My Week in a Virtual Balcony

[bethco]

This past week I was in a new Virtual Balcony on Navigator. There were things I liked about it and things that I did not care for. First of all, I would NOT pay anything along the lines of what they were originally charging for these cabins. I booked this cruise last minute at a really great price. While the Virtual Balcony is a clever feature it is still an small interior cabin. That mock up picture of the huge cabin with the Virtual Balcony that they have on the website, in no way is that what one of these cabins looks like.

 

The two seater loveseat has been pulled out in lieu of a single chair. The VB was mounted on the wall where the loveseat would have been with the chair sitting in front of it with the back against the outside wall of the bathroom. This does not really allow for more floor space since the side of the chair now comes out much further than the loveseat did. The unit itself is about 4 inches deep and mounted on the wall with a curtain that can be closed in front of it. There is a controller for the unit with on/off volume and mute. Mine was very difficult to control. I did get it to turn off once, got the volume turned down low, but never muted. It also puts heat out into the cabin - think giant tv that is running 24/7. It isn't a lot of heat and the AC was working very well. I have, however, been in cabins where the AC did not cool the cabin well and adding more heat to an already too warm cabin would be a real issue for me.

 

When the VB is turned off it still has a slight blue glow. So if you like an interior for the pitch black aspect of it, do not expect to get that from one of these, even with it turned off. For me, it gave me enough light to find my way to the bathroom at night and to know that the sun had come up.

 

Given the choice between a standard interior and VB, I would go with the VB. Given the choice between a Promenade and a VB, I believe my choice would be the Promenade. This worked out great for me this week. I was in a cabin alone booking last minute and managed to get a VB cabin just a few feet away from friends who were in a Jr Suite. If I am sharing an Interior cabin, I would rather be in a Promenade.

 

That's my take on it. If you have any other questions, I will do my best to answer.

[molly361]

Thanks for the info!!

[lemansz20]

No pictures of this I take it? I would love to see a true real picture of it.

[Artemis908]

No pictures of this I take it? I would love to see a true real picture of it.

 

I second that, if you have pictures I'd love to see them!

[setsail]

Can you tell us what exactly runs on the screen and are there advertisements, etc. ? Thanks

[bethco]

Sorry guys, I didn't take any pictures. I spent the first two days of the cruise mostly sleeping off a bug. But you get a pretty good look at one in this news segment.

 

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

 

The cabin featured in this news report was considerably larger than the one I was in. I had to make sure that my vanity chair was pushed in before I went to bed at night so that I could walk to the bathroom and have room to get between the vanity chair and the upholstered chair.

[leisuretraveler223]

I'd rather have a larger television!

[jchiefs13]

Thanks for posting!

 

Good question about the ads, don't give them any ideas though :)

 

Now I'm more excited to see mine in December on Quantum!

 

Judy

[bethco]

The only thing you see is whatever the camera is seeing. It's like looking straight out a window from a few steps back from the window. There is a mock balcony superimposed on it. There is a little bit of floor, a railing, and a couple supports holding the railing. They look pretty cheesy. I would have preferred just the window view without the cartoonish balcony.

[setsail]

So at night it just shows the darkness over the bow?

[bethco]

Yes, darkness over the bow and the bright cartoon balcony. That doesn't go off unless you turn off the unit. You have a sound of the ocean. Not exactly like you hear from a real balcony, but it is a nice steady white noise when turned down low.

[ladyslipper28]

I did read somewhere that the reason they have the balcony superimposed on the picture, even if it is a little cheesy, is that a lot of people had a negative "falling" feeling when there wasn't a visual barrier there. I can see that it could be a little disorienting to feel like you could fall out of your room, kind of like the roller coaster feeling in some IMAX films.

[bethco]

I can see that. But the experience that I had that would not have been the case. The cabin was too little for the upholstered chair to be anywhere other than in front of the window.

 

My biggest complaint was not being to turn off the sound without turning the unit completely off. The calypso music from the dock in Roatan seriously got on my nerves. Hopefully, they will bring have that fixed soon.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Good info for those who have them booked or want to book a VB cabin.

 

***

[LetsGetWet!]

There is a mock balcony superimposed on it. There is a little bit of floor, a railing, and a couple supports holding the railing. They look pretty cheesy. I would have preferred just the window view without the cartoonish balcony.

I can definitely see the benefits of this as opposed to a standard interior. But I always thought the more honest thing would be to call it a virtual oceanview cabin instead of a virtual balcony. It's certainly a lot closer to an oceanview that stops at the window than to a balcony that continues out for a number of feet.

 

So the "cartoonish balcony" portion doesn't darken as night falls with the camera view? That's certainly cheesy if so.

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 via Tapatalk

[bethco]

No, it doesn't darken. At night you have bright balcony rails and little bit of floor superimposed over a black ocean view.

 

I agree Virtual Ocean View is a better description than Virtual Balcony. It's an ocean view with balcony rails in front of it.

[Canadian Tyler]

Good assessment of the virtual balconies. I had one on 02/23 and would agree with you for the most part. I don't think I'd spend extra money to get a VB over a regular interior though. Luckily I got it through an upgrade.

Agree with you about the heat and the glow coming from the screen, even when it's turned off. It was kind of neat waking up in the morning and pulling back the curtain to see the island, and I enjoyed the ocean sounds at night.

 

I do have a few pictures I can post later to add to the discussion.

[seaofwonder]

Family stayed in one and had problems with it not working. They had to come several times and replace some parts on the tv.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[denamo]

We were in a virtual balcony room on the Navigator on March 9 cruise. We did enjoy it. Nicer than just turning on the tv to see where you are. Our remote to turn off, adjust the volume, or simply mute worked well. It is very small, so I can see how these could easily become misplaced by cruisers.

 

Like the OP, we got a great last minute deal. Having cruised with one, would probably not pay more for a VB cabin vs non-VB cabin. The superimposed balcony railing did strike us as amusing.

 

We would leave it on during the night and found it nice to have the light of a morning in an inside cabin.

 

I've attached a picture of the VB when we were arriving in Roatan, Honduras.

[BecciBoo]

Here is my video link:

 

 

I on the other hand would pick this cabin but only if we got another deal or a guarantee, which we had on the 4 day cruise just after rehab. I would rather have the VB rather than promenade view. I was not bothered by the light, could always pull the drapes and found the view of the wake as we left port very soothing. The mirrors in the room reflected the light around the cabin making it seem bigger to us. And the sounds put us to sleep in the afternoon...Loved that! It is too much to pay the full fare though and I agree that the chair was too much, but they could take it out completely IMHO...didn't need it.

Edited March 28, 2014 by BecciBoo

[CRAZYBOUTCRUZIN]

Do they have bathrobes in this Category stateroom ?

[Clarea]

Do they have bathrobes in this Category stateroom ?

Not normally, unless the guest is Platinum or higher level.

[polymedia]

I had one on the Navigator last March and enjoyed it. True, the controller is a little difficult but it worked ok after I got the hang of it.

 

That said, it's pretty useless at night, but I did enjoy sleeping to the sea sounds.

 

I wouldn't pay a whole lot extra for it, but would do it again at the right price.