Breakaway's Balcony Dividers?

[uneamie]

I recently read a post that mentioned how one could open the balcony divider by oneself without needing to ask the room steward.....who may or may not open it for you. We have 2 cabins booked....hubby and I in one and my 2 brothers in the other. They are not connecting rooms but they are next to each other. We really would like to socialize out on the balconies together, especially since the balconies are sooooo small and you cannot fit 4 people with chairs on one alone. So....anyone know how we can open up the divider with an object of some sort?

[Two Wheels Only]

I don't recommend opening them yourself. It is their ship, not yours.

 

There is a reason why the stewards aren't supposed to open them.

[BirdTravels]

I recently read a post that mentioned how one could open the balcony divider by oneself without needing to ask the room steward.....who may or may not open it for you. We have 2 cabins booked....hubby and I in one and my 2 brothers in the other. They are not connecting rooms but they are next to each other. We really would like to socialize out on the balconies together, especially since the balconies are sooooo small and you cannot fit 4 people with chairs on one alone. So....anyone know how we can open up the divider with an object of some sort?

 

You may not open the dividers yourself. By policy, dividers are not allowed to be opened. If you ask your room steward nicely, they will usually open them for you. In some ports, the crew will open all of the dividers and walk the length of the ship washing down balconies. They would normally close the dividers after them. If this happens, you need to ask your room steward, nicely, to open them again. If you don't ask nicely or demand that they be opened, you will spend the cruise peeking around the dividers at your brothers.

[uneamie]

I don't recommend opening them yourself. It is their ship, not yours.

 

There is a reason why the stewards aren't supposed to open them.

 

Hmmm.....but yet they do!

[cb at sea]

OMG! How did you get your font so damn small?????

[uneamie]

You may not open the dividers yourself. By policy, dividers are not allowed to be opened. If you ask your room steward nicely, they will usually open them for you. In some ports, the crew will open all of the dividers and walk the length of the ship washing down balconies. They would normally close the dividers after them. If this happens, you need to ask your room steward, nicely, to open them again. If you don't ask nicely or demand that they be opened, you will spend the cruise peeking around the dividers at your brothers.

 

 

Thank you for your input. Good reason to tip your cabin steward on your first day I guess. Hope we get a nice one. Not sure what the reason would be for the ship to not want them open. It must not be TOO big of a deal or the cabin stewards would not risk their jobs over it.

[Two Wheels Only]

Hmmm.....but yet they do!

It doesn't mean that they should..

The dividers are there to help slow down/prevent the spread of fire. They open for maintenance purposes, not for guests to have a double balcony.

Sure, there are stewards who will do it (expectation of tip) and there are guests who will do it themselves but it shouldn't be done.

[uneamie]

It doesn't mean that they should..

The dividers are there to help slow down/prevent the spread of fire. They open for maintenance purposes, not for guests to have a double balcony.

Sure, there are stewards who will do it (expectation of tip) and there are guests who will do it themselves but it shouldn't be done.

Well I don't want to contribute to a fire hazard that's for sure. That said, I did a search and found many conflicting answers across the board on different cruise lines as to why some allow it and some don't. And in some of those post it was mentioned that they need those dividers to be open if there is a fire not closed....so that the fire crew can easily pass from one area to another, especially if the hallways are affected....so my guess is that they open as many as they need to if that is the case. Just makes me curious. I think the rule is different with each ship and that it looks like the captain is the one who sets the rule.

[Two Wheels Only]

The dividers need the ability to open (when needed) not just to be open.

 

The room steward or the maintenance crew aren't the ones authorized to make that decision even though some will open/leave open at the guest's request. If the captain says "...sure, open them for the week...", the responsibility falls upon him.

[uneamie]

The dividers need the ability to open (when needed) not just to be open.

 

The room steward or the maintenance crew aren't the ones authorized to make that decision even though some will open/leave open at the guest's request. If the captain says "...sure, open them for the week...", the responsibility falls upon him.

Like I said....I found many conflicting answers. But I do have to wonder why they allow adjoining rooms if they are afraid of fire spreading from one cabin to another. That seems to contradict the fire hazard issue. Maybe they have a fire wall....who knows.

[ImNotSara]

Like I said....I found many conflicting answers. But I do have to wonder why they allow adjoining rooms if they are afraid of fire spreading from one cabin to another. That seems to contradict the fire hazard issue. Maybe they have a fire wall....who knows.

