Stop paying extra for balcony rooms on cruises — they're overpriced and impractical

• I'm a frequent cruiser who's been on over 50 voyages, and I never book balcony rooms on ships.
• Most balconies fit two people, so my family of three can't even comfortably sit on them together. 
• Balcony rooms also tend to be expensive, and I'd rather spend money on other amenities.

When my son was a toddler, he climbed on a chair and tossed a TV remote off of our hotel room's balcony. It happened so quickly that I didn't have time to stop the remote from falling 10 stories into the bushes — even though I was inches away from him.

Thankfully, I was able to grab my kid and lock the balcony door before he did any real damage, but at that moment, I swore off booking rooms with balconies at hotels and on cruises for good.

Now, I've been on more than 50 cruises, and my son has grown into a responsible, risk-averse tween. But after staying in a wide variety of room types, I've felt no desire to give balcony rooms another try for a host of reasons, most of which aren't safety-related.

Balconies aren't nearly as idyllic as I imagined

When my son was little, I dreamed of tucking him in for a nap and slipping out to my cruise cabin's balcony to read a good book and enjoy the fresh air. However, there were problems with this plan. 

For starters, his bed was right next to the balcony door on many cruises, making it all but impossible to slip in and out of the room without waking him. Also, I had no way of hearing him call for me when I was on the balcony with the door shut.

As he grew older, I still found cruise balconies to be impractical, but for different reasons. They generally only have enough room and seating for two, meaning my family of three was unable to comfortably sit on the balcony together. 

When my husband and I had the room to ourselves, the ship's movement meant it was often too windy to spend time in our outside space. Every time we opened the balcony door, it created a wind tunnel in our stateroom that sent objects flying through the air.

Sometimes, our neighbors smoked cigarettes or talked loudly from their adjacent balconies, interrupting what would've otherwise been a peaceful, private experience.

Many cruisers prefer to explore the ship rather than sit on a private balcony

Throughout my decades of cruising, I've noticed that many of my fellow passengers don't seem to use their balconies to the fullest, either. Many people prefer to be out of their rooms enjoying onboard amenities or lounging by the pool, leaving their balconies mostly empty.

On a somewhat recent voyage aboard Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas, I paid close attention to the ship's rooms with interior balconies. They face inward, making it easy to peep at how often passengers use them.

I saw people briefly step out on them before leaving their rooms to explore, but for the majority of my seven nights on the ship, these balconies appeared eerily vacant. Although they offered perfect views of onboard entertainment, I hardly saw anyone spending time on them. 

However, I did see passengers use the interior balconies to hang-dry wet towels and swimsuits. That certainly seems practical, but it hardly seemed like a worthy use of this costly space.

Of course, I was only observing the interior balconies, and cruisers with ocean-facing balconies might use their outdoor spaces more frequently.

Balcony rooms are usually some of the priciest on the ship

Though pricing for balcony rooms varies between cruises, they're almost always one of the more expensive cabins on a cruise.

On some ships, booking a balcony room can cost hundreds of dollars more than the base-level accommodations, and I can think of a lot of ways I'd rather spend money on vacation.

I understand the appeal of balconies and love the views they offer. However, I can usually get the same views for less money by booking a porthole room. Plus, I've found I look out of the portholes more often than I ever stepped onto my balconies.

This story was originally published on April 3, 2023, and most recently updated on January 8, 2025.