Royal Forward Facing Balconies Question

[sandjforever]

After seeing the picture above, I called to see about moving from L108 to M108 for my 2020 cruise.  Finally got it after loking weekly for it come available.  Kept all my original perks too!  One happy girl here!

[Thrak]

On 6/8/2019 at 2:49 PM, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

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.  

 

Did you perhaps have the balcony door open?  I have often walked down hallways and heard very loud wailing noises caused by open balcony doors. These weren't front facing balconies but the noise attracted a LOT of attention from other cruisers. I can see someone contacting Passenger Services to voice their concern - especially as most had no idea what was causing the (very loud) noise coming from the cabins.

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

No, we always close the door to keep the room temp stable.  Don't know how our presence was noted or by whom.  They were very nice and of course we complied

[Sea Hag]

We had M108 recently, and I'd book that again like a shot. Truly great cabin. We always had access to the balcony, but it really was too windy part of the time.

[Married15]

We we in L101 and L102 on the Regal. Loved these cabins! At no time were we restricted from using the balcony and in fact were out there everyday of our cruise. The only time we did not use it is the night the rain was pounding and the wind howling. Great spot for sail in and sail away. The balcony is HUGE and we had room service for dinner several nights out on the balcony. We loved it so much we booked the same cabins for our next cruise and honestly don't know if we can ever go back to a regular balcony. But please don't spread the word or these cabins will be too hard to get!

[Colo Cruiser]

48 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Did you perhaps have the balcony door open?  I have often walked down hallways and heard very loud wailing noises caused by open balcony doors. These weren't front facing balconies but the noise attracted a LOT of attention from other cruisers. I can see someone contacting Passenger Services to voice their concern - especially as most had no idea what was causing the (very loud) noise coming from the cabins.

Probably due to prayer time 

[Jezabel2924]

11 minutes ago, Married15 said:

We we in L101 and L102 on the Regal. Loved these cabins! At no time were we restricted from using the balcony and in fact were out there everyday of our cruise. The only time we did not use it is the night the rain was pounding and the wind howling. Great spot for sail in and sail away. The balcony is HUGE and we had room service for dinner several nights out on the balcony. We loved it so much we booked the same cabins for our next cruise and honestly don't know if we can ever go back to a regular balcony. But please don't spread the word or these cabins will be too hard to get!

I am so glad to see your post!  We have the same cabins booked for the Regal when it starts in Australia.  Did you have the door opened between the cabin balconies?

[Married15]

5 minutes ago, Jezabel2924 said:

I am so glad to see your post!  We have the same cabins booked for the Regal when it starts in Australia.  Did you have the door opened between the cabin balconies?

Yes, we had the door open and it made for a extra HUGE balcony. We have these booked on the Majestic from Sydney as well. I love the location on the ship too. Makes getting to the pool and the buffet super easy. 

[DrivesLikeMario]

Since my last post, we've had M-108 and it was fantastic.  So happy to have it on the Enchanted for 20 days soon.  It's our go-to cabin on the Royal Class ships now if we're lucky enough to get it.

[smixsell]

We were in L102 on the Regal a few years back and LOVED it.

 

I did a lot of research about the forward facing balcony cabins before booking them. You generally CAN use the balcony while the ship is moving. But there are sometimes issues with open blinds causing the light from inside the cabin (which is right above the ship's bridge) causing visibility issues on the bridge at night due to glare. I think this is why some have occasionally reported being told that they can't use the balcony while the ship is at sea.

 

If you keep your balcony door closed, and the blinds drawn if it's night time,  you should be able to use it anytime you want. Wind can be an issue when the ship is underway though, unless the ship is traveling the same direction of a strong breeze, which actually makes the big balcony quite pleasant, almost as as there is no wind. 

[DrivesLikeMario]

On 6/13/2019 at 8:47 AM, sandjforever said:

After seeing the picture above, I called to see about moving from L108 to M108 for my 2020 cruise.  Finally got it after loking weekly for it come available.  Kept all my original perks too!  One happy girl here!

