confused between what I am seeing and what ya'll have said about FV balconies

[prettybeth]

OK, I saw pictures from a link someone provided that showed how the FV balcony juts out farther and farther the lower you go. Someone also said they get bigger the lower you go. Does this mean same width as above but then a longer "nose" section? When I look in the brochure and see the diagrams, it appears that the balcony on deck 9 is much wider than the balcony on deck 7. I realize they get longer as they get lower but does that mean you lose width also? It seems that what you guys have said and what the brochure shows is conflicting information.

[jsea]

Yes, they are wider higher and longer lower.

But keep in mind that the change in width only comes into play at the very end of the balcony, or 'nose' as you call it.

[prettybeth]

so you get the same width and then an extension at the end that is narrower? In the diagrams, it shows the width diminishing from the beginning of the balcony near what I assume is the cabin entrance, not just on the part that protrudes out farther.

[jsea]

Correct, it's just the extension that varies in width/length.

IMO, deck 8 offers the optimal area/length. But deck 7 is good too. Just stay away from 9 unless you want to be on show for the café above and hear all the chairs scraping across the deck.

[prettybeth]

why haven't you answered my thread about night owls? You apparently are one! Thanks for the info, I just switched from deck 9 to deck 7 and was happy about that switch until I looked at the diagrams and thought I had cut out a large portion of the balcony. Guess not from what you are telling me.

[gizmodog]

I don't understand the comments being made about being viewed by the horizon court people on deck 9 FV cabin. The ways the balconies jet out it seems that deck 8 is not only seen by the people in the buffet but also deck 9, the poeple on deck 7 are seen by the buffet and deck 9 and 8, so therefore it seems that in reality deck 9 actually has more privacy then the other two decks. Is this correct or not?

[Ma Bell]

The truth is that all the aft balconies are very large. Unless you plan on bowling it really doesn't make any difference. You'll have plenty of room whichever deck you choose. All of the balconies are covered for the most part so if you want privacy you certainly can have it. Most people are too busy enjoying themselves rather than trying to spy on each other. I often wonder what people are planning on doing on their balconies. If you need complete privacy, a ship's balcony is not going to provide it. Regardless of which balcony you have, your neighbor next door could see you if he sticks his head around the partition. I've been on almost 30 cruises and find that for the most part you are hardly ever on your balcony at the same time as the people around you except for sailaway, coming into port, or going through the Panama Canal. Then the people on shore can see you as well.

Deck 9 can obviously have some minor noise issues, so deck 7 or 8 is probably preferable, however deck 9 has the CC benefits.

These cabins are all terrific. Whichever you decide to take, I'm sure you'll enjoy.

[cruiseyguy]

All FV balconies are partially covered and offer sufficient privacy and shade for those seeking same. No one at the cafe can see anything unless they are hanging over the rear railing, which few people do. Even then, it is no different from looking down on any balcony from higher up. Noise may be a slight issue for those on deck nine, but only on the veranda. In any event, these are the best staterooms on any "M" class ship, with the exception (possibly) of the CS, RS and PHS. The corner balconies are huge beyond usefulness (unless your hosting a Captain's Club party) but are great fun nonetheless.

[jsea]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by prettybeth:
why haven't you answered my thread about night owls? You apparently are one!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Haha I don't post/surf these boards much any more so most topics go under my radar, but I was passing by and your two topics were ones with which I was pretty familiar so I chimed in.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Thanks for the info, I just switched from deck 9 to deck 7 and was happy about that switch until I looked at the diagrams and thought I had cut out a large portion of the balcony. Guess not from what you are telling me.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Don't worry about it, deck 7 is great too! They are all fine, really, and it won't make much of a difference at all. We had one on 7 and it was just as nice as the one on 8. 9 is what makes me leery...

