Seeking shade...by bringing my own umbrella onboard...

We just purchased two versa-brella personal umbrellas. They are really neat, compact, adjustable and will attach to a chair, lounger or cooler. Our mini suite balcony is open and will be sunny for most of the day. We are considering taking the umbrellas with us to use on our balcony when wind is not a factor. Has anyone seen this type of umbrella in use by passengers on a cruise ship? Do you think that Princess would object to our taking this type of device onboard? How about on the deck on calm days?

I have never seen anyone bring an umbrella onboard any of my cruises. I would call Princess and get there thought on this. I could see the benefit of this when you are in port and you come back to the ship early. We were I. Acapulco and decided to not get off of the ship as we had been there several times before. This was on Jan 2 and with the ship not moving it was quite warm. We sat on our Balcony as we were facing the bay and watched all of the boaters, I sure would have loved to have had an unbrella at that to,e. MY DH burns easy so we always find a nice shady place onboard for him, and there are plenty. Have fun on your cruise. BTW I bought a versa umbrella a few weeks ago and I loved it because the rain and wind we were having did not turn my umbrella inside out.

As long as you can find a way to attach it to your deck chair, why not?

Don't use it if there's ANY wind on your balcony. If it blows over the side, you could be having a visit from security.

Just bring it and if someone tells you not to use it then...oops. I would not leave it attached on your balcony when you are not there though.

I took a large umbrella when we went we are going to a very HOT country and take it on deck and on shore.

Just bring it and if someone tells you not to use it then...oops. I would not leave it attached on your balcony when you are not there though.

 

I took a large umbrella when we went we are going to a very HOT country and take it on deck and on shore.

Glad to hear that you took it. This new version is quite light and portable. I would not take it if we were flying to get on the cruise as it is just a bit longer than my suitcase.

As noted above... Anything that flies off of your balcony could be costly and could actually get you put ashore. Be very careful about using this sort of item. Even on a calm day there will be wind as the ship is moving. Enjoy your cruise and, if you do take this with you, please come back and let us all know how it worked out for you. So often folks ask questions of this sort and then nobody ever gets to find out if things worked out or if they didn't work out so well. One of the great things about CC is the sharing of information so please do come back and let us all know.

Now I have to go check them out for camping. :)

I would never take it on Deck even i:cool:in port or seems to be calm. It could blow into another passenger or someone could bump into it walking by & you would be liable.

At sea or If there is breeze in port , it will be unusable and if their is no breeze you probably won't want to be out there anyway .

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I have seen 1 person bring it and it was useless because of the wind.

deleted

I would recommend against using it in the pool deck seating areas. Lounges around the pools are set up very close together, and the narrow space between rows would not allow for it, so there really is no room for something like that. Even if you were in the back row, it would overhang into the walking area that people use all the time.

I seriously doubt they'll allow it on the balcony. They watch the balconies pretty carefully. Maybe you can use it up on deck and in port off the ship.

I seriously doubt they'll allow it on the balcony. They watch the balconies pretty carefully. Maybe you can use it up on deck and in port off the ship.

Oh, I'm sure it'll stand out very clearly. The last time we were on the bridge you could spot even small objects protruding above the balconies on the monitors.

Since the umbrella is so compact and lightweight, we are going to take it with us on the cruise. At the very least it will come in handy in Amber Cover or St. Thomas. Our stateroom is right above the bridge in the wrap around corner mini suite. We will check with Princess when we board to find out if they are ok to use.

Since the umbrella is so compact and lightweight, we are going to take it with us on the cruise. At the very least it will come in handy in Amber Cover or St. Thomas. Our stateroom is right above the bridge in the wrap around corner mini suite. We will check with Princess when we board to find out if they are ok to use.

Sounds interesting. Is it available online?

Sounds interesting. Is it available online?

Yes, it is much nicer than we expected. We ordered it from Amazon.com and it was just $20.00. It comes in a carrying case with a strap. It's called the versa-brella sport.

We brought the umbrellas onboard without any issues. Our sailing was Totally sold out so we opted to reserve the sanctuary cabana by the adult pool for our sea days. We used the umbrellas in Amber Cay and Sapphire Beach in St Thomas. Since there were no umbrellas to rent on Sapphire Beach we were glad we brought them. Our balcony was a wrap around so we always had shade so we didn't need them. We did ask our room Stewart to check and see if we could use them and he reported back that we could. Didn't try to use it on the public decks as we had the cabana rented at $80.00 per couple..per day.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

On a recent Crown Princess cruise we met a couple that purchased a clamp on sun umbrella for use on the beach pre cruise and also at the beaches during the port stops. They mentioned that they did use it some on their balcony. I'm thinking when the ship was in port and/or no wind. Since they could not bring it home on the airplane they gave it away at the end of the cruise. The Versa-Brella looks like a better design then the umbrella I saw this couple had. I think you can give it a try.

We just purchased two versa-brella personal umbrellas. They are really neat, compact, adjustable and will attach to a chair, lounger or cooler. Our mini suite balcony is open and will be sunny for most of the day. We are considering taking the umbrellas with us to use on our balcony when wind is not a factor. Has anyone seen this type of umbrella in use by passengers on a cruise ship? Do you think that Princess would object to our taking this type of device onboard? How about on the deck on calm days?

Curious if you used this on your balcony and if you did what was your experience. Looking to do this for upcoming aft cabin that is uncovered. I love the sun but might be moments when the shade might be nice. Thinking of purchasing and giving it a try. At least on the aft the wind shouldn't be much of a problem and I would only use when I am out there to be sure it doesn't do a Mary Poppins. :)

If others have any experience doing this since the last post here, I'd love to hear comments.

We have carried a similar type umbrella on board our last few cruises and find they work really well. They have a strong clamping mechanism and a safety strap that keeps it from blowing away (unless it takes the chair/lounge with it). They fold and store in carry bags, I use Velcro straps to bind them together so they are easy to carry and easy to send through the security checks. Their oblong shape makes them a great option for shading a deck longe chair.

We have carried a similar type umbrella on board our last few cruises and find they work really well. They have a strong clamping mechanism and a safety strap that keeps it from blowing away (unless it takes the chair/lounge with it). They fold and store in carry bags, I use Velcro straps to bind them together so they are easy to carry and easy to send through the security checks. Their oblong shape makes them a great option for shading a deck longe chair.

Awesome. Thanks ... definitely thinking of getting one now so this makes me even more convinced. Read that some are cheap and easily break but not overly worried as long as it would last for the cruise.

Just bought this one and intend on using on the beach: If it gets messed up or I don't want to bring it back home, it's not a big deal since it's only $6.99. https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/dicks-sporting-goods-chair-umbrella-16dsguclmpnmbrllxodr/16dsguclmpnmbrllxodr