If you like Infinite balconies, why?

[AliceS]

I am so underwhelmed by this design, I will try not to ever settle for one again.   I will go to an ocean view, or upgrade…..no more infinite balcony.   I was solo…double cost.   The window made so much noise up and down… grrrrrrrrr, grrrrrrrrr……why?   I don’t get it.    It’s an ocean view cabin with a window that opens.

Forget it!

[basenji56]

Everyone will say “it makes the room larger.”

[Tigerfnan23]

We definitely like them better than ocean view but we would never pay full retail for one.  Just isn't worth it.  

[angela miller]

I have a different view. I have been traveling on cruises since the early 90s. And have also done river cruises. One of the nice things about having the infinite balconies is that you can sit in your bed and raise that glass and enjoy. I have been on quite a few cruises where it was absolutely too hot to get out on the balcony. What I am seeing now is it is a generational perspective. What is great is celebrity is offering a choice…infinite balconies, and also a true balcony.

[Georgia_Peaches]

IV is definitely not for me.  We booked a porthole balcony instead.  

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, angela miller said:

What is great is celebrity is offering a choice…infinite balconies, and also a true balcony.

A choice? How many balcony cabins are there in AQ or CC on Edge class ships?

[dlh015]

2 hours ago, angela miller said:

What I am seeing now is it is a generational perspective.

Really?? That might be news to many here...

 

However, I can't say I've been tracking every post...have you?? All I've seen is an ongoing debate between two sides...(well, maybe three...lol...)

[NMTraveller]

Exactly...

 

3 hours ago, AliceS said:

I am so underwhelmed by this design, I will try not to ever settle for one again.   I will go to an ocean view, or upgrade…..no more infinite balcony.   I was solo…double cost.   The window made so much noise up and down… grrrrrrrrr, grrrrrrrrr……why?   I don’t get it.    It’s an ocean view cabin with a window that opens.

Forget it!

Exactly.

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, AliceS said:

I am so underwhelmed by this design, I will try not to ever settle for one again.   I will go to an ocean view, or upgrade…..no more infinite balcony.   I was solo…double cost.   The window made so much noise up and down… grrrrrrrrr, grrrrrrrrr……why?   I don’t get it.    It’s an ocean view cabin with a window that opens.

Forget it!

Also checkout Suites, Sunset Verandas and DPVs on the E class ships. Limited inventory for those but another option for a balcony. 

[oceanbeau10]

We loved it!  Some nights we slept with the window down.  The room felt larger, and we used our balcony frequently.  We would definitely book an infinite balcony again!  

[dlh015]

You didn't have a balcony. You had an Infinite Veranda. 

[NMTraveller]

48 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

You didn't have a balcony. You had an Infinite Veranda. 

Exactly ...

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, oceanbeau10 said:

We loved it!  Some nights we slept with the window down.  The room felt larger, and we used our balcony frequently.  We would definitely book an infinite balcony again!  

Window down, blind up and no Aircon doesn't sound ideal.

Also curious how long did you spend each day relaxing in the "comfortable, low backed chairs" that are a feature of the the Infinite Verandah? 

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, angela miller said:

I have a different view. I have been traveling on cruises since the early 90s. And have also done river cruises. One of the nice things about having the infinite balconies is that you can sit in your bed and raise that glass and enjoy. I have been on quite a few cruises where it was absolutely too hot to get out on the balcony. What I am seeing now is it is a generational perspective. What is great is celebrity is offering a choice…infinite balconies, and also a true balcony.

Now choice would be good say a 50/50 split between standard and Infinite. 

The reality is no standard cabins have a "true" balcony - it's Infinite Verandah or pay a large upgrade fee.

[Mark_T]

This...

57 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Window down, blind up and no Aircon doesn't sound ideal.

Also curious how long did you spend each day relaxing in the "comfortable, low backed chairs" that are a feature of the the Infinite Verandah? 

... and this...

53 minutes ago, the penguins said:

The reality is no standard cabins have a "true" balcony - it's Infinite Verandah or pay a large upgrade fee.

...is why we will not be sailing on the 'E' class ships.

 

With the way the Retreat prices have been heading it just doesn't make sense any more, we'd rather cruise 2-3x as often in a real balcony cabin on 'S' class ships  and treat the speciality dining as our MDR. (... or possibly MSC, trying Yacht Club in June).

Edited April 27, 2023 by Mark_T

[Ken the cruiser]

We have an IV Aqua cabin booked on the Apex on a Norway fjord cruise that includes 2 days cruising above the Arctic Circle. We enjoy dining in Blu and the overall entertainment aspect of cruising on the Apex. So hopefully the weather will be cool enough in July up there so we can keep the window down most of the day and enjoy the views “sitting on the balcony” as well as the fresh air! 😁

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

We like the infinite so much we'd pay more for it than a regular balcony.  Everyone is different in their likes. 

[cruzeluver]

Really enjoyed it on Apex. From our view it did make the room feel larger. Made almost no noise when opening/closing. Now we are not ones to spend a lot of time in a stateroom anyway so our needs are modest : we don't get fussed about room size, layout, where is the balcony in relationship to the bed, does the balcony have a foot stool etc. 

[AliceS]

9 hours ago, davekathy said:

Also checkout Suites, Sunset Verandas and DPVs on the E class ships. Limited inventory for those but another option for a balcony. 

