Surely its just a window you can open?

[LGW59]

1 minute ago, PTC DAWG said:

Wife and I still want to try one, in spite of the naysayers. 

I'm with you.  I do find others opinions that have experienced something to be helpful, but not nearly as helpful as MY opinion after I have experienced something new.  Kind of a going into something eyes wide open

[cangelmd]

47 minutes ago, the penguins said:

It will be interesting to see what happens as the window mechanisms start to age and/or be affected by the weather. Just imagine being half way across the Atlantic with the window stuck open and no Aircon.

We were on Apex in May. I left with mixed feelings about IV, DH would be happy to not have one again.

First time we tried to move the blind (which is quite noisy, you know exactly when your neighbors move theirs unless you are in the bathroom or by the door), one side got stuck about halfway - you know when you pull a little too hard on one side of regular blinds how you get a fan - yep. Entire blind was replaced. They did it pretty fast, next day, but we learned that the slightest bit of light makes the frosted glass doors glow quite brightly, which makes it hard to sleep, especially around the UK where it isn’t dark until late! The mechanisms are aging fast!

 

on this trip I enjoyed sitting in comfort and looking out the window, but it was cool to slightly chilly or pleasant - I can’t imagine sitting there in the Caribbean! Also the blinds are fairly stiff, and it’s hard to even peek out to check for rain in the early am without waking a partner.

We have begun selecting cabins based on a combo of cost and what we want to do onboard or portside. I can see us forgoing the UV for an Oceanview and use savings for upgrades and dining. We’ve done an inside on Edge and DH thought it was too small, I didn’t think it was that much smaller even.

[cangelmd]

5 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Wife and I still want to try one, in spite of the naysayers. 

Definitely think you should because if it saves fuel, it may be the way of the future. A lot of the negatives depend on the climate that you’re cruising in and how you use your cabin, so you won’t know until you stay in an IV - it may be fine or even great for you!

[cangelmd]

21 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

 

 

Does anyone know if the motor noise of opening the blind or the window  can be heard in a next door cabin. 

Absolutely and every time it moves - but only in the outer third or half of the cabin - I couldn’t hear the neighbors blind by the bathroom door for instance.

 

I will also say that the bathrooms in the IVs are huge - I don’t understand what the guy in the video is whining about the sink, his wife must have done all the washing of undies! Yeah it loses some counter space that would be useful, but on a longer trip where I had to wash several items, it was great - I was even able to wash a small stain out a shirt without getting the tail of the shirt wet or wrinkled - dried much quicker.

[RichYak]

26 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Wife and I still want to try one, in spite of the naysayers. 

As you should. There's no one-size-fits-all answer. If there was a specific itinerary that I thought I wouldn't get any use out of a tradition balcony due to weather, I would consider booking these oceanview+ cabins.

[Homosassa]

1 hour ago, cangelmd said:

Absolutely and every time it moves - but only in the outer third or half of the cabin - I couldn’t hear the neighbors blind by the bathroom door for instance.

 

I will also say that the bathrooms in the IVs are huge - I don’t understand what the guy in the video is whining about the sink, his wife must have done all the washing of undies! Yeah it loses some counter space that would be useful, but on a longer trip where I had to wash several items, it was great - I was even able to wash a small stain out a shirt without getting the tail of the shirt wet or wrinkled - dried much quicker.

Thanks.

 

I am a light sleeper so the noise may be a factor in booking one of these cabins.

[vjmatty]

2 hours ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

 

While we are on the IV our room AC stays on as long as the top window remains closed. When the window is open, the AC turns off, as it should. However, if you close the doors to the veranda, the room temperature will remain quite comfortable.

 

 

 

If the window is open but the veranda doors are closed, the AC stays on?

[JBare]

2 hours ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

When the window is open, the AC turns off, as it should. However, if you close the doors to the veranda, the room temperature will remain quite comfortable.

 

 

Not always true, it very much depends on the ambient temperature outside the cabin and the angle of the sun, as I explained in the previous topic I referred to in post #46. The cabin can become like a greenhouse extremely quickly and the only way to stop this is to block out the sun which you can only do when the window is shut. The inner bi-fold doors do not stop the cabin overheating they act like a greenhouse. Differing climate conditions explain why some people have no trouble with the IV and some do, as I said. With a conventional balcony this is not an issue.

