Bed by Balcony v. Bathroom

[GetToLivin]

What I'm trying to find out is how to tell which side the bed will be on in the room (by balcony or by bathroom). Years ago there was a thread that addressed this regarding configuration, but I'm looking at Wonder and not sure if it would apply to that one? Looking at 8294.

 

Thanks for any help!

[jbrinkm]

Theoretically, find a set of connecting rooms nearby on your floor and when looking at the doors from the hall, the "right will be right" - as in the door on the right will have the bed away from the closet/bathroom (what many prefer, by the balcony in balcony rooms) and the door on the left will have the bed next to the closet/bathroom. Then count alternating rooms for each. Just make sure the ones between are regular rooms and nothing special so it doesn't mess up the pattern. 

Edited January 30, 2023 by jbrinkm

[Ourusualbeach]

40 minutes ago, GetToLivin said:

What I'm trying to find out is how to tell which side the bed will be on in the room (by balcony or by bathroom). Years ago there was a thread that addressed this regarding configuration, but I'm looking at Wonder and not sure if it would apply to that one? Looking at 8294.

 

Thanks for any help!

Bed is by the balcony

[The Fun Researcher]

Jumping on here.  How about the Quantum, 

Balcony

#11154?

 

[Ourusualbeach]

33 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Jumping on here.  How about the Quantum, 

Balcony

#11154?

 

Bed by the balcony

[ShazM]

Don't know about Wonder but Ovation 12250 is closer to the bathroom. 

[Katems75]

5 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

Theoretically, find a set of connecting rooms nearby on your floor and when looking at the doors from the hall, the "right will be right" - as in the door on the right will have the bed away from the closet/bathroom (what many prefer, by the balcony in balcony rooms) and the door on the left will have the bed next to the closet/bathroom. Then count alternating rooms for each. Just make sure the ones between are regular rooms and nothing special so it doesn't mess up the pattern. 

LOL, my cheat is to say 'right is wrong' because I prefer the bed by the bathroom!  I don't like having such a tiny aisle to get to the balcony.  I want the open space with the couch to lead to the balcony so we can go in and out easily.  I also use the fact that 'left' has four letters and so does 'good'.  To each his own!  🙂

[GetToLivin]

22 minutes ago, Katems75 said:

LOL, my cheat is to say 'right is wrong' because I prefer the bed by the bathroom!  I don't like having such a tiny aisle to get to the balcony.  I want the open space with the couch to lead to the balcony so we can go in and out easily.  I also use the fact that 'left' has four letters and so does 'good'.  To each his own!  🙂

I am the exact same way! On our Harmony cruise in Nov I about lost it - I felt so "closed in" being right next to the dang balcony. Plus, we had a couple windy nights and all I could hear is the wind howling because I was right next to the door. I specifically asked this question today so I could locate a bed that's NOT next to the balcony. I do agree too, I like the open space that leads to the balcony, feels more spacious even though I know the sq. ft. is the same 😆

[Katems75]

1 hour ago, GetToLivin said:

I am the exact same way! On our Harmony cruise in Nov I about lost it - I felt so "closed in" being right next to the dang balcony. Plus, we had a couple windy nights and all I could hear is the wind howling because I was right next to the door. I specifically asked this question today so I could locate a bed that's NOT next to the balcony. I do agree too, I like the open space that leads to the balcony, feels more spacious even though I know the sq. ft. is the same 😆

Sounds like you need to take the cabin on either side of the one you were looking at then!!  🙂

 

The square footage is broken up in my opinion if you have the bed by the balcony...you have the open living room area, then the bed which is almost as long as the space it's in, and then the open balcony.  That just makes me anxious, lol.

 

I never thought about the wind howling, but that's a good point!  I've only been on one cruise and that was Oasis and my bed was by the bathroom.  My next cruise is Harmony in May and I already switched my room to make sure I was next to the bathroom again.  The RC call center girl actually told me I could just tell my cabin steward to switch the bed and couch when I get on board, lolol!  She sounded less experienced than me with just my one cruise under my belt!

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by Katems75

[Wineaux007]

6 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

Theoretically, find a set of connecting rooms nearby on your floor and when looking at the doors from the hall, the "right will be right" - as in the door on the right will have the bed away from the closet/bathroom (what many prefer, by the balcony in balcony rooms) and the door on the left will have the bed next to the closet/bathroom. Then count alternating rooms for each. Just make sure the ones between are regular rooms and nothing special so it doesn't mess up the pattern. 

It's just the opposite for Celebrity S-Class ships.  While standing in the little alcove, the stateroom on the right has bed by the bath, and the stateroom on he left has bed by the balcony.   

 

I haven't attempted to figure out the pattern on all the different Royal class ships, so I just accept what I get.  😁

[Ourusualbeach]

58 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

It's just the opposite for Celebrity S-Class ships.  While standing in the little alcove, the stateroom on the right has bed by the bath, and the stateroom on he left has bed by the balcony.   

 

I haven't attempted to figure out the pattern on all the different Royal class ships, so I just accept what I get.  😁

Oasis and Quantum class ships are the opposite pattern.  Other classes are all the same and do not alternate.

[Ourusualbeach]

Bed by the bath vs the balcony became a thing when Oasis was first introduced.  Having the bed by the bath made it very difficult to get into the closet due to the layout.  The same is true of Allure.  That design problem was eliminated with the introduction of Harmony and subsequent OA class ships as Royal started using a different ship builder who in turn used a different cabin design where the closet is no longer an issue.

 

The other big advantage of the bed by the balcony is for those with scooters who bring them in the cabin at night.

