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enclosed "in-hull" balcony

Keeper420

By Keeper420,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Keeper420

Keeper420

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Okay, so I booked a balcony for Sept. 11, 2010 for my wife and my 2yo son. The room number is 10012. Having not been on the ship and not having payed attention to pictures beforehand I assumed that the balcony would have a "glass" railing (i.e. my 2yo son could walk up to the railing and see the ocean. However looking more closely at the pictures and build pictures it would seem that my room and the rooms around it are going to have just a hole as balcony and no glass. This would mean that I would at minimum have to hold my son up to see the water. Does anyone have any info regarding these forward balconies? My TA called NCL, and they said that this wasn't the case but in one of the photos I have seen I can see a worker leaning on the metal underneath the opening for the hole for the balcony. How can NCL charge the same price for these balconies as more open balconies that are more aft on the ship? Thanks in advance for anyone's help. I may need to call my travel agent back to change my room.

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Cruisin'cockney

Cruisin'cockney

Posted
Posted (edited)

Disney have this arrangement and call them Navigator Balconies and they are in a lower catagory to the regular balconies. Many people prefer them as they offer more privacy and are quieter. In the winter months they are warmer.

 

Downside is the lack of visibility from a sitting position or for small children. If you have small children I would swap/upgrade.

Edited by Cruisin'cockney
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RNPJN

RNPJN

Posted
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No glass railing.

 

Your observations were correct. Just call your TA and switch rooms.

Yes they also have glass railing but the balcony are cut out of the bulkhead so the opening is smaller but the glass railing is the same

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DebJef

DebJef

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I had exactly the same query with the cabin I had booked. I chose it because on the plans, the balcony looked massive. Like you, as more photos came available I could see the problem. I had my TA call NCL who said they could not confirm, but suggested that I change balconies and so I did.

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octagonmike

octagonmike

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Yes they also have glass railing but the balcony are cut out of the bulkhead so the opening is smaller but the glass railing is the same

 

 

Errrrr am I missing somethin ?

 

It appears to me there is no glass on those balconies. The opening is simply a hole cut in the hull of the ship and therefore no need for a "glass railing" as it is referred to here.

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time2cruise1

time2cruise1

Posted
Posted (edited)
Errrrr am I missing somethin ?

 

It appears to me there is no glass on those balconies. The opening is simply a hole cut in the hull of the ship and therefore no need for a "glass railing" as it is referred to here.

 

The funny thing the glass balcony is still there on other NCL ships. You do see mostly the steel however.

 

2603470400059187889S425x425Q85.jpg

Edited by time2cruise1
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Buggers06

Buggers06

Posted
Posted
Okay, so I booked a balcony for Sept. 11, 2010 for my wife and my 2yo son. The room number is 10012. Having not been on the ship and not having payed attention to pictures beforehand I assumed that the balcony would have a "glass" railing (i.e. my 2yo son could walk up to the railing and see the ocean. However looking more closely at the pictures and build pictures it would seem that my room and the rooms around it are going to have just a hole as balcony and no glass. This would mean that I would at minimum have to hold my son up to see the water. Does anyone have any info regarding these forward balconies? My TA called NCL, and they said that this wasn't the case but in one of the photos I have seen I can see a worker leaning on the metal underneath the opening for the hole for the balcony. How can NCL charge the same price for these balconies as more open balconies that are more aft on the ship? Thanks in advance for anyone's help. I may need to call my travel agent back to change my room.

 

I am on the same cruise as you and we are in 11000 and have friends in 11004. As far as I can tell yes the balconies are hulled-in, in the forward cabins, but until someone is actually on the ship who knows...... My guess is that you will have to hold you little one up to see the water. I don't know if I would change our room if we were bring our 2 yo DD. In my mind I think I like metal better than glass. Metal doesn't break easy, IMO.

 

HTH

 

Please join our roll call.

 

Melissa

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Buggers06

Buggers06

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I am on the same cruise as you and we are in 11000 and have friends in 11004. As far as I can tell yes the balconies are hulled-in, in the forward cabins, but until someone is actually on the ship who knows...... My guess is that you will have to hold you little one up to see the water. I don't know if I would change our room if we were bring our 2 yo DD. In my mind I think I like metal better than glass. Metal doesn't break easy, IMO.

 

HTH

 

Please join our roll call.

 

Melissa

 

Forgot to add we have a mom with twins who are 3 or 4 yo's coming with her. on the roll call.