 

 

It is almost impossible to have a cruise ship without adjoining rooms. Perhaps you mean connecting rooms... Adjoining simply means room next to each other.

[uneamie]

It is almost impossible to have a cruise ship without adjoining rooms. Perhaps you mean connecting rooms... Adjoining simply means room next to each other.

 

Yes that is what I meant...connecting rooms.

[Two Wheels Only]

Like I said....I found many conflicting answers. But I do have to wonder why they allow adjoining rooms if they are afraid of fire spreading from one cabin to another. That seems to contradict the fire hazard issue. Maybe they have a fire wall....who knows.

It's the wind that is the issue on the balconies. The dividers help to deflect the wind. Inside the stateroom, the wind isn't spreading the fire from one stateroom to the next. Having connecting staterooms isn't a problem.

[LakeWobegon]

Last year on Escape they did. Our room steward kept them open between our connecting balconies all week.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Mom2B&Z]

It's the wind that is the issue on the balconies. The dividers help to deflect the wind. Inside the stateroom, the wind isn't spreading the fire from one stateroom to the next. Having connecting staterooms isn't a problem.

 

 

 

This.

We had connected balconies on Anthem of the Seas in January and asked for the divider to be open. The person in charge of our deck came to see us, and said permission had to be obtained from the bridge. Our divider was opened, but it was made clear to us that the request was only that, a request.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ColeThornton]

Of course, no one thinks this can happen on their cruise. Right?

 

[U4icmusic]

On 2/19/2017 at 10:16 AM, ColeThornton said:

Of course, no one thinks this can happen on their cruise. Right?

 

And I'm sure that fire was caused by connecting balcony doors being left open.

[Two Wheels Only]

34 minutes ago, U4icmusic said:

And I'm sure that fire was caused by connecting balcony doors being left open.

 

No, that fire was BEFORE the current SOLAS fire boundary requirement. Breakaway is built with the balcony dividers that extend to prevent/lessen the spread of fire. By keeping the dividers open, a fire can spread the same way that it did on the Princess fire. The dividers have the ability to open for firefighting and maintenance reasons and NOT for passenger enjoyment. 

[cathi007]

On 2/18/2017 at 8:41 PM, cb at sea said:

OMG! How did you get your font so damn small?????

And why? I can't even read it....with my glasses on

[cathi007]

On 2/19/2017 at 7:32 AM, LakeWobegon said:

Last year on Escape they did. Our room steward kept them open between our connecting balconies all week.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Good to know, I have connecting mini suites with my daughter, her hubby, and my 2 grand babies, I would love to be able to open the divider between our balconies. It can't hurt to ask :).

[U4icmusic]

18 minutes ago, cathi007 said:

Good to know, I have connecting mini suites with my daughter, her hubby, and my 2 grand babies, I would love to be able to open the divider between our balconies. It can't hurt to ask :).

They've always opened them for us. Never any problem on any line. If they say no, no big deal, just enjoy the balcony. I don't believe having them open or closed would make any difference if there was a fire but I'm not an expert.

 

[Two Wheels Only]

4 minutes ago, U4icmusic said:

I don't believe having them open or closed would make any difference if there was a fire but I'm not an expert.

 

How about taking the word of a former cruise ship Chief Engineer...? (chengkp75)

 

"The reason balcony dividers are considered fire boundaries is that they restrict the wind that would sweep from one balcony to the next due to the ship's forward motion. Having the air flow have to go around the divider, or through the small gaps top and bottom, slows the spread of fire."

 

 

[U4icmusic]

2 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

How about taking the word of a former cruise ship Chief Engineer...? (chengkp75)

 

"The reason balcony dividers are considered fire boundaries is that they restrict the wind that would sweep from one balcony to the next due to the ship's forward motion. Having the air flow have to go around the divider, or through the small gaps top and bottom, slows the spread of fire."

 

 

Right, because there's zero wind on a balcony to begin with.

[Two Wheels Only]

13 minutes ago, U4icmusic said:

Right, because there's zero wind on a balcony to begin with.

 

There is...which is why anything that can slow down/prevent the spread of fire is more important than guests wanting to combine the space on adjoining balconies. 

 

" Once you've fought the beast on a ship, you never take anything for granted, and look for all the advantages you can get."