How much time do you spend in your cabin?

Last week I went to a wedding which was held in a beautiful hotel overlooking the sea.

As the venue was around forty five minutes drive away, and as it is customary to toast the happy couple, we decided to book a room for the night. There are always various rates available when looking into this but, due to the number of wedding guests already booked in, together with the glorious weather and it being peak season mid-school holidays, they seemed rather high. We started to look at alternative hotels in the area when, by chance, I spotted an amazing price for a standard room at the very place we needed to be so grabbed it. It was £60 less than previously offered and no breakfast included but seemed too good to be true. The most important thing was it had a bed, a bathroom and a short walk in high heels to the celebrations.

On arrival, we checked in and were offered breakfast at an extra £24 for both of us so still a bargain. We expected the smallest room in the hotel maybe with a tiny window overlooking a wall but were very pleasantly  surprised on opening the door as the room and bathroom were huge with amazing views.

Mostly when booking hotels, especially overseas, we take pot-luck on their location and size and outlook. They may be described as a spacious balcony room overlooking the pool but will almost certainly not be the one you admired in the brochure. You may have the furthest walk to the restaurant or be put in a noisy location next to the kitchens.

When booking a cruise we can be confronted with many cabin types to choose from. If you want a balcony on P&O’s Britannia for example, there are no less than twenty one different ones to choose from at twenty one different prices. How much time you plan to spend in your cabin is probably what you need to ask yourself. On a short sailing or an itinerary with many ports of call, this may not be much but on a Transatlantic crossing with seven days at sea, you may be in there a lot more.

How important is it to you that you select the right one?  Do you book inside cabins as it is just a place to sleep or do you like the privacy of your own balcony?