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by gizmodog:I don't understand the comments being made about being viewed by the horizon court people on deck 9 FV cabin. The ways the balconies jet out it seems that deck 8 is not only seen by the people in the buffet but also deck 9, the poeple on deck 7 are seen by the buffet and deck 9 and 8, so therefore it seems that in reality deck 9 actually has more privacy then the other two decks. Is this correct or not?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That is correct. But at least on deck 9 you are within earshot and MUCH closer to the café deck above, which personally we do not like. Sure, there are instances when people on deck 8 and 9 are out on their balconies, but it seemed like people were ALWAYS on the café deck looking out. And no we don't do anything that we wouldn't want others to see, but it's just a matter of small personal comfort. Also, the main thing is the noise. We will never book a cabin beneath a public deck again! Had one bad experience which we won't risk repeating.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ma Bell:
The truth is that all the aft balconies are very large. Unless you plan on bowling it really doesn't make any difference.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Very true.

[gizmodog]

Thank you for verifying what I had thought to be true, actually I knew it to be true as I have had an aft balcony on the sky deck in the past and I knew from my deck I not only could look down and see the corner balconies as well as non corner on deck 8 and 7 but also the cafe above could as well, there was a woman sunbathing every day on her deck and as I spend quite a bit of time on my deck as well I saw her every day on the deck below me as did the cafe above.
I guess I just don't get this privacy issue as no deck is better then another as far as privacy is concerned, deck 9 is no less private then deck 8 or 7.
I suppose there is the issue of noise, however my experience with noise when I was aft on sky deck was non-existant. Maybe I was just lucky, but I would book a cabin aft on deck 9 again with no qualms what so ever.

[pinksand]

Hi prettybeth

I think you made a good decision. Have a great cruise.

[Nanatravel]

Cabin 7199 and its like cabin on the other corner of Vista deck have the largest of the corner FV cabin balconies. The 2 room cabins are exactly the same size inside. If you were able to get either cabin, you will love it! There is shade closer to the sliding cabin door and sun on the other half of the balcony. Have a wonderful cruise.
Bon Voyage

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[prettybeth]

thanks pinksand, I appreciate the positive comments! Nanatravel, this is why I am confused. I will take your word for it but according to the diagrams, that balcony is much narrower all through than deck 8 and deck 8 is narrower than deck nine. I would prefer width over length (no comments on that, I already see Newt coming with something clever) so that we will all be able to sit around a table vs. in a straight line! If I could overlay the 3 decks, I am sure that 9 would be the widest and it would narrow as you go down yet everyone keeps telling me they get bigger. Very contradictory. BTW, I got 7202 and had 9156.

[cruiseyguy]

The deck plans provided by Celebrity are only guides and not detailed renderings of the ship drawn to scale (in fact, there is no scale at all). They are helpful for locating a room but tell little about its other features.

[Ma Bell]

The width of the balconies is about the same except the handicap cabins are wider. When you look at a photo from behind the ship it appears that the upper decks are wider because the railing of the corner FVs are solid in the back but as you go down there is a small piece of glass in the corner of deck eight's back rail and a little larger piece of glass on deck seven's. It gives the illusion that the balconies are narrower as you go down. The only part that is narrower is the nose on the
corner FVs. The noses of the corner FVs taper out from the end of the glass section on deck 8 and 7 instead of directly from the divider between balconies. The inside cabins all have three sections of 3 ft. glass and the handicap balcony has 4 three ft. sections. The balconies are 9ft. and 12ft. wide respectively.

I'm sure you're really confused now LOL. When you look at a photo you need to look at the dividers between the balconies and you'll see they are the same.

[seabreezer]

Are the corner FV balconies really longer as you go lower? They jut out more but the cabins aren't lined up directly below one another either. The cabins and therefore the balconies are "stepped down" from top to bottom. I thought all those FV balconies were the same size.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;7;8;15;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]
The World Ship - Europe July 2004

[Guest]

beth,

Hi again. Glad to hear that you snagged a different corner FV. Here are a couple of comments and observations.

