Royal Forward Facing Balconies Question

[karatemom2]

We are considering booking two of the forward facing balconies on the Royal for an upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise (L102,103, 104, etc.) When talking to the Princess agent she stated that the balcony door is required to remain closed anytime the ship is in transit so the balcony could only be used in port. We found this rather unbelievable - obviously we understand that at times it could be too windy, but certainly never to be able to use the balcony while the ship is moving seems rather extreme. Is there anyone here who has been in one of these rooms who could comment and let us know your actual experience. Thanks in advance!

[Colorado Coasty]

2 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

We are considering booking two of the forward facing balconies on the Royal for an upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise (L102,103, 104, etc.) When talking to the Princess agent she stated that the balcony door is required to remain closed anytime the ship is in transit so the balcony could only be used in port. We found this rather unbelievable - obviously we understand that at times it could be too windy, but certainly never to be able to use the balcony while the ship is moving seems rather extreme. Is there anyone here who has been in one of these rooms who could comment and let us know your actual experience. Thanks in advance!

Not so, you can go out anytime you wish.

[JF - retired RRT]

Haven't been there, done that...but others have posted that they were able to go on the balcony while underway.

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

While not  impossible physically, we were surprised once when we got a visit from security who asked us to please not use balcony while underway.  On two other occasions in the same cabin, nothing.  

[karatemom2]

Thank you for that feed back. It’s very helpful. All in all how did you like those rooms and balconies? Would you recommend them or book them again?

Edited June 8, 2019 by karatemom2

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

I book either forward facing or aft facing balconies whenever I can.  The forward ones are windy (when underway), but we just plan the balcony time according to itinerary.   Man y are larger and offer great views.

[Mom33]

We experienced one of these balconies as a  guest during sail away. Great cabin to have when entering and leaving ports. If you have no motion problems, they are the best.

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

2 minutes ago, Mom33 said:

We experienced one of these balconies as a  guest during sail away. Great cabin to have when entering and leaving ports. If you have no motion problems, they are the best.

Agreed!

[Colo Cruiser]

52 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

We are considering booking two of the forward facing balconies on the Royal for an upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise (L102,103, 104, etc.) When talking to the Princess agent she stated that the balcony door is required to remain closed anytime the ship is in transit so the balcony could only be used in port. We found this rather unbelievable - obviously we understand that at times it could be too windy, but certainly never to be able to use the balcony while the ship is moving seems rather extreme. Is there anyone here who has been in one of these rooms who could comment and let us know your actual experience. Thanks in advance!

Usually not an issue but every ship handles it differently as noted in post #4.

Different crew different supervisors different security. No way to tell ahead of time.

[ceilidh1]

4cats4me just got off a Mexico cruise and sailed in one of those forward balconies. Mini review here (and I'm sure if you post a question she will be happy to answer):

 

 

[4cats4me]

We weren’t in the forward facing, but we were indeed in the forward section. 

However, we did have occasion to visit the forward facing ones on L deck and M deck 

on a couple occasions and the balconies are huge!   We would definitely consider booking one in the future.  So nice to have that front-facing View 

at night you must keep your curtains closed, per bridge rules.  

Those we spoke with had no restrictions on using balcony while atvsea. However, it would be one heck of a wind tunnel if stateroom entry door and slider were opened at the same time.  LOL 

Edited June 9, 2019 by 4cats4me

[4cats4me]

Oh, I retrsct my statement about booking in the future.    Just way too much movement up there for us, but others seemed to like the rollercoaster feeling.    

[karatemom2]

Thanks for all the helpful feedback - we have gone for it and booked L106 (minisuite) and L104 (deluxe balcony) for our family on the Royal for  New Years Mexican Riviera. Very excited to experience these cabins!

Edited June 9, 2019 by karatemom2

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

Good decision.  You will love it!

[AllureOfVacation]

53 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

Thanks for all the helpful feedback - we have gone for it and booked L106 (minisuite) and L104 (deluxe balcony) for our family on the Royal for  New Years Mexican Riviera. Very excited to experience these cabins!

 

Really a good decision!

Stayed in M101 in March. There were certain times when it was indeed too windy to enjoy the balcony, but we had many sea days and we used the spacious balcony a lot during these days. We had some days with zero wind issues.

 

A bird pooped on me while sunbathing. In fact, the birds mess was scattered on the whole balcony, including the window. My eyes were closed so I could not see it, but I guess it was some kind of a huge bird, maybe even a dinosaur, considering the quantity of mess that it left.

 

The curtains must be closed when it is dark outside in these cabins so that the cabin lights do not bother the bridge. There is a sign somewhere at the balcony door that tells you to do so.

 

The Marina and Lido deck cabins are very convenient to get to the pool, buffet, The retreat and so on. 

 

 

Concerning the ships motion, we felt more an up and down rather a side to side motion. But we did not consider the motion worse than on other ships we have travelled in other cabin locations. We had a night with very rough seas and it was not that bad up there.

 

Edited June 9, 2019 by AllureOfVacation

[CruiseVA]

We've booked & cruised these cabins many times. They are the best! They're called partially obstructed because the lower part under the "railing" is metal. As @4cats4me indicated, if you're at sea and you have the door to the balcony open and open the hall door watch out! I discovered this getting room service once.  Otherwise, since they're pretty well protected there isn't a lt of wind. Plus they are huge! So for less money you get more.  I hesitate to post this because I want this to remain a secret -  LOL. Really people  - don't ever book these - they suck!!! 😜

Edited June 9, 2019 by CruiseVA

[DrivesLikeMario]

If you have the choice, the Marina Deck balconies are bigger than the Lido Deck balconies although the Lido Deck is more convenient for the buffet, pools and bars.  What the agent told you is not true.  We were never discouraged from using our massive balcony.  The only restriction was that we closed our bedroom curtains at night. 

