Balcony advantage ?

[Elorac123]

Hi all I am looking at booking Carnival Luminosa for March 2025 to Port Douglas etc.I have never booked a balcony before and wondering if it’s a usable space on sea days or is it too windy,,are they covered,,,,

Cheers Carole

[SinbadThePorter]

The balcony space is usable in the sense that there are usually two chairs and a small table which can be used for al fresco dining or relaxation. I find the main purpose of the balcony is to get fresh air and to sit privately without having to go out to the public areas of the ship. I also like looking at the sea.

 

They can be windy and wet, but usually aren't. Some are covered, some are not, some are half covered. It all depends on position. I don't know how you find out which balconies are covered, perhaps a TA could find out, or maybe you could check out some youtube videos to get a general idea.

[valantine80]

We have mostly been inside cabin cruisers with the odd overview but the last three cruises we have had balcony cabins.

We were on the Luminosa to the Sth Pacific in February. They are roomy enough to sit on comfortably but not real big. They are covered and sometimes balconies can be windy. We had a lot of noise from the partitions between balconies rattling in the wind which you couldn't hear inside but we should have complained as it made sitting outside unpleasant at times.

[lyndarra]

I've always found them too breezy at sea and would only opt for one if I were heading for the tropics. A window view is fine for me but have only done one inside cabin cruise - that was enough.

[SinbadThePorter]

2 minutes ago, valantine80 said:

We had a lot of noise from the partitions between balconies rattling in the wind which you couldn't hear inside but we should have complained as it made sitting outside unpleasant at times.

 

The thing to do is to fold up some paper and shove it into the cracks separating the rattling partitions.

[valantine80]

Did try that on one side but couldn't manage it on the second.

[Tripmode33]

There is a website called cruisedeckplans that in the description for the ship often states which balconies are covered and which are not. For Luminosa I looked at that site for both Carnival Luminosa and Costa Luminosa as fairly recent name change and details under both.

[Tripmode33]

If anyone is considering an inside on Luminosa, there is an inside category, usually only a few dollars more than true inside, called Interior with Window that on other ships would be called obstructed ocean view. They are located on deck with lifeboats so some have better views than others. Best thing is, rather than a small window, they have full-length double glass doors (that don't open) so plenty of light and sometimes decent view.

[ceeceeDee]

If you are heading to Far North Queensland in March, sea breezes would probably be a bonus. Quite hot around that time of year. However, depending on how the wet season is behaving, you could also experience a bit of wet weather (won't be cold though). I have a personal preference for a balcony and didn't find it all that windy on our recent Great Barrier Reef cruise.

[arxcards]

The balconies are great for us for mornings and evenings in & out of port. Sometimes we will use them on a sea day, but it has to be pretty warm and pretty calm, or we don't get our monies worth.

 

The exception is the aft facing balconies, which offer fantastic protection from the elements. These are worth the extra few bucks because you will get extra use of them. The possible downside is that there is a fair bit of extra corridor walking to do.

[SinbadThePorter]

I've had the interior window cabin on Luminosa. They are good value except that you need to be prepared for tendering days as the noise outside your window gets very industrial and crew will be walking around checking things. Also a number of these cabins on the port side are directly over the nightclub, which makes sleeping before 1am a bit difficult.

 

I've also had an aft facing balcony on the ship, the main problem of which was that the vibrations from the engine and/or propulsion seem to be magnified right at the stern of the ship. But this is a problem on almost all ships and is easy to get used to.

[Tripmode33]

18 minutes ago, arxcards said:

The balconies are great for us for mornings and evenings in & out of port. Sometimes we will use them on a sea day, but it has to be pretty warm and pretty calm, or we don't get our monies worth.

 

The exception is the aft facing balconies, which offer fantastic protection from the elements. These are worth the extra few bucks because you will get extra use of them. The possible downside is that there is a fair bit of extra corridor walking to do.

Agree. We had an aft facing balcony on our last Luminosa cruise. On that ship, these are quite narrow cabins but definitely bigger than standard balcony. We had sofa plus tub chair and desk with chair. Our friends in standard only had a single seat other than the bed to sit on. Of course, there are chairs on the balcony.

[cruiser3775]

I started my first cruise by paying for a balcony cabin, which has spoiled me forever. So now I only look for balcony cabins. However, I guess they are better value if you are going somewhere warm. They are not necessarily very private spaces, with only a small barrier between each cabin, and some can be overlooked by other balconies. So don't think about naked sunbathing.

Some are covered and others are not. You can work out if a particular balcony is covered or not, by looking at the pictures on the cruisedeckplans website.

Another advantage that has not been mentioned is, if you are a keen photographer, they are great places to be when you go through scenic coastal areas, and can also be good when you are in ports.

[ceeceeDee]

Absolutely, cruiser! I got some great shots from our balcony when we were docking in Cairns. No elbowing for unobstructed view from the public decks AND I will still in my dressing gown.😂

[Elorac123]

Thank you all so much for your input

Such a shame I won’t be able to sunbake naked cruiser 3775

Cheers Carole 

[aussielozzie18]

Hi

Luminosa standard balcony 7353 was what we had for our GBR cruise last December.  Very nice covered balcony.  We spent most of our time when not at ports relaxing by the adults only Serenity deck. Only time we were on the balcony was before and after breakfast prior to Port disembarkations and at sunset. We got some lovely sunset photos from our balcony throughout the cruise,

[vada_9]

I like having a balcony to hang my wet togs etc out.

[lyndarra]

18 minutes ago, vada_9 said:

I like having a balcony to hang my wet togs etc out.

Aren't there rules discouraging this.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/2209111-drying-clothes-on-balconies/

Edited August 30, 2023 by lyndarra
typo x 2

[arxcards]

The dry air from the aircon will dry clothes quicker. Wring, wrap tightly in a dry towel for 15 mins, then hang somewhere near the aircon vent.

[ceeceeDee]

I do that when I hand wash items in the bathroom. Works a treat.

[cruiser3775]

If it's something like your swimwear and you want it to dry quickly (hate putting it on again when still damp), then I take a couple of strong clothes pegs and peg it to the back of the balcony chair. Can't be seen except from in the cabin, and catches any breeze.  I also take one of those twisty elastic travel clothes lines, to supplement the pull out clothes line in the shower.

https://www.bigw.com.au/product/globite-pegless-clothes-line/p/941137