Large overhang blocking view of balconies?

[Universe93B]

We are planning to go on the Serenade of the Seas (Radiance class ship) on March 17, 2011 or around that, balcony room, and want to avoid a huge overhang when we go out on the balcony. I have been trying to look at pictures to figure this out. The floor plans and diagrams at RCI are not that great.

 

Would anyone point me in the right direction? For right now, I am thinking getting a room on floor 8, 9 or 10, but in the very forward section, b/c there doesn't appear to be a large overhang on balconies. Near the middle of the ship and rear, there are HUGE overhangs it seems. Not that it is going to block the view, but I prefer a more "open" balcony.

[mslaabs]

We are planning to go on the Serenade of the Seas (Radiance class ship) on March 17, 2011 or around that, balcony room, and want to avoid a huge overhang when we go out on the balcony. I have been trying to look at pictures to figure this out. The floor plans and diagrams at RCI are not that great.

 

Would anyone point me in the right direction? For right now, I am thinking getting a room on floor 8, 9 or 10, but in the very forward section, b/c there doesn't appear to be a large overhang on balconies. Near the middle of the ship and rear, there are HUGE overhangs it seems. Not that it is going to block the view, but I prefer a more "open" balcony.

 

Here's a photo taken from our balcony on deck 8. It might give you an idea of the overhang.

[Puffinater]

I think and I repeat think that the overhang is not on the hump area.

[KITKAT0229]

Deck 7 forward and after balconies have larger, partially uncovered balconies. You have a direct view down without any lifeboat cover obstruction. Very aft any deck should be pretty open as well.

 

Here's some pics of the deck 7 forward/act balconies:

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=25195916&postcount=4

[IBookHePays]

I didn't want that closed in feeling either, but since we wanted a JS, we were limited primarily to the 10th deck.

 

We looked at the plans and chose 1572 since the overhang was minimal.

 

I'll let you know how that strategy went after we return!

[cb at sea]

The balconies are NOT "closed in"...just because there is a deck above you does not diminish the balcony experience. It's not dark. It's not "cavelike"....there is plenty of light...it reflects off of the extensive ocean!

[bus man]

The balcony rooms on Deck 9 (aft of the hump) on Radiance are a little bit bigger than the ones on Deck 8, so yes, they do stick out a little bit. But as one who occupied a balcony on Deck 8 aft, I didn't find that it interfered with my view at all.

[CruisinRoxy]

We just got off the Serenade and yes there is an overhang. But we LOVE the Junior Suite and they are on Deck 10. Even though the overhang is considerable, you never feel closed in, because the JS is large and so is the balcony. The only time I missed seeing the sky overhead is at night, because you cannot really see the stars. Big advantage - we sailed the first night during Irene and let me tell you, never was an overhang so welcome. We were able to be on the deck during some spectacular wind and rain gusts and NEVER got wet!

[IBookHePays]

The balconies are NOT "closed in"...just because there is a deck above you does not diminish the balcony experience. It's not dark. It's not "cavelike"....there is plenty of light...it reflects off of the extensive ocean!

 

Sorry to disagree, but compared to other ships there is a huge overhang which can feel darker. It MAY diminish the balcony experience for some, myself included. Do NOT dismiss other's concerns, thank you.

[IBookHePays]

We just got off the Serenade and yes there is an overhang. But we LOVE the Junior Suite and they are on Deck 10. Even though the overhang is considerable, you never feel closed in, because the JS is large and so is the balcony. The only time I missed seeing the sky overhead is at night, because you cannot really see the stars. Big advantage - we sailed the first night during Irene and let me tell you, never was an overhang so welcome. We were able to be on the deck during some spectacular wind and rain gusts and NEVER got wet!

 

Well, that certainly would be a bonus! Which JS did you have, if you don't mind sharing.

[CruisinRoxy]

We had 1042 (for our daughters) and 1044 (for us), with connecting 1046, a deluxe stateroom, not a JS, for our sons. On the Radiance 2 years ago, we had 1038 connecting to 1040. And as I said earlier, there is definitely a large overhang, but to us, the advantage of the space of a JS is well worth it. The deck 10 staterooms without the overhang are regular staterooms and much smaller. And it was really nice not having to worry about mother nature's wrath.

[Aquahound]

The overhang does cast a lot of shade on the balcony. Here is a pic of GS 1050:

 

 

Looking up at the ship, you can see the balconies without an overhang above them are way up forward:

 

[CruisinRoxy]

That is a great picture and very representative of the balconies. I guess you just have to decide if that is for you or not. Pros - protection from rain, and shields you from too much sun. Cons - blocks the sun and makes things a tad darker. At first I though I would not like it, to be honest, but it turns out the shade came in handy, because we would have had a lot of direct sun.