What a con a "French Balcony" is.

[id est]

But it is great at night having the door open as the ship is moving ..

Only on an ocean cruise. :)

River night will bring thousands of bugs and mosquitos in your room.

[MURPHY27]

A "French Balcony" is no balcony at all. It is a a set of sliders without a balcony. While better than not having windows that open, it can't compare to a real balcony, no matter how small. If one member of a couple wants to sit and read, take a nap, or whatever in the comfort of the A/C or heat and the other want to enjoy the fresh air and tranquility of a private balcony, it can't be done. The term French balcony is advertised as a positive, but I'll take a real balcony any time., but I will take a French balcony over windows that don't open or a port hole. The one advantage that I see to a French balcony is that it does not take space away from the cabin, as a real balcony often does. Sorry for venting, but the term grates on me.

 

You got what you paid for, and its unfortunate that you wanted/expected more. Usually cruise websites have deck plans on the web. They are "French" balconies simply because most hotels in France do not offer a private balcony with seating, so the term is a well known term.

[Babo02]

Sorry you were disappointed. We knew what it was because we had a true French balcony at our hotel in Paris. I literally climbed out the window so that I could be photographed with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The balcony in Paris was about 1/4 the size of what we'll have on the boat.

[marco]

I guess "French Balcony" kind of morphed from "French Door(s)". What's so "French" about a set of double door that opens?!?!?!?!? So...I guess a set of double doors that opens, but goes nowhere and there is a rail to stop you from falling off is a "French Balcony". I can understand your disappointment, but I really think the first thing that's going to pop into most people's mind is....."You mean they didn't know that a French Balcony means a double door that just opens, but doesn't go anywhere?" On another note, aren't the cabins that have the French balconies a little bit bigger and have a few more ammenities that make the additional cost more palletable?

[AtMaui]

I just got upgraded to a Category 1 cabin with a French balcony for my Paris/Normandy Uniworld cruise next month. After reading these postings, I'm not sure it's a positive thing. I always have a balcony on ocean ships so I can go outside. I don't like the idea of having the door open and getting bugs in my room! I did have a true balcony on my Douro River cruise. The cabin size was reduced by the size of the balcony but since it was only me, I didn't mind.

[NJTroy]

Even if you don't open the window, having the full size window to gaze out on the sights as they go by will be wonderful. And you may be surprised, depending on the season & area, there may not be bugs. We've been in one of the buggiest places imaginable at different times in the summer. One time we were absolutely driven mad by them, to the point where they turned our white vehicle dark gray. The other? No bugs at all to speak of. Same exact area. Two different months in two different years.

[caviargal]

I just got upgraded to a Category 1 cabin with a French balcony for my Paris/Normandy Uniworld cruise next month. After reading these postings, I'm not sure it's a positive thing.

 

Congratulations on the complimentary upgrade! Just the views alone will be delightful, whether you choose to open the doors or not.

[CleoV]

Just returned from Uniworld Danube cruise and can't believe this is still going. :D

 

Another thing to consider is the weather. While our trip was during a time of year when it's generally very nice out, we had rain for much of the time and those with a French Balcony didn't get a lot of use out of it.

 

That said, I'd take one any day in case it might be nice enough to keep the doors open, but I wouldn't fuss about it if it didn't fit the budget well. We had a large window and found that to be more than adequate.

[Riversanddale]

We didn't have any bugs with our French Balcony but we had cool (no, COLD) weather in April. Our problem with Viking Idun and the new longboats is that you only have a choice of a tiny Fr Balcony room or a small (closed) window on the deck below. All the room was given to the "expensive" full balcony rooms. The FB rooms are now much smaller than those with the tiny windows that don't open at all. In future we'll look for a company that has French balconies in real size cabins. We love to watch the scenery pass by at night through the full slider (or even the large window that opened that we had on the cruise before the Idun).

[RvrCrzr]

This question comes to me a lot. It's a common question because many river cruise clients come from the ocean cruise market...where a balcony is a step-out kind. Yes, technically it's nothing more than a floor to ceiling window that opens on on side. Some new ships have windows that slide up/down instead of side to side. Scenic Cruises have real step-out balconies that DO NOT take away space from the cabin interior. In fact, the Scenic Crystal has the capability to raise the window to enclose the balcony and still have full use of the space in cold/wind/rain. You can keep the door open and your room is really big!

 

IMHO, a French balcony is worth the extra for many reasons. Photographers, people who like a place to escape the public, early risers and when you just don't want to get dressed early and leave the room to see the passing scenery. I prefer a step-out balcony for sure, but an opening window is a plus and you will have a better view completely above the waterline.

 

To each, their own. Remember, when you buy a vacation, you are really buying an experience. If something can greatly enhance your experience...I'm for it. I also agree with many others, French balconies are expensive and tough to justify when you compare the price to the lowest decks.

 

Maybe they should just have called them sliding glass windows.

[drcpa]

...no one asks what a "French Letter" is. :rolleyes:

[Wormy53]

...no one asks what a "French Letter" is. :rolleyes:

 

OK - I admit I had to google, but clever! :D

[$hip$hape]

A "French Balcony" is no balcony at all. It is a a set of sliders without a balcony. While better than not having windows that open, it can't compare to a real balcony, no matter how small. If one member of a couple wants to sit and read, take a nap, or whatever in the comfort of the A/C or heat and the other want to enjoy the fresh air and tranquility of a private balcony, it can't be done. The term French balcony is advertised as a positive, but I'll take a real balcony any time., but I will take a French balcony over windows that don't open or a port hole. The one advantage that I see to a French balcony is that it does not take space away from the cabin, as a real balcony often does. Sorry for venting, but the term grates on me.

A French Balcony is a set of sliding doors.

There is no balcony at all.

The OP got it right. It's fake.

[nana541]

This thread is 2 1/2 yrs old.... And anyone who has been on the River Board or even visited the various River Cruise websites would know exactly what a "French Balcony" is!!

 

There are multiple pictures of them in all the brochures!

 

 

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