Beware Balcony Doors - Locked out

[Dolby1000]

On the Serenade, the handle to open the balcony door is on the INSIDE only, it appears they used to be on the outside and inside, but for security reasons (really, who is going to climb 9 decks to break into a cabin, so this is a bit ridiculous to me) there is no handle for the outside. RCCL assumes that being able to only open and lock the door on the inside is secure enough.

Except, the design has a serious flaw. The door is locked with the handle at the noon position. It is designed to be open at the 6 o'clock position. The problem arises you stop at the 4 or 5 o'clock position and unlock the door. If you open the door at this point and go out onto the balcony and close the door, the spring mechanism for the door springs the handle to the noon position, locking the door.

This happened to us, the door opened at the 4 o'clock position and my wife joined me on the balcony. When she shut the door, the handle sprang back to the upright, noon position, locking us out on the balcony. We had nothing but our clothes on. There is NO WAY back in! No phone you can pick up to call, no tool to unlock the door, no way to signal anyone for help. You are at the mercy of someone close by coming out to their balcony you can yell at to get help.

For us, tragedy was averted as we were in port in Key West, facing the dock. We screamed down 9 decks and they sent a security person to open our door. 

In my imagination, this could have turned bad very quickly. If we were at sea, or on the other side of the dock, there is no way to get quick help. My wife is a diabetic and in my worst nightmare, if help took hours to find, she could go into diabetic shock and die.

RCCL needs to find a way to get help or unlock the door when the handle springs into the locked position without warning, or at least, issue a warning not to open the door until the handle is at the 6 position.

[OCSC Mike]

Sorry to hear you went through that.

 

FWIW, they do unlock from the outside on Oasis class (unless you engage the extra deadbolt type lock from the inside).

[twangster]

At least you had clothes on... 🙂

 

I know other people who have been locked out on this class.  A couple years ago on a group cruise we received a group text message requesting assistance.  We engaged security.

 

Some have attributed this to a ghost who roams the ship but I couldn't see it. 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by twangster

[Engineroom Snipe]

I have never encountered the situation that you described but I can understand how scary it would be to have no control over the situation.

 

Normally, my wife is smiling at me from the inside as she locks the door, closes the drapes, and starts her vacation.

 

😮😉

 

 

[luckyinpa]

can i assume there's a way to get in your cabin even if you used all the locks available to you  .

 

i forget if they have that 'hotel style solid chain' type lock that i always wonder how they could get in if there was a dead body in there. 

[BND]

It was either on Jewel or EN last year that we went out on the balcony and DH hadn't opened the handle all the way and when it shut, it locked.  Fortunately, it was during the morning when stewards were still working on rooms and I leaned over and saw our neighbors cabin being cleaned.  I got the attention of the steward and she went and found ours and he let us back in .  LOL.  36 cruises with balconies and that was the first time that has ever happened to us.

[orville99]

Whenever we are using our balcony the door is always left open.

[twangster]

37 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

can i assume there's a way to get in your cabin even if you used all the locks available to you  .

 

i forget if they have that 'hotel style solid chain' type lock that i always wonder how they could get in if there was a dead body in there. 

 

Security has a key that can get in the door.  No chain or physical barrier device is present on a cabin door.  The door lock can keep a cabin attendant out but security can always get in.  

[Magicat]

Ok, thanks for the helpful tip.  So note to self:

1. Make sure there is beer on ice on the balcony at all times in the unlikely event one gets locked out. 

2. Wear pants.

3. Bottle opener for #1 

[twangster]

2 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Whenever we are using our balcony the door is always left open.

 

On Jewel the sliding door doesn't lock in place in any position other than fully closed.  On some ships the handle can act as a brake to keep the door from closing but on some ships that isn't the case.

 

One time I left the door open but after 20 minutes the movement of the ship caused the door to slide closed.  Fortunately the handle didn't flip to the locked position when it slammed closed.  From that point on I threw a towel on the threshold of the door so even if the ship rolled a bit the door couldn't close all the way, or slam closed and annoy the neighbors.

[twangster]

Just now, Magicat said:

Ok, thanks for the helpful tip.  So note to self:

1. Make sure there is beer on ice on the balcony at all times in the unlikely event one gets locked out. 

2. Wear pants.

3. Bottle opener for #1 

 

I'd reverse 2 & 3.  Priorities...

