MisterBubba

The policy regarding opening the balcony dividers seems to be fluid depending on who you ask, what ship you're on, and how insistent you want to be. We've successfully have the balcony dividers opened three out of four times we've asked. Twice on the Explorer and once on the Navigator. It's not the full divider, it's just the bit near the railing which allows people to pass through. If you're comfortable with the people you're travelling with, it's a lot easier than having to ring the doorbell any time you want to have a chat.

If you have an iphone you may want to consider adding an IC card to your wallet prior to arriving. While mainly used for transit, the IC card is accepted at a lot of places (including those neat vending machines) as payment. It's easy to reload your IC card with whatever credit card you have in your apple wallet. Here's a guide on how to add the IC card: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207155 Here's a guide on how to use it: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207154