Cove vs. Regular Balcony

[CoolOne56]

18 hours ago, ABQrobin said:

Pros- closer to water, so in port you have different views, can see fish, etc, pier runners, etc.  Easier on and off ship in ports.  Quieter than other balconies.  No sun, almost always shady.  Room and balcony slightly larger.  Closer to water = less motion of the ocean.

 

Cons-if you want sunny, not your spot.  When ship is moving, sometimes you get splashes up on balcony.  They will close off your balcony in rough seas for that reason.  Always a little salt on railings from the splashing.

 

 

Wow, I didn't know they would close off your balcony! 😮

[maldenmusic]

Cove!

[hockeyluver]

When they close off your balcony,  they close these water tight doors over your balcony door.   you can still see out the big picture window  but will not have access to your balcony .

[rukkian]

1 minute ago, hockeyluver said:

When they close off your balcony,  they close these water tight doors over your balcony door.   you can still see out the big picture window  but will not have access to your balcony .

That helps.  Are these automated, or does somebody have to come in and shut it?

[nissach]

12 hours ago, Mr305 said:

Get a cove balcony, you won’t bake in the sun.  The sound and proximity to the water is fantastic, l will never go back to a regular balcony.  The views are fine, you won’t be looking at bridges in the Caribbean.

The sun part does bother me....I burn terribly, so for me a cove might be perfect!

[sc4125]

I like coves - but you really need to do some research on where the cabin is located.  Make sure you are not under the kitchen.  It will sound like they are bowling with huge pots and pans late in the night & early in the morning.  My sister had a cove right at the edge of the kitchen and I was in a cabin two down from her (under the dining room).  It was unbelievably loud in her cabin compared to mine.  I now make sure that the cabin is under the dining room or lobby.  If it's under the kitchen, I would definitely not book it.

[crewsweeper]

Not sure about the Panorama, but coves on the Mardi Gras are on deck 5 for some reason. Guessing that the keel goes down deeper than other ships. 

Cruise cabins don't start until deck 4.

We grabbed a cove as the Havana deck on the Mardi Gras is an entirely different configuration than the Vista or Horizon.  Looking forward to enjoying that.

[jbethel11]

7 hours ago, sc4125 said:

I like coves - but you really need to do some research on where the cabin is located.  Make sure you are not under the kitchen.  It will sound like they are bowling with huge pots and pans late in the night & early in the morning.  My sister had a cove right at the edge of the kitchen and I was in a cabin two down from her (under the dining room).  It was unbelievably loud in her cabin compared to mine.  I now make sure that the cabin is under the dining room or lobby.  If it's under the kitchen, I would definitely not book it.

Going off of that, where would be the ideal spot to book a cove balcony in advance? I have plenty to choose from ...

[hockeyluver]

10 hours ago, rukkian said:

That helps.  Are these automated, or does somebody have to come in and shut it?

There are crew members that close them.  

[matymil]

11 hours ago, rukkian said:

That helps.  Are these automated, or does somebody have to come in and shut it?

Wow...the more you know

 

[sabhoy]

We have had a cove balcony 2 times on Dream and once on Vista!  Booked for another on Horizon.  We love people watching in port, and also can see the flying fish when out on the water.

[sabhoy]

On 4/26/2019 at 10:29 PM, jbethel11 said:

Going off of that, where would be the ideal spot to book a cove balcony in advance? I have plenty to choose from ...

Our next one is just under the entrance to the MDR. Look carefully when you choose.  That being said, we really have loved all of our Coves.

[jbethel11]

26 minutes ago, sabhoy said:

Our next one is just under the entrance to the MDR. Look carefully when you choose.  That being said, we really have loved all of our Coves.

Are you happy with that stateroom? It appears that with the next sentence you are not happy. Back to my original question what would be the ideal stateroom numbers?

[virginiab]

To my knowledge, folks on Cruise Critic only reported the outer doors being closed once. It was on the first or second cruise on the Dream, when Cove balconies were first introduced. If there have been other incidents, they happened when I was not paying attention. Folks on that cruise posted photos of crew members going down the line, traveling through the doors that connect balcony to balcony, and closing the doors from cabin to balcony.

 

So that COULD happen if you run into really terrible weather, but the odds are that it will not happen to you.

 

We avoid much sun exposure and we love the cove balconies. Like any cabin that is above or below a deck that is anything other than passenger cabins, there could be noise from dining areas, pool decks, casino, bars, showrooms, etc. It is good to look at the deckplans for the deck above and below yours and make your best guess as to whether noise from those places has potential to bother you.

 

We have chosen the most forward cove balconies to avoid smokers who might be in balconies in front of ours. We may have gotten more salt spray from being farther forward but we are at sea, so some spray doesn't deter us. We just plan to wipe down the railing, chairs, and table each time we go out on the balcony and we generally sit on our beach towels, them bring them inside so they can dry off again.

