For my recent cruise aboard Norwegian Pearl, we booked an NCL Club Balcony Suite for the first time. When we noticed it was only $17 more than a standard balcony, we decided to splurge!
You might be wondering, “What is a club balcony suite on NCL?” I had never heard of this cabin category before my travel agent provided it as an option. This small price gave us many upgrades, including extra space, a larger bathroom, and a few added perks.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Club Balcony Suites are an interesting cabin category, and the use of “suite” is a little misleading. Despite the name, they aren’t technically true suites and do not include Haven access, butler service, or the premium perks that come with NCL’s highest cabin categories.
Instead, Club Balcony Suites (previously called Mini Suites) are designed for cruisers who want a little extra comfort without paying suite-level prices.
Many people book them for the larger layout and upgraded bathrooms alone, but the category also includes a few extra touches like complimentary treats delivered to your cabin. For instance, you receive a bottle of sparkling wine, upgraded bath amenities, earlier specialty dining reservations, and one complimentary valet laundry or pressing service.
After spending 7 nights sailing across Europe from Barcelona to Ravenna (Venice), we ended up loving our Club Balcony Suite! Even though Norwegian Pearl is one of the cruise line’s older vessels, we found the cabin to be impressively modern, spacious, and very comfortable.
By the end of the cruise, we found ourselves spending more time in the room because we enjoyed it so much. Here’s why I think it’s worthwhile to try Norwegian’s Club Balcony Suite based on our experience.
First impression: We loved how spacious the Club Balcony Suite was
For this sailing, we booked cabin 11564 on Norwegian Pearl’s Deck 11. After boarding the ship in Barcelona, we were eager to get settled in our new home-away-from-home!
The first thing we noticed when entering the cabin was how open and spacious it felt. Club Balcony Suites on Norwegian Pearl measure up to 285 square feet, including the balcony. This makes them noticeably larger than many traditional balcony cabins on the ship.
For comparison, standard balcony staterooms range around 205 to 210 square feet with the balcony included. This means that Club Balcony Suites can offer roughly 70 to 80 additional square feet of space, depending on the specific cabin configuration.
Because Norwegian Pearl first launched in 2006, I expected the room to feel a little more dated compared to newer ships. Instead, the space felt contemporary and refreshed with a comfortable layout that immediately made us feel at home.
We had a full couch sitting area, vanity space, large closet, and a king bed configured as two separate twin beds. The extra sitting area made a bigger difference than I expected and gave us somewhere comfortable to relax other than sitting on the bed. After exploring many iconic ports across the Mediterranean, we appreciated having this extra space for seating.
The Club Balcony Suite also had ample storage that was greatly appreciated. As two women traveling together, we packed a lot of (very cute) outfits. Between port days in places like Malta, Croatia, and Montenegro plus post-cruise time in Venice, we definitely did not pack light!
Thankfully, storage was not an issue in our Club Balcony Suite.
The cabin had multiple vanity drawers, along with large drawers and shelving next to the closet. My friend, Rosina, took over most of the hanging space while I claimed the drawers and shelves.
Even with two people bringing plenty of clothes, shoes, and cruise essentials, we still had extra room left over. Somehow everything fit perfectly!
If you’re sailing with a third or fourth guest, I could easily see this additional space becoming even more valuable with a Club Balcony Suite.
The massive bathroom was the best part of the Club Balcony Suite
Although a cruise cabin bathroom is hardly exciting, having a comfortable space can really elevate your overall stateroom experience. Before sailing, I kept seeing people mention that the larger bathroom was the biggest difference compared to a standard balcony cabin.
The massive bathroom felt noticeably upgraded and looked far newer than I expected for Norwegian Pearl. Marble-style finishes covered most of the bathroom and really helped give it a more modern appearance.
The larger shower was one of the best features of the cabin.
Instead of the smaller shower layout you often find in cruise cabins, this was a large walk-in shower felt like a dream! The shower head also felt upgraded compared to what we typically see in standard cabins.
I also loved having a separated toilet area in the bathroom. There was no door physically separating the toilet area, but it still felt removed from the sink and shower space, which helped the room feel larger.
The sink itself was also generously sized in our bathroom. Storage in the bathroom was a little more limited, and this would be probably my only complaint. We had two small shelves near the mirror, plus additional storage underneath the sink.
