EPIC balcony dividers

[coffeebean]

I just read on a review thread that a request must be made prior to sail away for the balcony dividers to be opened. We are traveling with my sister and BIL and have cabins next to each other. We were planning to request that the divider be opened between our cabins once we got on board.

 

I just got off the phone with an NCL customer service rep and was told that NCL does not allow the balcony dividers on Epic to be opened. I was told the balcony dividers will be unlocked only for emergencies. I'm very disappointed about this as we were looking forward to enjoying our balconies together on Epic.

 

To those who have cruised on Epic with friends or family in the cabin next to yours...have you had your balcony divider opened on this ship so you and your traveling companions could double you balcony space?

[bakerintn]

I have not been on the Epic, but I would bet that once you are on board, you can pull that off...just ask your cabin steward.

 

and...you won't be doubling your useable space, because if you want that partition open, it has to swing back somewhere, taking up space and if you want to move between balconies, you will have to move the chairs out of the way to be able to move through the partition.

[orangegrove]

We were travelling by ourselves but our neighbors had the dividers open. If you pull up some of the photos in sdmike's review you may be able to see what it looks like.

[jnjsmom]

I just read on a review thread that a request must be made prior to sail away for the balcony dividers to be opened. We are traveling with my sister and BIL and have cabins next to each other. We were planning to request that the divider be opened between our cabins once we got on board.

 

I just got off the phone with an NCL customer service rep and was told that NCL does not allow the balcony dividers on Epic to be opened. I was told the balcony dividers will be unlocked only for emergencies. I'm very disappointed about this as we were looking forward to enjoying our balconies together on Epic.

 

To those who have cruised on Epic with friends or family in the cabin next to yours...have you had your balcony divider opened on this ship so you and your traveling companions could double you balcony space?

 

 

Hello you! Drawing a blank on his name, but a nice guy who posted alot of good information (his avatar is a picture of his feet crossed on the balcony ...) mentioned that. I'm pretty sure he said he opened them himself -- find one of his posts and ask him. I can't remember which thread I read it on. But, he's very helpful, if I'm mistaken and it wasn't him, he'll probably know where to find the info!! :-)

[sdmike]

We opened the balconies ourselves and left them open for our entire cruise. Here is what it looks like when open.

 

 

Here is the "keyhole" used to open them. We got it open with a small stack of coffee stirrers.

 

 

We used the balconies to travel between our rooms.

[coffeebean]

Mike...

 

I knew I could count on you. Did your cabin attendant say anything to you about the divider being open for your entire cruise? Where is the divider as I don't see it in the picture?

 

Thanks for the information.

[I.Like.Beer]

We were on the Epic last week and when we arrived in our stateroom and were unpacking, we were greeted by our cabin attendant. We asked her to open our balcony divider because we had friends in the next room. We unpacked, went to lunch, and by the time we came back the balcony divider was open.

 

When leaning over the rail to take photos at sail away, we could see plenty of balcony dividers open. So yes, this is something that can be done easily by asking your cabin attendant. :D

 

P.S. Before sailing Epic, I also called the Rep and asked her if they opened, and she said no. They don't know what they are talking about. Just ask one of the cabin attendants and they'll take care of it for you. :D

[RNPJN]

I just read on a review thread that a request must be made prior to sail away for the balcony dividers to be opened. We are traveling with my sister and BIL and have cabins next to each other. We were planning to request that the divider be opened between our cabins once we got on board.

 

I just got off the phone with an NCL customer service rep and was told that NCL does not allow the balcony dividers on Epic to be opened. I was told the balcony dividers will be unlocked only for emergencies. I'm very disappointed about this as we were looking forward to enjoying our balconies together on Epic.

 

To those who have cruised on Epic with friends or family in the cabin next to yours...have you had your balcony divider opened on this ship so you and your traveling companions could double you balcony space?

Not true. We had our cabin steward open ours on the epic on the 9/25 sailing no problem.

[coffeebean]

We were on the Epic last week and when we arrived in our stateroom and were unpacking, we were greeted by our cabin attendant. We asked her to open our balcony divider because we had friends in the next room. We unpacked, went to lunch, and by the time we came back the balcony divider was open.

 

When leaning over the rail to take photos at sail away, we could see plenty of balcony dividers open. So yes, this is something that can be done easily by asking your cabin attendant. :D

 

P.S. Before sailing Epic, I also called the Rep and asked her if they opened, and she said no. They don't know what they are talking about. Just ask one of the cabin attendants and they'll take care of it for you. :D

Thanks for letting me know. I guess it all depends on the cabin attendant you get. The OP of the review that I referred to in my original post in this thread, was told the request had to be made before sail away and would not open the divider. Hopefully, our cabin attendant will oblige us when we make the request once we get on board.

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

Thanks for letting me know. I guess it all depends on the cabin attendant you get. The OP of the review that I referred to in my original post in this thread, was told the request had to be made before sail away and would not open the divider. Hopefully, our cabin attendant will oblige us when we make the request once we get on board.

 

...and perhaps a folded $20 will help. Just sayin... ;)

[sdmike]

Mike...

 

I knew I could count on you. Did your cabin attendant say anything to you about the divider being open for your entire cruise? Where is the divider as I don't see it in the picture?

 

Thanks for the information.