 

There's a great picture that shows the forward balconies and their numbers.  Seeing that (and actually experiencing it) made me change from the Lido to the Marina for our upcoming cruises.  The Lido balconies are still great compared to just about all the other balconies on the Royal Class ships, it's just the Marina ones are even bigger.

Edited June 10, 2019 by DrivesLikeMario

[famski740]

Stayed in L108 on the Royal Princess.  The stateroom a mini suite was great as it is two separate rooms (bedroom and living room). No door but a curtain to close the rooms off to each other.

 

The huge balcony was great when entering and leaving ports.  Also walked out on balcony a couple of times when the ship was underway at sea. Never had any restrictions on balcony use.

 

At night was asked to have curtains to the front windows closed if lights were on because it interfered with the bridge operations.

 

[partybarbie]

I've done the Mex Riv cruises in both L103 and L101.  The balconies are great.  They are huge, but once you start heading North, the wind will make them pretty much unusable.  We never received any calls from the bridge to vacate the balcony, and the doors were never locked.  You do need to keep the drapes closed at night, as the light can affect navigation.

 

I have mixed feelings on these cabins.  Ours had a mini sofa that made into a bed.  The sofa is not that comfortable, but it's handy if you have a third person in the cabin.  The desk is also a different configuration from the other balcony cabins, resulting in less drawer storage.  It's nice being up on the pool deck, but it's a lot walking to get back to your cabin.  Not that I minded, but if you have any elderly/less mobile people in your group, it's good to know. There is also a some movement.  In our group of five, two got seasick.  I didn't think it was that bad, but then I wasn't one of the seasick ones. 

 

We are going back on the Royal next year, and have decided to try the angled obstructed balconies on Emerald deck.  I would book L103 or L101 again, but they were more expensive than the Emerald deck cabins and I wanted to try something mid-ship and lower,  just to see if I would like it better. 

[fishin' musician]

DW and I have had these rooms several times, I really like them but DW doesn't like the fact that while seated either inside or on the balcony you can't see the ocean due to the metal wall rather than the plexiglass wall on a side or aft balcony.  Usually when under way the wind is only an issue on the front half of the balcony as it rolls up and over the ship.  If you are in the rear half it is quite calm.  And as mentioned, opening stateroom door with balcony door open will create an incredible force through the room!

Edited June 10, 2019 by fishin' musician

[Boatsafloat2]

We had mini suite M108 on the Royal last Dec for a ABC cruise.  The wind was so bad that the balcony was usable for most of the cruise.  Even on port days it was so windy that we spent very little time out there and that was unusual for us since we normally spend a lot of time on our balcony.  DW also didn’t like the fact that you can’t see the ocean when seated.  Great cabin if you don’t run into windy weather or don’t spent much time out on the balcony.  We wouldn’t book it again.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We had L-107 and absolutely loved th'e location and the cabin floor plan.  It's 2 separate rooms with a huge desk area, two TVs, bath tub, etc.  It really would be a great set up for a family since there's a curtain at the bedroom and it really does feel like 2 rooms.  It's hard to get these corner minis on the Marina & Lido Deck though and they're pricey, but they're so worth it.

 

We were both surprised at how minimal the movement was.  We were expecting it to be similar, or worse than, the movement when you're in an aft-facing cabin.  It really wasn't bad at all to us and the only time the wind was bad was when we were actually sailing at a good rate of speed.  Otherwise, we were on the massive balcony enjoying it.

[karatemom2]

15 minutes ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

We had L-107 and absolutely loved th'e location and the cabin floor plan.  It's 2 separate rooms with a huge desk area, two TVs, bath tub, etc.  It really would be a great set up for a family since there's a curtain at the bedroom and it really does feel like 2 rooms.  It's hard to get these corner minis on the Marina & Lido Deck though and they're pricey, but they're so worth it.

 

We were both surprised at how minimal the movement was.  We were expecting it to be similar, or worse than, the movement when you're in an aft-facing cabin.  It really wasn't bad at all to us and the only time the wind was bad was when we were actually sailing at a good rate of speed.  Otherwise, we were on the massive balcony enjoying it.

 

We actually looked at doing L107 or L108 and they look amazing - but they are priced as Club Class Mini suites so were significantly more expensive then L106. If it was just us, we might have paid the difference, but we need the cabin next door so we we would have had to pay for a Club Class Mini and Mini Suite for our group instead of a Mini Suite and Deluxe Balcony. It's already a bit pricier because it's a holiday cruise and even with our casino discount we couldn't justify the added expense. Those corner rooms do look wonderful though - maybe next time!

[DrivesLikeMario]

That makes sense.  When you are ready, just book far in advance to get these prized cabins.  Here's the photo I was talking about a few posts back:

 

[jondfk]

We're doing L107 on b2b's in September / October.  Very much looking forward to this very 'special' cabin and will absolutely post pix & impressions upon our return.  

 

Thanks Mario for the full on ship pic which is the best I've seen for these cabins on Lido & Marina decks!