There was a time when, for most of us, selecting a cabin was a binary thing: inside or outside was the extent of your choice on the accommodation menu. Even the very finest staterooms, although bigger in terms of floor space, often had no outside space at all. These days, bigger ships and design advances mean that balcony cabins are suddenly within the reach of the majority of cruisers, whereas inside cabins are now becoming few and far between.
In the old days you might have thought long and hard about how much time you’d actually spend in your cabin and hence whether the expense of an outside cabin was justified at all. It stood to reason that if you were a bit of a night owl looking to trip the light fantastic into the wee small hours, then your cabin was really just a place to rest your head. Likewise, if you liked to spend all day by the pool or ashore, you only needed to head back to your cabin to change before you headed out again to enjoy everything that your ship had to offer. Therefore, for many, the simple reasoning was, why pay a premium for a view you’d seldom see?
A Sea Change In Cruise Ship Design
Although the above logic still applies, there’s been quite a change in the way cruise ships are built and designed that, amongst other things, means balcony cabins are suddenly an option for almost everyone. If you look at older cruise ships and ocean liners, you’ll notice how the superstructure – i.e. the bit above the hull - of these vessels is less built up and often slopes away completely at the stern. Ocean liners needed to be able to travel quickly through heavy seas that necessitated their being much more streamlined with thinner, sharper hull shapes. Such designs meant less space for passenger cabins and, the majority of those cabins that could be accommodated, were concentrated in the hull of the ship rather than above deck; this meant cabins with outside space were almost impossible to fit in.
A Room With A View - And A Balcony Too!
Today’s twenty first century cruise ships and now markedly taller and considerably wider than their predecessors, a feature that has considerably increased the amount of space available to passengers. Part of this extra space has been utilised for more and more cabins with outside space and a balcony. The modern cruiser almost demands a balcony whether it’s to enjoy morning coffee, a late private breakfast or to watch the sunset or watch the sea slip by. On certain MSC ships you can even book interconnecting cabins that allow you to share your space with friends and family and they’re great if you want to host a party!
Get The Best Balcony Cruise Deal
If you’re looking for balcony cruise deals for 2020 then MSC’s ‘Get The Best’ promotion does exactly what is says: you’ll get the best balcony cabins but you’ll only pay for a standard outside cabin. You’ll need to hurry though, 2020 cruises are selling fast!
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