Balcony doors

[Setting Sail Gal]

Last minute shopping question. Are the balcony doors slider style or an actual door? Read that if it is a swing door style, a bungee cord is great for hold door open on comfortable weather days. Starting to pack....so excited to be boarding the Eurodam next week. Karen

[pms4104]

Doesn't matter whether slider or hinged, HAL asks that the door remain closed as a courtesy to all other passengers on your HVAC line ... open doors disrupt the system for others. There is a clinger-type sign on the balcony doors to remind you of this.

Edited November 26, 2016 by pms4104

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes -- definitely keep your balcony door closed.

It will affect the air conditioning in the cabins around. People around you will not be happy if their cabins become too warm for them.

[OlsSalt]

Last minute shopping question. Are the balcony doors slider style or an actual door? Read that if it is a swing door style, a bungee cord is great for hold door open on comfortable weather days. Starting to pack....so excited to be boarding the Eurodam next week. Karen

 

Do not ever force your balcony door to stay open. Ever. Nuff said. They state this right on your balcony door. Please research why on your own. In fact we would keep it locked, since the latch was not tight enough and some cabin air would seep out.

Edited November 26, 2016 by OlsSalt

[Tom O.]

I am going to take issue with the rules against keeping balcony doors open.

I know why the rule is there. It is there for the same reason that most hotel windows are screwed down so you can't open them.

The reason is that people in an effort to get fresh air will let in warm air which will make the air conditioner work harder and will raise the temperature of the room and possibly other rooms nearby.

These rules always assume that the weather is hot outside, which is usually the case.

But sometimes there are exceptions. If the ship is in an area where the weather cools down dramatically at night, an open balcony door will help the air conditioner and the room will stay cool, as well as nearby rooms.

Another case would be if the room is hot due to heat coming from inside the ship - through walls and doors - and it is cool outside an open balcony door would help.

But these situations are uncommon, and HAL needs to have a consistent rule. They don't want passengers to guess when to have the door open. But if you know, for sure, that it is cool outside (under 70 degrees F.) then I think it is perfectly ok to have the door open.

If you are on a cold weather cruise where the heater is on, the door needs to be closed all of the time.

[OlsSalt]

There is a consistent rule -do not leave balcony doors open. Every ship posts this warning on the balcony door itself.

 

One is entering an interdependent system onboard a ship. What you do in your cabin affects the ventilation in other cabins, and even impacts the ships fire and smoke suppression systems too. (All of this was explained in great detail recently - wish I had a link to that thread - chengkp50 ???)

 

Air blows out of the cabin when you open your door; it does not flow inwards. Just watch the curtains.

 

If you want fresh air at night, see if you can arrange to prepare the deck lounger for sleeping outside.

[OlsSalt]

Cruise critic also tackles this generic problem offering some of their reasons what NOT to do in your cruise ship cabin:

 

Leave the balcony door open

 

Ah, the bliss of letting the sounds of wind and sea lull you to sleep! You might want to prop open that balcony door as you sail, but cruise lines aren't so keen on the idea.

 

For starters, the warm air coming in will cause your cabin's air-conditioning to work harder (unless you turn it down), wasting energy on the ship.

 

Plus, leaving the door open can have some unwanted side effects. We set off the smoke alarm several times on one sailing -- a mystery as there was no smoke or fire -- and were told that leaving the balcony door open can do that. cruise balcony

 

Plus, open your cabin door at the same time, and you create a wind tunnel in the cabin, which will send all your dining reservation notices, cruise ship dailies and art auction advertisements flying everywhere.

[casper106]

Please don't leave your balcony door open for all the very valid reasons posted here.

[Tom O.]

For starters, the warm air coming in will cause your cabin's air-conditioning to work harder (unless you turn it down), wasting energy on the ship.

[/i]

 

Yes that is correct, 90% of the time. But what about the scenario I wrote about where the air is cool outside.

[blizzardboy]

Do you obey just the laws that suit you? That sign on the door isn't a suggestion. It's there on the authority of the Captain, therefore not negotiable. You won't win your argument on this forum.

Edited November 26, 2016 by blizzardboy

[jtl513]

Yes that is correct, 90% of the time. But what about the scenario I wrote about where the air is cool outside.

If you open your door it reduces the back-pressure in your room. The cool air being produced by the system takes the path of least resistance out your door instead of into the adjoining cabins, making them warmer. Regardless of the outside temperature, the air will always flow out, not in.

 

Be kind to others and keep your door closed when you are not passing through it.

Edited November 26, 2016 by jtl513

[dee2673]

As much as I'd love to have the door open the whole time, I understand why it is not possible..Cold weather or warm, we try to considerate of the rules posted.

 

And I spend a ton of time on the balcony anyway, :)

[Tom O.]

