When we get hooked on cruising, life changes. Land-based priorities might be shuffled to allow more time and resources to feed our addiction. The stronger that urge to cruise becomes, the less important other parts of life on land seem to be.
At sea, more important decisions are made that directly affect the quality and cost of travel. Those options include the number of days in an itinerary, who will be going along with us and more. One way to control overall travel costs with a goal of cruising more: buy and make the most out of inside cabins.
Save $ To Spend Elsewhere – Inside cabins are the least expensive on the ship, for the most part. Exceptions come in the form of last-minute sales which are difficult to predict. Regardless of our overall travel budget, saving on where we lay our head at night frees up funds to use for other travel expenses.
Embrace Total Darkness – One part of the cruising experience that is totally different when we have an inside cabin: sleeping. With no window or balcony door to let sunlight into our sleeping space, we sleep better. Place a towel on the floor to block hallway light sneaking into inside cabins. It’s like being in a cave.
Pull Rank On The Kids – Traveling as a family with more than two passengers in your stateroom? Split them up and put the kids in an inside cabin. Not far, put the adults in a cabin with a window or balcony. Most cruise lines allow this if the minor children are close by their parents or legal guardians.
You DO Have A Television – One thought about choosing a stateroom that often skews the results: ‘I want to be able to see the weather outside so I know what to wear’. Turn on the TV: most ships have multiple webcams that provide a live view of the weather.
An Inside With A View – Virtual balconies on some cruise lines project what we might see outside of the ship if there was indeed a window or door on the wall. Often a live view, this option works for those with claustrophobia.
Don’t Forget The Goal – If the reason for being in an inside cabin is to cruise more often, make an onboard booking while sailing. You’ll validate your current inside cabin decision by walking away with a future travel dream. That also helps with post-cruise depression.
Some travelers get really hung up on which category they will have on the ship. This is mostly busy work to occupy their time on land, while they wait to return to sea. Still, I can count the number of times I have invited friends met onboard to visit us in our cabin with no fingers. It never happens.
Chris Owen shares frank, inside information about cruise vacations on ChrisCruises.com
When I first began cruising – I didn’t understand why anybody would ‘choose’ an inside cabin. Ha! Boy was I uninformed. If you aren’t rich and you want to see more of the world, spend more time at sea, watch more great shows, eat more great food – it just makes sense! And, sometimes you get upgraded free – or not. Who cares – you sleep in a cabin. Just get me on a ship! #27 coming up. Also – for those looking more cruises for less money – re-positioning cruises are the bomb!
Great article. I had to read your last sentence 3 times to understand it though, lol. I thought you said you invited new friends with no fingers into your cabin, lol. WHY DIDN’T THEY HAVE FINGERS??? Haha
I loooove inside cabins. With the money saved, I can book a mid-ship cabin cheaper than a fore or aft balcony so there less pitch movement of the ship. Inside cabin = more cruises.