Cruise Virgins. Advice needed on what cabin to choose

[Whattheydonttellyou]

We have never cruised before and husband and I have big birthdays coming up! We have decided on a cruise on Britannia next April to mark the occasion.
We want a balcony but there is so much variation in price between grades of cabin with balcony.

Husband cannot believe that Britannia will have any rubbish cabins so wants to go for the cheapest balcony cabin. Our travel agent's quote for a top grade balcony cabin is considerably more, almost half as much again. Husband says we could save money on the cabin and go for the cheapest and use what money we save for excursions etc
My question really is whether it is worth paying the extra for the top grade of cabin vs the cheapest grade of cabin if both have balconies.
Any advice would be helpful as neither of us have ever set foot on a cruise ship before!

Iklboo - FOUR sleeps! Wow! Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

NMG85 - Thank you again for your advice and the link. It is just knowing where to go to find this information really. I did buy "Cruising & Cruise Ships" from Amazon which will arrive soon as a sort of self-help manual. I have been avidly reading cruise reviews since you mentioned them earlier! I really appreciate your honest and helpful information.

Can't wait now to get our first cruise under our belt and get our sea legs!

Thank you

I am wondering how much spends we'll need though.

We're not into spas or much in the way of shopping (eg not shoes, bags, makeup, perfume / aftershave, jewellery, watches etc).

I think we'd probably manage about 5 rounds of drinks a night at most. We have the 6 bottle wine package & will be taking some JD for in the cabin.

We won't be buying loads of souvenirs either.

DS has his own spends & doesn't drink many soft drinks or eat much ice cream (odd child!!!).

You will need minimal money then. Although not sure how expensive drinks are onboard P&O.

Thanks nmg. A Long Island Iced Tea is less than a fiver , a pint of lager about £3.50-£4, a large glass of wine between £4-£6.50, G&T about £4 etc. Sort of large city prices really.

It's the free cake & afternoon tea that beckons!

I know the food always tempts me even though I say I will be good and pace myself.

I'm looking forward to trying things I wouldn't normally have at home.