Balcony Tips?

[xbriannao]

Hello! DH and I booked our first balcony in August on the Carnival Victory. We're super excited and was wondering what tips/do-not-miss things you all would recommend? I've searched and only found old threads, so with all the updates and recent balcony cruisers, what do you guys think?

 

Thanks in advance and happy cruising! [emoji2]

[hftmrock]

order breakfast from room service and have it out on the balcony at least one morning , if not every morning.

 

if its just 2 people (a couple) with no kids, join the 'balcony club' ;)

[A&Jfamily]

Best tip- avoid the wind tunnel. Do not open the room door if the balcony is open as it will blow like crazy!

 

For us our balcony makes the cruise. We aren't big lido deck people and spend many hours on our.

 

 

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[coevan]

I know there are people who disagree with this, but we bring a bungee cord to keep the door open when we like. Yes, you must close the balcony door before opening your cabin door. Every morning we order, coffee, danish, fresh fruit, and juice and enjoy it on the balcony watching the world go by. We later go out to breakfast. I have to admit, we are a charter member of the balcony club.

[NotTheBatesMotel]

Our favorite part of balcony cabins is ordering room service breakfast and sitting on the balcony watching the ocean. It's such a peaceful way to start the day. Bring binoculars if you want a closer look at passing sights/ships. Sit out there when the ship leaves port to watch for pier runners, see the ship pull in and out of port, etc. My husband and I have spent hours on the balcony reading books and watching the ocean pass by. The only tip I have is to be prepared for the "wind tunnel" effect. If you have your balcony door open and someone enters/exits the cabin using the hallway door, it can cause the hallway door to slam pretty hard.

[Brad1972]

Dont let your balcony door slam shut. Keep a hold of it until its closed. these doors are heavy and they are spring loaded and will slam shut hard if you let them go. This is very loud to other guests around you.

 

If you dry towels or cloths on the balcony chairs bring big spring clips with you to clip them to the chairs or they will blow away. Otherwise use the string clothes line in the bathroom to dry clothes and towels.

 

There is a lot of glass on the balcony side. All glass door and a big picture window. This will heat your room up with sun beating through it during the day and your AC will not keep up. Keep the drapes closed while your gone during the day and it will keep your room nice and cool. Drapes can be pulled from one side of the room all the way across to the other side to block the sunlight.

 

you paid for that balcony, spend some time out there eating breakfast, lunch or midnight snack or read or just watch the world go by.

 

Dont play music out there unless you have earbuds or head phones. think of your neighbors who might be on their balcony also.

 

Turn the balcony light off if your not out there, dont leave it on. Personally I never even turn mine on at night. its much better dark out there at night.

 

Lock your balcony room door if your not out there and gone for the day. doesn't happen often that i've heard of but it has happened is neighbors can climb over the railing around the dividers and then get into your room.

 

NO smoking on balconies Dont throw anything over board. Common sense stuff.

[Flatbush Flyer]

I know there are people who disagree with this, but we bring a bungee cord to keep the door open when we like. Yes, you must close the balcony door before opening your cabin door. Every morning we order, coffee, danish, fresh fruit, and juice and enjoy it on the balcony watching the world go by. We later go out to breakfast. I have to admit, we are a charter member of the balcony club.

 

 

It's not that anyone may "disagree" with you. Rather it is just a simple fact that propping open a balcony door generally throws the HVAC balance off for multiple adjacent cabins -rude.

 

Also, as regards eating on a balcony: I trust that you'll agree that dirty dishes should not be left on a balcony for all of the obvious reasons.

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[hishorselover]

Dont let your balcony door slam shut. Keep a hold of it until its closed. these doors are heavy and they are spring loaded and will slam shut hard if you let them go. This is very loud to other guests around you.

 

THIS! YES! It is not pleasant to be woken up at 6:00 by your neighbor who goes in an out multiple times letting the door slam shut every time. Be considerate and hold the door :)

[hishorselover]

Make sure you spend some time out there at night with nothing but the sea and stars around you. It is very peaceful!

[dave_k58]

I know there are people who disagree with this, but we bring a bungee cord to keep the door open when we like. Yes, you must close the balcony door before opening your cabin door. Every morning we order, coffee, danish, fresh fruit, and juice and enjoy it on the balcony watching the world go by. We later go out to breakfast. I have to admit, we are a charter member of the balcony club.

 

Its not a matter of a difference opinion. Its discourteous to your fellow passengers, selfish and against the rules. IT screws up everyone else's Air Conditioning.

