Oasis Balcony doors to be locked for air to work??

[johneeo]

I'm not reading that you can't use your balcony. I'm reading that you need to keep your door closed. Different things.

 

I am reading you must have your door locked, or the AC goes off, and the heat comes on.

 

So, if you go out on the balcony, how do you lock the door, since it only locks from inside?

[Lorey2007]

Oh great so now both of us need to be in the cabin so we can use the balcony and keep the room cool, one can use the balcony and the other person has to stay inside the room to lock it????? This is absurd.

If someone finds a way around this I hope they post it here.

[cathep]

I was reading "lock" by some to mean catch. Could be a bad ass-umption on my part. If you get locked out when you close the door, there's a design flaw there.

[Lorey2007]

I was reading "lock" by some to mean catch. Could be a bad ass-umption on my part. If you get locked out when you close the door, there's a design flaw there.

 

So is it closed and latched or closed and locked for the A/C to stay on?

[roe2ship]

This is the most foolish thing I have ever heard.

 

There seems to be conflicting reports about the balcony doors on Oasis....I'm hoping that it is just closed and NOT closed & locked.:rolleyes:

[Havin'fun]

Normally I don't think of worse case scenarios - but this topic has me wondering.

Lets say I am sitting out on my locked balcony and DH is sitting in the room keeping cool - he chokes on something or falls and can't get up and I can't get back in the room to help. Really??

[Langley Cruisers]

...he chokes on something or falls and can't get up and I can't get back in the room to help. Really??

 

No' date=' not really. As I said before in my previous post, the door does not have to be LOCKED... closed tightly and perhaps latched, yes, but not locked like locking it for the night no one is coming in, kind of thing.

 

I'm sad that this thread has caused worry and even paranoia for some. I have sailed [b']Oasis[/b] (which is the ship OP asked about, not Allure) so I am not just "guessing" about this. The door does not have to be locked.

[Havin'fun]

No, not really. As I said before in my previous post, the door does not have to be LOCKED... closed tightly and perhaps latched, yes, but not locked like locking it for the night no one is coming in, kind of thing.

 

I'm sad that this thread has caused worry and even paranoia for some. I have sailed Oasis (which is the ship OP asked about, not Allure) so I am not just "guessing" about this. The door does not have to be locked.

 

Thanks - maybe the confusion is coming in with "latching" versus "locking".

[Lorey2007]

Maybe someone can post some photos of the handle in the latched position but not locked.

[cathep]

It makes me question why you would ever lock the door? It's not like you have to keep anything out. Well, I guess that depends on who is staying with you. ;)

[johneeo]

It makes me question why you would ever lock the door? It's not like you have to keep anything out. Well, I guess that depends on who is staying with you. ;)

 

Pirates:rolleyes:

[Arizona Laura]

This thread could drive you to drink!!!:eek::D

I would like to know for sure though!

[Langley Cruisers]

This thread could drive you to drink!!!:eek::D

 

Smuggled booze or not? :D;):p

[LESLIEKURZ]

Agreed, Bakincakes. Someone is always trying to work around it. And also proud of the fact too. Shame.

 

I don't see the problem with having the balcony door open and the AC on. Hubby likes hang in the room to escape the heat and crowds and I like to sit on the balcony, read a book and chat with him. I don't see a problem. I use the AC with open windows in my own home. It costs me but what the heck else do I work for?

[Langley Cruisers]

I don't see the problem with having the balcony door open and the AC on.

 

Sorry, what I and others were getting at is that it is not individually-controlled AC for each cabin. Many cabins on your deck are affected if you leave your door open while attempting to run the AC. That is why we are asked to close our balcony door when in the room - there's a sign right on the door.

[Arizona Laura]

I know I am one who has liked the balcony door open to listen to the ocean at night. Never knew the A/C was connected to the balcony door on any of my cruises.

 

Maybe RCL should have ocean sound effects on a TV station and we can keep the balcony door closed and locked..drapes open and look at the view while we listen to TV.

[Big_G]

Here's the 'Locked out' threads I mentioned earlier. It must not happen often or we'd probably hear more about it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1537461&highlight=locked+out

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1532311&highlight=locked+out

[LESLIEKURZ]

Sorry, what I and others were getting at is that it is not individually-controlled AC for each cabin. Many cabins on your deck are affected if you leave your door open while attempting to run the AC. That is why we are asked to close our balcony door when in the room - there's a sign right on the door.

 

Cabins aren't individually temp controlled?

[akcruz]

Cabins aren't individually temp controlled?

 

From what I have read on here cabins are "grouped" together. While each cabin has its own thermostat, it one cabin in the group is not somewhat consistent to the rest it can tax the system impacting all cabins within that group.

 

Same for the plumbing!

[Song and a Dance]

This thread could drive you to drink!!!:eek::D

I would like to know for sure though!

 

 

it did...(drive me to drink) so as I down my 4th cocktail at 11am :p...i'll attempt to share my experience without spilling my drink on the keyboard...

 

sailed Oasis. we had 3 rooms and lo and behold they all functioned the same way. here's what I found:

 

1) There was a working thermostat in each room. Multiple rooms were not controlled by any main thermostat...even in our 2 connecting rooms...own thermostats that functioned independently. I successfully kept one stateroom very warm and the other pretty cool each day and evening. Yes, all while enjoying my balcony. Not to get anyone started again...but I will say I do believe they CAN and do control all the air at certain times. It FELT like (to the 6 of us traveling anyway) at a certain point each night they might cut the air conditioning system back to a certain level all over the ship to save energy since it's cooler at night naturally. My BIL was a tiny bit bent out of shape that he couldn't make his room an icebox each night. He said it was comfortable, but it wouldn't "get freezing like I like it" no matter how low he turned it down. I tried it one night and it seemed to be true. We did not experience this in the daytime. But don't go quoting me and starting a new thread about how cheap (err...cough, cough...energy efficient) RCI is...just an observation from our 3 staterooms.

