Balcony in port only?

[devonuk]

Although a seasoned cruiser I’ve booked my first ever cruise with Princess and I’m questioning a statement on my invoice with regard to a forward facing cabin on the Sea Princess which states that the balcony is only available in port?

Is this the case with Princess as I’ve never encountered this before! To be fair if this statement is true I would not have made the booking. I understand the need for ‘blacking’ out the cabin at night but not the need for ‘no access’ unless of course weather/sea conditions are so bad that this is a necessity. 
Any thoughts?

[chrysalis]

often they close off the balcony because of the wind effect while underway....

[d9704011]

I thought the Sea Princess was sold and is now MS Charming.

Edited January 26, 2021 by d9704011

[skynight]

Sky Princess?

[mollygirl]

I assume you meant Sky Princess?  I have been in forward balconies on the Royal and the balcony doors were never locked even though the website indicated they would be.  And amazingly, the wind wasn’t that bad in the Caribbean anyway.  My balcony was very large - I loved it!

[Lady Arwen]

We have sailed in L101 on Royal and Regal many times and the balcony door was never locked by us or anyone else.  There are times when it does get very windy, so opening the door was not an option.  However, this was a rarity and we enjoyed the huge balcony almost everyday.  Go for it!

[devonuk]

Thanks everyone for putting my mind at rest and yes, it’s the Sky Princess 😬 

Too many trips on RCCI ships with Sea in the name 😀

[mtnesterz]

We too have stayed in an L100's (forward facing) cabin on the Regal, sister to the Sky. It's not like there is some electronic lock that bolts the door shut. Ever do a lap on a deck while the ship is underway and running against the wind? Remember how strong the wind is as you round the bow? Imagine that in your cabin. Yeah, you really don't want to open that sliding door out of port.

[franktown]

Stayed in forward facing cabin on the Regal.  Like others have said the sliding door wasn't locked but the balcony was basically unusable about half the time when under sail.  Do not leave anything out on the balcony you will probably not see it the next day.

[Mike45LC]

I do not recall the ship or cabin #, but we had a forward-facing cabin that had the patio door locked by the cabin steward every evening, and unlocked every port day.   The balcony was locked even when we were in port until our cabin was made up for the day -- so we were out of the cabin and going ashore already.  Our only time on the balcony was from whenever we got back to the ship on port days until dinner time.  It made the balcony pretty worthless for us, but since it was a free upgrade, I didn't complain much! 

 

If I remember correctly, that was my first balcony cabin, back in the 1980's.   I have not had a forward-facing balcony since then, and I don't know current practices.

 

[CaribbeanIsland]

2 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I do not recall the ship or cabin #, but we had a forward-facing cabin that had the patio door locked by the cabin steward every evening, and unlocked every port day.   The balcony was locked even when we were in port until our cabin was made up for the day -- so we were out of the cabin and going ashore already.  Our only time on the balcony was from whenever we got back to the ship on port days until dinner time.  It made the balcony pretty worthless for us, but since it was a free upgrade, I didn't complain much! 

 

If I remember correctly, that was my first balcony cabin, back in the 1980's.   I have not had a forward-facing balcony since then, and I don't know current practices.

 

I stay away from forward balconies.

[Married15]

We always book the forward cabins on Royal class (L101-L104), and our travel friends book the cabin next to us. We open up the balcony doors and go back and forth between cabins via the balcony. We have never been unable to use the balcony and we have always been able to open the balcony doors. We have been through rough weather with high wind and rain (Tazman Sea) and still went through the balcony doors. Of course, I prefer nice calm weather, but the occasional storm does not stop me from booking these cabins. To sail into port at the front of the ship on your private (large) balcony can't be beat. (IMO)

[DUCHESSRN]

We had the forward balcony once , a great experience . We had 2 days of wind and one day of rain we could not use it ....I loved the size but when I was sitting I could see nothing as I am rather short .

[caribill]

14 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

It's not like there is some electronic lock that bolts the door shut.

 

But there is a manual lock that requires a key to lock it or unlock it, just like with every other balcony cabin on the ship.

[Lady Arwen]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

But there is a manual lock that requires a key to lock it or unlock it, just like with every other balcony cabin on the ship.

True, but ours was never locked the entire cruise, and when asked, our steward assured us it never would be.  Even sea days, we used the balcony.  Only when it was extremely windy did we not use the balcony.  For us, these are the best cabins and always try to book them way in advance because they go quickly.

[mtnesterz]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

But there is a manual lock that requires a key to lock it or unlock it, just like with every other balcony cabin on the ship.

What I meant was there is no switch that someone, somewhere, throws and locks you in while at sea.  We could have gone outside at sea, but didn't. My point was, it would have been unpleasant to do so.  Perhaps our steward was supposed to key-lock it and didn't. But that was our experience.

[Justprettynpink]

We had dinner on the balcony leaving port.

[AllureOfVacation]

We sailed 16 nights in a forward facing balcony on Marina deck on Royal Princess and the balcony was never locked. The weather was mostly calm, so we used the balcony a lot. The balcony was huge!

 

Like other said before, the view is incredible. Our M-deck center cabin was a little more obstructed because of the bridge and we would have preferred the ones on Lido deck, but it was the only one available and I would immediately book it again!

 

 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2021 by AllureOfVacation

[devonuk]

Thanks guys.... we’re in L103 for info. 

[Lady Arwen]

2 hours ago, devonuk said:

Thanks guys.... we’re in L103 for info. 

Awesome, you will love it!