You are really lucky!  M-108 is our favorite.  It's just massive.  L-107 & 108 are really nice too and convenient for the buffet but the balcony is so much more massive on the Marina Deck.  We love the cabin lay-out too with the 2 separate rooms.  Congrats!  

[nini]

We were in L103 on the Regal. You can use the balcony anytime but must keep the curtains closed at night so light does not interfere with the Bridge. The balcony is HUGE, but you can not see out when seated, due to the metal railing.

[vjmatty]

On 5/14/2022 at 2:19 PM, DrivesLikeMario said:

You are really lucky!  M-108 is our favorite.  It's just massive.  L-107 & 108 are really nice too and convenient for the buffet but the balcony is so much more massive on the Marina Deck.  We love the cabin lay-out too with the 2 separate rooms.  Congrats!  

Did you find the lack of privacy and shade to be a problem on M108? I always prefer L107 and 108, but only M108 is available on our next Regal sailing. I like the Lido cabins because they’re more covered, and I’m satisfied with a very large balcony instead of a very very large balcony on M108 since there are only two of us.  Also, are the closets in M108 over by the bathroom like they are on L108, or are they near the bed? I’m a morning person and like to get ready without waking hubby up. 

[DrivesLikeMario]

17 hours ago, vjmatty said:

Did you find the lack of privacy and shade to be a problem on M108? I always prefer L107 and 108, but only M108 is available on our next Regal sailing. I like the Lido cabins because they’re more covered, and I’m satisfied with a very large balcony instead of a very very large balcony on M108 since there are only two of us.  Also, are the closets in M108 over by the bathroom like they are on L108, or are they near the bed? I’m a morning person and like to get ready without waking hubby up. 

The only time you have people looking down onto your super massive balcony is when the people in L-108 above it come out on their balcony and look down into yours. The people in L-106 might be able to see into part of M-108's balcony, but it would only be on the forward part of it.

 

There's a small part of the side balcony that has about a 3' cover above it.  This wraps around to the front but isn't a lot of coverage when you consider the balcony must be at least 30' long at the front.  This part on the side is more protected from the headwinds but is longer, narrower and more protected in L-108 than M-108.  And, of course L-107/108 balconies aren't as massive as M-107/108.

BEDROOM:  There are 3 closets (1 is a double + 1 single) to the left of the bed and 1 single closet to the right of the bed in the bedroom.  There are also cabinets under the bedroom TV and 2 nightstands.   

Outside of the bathroom in M-108, there are no closets.  Just a full-length mirror on the wall.  The hallway is wide and reminds me of some of the full suites.  The family room consists of a loveseat, a chair, a table and a TV.  

Hope that helps!  🙂

[vjmatty]

39 minutes ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

The only time you have people looking down onto your super massive balcony is when the people in L-108 above it come out on their balcony and look down into yours. The people in L-106 might be able to see into part of M-108's balcony, but it would only be on the forward part of it.

 

There's a small part of the side balcony that has about a 3' cover above it.  This wraps around to the front but isn't a lot of coverage when you consider the balcony must be at least 30' long at the front.  This part on the side is more protected from the headwinds but is longer, narrower and more protected in L-108 than M-108.  And, of course L-107/108 balconies aren't as massive as M-107/108.

BEDROOM:  There are 3 closets (1 is a double + 1 single) to the left of the bed and 1 single closet to the right of the bed in the bedroom.  There are also cabinets under the bedroom TV and 2 nightstands.   

Outside of the bathroom in M-108, there are no closets.  Just a full-length mirror on the wall.  The hallway is wide and reminds me of some of the full suites.  The family room consists of a loveseat, a chair, a table and a TV.  

Hope that helps!  🙂

 

Thanks for the info, yes that helps.  While I am happy with just a massive balcony instead of a super massive one, at least there is some cover on M108....and the closets being in the bedroom instead of the hallway aren't a deal breaker.  Hubby will have to deal with my morning routine lol