I hear you, but the cost is so much more.   I love the theatre on the E Class….fantastic.   The cabin storage and decor are beautiful….I just like to be outside on a balcony, not just open the window.   I’ll just take an ocean view, or sail on Solstice Class.   

[Cruise a holic]

I definately wouldn't try again.  Room IMO seems smaller as it appears narrow.  I would definately get an aft balcony which is still a true balcony or a cove balcony towards the front.  While not a fully exposed balcony, at least you have fresh air when you want it, and the price is right.  Now the royal new ship the Icon will have infinite balconies in some rooms.  Reminds me of the huge rocking chair idea on the edge class ships, they were removed as they were a failure, but not easy to remove an ifinite balcony!

[poffles]

Dislike and would not pay ‘balcony’ pricing for this ‘verandah’.

 

Here is my personal opinion (mini review) after my recent first time sailing in one on the Edge (10 night Caribbean) two weeks ago.  Listing what I thought was good/bad about the room in comparing to my typical balcony preference (unfair I know).  Some of it is perspective, some of it is just how it is.

 

Good:

•    Floor to ceiling window view was nice.  Sunsets oh my.
•    Room felt more open, spacy, and bright (blind open of course).
•    Reduced ‘outside’ neighbour noise.  Though we did hear a baby crying from below.
•    Less chance of smelling smoke if someone does the naughty nearby.

 

Bad:
•    It’s a window that can open … not a balcony.  It is what it is.
•    Very noisy opening/closing, especially the blind.  As someone else said here, it was bad. At times we could even hear when neighbours were opening/closing theirs.
•    The chairs felt wrong.  It felt like they should match to a dinner height table.  Padding was nice but the chairs seemed to add to the oddness we felt sitting in front of a window. 
•    Window open – AC off.  I get it, totally makes sense not to let money running the AC float out the window but no ability to enjoy sitting in the ‘veranda’ window open for an hour or so and then immediately shift to the cool of the room. We would open the window until the person not wanting to sit in the heat could tolerate it and then close again.
•    Inability to utilize the veranda as closed off area.  This was a big one for me as an early riser, I quietly sneak out and get coffee and come back and go out to the balcony and enjoy the sun coming up.  Nope, this has to be an all-party choice because not only is noise of opening the blind a problem, but you can’t close off the brightness from the room once you open the blind.  The French doors are silly, and we never used them once.  Also if I opened the window the room would heat up for those ‘sleeping’.
•    Captain can close/disable the window at any time.  When we first got on the ship we were eager getting to our room and seeing this for the first time, went to open the window … nope it was closed by the Captain (it was open by sail away).  Not a big deal but sucked.  It was the only time on our 10 day cruise that we encountered this so no biggy.
•    Mechanical issues.  We encountered many times when the window would just stop in the middle of opening or closing.  The button was very fickle, and it became annoying at times.  What I thought was lacking was the ability to push a button to auto open/close the window much like the blind.  Instead, you had to hold the button the entire time and hope it didn’t stop midway (it did many times).  I thought about why there is no auto button for the window, thought perhaps safety but then considered that the captain can do this remotely, so no safety thought in that.

 

My takeaway thoughts:

 

Not the first one to say this and it is entirely true … these staterooms should not be even slightly compared to a balcony. These really are midway between ‘ocean view’ and ‘balcony’ and if the price aligns then great. 

 

These seem more suited for a moderate to cold weather cruise.  The ability to open such a large window without extreme heat filling the room would be nice.  To have such a great window view without wishing you could sit ‘out there’ … imagine Alaska.

 

We utilized this area totally different than we do a ‘balcony’, basically less.  No mornings sitting 'out there' which I really missed.  We would even typically go out and sit on a balcony in the evening, late at night in the dark, we did not do that once on this cruise as it just isn’t the same.

 

The way you utilize your stateroom during a cruise will dictate your opinion.  Clearly, we are all different which makes having choices a good thing.  Choices are great but don’t be misled.

 

I went in fully aware but wanted to form my own opinion and now I have, which I've now long winded shared with you LOL 🙂

 

.
 

Edited April 27, 2023 by poffles

[spammie]

We just got off of the Apex on Saturday.  We were in Aqua and also had one in Aqua on the Edge.  Totally not worth the price!  I said to my husband on more than one occasion that it is a big picture window that opens.  Our next cruise is in a suite on Beyond but after that if we don't have a suite with a real balcony we will go back to the S class ships which we seem to like more or just book an ocean view cabin on E class.  We love to sit outside on a real balcony.  🙂

 

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, AliceS said:

I hear you, but the cost is so much more.   I love the theatre on the E Class….fantastic.   The cabin storage and decor are beautiful….I just like to be outside on a balcony, not just open the window.   I’ll just take an ocean view, or sail on Solstice Class.   

Try a DPV. The DPV would be less than an IV. 

[Sigyn]

It really seems to me that it would just feel like a big window that opens. I don't get the appeal. 

[jules815]

We were originally booked in a IV room for the April 2024 transatlantic on Ascent. Since we'll be on the ship for almost 2 weeks with lots of sea days, I didn't want to take the risk of not liking this style of stateroom. There were a few SV's available for our sailing so I grabbed one on deck 11. Suites at this time are outrageous. We're actually really looking forward to the SV. Have read nothing but positive things about this location.

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by jules815