Balcony on NCL Gem

We are currently booked in an oceanview and considering upgrading for a balcony. This would be our first time in a balcony room, and I'm wondering a few things:

1. What are the balconies like on Gem? Is the railing high? Glass or bars? My concern is, of course, with the kids' ability to fall over. They are old enough to know better (10 and 11) but I still don't want it to be easy to do if horsing around or something.

2. How much do you all use your balconies? Just unsure of how often it will be used and if it's worth it. We are traveling with other people, so the introvert in me loves the idea of having a little place to escape and read in peace and quiet if I want to :halo:

We spend a lot of time on them, and travel with our 5 kids, they are glass and high.

We are currently booked in an oceanview and considering upgrading for a balcony. This would be our first time in a balcony room, and I'm wondering a few things:

1. What are the balconies like on Gem? Is the railing high? Glass or bars? My concern is, of course, with the kids' ability to fall over. They are old enough to know better (10 and 11) but I still don't want it to be easy to do if horsing around or something.

2. How much do you all use your balconies? Just unsure of how often it will be used and if it's worth it. We are traveling with other people, so the introvert in me loves the idea of having a little place to escape and read in peace and quiet if I want to :halo:

We've been on the Gem twice, first in an Oceanview, and this past June in a balcony. The balcony is definitely worth the upgrade, you get the bigger room plus the balcony. We used the balcony a fair amount. It's nice if you want some fresh air, you can just go outside there instead of having to leave your room and go outside to a public area.

 

As mentioned there is a glass barrier, about four feet tall or so. Also for the Gem try to get a balcony on Deck 10. That way there are only rooms above and below you, no clubs or restaurants, etc. We had Deck 10 aft, near the elevators and stairs. It was quiet and easy to get around from.

 

The pic is not the best, this is from about the fifth day of the cruise after they installed new carpet in our room and changed out some furniture.

 

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Our first cruise was on the Gem this past September. The single most important part of having a balcony for us was the fresh air. But it was also lovely to have coffee out there every morning.

 

A side note for maybe someone: I use a heating pad to loosen my back up every morning, and the balcony chair was the only place I could sit with it properly placed on my lower back. They're good chairs.