Navigator of seas virtual balcony

ANY reports yet on this? Is navigator the first to have these??

Just sounds like a complete waste of money.

Kind of like the fireplace fire on Christmas eve. What am I missing that makes this neat? How big is this TV? Can you turn it off? Does it come with sea sounds??

http://www.chron.com/Travel/article/Galveston-cruise-ship-now-offering-virtual-5190047.php?cmpid=hpts

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41591133&posted=1#post41591133

Yes you can turn it off,

Yes it has sea sounds.... when on.

No you cannot change the channel

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1984388

She's planning photos and video this week, stay tuned!

I can't speak on behalf of RCI, but the virtual porthole rooms on Disney's Dream and Fantasy are among the most sought after rooms on board and have been since they first started sailing.

http://www.examiner.com/article/virtual-portholes-on-disney-cruise-line-save-money-and-delight-the-kids

Now on the disney ships it is just a porthole and not a "balcony", but it seems very similar and if priced right, it stands to reason that the RCI rooms with this technology will also be popular.

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Why call it a waste of money before there are even reports back from people who sailed in one? I would probably never choose one, but that's because I like a real balcony. If I was going to choose between a regular inside and a VB, I would take the VB in a heartbeat. I think it would make the room seem more spacious.

NV will have hers in service before QN so it'll be good to hear reports before I experience my VB on QN in November.

Are the "views" of your approximate location on ship, or are they all the same from a single camera? Never heard anything about this.

Are the "views" of your approximate location on ship, or are they all the same from a single camera? Never heard anything about this.

If you're on the port side than the same views as the port side balconies. If on the starboard than same view as the starboard balconies.

This was stated in one of the lengthy Navigator Drydock threads.

Why call it a waste of money before there are even reports back from people who sailed in one? I would probably never choose one, but that's because I like a real balcony. If I was going to choose between a regular inside and a VB, I would take the VB in a heartbeat. I think it would make the room seem more spacious.

Yep!

If you're on the port side than the same views as the port side balconies. If on the starboard than same view as the starboard balconies.

This was stated in one of the lengthy Navigator Drydock threads.

In the thread specifically about virtual balcony technology, it stated that the orientation of the "virtual balcony" within the room and the (real time) view presented would be either fore or aft, not port/starboard.

This is an actual picture of a virtual balcony on the Navigator of the Seas taken 2/5/14 from another thread. You can see the port of Galveston out the "balcony". Yes, the other poster was correct about it being only from the front or aft depending on what direction the "balcony" faces. I love it!:)

they look really amazing and cool! i like them from what im seeing

Hmmmm, not sure why the picture isn't larger. If you want to see others, go to the thread OCD Planner's Navigator Post Dry Dock . . . page 9 starts the pictures. :D

Yes, Navigator is the first ship sailing now to have virtual balconies. As for cost, they are an interior room, so the VB costs more than the cheapest interior, but less than a Promenade room. You can do a mock booking on Nav and check the prices - the VB is category J.

I was fascinated reading about the development of the VB technology. When groups of people were exposed to the original concept, they felt a bit of anxiety and fear because it looked like you could fall out into the sea. So RC put the virtual bannister in the image. They also had to use fiber optics to insure that the real time image goes from the camera to the VB screen in less than one second. Apparently people can feel nausea if there's a time delay between what their bodies are feeling and what their eyes are seeing. And the image is compatible with the location of the screen wall in the cabin to insure there's no disorientation.

We've sailed in every kind of cabin, from insides to true suites. I definitely want to try this out! DH and I think it might be nice to leave it on at night with the sound of the sea (low volume - there's a remote for volume control) and the view of the moon and stars over the dark ocean. Then the morning light would wake us as it does in a cabin with natural light.

Here's a You Tube video that shows a VB. This cabin in the video is a mock-up. It looks mighty BIG to be an interior! It's definitely not like the VB insides on Navigator. (though it might be like one on Quantum??)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPJhg2X8dfA

Here's some KHOU video that shows an actual VB on Nav - this one is also larger than the norm since it's HC accessible.

http://www.khou.com/news/technology/Largest-Cruise-Ship-in-Galveston-boasts-virtual-balconies-243729851.html

Since the ship was still in port, the VB screen shows a real time image of the port - seems just like a big real window.

It will be interesting to hear some comments from folks who are in these cabins on Nav! I'll be on Nav May 25, but we have a balcony that we booked on New Years Eve for an unbelievably low price, so we're keeping that cabin!:D

Hmmm…guess I'll just have to book another NAV cruise just to try our the VB.:p

Judy

I'm thinking of installing the virtual windows in my home and getting a feed from the ship over the internet. That way I don't have to get on the ship to enjoy the sea. Just kidding.

Hmm.... But it would be kind of cool to change the view from my house to one looking over the ocean, the alps, or something tropical.