infinite veranda, does anyone like these things?

[the penguins]

21 minutes ago, AnnieHawk said:

You are correct. Many balconies have the sliding doors and when you open it to go on balcony, AC turns off. Leave it open to get fresh air in the room, which I need. Other ships have standard doors which close behind you as you walk out. I prop those with a backpack to get my fresh air flowing- also will turn off the  AC. I’d rather get the fresh air circulating and sacrifice room temp for a bit. We’ll have our first IV experience in June on the Edge in Alaska

Not on Celebrity.

Leaving the balcony door open is an absolute no no. It puts tremendous pressure on the system creating a pressure vortex. Additionally as the aircon is shared between 2 cabins it also affects your neighbour. Walk down any corridor and you can hear the whistling created when balcony doors are left open. The balcony doors are all clearly labelled to reminder you that the doors must be kept closed.

 

[hcat]

door open is def  a NO NO

It affects systems, creates a mean whistle in the corridor and other cabins!  Makes it tough for others to sleep..Staff has to go door to door reminding folks to shut the doors!

[kwokpot]

12 minutes ago, mitchtech said:

The partitions are not frosted. They are brown, wood, maybe and they do blackout the room

What are you referring to? E-Class ships or the Icon? 

[Jeremiah1212]

38 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Not exactly. The room dividers are frosted, so it will still let in a lot of light in even when they are in the closed position. 

On Royal's new icon of the Seas the IV cabins on that ship no longer have bifold screens and blackout shade but instead have just blackout curtains. 

The other point is even with the room dividers closed the space in no way resembles or feels like a regular balcony. In a regular balcony you are outside with air that flows from all sides. Not so in an IV room since you are never outside, you're always inside you cabin. 

Icon actually does have the electric blackout shade like E class ships in addition to the fabric blackout curtains instead of the solid bifold doors found in E class. It does change the potential use of the space to some degree if you wished. I’m not sure how I felt about it on Icon. I never felt the need to pull the curtains shut. 

[mitchtech]

12 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

What are you referring to? E-Class ships or the Icon? 

E class

[kwokpot]

15 minutes ago, mitchtech said:

E class

If that's the case you're 100% wrong. I've stayed on IV cabins on all four E-Class ships and none have what your referring to. All IV cabins on all four E-Class ships, whether standard, Aqua, or Conceige, have FROSTED bi-fold room dividers that when closed create the illusion of a separate room. These room dividers don't control the HVAC nor are they room darkening. So I'm not sure what you're referring to. I was on the Ascent two weeks ago in an infinite veranda so I speak from experience. 

Edited February 8 by kwokpot

[kwokpot]

13 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Icon actually does have the electric blackout shade like E class ships in addition to the fabric blackout curtains instead of the solid bifold doors found in E class. It does change the potential use of the space to some degree if you wished. I’m not sure how I felt about it on Icon. I never felt the need to pull the curtains shut. 

Yes, I just noticed the blind. The difference with the curtains vs the bifold doors is more light control. It also seems the balcony portion is deeper on the Icon cabin vs the E-Class version. 

Here's a video review of the cabin, starting at the 7:05 minutes into the video:

 

[Jeremiah1212]

2 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Yes, I just noticed the blind. The difference with the curtains vs the bifold doors is more light control. It also seems the balcony portion is deeper on the Icon cabin vs the E-Class version. 

Here's a video review of the cabin, starting at the 7:05 minutes into the video:

 

 

I was in one of the Icon IV cabins last month. The veranda area is larger on Icon but it wasn’t necessarily better. It’s somewhat wasted space with the curtain acting as the divider. My preference would be the E class layout over the Icon layout. 

[kwokpot]

3 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

 

I was in one of the Icon IV cabins last month. The veranda area is larger on Icon but it wasn’t necessarily better. It’s somewhat wasted space with the curtain acting as the divider. My preference would be the E class layout over the Icon layout. 

That's very interesting. Thank you for your opinion on the IV room differences.

It's interesting MSC takes a different approach and treats it as a new cabin category class and design-wise it's an Oceanview cabin with a panoramic window that opens. 

[mitchtech]

32 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

If that's the case you're 100% wrong. I've stayed on IV cabins on all four E-Class ships and none have what your referring to. All IV cabins on all four E-Class ships, whether standard, Aqua, or Conceige, have FROSTED bi-fold room dividers that when closed create the illusion of a separate room. These room dividers don't control the HVAC nor are they room darkening. So I'm not sure what you're referring to. I was on the Ascent two weeks ago in an infinite veranda so I speak from experience. 

Wow. I guess I'm  wrong then. I was on the Ascent 2 weeks ago too and I guess I never noticed the frosted glass. Thanks for correcting me. However, still love the IV!