 

2) For those who asked, no pictures. (out of 270 why wouldn't I have one of the balcony door handle??) But I can try to describe in detail. The balcony doors have a sort of rotating lever handle. Rotate the handle all the way around and up towards the door jamb and it latches and locks in place. Handle turned so it's unlatched and in the down position and the door slides freely and can be pulled open or closed without locking and can be opened from inside or outside. There is no "latching" the door without LOCKING the door - just don't want anyone thinking they can do this method. If it is latched, it is locked. I never thought to try locking myself out just to see if I could unlock it from the outside (call me crazy) but I'm guessing using that theory of pulling the handle up to "latch" it is one way you might lock yourself out on the balcony like the few poor soles that have managed to get locked out have done. Just saying.

 

3) 2 of our rooms were central park balcony rooms. These balcony doors (along with boardwalk balcony doors) actually SEAL out the majority of the noise when you rotate that handle up and fully lock the door. They are specially designed to kind of "vacuum seal" out the sound as I was told by an RCI person onboard and it felt like it when you closed them too. (also saw mention of this soundproofing on an Oasis video somewhere). I found this to be an absolute godsend in terms of making my CP cabin nice and peaceful. Anyway, maybe these doors are especially locked when they're locked. :rolleyes: However, the A/C appeared to function with the door closed, but not locked in those rooms. And our 3rd room was an oceanview balcony down the hall (where my BIL attempted to freeze his wife to death each night) and he said that it did FEEL warmer in their room when they used the balcony (with the door closed) but never thought to definitively test out the air conditioner theory. Someone posted earlier about their different cabins seeming to operate differently too...i don't know for sure in our case though since my BIL just likes it really cold.

 

(nows the time to take a break and mix another drink everyone....)

 

4) FINALLY the 10 million dollar question answered...shockingly it has been documented that this monstrous ship entered the green initiative when it was built. Did you know there are 1400 sq. meters of solar panels up on that famous funnel deck to cut down on power needs? They even incinerate all the solid waste generated and have a special reactor to purify the waste water before releasing it. SO yes sigh....(sorry stopped to take a sip of my drink)... like many resorts around the world have done, their balcony/patio doors trip the air conditioning. I guess I've experienced it enough in hotels to not be bothered by it at all...in our rooms all you needed to do is pull the door behind you til it meets the door jamb. There is no need to rotate the handle and lock or latch the door...leaving you no choice but to tie all of your wet pool towels, t-shirts, boxers and bras you've left to dry on your balcony together into a makeshift escape rope so you can shimmy down to the next deck to safety when you want to get back in. No worries, you won't feel like the next tribute in the Hunger Games on the Oasis of the Seas.

 

Anyhoo...they have little signs above the master switch and thermostat if I remember correctly alluding to all this madness. I personally like the idea of them at least attempting to be energy efficient and environmentally friendl(ier). Let's face it, it's got to be using a monster amount of fuel so how efficient can it be? and oh ya almost forgot...in addition to the balcony doors, they also ask you to participate in their green initiative by only giving out bath products if you ask your stateroom attendant and hanging and re-using your towels too. So don't be shocked when you see that little sign in the bathroom. ;) :)

 

Happy sailing everyone!!! I sail Lady O again in July and can't wait!

[TonyFred]

Honestly, this is enough to keep me from sailing the Allure and Oasis. I go to sit on the balcony and cannot STAND a warm room! This is the most stupid idea I have ever heard as far as cruising.

[Havin'fun]

Song and a Dance -

Thank you so much for your detailed answer - and planting the idea of fixing a drink. Maybe I'll do this and go sit on my balcony (front porch) and see what the temp i like when i walk back in my cabin (house). ;)

[sunnydaysmile]

Hubby works in access control and said there is a work around for this which we will be utilizing. I like having the door open and the AC on thank you.

 

Oh...please ... please share the work around. We love to sit on the balcony - but the idea that my husband and I have to take turns sitting on the balcony to keep the air on is crazy!

We loved the Allure, but separation or a very warm cabin is keeping us from booking again....

[sunnydaysmile]

We never keep the door open when we are out on the balcony--repeat, it is always shut. Allure is the only ship we have sailed on that this has been a problem. There was no way for us to enjoy the balcony and keep the cabin cool.

Ditto - I wish they would change the sensor to the cabin door "closed" as opposed to having it "locked".

[sunnydaysmile]

No, not really. As I said before in my previous post, the door does not have to be LOCKED... closed tightly and perhaps latched, yes, but not locked like locking it for the night no one is coming in, kind of thing.

 

I'm sad that this thread has caused worry and even paranoia for some. I have sailed Oasis (which is the ship OP asked about, not Allure) so I am not just "guessing" about this. The door does not have to be locked.

 

This was NOT the case on Allure in an ocean-facing balcony. The balcony door had to be "LOCKED" for the air to work. If you closed the balcony door with the "latch" in the locked position, the air did not work. If you closed the door and then "latched" the door in the "locked" position -aka locking the balcony door, the air would go on. There is no way to lock the balcony door from the outside - per maintenance - it is a safety issue.