Oceana Balcony Cabins

[Bobblehat71]

Hello,

 

Looking to book a balcony cabin on Oceana . Having looked at the deck plans there it would appear that all the balconies are in relatively good positions and none with restricted views. Is this correct ? 

If this is the case then I'm tempted to take a gamble on a Saver fare as its quite a significant saving. Its for a Dubai cruise so the only the only real benefit is choosing dining times which I'm not too bothered about.

 

Any info much appreciated.

[john watson]

Oceana balconies are not glass fronted but of the older "Hull Cutout" design. The Sun class originated in 1992.  It is like they have cut a hole in the side of the ship and put a set of rails across the aperture setting your patio doors back further into the ship.  None are of an  obstructed view type as the lifeboats come out on straight rams then lower and are stowed within the ships side limit.  Overall they are more or less all the same within the standard balcony cabin grades. They are not very deep and you cannot sit facing the sea at 90 degrees.  The Oceana design goes back to the early 1990's but a balcony of any type is going to be essential in the middle east.  An improvement to cabin type to mini-suite would give you a double fronted, twice the length of balcony, a bigger aperture but still no wider. Aft end, actually on the stern will get you a huge balcony.  If it were me I should book a standard balcony and my choice would be Lido Deck for access to pools and the buffet. Saver fare would be a sensible booking system to achieve a reduced budget and put "yes" to upgrades as I cannot see any particularly bad ones you might be landed with.

 

Regards John

Edited May 7, 2019 by john watson

[Bobblehat71]

1 hour ago, john watson said:

Oceana balconies are not glass fronted but of the older "Hull Cutout" design. The Sun class originated in 1992.  It is like they have cut a hole in the side of the ship and put a set of rails across the aperture setting your patio doors back further into the ship.  None are of an  obstructed view type as the lifeboats come out on straight rams then lower and are stowed within the ships side limit.  Overall they are more or less all the same within the standard balcony cabin grades. They are not very deep and you cannot sit facing the sea at 90 degrees.  The Oceana design goes back to the early 1990's but a balcony of any type is going to be essential in the middle east.  An improvement to cabin type to mini-suite would give you a double fronted, twice the length of balcony, a bigger aperture but still no wider. Aft end, actually on the stern will get you a huge balcony.  If it were me I should book a standard balcony and my choice would be Lido Deck for access to pools and the buffet. Saver fare would be a sensible booking system to achieve a reduced budget and put "yes" to upgrades as I cannot see any particularly bad ones you might be landed with.

 

Regards John

Thanks John ,

 

That's great info. 

I always like to pick my own cabin but the layout on Oceana does seem to lend itself to taking a gamble!

The're not great balconies so don't want to pay over the odds for one.

Thanks 

Again

Edited May 7, 2019 by Bobblehat71

[Solent Richard]

45 minutes ago, Bobblehat71 said:

Thanks John ,

 

That's great info. 

I always like to pick my own cabin but the layout on Oceana does seem to lend itself to taking a gamble!

The're not great balconies so don't want to pay over the odds for one.

Thanks 

Again

 

Although we chose a mini-suite and the balcony was 'double' size this photograph may give you an idea of what they are like...

 

[Presto2]

We have had A318, A321 and B227 and all were amazing. Loved them. Really like the old design balconies. Very private .

They tend to use the cabins around A318 as guarantee cabins -- if this helps

[Bobblehat71]

Thanks Both 👍

[annieuk]

Just to say that the aft mini suites on Oceana are completely different from the midship ones.  Their balconies are fairly wide and deep, much better than the mid ship balconies which are just like two balcony cabins joined together.  The interior of the aft minis are very different too.  The size of the aft minis including balcony are huge compared even to the suites on say Ventura and Azura and from what I've seen from pictures larger than most of the Britannia suites - we haven't been on Britannia.  The aft minis on C deck on Oceana are our favourites - particularly C747 which we've been in several times.  It has a proper hallway with a door to the toilet, in there is another door leading into the bathroom which is huge.  The whole layout of the cabin itself is different and more spacious than the aft minis - we have been in one when friends invited us to have a look.  They then came to look at our aft one and couldn't believe how much larger ours was.  Very often the aft minis are cheaper than the mid ship ones too, presumably because some people don't like being at the back of the ship, worry that the movement is going to be bad - well we've never found that.  Standing on that large balcony overlooking the wake with a nice glass of something in hand is wonderful!  There are only 6 aft minis, situated on one side of the full suites, 3 on Decks B,C and D.  The C deck ones have the larges balconies.  