[Crusin Hogs]

Dont let your balcony door slam shut. Keep a hold of it until its closed. these doors are heavy and they are spring loaded and will slam shut hard if you let them go. This is very loud to other guests around you.

 

If you dry towels or cloths on the balcony chairs bring big spring clips with you to clip them to the chairs or they will blow away. Otherwise use the string clothes line in the bathroom to dry clothes and towels.

 

There is a lot of glass on the balcony side. All glass door and a big picture window. This will heat your room up with sun beating through it during the day and your AC will not keep up. Keep the drapes closed while your gone during the day and it will keep your room nice and cool. Drapes can be pulled from one side of the room all the way across to the other side to block the sunlight.

 

you paid for that balcony, spend some time out there eating breakfast, lunch or midnight snack or read or just watch the world go by.

 

Dont play music out there unless you have earbuds or head phones. think of your neighbors who might be on their balcony also.

 

Turn the balcony light off if your not out there, dont leave it on. Personally I never even turn mine on at night. its much better dark out there at night.

 

Lock your balcony room door if your not out there and gone for the day. doesn't happen often that i've heard of but it has happened is neighbors can climb over the railing around the dividers and then get into your room.

 

NO smoking on balconies Dont throw anything over board. Common sense stuff.

 

Best one yet ..covered everything !

[fmrlkr]

Watch the Sun rise/set.

[A&Jfamily]

Dont let your balcony door slam shut. Keep a hold of it until its closed. these doors are heavy and they are spring loaded and will slam shut hard if you let them go. This is very loud to other guests around you.

 

If you dry towels or cloths on the balcony chairs bring big spring clips with you to clip them to the chairs or they will blow away. Otherwise use the string clothes line in the bathroom to dry clothes and towels.

 

There is a lot of glass on the balcony side. All glass door and a big picture window. This will heat your room up with sun beating through it during the day and your AC will not keep up. Keep the drapes closed while your gone during the day and it will keep your room nice and cool. Drapes can be pulled from one side of the room all the way across to the other side to block the sunlight.

 

you paid for that balcony, spend some time out there eating breakfast, lunch or midnight snack or read or just watch the world go by.

 

Dont play music out there unless you have earbuds or head phones. think of your neighbors who might be on their balcony also.

 

Turn the balcony light off if your not out there, dont leave it on. Personally I never even turn mine on at night. its much better dark out there at night.

 

Lock your balcony room door if your not out there and gone for the day. doesn't happen often that i've heard of but it has happened is neighbors can climb over the railing around the dividers and then get into your room.

 

NO smoking on balconies Dont throw anything over board. Common sense stuff.

 

Just for clarification, nothing should be left on the balcony when you are not in the room - this includes items you wish to dry. It is considered a fire hazard. You can move them to the bathroom where there is a clothes line.

[crusinpsychRN]

Turn off the light.

[summersigh]

Our favorite part of balcony cabins is ordering room service breakfast and sitting on the balcony watching the ocean. It's such a peaceful way to start the day. Bring binoculars if you want a closer look at passing sights/ships. Sit out there when the ship leaves port to watch for pier runners, see the ship pull in and out of port, etc. My husband and I have spent hours on the balcony reading books and watching the ocean pass by. The only tip I have is to be prepared for the "wind tunnel" effect. If you have your balcony door open and someone enters/exits the cabin using the hallway door, it can cause the hallway door to slam pretty hard.

We totally agree - and there is no better way to ease into the day than having room service coffee and juice sitting out on the balcony..... except maybe relaxing with a glass of wine watching as your ship slips quietly away from a port of call and staying there as the sun begins to set ... or hanging out there after dark stargazing and watching for other ships in the distance...... :):)

 

As someone mentioned ,,,, don't forget the binocs !!

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just for clarification, nothing should be left on the balcony when you are not in the room - this includes items you wish to dry. It is considered a fire hazard. You can move them to the bathroom where there is a clothes line.

 

 

Not just fire hazard. Dishes/trays can easily go over the side with a stiff wind or rough seas. If balconies below are extended, folks below can get hit. This happened to a passenger below the offender on one of our recent cruises.

 

 

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[evandbob]

Turn off the light.

 

 

Exactly! I wonder how many people don't even know there is a light out there. Someone flips the switch during the day and doesn't know it, or someone leaves the light on at night while they are out of the cabin or asleep, and that light interferes with the adjacent balcony users.

