Rethinking Forward Extended Balcony on Celebration

[sc4125]

I got a great casino deal for the week of Thanksgiving on the new Celebration which offered a "free" balcony (pay port fees and taxes).  I was so excited when I saw that the forward extended balconies were included in this deal so I jumped on it and booked two - one for me and one for my sister who had the same deal.  I have cruised many times but never in a forward balcony.  I now see that perhaps I should have done a little research on these cabins.  I do spend quite a bit of time on the balcony and am a bit concerned about the wind when at sea.  

 

I know that there is a type of wind break on the lower portion of the railing and I'm wondering whether that will block the wind when you are sitting on the patio chairs.  I like to relax reading my kindle and enjoying a beverage during the day on the balcony and would think that the wind break would make this possible.  The only time I stand at the rail for extended periods of time is when entering or leaving a port and I wouldn't expect much wind at that time.

 

For those who have been in one of these cabins, were you sorry that you booked it?  I am considering changing to a "regular" balcony - though sometimes with casino deals this can be a problem.  The views look wonderful - is the wind really that bad???

[icft]

Think Xlerator hand dryers ( that used to be the only kind they had in Carnival public restrooms).

[Virga]

I've never booked one, for the exact concern you're expressing here.  I've had enough wind from hump balconies, the idea of being right up front worries me enough that I've never taken one of these 'premium' balconies over a normal one.

[kwokpot]

I think the biggest negative of those balconies is when your sitting in a chair or lying on a lounger, if there is one, you won't see anything in front of you since the walls are solid metal instead of a glass railing. I had the same Casino offer for the same cruise and decided on a regular balcony instead (There were no more extended balconies NOT forward facing when I booked).

[CanWeGoYet?]

Even more than the wind issue, I would be worried about excessive motion from being at the front of the ship.  I am prone to motion sickness, the location of the cabin on the ship makes a big difference for me in rough water.  

[sc4125]

Thanks for the info - can't say it makes me feel any better - lol.  I'm not prone to motion sickness, so that isn't a concern.  Guess I'll check with my PVP or Players Club to see if I can switch cabins to a regular balcony.  If not, at least I'll go into it knowing what to expect.  We will make the best of it and perhaps coming into and leaving ports will be so cool that it will be worth it.

[momof3cruisers]

My only similar experience is thinking about the ships that have the Serenity deck at the front. WINDY!

[tree.critter]

We visited one of the forward Excel suites on the Mardi Gras, the room was beautiful, the balcony was virtually useless while the ship was moving due to the wind. They loved the cabin while in port though.

 

[mondello]

@sc4125 What deck are you booked on? There was an old post from an early Mardi Gras cruise, said with the steel lower wind block it was like sitting in a box (with your view blocked). Looking for that thread, I found another post with a picture of the Presidential Suite balcony. Seems the front of deck 17 is all glass, with the lower panel jutting forward. Although they posted the Pres. Suite as an example, they said the forward balcony cabins on Deck 17 were glass front.

[sc4125]

We will be on deck 9 and I think it does have the steel wind block so that when seated you won't be able to see anything.  I'm not sure that will bother me.  I've been in cove balconies a few times and this looks like it will be similar to them.  

 

I've checked the availability of other balconies for this cruise and there aren't many left.  My sister and I have cabins next to each other and, at least looking at casino offers, there are no balconies anywhere near each other.  

 

It will be an adventure - our common saying when we're not sure that things are going to be as good as we hoped.  We spend a whole lot of time in the casino on sea days, so maybe it won't be so bad.  A little wind won't hurt us, right?

[icft]

10 minutes ago, sc4125 said:

We will be on deck 9 and I think it does have the steel wind block so that when seated you won't be able to see anything.  I'm not sure that will bother me.  I've been in cove balconies a few times and this looks like it will be similar to them.  

 

I've checked the availability of other balconies for this cruise and there aren't many left.  My sister and I have cabins next to each other and, at least looking at casino offers, there are no balconies anywhere near each other.  

 

It will be an adventure - our common saying when we're not sure that things are going to be as good as we hoped.  We spend a whole lot of time in the casino on sea days, so maybe it won't be so bad.  A little wind won't hurt us, right?

