No more lounge chairs on balcony??

[hucifer]

Forgot to report back - we had two loungers on our balcony (8588, corner aft JS) on Rhapsody in April/May.

I was hoping that you would come back and post. We'll be on the Rhapsody in September and have a corner aft balcony. Thanks!

[Moeve]

Hmmm..... the problem is more likely to be one of not having enough rather than it being any sort of new rule from the CG. Since THAT would mean they would have to remove them from all open decks imeadiately - which they are obviously not doing!

[critterchick]

I purposely reserved an AFT cabin on Brilliance because we are 3 days at sea and I want to lounge on my AFT Balcony!

 

If this becomes a RCCL rule, I will either move to a hump cabin or move somewhere else and take my extra $600 for that AFT Balcony and spend it somewhere else (not on the ship!) :mad:

 

Really? The wake is still the most mesmerizing thing on a ship, and I would stay out there if I had to sit on the floor, complaining bitterly to the seagulls.

 

I was told by several crew members on the Liberty ( which we could not get a lounger on the hugh corner aft balcony ) that this is to become the rule on all RCI ships. When they will all be removed is a question, but someone said they take them off when they go into dry dock. If that is true I would guess it will take some time for them to be removed from all ships. How about starting a write in campaign asking them to not take the loungers off the big balconies. Who would be the best person to write to?

 

We were on Liberty post-drydock and had two loungers on our hump JS. Maybe Liberty only removed them from non-suite categories.

 

And I don't always believe the crew when they tell me that sort of thing - they often simply want to deflect the anger of the passenger, or just want you to stop asking, so they'll tell you what they think will shut you up.

 

If you're going to write a letter or send an email, you may as well start at the top. agoldstein@rccl.com is the address for Adam Goldstein, a/k/a El Jefe. He may or may not read it himself (although sometimes I think that he really does read all the emails that he gets), but it will go to somebody who can answer you.

[gypsealin]

Critterchick,

We had a jr. suite on the corner aft and no lounge chair. I asked about 5 or 6 different people if we could have one and was given 5 or 6 different answers as to why we could not have one. I doubt if my one letter or email will do much good. As we have found out before, we have to make mass requests to get them to do anything. It may be a small deal to some people but it is a deal breaker to me. I go to relax and read and a lounger is the most confortable way for me to do that.

[ibcnusoon]

You can always drag the mattress from your bed out onto the balcony. I have done that and slept out there a night or two. I did replace it on the bed before the cabin steward came in the morning.

 

 

Oh, that's a good one! I'm seriously thinking that. On my RCCL cruise next year we are at sea for 3 days before hitting the islands. If I don't get a lounger, I may do that!!!

[GaCruiser53]

We just got off of the Radiance of the Seas and come to think of it, there were no lounge chairs on the balcony of our JS. I did not think much of it, but reading this, hmm... makes sense.

 

BTW, is it a function of coming out of dry dock and have chipped paint and rust abounding? Our balcony overhang had large areas of chipped/missing paint to the point of bare metal was exposed to the salt air. Also rust was all over the ship. Poor dry dock operations, by my book. Ship should have a fresh coat of paint coming from dry dock.

[Bigtex1622]

On voyager in April, we had a lounger, with a brown, towel, chair cover on it.

It was great, it had pockets and was so soft. I wanted to take it home with me.

But $20 for a used bleached out towel, I could only guess how much that would cost.

 

 

:rolleyes:

[Latvish]

I book certain balconies just so I can have 2 lounge chairs so I have a place to sleep at night in case I was bad during the day:rolleyes:

[critterchick]

We just got off of the Radiance of the Seas and come to think of it, there were no lounge chairs on the balcony of our JS. I did not think much of it, but reading this, hmm... makes sense.

 

BTW, is it a function of coming out of dry dock and have chipped paint and rust abounding? Our balcony overhang had large areas of chipped/missing paint to the point of bare metal was exposed to the salt air. Also rust was all over the ship. Poor dry dock operations, by my book. Ship should have a fresh coat of paint coming from dry dock.

 

Not every JS has lounger already on it - they are a tight fit on the standard port or starboard side cabin. But people have been able to request them in the past. The cabins on the stern have enormous balconies, with plenty of room for two loungers (and leaving more space than one would find on a standard balcony with just two chairs and a table). On certain ships, it appears that the loungers have been removed for some unspecified safety reason.

 

That's really sad about the mess - part of drydock is supposed to be to spiff up the ship. I guess they thought that you'd be so full from the new specialty restaurants that you'd be too groggy to notice.:rolleyes:

[kymbakitty]

Logic tells me that IF it's a fire regulation, that it would apply to all cruise lines who dock in a US port, not just RCI. Has anybody heard if anyone else is doing this? :confused:

 

Unfortunately, this is the case with Princess as well. We have had the extra large Jr suite balconies on the end of the Emerald Deck and still couldn't get one. Apparently, it stemmed from a decision resulting from a fire on the Star that presumably started on a balcony. This was a big deal to hubby, but he made do because he had to.

 

We found out that the suites did have loungers but that they were made out of teak.

 

We have an owner's suite on the Liberty for a 15 day cruise so I hope we won't have to worry about one then.

