You probably already know that a balcony cabin on a cruise will cost more than an interior cabin, as there’s stronger demand for a great view and fresh air, all from the comfort of a stateroom.
But do you know the average price difference between the two staterooms, or how other factors could affect the price difference?
*This article has been updated since its original publish date earlier this year.
When deciding between a balcony or interior cabin you may notice that sometimes the price isn’t that different. And then at other times you will see a wide price difference between the two cabins.
So, what makes the difference?
I carefully analyzed the cost of 300 cruises in 2023. From the months of April through December I compared seven cruise lines and detailed the cost of each interior, ocean view, and balcony cabin.
For each month I arbitrarily selected about 30 cruises from the 7 biggest cruise lines and itinerary lengths and wrote down the numbers.
I used an Excel spreadsheet to make note of the cruise line, ship name, age of the ship, duration of the itinerary, month of sailing, and destination.
This helped me find answers to some questions, such as whether different cruise lines have a greater disparity in cost between interior and balcony staterooms, and whether other factors like the age of the cruise ship and destination play a significant role.
This article is a result of my findings.
Related: These are the 5 cheapest cabins on any cruise ship
The average cost for each category of cabin across all 300 cruises
The duration of cruises I looked at ranged from 3-day to 21-day cruises. The average cruise duration was about 7 days.
- Average interior cabin cost: $701.32
- Average ocean view cost: $887.66
- Average balcony cost: $1,153.77
Comparing every category across the board, a balcony stateroom will cost $452.45 more than an interior stateroom.
This means a balcony stateroom will cost 64.5% more on average than an interior cabin.
Of course, this number can vary, with some balcony staterooms costing 100% more in some cases.
Read: What cruise lines have the most space in their balcony cabins? 8 lines compared here
Cost difference by cruise line
I looked at seven different cruise lines for this data. So, let’s see if each cruise line shows a significant difference in cost between these two cabin categories.
Carnival Cruise Line
The average itinerary length for this data is 5.3 days. So, you can divide the cost by this number to get the average cost per day.
- Average interior cabin cost: $576.56
- Average ocean view cost: $746.08
- Average balcony cost: $926.48
According to this data, a balcony cabin costs $349.92 more than an interior cabin, or 61% more.
An ocean view cabin costs 29% more than an interior on average for a Carnival cruise.
53 Carnival cruises in 2023 were used for this data comparison.
Celebrity Cruises
The average itinerary duration for this data was 7.6 days.
- Average interior cabin cost: $708.91
- Average ocean view cost: $905.28
- Average balcony cost: $1,194.88
According to the data, a balcony cabin costs $485.97 more than an interior cabin, which is 69% more.
An ocean view cabin costs 27% more than an interior stateroom on average.
32 Celebrity cruises in 2023 were used for this data.
Holland America Line
24 different Holland American cruises in 2023 were used for this data. The average itinerary length is 9.3 days.
- Average interior cabin cost: $849.63
- Average ocean view cost: $1,117.33
- Average balcony cost: $1,461.08
According to the data, a balcony cabin with Holland America costs $611.45 more than an interior cabin, which is 72% more.
MSC Cruises
The average itinerary length for this data with MSC is 7.3 days. 55 different MSC cruises were analyzed for this data.
- Average interior cabin cost: $687.93
- Average ocean view cost: $869.93
- Average balcony cost: $1,051.56
According to the data, a balcony cabin with MSC will cost $363.63 more than an interior cabin, which is 53% more.
Norwegian Cruise Line
The average itinerary length for this data with Norwegian is 8.8 days and spans across 34 different cruises.
- Average interior cabin cost: $934.76
- Average ocean view cost: $1,208.56
- Average balcony cost: $1,612.03
According to the data, a balcony cabin with Norwegian will cost $677.27 more than an interior cabin, which is 72% more.
Princess Cruises
The average itinerary length for Princess Cruises was 9.75 days and 24 cruises in 2023 were used for comparison.
- Average interior cabin cost: $727.75
- Average ocean view cost: $919.46
- Average balcony cost: $1,342.54
According to the data, a balcony cabin with Princess will cost $614.79 more than an interior cabin, which is 84% more.
