Looking for some help or views on sheltered cabins and obstructed balconies

[Flo71]

Looking for some help or views on sheltered cabins 6068 or 6083 also on obstructed balcony 8017 (no info on the obstructed thread for this particular cabin). These cabins are available on a TA from New York to Southampton, I am leaning towards the sheltered as no obstruction to view but wanted to check on 8017 and how obstructed it is?

Also is there a particular best side of the ship to be on?

thanks in advance x

[Host Hattie]

The obstructed view for 8017 will be very similar to the one shown for 8018.

[Pushpit]

I've stayed in 6084 on the other side to 83, and would be happy to go there again.

 

Since this is Eastbound, a bit depends on your gamble on the weather. If the weather is congenial and the winds light then there would be some benefits of an obstructed cabin to sit and enjoy the weather. But if you suspect the weather won't be so good then the sheltered will be better since you will almost always be able to use the balcony area.

 

One issue with Sheltereds on deck 6 is early morning joggers and people moving the steamer chairs around. If the weather is poor there were won't be much of either! It's not unusual for deck 7 to be out of bounds first thing in the morning. That area doesn't have so many chairs, the main collection is further aft. 

 

For Eastbound, you will get more sunshine en voyage on the starboard side (so 6083). QM2 does a full circuit of Brooklyn to get out, so both sides are good. Port side may see some islands and parts of Canada depending on precise routing, and may be some views of southern Ireland and England. Visibility isn't guaranteed though. Southampton arrival is usually so early in the morning and there isn't that much to look at.

 

Is 6068 a typo? That's an Inside stateroom.

 

 

[D&N]

7 hours ago, Flo71 said:

but wanted to check on 8017 and how obstructed it is?

8018 is one of the worst obstructed photos I've seen.

We booked 8013 or 8014 at start of lifeboats, and 8045? over zodiacs but never got to travel in them but they are only slightly obstructed. I wouldn't consider 8017/8018 unless alternative was an inside at a higher price.

[Flo71]

8 hours ago, Pushpit said:

 

 

Is 6068 a typo? That's an Inside stateroom.

 

Yes, 6086 whoops

[Pushpit]

3 minutes ago, Flo71 said:

 

Yes, 6086 whoops

So yes, that's next to my 6084. 

 

Same comments then really. If you are early to get up in the morning then it's a good option. The noise of joggers isn't that loud, like a bit of juddering from above, some / most people could sleep through it, but it's a factor for a few hours. During the rest of the day you shouldn't hear anything. 

 

When I was in 6084 I took this photo, quite carefully aligning it to exactly what I could see when seated, with the seat on the highest of its 4 settings. I am 6ft 1 inch in old money or 1.85 metres. And you can see where the seat was relative to the balcony space. As you can see I have coffee and Cruise Critic, ready to go! And yes the wifi is fine on the balcony. 

 

 

 

 

[PORT ROYAL]

8 hours ago, Flo71 said:

Looking for some help or views on sheltered cabins 6068 or 6083 also on obstructed balcony 8017 (no info on the obstructed thread for this particular cabin). These cabins are available on a TA from New York to Southampton, I am leaning towards the sheltered as no obstruction to view but wanted to check on 8017 and how obstructed it is?

Also is there a particular best side of the ship to be on?

thanks in advance x

Starboard side staterooms will get the Sun for the crossing.

 

Personal Opinions Only.

Have mentioned the negatives for sheltered balcony staterooms on many occasions, but will précis the major 3.

1. It’s like sitting inside a dull square tin can, with one open end.  Depressing.

2. When seated, one is unable to have a view, except for the sky, and a small glimpse of the horizon, because the balcony frontage is far too high.  View is improved by the bolster of numerous cushions, or to stand.

3. Tobacco smoke from cigarettes, pipes and cigars will waft along the sides of the ship, above and below the high side of balconies, as the smell has no easy escape routes.  And a call to GS will bring no action.

 

 

 

Edited June 6 by PORT ROYAL
Typo

[Flo71]

6 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

So yes, that's next to my 6084. 

 

Same comments then really. If you are early to get up in the morning then it's a good option. The noise of joggers isn't that loud, like a bit of juddering from above, some / most people could sleep through it, but it's a factor for a few hours. During the rest of the day you shouldn't hear anything. 