 

Also, don't leave any clothes to dry out there, they become a potential fire hazard.

 

I wished that Carnival would switch to sliding balcony doors that the rest of the cruise lines use when they engineered their new ships like Vista . Much easier to operate and no slamming noises.

[coevan]

how is a wet bathing suit a fire hazard, spontaneous combustion?

[Mysticks1]

Bring a few clothespins with you if you don't want the light to come in when the sun comes up. Sometimes the curtains don't want to close completely. Also sometimes they have to clean the balconies so if they give you a notice saying that they will be doing that make sure your curtains are shut well so they can't see in the window.

[PattBenatar]

Get up and go sit on the balcony in the middle of the night, it is so soothing to watch the waves on a clear night, you can see other ships if your lucky. I was right below the bridge on the Victory it was nice to see what the crew were doing as I looked up in the port hole of the floor of the bridge. It works both ways so make sure you are dressed appropriately.

 

I always got up at dawn as we came into port, best photo op time of the day. Coming into Amber Cove it was just a bit foggy and it was so cool, it looked just as it did in Jurassic Park.

 

Breakfast on the balcony or just a simple cup of tea was so relaxing. Enjoy your balcony.

[drafterdw]

how is a wet bathing suit a fire hazard, spontaneous combustion?

it flies off.......and into some place it should not be......read your daily paper! the worst thing that can happen on a ship is fire.

[Flatbush Flyer]

how is a wet bathing suit a fire hazard, spontaneous combustion?

 

 

That wet suit will dry (most likely while you're not there) and that's when it becomes a potential hazard. Wind and/or rough sea is enough to dislodge it and send it where it doesn't belong (e.g., neighbor's head, open deck where someone may slip on it, etc). Perhaps not always a fire hazard but still a hazard, which is the last thing a cruise line wants or needs in this litigious society.

And don't forget that, even on the most low end cruise line, most passengers (who may see your hanging laundry from wherever) will think it's tacky.

 

No need to respond since we already recognize that you are convinced the cruise line rules don't apply to you.

 

 

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[A&Jfamily]

how is a wet bathing suit a fire hazard, spontaneous combustion?

 

If you have ever paid attention in the muster drill they explain that such items, no matter how small, can cause problems for a firefighting crew because they can get hung up, cause a trip and fall etc. Nothing should be left on the balcony when you are not in the room.

 

They provide a clothes line in the shower to dry your clothes when you are not in the room.

[NSPenny]

Are you alone or with other balcony passengers? We also cruise with family and have side-by-side balconies. You can ask your room steward to open the divider between balconies and you end up with a huge family-size version. Our family would meet up there for wine before dinner almost every night. Lovely! Not private, of course, but we were okay with that.

 

Also, another poster mentioned a bungee cord to keep the door open.... we just came home from the Conquest and the door stayed open without it.

 

And agreed on the binoculars...we forgot ours this time and my husband was bummed.

[Yvonne]

So many good tips here. I love, love, LOVE having a balcony on our cruise. I don't mind an inside/ocean view for a 3-4 nighter, but longer than that and I really prefer a balcony. I enjoy spending at least an hour or two out there every afternoon by myself, just enjoying the peace and quiet (hopefully!) and reading and watching the water. When DH and I are out there together we talk QUIETLY to each other using our "indoor voices" so as not to disturb others who may be out enjoying the peace and quiet on THEIR balconies as well. We had quite a few really LOUD talkers on our last (Dream) cruise and I don't know if they just didn't realize how LOUDLY they were talking or if they didn't care but it was quite annoying. And as others have said hold your door when going in/out, there is absolutely NO reason to let it slam.

 

I do enjoy ordering room service breakfast (early, 6-7 a.m.) which generally consists of a croissant with butter and guava jelly, a fruit plate, coffee and tomato juice. It used to include smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers as well, but sadly they no longer offer it on the room service breakfast card menu (although I did write it on there one morning and did receive it, but the crew member who brought my breakfast said "I brought it special for you but we no longer offer it on the menu" so I didn't have the nerve to write it on the card any other morning. But it is such a wonderful experience to enjoy a leisurely breakfast on the balcony.

 

Love spending a bit of time out there before going to bed, either sipping a glass of wine or a cocktail and chatting about our day, watching the stars and listening to the ocean. So romantic. :)

 

And sometime try an aft balcony, we had one for our Conquest cruise and next time we cruise I want one again! An aft balcony is even better than a side balcony I think!!