Do you obey just the laws that suit you? That sign on the door isn't a suggestion. It's there on the authority of the Captain, therefore not negotiable. You won't win your argument on this forum.

 

I didn't say I was going to break any rules (they are not laws).

I was just challenging the science behind the rule for certain situations.

[jtl513]

I was just challenging the science behind the rule for certain situations.

Re-read post #11.

[Setting Sail Gal]

Hey everybody. Thanks for sharing your experience with me. I have not enjoyed a balcony before and never set foot on a HAL ship. So I appreciate your educating me on the many fine points of ship ventilation system, etc. But, I did not intend to cause any friction on the forum.

[rockdoctor]

And don't think you can hide your open door. The pressure difference will cause a howling sound around your door jam and will cause problems when you answer the door when the crew comes to tell you to close your balcony door.

[Tom O.]

Hey everybody. Thanks for sharing your experience with me. I have not enjoyed a balcony before and never set foot on a HAL ship. So I appreciate your educating me on the many fine points of ship ventilation system, etc. But, I did not intend to cause any friction on the forum.

 

You did not cause friction, I did.

 

It 's amazing how riled up, and sometimes rude, people get if you express an opinion. I will occasionally post things that controversial and sometimes totally wrong, but I really try to keep it civil.

 

Welcome to HAL and Cruise Critic.

[Watson's aunt]

hi ***** my last cruise I wa sitting on my balcony. The room steward opened my cabin door. O open my balcony door ND EVERY PECE OR PAPER AND OTHER THINGS WENT FLYING LIKE S WIND TUNNEL

[OlsSalt]

Yes that is correct, 90% of the time. But what about the scenario I wrote about where the air is cool outside.

 

There apparently (according the ship's engineer who explained this to us here) is a forced air pressure system that is part of the fire/smoke suppression system that is broken if you keep the balcony door open. Inside cabin air needs to be forced out into the hallway to keep any public area smoke out of the cabins.

 

When the balcony door is opened, air from the hall way now rushes into the cabin through this intentional air pressure and passage system. Notice the gap under the cabin door to the hallway; this is part of the intentional design that allows the internal cabin air pressure to stay higher than outside the cabin.

 

Plus the bathroom has a circulation system too that is part of this whole inter-related cabin safety and air regulation system. But I am not clear about that. Humidity also is regulated too and leaving open balcony doors throws that off too. On our last ship the balcony door warning label did mention the cabin internal humidity feature that would be compromised if the door was kept open.

 

I agree the door warning signs are pretty vague and may even get lost behind the curtains or are just not on anyone's radar to even read when they head out their balcony doors. But each ship has a warning sign - but little explanation of the consequences.

Edited November 27, 2016 by OlsSalt

[Tom O.]

Thank you Salty, for a courteous and well informed explanation of what is wrong my theory.

[Petunia1950]

Last minute shopping question. Are the balcony doors slider style or an actual door? Read that if it is a swing door style, a bungee cord is great for hold door open on comfortable weather days. Starting to pack....so excited to be boarding the Eurodam next week. Karen

 

The doors, at least on Oosterdam, are sliding doors. And they don't stay closed when the ship is rocky. So a way to keep them closed -- or open, as the case may be -- might actually be helpful.

[Topsham]

The doors, at least on Oosterdam, are sliding doors. And they don't stay closed when the ship is rocky. So a way to keep them closed -- or open, as the case may be -- might actually be helpful.

 

 

Penthouse? Yes, open the door and close it back and turn the handle.

[OlsSalt]

Again, good reason to lock the balcony doors to keep them from rattling or leaking out air. On the regular verandah they are door handle doors.

 

In the lanai cabins they have sliding doors, but I think they might have an entirely different system when they put in these lanai doors.

 

We often see the lanai doors forced open with beer cans. coat hangers and wastebaskets as we walk the promenade deck. Don't know if this is for their own in-cabin ventilation, or ease of opening them when they are outside enjoying their deck chairs.

 

But towards the end of the cruise we see less and less of this. Do they get the word afterall?

[Tampa Girl]

The doors, at least on Oosterdam, are sliding doors. And they don't stay closed when the ship is rocky. So a way to keep them closed -- or open, as the case may be -- might actually be helpful.

 

I just got off the Oosterdam. They are not sliding doors in the suites. And why would you consider a way to keep them open when it is against HAL's rules and would be detrimental to adjoining cabins?

[crusinpsychRN]

The doors, at least on Oosterdam, are sliding doors. And they don't stay closed when the ship is rocky. So a way to keep them closed -- or open, as the case may be -- might actually be helpful.

 

Just off Oosterdam and the balcony cabin on deck 7 port side door opened outward, not a slider.