Royal Caribbean International
The average itinerary length this Royal Caribbean data was 6 days. 78 different cruises were used for comparison.
- Average interior cabin cost: $635.31
- Average ocean view cost: $766.97
- Average balcony cost: $1,008.09
According to the data, a balcony cabin with Royal Caribbean will cost $372.78 more than an interior cabin, which is 58% more.
Related: These are the 5 cheapest cabins on any cruise ship
Verdict in comparing cruise lines by cabin category price difference
According to the data above, Princess has the greatest cost difference when comparing interior and balcony cabins at 84%, while MSC Cruises has the narrowest margin between the two categories at just 53%.
What about older vs newer ships? Do balconies cost a lot more when comparing?
I split up the 300 cruises into two sections: One for ships 10 years and newer, and one for cruise ships older than 10 years.
Cruise ships built within the last 10 years
The average itinerary for these cruises is 5 days and the average age of the ship is 7 years.
- Average cost for interior cabins: $878.86
- Average cost for ocean view cabins: $1,131.87
- Average cost for balcony cabins: $1,297.61
Using this data the balcony cabins will cost $418.75 more than an interior cabin, which is 48% more.
Cruise ships built more than 10 years ago
The average itinerary for these cruises is 6.7 days in length and the average age of the ships compared is 18 years-old.
- Average cost for interior cabins: $599.47
- Average cost for ocean view cabins: $747.55
- Average cost for balcony cabins: $1,071.24
Using this data the balcony cabins will cost $471 more than an interior cabin, which is 79% more.
So, as you can see, older cruise ships have a greater premium for balcony cabins. This is mainly because some of the older ships don’t have as many balcony staterooms, which can drive up the price based in limited supply.
With newer ships, the cost disparity between the different categories was not as pronounced compared to older ships. Although, the cost for an interior cabin on older ships is still much lower, comparatively.
Related: 8 advantages of older cruise ships over newer ones
Cost difference when comparing cruise destinations
Does the destination have an impact on the price difference between an interior and balcony stateroom? Let’s find out.
Cruises to Alaska
The average itinerary duration for these Alaskan cruises is 7.7 days.
- Average cost of an interior cabin: $641.43
- Average cost for an ocean view cabin: $873.91
- Average cost for a balcony cabin: $1,254.23
Using this data a balcony cabin on a cruise to Alaska will cost $612.80 more than an interior cabin, which is 96% more.
Related: What is the best cruise line for Alaska?
Cruises to the Caribbean
The average itinerary duration for the following cruises is 7 days. 90 Caribbean cruises were used for comparison.
- Average cost of an interior cabin: $679.08
- Average cost for an ocean view cabin: $845.23
- Average cost for a balcony cabin: $1,083.69
Using this data, a balcony cabin on a cruise to the Caribbean will cost $404.61 more than an interior cabin, which is 60% more.
Cruises to Europe
Cruises to Europe can be quite a wide category. This can include any Mediterranean cruises, cruises to Norway and other Scandinavian countries, and more. The average duration for these European cruises is 8 days and 80 cruises were compared for the data.
- Average cost of an interior cabin: $921.89
- Average cost for an ocean view cabin: $1,162.01
- Average cost for a balcony cabin: $1,423.38
Using this data a balcony on a cruise to Europe will cost $501.49 more than an interior cabin, which is 54% more.
Related: Cabins on cruises that should be avoided
Verdict when comparing destinations
I also looked at cruises to other destinations, but there weren’t enough of them within the 300 cruises I looked at to gather definitive data. The three destinations above were by far the most common.
The cost of a balcony when booking an Alaska cruise can cost 96% more than an interior cabin.
That should make perfect sense as most people cruise to Alaska for the incredible views along the way, and having a balcony allows you to stay cozy and warm while still taking in the breathtaking scenery.
Cabin cost difference by month
Next I wanted to see if the month or time of year played a role in how much more a balcony cost over an interior cabin. Instead of getting into the minutia I simply listed the percentage of difference between interior and balcony cabin costs.