[JBare]

19 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

If the window is open but the veranda doors are closed, the AC stays on?

No it doesn't.

[Spif Barwunkel]

2 hours ago, vjmatty said:

 

If the window is open but the veranda doors are closed, the AC stays on?

If the window is open, the AC is off. However, if you close the folding doors to the balcony the room temperature remains quite comfortable even with the AC off. 

[Spif Barwunkel]

2 hours ago, JBare said:

 

Not always true, it very much depends on the ambient temperature outside the cabin and the angle of the sun, as I explained in the previous topic I referred to in post #46. The cabin can become like a greenhouse extremely quickly and the only way to stop this is to block out the sun which you can only do when the window is shut. The inner bi-fold doors do not stop the cabin overheating they act like a greenhouse. Differing climate conditions explain why some people have no trouble with the IV and some do, as I said. With a conventional balcony this is not an issue.

We do not sit on any balcony on any ship when the sun is shining directly into the cabin, thus we do not have this concern. Regular Veranda cabin or Infinite Veranda cabin, with AC on and direct sunlight, will still lose cooling integrity unless you close the curtain or drop the dark screen. Just like you leave the balcony doors closed when on a regular veranda, leave the window up if you want the AC to stay on in an IV. Such an insignificant factor when determining what kind of cabin to purchase.

 

 

[Ipeeinthepools]

15 hours ago, eroller said:

Choice is a great thing.  There are currently only around six cruise ships in the world operating with the infinite style balcony.  EDGE. APEX. BEYOND. FLORA. SILVER ORIGIN.  VIKING OCULUS.  Soon there will be a few more.  In comparison there are over 200 cruise ships operating with traditional balconies.  So pretty easy to avoid the very small percentage of ships with infinite balconies if they are not your thing.  Then you can save yourself and everyone else the grief if you don’t like them.  

 

You seem to be forgetting one ship, the MSC World Europa.  They have an identical cabin design on that ship, only MSC is honest and calls it an ocean view cabin not a balcony.   Perhaps Celebrity should adopt the same honest approach.

 

[Ipeeinthepools]

22 hours ago, jelayne said:

This debate has been beaten to death.  

 

Maybe the continued debate highlights the frustration from many cruisers about the inability to book a conventional balcony cabin on the side of the ship.

[Ipeeinthepools]

22 hours ago, gordylad said:

Infinite balcony.......not for me

 

 

 

 

Thanks for posting the link, this is one of the best videos that highlight the "features" of the IV balcony cabins.  A great insightful review.   The video of how poorly designed the interior glass doors is priceless.  Who would have thought that someone would have designed a cabin that you need to move the furniture to close the door.

[Beamafar]

19 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

You seem to be forgetting one ship, the MSC World Europa.  They have an identical cabin design on that ship, only MSC is honest and calls it an ocean view cabin not a balcony.   Perhaps Celebrity should adopt the same honest approach.

 

It’s not currently in operation (eroller did use the term ‘currently operating’).

Edited August 2, 2022 by Beamafar

[Bo1953]

13 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Maybe the continued debate highlights the frustration from many cruisers about the inability to book a conventional balcony cabin on the side of the ship.

Of course they can on E-Class if they book early and also in certain categories if this is important.

 

And, of course, the fares will be higher for those cabins as well, so if price is a factor we need to stick with M & S Class vessels for the time being (or maybe forever)...

 

bon voyage

[edgee]

3 hours ago, vjmatty said:

 

If the window is open but the veranda doors are closed, the AC stays on?

No. The "veranda doors" are cheap folding doors that partition off the small area of the cabin closest to the window...creating the facade of a "veranda."

[RichYak]

16 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Of course they can on E-Class if they book early and also in certain categories if this is important.

 

And, of course, the fares will be higher for those cabins as well, so if price is a factor we need to stick with M & S Class vessels for the time being (or maybe forever)...

