Which would you rather?

I am sailing on the Navigator of the Seas on December 7 this year as my first Royal Caribbean cruise. SO excited for it!

Been watching price drops and have had my rate adjusted once or twice. That was awesome. Now that I am past the final payment date, as we know, I can no longer receive a refund but instead move up a category if the circumstances are right.

Well, long story short, I am currently booked in an Inside w/Virtual Balcony room. I received $100 onboard credit for booking it during that kind of promotion. Now that the same promotion is back, I looked at prices for an Oceanview stateroom. I can get a guarantee room at no additional cost (or pick my own room for no additional cost, either). I should still receive the $100 OBC, and it would be a free upgrade from an Inside room to an Oceanview. But I just cannot decide what I want to do.

The Virtual Balcony rooms seem really cool, I love that they are still a brand new type of room and a real-time view of the outside of the ship would be awesome. Not sure how the sound works - if it's surround sound or if it is even of decent quality. The pros to having one of these rooms would be that if I were to turn it off, the room would be pitch black at night (something that helps me sleep easier, but is not necessary), and my room is a mid-ship with only one other room to the side of it (room 1601, seems there is not any stateroom to the left of it). It's on Deck 10, so I'm close to the action. But is it too close? It's right under the swimming pool/whirlpool area. Wondering if that would be an issue.

I would instantly jump on a "free upgrade" deal like this but I am hesitant. The OV rooms that are available are on Deck 2, and there are no midship rooms left. I'd either get forward or aft. BUT, I get a real, true view of the outside world and natural sunlight in the room as well. And I'd be in a guarantee room, so I'd have a (very, very slight) chance at an upgrade of categories. I think - not sure how Royal's "upgrade fairy" is. Plus, it would technically be a better bang for my buck, paying for an inside but ending up in an OV.

Just need some advice on deciding on what to do.

I would personally rather have an actual view of the ocean, as opposed to a digital "live" view. If you can get the same deal, I would go for the oceanview. Yes the window may be smaller than the video screen, but I always prefer the "real" thing.

Eric

Another vote for the real outside view.

"Real" ocean view stateroom for me!

We had an ocean view on the Rhapsody and after a day or two ocean spray residue really obscured the view. Not sure how close to the water you have to be for this to happen. We had light but not so much of a view.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We had an ocean view on the Rhapsody and after a day or two ocean spray residue really obscured the view. Not sure how close to the water you have to be for this to happen. We had light but not so much of a view.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

What deck were you located on? This room would be on Deck 2 if I were to switch, so the spray sounds like a good possibility.

We did a cabin crawl on Navigator and did see the virtual balcony and they are nice but much rather have a real view. Have a great cruise

That Ocean View cabin will also be 10 sq ft larger than the interior Virtual. That 10 sq ft can make a big difference. I would change to the bigger cabin with the real window.

Thanks for the replies so far! I think my biggest concern now is the location. A midship Deck 10 room sounds like a great location (just not sure of the noise level of being below the pool). But a forward or aft room on Deck 2 just sounds like a pain and far away from the action. It would require constant elevator or stair trips to get somewhere whereas the current room would not. On my last cruise we had a cabin in a similar location (Deck 9) and it was great to be able to quickly walk out of the room and straight into the action.

Pros and cons, pros and cons..

My kids had a virtual balcony room this past summer on navigator. It was pretty cool. It was an aft view. Pretty clear during the day. At night it was a bit difficult to see stars vs noise. I don't think we heard any sound.

I rather have a real window,

It's really a matter of what's more important to you personally.

Do you spend a lot of time in your cabin? Do you think you would spend much time gazing out of a port hole? Do you have much sensitivity to the motion of the ship?

As it stands, the cabin you have is a known quantity. The NOS is not a small ship and being centrally located would be a big plus.

After the pool closes, being below the Lido deck shouldn't be a problem. Moving from mid ship on deck 10 down to either a fore or aft location on deck 2 doesn't seem like much of an upgrade to me. Even if the cabin has a porthole.

Whatever you do, please don't base your decision on the hope that the "Upgrade Fairy" might come calling.

I "would rather" a thread title that was more definitive to the questions:rolleyes:

I'm going to be selfish and say keep the virtual balcony so you can come back and tell us about it. :o

It's really a matter of what's more important to you personally.

 

Do you spend a lot of time in your cabin? Do you think you would spend much time gazing out of a port hole? Do you have much sensitivity to the motion of the ship?

 

As it stands, the cabin you have is a known quantity. The NOS is not a small ship and being centrally located would be a big plus.

 

After the pool closes, being below the Lido deck shouldn't be a problem. Moving from mid ship on deck 10 down to either a fore or aft location on deck 2 doesn't seem like much of an upgrade to me. Even if the cabin has a porthole.

