Viking River Cruise - French Balcony C or D

[hawaii13]

Is there a big difference between a French Balcony © vs. French Balcony (D)? The C costs a bit more but the size of the cabin is the same. Was wondering if it makes that big of a difference to be at a higher level on the ship. Also, the deck above C is the sun deck and was wondering if anyone experienced noise from that level? Thank you - we have taken several ocean cruises but this will be our first river cruise so not quite sure what to expect!

[wheezedr]

Not a big difference. I would have taken a French balcony on either level but they were sold out when I booked. Took a balcony and did not get much benefit from it.

[kentchris]

The difference is that you pay more for a higher viewpoint from the French Balcony © cabins and there are a lot fewer of them than FB (D) because most of Upper Deck is made up of Verandah (B) cabins and suites. Whether you experience noise from above is entirely a matter of chance - you could be on Middle Deck beneath someone who crashes about late at night or you could be on Upper Deck on the one cruise where someone refuses to observe the restrictions on jogging on the Sun Deck. Most of the French Balcony © cabins aren't under the marked walking track on the Sun Deck but it's still impossible to predict.

 

All I can say is that on our Rhine Getaway AB cruise last year, in an aft Verandah (B) in the same area as the French Balcony © cabins, we were never aware of any noise from above.

[hawaii13]

Thank you - we are looking at the same River Cruise - Viking Rhine Getaway. I appreciate your input. I have read many positive reviews of this cruise!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Just be aware that the French Balcony cabins (both categories) are the smallest cabins on Viking Longships. The aisle was offset to give more space to the Balcony cabins at the expense of the FBs.

[Cyber Kat]

Veranda B cabins are on the middle deck. Veranda A cabins are on the deck just below the sun deck - at least on the Longships. We chose a Veranda B because we like cabins above and below.

 

We also like the extra space, the chair next to the bed and the extra set of drawers. The balcony is just a nice extra.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Peregrina651]

After all the complaints on our last cruise about the noise from the people walking (and running) on the Sun Deck at all hours of the day and night, I will stick with French Balcony (D). Yes, they are smaller but I'm only in there to sleep and dress. I can live with the size but not the noise.

[Cyber Kat]

After all the complaints on our last cruise about the noise from the people walking (and running) on the Sun Deck at all hours of the day and night, I will stick with French Balcony (D). Yes, they are smaller but I'm only in there to sleep and dress. I can live with the size but not the noise.

 

 

 

If you want a Veranda, go with the Veranda B. They are on the middle deck. We had cabins above and below.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[OneSixtyToOne]

After all the complaints on our last cruise about the noise from the people walking (and running) on the Sun Deck at all hours of the day and night, I will stick with French Balcony (D). Yes, they are smaller but I'm only in there to sleep and dress. I can live with the size but not the noise.

 

I agree. After two cruises on the top deck, our last cruise was on the middle deck and we never heard a thing.

[Cairn Mom]

After all the complaints on our last cruise about the noise from the people walking (and running) on the Sun Deck at all hours of the day and night, I will stick with French Balcony (D). Yes, they are smaller but I'm only in there to sleep and dress. I can live with the size but not the noise.

 

 

 

Feel the same way. We took French Balcony D on our first river cruise and reserved it again for our next one. It’s fine for a week but it’s small. Fortunately, we’re not large people. As you said, you’re hardly there. At night, we didn’t hear a thing. Rafting makes a veranda not worth the extra money to us.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[caripoo]

we were on the middle deck our first cruise.....now we are on the top deck....so I do not have to look at concrete outside my balcony

[LFS517]

We had a French balcony on our Rhine cruise in 2015 and found it just too small for the two of us. We booked Veranda A on our other cruises and loved it. We have used the balcony quite often and have been lucky, not too much rafting.

[YWW]

Is there a big difference between a French Balcony © vs. French Balcony (D)? The C costs a bit more but the size of the cabin is the same. Was wondering if it makes that big of a difference to be at a higher level on the ship. Also, the deck above C is the sun deck and was wondering if anyone experienced noise from that level? Thank you - we have taken several ocean cruises but this will be our first river cruise so not quite sure what to expect!

 

Go with the lower deck instead of the upper deck because you can hear people walking and chair dragging from the sun deck if you stay in the higher deck. The other advantage of a FB or a real balcony cabin on the lower level is you can feed the beautiful swans that come right to your balcony begging for food. We prefer a cabin with the real balcony since that gives us a chance to sit outside assuming there's no ship or pier next to it. FB should be fine.