 

Hi coffeebean -

 

The cabin attendant never said a word about our dividers being open. We had planned on asking for ours to be open, but just for fun we wanted to see if we could do it ourselves. :)

 

You don't see the door in the picture because it opens the other direction and folds almost totally flat. There's no latch that we saw, so you simply put one of your chairs up against it to keep it open and from banging around at all.

 

You can see the hinge in this picture and how the door folks out of the way. Still looking for a picture from the other direction.

 

 

Edit: Here's a picture of my mom hanging out on the balcony. You can see the divider door behind her.

 

[coffeebean]

Hi coffeebean -

 

The cabin attendant never said a word about our dividers being open. We had planned on asking for ours to be open, but just for fun we wanted to see if we could do it ourselves. :)

 

You don't see the door in the picture because it opens the other direction and folds almost totally flat. There's no latch that we saw, so you simply put one of your chairs up against it to keep it open and from banging around at all.

 

You can see the hinge in this picture and how the door folks out of the way. Still looking for a picture from the other direction.

 

 

Edit: Here's a picture of my mom hanging out on the balcony. You can see the divider door behind her.

 

Hi Mike...

 

As my sister said to me, "You are a wealth of information". Great pictures. Thanks.

[Zimomiller]

We had connecting cabins facing aft on our Epic cruise and our room steward refused to open the dividers unless we were in port.

 

Strange response.

 

I dropped it as we had the connecting door open all the time so it did not matter, and we spent almost zero time in our rooms.

[flamom1122]

Thanks so much for posting the info and the pic of your Mom! Great!! I too will need my balcony door divider open when we cruise the Epic in March. My daughter and family will be in the cabin next to ours. Not connecting rooms, so we would like to open the balcony.

 

If no help from steward will try ourselves!!

[blancheneigedlp]

That's awesome! We have 4 cabins in a row for our sailing, and I'm hoping that we can open our dividers so my kids can run around in there when I'm looking to keep them a bit more contained.

 

Did you just use the coffee stirrers to "lift" the latch out of place?

 

Also, I totally see what you mean about the overhang over your balconies! AWESOME! Lucky you!

[rvsullivan]

You know this is a two year old thread? NCL no longer allows dividers to be open when underway. Some propose that you do it anyway. NCL states it's a safety issue and not allowed. Up to you. The room steward is responsible for them being open.

[3ofuscruising]

You know this is a two year old thread? NCL no longer allows dividers to be open when underway. Some propose that you do it anyway. NCL states it's a safety issue and not allowed. Up to you. The room steward is responsible for them being open.

 

 

We sailed NCL Pearl Dec 2011 and they would NOT open nor could we be allowed to open.....and yes was easy to do as we could see that.....but we called downstairs and spoke to any and all we could and NO safety......blah blah..we did it on the CCL dream...they opened up for us....oh well no biggie I guess......still going to enjoy the Epic:D

[Hikini]

I always love when this topic comes up - we're traveling on the Jewel in 2 weeks, with 3 mini suites side by side, hoping to have the dividers open. I appreciate Mike's posts and pictures! :)

[sdmike]

I always love when this topic comes up - we're traveling on the Jewel in 2 weeks, with 3 mini suites side by side, hoping to have the dividers open. I appreciate Mike's posts and pictures! :)

 

shhhhhhhh... I've been flamed for having done this since I'm basically a "rule follower" and will take people to task on here for intentionally violating the rules to suit their own needs. Open balconies are something that my elderly parents love, so I grit my teeth and turn the other cheek. Conflicted? you bet!

:)

 

Funny when one of the posters above referenced the helpful guy with a picture of crossed feet. lol! I found out recently in my Jewel review that people never knew what I looked like...just my feet. :D

[Hikini]

shhhhhhhh... I've been flamed for having done this since I'm basically a "rule follower" and will take people to task on here for intentionally violating the rules to suit their own needs. Open balconies are something that my elderly parents love, so I grit my teeth and turn the other cheek. Conflicted? you bet!

:)

 

Funny when one of the posters above referenced the helpful guy with a picture of crossed feet. lol! I found out recently in my Jewel review that people never knew what I looked like...just my feet. :D

 

I know, I've seen the flamers, which is why I'm even more glad that you've come back here to tell of your experience. Thanks! :D

[Beaver1975]

I know, I've seen the flamers, which is why I'm even more glad that you've come back here to tell of your experience. Thanks! :D

 

It is always nice to see the continued promotion of the breaking of rules set forth for safety reasons. You go!!

 

John

 

P.S. You too Mike, didn't mean to leave you out, you rule follower you.

[3ofuscruising]

shhhhhhhh... I've been flamed for having done this since I'm basically a "rule follower" and will take people to task on here for intentionally violating the rules to suit their own needs. Open balconies are something that my elderly parents love, so I grit my teeth and turn the other cheek. Conflicted? you bet!

:)

 

Funny when one of the posters above referenced the helpful guy with a picture of crossed feet. lol! I found out recently in my Jewel review that people never knew what I looked like...just my feet. :D

 

 

I enjoy so much reading your post..and seeing your feet lol.....you have great insight and look forward to our cruise on Epic because of your reviews and Don's.....thanks again....

 

Donna

[Hikini]

It is always nice to see the continued promotion of the breaking of rules set forth for safety reasons. You go!!

 

John

 

P.S. You too Mike, didn't mean to leave you out, you rule follower you.

 

Hey thanks! Always nice to hear from you. I guess you should probably chastise the NCL employees who also open the dividers for some folks.