 

Whatever you do, please don't base your decision on the hope that the "Upgrade Fairy" might come calling.

Thanks for the advice! I definitely know not to base my bookings on the chance of getting an upgrade, it was just a thought.

I think I will keep the virtual balcony room. I do not stay in my room very long at all except when sleeping, so the better location versus having a real view wins here for me.

And thanks to everyone else for the helpful posts (except for one of you...;))

Real. I'm wondering, since it would be on Deck 2 forward or aft, would you have a large porthole instead of a window? I've seen this situation on other ships.

if you have ever had any motion sensitivity i would stay with the mid-ship. nothing ruins a vacation more than motion sickness.

There will be less seating space in the virtual balcony cabin than regular inside cabins. No love seat and just one club chair that is sort of in front of the "balcony". Google for pictures.

I was actually in the cabin that George_C came to the cabin crawl of.

My thoughs:

The screen does take up wall space where a love seat would normally be. They give you a comfy chair, but it's not quite the same.

The cabin we had, the screen faced forward so we could see where we were going, but you can't make out too much detail if it is far off.

When off at night, there is still a slight glow coming from the screen. The reason of this is that when you turn it off, you aren't actually turning off the screen, you are turning off the video feed from a network closet somewhere down the hall. It's not bright enough to keep you awake, but if your eyes are adjusted to the darkness, there is enough glow to not stub your toes on the way to the bathroom.

Sound quality is ok, it comes from the TV (Sharp, 80") but also there is a significant frame around the unit to keep people (like myself) from trying to mess with the display (like trying to play a movie on a giant TV) and that muffles the sound just a bit. You can hear the ocean noise and most of the time that is it. However, if you happen to be in your cabin when an announcement comes on in the hallway, you will hear a 3-4 second delay of the same announcement come from your VB. Apparently there is a delay from wherever the webcam feed is coming from. And the volume can be adjusted using the remote provided.

On the plus side, where the TV is positioned, the display is reflected in the mirror over the desk, which is then reflected on the 45 degree angled wall mirror of the bathroom, which then reflects off of the mirror above the bed. The result is that you can actually see the screen from anywhere / any angle of the room.

Feel free to ask other specific questions.

Real Ocean View.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I was actually in the cabin that George_C came to the cabin crawl of.

 

My thoughs:

 

The screen does take up wall space where a love seat would normally be. They give you a comfy chair, but it's not quite the same.

 

The cabin we had, the screen faced forward so we could see where we were going, but you can't make out too much detail if it is far off.

 

When off at night, there is still a slight glow coming from the screen. The reason of this is that when you turn it off, you aren't actually turning off the screen, you are turning off the video feed from a network closet somewhere down the hall. It's not bright enough to keep you awake, but if your eyes are adjusted to the darkness, there is enough glow to not stub your toes on the way to the bathroom.

 

Sound quality is ok, it comes from the TV (Sharp, 80") but also there is a significant frame around the unit to keep people (like myself) from trying to mess with the display (like trying to play a movie on a giant TV) and that muffles the sound just a bit. You can hear the ocean noise and most of the time that is it. However, if you happen to be in your cabin when an announcement comes on in the hallway, you will hear a 3-4 second delay of the same announcement come from your VB. Apparently there is a delay from wherever the webcam feed is coming from. And the volume can be adjusted using the remote provided.

 

On the plus side, where the TV is positioned, the display is reflected in the mirror over the desk, which is then reflected on the 45 degree angled wall mirror of the bathroom, which then reflects off of the mirror above the bed. The result is that you can actually see the screen from anywhere / any angle of the room.

 

 

Feel free to ask other specific questions.

Thank you so much for the info and picture! It makes me happy with my decision to keep it. I will value the experience of new technology and the better location over the real window. Next time I will probably go with an OV after trying the new kind of room, but for this cruise this room will be perfect!

Do you happen to have any pics of the bathroom? :o

I would personally stay with the virtual balcony, just because its new and exciting. However, thats just me! I am a lover of all staterooms, but I would want to see the "shiny new toy" :)

Do you happen to have any pics of the bathroom? :o

Not exactly... My camera broke on the first day on the ship (the rest of the cruise we took pictures with our cell phones) and to me it looked like the standard bathroom. However, I do have pictures from my 2013 cruise on the Jewel and the bathrooms are almost identical (even face the same direction).

Not exactly... My camera broke on the first day on the ship (the rest of the cruise we took pictures with our cell phones) and to me it looked like the standard bathroom. However, I do have pictures from my 2013 cruise on the Jewel and the bathrooms are almost identical (even face the same direction).

 

 

Awesome, thanks again for taking the time! :)