 

SO some people find these balconies damp, dark, and a bit disturbing with the lifeboats lurking above. And others of us book them as our favorite cabins whenever we are on a ship that has them. Read reviews and look at pictures from others who have booked Coves and make your own best guess as to whether they will be of interest to you.

[poz222]

On 4/26/2019 at 10:29 PM, jbethel11 said:

Going off of that, where would be the ideal spot to book a cove balcony in advance? I have plenty to choose from ...

Ideal cove cabins are under the shore excursions desk or guest services desk. Super quiet. Cabin numbers 2276, 2272 and 2280 on the Breeze, Magic

& Dream did not have lifeboats above and being under shore ex it is quiet. I believe they can accommodate three, not sure about 4. The cabins on starboard side, 2297, 2301, and 2305 would be the same.

[jbethel11]

7 minutes ago, poz222 said:

I believe they can accommodate three, not sure about 4.

So for a family of four, which cabins would be ideal?

[jbethel11]

8 minutes ago, poz222 said:

Ideal cove cabins are under the shore excursions desk or guest services desk. Super quiet. Cabin numbers 2276, 2272 and 2280 on the Breeze, Magic

& Dream did not have lifeboats above and being under shore ex it is quiet. I believe they can accommodate three, not sure about 4. The cabins on starboard side, 2297, 2301, and 2305 would be the same.

Also, you do realize those cabins ARE NOT under the shore excursion desk/guest services desk. They are in fact aft of both! If you look at the deck plans, you MUST line up the elevators for an accurate representation of the location of cabins. 

[gmblr]

Cove balconies are the best!

[poz222]

9 hours ago, jbethel11 said:

Also, you do realize those cabins ARE NOT under the shore excursion desk/guest services desk. They are in fact aft of both! If you look at the deck plans, you MUST line up the elevators for an accurate representation of the location of cabins. 

Also, you do realize that I WAS NOT saying directly that these listed cabins are located under the desks. My comment said that the best cove locations for quiet are under the shore excursions or guest services... the cabins I listed are for cabins which do not have a life boat directly above them (and yes just forward of the guest svc/excursions is still a quiet location). We always stay in cove balcony cabins so as long as you avoid under galley your usually fine. As far as which will accommodate 4 persons, since you are doling advice on how to read deck plans, you should easily be able to look that info up. Perhaps jumping down my throat when I was trying to offer help to the OP regarding cove balconies is not a prudent way to get help here? 

[sabhoy]

On 5/5/2019 at 4:36 PM, jbethel11 said:

Are you happy with that stateroom? It appears that with the next sentence you are not happy. Back to my original question what would be the ideal stateroom numbers?

Room 2329. I’m very happy with this room.  I had another room picked, but it was right under Pig and Anchor on Starboard side.  Didn’t feel like smelling BBQ smoke all day, and someone had noted that you could hear all the conversations outside of that venue.

[jbethel11]

21 hours ago, poz222 said:

Also, you do realize that I WAS NOT saying directly that these listed cabins are located under the desks. My comment said that the best cove locations for quiet are under the shore excursions or guest services... the cabins I listed are for cabins which do not have a life boat directly above them (and yes just forward of the guest svc/excursions is still a quiet location). We always stay in cove balcony cabins so as long as you avoid under galley your usually fine. As far as which will accommodate 4 persons, since you are doling advice on how to read deck plans, you should easily be able to look that info up. Perhaps jumping down my throat when I was trying to offer help to the OP regarding cove balconies is not a prudent way to get help here? 

 

On 5/6/2019 at 12:44 AM, poz222 said:

Cabin numbers 2276, 2272 and 2280 on the Breeze, Magic

& Dream did not have lifeboats above and being under shore ex it is quiet.

Then why would you say "and"? Doesn't make sense, yet I am the one who isn't prudent. 🧐

[nissach]

On 5/5/2019 at 11:44 PM, poz222 said:

Ideal cove cabins are under the shore excursions desk or guest services desk. Super quiet. Cabin numbers 2276, 2272 and 2280 on the Breeze, Magic

& Dream did not have lifeboats above and being under shore ex it is quiet. I believe they can accommodate three, not sure about 4. The cabins on starboard side, 2297, 2301, and 2305 would be the same.

Made sense to me ...thanks for your feedback.  

[Coralsea4me]

We always do regular balconies, however our most recent cruise was a whirlwind trip and all they had left was one cove balcony. Never having tried a cove balcony before, I was disappointed, but we took it. I was disappointed because it was a lower deck and we tend to like to stay up higher and I didn’t like the thought of being enclosed with lifeboats above us. Once we were on board and cruisin’ along, I loved it! I absolutely loved being that close to the water!! I also loved how easily accessible deck 2 was for us believe it or not. The lifeboats above never bothered us and I did love the coziness of the enclosed balcony. With that being said, I do also really love the regular balconies as I can see more of the sky at night. I love them both and I don’t think you’d go wrong with either choice.