Rare twangster Posted April 1, 2021 #1 Share Posted April 1, 2021 (edited) Who doesn't love a balcony cabin? It seems a lot of people do because balcony cabins are one of the most popular types of cabins offered to cruisers. What could be better than reading a book, eating breakfast or enjoying a favorite beverage on your very own balcony overlooking the ocean? Budget minded cruisers can't always afford the extra cost associated with a cabin that includes a dedicated balcony exclusively for that guest. Enter the obstructed balcony. Cabins with obstructed views are nothing new to the cruise industry. For decades cruise ships have had oceanview and balcony cabins in places where ship equipment or superstructure ends up blocking the view. The obstruction could be a lifeboat, window washing equipment or structural pieces that are required in various places around a ship. Quantum class ships feature a design where the lifeboats are stored near the level of deck 5 for quick access in the event of an emergency. Their location while optimal for quick and easy access in an emergency does mean they obstruct some views for select balcony cabins on deck 6. The good news is these deck six cabins are offered as obstructed balconies at a discount perfect for budget minded cruise guests who are willing to accept an obstruction in the name of saving money. It's pretty clear when selecting these cabins they are obstructed so no one should be surprised the first time they walk into their cabin. What isn't clear when selecting a particular obstructed balcony cabin is how obstructed one cabin may be compared to another in the same category. Not all obstructed balcony cabins are equally obstructed. Lifeboats are supported and lowered into the water by davits. Davits are very strong structural towers that can raise or lower a fully loaded lifeboat. The davits that support lifeboats themselves are an obstruction that also block the views for some deck 6 balcony cabins on Quantum class ships. Davits can block more view compared to a lifeboat since davits are taller than the lifeboats they support. Consider this picture of Ovation of the Seas. The deck 6 obstructed ocean view cabins within the green area in the picture merely have to look over the lifeboat which sits close to or just below the height of the balcony railing. A few cabins in either direction the lifeboat davits impose a much greater obstruction. The cabins highlighted in yellow may be partially blocked by a davit towards one end of the balcony. For someone picking a cabin on a deck plan it isn't immediately evident which obstructed balconies have less obstruction versus cabins that have greater obstruction. Now we get to the whole point of this post. Here is a preliminary guide to which cabins have davits in front of them and are therefore more obstructed. Using various videos and photos from Odyssey of the Seas during her construction and conveyance I've estimated which balconies are more likely to have a greater obstruction. Since no guest has actually sailed on Odyssey when this post was written this is a preliminary version until guests can begin boarding and provide feedback with respect to these obstructed balcony cabins. Since this is a preliminary guestimate follow through with your own research to make sure you pick the best obstructed deck 6 cabin for your needs. Note that each ship within this class has slightly different variations of lifeboats and where davits are placed. In addition there are at least four different types of lifeboats used on each ship. Consequently you need to be careful drawing conclusions based on guest feedback from other ships within this class. The image above may be a little blurry from web page compression so I am also including a PDF version that should be easier to read. Odyssey Deck 6 Obstructed Balcony Guide.pdf Obstructed ocean view cabins are a great way to enjoy all the benefits of having your own balcony while saving money if you don't mind an obstructed view. If you book early you can often enjoy your pick of cabins within this category all at the same price. By selecting carefully you can enjoy a much less obstructed view while saving hundreds of dollars that can be put into beverage packages or shore excursions. Edited April 1, 2021 by twangster 2 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
long4acruise Posted April 1, 2021 #2 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thanks much! Really appreciate all your detailed info and photos on Odyssey's obstructed deck 6 cabins - a handy keepsake for those planning to book these cabins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missusdubbya Posted April 1, 2021 #3 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thanks Twangster, I will miss the forward deck 7 & 8 balconies categorised as obstructed on Ovation - such a good option! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjrpar Posted April 1, 2021 #4 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Great post! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine3601 Posted April 1, 2021 #5 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thank you so much for the time to put this great piece of information together!😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Sea Dog Posted April 1, 2021 #6 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thank you @twangster for this detailed option for cruise travelers. I’ve never really wanted to book an obstructed balcony but having this information could make me consider one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dswallow Posted April 1, 2021 #7 Share Posted April 1, 2021 When you book such a cabin, the invoice from Royal Caribbean shows a percentage of obstruction value. It'd be nice if they would at least put those on their deck plan map. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merion_Mom Posted April 1, 2021 #8 Share Posted April 1, 2021 14 hours ago, twangster said: Who doesn't love a balcony cabin? It seems a lot of people do because balcony cabins are one of the most popular types of cabins offered to cruisers. What could be better than reading a book, eating breakfast or enjoying a favorite beverage on your very own balcony overlooking the ocean? Wow. Thank you for all the work you put into making this information available. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM-1972 Posted April 1, 2021 #9 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thank you, this will be really helpful when we finally get our cabin allocated we have a balcony guarantee which will probably end up being an obstructed one! But hey we got a good deal it was twice the price to choose the cabin. 😱 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted April 1, 2021 Author #10 Share Posted April 1, 2021 15 minutes ago, dswallow said: When you book such a cabin, the invoice from Royal Caribbean shows a percentage of obstruction value. It'd be nice if they would at least put those on their deck plan map. I'm told all of the 2E obstructed balconies are listed as 50% obstructed. Every one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted April 1, 2021 Author #11 Share Posted April 1, 2021 7 minutes ago, JM-1972 said: Thank you, this will be really helpful when we finally get our cabin allocated we have a balcony guarantee which will probably end up being an obstructed one! But hey we got a good deal it was twice the price to choose the cabin. 😱 You never know. I made that assumption once and received a deck 10 regular balcony cabin. A lot depends on muster station capacity and where they can place guarantee guests to optimize loads. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiszBug Posted April 1, 2021 #12 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thank you, twangster! I have a room on hold on both the Hawaii sailing and the first Glacier sailing in 2022. I was mulling over the obstructed balcony vs. regular balcony or even a virtual balcony. This is such helpful information for those of us trying to make a value decision. The last time we were on Ovation was the 13 night Glacier cruise two years ago. We had a deck 8 Accessible Junior spa suite which was converted from a Grand Suite. That was a great value for our family. But cruising solo changes the value ratio quite a bit! This will help make a more informed decision. Thanks again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted April 2, 2021 Author #13 Share Posted April 2, 2021 3 hours ago, CruiszBug said: Thank you, twangster! I have a room on hold on both the Hawaii sailing and the first Glacier sailing in 2022. I was mulling over the obstructed balcony vs. regular balcony or even a virtual balcony. This is such helpful information for those of us trying to make a value decision. The last time we were on Ovation was the 13 night Glacier cruise two years ago. We had a deck 8 Accessible Junior spa suite which was converted from a Grand Suite. That was a great value for our family. But cruising solo changes the value ratio quite a bit! This will help make a more informed decision. Thanks again! Ovation is different. The outdoor smoking area on starboard and the outdoor seating area for Jamie's on port are notable differences. Different quantities of lifeboats, etc. In some areas Ovation's davits have a gap between them not present on Odyssey. Be careful using this template for any other ship. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiszBug Posted April 2, 2021 #14 Share Posted April 2, 2021 11 hours ago, twangster said: Ovation is different. The outdoor smoking area on starboard and the outdoor seating area for Jamie's on port are notable differences. Different quantities of lifeboats, etc. In some areas Ovation's davits have a gap between them not present on Odyssey. Be careful using this template for any other ship. Gotcha! Is there a similar .pdf for Ovation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted April 2, 2021 Author #15 Share Posted April 2, 2021 13 minutes ago, CruiszBug said: Gotcha! Is there a similar .pdf for Ovation? I've always meant to create one but haven't yet. Odyssey was my first attempt. Some areas are the same. The notable differences are the mid-sized lifeboats on Ovation forward of the midship hump have become larger lifeboats on Odyssey that move towards aft and consume the areas of the outdoor smoking area and outdoor dining areas on Ovation. Consequently on Ovation the balconies over the outdoor smoking area and outdoor dining area offer clear views while on Odyssey these areas have lifeboats. On Odyssey the area immediately forward of the midship hump before the forward lifeboats have clear views. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la_croisiere_s'amuse Posted April 2, 2021 #16 Share Posted April 2, 2021 Wow, this must have taken a lot of work! Thank you very much for sharing it. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted April 2, 2021 #17 Share Posted April 2, 2021 On 4/1/2021 at 1:26 PM, twangster said: I'm told all of the 2E obstructed balconies are listed as 50% obstructed. Every one of them. I have a 2E on deck 7 ovation...listed as 50% obstructed which it’s not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare whitshel Posted April 8, 2021 #18 Share Posted April 8, 2021 The other thing with the quantum ships is deck 7 and deck 8 all the way forward are also considered obstructed view even tho there is no obstruction. They are built like large port holes inside the super structure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindyJohn Posted April 15, 2021 #19 Share Posted April 15, 2021 (edited) On 4/1/2021 at 8:16 PM, twangster said: On 4/2/2021 at 8:41 AM, twangster said: I've always meant to create one but haven't yet. Odyssey was my first attempt. Some areas are the same. The notable differences are the mid-sized lifeboats on Ovation forward of the midship hump have become larger lifeboats on Odyssey that move towards aft and consume the areas of the outdoor smoking area and outdoor dining areas on Ovation. Consequently on Ovation the balconies over the outdoor smoking area and outdoor dining area offer clear views while on Odyssey these areas have lifeboats. On Odyssey the area immediately forward of the midship hump before the forward lifeboats have clear views. On RCCL's Odyssey diagram they still show large gaps on deck 5 outside Giovanni's and the Art Gallery. I assumed the Starboard side would be the enclosed smoking area as on other Quantum ships. Do they need to update their diagram? Edited April 15, 2021 by MindyJohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare twangster Posted April 15, 2021 Author #20 Share Posted April 15, 2021 8 minutes ago, MindyJohn said: On RCCL's Odyssey diagram they still show large gaps on deck 5 outside Giovanni's and the Art Gallery. I assumed the Starboard side would be the enclosed smoking area as on other Quantum ships. Do they need to update their diagram? I think they need to update the drawing if that's what it shows. Google a picture of her, there is no "bus stop" or glass lounge smoking area on Odyssey. There are four lifeboats in a row on her aft starboard side, plus a medium sized lifeboat in front of those four. Different lifeboat configuration compared to her sisters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindyJohn Posted April 15, 2021 #21 Share Posted April 15, 2021 4 minutes ago, twangster said: I think they need to update the drawing if that's what it shows. Google a picture of her, there is no "bus stop" or glass lounge smoking area on Odyssey. There are four lifeboats in a row on her aft starboard side, plus a medium sized lifeboat in front of those four. Different lifeboat configuration compared to her sisters. You're right, I see 270 and going forward from there the photo is different than their diagram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compman9 Posted April 15, 2021 #22 Share Posted April 15, 2021 I also did some research into this and actually booked one for the maiden voyage that has been cancelled Some seem better than they might be because they are above a restaurant or smoking area In the end we considered the davits issue and the inconvenient positioning and picked cabin number 6180 I stand to be corrected when someone does actually get to stay on the ship, but I did spend a lot of time on this, so I think it's the best of the obscured cabins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare little britain Posted April 15, 2021 #23 Share Posted April 15, 2021 On 4/1/2021 at 5:20 AM, Missusdubbya said: Thanks Twangster, I will miss the forward deck 7 & 8 balconies categorised as obstructed on Ovation - such a good option! Regularly book the 8514 “obstructed” 2E on Anthem... which isn’t at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missusdubbya Posted April 15, 2021 #24 Share Posted April 15, 2021 3 hours ago, little britain said: Regularly book the 8514 “obstructed” 2E on Anthem... which isn’t at all! I like the same area on deck 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missusdubbya Posted April 15, 2021 #25 Share Posted April 15, 2021 On 4/9/2021 at 5:14 AM, whitshel said: The other thing with the quantum ships is deck 7 and deck 8 all the way forward are also considered obstructed view even tho there is no obstruction. They are built like large port holes inside the super structure Love those Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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