Balcony Door Locks?

[DaisyGirl55]

Just wondering...sailing on the Mercury this summer in a balcony room (our first balcony...whoo-hoo! :) ), and wondered about balcony door locks.

 

Not worried about someone coming in the room. More worried about sitting out there and having the door lock behind me. I read a post like that somewhere on the boards, but could not find it in the search forum.

 

Do we need to prop the door open, or will we be okay?

 

Silly question, I know - but there is a story behind it. On our honeymoon 30 years ago, we were in a room in Daytona Beach. I stepped out on the balcony to read my book, and enjoy the view. My DH closed the door because it was screwing with the AC, and he was hot. He left the room briefly to go and get a soda. I WAS LOCKED OUT ON THE BALCONY! :eek: It was only about 10 minutes, but it felt longer. We laugh about it now, but I don't want to be in a position where the both of us are locked out.

[Mitzi_Muffin]

On our Constellation cruise in March my husband and I were on the Balcony (aft) when we found the door had locked and we could not get back in, kept trying to attract other balcony cabins but it took a full 20 minutes before we attracted anyone. We were both in our robes after a shower, but still the sun was shining.

[Donnaluv2cruise]

So THAT'S how all those people are falling overboard! :eek:

[2Canucks]

Hi DaisyGirl

 

We were on the Mercury for the Jan 29/07...11 Night... Mexican Riviera cruise. We had taken 2...36" bungee cords as mentioned somewhere on these boards to prop the door. Only used the "one" bungee cord, at night to keep the door open overnight so we could listen to the ocean. (didn't want the door to blow shut if the wind came up) We slept like babies the whole trip!!

 

During the day we just made sure the deadbolt was turned so it was sticking out and that prevented the door from closing the whole way, while we were sitting out on the balcony.

 

We really enjoyed the Mercury and their staff!! :D We went to the T-pool, to relax at the Aquaspa, every afternoon and then picked up pizza for our afternoon treat to eat on our balcony. (we had late seating for dinner) Pizza is a must do! It's located at the "Aft" of the ship (starboard side) at the Palm Springs Grill. They have several choices daily...we started with 2 different pieces each then ended up taking 1 of each offered by the end of the cruise!! Great pizza!! :D We didn't gain an ounce either...we did a lot of walking on excursions and tried to walk the stairs onboard instead of taking the elevators to balance the extra food intake!

 

You are going to have a fun time on this ship...great food...great friendly staff!!

 

Pat :)

[mferranti]

I bring along a 2" plastic "Quick-Grip" clamp that works very well to hold balcony doors in any position desired. I also use it in conjunction with a mini tripod to take pictures with our camera's self-timer.

[Spender Nui]

It's happened to us. Eventually our neighbors came out on their balcony and had our steward rescue us.

[emcee207]

Stuck out on a balcony on a luxury cruise ship for 20 min.

Oh, the horror, the horror,

 

dont be offedned, just kidding! LOLLLLLLL

[rebeccalouise]

I don't know how the balcony door locked! I have had balconies on Constellation and Millenium. I wouldn't worry about it locking.

[Cote d'or]

On our Constellation cruise in March my husband and I were on the Balcony (aft) when we found the door had locked and we could not get back in, kept trying to attract other balcony cabins but it took a full 20 minutes before we attracted anyone. We were both in our robes after a shower, but still the sun was shining.

 

Luckilly for you both, you were at least wearing the robes. Just imagine... now that would have been embarrassing ! :D

[VPGPH]

Well, I never thought that it could happen but it did!!! We were on our Millennium March 4th cruise this year, sitting outside and enjoying our breakfast (aft balcony).... The sea was a bit rough, but we didn't mind. During one of the swells, the door closed but we didn't think of anything!!! About an hour later I tried to get into the cabin and it was LOCKED! Initially I panicked, but then we started laughing about it.... There are worst places to be locked out from than an aft balcony during a cruise! Eventually the person from the PS came out and we asked them to call our stateroom attendant... I think that we were out there for about 30 minutes. It was fun:)

[greatam]

I don't know how the balcony door locked! I have had balconies on Constellation and Millenium. I wouldn't worry about it locking.

 

They have a flip down thing that essentially locks the door. Happened twice to us on Infinity. Cabin 9197-DH went onto balcony for something. I was out of the cabin. Ship bounced slightly and door went sliding shut. The little thingy flipped down. He had to wait until the "neighbors" showed up.

 

So we taped up the flip down thingy. Two days later, we were both out there at night watching the moon on the water. It was late-after 11:00PM. Door went sliding shut-we didn't even give it a thought. 30 minutes later, we tried to go inside. Oh no, what is wrong now???? Since it was so late, we knew the neighbors were asleep. So we pushed the table under the railing and DH climbed up over the railing to the terrace of the Oceanview Cafe (the little bar on the stern of the ship). Then he went running around trying to find someone to let us in the cabin. When we got inside, we found someone (most likely our steward) had taken the tape off. We asked the steward the next day. He said yes-it was done for safety. He gave us another little thingy to put in the lock hole so even if the door slid shut, the lock would not engage. Problem solved.

[rjg41]

A little perplexed by this one. The locking systems on Celebrity veranda doors is a significant mechanism since it must withstand potential sever sea conditions. It is a large handle, no "little thingy", and typically requires significant force to latch. It is nothing like a home sliding glass door locking system. Certainly in view of the safety issue why didn't the folks with the "little thingy" problem notify Guest Relations and have maintenance personel fix it?

 

The only time I have heard of people being locked out is when a traveling companion does it, not thinking when they close the door when going inside or doing it as a joke.

[greatam]

A little perplexed by this one. The locking systems on Celebrity veranda doors is a significant mechanism since it must withstand potential sever sea conditions. It is a large handle, no "little thingy", and typically requires significant force to latch. It is nothing like a home sliding glass door locking system. Certainly in view of the safety issue why didn't the folks with the "little thingy" problem notify Guest Relations and have maintenance personel fix it?

 

The only time I have heard of people being locked out is when a traveling companion does it, not thinking when they close the door when going inside or doing it as a joke.

 

In cabin 9197, Infinity (may not be all cabins) there is a little drop down thingy at the very top of the door as well as the regular door locking mechanism. Kind of like the little "drop the bolt in the hole" locks for sliding windows.

 

It is supposed to drop in the hole to keep the door from sliding back and forth if the handle lock is NOT engaged. It wasn't broken-we wanted to circumvent what it was designed to do-keep the door CLOSED. We did not want to have to put a chair in the door and did not have a bungee cord to hold the door open. So we taped it up-safety violation. But the room steward had a plastic pin to drop in the hole so the latch couldn't engage. Probably had it so they could open the doors, clean the balcony and not have to worry about being locked out. A kids small pencil would have worked as well.

[DaisyGirl55]

Thanks to all who replied! I will be sure to either bring something to prop the door open, or keep something in the doorway while we are out on the balcony.

 

Don'e want a repeat of what happened on my honeymoon! :p

[cechase]

Am wondering if there are different doors and locks for verious classes of cabins on Celebrity's vessels.

 

We always have a RS, and usually use the door from our living room to go out on the veranda. This door has a large lever, which requires considerable upwards force to unlock the door, and the same considerable downwards force to lock the door. The door is either locked or unlocked! Never in six cruises has our living room door locked itself.