Norwegian Epic -- do balcony separators open?

[svetas74]

Hi,

 

we will be on Epic in April and have 2 balcony cabins next to each other in category BF (deck 8). Does anyone know if the separators between the balconies can be open?

 

Thank you very much,

 

Svetlana

[debnjoe1438]

Hi,

 

we will be on Epic in April and have 2 balcony cabins next to each other in category BF (deck 8). Does anyone know if the separators between the balconies can be open?

 

Thank you very much,

 

Svetlana

 

Yes they do. I'm not sure how the lock works, however ours opened "on it's own" apparently. I suppose the lock must have broken somehow. When the wind blew the door banged. I couldn't find a latch to close it so I called the front desk, our steward couldn't close it either. Ended up having a stool on the neighbors balcony holding it closed.

[njhorseman]

I thought I had read that NCL no longer permits you to open balcony separators, apparently for safety reasons, but I might be mistaken.

[rvsullivan]

According to NCL, balconies can only be opened when in port. While at sea, they must remain locked. Ask you room steward.

[jdoc999]

They can be opened. We were just on the epic and they were opened before we even got to our rooms. They stayed open the whole trip.

 

Jason

[sdmike]

We opened ours ourselves. The lock is a small, 8-side star socket (maybe not exact, but similar). We actually got the balconies open with a small stack of coffee stirrers. :)

 

[meduza]

Sveta, hi ! We will be on Epic April 29 out of Barcelona. Are you will be on the same sailing ?

Sveta :)

[mpk218]

We opened ours ourselves. The lock is a small, 8-side star socket (maybe not exact, but similar). We actually got the balconies open with a small stack of coffee stirrers. :)

 

 

 

Or small butter knife ;)

[Ldyandrea]

Yes they do. I'm not sure how the lock works, however ours opened "on it's own" apparently. I suppose the lock must have broken somehow. When the wind blew the door banged. I couldn't find a latch to close it so I called the front desk, our steward couldn't close it either. Ended up having a stool on the neighbors balcony holding it closed.

 

This is why having a roll of duct tape handy is never a bad thing. :p

[Nalagh]

When we were on the Gem in September, a group from CC had 2 adjoining balcony rooms and they refused to open the balcony between the two rooms.:(

[Mr. Tricky]

Its so funny that this question was asked. I have been debating whether I should ask as I have 3 balcony rooms in a row booked.

On our last cruise we had 2 balcony rooms side by side on Carnival Liberty. I knew I wanted the divider opened so I asked this same question on the Carnival board. Oh man was that a confusing experience. I received conflicting answers and sparked some debates. I heard all the opinions, rules, and suggestions one could possibly have on the topic. Some had luck with getting the staff to open the divider, some didn't. Even on the same sailing and balcony class. Some said you needed to have one person from each room go to customer services. It was all very inconsistent and confusing. The only thing that was prominent, but not agreed upon by everyone was that they should not be open when not in port. Although, some even had staff open for them while at sea.:confused:

Bottom line is I decided that I would open the divider myself when we were in port. I would also close it when I wanted to. Most of our group was not in the rooms at one time while at sea. In port we would usually all have a balcony get together at some point. Having the freedom to open or close the divider is what I really wanted so that's what I did. I used a small tool for the lock and never had a problem. Our room steward saw my dividers open in port and never said a word.

[svetas74]

Sveta, hi

 

no, we will be on April 14th TO Barcelona....

[meduza]

Enjoy your trip,Svetlana !

[sdmike]

Or small butter knife ;)

 

Really? That's one small butter knife... or did you jimmy it like using a credit card to open a door? :) I figure a flat-head screwdriver with a large taper would work great in that star lock

[laxlove6]

What would be the purpose of having to have the dividers closed while in port?

[debnjoe1438]

This is why having a roll of duct tape handy is never a bad thing. :p

 

 

Ya know, that probably would have worked.

[CrazyCanucks]

When we were on the Gem in September, a group from CC had 2 adjoining balcony rooms and they refused to open the balcony between the two rooms.:(

 

The Dawn in December also refused to open the balcony.