 

M

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ddakrt

ddakrt

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Posted
The funny thing the glass balcony is still there on other NCL ships. You do see mostly the steel however.

 

2603470400059187889S425x425Q85.jpg

 

The Epic looks a bit different that the above arrangement. From the pictures of the Epic you can see the holes only open to the level of the railings of the "open" balconies.

 

The Jewel class ships in hull balconies' holes are quite large and is more squarish in shape whereas the Epics are more a rectangle. I wouldn't expect a glass railing in the Epic's in hull balconies because of this.

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mttwinmom

mttwinmom

Posted
Posted
Forgot to add we have a mom with twins who are 3 or 4 yo's coming with her. on the roll call.

 

M

I'm so glad to see there is at least one other person bringing a kid. I'm on the same cruise with my 4yr old twins :)

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octagonmike

octagonmike

Posted
Posted
The Epic looks a bit different that the above arrangement. From the pictures of the Epic you can see the holes only open to the level of the railings of the "open" balconies.

 

The Jewel class ships in hull balconies' holes are quite large and is more squarish in shape whereas the Epics are more a rectangle. I wouldn't expect a glass railing in the Epic's in hull balconies because of this.

 

 

I totally agree. The opening comes to in between waist and chest height so there will be no glass "railing" or rather screen.

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English Rose

English Rose

Posted
Posted

I had exactly the same problem. We were booked in 12000 and 12004 - on the plans looked fantastic - big balcony etc. When I saw the pictures of the model I realised that not only was it a 'cave-like' balcony but we were directly under the bridge so it would be dark with no sun and no view from a sitting position.

 

I called my TA and had them change immediately to deck 11 mid way but slightly to the front with glass panels. No change in price and a new confirmation sent. They really should point this out for those forward balcony cabins. It shows nothing on the deck plans and you would presume they are they same but they just aren't.

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Keeper420

Keeper420

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I had exactly the same problem. We were booked in 12000 and 12004 - on the plans looked fantastic - big balcony etc. When I saw the pictures of the model I realised that not only was it a 'cave-like' balcony but we were directly under the bridge so it would be dark with no sun and no view from a sitting position.

 

I called my TA and had them change immediately to deck 11 mid way but slightly to the front with glass panels. No change in price and a new confirmation sent. They really should point this out for those forward balcony cabins. It shows nothing on the deck plans and you would presume they are they same but they just aren't.

 

Yes they should give us information about this ahead of time since we have booked this ship sight-unseen. Here's a question:

Should people in this room go ahead and switch. Or should we wait until we get onto the ship and they say something like, "I wanted a balcony room with a glass "screen/railing" so my kid can look at the water?" and see if they will upgrade or give ship credit for the misleading advertising of this room. My TA has called and NCL even assured us this was a normal balcony. Thanks in advance for your advice.

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time2cruise1

time2cruise1

Posted
Posted (edited)
Yes they should give us information about this ahead of time since we have booked this ship sight-unseen. Here's a question:

Should people in this room go ahead and switch. Or should we wait until we get onto the ship and they say something like, "I wanted a balcony room with a glass "screen/railing" so my kid can look at the water?" and see if they will upgrade or give ship credit for the misleading advertising of this room. My TA has called and NCL even assured us this was a normal balcony. Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

If you wait until you get onboard expect to end up in the cabin booked and don't expect compensation. You know what you have now. If it is not to your liking move while there are plenty of other cabins. The advantage of those cabins is they do have larger balconies. Do I demand an upgrade because my midship balcony with a glass rail is smaller. If you look at the new deck plans for cruises in 2011 your cabin is a B6 large balcony and cost a little more then a regular balcony

Nobody has sailed on this ship. Very few NCL personnel have even been on the ship. None of the NCL reps your TA spoke with has any first hand knowledge of the differences in balcony cabins.

Edited by time2cruise1
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ddakrt

ddakrt

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Posted
Yes they should give us information about this ahead of time since we have booked this ship sight-unseen. Here's a question:

Should people in this room go ahead and switch. Or should we wait until we get onto the ship and they say something like, "I wanted a balcony room with a glass "screen/railing" so my kid can look at the water?" and see if they will upgrade or give ship credit for the misleading advertising of this room. My TA has called and NCL even assured us this was a normal balcony. Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

I would do it now and wouldn't expect any sort of comp. if you decide to leave it until you're aboard.

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