I’m Hung Up On…..

[TRadle]

The size of the veranda. It seems so small to me. We have sailed in suites on some of the mega ships and are ready to make the leap to the luxury line. However, our suites on the other lines had verandas over 100 square feet. We love breakfast of the veranda and night caps. If we are in the cabin, we are on the veranda. At 50 square feet do you think it is too small? :confused:

[dfb]

I think what is important here, is do you think it is too small? Obviously, 50 sq ft is half of the 100 sq ft to which you say you are accustomed and therefore the balcony WILL be too small for you. As someone with no preconceived notions about what size is proper or acceptable for a balcony, I will say that the 50 sq ft balconies are small, just barely room for 2 people to sit with a small table between, not any room to move around. Here is a link to pictures of our balcony on Voyager with breakfast on it from inside and outside the ship. You can click on view larger and page through the photos to see both angles. (The table is not the normal balcony table, we moved the one from inside the cabin out there in order to have breakfast overlooking the Syndey Opera House.)

http://journals.aol.com/dfriia/WestwardWorldCircumnavigation200/entries/2006/02/02/day-36---thursday-feb-2-sydney-australia-day-2/239

 

Debbie

[TRadle]

Thanks for the link! The balcony is small so I’m weighing that against the different cruise experience a Seven Seas cruise offers. I was considering the Class C-Horizon but am concerned about the vibrations on Voyager. I’d rather have a smaller balcony than have that kind of shaking at 20 knots.

That must have been a great World Cruise. I loved the pictures!

[NCCruzQueen]

Looking at Debbie's photo, I do think that is about half the size of the actual Voyager balcony. The curtain covers the other half.

[Jymi-B]

Although the veranda may seem small compared to a mega ship, compare the size of the Regent standard suite compared to a veranda suite on a mega.

 

Jim

[TRadle]

The smallest suite on Freedom of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas is the same size as the standard suite on Voyager. I think it comes down to the other things like 700 souls versus nearly 4,000 souls. Also, RCI and Celebrity prices do not include tips and drinks, so price for the Class C cabins here are very much in line with the Junior Suite or Sky Suite on the other lines we have sailed. At least during a 2 for 1 sale. :D

Our TA has warned us that ones we take this leap we will be spoiled!

[comettgirl]

TRadle, Having 34 cruises on various cruise ships and lines, I agree, it is hard to go back...... to a small balcony.... BUT............. at least it IS big enough to have two chairs and a table....... so one can have meals out on the balcony..... that's really all I ulimately care about.... at least to try once! Hope I will be hooked .....

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm confused. What stateroom are you talking about on the RCI ships? Do you mean a Junior Suite? I see a Junior Suite on Adventure with these dimensions: 277 sq. ft., balcony 69 sq. ft. (does the 277 include the 69?)

 

The minimal stateroom on Voyager is 306 sq. ft., plus balcony of 50 sq. ft.

[TRadle]

The balcony dimensions on RCI and Celebrity are not part of the cabin size of the balcony. AOS’s junior suite is smaller than the one of Freedom, which is about 100 square feet. Still, the JS’s balcony on Adventure is 19 square feet larger than the Voyager balcony.

We had the Grand Suite on Adventure, which has the 100 square foot balcony. We sailed Century in a Concierge Class cabin which was no larger than a regular mass market cabin with a small balcony. We won’t bother with that again!

[Jim B]

We decided to have a little cocktail party with 6 of us in the room

one time before "all inclusive" liquor policy.

Had four chairs, and two toad stool seats out by the little table.

(Brought the extra two chairs and one Toad stool from another cabin).

Yes it was crowded but we did it and had fun.

We often use the little table for a foot rest instead of a table. Works just fine.

How much room do you need that is causing you such a concern?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Our shipmates last year on Navigator had probably 6 people on the balcony at a time, all standing around with cocktails.

 

I still think you'll like Regent if you give it a try.

[TRadle]

We decided to have a little cocktail party with 6 of us in the room

one time before "all inclusive" liquor policy.

Had four chairs, and two toad stool seats out by the little table.

(Brought the extra two chairs and one Toad stool from another cabin).

Yes it was crowded but we did it and had fun.

We often use the little table for a foot rest instead of a table. Works just fine.

How much room do you need that is causing you such a concern?

 

 

We both like to sit with feet up and read. We also like to use binoculars on the balcony. Our kids had balconies so small on our last cruise that your knees were up against the glass and you couldn’t stand by the rail without stepping over the furniture.

I guess I just want to make sure that we can easily walk around the furniture and relax without feeling squished.

[Jim B]

That makes a lot of sense.

I think you will find that you can put your chair back against the ship and

have plenty of room to really stretch your legs out and put them on the railing if you wish.

What we do is each put our chair side ways up against the railing and use the table as a foot stool. really a great view of the water or if you happen to be docked you can see what is going on.

