JBare

First a few pictures of the more conventional S class balcony for comparison It is clear that there is room for reclining chairs and a decent table. The sliding doors can be opened or closed in just seconds, there is only a single pane of glass on the outer edge of the balcony. There are curtains behind the sliding doors which can be part closed from either side or completely closed (also in seconds) whilst someone can stay on the balcony. This allows the sun to be blocked out and the air con to stay functional and keep the room cool. The balcony becomes a completely independent space. In all my time on this type of balcony only once has the single outer pane of balcony glass been really dirty, it is however easy to clean and the cabin attendant cleaned the glass for me with a squeegee type device on a pole , its easy to reach both sides of the glass from the balcony. The Sliding glass doors are also easy to clean by the attendant if requested.

I have been in IV rooms on both the Edge and the Beyond, they are exactly the same, however the balcony chairs on the Beyond are now much better than they used to be on the Edge. Our experience on the Beyond was a much better one in an IV than the one on the Edge due to the different climate outside the ship. On our Beyond cruise the climate was cool not much greater than 22 degrees C at any time so it was easier to keep control of the room temperature with window open. Our Edge cruise temperature outside exceeded 30 degrees most days, this will have a huge impact on how people view the rooms. The ambience of the IV is a light airy space with great views of the sea which we both quite liked, its a pleasant space to be in, thats the pro. I think a few pictures might illustrate some of the points made, either to enforce or debunk.

Celebrity Silhouette in St Thomas.

Celebrity Eclipse in Gibraltar.

Celebrity Constellation in Barcelona.

Celebrity Eclipse in Warnemunde

Celebrity Reflection in La Spezia and Mykonos.

Our cabin was next to a double line which indicated a fire door location. This may be the same.

She doesn't.

Celebrity Beyond in Bilbao, Lisbon and Malaga.