You are not an experienced cruiser until you have tried it all. Just give it a try and go with the flow.

[sc4125]

2 hours ago, icft said:

You are not an experienced cruiser until you have tried it all. Just give it a try and go with the flow.

Exactly.  I've been on over 30 cruises and have been in many different types of cabins from interior to wrap around balconies (love those), but never tried a forward balcony.  I have never had a bad cruise and know this will be a blast.  Love the Mardi Gras - will be boarding again in 4 days, so looking forward to the Celebration.

[Virga]

3 hours ago, sc4125 said:

Exactly.  I've been on over 30 cruises and have been in many different types of cabins from interior to wrap around balconies (love those), but never tried a forward balcony.  I have never had a bad cruise and know this will be a blast.  Love the Mardi Gras - will be boarding again in 4 days, so looking forward to the Celebration.

 

We've never had a bad cruise either - not one.  With an attitude like that, you'll have a blast even if you don't spend as much time on your balcony while underway as expected.  Here's hoping you come back and report that the design made it easy to enjoy the balcony from your lounger the way you'd hoped 😃

Edited February 9, 2022 by Virga

[sc4125]

52 minutes ago, Virga said:

 

We've never had a bad cruise either - not one.  With an attitude like that, you'll have a blast even if you don't spend as much time on your balcony while underway as expected.  Here's hoping you come back and report that the design made it easy to enjoy the balcony from your lounger the way you'd hoped 😃

 

Thank you for the nice comments.  I will go with the flow - and let the wind blow me where it will!!

[ftrref]

Had one on Mardi Graz and wasn’t impressed. Only way to enjoy the view is to be standing up  , when seated your in a can looking at metal walls so not enjoyable to sit and have coffee or just watch the scenery. Will not book another one.

[mondello]

8 hours ago, ftrref said:

Had one on Mardi Graz and wasn’t impressed. Only way to enjoy the view is to be standing up  , when seated your in a can looking at metal walls so not enjoyable to sit and have coffee or just watch the scenery. Will not book another one.

So, does the wind break work and the problem is you just lose the view? Does the wind bother you while seated? I'd still probably enjoy it (at a casino rate) because I hate not have any seating in cabins.

[ftrref]

Wind break works somewhat but door is still hard to open at times. The problem is if you are sitting down all you can see is solid walls like if sitting in a box , so if you want to sit and enjoy the scenery you simply can’t , if you are just going to occasionally walk out and look then it’s ok as that is what we ended up doing.

[ProgRockCruiser]

We had one of these Fwd balconies on Mardi Gras for our cruise in Dec 2021.  Deck 14.

 

IMHO, the wind was a non-issue.  Even going into the prevailing winds, we did not feel like we were blown away - yes there was a breeze if you stood at the railing, but if you sat down it disappeared for the most part.

 

I'm not sure if it was the ship design that helps for all forward cabins, or the fact that we were two decks below the bridge made it better for this particular deck, but in my experience it was just a nice breeze.

 

While we were sailing towards Cozumel (first full day, sea day) we had a light aft wind at about the same speed as the ship, so the net effect was it was almost perfectly still out on deck everywhere.  Very enjoyable!

 

Yes, while seated you cannot see the ocean, maybe just a bit of the horizon.  It didn't seem like a big deal.

 

We'd do that type of cabin again, easily.

 

YMMV, IMHO.  :shrug:

[Jasalth]

Not a Carnival experience but we had a forward balcony on our MSC Med cruise. 

 

Would I do it again? Yes if the price was right (free would be more than right!!). It was interesting watching where we were going and everything from our own private place on those few sea days the wind could be bad because you did have to stand to see anything. When we were there we had really calm seas so motion wasn't an issue. But that being said, in another place I could see it being not pleasant. We also tend to be "lucky" with storms in the Caribbean (and we are always sailing in one it seems!) that is the reason I would be very hesitant in that area of the world. 

 

I actually booked that specific cruise because they had the forward facing suites on MSC for our 20th wedding anniversary. I am glad I got to experience it at least once because at that time there were very few ships with them in general and like said, if the price was right I would happily do it again, though I keep managing to find great deals on Spa balconies.