Serenade 8104 balcony size?

[CruisingLover]

Hi

 

We currently have booked cabins 8072/8074 but I called to see if cabins 8104/8106 were available because 8104 looks like it has a bigger balcony. I called RCCL and the girl said they are available but 8104 has the same size balcony as the cabins I already have (which is 41 sq ft). On the RCCL site, the diagram looks like it would be bigger and it looks to be on the "hump" which everyone raves about. WHat is the draw for the hump if the balcony sizes are the same as the non-hump cabins :confused:

 

Tracy

[Sue L]

GRAB it 8104 is a HUGE balcony, 3x's as large as regular. keep in mind the reps mostly have never been on a ship

[sunshine66]

Hi

 

We currently have booked cabins 8072/8074 but I called to see if cabins 8104/8106 were available because 8104 looks like it has a bigger balcony. I called RCCL and the girl said they are available but 8104 has the same size balcony as the cabins I already have (which is 41 sq ft). On the RCCL site, the diagram looks like it would be bigger and it looks to be on the "hump" which everyone raves about. WHat is the draw for the hump if the balcony sizes are the same as the non-hump cabins :confused:

 

Tracy

 

You can see both ends of the ship with out obstruction and they are in the center. We have always had a "hump cabin" and it is nice but you really are not missing a lot..

[Sue L]

You can see both ends of the ship with out obstruction and they are in the center. We have always had a "hump cabin" and it is nice but you really are not missing a lot..

 

Except 8104 is a MUCH larger balcony.

[cb at sea]

On Radiance class ships, some of the hump balconies are much larger. On Voyager and Freedom class, they are the same as any "side" balcony. The draw of the "hump" is the location...midship and close to the stairs and elevators which is a huge bonus! That's the main draw!

[LiftLockCouple]

8104 has a very large balcony except you cannot see directly forward. We had 8102 ( next door ) this time last year on the SOS and it was GREAT. No neighbours forward and no noise either except for the 70's night until 11PM. The room is very handy to the stairs and elevators. There are photos on ***** of the balcony for 8102 on SOS that we took. enjoy

[LiftLockCouple]

8104 has a very large balcony except you cannot see directly forward. We had 8102 ( next door ) this time last year on the SOS and it was GREAT. No neighbours forward and no noise either except for the 70's night until 11PM. The room is very handy to the stairs and elevators. There are photos on ***** of the balcony for 8102 on SOS that we took. enjoy

 

Not sure if this worked, I tried to attach two photos from the balcony of 8102.........:confused: Going to hit submit and see what happens. OK , it worked so this is the edit. The first photo is looking aft from 8102, of course the balcony for 8104 is just behind the divider and the second of the 8102 balcony showing how deep the forward wall is of the 8104 balcony.....you get the picture??? :) The elevator hump blocks the view forward but it did not bother us at all, you can still see forward but not directly forward. Strangely there was more cigarette smoke smell at this location than we expected, with no forward neighbours we expected less. The smokers behind and below still were able to get their smell to us, rotten air currents !!!!

[LiftLockCouple]

another photo of these balconies from the windjammer Cafe. edit comments, the upload of the photo doesn't seem to be there.....may have to re-do it.

[CruisingLover]

Thanks for the replies. I'm still debating though.

 

1) Will being RIGHT by the elevators be an issue?

 

2) Is it noisier in that location as opposed to where I am now (8072/8074)?

 

3) "The elevator hump blocks the view forward but it did not bother us at all, you can still see forward but not directly forward" Should I be concerned with not being able to look forward from the balcony on 8104?

 

4) "Strangely there was more cigarette smoke smell at this location than we expected" Is this because there was a smoking section nearby or was it just because you were near people that smoked in their cabin?

 

5) Am I making too much of an issue on this and should just be happy I FINALLY have a balcony (never even had a window!!) after cruising several times with RCCL?

 

Thanks for putting up with all of my silly questions and concerns :o

 

Tracy

[CruisingLover]

1 more question.............

 

Will there be a problem with other cabins being able to see inside our balcony?

 

Thanks!

[LiftLockCouple]

Thanks for the replies. I'm still debating though.

 

1) Will being RIGHT by the elevators be an issue? No, there is considerable distance between our cabin 8102 and the actual elevators. We had no problem at all with any noise, would take the cabin again anytime.

 

2) Is it noisier in that location as opposed to where I am now (8072/8074)? Don't know for sure but not likley

 

3) "The elevator hump blocks the view forward but it did not bother us at all, you can still see forward but not directly forward" Should I be concerned with not being able to look forward from the balcony on 8104? That is a personal choice / taste issue. We were not bothered.

 

4) "Strangely there was more cigarette smoke smell at this location than we expected" Is this because there was a smoking section nearby or was it just because you were near people that smoked in their cabin? Just air currents I think. We could not smell it in the cabin, just on the balcony. The air must have swirled behind the hump. Probably no worse than any other balcony but the hump did not provide as much protection as I had hoped.

 

5) Am I making too much of an issue on this and should just be happy I FINALLY have a balcony (never even had a window!!) after cruising several times with RCCL? Not sure but the larger balcony was great for us. We loved it and I'm sure you will as well.

 

6) these balconies were not any more exposed than any of the others. Being deeper we had more opportunity to be private with more shade than the normal depth balconies. No one had better DARE to make this into a "balcony club" thread............:eek:

 

Thanks for putting up with all of my silly questions and concerns :o

 

Tracy

 

BTW, I am having a terrible time with this site today.

[CruisingLover]

Thanks (again).

 

I am having a tough time with this site today too! I thought it was just me so I'm glad to hear it's not :D

[LiftLockCouple]

A quick side note of personal interest and a couple of clarifications. Personal note: Our cruise on the SOS to Alaska last year ended one year ago today... it was for our 30th anniversary.

Clarification : the smoke issue was not much of a problem. DW is sensitive to the smell and she quickly seeks cleaner air. Of all the time we spent on the balcony there were only 3 occasions where she left for cleaner air. This was NEVER and issue inside the cabin. Choosing a good cabin is always a balance between compromises. Air quality on the balcony is just one. To totally get away from the smoking issue a person would have to either abandon a balcony or switch to Celebrity.

Balcony privacy: No balcony is very private but the deeper balconies do give more privacy and shade than the others.

We loved leaving the balcony door open a little so the ocean sound came into the room. I also loved getting up and going outside right away. I think I have become a balcony snob and in the case of radiance class ships, a hump balcony snob as well.

I expect you will be happy if you stay put but I also think you will appreciate the larger balcony. Cheers

[CruisingLover]

Ok so I called RCCL one more time just to verify those 2 cabins were still available and for the same price as we already have. She said yes they are "but can I give you my opinion?" I say "yes PLEASE!!" ! She said where I am currently booked is just about perfect. If I switch to the 8104/8106 cabins I will only be able to see where we have been, not where we are going, because there will be a big metal wall to the right of me if I try to look towards the front of the ship.

 

So....after all of the annoying questions I have asked of everyone, we are staying put where we already are :o.

 

I am very grateful to have this forum to be able to help me form my opinion though so THANK YOU to everyone!!!

 

:)

Tracy