[izzyvet]

I don't know how helpful this will be, but there were no loungers upon our arrival to our aft D1 cabin on Radiance in May, (Panama Canal transit) I asked our room attendant for loungers on our first meeting, embarkation day. I was told that they are no longer allowed on balconies due to a new regulation. He told me to talk to Customer Relations about it.

 

Turns out after lunch on the second day, our room attendant did get us the loungers! We did end up tipping him extra for this. I would have definitely done a midnight acquisition if I hadn't gotten the loungers. Imagine going through the Panama Canal in an aft balcony without being able to relax on a lounger. Absurd!

[romnan]

You can get a lounger,just ask if there is not one on the balcony already:)

[critterchick]

Unfortunately, this is the case with Princess as well. We have had the extra large Jr suite balconies on the end of the Emerald Deck and still couldn't get one. Apparently, it stemmed from a decision resulting from a fire on the Star that presumably started on a balcony. This was a big deal to hubby, but he made do because he had to.

 

We found out that the suites did have loungers but that they were made out of teak.

 

We have an owner's suite on the Liberty for a 15 day cruise so I hope we won't have to worry about one then.

 

Princess puts four chairs and a table on the minisuite balconies. I can't see fitting a lounger on there as well, unless you get rid of some of the standard furniture. I suspect that's why they don't do it - too much to haul out the standard stuff, put the lounger on and then put it back to standard at the end of the cruise. And I don't see how teak is fire rated when the plastic stuff isn't.

 

Your problem on Liberty will be that the furniture (faux wicker) is so ridiculous huge that it doesn't go well on the balcony. Although LB has deeper balconies than Mariner, where the stuff really didn't fit.:)

[textbookcase]

I don't know how helpful this will be, but there were no loungers upon our arrival to our aft D1 cabin on Radiance in May, (Panama Canal transit) I asked our room attendant for loungers on our first meeting, embarkation day. I was told that they are no longer allowed on balconies due to a new regulation. He told me to talk to Customer Relations about it.

 

Turns out after lunch on the second day, our room attendant did get us the loungers! We did end up tipping him extra for this. I would have definitely done a midnight acquisition if I hadn't gotten the loungers. Imagine going through the Panama Canal in an aft balcony without being able to relax on a lounger. Absurd!

 

This is crazy. What are the room attendants doing.....removing the loungers after every cruise and replacing them when they get a good tip? RCCL needs to either take the loungers off or leave them on the balcony. Good grief.

[baileybaby]

Anyone been on the Freedom aft balcony latley? We are in 1700 and 1402 and wanted to know if they have loungers or not. Thanks

[gypsealin]

When we cruised on Liberty of the Seas last year we had a huge junior suite corner aft balcony and no lounge chair. I begged and pleaded with everyone for just one lounge chair and was told a different story from each person I talked to. Never got one. I have been told since then that from now on, when a ship goes into dry dock they will be removing the lounge chairs from all balconies except the big suits. That is a deal breaker for me since we like to do long cruises and transatlantic cruises. Can't imagine doing those cruises without a lounge chair. It might not make any difference to some people but it does to me.

[Mach1]

Any news on if there are loungers or even 3 chairs on Adventure mid ship JS? (Deck 9)

I read a couple posts here where it was reported that the AFT JS had them. I want to make sure there is enough for all of us – if need be I guess I’ll be part of the midnight run ;)

Thanks!

[mafig]

If you go over to the Princess and Celebrity boards, you'll find this is also a topic of conversation there. Supposedly the loungers are not fire-proof. The pool area has sprinklers, but the balconies do not, so that's why some of the furniture can't be placed there. The new furniture that was ordered (in Princess' case), was very uncomfortable, with a tiny table.

 

It's just not Royal Caribbean.

[mariaw8889]

I think that the FOS aft balconies have the loungers back. I saw a review from someone who stayed in 1702 in Nov 2011 and posted photos of their balcony and it had 2 loungers. I sure hope so. I can let you know for sure in two weeks!

[odessy]

I would take my bed out there, and sleep out there all night.:D

[luv2travel29]

ugghhh i hope there are loungers.... we are in our first JS aft balcony on FOS and really looking forward to a nap on my balcony.

now i just read on another board that many of the AFT balconies have soot on them sometimes... i hope i dont regret this..... now i am worried... :(

[Esmerelda]

We were on the FOS last June in aft 1400, we had 2 loungers and 2 chairs and a table. (I posted the video on here somewhere).

 

As well, we had a JS on the Liberty the first week of December 2011, we had loungers there also.

 

It seems to be pretty hit or miss?

[Lorey2007]

Any news on if there are loungers or even 3 chairs on Adventure mid ship JS? (Deck 9)

 

I read a couple posts here where it was reported that the AFT JS had them. I want to make sure there is enough for all of us – if need be I guess I’ll be part of the midnight run ;)

 

Thanks!

 

We were in JS 9572 in Feb. We had 2 chairs, a table and a chair that had a foot stool attached, it didn't recline.

[cruiseguy1016]

We were just on Serenade last week and had cabin 9256, the coveted corner aft. We had two chairs, two loungers and a table on the balcony.

[princess5750]

Maybe it is to discourage passengers from joining the Balcony Club. :rolleyes:

 

lol...doubtful....since you don't really need a chair for this! hahahaha :D