How To Save Money (And Keep Your Sanity) In An Inside Cabin On Your Next Cruise
While less Instagrammable than a suite with a big balcony, the inside cabins on a cruise ship — also called interior staterooms — are a budget-friendly way to enjoy your next trip on the high seas. However, when most people think of inside cabins, they imagine small windowless rooms with a healthy serving of claustrophobia.
Yes, it might be true that interior rooms are window-free and smaller than the other cabins onboard, but you might be surprised to find out how comfortable they can be. These days they have plenty of space to move around, and some cruise ships even have virtual windows and balconies with real-time sights and sounds of the outside of the ship.
However, even if you don't have the benefit of virtual balconies on your ship, light sleepers will find windowless cabins to be a blessing. With the lack of light and sound, you can count on peaceful uninterrupted sleep. If this still isn't selling you on the idea of staying in an interior stateroom, we have a few more tricks up our sleeve to try and convince you.
Inside cabins deliver on your basic needs
If you think about it, you probably won't actually spend that much time in your cabin while on your cruise. Apart from sleeping and washing up, you'll likely spend most of your vacation doing shore excursions, wandering around the ship, or taking advantage of all the amenities the ship has to offer during the day.
Besides, most modern interior cabins are nothing to scoff at when it comes to their quality. What they may lack in light and fresh air, they more than make up for with the same high-quality amenities you'd find in an exterior cabin but at a fraction of the price.
If you know you'll be retreating to your cabin a lot for some R & R away from friends and family, sure, it might be worth it to grab an exterior stateroom. However, if you're looking forward to spending a lot of time mingling and reclining poolside, the inside cabin is definitely for you.
You can save a boatload on an inside cabin
While inside cabins can be just as good as exterior cabins, they just don't fetch the same demand. Cruise lines understand this, but they still need to pack those rooms with as many guests as possible. As such, the prices are lower to make up for this and appeal to a more budget-conscious clientele. But how much can you actually save on an inside cabin?
Cruise Critic reports seeing inside cabins running as cheap as $39 per person per night for a seven-night cruise, and points out that you could potentially save around $350 to $400 per person per night when you book an interior versus a balcony cabin. That's an insane amount of savings and would leave you with a plentiful budget to spend on whatever you please, whether you're solo traveling or hosting a big family reunion.
Typically, if you're traveling solo on a cruise, this is going to cost you extra since you're taking up space that two people could potentially fill. This is called a single supplement. However, on some cruise lines, you can find solo interior cabins that are made for one and don't require you to pay extra.
Families can save on rooms by booking smaller interior rooms for kids or younger family members that are across the hall from parents. Not only will they spend less, but kids will feel like they have greater independence, and parents can have some peace and quiet.