Harmony: Best Deck for Boardwalk Balcony with Abyss "Obstruction" (got pics?)

[RecoveryDude]

Hi! I want to book on Harmony of the Seas. I'm thinking a Boardwalk balcony just because it's "different" than the tranitional sea-view balcony I get on CCL ships I typically sail on. I know that on some decks that Abyss slide really obscures the view. Saw some pictures from a deck 9 balcony and it really blocked a lot of the view. I still want to get a little view of the blue sea, and would also like to maybe see a little of the Aqua-Theater too ...

 

Anyone have any pics from the balcony of those cabins? Ideally, I want to be as much AFT as possible ... I'm thinking no farther back than around cabin 15-13 ... Otherwise I wont see much of anything towards the theater anyway.

 

I will be booking once 2018 becomes avail and I want to be prepared to jump and get what's best. Plus I see that sometimes the different decks are hundreds of dollars more....

[NancyC]

I am booked for Nov. and my research showed deck 10 is optimal because the slide curves in and gives a better view.

[RecoveryDude]

Anyone have any pictures to post of the view from either deck 10, 12, 14, or 8???

[racerxspeedy]

Previous post on the view from these rooms with pics

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2459075

[racerxspeedy]

Here a Harmony review from 10329 (deck 10)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2443789

[Hoopster95]

Ideally, I want to be as much AFT as possible ... I'm thinking no farther back than around cabin 15-13 ... Otherwise I wont see much of anything towards the theater anyway.

 

Any cabin more forward than the very final cabin on any deck will have a prominent view of the Abyss front and center. So even 17-27 will have quite a biot of obstruction. The farther forward you go on the boardwalk, the more of an obstruction the Abyss is. The only cabins with a clear non-obstructed view of the theatre are the xxx29 cabins in my humble opinion.

 

If you notice in my photos in the above link (thx racer), I took some Abyss photos from the very left of my balcony (closest forward) and the Abyss is dead center obstruction even from my balcony. The only clear view was when I stood at the very right (aft) of the balcony looking down into the theatre. Hope this helps you.

[forkcreek]

I believe RCCL should be clear that many of the BW cabins have an obstructed view and indeed label them as such.

[Hoopster95]

I believe RCCL should be clear that many of the BW cabins have an obstructed view and indeed label them as such.

 

I found this youtube video of the very farthest forward Boardwalk deck 12 balcony, closest to Dazzles.

 

Here's another one (I estomate this to be from cabin 14301)

 

Here's another great video (stateroom 10703) so you can see how much the Abyss affects the view only 10-12 cabins back from the aft

[forkcreek]

I found this youtube video of the very farthest forward Boardwalk deck 12 balcony, closest to Dazzles.

 

Here's another one (I estomate this to be from cabin 14301)

 

Here's another great video (stateroom 10703) so you can see how much the Abyss affects the view only 10-12 cabins back from the aft

Thanks. I still believe RCCL should tell passengers if a cabin has some obstruction because of the slide.

[Hoopster95]

Thanks. I still believe RCCL should tell passengers if a cabin has some obstruction because of the slide.

 

I empathize with what you're saying, however I think it's very apparent that the view of the ocean is almost zero in the boardwalk cabins far forward whether the Abyss is there or not even on Oasis and Allure. So if Boardwalk cabins are obstructed, then surely the Central Park balconies are obstructed too... those balconies have no view of the ocean as well so they are "obstructed" right? Are Radiance Class deck 7 balconies obstructed even though you're looking immediately down onto the white canopy cover of the lifeboats? Is the very best cabin of the entire ship... the Royal Family Suite on deck 6 afton Freedom Class ships... obstructed because you look directly onto the blue ceiling above the crew area and at the massive super structure of the ship without seeing the ocean for at least 50 feet any any direction?

 

There has to be some common sense involved, and there has to be an ounce of effort by the person booking to actually google the cabin number, check the deck plan and look at pictures/video on the web. :)

[forkcreek]

I empathize with what you're saying, however I think it's very apparent that the view of the ocean is almost zero in the boardwalk cabins far forward whether the Abyss is there or not even on Oasis and Allure. So if Boardwalk cabins are obstructed, then surely the Central Park balconies are obstructed too... those balconies have no view of the ocean as well so they are "obstructed" right? Are Radiance Class deck 7 balconies obstructed even though you're looking immediately down onto the white canopy cover of the lifeboats? Is the very best cabin of the entire ship... the Royal Family Suite on deck 6 afton Freedom Class ships... obstructed because you look directly onto the blue ceiling above the crew area and at the massive super structure of the ship without seeing the ocean for at least 50 feet any any direction?

 

There has to be some common sense involved, and there has to be an ounce of effort by the person booking to actually google the cabin number, check the deck plan and look at pictures/video on the web. :)

Unfortunately common sense is not a dominant characteristic of a large segment of the US population based on my 70+ years.

[IndyCapt]

Any cabin more forward than the very final cabin on any deck will have a prominent view of the Abyss front and center. So even 17-27 will have quite a biot of obstruction. The farther forward you go on the boardwalk, the more of an obstruction the Abyss is. The only cabins with a clear non-obstructed view of the theatre are the xxx29 cabins in my humble opinion.

 

If you notice in my photos in the above link (thx racer), I took some Abyss photos from the very left of my balcony (closest forward) and the Abyss is dead center obstruction even from my balcony. The only clear view was when I stood at the very right (aft) of the balcony looking down into the theatre. Hope this helps you.

We have 9329 booked for the Symphony TA. I didn't realize it, but from the pics it appears the slide is closest to the balcony as it passes deck 9. May have to rethink that cabin...

[Ashland]

I empathize with what you're saying, however I think it's very apparent that the view of the ocean is almost zero in the boardwalk cabins far forward whether the Abyss is there or not even on Oasis and Allure. So if Boardwalk cabins are obstructed, then surely the Central Park balconies are obstructed too... those balconies have no view of the ocean as well so they are "obstructed" right? Are Radiance Class deck 7 balconies obstructed even though you're looking immediately down onto the white canopy cover of the lifeboats? Is the very best cabin of the entire ship... the Royal Family Suite on deck 6 afton Freedom Class ships... obstructed because you look directly onto the blue ceiling above the crew area and at the massive super structure of the ship without seeing the ocean for at least 50 feet any any direction?

 

There has to be some common sense involved, and there has to be an ounce of effort by the person booking to actually google the cabin number, check the deck plan and look at pictures/video on the web. :)

Well no way could I have used "common sense" when I booked the last 4 aft cabins on HOTS long before they announced the Abyss info.....I however got my cabins at such an amazing low price point...we'll just enjoy the obstructed view regardless.;)

[racerxspeedy]

We all agree that RC should clarify that the rearward view from the Boardwalk is blocked by the abysmal slide. RC has added the "obstructed view" symbol to the furthest aft B1s. I have attached a picture showing the "square" next to the room numbers. Everyone should do there homework now that these pictures are available.

 

The issue for us was that the slide/obstruction was added after we booked these rooms. By the time the slide was announced the prices had shot way up. I called RC to request the pricing for a D8 OV Balcony room from the day I booked. Of course the answer was no and it would be a $1000 per room increase.

 

We will make the best of it, but IMHO these aft B1 rooms are no longer desirable. We will be in a OV Balcony on Symphony and Harmony.