mariner of the seas.

Answer 11

Balcony's are well worth the money.  You will use it everyday - we always get a suite with a balcony - and they are private.

You can order breakfast up to your room every morning and eat out on your balcony as you are pulling into port.  That way you don't have to get dressed to go down to the dining room, or buffet for breakfast!   Cocktails on the balcony at night are heaven!!  You will truly enjoy it.  

We normally spend about $800 for one week on the ship.  That includes gambling money - and drinks.  Drinks can be pricey - and we usually have a bottle of wine with dinner.  

Cruising is great - we have been on many.  Enjoy!