HOW IMPORTANT to you is your stateroom on a cruise ship? If you have never cruised or you are new to cruising, your choice of stateroom is a pretty important part of booking a cruise. If you are a "seasoned" cruiser, you probably have your own preferences.
AT ITS simplest, a cruise stateroom is just that: a room. With a bath and shower. It is a place to sleep at night. That doesn't really differ much from a hotel accomodation. Everything else goes from there. In my view, the rest depends on each person's personal preferences, and the purpose of the cruise.
At its simplest, a cruise stateroom is just that: a room
IF YOU look at it in a spartan fashion - i.e., a place to sleep and bathe while you are on the cruise ship, you will take a very different view of the stateroom than if you consider it a part of the cruise experience. For us, is has always been the latter. We love the fact that you are in a pretty nice hotel room that moves along with you, along with some pretty good restaurants, everywhere you go. We love that you can unpack once and not worry about packing and moving again until the end of the cruise. And we love the fact that every restaurant is within a short, indoor walk from our stateroom. Assuming an interesting itinerary, those things alone are enough for us. Given that, your stateroom is essentially your vacation home away from home.
OUR FIRST ever cruise was Alaska's Inside Passage. I am a photographer. There was no way I was going to cruise among the glaciers and that landscape without a full balcony where I could set up to shoot. And as the days got longer, I found myself often climbing out of the bed and stepping out onto the balcony to shoot. That spoiled me. I have never cruised on any ship without a balcony stateroom of some description. I could probably do an interior cabin for the right cruise, but I wouldn't really like it.
ALTHOUGH STATEROOMS vary quite a lot from cruise line to cruise line, and even within the same "category" within cruise lines, there are basically 4 major stateroom categories: Inside, Ocean View, Balcony, and Suites. I have never booked a suite. I was in a suite for a party once. Suites are - in my opinion - rarified air for the rank and file cruiser, and I won't spend much timed covering them here. Each of the other 3 had its pros and cons. From everything I have seen and read, as far as basic accomodations go, the only real difference is access to the outside (either a view or actual open air).
AGAIN, FOR the inexperienced, lets do a quick comparison between Inside, Ocean View and Balcony staterooms.
Inside Staterooms
Like they sound like they might be, inside rooms are generally on the interior portion of the ship. They are also more likely to be found on middle to lower decks of the ship. I have been in one once or twice (to step in, not to stay). To my way of thinking while they are nominally smaller than our usual balcony room, they are still reasonbly more spacious than you might think. The decor and functionality of these rooms are essentially the same as other rooms, with nice bathrooms, comfortable bed(s), and television. They are only missing a window or balcony. I think I would feel a bit claustrophobic. The key element here, however, is that these rooms tend to be among the lowest cost cruise accommodations (sometimes by a magnitude).
Ocean View Staterooms
Ocean View staterooms differ from inside staterooms primarily in that they have some type of "window" out to the ocean. They may be a large, square window a round porthole, or something similar. They do not open, so there is no "fresh" or sea air opportunities. There may be multiple portholes or some combination. Depending on the ship and location, them may be nominally larger than the inside staterooms. They are otherwise the same. Maybe a bit less claustrophobic for cruisers like me.
Balcony Staterooms
Long ago in the days of Transatlantic Ocean Cruises, these were a rarity. When they were available they were first class accomodations and very expensive. This design type carried into most of the earliest vacation cruise ships. Over the years, with modern design and constructions, the balcony stateroom, which was in popular demand, became more and more available on ships. Today the most modern ships offer a majority of their cabins (over 50 and approaching 65%) as balcony accomodations. On most ships, ocean view rooms approach 30-50% of the total staterooms. These days, "balcony" (or veranda, or verandah), can mean very different things. Some ships (notably the Celebrity Edge Class ships), have what they have named "Infinite Verandas" for a significant percentage of their so-called "balcony" staterooms. They essentially amount to a small alcove (maybe smaller than the actually balconies we have experienced) that can be closed off to the rest of the room. They do not stick off the ship like traditional verandas do. There is a window that is essentially the width of the balcony that goes about 1/2-way down, similating the rail and view of a traditional balcony. They have been controversial on Celebrity, with about 50/50 I like it/I hate it). Either way, even though the standard balcony stateroom isn't really significantly bigger than the other rooms, that extra veranda "nook" does give it the feeling of being more spacious.
Within the balcony class, there are a number of different "models" on many of the ships, offering extras like concierge service (whatever that means), room butlers, food and drink packages, and in many cases certain exclusive perks like exclusive restaurant(s), bars, and outer deck areas and pools. For the most part, though, these are the same balcony staterooms with extra ammenities.