Between the two of us, we had a lot of bathroom products that we needed to find space for. Luckily, my hanging cosmetic organizer saved space from needing to use the shelves or counter.
Club Balcony Suites also include a few upgraded touches, including bathrobes, Norwegian’s Bliss Collection linens and pillows, Bergamot bath products, and additional suite amenities. I didn’t personally notice any difference in the bath products provided, as they appeared to be Norwegian’s standard products.
I think families would especially appreciate the larger bathroom, but even for two adults, it made getting ready in the mornings noticeably easier.
We loved the location of our cabin on Deck 11
Location ended up being another unexpected perk of our stateroom.
Our Club Balcony Suite sat on Deck 11 underneath the kids club area, which honestly made me a little nervous beforehand. I had seen mixed opinions online about the cabins being close to the pool deck, buffet, and kids clubs, but we never noticed any major noise during our sailing.
In fact, the location ended up being one of our favorite parts of the room. We only had to walk up one flight of stairs to reach the buffet and pool deck. This made it super easy to grab a quick snack in the Garden Cafe buffet or a late-night cup of hot water. In the morning, we appreciated being so close to the buffet for breakfast.
In general, the cabin had a fantastic location and it was easy for us to navigate anywhere on the ship.
The balcony was perfect for a Mediterranean Cruise
Our Club Balcony Suite featured a standard-sized balcony, which felt spacious and very comfortable. We knew that our cruise would have some stunning scenery, so having a balcony was essential for us.
We sailed past beautiful coastlines throughout the Mediterranean and loved stepping outside to enjoy the views. Some mornings we simply opened the door to let in the ocean breeze, while other times we sat outside enjoying arrivals into port.
We did have a minor issue figuring out the door mechanism at first. Opening and locking the balcony door took a little trial and error before we finally found the trick that worked. After that, everything was fine.
NCL’s Club Balcony Suite benefits were a nice added perk
Along with extra space and an upgraded bathroom, Norwegian’s Club Balcony Suites also include a few additional perks and benefits.
Amenities currently include:
- Complimentary bottle of sparkling wine upon embarkation
- Two treat deliveries during the sailing
- One complimentary valet laundry or pressing service
- Earlier dining reservations
- Bathrobes and upgraded bedding
- Sitting area and enhanced cabin layout
Upon arrival, we found the bottle of sparkling wine on our vanity. Because we already had the Free at Sea drink package during the cruise, we brought the bottle off the ship with us after disembarkation and enjoyed it later in Venice at our hotel. This ended up being a fun souvenir from our cruise!
I also loved the treat deliveries that arrived throughout the sailing. While we were sailing away from Malta in the early afternoon, we enjoyed a small assortment of baked goodies from our balcony. The other treats delivered included chocolate covered strawberries.
We had originally planned to use the complimentary laundry service as well, especially since this was a longer trip, but we ended up never needing it. However, this is definitely a nice perk that you should take advantage of.
Finally, we totally forgot to reserve our specialty dining meals beforehand. Club Balcony Suites have earlier access to reservations, so we really should have taken advantage of this perk. We booked our specialty dining onboard right after embarkation. We were able to dine at all of the restaurants we wanted, but most of our times were at 8:00 PM.
Regardless, the upgrade to a Club Balcony Suite only cost us $17, so the laundry perk alone justified this!
Is NCL’s Club Balcony Suite worth it?
For our Norwegian Pearl sailing, the upgrade was absolutely worth it!
The extra space was noticeable immediately and the bathroom felt like a major upgrade compared to a standard cabin. We also felt there was excellent storage and loved the location of our stateroom. Because the cabin was so comfortable, we ended up spending more time inside than we normally would.
Would I pay hundreds of dollars more for a Club Balcony Suite? Probably not.
At some point, I think the value becomes harder to justify, especially since Club Balcony Suites are not true suites and do not include Haven access or butler service.
But for small price differences, I would say it’s definitely worth it. And if I were traveling with three or four guests, I think the extra room and larger bathroom would become even more worthwhile.
For us, paying just $17 more turned out to be one of the easiest cruise upgrades we’ve ever made. It ended up giving us one of our favorite cabins aboard Norwegian Pearl.
