For me it would be worth it. But I'm claustrophobic and it's one of the costs of traveling for us. Would you use it? Would you sit out there at night or the morning and just soak in the atmosphere of where you are or would you head to the common areas.

I am a bit claustrophobic, which is the reason that I am considering it. I'm not sure if we would sit there, but I do like the option to do so.

We're taking a Uniworld cruise in June (Basel to Amsterdam). Although I wanted to upgrade for the French balcony, I got talked out of it by both my DH and the other people going on the cruise. Since we are spending one week on the boat and another week on our own in Britain, we're using the money we save for slightly nicer accommodations off the boat. I will just have to make do with sharing the view with others in the common areas.

I just wanted to comment that since it's not a true balcony we won't be able to "sit out there", but we would be on a higher deck and able to get fresh air in the cabin.

We took a river cruise from Budapest to Prague on Vantage. It was a super spur-of-the moment deal. When we called, the cheaper (lower level) rooms were sold out, so we went for a "better" one. It didn't have a balcony, and we seldom opened the window; but the view was far better from a higher level and worth it to me. FYI: our cruise only had really great scenery along the route on 1 day, and we chose to sit in the main area that day, so we could hear the speaker. Lots of the cruising was done at night, and we were in the towns during the day. Hope that helps.

I've had a "sit out on it" balcony three times on the ocean and really enjoyed the fresh air, the sounds, poking my head out to watch the other boats.... For me, depending on my budget, I'd probably rather have that than, say, fly over in business class. Then again I believe we were asked to keep the doors closed at night (a/c) so we couldn't sleep to the sounds of the water.

DH and I have mulled around the idea of a river cruise, especially through Budapest, I was born there, but I get sea sick very easily.

Our room didn't have a balcony per se, but a slider that opened. I liked it even though we really didn't spend much time in the room, except to sleep. When on board, we spent the majority of our time up top catching rays and watching the beautiful scenery go by. But in the a.m., it was really nice to be able to open the door and get some fresh air. Then again, we lucked out with wonderful weather, and I'm not a fan of a/c. If it's not nice, you'd not open the window anyway. However, be aware that the river boats dock right next to each other and sometimes, your view is of the side of the next boat, about 18" away.

Also keep in mind where your cabin is...the lower down, the more likely you are to have engine noise.

RoseAbbey, you won't get seasick on a riverboat cruise. The only time we ever felt the boat even moving at all was when they were turning it about to dock. Otherwise, it was less motion than even riding in a car...smooth as glass.

oh, that is great to hear Anne, will definately be checking out river cruises then, may for a fall trip. Thanks

You've picked a wonderful cruise, Terriks. One of my fav trips was a cruise on the Rhine. I definitely would go with the French balcony. What time of year are you going? btw...some rooms are so small that you could not use your hula hoop without knocking the walls :-)

I know this sounds crazy, but my brother in law got seasick in a cruise ship docked in the canals of Venice! The only thing that helped was Sea Bands. I now swear by them as well. They look dorky. Whether or not it's placebo effect it works for me in all but very rough seas and has an added bonus of no drowsiness. With packing a pair just in case if one is prone.

Yeah, the canals in Venice could get pretty rocky...not fun for the gondoliers!