[jbrinkm]

3 hours ago, Katems75 said:

LOL, my cheat is to say 'right is wrong' because I prefer the bed by the bathroom!  I don't like having such a tiny aisle to get to the balcony.  I want the open space with the couch to lead to the balcony so we can go in and out easily.  I also use the fact that 'left' has four letters and so does 'good'.  To each his own!  🙂

 

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Bed by the bath vs the balcony became a thing when Oasis was first introduced.  Having the bed by the bath made it very difficult to get into the closet due to the layout. 

 

We were on Allure last spring and are on her again this upcoming April. We travel with our teens and have rooms next door to each other. Last year, we had the bed by the balcony and I enjoyed having the "living room" space when we walked in, to set down anything we were carrying and to be able to plop down on the couch and put my feet up. But it didn't matter too much to me.

 

However, my teens in the connecting room HATED the beds next to the closet and I think it was partially because they had the beds separated which pushed one of the beds really close to the closet and made it very difficult to get clothing in or out of the closet. My oldest was sleeping further from the closet and ended up trying to shove all their clothes into the drawers and shelves of the vanity/desk space (not well) because they couldn't easily access the closet. I made a comment once when I went into their room about how nice it was to sit on the couch and look right out to the ocean and they both started complaining about the bed/closet arrangement.

 

So we decided to swap for our upcoming cruise. We're giving the teens the beds by the balcony and we're taking the bed by the closet. I think it will be easier for us with the bed pushed together, and because we're a married couple rather than siblings trying to figure out the sharing of space in a room together.

[Tall-Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Bed by the bath vs the balcony became a thing

Very good info. It made me think about some cabins our group has on Icon. How is it on Icon for say the D2 and D4 balcony cabins? Thanks 

[Ourusualbeach]

11 minutes ago, Tall-Cruiser said:

Very good info. It made me think about some cabins our group has on Icon. How is it on Icon for say the D2 and D4 balcony cabins? Thanks 

Won't know until we start seeing some actual photos of cabins.  Thought I had read that they have been redesigned 

[TheHawk1]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Bed by the bath vs the balcony became a thing when Oasis was first introduced.  Having the bed by the bath made it very difficult to get into the closet due to the layout.  The same is true of Allure.  That design problem was eliminated with the introduction of Harmony and subsequent OA class ships as Royal started using a different ship builder who in turn used a different cabin design where the closet is no longer an issue.

 

The other big advantage of the bed by the balcony is for those with scooters who bring them in the cabin at night.

You’re correct that the design change fixed the problem of better access to the closet on the newer Oasis ships.  But it still doesn’t mean that having the bed by the bathroom is ever a good thing. I will only book a cabin with bed by the balcony or I skip that sailing and look for something else.  Good thing there’s the other 50% of them that can go to the people who don’t know any better 😄

[Katems75]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Oasis and Quantum class ships are the opposite pattern.  Other classes are all the same and do not alternate.

Other classes have identical rooms?  So are the beds by the bathroom or balcony in those classes??

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, Katems75 said:

Other classes have identical rooms?  So are the beds by the bathroom or balcony in those classes??

Freedom and Voyager all have beds by the balcony.  Not sure about the other classes. 

[taglovestocruise]

2 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

You’re correct that the design change fixed the problem of better access to the closet on the newer Oasis ships.  But it still doesn’t mean that having the bed by the bathroom is ever a good thing. I will only book a cabin with bed by the balcony or I skip that sailing and look for something else.  Good thing there’s the other 50% of them that can go to the people who don’t know any better 😄

Always choose bed by closet on Oasis Class. Wife spends several hours a day at the makeup table.  Balcony door wide open as loves to hear the ocean.  Recently had bed by balcony on Quantum, everyday she wished we had the  makeup table by the balcony door. 60 nights on Oasis class and always a bed by the closet. 

[TheHawk1]

7 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Always choose bed by closet on Oasis Class. Wife spends several hours a day at the makeup table.  Balcony door wide open as loves to hear the ocean.  Recently had bed by balcony on Quantum, everyday she wished we had the  makeup table by the balcony door. 60 nights on Oasis class and always a bed by the closet. 

To each his own.  Less competition for the good cabins for me.

[easyqueasy]

9 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Freedom and Voyager all have beds by the balcony.  Not sure about the other classes. 

Is that just for balcony rooms? The bed was by the bathroom in our junior suite on Navigator.

[moposh]

Just curious, what difference does it make?

[Ourusualbeach]

14 minutes ago, easyqueasy said:

Is that just for balcony rooms? The bed was by the bathroom in our junior suite on Navigator.

Yes.

[The Fun Researcher]

37 minutes ago, moposh said:

Just curious, what difference does it make?

Just depends on where you like to lounge in your room.  Our last cruise in June, my sister's family and ours would gather before dinner in my parent's balcony cabin.  Yes it got cramped, but I'm not one to turn down some wine in their cabin.  LOL  They liked having the bed near the bathroom so it made the balcony feel more like an extension of the adjacent "gathering" space in the cabin.

 

Our upcoming Alaskan cruise on the Quantum we have 6 balcony cabins spread among 16 family members so we'll have a smorgasbord of options.  I like either for different reasons.

[LadyZolt]

7 hours ago, moposh said:

Just curious, what difference does it make?

As others have said, it's personal preference.  For us, my husband is an early riser and I am not. The bed by the balcony lets me stay buried under the covers while he gets up, gets dressed, goes off to walk the ship and eat breakfast, etc.  In the Radiance class ships with the curtain, he can draw the curtain and let me sleep while he does stuff on his computer or even watches TV (I'm a heavy sleeper -- this doesn't wake me. LOL!)  I also like coming into the room and having that be the "living area" with the couch and TV, and then the "sleeping area" further back.  So, that's my preference -- but let me say I will take any configuration and make the best of it so long as I'm getting to go on a cruise.  🙂