NEGATIVES
1. The lack of a window isn’t the only reason to pooh-pooh the idea of staying in an inside cabin.
2. In addition to offering nary a peek at the world, inside cabins — named because they’re generally located toward the middle of ships, away from exterior walls — also often are the smallest cabins on any cruise ship. Many are downright tiny. That latter point can be a big turnoff for some cruisers.
ADVANTAGES.
Inside cabins often are significantly less expensive than ocean-view cabins. They also offer a sort of “less is more” minimalism that can appeal to a keep-it-simple crowd. For me, at least, there are times when a cabin that’s inexpensive and modest in size is just fine — even if it doesn’t have anything in the way of a view.
Many people taking cruises don’t spend a lot of time in a cabin. Most cruisers want to enjoy all the ship has to offer in their public spaces and to explore all the wonderful places to which they sail. In that context, does it really matter if the room where I’ll sleep each night is big and fancy? Arthur Frommer, the legendary guidebook author and guidebook company founder said “Most of the time you’re in your room on vacation, your eyes are closed.” He thought spending huge sums on fancy digs was a waste.
1. Cheaper Cost. This is, for sure, the big allure of an inside cabin. They can be an incredible deal. Many fares are 40% less than fares for balcony cabins and may be nearly four times less expensive than the least expensive suite. Specifically, fares could be less than $70 a day!
All the amenities and attractions that a major ship has are (waterfeatures, indoor ice skating rinks, theatres with Broadway-style shows) are open to everyone on board, whether they’re staying in the smallest or biggest cabin. So are nearly all of the ship’s onboard restaurants, bars and lounges. You’ll be getting much of the same onboard experience as someone who pays far more for a snazzy cabin, at a fraction of the price.
2. Sleep Like a Baby. There is no dark in the world like the dark of an inside cabin. Once you turn off the lights, it will be pitch black: the kind of darkness that’s almost scary to contemplate. This can be a bit disorienting for someone who’s used to at least a little moonlight getting into their bedrooms at home. But if you’re the kind of person who has trouble sleeping with any kind of light disruption, an inside cabin can be pure bliss. You’ll go to bed without any worry about the morning sun sneaking through your curtains to wake you prematurely. And moonlight is definitely not a problem.
Inside cabins can be particularly appealing if you’re sailing far north around the summer solstice when the sun stays up for much (or all) of the day. We’re talking about places like Alaska, the Norwegian coast and around Iceland and Greenland. Ditto if you’re sailing far south during the winter to places such as Antarctica or the more southerly parts of South America.
3. You’ll Spend More Time Enjoying the Ship. The trick to having a blast on a cruise ship is to dive right into anything and everything it has to offer. If it has a rock wall, you need to climb it. Karaoke? Get ready to sing. Leave no waterslide or late-night comedy show unexperienced. To do this, of course, you need to get out of your room. And there’s no better motivation to get out of your room than to have one that lacks much space or even a window. Inside cabins can hold 4 people thanks to pulldown bunks.
When I book inside cabins, I get up and out early. Instead of ordering room service for breakfast, I’ll head to a restaurant with a view and then explore the ship more than usual in the morning. Spend daytime hours playing on the ship’s top decks and evening hours out late at the bars, lounges and showrooms. By offering you little more than a small, dark place to rest your head at night, inside cabins can be just the impetus you need to make the most of your cruise vacation.
4. Less seasickness. The most stable place to be on any cruise ship is low down on the vessel near its equilibrium point, which is generally near its centre. Since inside cabins are closer to the centre of a ship than “outside” ocean-view and balcony cabins, they can be more stable in rough seas. The trick is to find an inside cabin toward the centre of the ship in both directions — lengthwise and widthwise.
5. If solo, you may avoid extra fees. Nearly all cruise ship cabins are designed for two travellers, each paying their own fare, and solo travelers generally have to pay an extra fee to stay in one alone. But some ships have special inside cabins specifically designed for solo travellers. If you’re traveling alone and stay in one of these special solo cabins, you can avoid the extra solo traveler fee, known in the industry as the “single supplement.”
Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line, which has been at the forefront of the solo cabin trend, now has hundreds of inside cabins for solo travellers spread across half a dozen vessels. While these solo cabins do have windows, they open up onto hallways, not the outside of the ship. They’re also unusually small, at around 100 square feet. But they’re also superbly designed to maximize storage space, and they’re clustered around exclusive lounges where solos can mingle at daily hosted happy hour gatherings.
Royal Caribbean, Cunard and Holland America are among other lines that have been adding solo cabins to some ships, too — many of them inside cabins. There are a few ocean-view cabins designed for solo travelers in the industry, but they are very rare.
5. Ocean views are still possible. On a few innovative cruise ships, there are windowless inside cabins that do offer a view of the outside world — thanks to the magic of technology. On Disney’s two newest ships, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, some inside cabins come with “magical portholes” that show real-time views of the outside. They’re actually screens built into the walls of the cabin to give the illusion of a porthole view.
Royal Caribbean has gone a step further, adding large “virtual balconies” to inside cabins on some ships. These are floor-to-ceiling LED screens that show real-time views of the outside, built into the walls of the cabins in such a way that they offer the illusion of a balcony.
If this idea sounds a little hokey, it is, but the illusion is surprisingly real. The addition of the screens really changes the feel of the rooms.