As a frequent cruiser, I stay in many types of cabins, but balcony rooms tend to be the most common choice I make.
I tend to book balcony rooms the most because they offer a great balance of space, amenities, and price. They aren't the cheapest option, but usually a balcony is a reasonably higher cost compared to interior cabins.
This year, I stayed in a balcony cabin on five different Royal Caribbean ships: Liberty of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, Icon of the Seas, and Mariner of the Seas.
In the case of Utopia of the Seas, I actually stayed in two different balcony rooms on separate sailings.
Here's how the spaces stacked up — and which cruise room I liked best for its excellent value.
My balcony room on Liberty of the Seas was all the way forward
In June, I booked connecting balcony cabins at the very front of Liberty of the Seas.
This was a 5-night cruise to Bermuda that I took my family on after my kids finished their school year. Because our schools finish up before Memorial Day weekend, we're able to hop on a summer cruise before the summer season rush starts.
Each cabin was a category 3B Spacious Ocean View Balcony room, with a cost of $4,296.98 per cabin.
I was able to get one room for free because it was offered to me by Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society as a reward for reaching Pinnacle Club status.
I liked the fact these rooms were spacious balcony rooms, which meant they had more living space so there was less shuffling.
Plus, booking two connecting cabins is still one of my favorite family cruise hacks for saving money (and sanity).
Liberty of the Seas is a middle-aged cruise ship, so the aesthetics of the cabin are not going to wow anyone, but it's certainly quite functional.
The downside to this cabin was it was all the way forward. It gave us great views from our balcony, but it meant a longer walk back and forth between the room and other places on the ship. Plus, cabins all the way forward can be more susceptible to motion.
I stayed in two balcony rooms on Utopia of the Seas
Royal Caribbean launched two new cruise ships in 2024, Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas.
I ended up sailing on Utopia six times in 2024, with two of those sailings in an oceanview balcony.
The first time was a media preview sailing, in which Royal Caribbean invited me to sail as their guest prior to the ship's launch.
For this short 3-night weekend cruise, I had a category 1C cabin that was midship.
One thing you'll notice on a brand new ship is how modern everything looks.
Storage space on Royal Caribbean's newer Oasis Class ships always stands out to me, because there is so much of it.
Compared to older Oasis Class ships, the cruise line figured out how to add so much more storage options inside it. On both sides of the couch is a closet. One closet was wide open and contained 20 hangers to hang up dresses or suits. It's even big enough to store your suitcase, backpack, and other luggage.
The second closet had five shelves along with a safe to store valuables.
Another tremendous upgrade within cabins on a new ship are how many USB outlets there are.
There's USB outlets on both sides of the bed, along with USB and power outlets elsewhere in the cabin. This is so helpful for families and it means less reliance on having to remember to pack an outlet extender.
In October, I went back on Utopia again in a category 4D Ocean View Balcony cabin.
This cabin was "free" in the sense I got it through Royal Caribbean's casino program. Essentially, I gambled enough money on a previous sailing to qualify for a free balcony offer.
All I had to pay were the taxes and fees, which came out to 312.94 per room.
Just like on Liberty of the Seas, I booked two connecting balcony rooms (my wife and I both qualified for a casino offer on this sailing).
I'm not sure you can really tell a difference between the ocean view balcony cabins between my two sailings other than location.
My next cabin was on Anthem of the Seas in Europe
In August 2024, I sailed alone in a balcony cabin on Anthem of the Seas from Southampton, UK on a 7-night cruise to France and Spain.
I stayed in a category 4D ocean view balcony that cost me $2,822.55.
You might be wondering why I went for a balcony if it was just me in the room, and there are two reasons why I went with a balcony.
First, the price was good. This balcony cost me almost half as much as the balcony on Liberty of the Seas, and this sailing had two more nights.
Second, because the scenery in Europe is so different to me, I valued being able to easily see my surroundings. This was especially true for sailing in and sail away, when there was a lot to enjoy.
Also, the weather in Europe was quite mild, so I really enjoyed being able to use my laptop from the balcony and do some work while enjoying temperate weather.
Even though Anthem is about 10 years old, I think the room looks quite up to date with its modern touches.
There are USB outlets around the cabin, and lots of storage too. While Royal Caribbean may have tweaked options more with its newer ships, I don't think you'll be at a disadvantage with the amenities of a Quantum Class ship.
At 55 square feet, the balcony is average for a Quantum class ship and it has enough room for two chairs and a table. It's enough space for two people to comfortably enjoy the view and ocean air.
I spent 3 nights in a balcony on the brand new Icon of the Seas
Just like Utopia, Royal Caribbean invited me to stay in a balcony room on Icon of the Seas when she debuted.
Being a brand new ship, you come to expect a beautiful cabin with modern touches. There were the most USB outlets I've seen on any Royal Caribbean ship, but there were two changes that stood out about a balcony room on Icon.
The first change was adding a seat in the shower.
I have never seen a cruise ship shower with a seat before, so this is very unique to Icon of the Seas.
I also appreciated the size of the shower, as cruise cabin showers have been notoriously small in older ship designs.
The other change that I didn't love as much was the shift from drawers to baskets in some areas.
There are baskets in one of the storage areas, and I can't say I thought it was a good idea.
They didn’t seem to fit well in the shelves: they were heavy and slid harshly over the wood below. They didn’t slide as easily as a drawer, and I had to pull them all the way out if I wanted to get an item out of the basket.
Of course, baskets are not a deal breaker when it comes to a balcony room.
If I had to pick a winner, I'd say my balcony on Mariner of the Seas felt like the best bang for my buck
The first cruise I took in 2024 I think ended up being the best dollar-for-dollar value.
While still on winter break, I took the family on a 5 night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day on Mariner of the Seas.
Once again, I booked two connecting balcony cabins. The total for two balcony cabins was $3,864.28, making each cabin less than $2,000 each.
Mariner is similar to Liberty of the Seas in age, but unlike Liberty, Royal Caribbean added significant updates to the ship more recently.
Unfortunately, the cabins weren't updated. Royal Caribbean rarely, if ever, updates cabins as part of its ship refurbishments.
Nonetheless, I think the price is perfect for a ship like this.
I think most cruisers are willing to overlook the curtain color, bathroom motif, and lack of USB plugs if the price is right.
I strongly considered Anthem of the Seas for the best value, but because I had to also think about airfare and other costs of a European cruise, I had to give the edge to Mariner.
