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Cruise Tips7 Reasons to Choose an Interior Cabin on a Cruise

7 Reasons to Choose an Interior Cabin on a Cruise

An interior cabin on a cruise ship is typically the cheapest option when choosing a stateroom category.  But saving money is not the only reason to consider choosing a windowless accommodation for your next cruise.

While I love to enjoy the view of a balcony cabin on my cruises, there are many times that I will go for an interior stateroom instead.   Some veteran cruisers will tell you that an inside cabin is the best place to sleep and will only consider an interior cabin.

Here are a few reasons why this cabin category is often the first to sell out on many cruises, even ahead of balcony cabins.

In this article you’ll discover that those 4 windowless walls aren’t so bad after all.  But the “best cruise ship cabin” for you depends largely on why you’re going on a cruise in the first place.
*This article has been updated since its original publishing date.

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1. You can save a ton of money

Let’s start with the obvious.  Interior cabins get you the lowest price.   In fact, I recently did a deep dive into the price difference between balcony and interior cabins and found that interior cabins are usually 64.5% cheaper.

And once you’re on the ship you have mostly the same amenities as everyone else.  You still get to eat the same food as everyone else, swim in the same pools, and enjoy the same entertainment. Except for the passengers who booked a suite or are part of a spa membership, almost all of the available amenities are the same. And ships that are not sold out will often offer upgrades.  Interior cruise cabins are looking better already.

2. You can go on more cruises because you spent less

If you want to be able to go on as many cruises as possible, you will want to book inside cabins. You can basically go on twice as many cruises for the same price if you stay in an interior cabin instead of a balcony.   Being a more frequent cruiser means more loyalty perks as well.

Sometimes it’s nice to be able to try out a cruise line or cruise ship you have never been on before.  But since you’ve never sailed with this new cruise line you don’t necessarily want to spend a “boat load” of cash on a veranda stateroom.   Try out an interior cruise cabin instead for a fraction of the cost.  This way you can see if you like the ship before going on a more extravagant vacation.

Interior cabin on Royal Caribbean cruise ship
Interior cabin on Symphony of the Seas

3. You end up enjoying more of the ship

An interior stateroom is basically a box. A box with no view. So, it’s pretty much just a place where you sleep, which means you will spend more time out and about on the ship. While it’s nice to hang out on your own personal balcony, you can get your money’s worth when you’re enjoying all the ship has to offer.

Whenever I have an interior stateroom, I always spend much more time doing things around the ship, whether it’s playing trivia or watching a movie by the pool deck.  Of course you can enjoy the different amenities of the ship with any other type of cabin as well.  It just tends to happen more often when your cabin is just a sleeping quarters.

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4. You can sleep in complete darkness

Yes, in a balcony room you can close those big curtains to block out most of the light, although a little sunlight will still creep in.

But for those who like to sleep in complete darkness and not have the morning sun waking them up, an interior cabin is the way to go. This can also be a negative as it can be hard to determine what time of day it is when you’re sleeping in an inside cabin, but cruising is all about losing track of time anyway, right?

Ocean view rooms usually have very cloudy windows because of the salt water anyway, so there’s not much of a view there. It’s more for letting in light than anything else.

benefits to interior cabins

5. You can still enjoy great views and portable privacy

Don’t get me wrong. I love being able to wake up to a wonderful view from my own personal balcony. But even if you have an inside stateroom you can enjoy these views. You just have to walk up a few decks and join the general public to see it.

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Occasionally, even with a balcony stateroom you will have loud or obnoxious neighbors that make spending time on the balcony less appealing. On a recent cruise my balcony was right over a public pool.  So that limited the amount of time I wanted to spend out there anyway.

At least on deck you can move to a more quiet place. You just don’t have the convenience of your room being a few steps away. And the views on deck are better anyway since you have a more panoramic vantage point.

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6. Less movement of the ship

This is especially true if you have a lower stateroom in the middle of the ship. Since interior cabins are away from the sides of the ship and closer to the center mass you should feel less movement in stormy weather or turbulent seas. If sea sickness is an issue just make sure your cabin is not in the very front or back (forward/aft) of the ship.

Admittedly, there is not a drastic difference here.  So, this shouldn’t be the deciding factor. But many cruisers who book interior cabins like to point this out as there’s at least a slight difference for the seasick prone travelers.

7. You save money. Yes, I said it twice.

There are many different reasons to go on a cruise. But if you really love cruising and money is a factor in how many cruises you can go on, then this can’t be over emphasized. Cheaper cruises means more cruises and more money left over for excursions, specialty dining, or anything else you want to splurge on.