[DedeM]

Here is a link to pictures of our balcony on Voyager with breakfast on it from inside and outside the ship. You can click on view larger and page through the photos to see both angles. (The table is not the normal balcony table, we moved the one from inside the cabin out there in order to have breakfast overlooking the Syndey Opera House.)

http://journals.aol.com/dfriia/WestwardWorldCircumnavigation200/entries/2006/02/02/day-36---thursday-feb-2-sydney-australia-day-2/239

 

Debbie

I can't find a link to pictures, only a written journal. Am I doing something wrong?

[NCCruzQueen]

There should be a square on the left with a photo inside. The text underneath says "Clay & Debbie's balcony breakfast in Sydney."

[AtA]

The smallest suite on Freedom of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas is the same size as the standard suite on Voyager. I think it comes down to the other things like 700 souls versus nearly 4,000 souls. Also, RCI and Celebrity prices do not include tips and drinks, so price for the Class C cabins here are very much in line with the Junior Suite or Sky Suite on the other lines we have sailed. At least during a 2 for 1 sale. :D

 

Our TA has warned us that ones we take this leap we will be spoiled!

I don't think you can compare the two. It's not only the 700 vs 3000+ but the little touches. Things like almost no lines, or if there is a line, it moves very quickly, receiving towels and water bottles (no charge) as you move off the ship for a day of sightseeing or swimming, no charge for alternative restaurants, insuite dining, all inclusive, no gold by the mile, no constant trying to sell you something, no sales pitch in the spa, dining whenever and with whomever you want, etc.

 

We have never had a meal out on the balcony, but have had afternoon snacks, drinks and coffee out there. While I'd love to have a huge balcony, this one works. Don't let the size of the balcony keep you from sailing on Regent.

[AtA]

We both like to sit with feet up and read. We also like to use binoculars on the balcony. Our kids had balconies so small on our last cruise that your knees were up against the glass and you couldn’t stand by the rail without stepping over the furniture.

 

I guess I just want to make sure that we can easily walk around the furniture and relax without feeling squished.

You can walk around. Is it tight? yes, but not so much that you feel claustraphobic, plus the balcony has railings...not glass.

[Jim B]

Did you see the Mariner pictures that were put on this

Regent site?

Very good and show the balconies really well.

[TRadle]

Jim B, those pictures convinced us to book! I have left a message for my TA to book us today. Unfortunately, this cruise is in December of 2008. The wait is going to do me in! :eek:

But, that is when we can both take enough time off at the same time and I think this cruise will be worth the wait.

Thanks for all the input! :)

T

[JDRMYS]

On the Mariner and the Voyager there are some really enormous balconies facing aft. These are in the Seven Seas Aft suites on the Mariner and on the Voyager and the Horizon suites on the Mariner. Except for the SSA suites on deck 7 on the Voyager (which are smaller), there is loads of room for 2 deck chairs plus a dining table with 4 chairs plus plenty of space to move around. The Horizon suites' balconies on the Voyager are not as large. BTW, in the 2008 brochure, the balcony sizes given for the Seven Seas Aft suites on the Voyager are misprints. These balconies are much larger than stated.

 

Many people on these boards have complained about vibration in the aft suites on the Voyager. We have spent more than 30 days in these suites and, personally, have never had troublesome vibrations or noise. I have never heard of anyone ever complaining about noise or vibration in the aft suites on the Mariner.

[Travelcat2]

I'm a bit confused :confused: about the reported size of the "regular" suites on Freedom of the Seas. Just went to the website and found suites in categories L, M. N & Q on Freedom of the Seas is 160 square feet. The next catetory (PR) is 167 square feet. These are about half the size of Voyager or Navigator suites and considerably smaller than Mariner. Just wondering if references were about some other cruise line???

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I think the OP was referring to "suites" as opposed to regular staterooms. At least that's what I took it to mean.

[TRadle]

Royal Caribbean is a mass market cruise line that has regular cabins and suites. The suites I’ve sailed in are the Junior Suite on Freedom of the seas which is 287 square feet plus the veranda 101 square feet. On Adventure of the Seas I sailed in a Grand Suite which is 381 square feet plus the veranda which is 95 square feet.

I wouldn’t compare Regent’s lowest category cabin with any category in the Royal Caribbean fleet smaller than the Junior Suite. This is just a real estate comparison.

When we were reviewing the prices we paid for our cruises and the price of our upcoming Regent cruise we were really surprised. We selected the Penthouse B on Voyager which is closer in cabin size to the Grand Suite with a veranda half the size of Royal Caribbean’s. This suite is only $64 per night more than the JS was in August and that doesn’t take into account that Regent is all inclusive. This really made our decision easy! :D

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wow, good for you! That kind of comparison is great--sometimes it's tough to persuade people who like a particular mass market line that there is value in Regent. But I'm hoping you will be spoiled when you go. What cruise did you book, if you don't mind my asking?

[TRadle]

We booked Voyager 10 day Caribbean on Dec. 8, 2008. This completes our tour of the Caribbean islands. :D

We just weren’t sure this far out if we could swing a 15 day sailing adding a day to each side for air travel. Hopefully in 2009 we will be able to get more consecutive days off of work and do a Transatlantic or cruise some of the Pacific islands.