Most important thing to keep in mind (I think Ma Bell already said this) is that all the corner FV cabins are blessed with extremely large balconies and while it might be fun to have a technical discussion about their differences, in practical terms each FV corner balcony is awesome size wise.

Next thing--forget the brochure when trying to make comparisons among the corner FVs, the size and shape of the balconies among the corner cabins are not accurately portrayed by the deck plans.

The main difference in the balconies among the corner FVs from deck to deck is the dimension of the extended portion of the balconies. The further down you go, the longer and narrower the extended portion (with the bathtub wall) of the balcony becomes.

As far as the rectangular (non-extended) portion of the corner FV balconies go, I took a tape measure and measured the depth of that portion of the balcony to be a few inches shy of exactly 20'. We were on Deck 8 in FV 8166. Rosie (JNLROSE) was in a Deck 7 FV on the Summit last month and she measured her rectangular balcony depth to be 20'.........

Jubilee 1991 Solar Eclipse
Century FO 1996 E Carib
Mercury FO 1998 W Carib
Galaxy SS 2000 Alaska IP
Infinity FV 2002 S Carib
Horizon HS 3/05 W Carib

[jsea]

Here's a shot of the balcony of port corner FV 8181 on Infinity:

[img]http://homepage.mac.com/tismfu/.cv/tismfu/Sites/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/Infinity%20Ship%20Pics/Image-37F9CBF6947A11D7.jpg-thumb_202_269.jpg[/img]
[url="http://homepage.mac.com/tismfu/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/Infinity%20Ship%20Pics/Image-37F9CBF6947A11D7.jpg"]Click here for full-size image[/url].

The metal bulkhead part of the balcony is what changes from deck to deck. On deck 7 it sweeps in toward the adjacent (non-corner) FV sooner, leaving you with a smaller 'nose' area. On deck 9 it sweeps in much closer to the next cabin leaving you with a wider 'nose'. However, deck 7 has a longer nose than 8 or 9, and 8's is longer than 9's. It's really a minimal difference and most people wouldn't notice. The vast majority of the balcony is exactly the same from deck to deck, and they all are the same width in the part that counts with the chaise lounges and table and chairs.

The reason the balconies are different is purely for exterior aesthetics. Click on the following link to access a gallery on Cruise-@ddicts with a great end-on shot of Millennium which really shows the layout (scroll down to the very last photo of the album):

[url="http://www.cruise-addicts.com/picturepost/view.php?uid=879"]Rear balconies[/url]

And you can kind of see the length difference here:
[img]http://homepage.mac.com/tismfu/.cv/tismfu/Sites/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/Infinity%20Ship%20Pics/Image-37FC6040947A11D7.jpg-thumb_202_269.jpg[/img]
[url="http://homepage.mac.com/tismfu/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/Infinity%20Ship%20Pics/Image-37FC6040947A11D7.jpg"]Click here for full-size[/url].

Hope this helps clear some things up.

[Ma Bell]

Thanks jsea, that rear balconies photo shows exactly what I was trying to describe. The balconies are however deeper as you go from 9 to 8 to 7. If I knew how to attach a photo I could show you. The dividers between the balconies on deck 9 have 3 panels, on deck 8 there are 3 but they are larger, and on deck 7 there are four panels. This picture is also on Cruise Addicts under Summit Feb. 2002 pics. It shows a rear view at an angle. Even though they are larger balconies, the smaller ones are still very large.

[This message was edited by Ma Bell on 04-16-04 at 01:38 AM.]

[Ma Bell]

Actually the photos are under Summit 1/4/02 on the Cruise Addicts site.

[prettybeth]

Thanks everyone, I understand what you mean, the pictures seem to say it all. I will just ignore my brochure and be glad I found the deck 7 corner FV since this trip is nearly sold out from what I can see.

[jsea]

Thanks, Ma Bell. I found that picture you were talking about and you're right, the panels are different.