If you are a cruiser who only uses the stateroom to change clothes or sleep then an interior cabin is a no-brainer.

Bottom Line

Interior cabins are not for everyone.  And if you hate the idea of having no view, not knowing what time of day it is, and feeling boxed in, by all means go for that balcony cabin or suite.  But if the cost difference of a balcony and inside cabin is keeping you from taking that cruise, hopefully this will help in the decision process.  It’s not as bad as some make it out to be.  Cruising is all about taking new and exciting adventures, so why not try out this low-cost cabin category to see if it’s for you?

Photo credit: Princess Cruises – Royal Princess

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J. Souza
J. Souza
Jon is the co-founder of Cruise Fever and has been on dozens of cruises since his first in 2009. As an editor and avid cruise enthusiast he has sailed with at least 9 cruise lines and is always looking for a great cruise deal. Jon lives in North Carolina and can be reached at [email protected].
Cruise Tips7 Reasons to Choose an Interior Cabin on a Cruise

15 COMMENTS

  1. We have been on 11 cruises. First one had oceanview. Next 9 we had balcony and spent a lot of time out there and not participating in ship activities. This last cruise we had an interior room on deck 10, steps from the doors that opened to the pool area. 7 nights, $1149 total,for 2 adults. Saved nearly $650. We are booked in interior room this year. Again deck 10. And we were more involved in ship activities. Everyone is different. But I think we will stick with interior and cruise more.

  2. My husband and I just cruised with a room with a big circle window. “Oasis of the Seas” 7 nights. Cost for the room was $1,400 total for both. It doubled to $3,000 for a balcony. We were very comfortable. I cannot stay in an inside room unless I prop the door open at night with a shoe or something as I have claustrophobia.

    Question….why does a single person getting an inside room, have to pay double occupancy? I don’t get it.

    • does not matter what Cabin it is ……. inside, outside,balcony etc etc you pay the room occupancy fee as per terms and conditions . You need to ask this question to the cruise line

  3. I book an interior room as I just use it to sleep, bath, and change in and of course it cheaper.
    If I don’t want it to be pitch dark or want to get up with the morning sun, i’ll turn on the TV to the bow camera channel on mute.

  4. I booked a guaranteed cabin on Ocean Village to the Caribbean some years ago paying for a twin inside Cabin on deck five or six. When confirmation came through three to four weeks before I was in bunk beds on deck four near to the gangway. I was to say the least unhappy. I contacted travel agent who I had booked it through and rang myself etc. but was told Cruise was full. Eventually I was told I had to sort it out when boarding Cruise. When I got to Airport as it was a fly cruise from London I was upgraded into Business Class. On arrival on Cruise I went to necessary Desk and was told I had to sleep in that Cabin the first night and they would see what they could do the next day. Night was very noisy as one of the flights from UK the had been delayed owing to aircraft taking off before it leaving oil spillage on runway. Being near the gangway
    was not a good thing. Next day was given an inside cabin on Deck eleven joy. But as cruise was seven days Eastbound then back seven days Westbound to different Islands, I started in Aruba going to Barbados and back to Aruba. I had to go back to original cabin in Barbados. However again next day I was upgraded to cabin on deck nine an inside one again. As a result of this experience I always ensure I have a cabin No. when booking.

    • I agree. If you are able to book any location that is acceptable to you then book it rather than risk it. Occasionally people get lucky but usually the Best Available are undesirable locations. Guaranteed Best Available means best of the cabins nobody wanted.

  5. Most of what you say is true… You have to look at the whole picture though. For loyalty points on Celebrity for instance you only get 2 points per day where you get 3-5 per day booking a balcony. The more points you get in Captains club the higher and more benefits you receive!

  6. I’m interested in a interior cabin for one
    I’m an elderly using a cane.and I would like to go to the Caribbean for 5 to 9 days. Aruba Santo Domingo Mexico Jamaica

  7. Why do you make a single passanger pay for a inside cabin when there is only one person in it. That is shameful. Is there not a way that i can pay the single price. My daughter has it on her card.

  8. Sorry, but it did not tell us much more than we know already. Have booked an inside cabin right net to the launderette.

  9. Completely agree. We had an interior cabin on our first Azamara cruise, and we just booked another. We loved the location of our inside room. It was not on a main corridor, so we did not have the noise of people walking past our room inside nor outside. With the less expensive cabin fee, we feel ok going for a brand that’s at the top of Royal Caribbean’s lines.

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