Central Park vs. Boardwalk balconies??

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I was just about to post a similar reply! We are actually very considerate neighbours. We're conscious of how much noise we make and never sit out late on a balcony chatting in case we disturb people, and we never chairhog, but we've paid good money for a nice holiday and it's our choice on how we make use of the facilities in our cabin.

My apologies for being so harsh in my post.

 

Maybe you are just unaware of the repercussions from leaving the door open.

 

This was posted from chengp75 who is a chief engineer on cruise ships.

 

 

"Unlike HVAC in your home or a hotel, which rely on the fact that the structure leaks air to provide fresh air to the rooms, a ship has to ensure that fresh air is introduced to all spaces to keep air quality up. The basics of HVAC design says that 20% of a cabin's volume must be replenished every hour, and 80% can be recirculated, so there are two A/C systems in your cabin.

 

The 20% replenishment is done by the bathroom exhaust vent taking air from the cabin, and passing that air through a heat exchanger to start cooling outside fresh air coming into the ship. Large fans pull outside air into the ship, through this heat exchanger, then through a large chiller to bring the temperature and humidity down to acceptable levels, and then this fan is ducted to supply all the cabins on a given deck, on one side of the ship, and in a given fire zone, so probably 30-40 cabins for each air handler. As in my earlier post that was quoted several pages above, this air is sent into the cabin to maintain a slight positive pressure, so that if there is smoke in the passageway, the pressure in your cabin keeps it from coming in under the door.

 

Now, the cabin thermostat controls the recirculation of the air in your cabin. There will be an individual fan and chiller unit for your cabin. The fan will run all the time, and the thermostat will control whether the chilled water from the engine room enters the individual cabin chiller to cool the air or not.

 

So, what happens when you open the balcony door? First off, on nearly all ships, a switch will turn off the recirculation A/C system, but the fresh air supply of cool air will continue. Now, since the pressure balance of your cabin is based on the size of the bathroom exhaust vent, and the space under the cabin door to determine how much volume of air is needed to maintain the positive pressure, when you open a vastly larger opening (the door), the supply air duct cannot keep up, and the pressure in this cabin drops. The supply air for all cabins then takes the path of least resistance, and tends to go to the cabin with no back pressure. Therefore, that cabin gets more fresh, cool air, while the rest of the cabins on that air handler get less. Yes, your cabin feels cool, but the other cabins get hotter.

 

How can you tell this is so? Open your balcony door, then open your cabin door to the passageway, and see if any paper in your cabin remains after the wind tunnel takes it out the balcony door. Or, walk down the passageway, and listen for the "whistling" sound of air screaming under the cabin doors of those cabins where the balcony door is open. That's how I find the culprits."

 

Enjoy your upcoming cruise.[emoji4]

 

Bill

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Forums mobile app

[KD Travel Adventures]

So.....In comparing the Central Park and Boardwalk balconies, what are the differences between them? It seems apparent that one is central part of the ship, the other is aft...but any other differences?? What about noise level...privacy....and anything else I should know that I don't even know to ask about... ;)

 

Or should we just 'come up with' the extra money for the OV? ;)

 

Below are links to 11 videos of different staterooms and suites on Oasis of the Seas. The videos show you the interior portion and view from the cabin balcony. Ocean View Balcony 9190 is a video tour, all others are videos from pictures, including one Boardwalk Balcony and two Central Park Balconies.

Hopefully they help you determine which type of stateroom or suite you might be interested in. A lot of people have given good comments. From my perspective, Central Park is quiet and when the balcony doors are shut you can't hear anything in Central Park, but you still feel enclosed because you are just looking out to Central Park and other balconies. Boardwalk at least lets you see the aft of the ship and the ocean, plus you can watch the Aqua Theater shows from your room. But, it can get loud when the shows are taking place or days at sea when you hear more from the sports deck. But, Boardwalk itself was usually pretty quiet on Deck 6 unless their was a show.