[OneWiseCruiser]

The Dawn in December also refused to open the balcony.

 

We were on the Dawn in January with our great friend whom we have cruised with at least once each year over the past five years. Her spouse passed away very unexpectedly this past November and we already had our January cruise booked for more than six months. Once on the ship our cabin neighbor and great friend asked if we could open the balcony door between our two cabins. We were told by the cruise desk personnel that it was against Norwegian's policy. We said we want to talk to someone with authority to see if an exception under these circumstances could be made. A few minutes later the Safety/Security Officer of the ship joined us. He made it clear that even he did not have the authority to break this Norwegian policy. We spent our cruise with our neighbors balcony chair on our balcony so the three of us could enjoy some time out there. I did notice that the "lock" is simply a half inch (perhaps a little less) square hole that would turn counter-clockwise to unlock. We did not choose to do that in that we had been directly told that it was against a Norwegian-wide policy.

[Ldyandrea]

We were told by the cruise desk personnel that it was against Norwegian's policy.

 

I don't get this. I've sailed twice in a balcony cabin on Princess, and this was never an issue, so I'm not sure why Norwegian would have such a thing about it. Not to mention which, what's the point in building a ship with partitions that open unless you're going to allow people to have them opened??

[OneWiseCruiser]

I don't get this. I've sailed twice in a balcony cabin on Princess, and this was never an issue, so I'm not sure why Norwegian would have such a thing about it. Not to mention which, what's the point in building a ship with partitions that open unless you're going to allow people to have them opened??

 

I have to agree, we had the balcony open on our previous cruises with other lines (Celebrity and Holland America Lines) The Disney ship we were on didn't have the capability. I can't imagine what the safety issue is, but I could see where it might have actually been a cost cutting measure. Just one of the tasks that may have been cut to save on overall personnel costs. Just a guess.

[laxlove6]

Has no one asked NCL why it is against their policy? It really makes no sense at all. I've been on NCL with attached rooms and had them open the balcony divider.

[che5904]

I can't imagine what the safety issue is, but I could see where it might have actually been a cost cutting measure. Just one of the tasks that may have been cut to save on overall personnel costs. Just a guess.

 

 

Oh good grief, I really hope you are joking with that statement. Cost cutting measure??

 

Yes you are right, apparently NCL policy states balcony dividers are not to be opened for safety reasons. There have been many theories on this board since this policy came into play. No one really seems to know for sure, but the theories have ranged from a fire hazard to some passenger may be hit by the swinging door at sea and therefore it is liability. I personally lean more to believing the liability reason since it makes the most logical sense to me.

 

Either way, NCL does own the cruiseline and can make whatever policy they wish for whatever reason they wish even if other cruiselines do not do it that way. If I don't like the policies of a company, I just don't use them, there are many choices out there that may have more policies to someone's liking.

 

OP you can ask for it to be open but don't be surprised if the answer is no. Some have had success with some cabin stewards.

[che5904]

Has no one asked NCL why it is against their policy? It really makes no sense at all. I've been on NCL with attached rooms and had them open the balcony divider.

 

Yes cabin stewards to H.D. have been asked. From what I have read from people stating they have asked is "NCL policy states balcony dividers are not to be opened for safety reasons. There have been many theories on this board since this policy came into play. No one really seems to know for sure, but the theories have ranged from a fire hazard to some passenger may be hit by the swinging door at sea and therefore it is liability. I personally lean more to believing the liability reason since it makes the most logical sense to me." as per my answer in post #22

[mpk218]

They dont have latches that keep them open on most of the ships. When in port no problem but at sea they swing away and must be locked to prevent this.

The "safety" issue is pinched fingers and hands plus could you imagine if dozens and dozens of people had there divider doors slaming with each wave while at sea.

 

Thats all it is;)

[mpk218]

Really? That's one small butter knife... or did you jimmy it like using a credit card to open a door? :) I figure a flat-head screwdriver with a large taper would work great in that star lock

 

Yes it was that small :D

It came with the croisants and butter , it was about 3 inches long and the tip of the blade just fit the hex..