[UKcruiser336]

Yes I do 😃

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, mitchtech said:

You can close the partition doors behind you and then it is like a regular balcony

does that turn the AC back on?

 

1 hour ago, mitchtech said:

The partitions are not frosted. They are brown, wood, maybe and they do blackout the room

 

they look frosted to me.

 

[Janie001]

Add me to the list of people who like them.  I also like regular balconies.  Both have their pros and cons, but another added pro of the IV balcony is that if you like to play cards or games it is easier to do so with the window down vs sitting out on the balcony (less windy).

[kwokpot]

2 minutes ago, mitchtech said:

Wow. I guess I'm  wrong then. I was on the Ascent 2 weeks ago too and I guess I never noticed the frosted glass. Thanks for correcting me. However, still love the IV!

No worries, I just don't want others that are reading this thread take away inaccurate information. When the Edge first debuted the bifold doors had clear glass panes. People complained that it let in too much light in. The solution was to place frosting decals on the clear glass so it cut out some of the light but not all. That has been the way the bifold doors are for all the the E-Class ships, no other variations exist. 

People have always opined that Celebrity can change the IV cabin in such a way to install weather tight bifold doors so that the HVAC doesn't turn off when they are closed. What they don't account for is that the area designated as the balcony is inside your cabin and not a weatherproof outdoor space, so it's not simply changing out the bifold doors for real weatherproof sliders. 

[TeaBag]

Thank you all for your opinions on the IV.  We will be trying our first one on a TP in May.  It will be nice to enjoy the balcony.  Previously on that sailing, (S class) we have found it too cold to sit out there and we do enjoy the balconies.

[PinkSandGirl]

I haven't sailed in one so I won't give my opinion I've formed.   However, one aspect that hasn't been mentioned is there aren't balcony dividers that can be opened with adjoining cabins...well, because they aren't balconies 😉.   I sail with family and friends and always get our cabins in line and have the dividers opened up. 

 

🍹

[Kelownadon]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

door open is def  a NO NO

It affects systems, creates a mean whistle in the corridor and other cabins!  Makes it tough for others to sleep..Staff has to go door to door reminding folks to shut the doors!

We always sleep with our balcony door open so we can hear the ocean at night. Never heard whistling or have ever had anybody knock on our door. 

[Tyler414]

Royal Caribbean put a bunch of the IV cabins on their brand new Icon of the Seas.  After six years of feedback from X Edge, if they were so horrible it's doubtful Royal would have put them on their newest ship.

[Torfamm]

6 hours ago, mitchtech said:

I don't  understand why people keep complaining  that when you open the window the ac goes off. The same thing happens  in a standard balcony when you open the door. We opened our window every morning  when we woke up. It was so nice hearing the waves and getting  the fresh ocean air. After having an IV on 2 different sailings we only want to cruise on the newer ships that have them. Absolutely  love the IVs

With a standard balcony you can shut the door and still have heat or air conditioning while you use the balcony. That’s not an option with IV cabins. 

[Torfamm]

8 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

I loved mine. Had no issues with it. Granted I’m a rule follower who never leaves her balcony door open, so the a/c cutting off is not an issue for me.

I don’t understand. Are you saying you never lowered the window? That’s the problem with IV cabins for many. There’s no way to “shut the door” and have the window down. 

[Torfamm]

6 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Do people actually close their curtains while at sea at night?  I don’t see the point at all. I get it during the day if the sun is strong and I’m out of the cabin, it will stay cooler for sure, if I’m in my cabin, the curtains are wide open..I want to see the ocean, etc..

A lot of people need a room that’s dark in order to sleep. I don’t necessarily want to get up at sunrise, especially when it’s very early. I’m Alaska, Norway etc it can be 4:00.

[paulh84]

3 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

they look frosted to me.

 

 

Fun fact. It seems like forever ago but the doors on Edge (and maybe Apex?) were not frosted when the ship first started sailing.

 

 

[Torfamm]

6 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

In the Caribbean or Alaska?  How cold does it get on the Alaskan cruises in the summer?  50 and up, I’m good..

I’d be concerned about any cold weather cruise: Alaska, Antarctica, Greenland, Norway and the Baltics etc.

 

Alaska weather varies a lot, but I think highs are almost always above 50 in any location that has cruises during the cruising season. Mornings can certainly be colder than that though.
 

Around the glaciers, especially on a windy day, it can be way too cold for me to consider keeping a window open for more than a few minutes.

[Torfamm]

5 hours ago, mitchtech said:

You can close the partition doors behind you and then it is like a regular balcony

Those doors do not make the air conditioner or heat turn on

[Peteymil]

If you want more living space you will like it.  It is an area with a half window.

If you like to be outside, you will not like it.