 

OCEAN VIEW BALCONY

Ocean View Balcony Stateroom 7716

 

Ocean View Balcony Stateroom 9190

 

Ocean View Balcony Stateroom 6266

 

BOARDWALK BALCONY

Boardwalk Balcony Stateroom 12319 - Aft Port Side

 

CENTRAL PARK BALCONY

Central Park Balcony Stateroom 10603

 

Central Park Balcony Stateroom 10589

 

INTERIOR STATEROOMS

(these are not the best but hopefully give a little insight as to what they are like)

Interior Stateroom 6185 - Wheelchair Accessible

 

Interior Stateroom 7427

 

JUNIOR SUITE

Junior Suite Stateroom 11632 - Mid Ship Starboard

 

SKY CLASS CROWN LOFT BALCONY SUITE

Sky Class Crown Loft Balcony Suite 1746 - Oceanview

 

Sky Class Crown Loft Balcony Suite 1728 - Aft View

https://youtu.be/0Cu12dKv3yM

 

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[actuarian]

That's why I asked. I would hate to be a neighbor to someone with their balcony door open all night so they could hear the ocean while I try to sleep in an uncomfortable cabin.:(

 

Unfortunately it's happened in the past and it wasn't pleasurable.

 

Bill

 

They are fixing that issue on ships as they go into dry dock. On the ships that have been updated recently (example: Mariner), the fan in the room automatically turns off when you open the balcony door and does not turn back on until the door is completely closed and locked. Consequently, it is no longer possible to interfere with the AC in neighboring rooms on those ships by leaving balcony doors open.

Edited August 3, 2018 by actuarian

[mom2tcdx2]

The bed is by the balcony

 

Would 12313 also have the bed by the balcony. Looking at the video 12319 has the settee closer to the balcony, so I am thinking if they alternate that would have 12313 with the bed closer to the balcony. That I believe is the cabin I had booked for the Allure.

 

I have to say I wish I had read a bit more on the boards about which area to pick, I might have picked Central Park instead, but I really kind of liked the idea of the little bit of ocean we may be able to see. Not to mention we really don't hang out in our cabins all that often anyway. I may come back for a little afternoon nap, maybe I should just remember to take some earbuds.

[LuCruise]

Would 12313 also have the bed by the balcony. Looking at the video 12319 has the settee closer to the balcony, so I am thinking if they alternate that would have 12313 with the bed closer to the balcony. That I believe is the cabin I had booked for the Allure.

 

I have to say I wish I had read a bit more on the boards about which area to pick, I might have picked Central Park instead, but I really kind of liked the idea of the little bit of ocean we may be able to see. Not to mention we really don't hang out in our cabins all that often anyway. I may come back for a little afternoon nap, maybe I should just remember to take some earbuds.

 

Even outside of cruises, I always bring earplugs to any hotel as you never know if you'll have loud neighbors , people in hallways, etc. There are lots of posts about the neighborhood rooms (just try a search). The thing is you'll get completely different answers as everyone is different. I have a friend who was in Central Park on Allure and really loved it. We are trying Boardwalk on Symphony. Don't mind about the Abyss blocking the ocean as often just go for interior so any outside room is great...and really look forward to the people watching and seeing a bit of the ocean. I do worry though about the noise at night...but are giving it a try for something different.

[mom2tcdx2]

Well the cruise it itself will be totally different for us. I really went with the boardwalk, because we too normally do either an inside, or when I can afford it a balcony. I figured an oceanview balcony I have done before, the neighborhood balconies will be different. We tend to do the late shows, so we may even be back to the cabin in the evening until after 11, so I am thinking some things will have quieted down by then. Honestly hallway traffic, noise, has never bothered me on any ship.

[jdg623]

Well the cruise it itself will be totally different for us. I really went with the boardwalk, because we too normally do either an inside, or when I can afford it a balcony. I figured an oceanview balcony I have done before, the neighborhood balconies will be different. We tend to do the late shows, so we may even be back to the cabin in the evening until after 11, so I am thinking some things will have quieted down by then. Honestly hallway traffic, noise, has never bothered me on any ship.

 

 

I think it's always good to try new things! We were uncertain, and a bit nervous after reading reviews, about whether we'd like a Boardwalk cabin but decided to give it a try and turns out we loved it (I don't think I'd feel the same on Symphony or Harmony, as the wake view is our preferred - or as the t-shirt says - best - view ;)). Same, actually, with Oasis class - it's definitely a different type of cruise. Everyone has different needs, interests and values - research helps, but honestly until you've experienced something yourself you can't make a final decision as to whether or not it's right for you. Hope you enjoy your Boardwalk view cabin as much as we do!