[Coralc]

Our next door neighbors were locked out on their balcony by their room steward. They were napping, and I guess he didn't see them. I was reading on our balcony when they started yelling for help. 

 

Fortunately, one of them had their room card in a pocket. So they just handed it around the barrier and I went and let them in. I guess it could have been worse if no one was around. 

[crazyank]

4 hours ago, Dolby1000 said:

The door is locked with the handle at the noon position. It is designed to be open at the 6 o'clock position. The problem arises you stop at the 4 or 5 o'clock position and unlock the door.

simple answer, use it the way it's designed to be used.

[shipgeeks]

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

Whenever we are using our balcony the door is always left open.

Are you aware that doing so will shut off the AC in your cabin plus your neighbors' cabins? 

[orville99]

Just now, shipgeeks said:

Are you aware that doing so will shut off the AC in your cabin plus your neighbors' cabins? 

Actually, that is a myth. The AC has never stopped in our cabin regardless of whether the door is opened or closed, and even if it did, it would only affect our cabin.

[njkruzer]

My husband accidentally locked me out on Celebrity Infinity.  We were in South America off the coast of Chile and dh went to a lecture.  When I realized what happened i was able to get the attention of a woman who was 2 cabins away and spoke very little English.  She got her husband who called guest services for me. He told me he had done the same thing but realized it quickly.   I stood by the balcony waiting.   When a steward poked his head in, I waved, he ran over, opened the door and fled so fast I couldn't even tip or find out his name.   It's been 8 years and I still tease dh about it.  Also really aware of the handle.  Btw dh says I should have tried to yell up to bar 2 decks up them to send me down a drink!

[smokeybandit]

59 minutes ago, njkruzer said:

My husband accidentally locked me out on Celebrity Infinity

You sure it was an accident?🙂

[njkruzer]

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

You sure it was an accident?🙂

Yes, he says so!  

[Starry Eyes]

Someone else would have heard you calling for help.  Several years ago I was relaxing on my aft balcony on a Celebrity ship when I heard a woman call “help.”  Before going off to enjoy the ship, a teenager had (presumably) inadvertently locked his mother and aunt on the balcony two cabins from mine.  I made a call and help arrived promptly.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

Are you aware that doing so will shut off the AC in your cabin plus your neighbors' cabins? 

 

I can also verify it doesn't turn off the A/C on Radiance class.  Newer Royal ships the balcony door impacts your A/C, but not the neighbors.

 

Perhaps there was a ship somewhere that bundled multiple cabins together.  Royal assures us that all cabins are independent.  During the restart they went to great lengths to ensure it was public knowledge that all ships have independent air handling with no shared components beyond chiller lines.  

[Scottdalfonso]

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

Actually, that is a myth. The AC has never stopped in our cabin regardless of whether the door is opened or closed, and even if it did, it would only affect our cabin.

It definitely shut our AC off on Oasis... I doubt it would affect  the neighbors, but our air was not running unless the door was shut AND locked when we were on board. You could literally hear the vent start blowing as soon as you turned the handle to the locked position.  

[klfrodo]

What would Red Foreman say about locking oneself out on the balcony?

[Dolby1000]

16 hours ago, crazyank said:

simple answer, use it the way it's designed to be used.

So, I mis-spoke, apparently it is designed to open at the 4 o'clock position. The lock shouldn't release until it is impossible for the handle to return to the noon position, thus preventing lock outs. The design flaw is that is springs back to the locked position instead of the lower open position.

[lv2cruisgrl]

The same thing happened to us years ago. Lucky for us it was breakfast time and we were at the back of a ship. We yelled to people above us who were eating. One lady yelled back, "Are you hungry I will throw you a banana?" Then she called security!  Lol

[barbeyg]

4 minutes ago, lovrccl said:

The same thing happened to us years ago. Lucky for us it was breakfast time and we were at the back of a ship. We yelled to people above us who were eating. One lady yelled back, "Are you hungry I will throw you a banana?" Then she called security!  Lol

That's exactly how I would handle it.  😂  A little humor hopefully will go a long way in this kind of situation. If not, they have to find me to lecture me. 😁