[Pentlands]

2 hours ago, annieuk said:

Just to say that the aft mini suites on Oceana are completely different from the midship ones.  Their balconies are fairly wide and deep, much better than the mid ship balconies which are just like two balcony cabins joined together.  The interior of the aft minis are very different too.  The size of the aft minis including balcony are huge compared even to the suites on say Ventura and Azura and from what I've seen from pictures larger than most of the Britannia suites - we haven't been on Britannia.  The aft minis on C deck on Oceana are our favourites - particularly C747 which we've been in several times.  It has a proper hallway with a door to the toilet, in there is another door leading into the bathroom which is huge.  The whole layout of the cabin itself is different and more spacious than the aft minis - we have been in one when friends invited us to have a look.  They then came to look at our aft one and couldn't believe how much larger ours was.  Very often the aft minis are cheaper than the mid ship ones too, presumably because some people don't like being at the back of the ship, worry that the movement is going to be bad - well we've never found that.  Standing on that large balcony overlooking the wake with a nice glass of something in hand is wonderful!  There are only 6 aft minis, situated on one side of the full suites, 3 on Decks B,C and D.  The C deck ones have the larges balconies.  

You almost persuade me....but thinking about a rough sea sends me back to my mid ship mini-suite🤢

[TonyM99]

On 5/7/2019 at 2:59 PM, john watson said:

Oceana balconies are not glass fronted but of the older "Hull Cutout" design. The Sun class originated in 1992.  It is like they have cut a hole in the side of the ship and put a set of rails across the aperture setting your patio doors back further into the ship.  None are of an  obstructed view type as the lifeboats come out on straight rams then lower and are stowed within the ships side limit.  Overall they are more or less all the same within the standard balcony cabin grades. They are not very deep and you cannot sit facing the sea at 90 degrees.  The Oceana design goes back to the early 1990's but a balcony of any type is going to be essential in the middle east.  An improvement to cabin type to mini-suite would give you a double fronted, twice the length of balcony, a bigger aperture but still no wider. Aft end, actually on the stern will get you a huge balcony.  If it were me I should book a standard balcony and my choice would be Lido Deck for access to pools and the buffet. Saver fare would be a sensible booking system to achieve a reduced budget and put "yes" to upgrades as I cannot see any particularly bad ones you might be landed with.

 

Regards John

Having just come back from a weeks cruise I would support all the above . We at time of our booking could only go for guaranteed HE and ended up with HB

[amfc_lenny]

Looks like a standard balcony is about the same size as Britannia?

[tom_uk]

I have a feeling that the overall size of the balcony opening is smaller on C deck than on A or B decks. Have a look at the picture below - C deck is the one immediately above the life boats/tenders, and those opening appear to be smaller than on the two decks above.

[Presto2]

24 minutes ago, tom_uk said:

I have a feeling that the overall size of the balcony opening is smaller on C deck than on A or B decks. Have a look at the picture below - C deck is the one immediately above the life boats/tenders, and those opening appear to be smaller than on the two decks above.

 

They are - balconies on C deck are the ones we would not book.

The balconies aren't that big but what I like is that you can put your feet up on the railing and use the metal side as a great glass holder ! Have found this photo of a youtube clip as it seems to show what I mean

 

 

[Denarius]

22 hours ago, tom_uk said:

I have a feeling that the overall size of the balcony opening is smaller on C deck than on A or B decks. Have a look at the picture below - C deck is the one immediately above the life boats/tenders, and those opening appear to be smaller than on the two decks above.

They are, although the balconies themselves are exactly the same size. Which you prefer will depend on your personal preferences, whether you want to get as much sun as possible or if your prefer more shade and protection from the wind. I fall in the latter camp.