If you want to see a more detailed explanation of when it’s cheapest to go cruising, you can check out the article below.
Read more: What is the cheapest time of year to go on a cruise?
How much more do balconies cost over interior cabins by month:
- April: 64% higher
- May: 67% higher
- June: 74% higher
- July: 53% higher
- August: 54% higher
- September: 74% higher
- October: 64% higher
- November: 75% higher
- December: 68% higher
Nothing too crazy stands out in this data. The mid-summer months do seem to have a slight dip in cost difference but overall there’s a lot of symmetry when comparing monthly price differences in cabin categories.
It should be noted that summer months also see a spike in overall prices as it’s prime vacation season for many families.
So, while the price for a balcony over an interior cabin may be closer in percentage terms you will also pay more for those inside cabins as well.
Does the duration of the cruise impact the percentage of premium on balcony cabins?
And for the last test I wanted to see if longer cruises have higher balcony price differences over shorter cruises or vice versa.
For simplicity I broke up all 300 cruises into two groups: cruises 3-7 days and cruises longer than 7 days.
The cost of cabins on cruises up to 7 days long
These cruises all averaged together equal about a 6 day itinerary.
- Average cost of interior cabin: $601.38
- Average cost of ocean view cabin: $768.35
- Average cost of balcony cabin: $977.12
Using this data the cost of a balcony cabin is $375.74 higher than an interior cabin, which is 62% more.
The cost of cabins on cruises longer than 7 days
These cruises all averaged together equal an itinerary of about 11 days.
- Average cost of interior cabin: $1,010.73
- Average cost of ocean view cabin: $1,257.01
- Average cost of balcony cabin: $1,700.64
Using this data the cost of a balcony cabin is $689.91 higher than an interior cabin, which is 68% more.
There is a slight difference in change when it comes to longer cruises, with shorter cruises seeing a smaller increase in prices for balcony cabins.
Related: Inside cruise cabin hacks: 14 tips to make the most of interior cabins
Final Thoughts
Congratulations if you made it this far and didn’t fall asleep while reading through this mind dump of information.
As you can see, the biggest factors that impact the price differential between balcony and interior cabins are the cruise line, age of ship, and destination — at least to some degree.
What you do with this data is up to you. I typically will book an interior cabin because I want to sail on as many cruises as possible. But occasionally finding a balcony stateroom for only 30% or 40% more is an offer that’s hard to refuse.
The above data is not purely scientific, and I didn’t use the data from every single possible cruise, but I hope it was still helpful.
Related: These are the 5 cheapest cabins on any cruise ship
Cabin Rules: 10 things you should never do in your cruise cabin
Some have requested access to the spreadsheet I put together to formulate this data. Feel free to check it out yourself with the download below.
You can reference this data on your website or blog as well. We just ask that you credit the source (Cruise Fever).
I mean, staying at a motel 6 vs a Marriott signature resort has a big price difference too based on the quality of the rooms. It’s one thing to skimp on airfare because it’s just a transport, but if you’re living space for a week is claustrophobic, is it really fun?
Found the excel spreadsheet.
Thank you
Can you email me a copy of the spreadsheet. My husband and I took our first cruise (15 day Norwegian Panama cruise) in January 2023. We went with a club balcony stateroom. It was great. Might want to save money on our next one.
Wonderful article. Clears up much of the mystery of which is the better deal, strictly price wise…
One comment, there is ALWAYS a math major in the audience. Lol
Truly a nice read.
Wow. A genuinely useful article that delivers what it promises.
I may have taken the only cruise of my life back on New Years 2000, but I enjoy seeing well laid out information like this.
I am also interested in the spreadsheet. Enjoy all the details.
Sure thing. Just added a download link at the bottom of the article.
The math here leaves a bit to be desired. In order to fing out % more, you need to divide the difference by the lower number, not the higher number.
Thank you for pointing this out. I have since made the necessary adjustments to reflect the correct percentages. I appreciate your bringing this to my attention so I could get it right.
Can I get a copy of the spreadsheet? I want to make some charts!
Hi Dennis. I can work on linking to an upload of the spreadsheet if there’s interest for it.