Having had a balcony cabin once, and feeling that I did not spend enought time out there to justify the extra cost, we opted to take a longer cruise with an outside cabin on the lowest passenger deck. We had 2007.
It was a fine decision. I liked the view closer to the water. However, we could hear the anchor chain in the mornings but even that was not a problem because we were already awake. One night, at top speed, we hit some swells (en route between Kauai and Kona) and could hear them crash on the hull a split second before seeing the spray out the window. Neat!