SO WHICH one is for you? I think a lot of that depends on the particular cruise and or your cruising style. If your style is to be out and about on the ship and/or on shore for excursions the majority of your time on board, an inside stateroom may well serve you well. You can use the money you save on the fare for other things like excursions, spa treatments, or specialty restaurants. If you expect that you will essentially sleep in your stateroom but spend little time during the cruise in the room, an inside room may be ideal, as long as you are not claustrophobic.
IF YOU spend a lot of time in the room, I would certainly recommend nothing less than an ocean view room and a balcony would give you some real access to the outside air. As we have "matured" with our cruising, we have become more and more accustomed to spending time in our stateroom. We like being able to see what is going on around the ship or the port, and the ability to step out, or sit outside without leaving the stateroom. Even though we still spend a lot of time out and about on the ship, it is nice to know the room is there, and we can have true daylight when applicable. For us, it is worth the extra cost to book a balcony. We have been in the concierge suites in the past. We personally do not see the value added. The standard accomodations are comfortable and satisfactory. The Ocean View staterooms may be a way to have some of that feeling of "seeing" at reduced expense. We haven't tried one. But neither have we ruled it out. Perhaps ironically, the only circumstance I might see me in an inside stateroom would be a transatlantic crossing with many days at see - where there really is little to see anyway. But again, ironically, the transatlantics can be some of the best deals out there and might just be the chance to upgrade your normal accomodations without costing a proverbial "arm and leg."
THERE ARE other considerations. Generally, as you progress from lower to upper decks the "quality" of the staterooms increases. There are more, and usually "better" balcony rooms and staterooms on upper decks. At the same time, if you are sensitive to the rolling movement of the ship, the higher up you are, the more you will feel that movement. You also feel movement more as you move forward on the ship. While aft staterooms can often be nicer, larger, and there are often large suites back there, you can often feel engine vibration and hear engine noise. For some observers, noise can be another issue if your stateroom is next to elevator banks, directly under the buffet, pool, etc. We have not personally experienced these issues and usually book our stateroom mid-ships if possible - which is often very close to the elevator. For us, that is a postitive for getting to and from ship amenities and our stateroom.
The extent of obstruction can vary, but it can be a real thrill-buster if in your mind you booked a stateroom "with a view" and get one of these obstructed view rooms
ONE OTHER thing about ocean view and veranda staterooms bears mentioning. In some cases, even though there is a window or balcony, the view is blocked or partially blocked by certain equipment (mainly lifeboats). This is referred to as an "obstructed view" stateroom. The extent of obstruction can vary, but it can be a real thrill-buster if in your mind you booked a stateroom "with a view" and get one of these obstructed view rooms. My reading tells me that not all cruise line room descriptions are completely transparent in all circumstances about this issue. It would behoove you to take a good look at ship diagrams usually available on line.
FINALLY, LETS briefly talk about room deals. Often an "upgrade" within a category will offer some perks (e.g., on Celebrity an upgrade can be had from a standard balcony stateroom to "concierge" class or something called "blu"). In the case of the Celebrity concierge class the upgrade is basically a slightly (I say slightly because I don't think most would even notice a difference), and thinkgs like canape's in your stateroom in the late afternoon (imo - not remotely worth the cost - especially when you consider how much food is available shipboard), a "concierge" which frankly we never used and really cannot appreciate. We have been "comped" for it a couple times, but we wouldn't spend extra for it. Blu is kind of a special class, with its own dining room and some additional spa exposure. If you are into that kind of exclusivity thing, it might be a less expensive alternative to the "retreat" type fares which are being offered these days. We don't miss it.
ONE OF the perhaps misunderstood and so possibly tricky "deals" is the so-called "guaranty" booking. It is important, before doing this one, to understand what "guaranty" means. It means nothing more than that you are guaranteed a room within the category (inside, ocean view, or balcony). It does not guaranty you the room of your choice in the area on the ship of your choice. It will not get you an upgrade. It is just that. The guaranty of a room on board. Obviously, when you understand this, you can see why they are generally less expensive, and why the ships do them. It is a way for them to fill the ship to capacity. But for you it might mean an undesirable room (like one of those obstructed view rooms, for example). We have never done it, because we like to pick our own. But we will have our first experience with it in a month or so. We joined some friends on a Southern Caribbean cruise in March. We were late to sign up and this was the only option. However, even than, we were able to work with it and get us on the deck and general area we wanted. I will have another blog here in the near future about travel agents. I recommend you use one.