 

When I was in 6084 I took this photo, quite carefully aligning it to exactly what I could see when seated, with the seat on the highest of its 4 settings. I am 6ft 1 inch in old money or 1.85 metres. And you can see where the seat was relative to the balcony space. As you can see I have coffee and Cruise Critic, ready to go! And yes the wifi is fine on the balcony. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you we have booked 6083 I'm an early riser so the noise won't bother me, hubby will either have to sleep through it or become an early riser 🙂

[Brummel]

I'm a fan of sheltered balconies, but I always do winter crossings and so appreciate the protection from the elements. Also, being so close to the ocean is thrilling especially during a gale!

 

I have never noticed cigar or cigarette smoke and as I am one of those early risers on the promenade, noise from Deck 7 doesn't bother me.

 

With a regular balcony, you may as well be at a Marriot. With a sheltered balcony, you always know you are on a ship. 

[Winifred 22]

12 hours ago, Flo71 said:

Thank you we have booked 6083 I'm an early riser so the noise won't bother me, hubby will either have to sleep through it or become an early riser 🙂

Think you will enjoy it. 

[Ray66]

I always book a sheltered balcony and having just got off the QM2 yesterday, had forgotten how big the sheltered balconies are. It was just like a small room rather than a balcony (deck 5).

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

We love sheltered balconies for crossings, which is most of what we do. Also, we were next to a cabin where a woman was moving on the balcony last time. Besides the rules against doing so, I have asthma and can’t bear smoke. One call to the purser’s desk and it never happened again. So there’s that.

[rsquare]

I used to cross in sheltered balconies until I tried an obstructed view once.  Now that is my go-to cabin type for crossings.  What changed my mind was seeing my light-filled cabin when I opened the drapes on the balcony, in contrast to Port Royal's apt description of a sheltered balcony: 

On 6/6/2024 at 1:52 PM, PORT ROYAL said:

It’s like sitting inside a dull square tin can, with one open end.  Depressing.

Since I typically cross in the late Fall, I don't spend much time on the balcony, but I have access to the sun and sky every day that is not overcast, and I can go out for a few moments in the morning for a whiff of fresh air on dry days.  In sheltered balconies, that whiff tends to stay outside the hull, requiring the cabin occupant to lean out of the hole on the wall.

 

No, I can't see much of the ocean over the tender or lifeboat next to my balcony, but on a crossing there is not much to see.  My next trip is Northern Lights cruise in November, for which we've booked a standard non-obstructed balcony, but at the end of that cruise, we're staying on the ship to go back to New York, and we will switch to an obstructed view balcony.  I'm sure that we'll find some way to spend the fare savings.

Edited June 11 by rsquare

[Avery's Gram]

Having spent 10 full days isolated in a sheltered balcony (Covid times) I loved the sheltered balcony Cunard forced me move into.  My husband, who never tested positive stayed in our obstructed cabin.  But I could sit outside, and I even dragged in a chair because it worked better with my sore back than cabin options.  Next week we will be doing a crossing with an 11 year old granddaughter, and we chose a sheltered balcony…more sitting outside space, more sky, and more fresh air.  
 

and trust me, after 10 days in Isolation, I was delighted to see other faces!

 

[exlondoner]

4 hours ago, Avery's Gram said:

Having spent 10 full days isolated in a sheltered balcony (Covid times) I loved the sheltered balcony Cunard forced me move into.  My husband, who never tested positive stayed in our obstructed cabin.  But I could sit outside, and I even dragged in a chair because it worked better with my sore back than cabin options.  Next week we will be doing a crossing with an 11 year old granddaughter, and we chose a sheltered balcony…more sitting outside space, more sky, and more fresh air.  
 

and trust me, after 10 days in Isolation, I was delighted to see other faces!

 

Yes, we too were quarantined in a sheltered balcony, luckily only for three days, demoted from QG, and even though the circumstances were not felicitous, and I am very claustrophobic, I was amazed how much I liked it, and how light the cabin was. Certainly a south facing sheltered balcony seems an excellent choice for a TA.