 

bon voyage

AFAIK, there are no conventional balcony cabins on either side of Edge class ships. Only Retreat class and porthole balconies, but no conventional ones. Am I mistaken?

Edited August 2, 2022 by RichYak

[Ipeeinthepools]

6 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Of course they can on E-Class if they book early and also in certain categories if this is important.

 

And, of course, the fares will be higher for those cabins as well, so if price is a factor we need to stick with M & S Class vessels for the time being (or maybe forever)...

 

bon voyage

 

Other than a couple silly port hole balcony cabins, I'm not aware of any conventional balcony cabins on the side of the ship other than suites.  

[carolina_yankee]

We had a panorama view cabin on the Avalon Tapestry II for our Seine river Cruise. It was great to pull open the doors and have the outside as part of the stateroom. A/C also went off when that happened. Was never a problem, but was also cool in late April. Whether or not the IV is a true “balcony” it gets you basically the same thing a balcony gets you (view, fresh air, more space to spread out). It just does it a little differently. 

 

The major drawback for us since we often cruise with friends is that there is no divider to open up the two balconies so we can share one large balcony together, or get together without going through the other’s room while somebody is asleep.  That’s a major downer. To me, all of the other differences can be managed without ranking them as better than or worse than. They are just different. 

[Bo1953]

35 minutes ago, RichYak said:

AFAIK, there are no conventional balcony cabins on either side of Edge class ships. Only Retreat class and porthole balconies, but no conventional ones. Am I mistaken?

Unless I mis-read/mis-interpreted, there have a few posts concerning non-retreat cabins that have 'traditional' balconies which are snapped up once sailings are released...

 

bon voyage

[kwokpot]

8 minutes ago, carolina_yankee said:

We had a panorama view cabin on the Avalon Tapestry II for our Seine river Cruise. It was great to pull open the doors and have the outside as part of the stateroom. A/C also went off when that happened. Was never a problem, but was also cool in late April. Whether or not the IV is a true “balcony” it gets you basically the same thing a balcony gets you (view, fresh air, more space to spread out). It just does it a little differently. 

 

The major drawback for us since we often cruise with friends is that there is no divider to open up the two balconies so we can share one large balcony together, or get together without going through the other’s room while somebody is asleep.  That’s a major downer. To me, all of the other differences can be managed without ranking them as better than or worse than. They are just different. 

Your statement is a bit contradictory  since on the one hand you understand the benefits of the IV but then you go and mention a negative which seems you don't understand what the IV is. The IV in no way shape or form a balcony any more than is your family room at home is when you open up the sliders and put two chairs facing out to your backyard. The IV is a window in an interior space, so the only way to accomplish what you would want to is have connecting doors and you would have to prop open the doors. 

[kwokpot]

2 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Unless I mis-read/mis-interpreted, there have a few posts concerning non-retreat cabins that have 'traditional' balconies which are snapped up once sailings are released...

 

bon voyage

No the only real balconies besides the Aft facing ones are the porthole balconies.

[Bo1953]

5 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

No the only real balconies besides the Aft facing ones are the porthole balconies.

k - then those are the ones I Am thinking about...

 

Thank you for the clarification...

 

bon voyage

[carolina_yankee]

4 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Your statement is a bit contradictory  since on the one hand you understand the benefits of the IV but then you go and mention a negative which seems you don't understand what the IV is. The IV in no way shape or form a balcony any more than is your family room at home is when you open up the sliders and put two chairs facing out to your backyard. The IV is a window in an interior space, so the only way to accomplish what you would want to is have connecting doors and you would have to prop open the doors. 

Meh - a distinction without a difference to me. A balcony has three sides, a railing, and an open space. An IV has three sides a barrier, and an open space. And not contradictory at all. While the Disney Fantasy balconies have connectors that can be opened to share balconies, the Disney Magic and Wonder do not, meaning that having a balcony doesn’t even guarantee I get what I want.

 

My point is that the IV doesn’t really take away anything, nor does it necessarily add anything. It’s just different. I’m reasonably confident I’ll enjoy sitting on it, standing at the opening, etc. My experience on our Avalon cruise showed me that’ll be just fine.