Another reason I would always select my cabin

[kalos]

I have started this film of Iona balcony showing people walking by and everyone 

walking by wants a little peek inside . Some may not mind but I think it would drive

me crazy  Maybe it would be OK for some but sorry not for me .

 

 

[Britboys]

Very poor design. The glass isn't even that opaque either. Has the potential to be quite noisy too with people nattering immediately outside.

[Adawn47]

Awful. Absolutely no privacy whatsoever. 

Avril

[Ardennais]

I agree! I’d prefer an inside to that. 

[Son of Anarchy]

Having seen the deck 8 balconies from the prom deck myself, I agree with Ardennais.

[zap99]

33 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Awful. Absolutely no privacy whatsoever. 

Avril

If you stand on tip toes, you can see right through to the bathroom. The mirror on the wall helps🤣

[showingdiva]

Fifty shades of "no".

 

 

[wowzz]

Awful  - who signed off the design for these cabins ?

[CaribNomad]

We're experienced cruisers but have never sailed with P&O. We thought we would try the line because of the round trip Southampton option, however the concept of a balcony that does not offer privacy and does not directly overlook the sea is a new one for me! How typical is this on other P&O ships? We're booked on Ventura.

[Host Sharon]

4 minutes ago, CaribNomad said:

We're experienced cruisers but have never sailed with P&O. We thought we would try the line because of the round trip Southampton option, however the concept of a balcony that does not offer privacy and does not directly overlook the sea is a new one for me! How typical is this on other P&O ships? We're booked on Ventura.

At present this is only on Iona and, I assume will be the same on Arvia. No other P&O ships have this odd design.

[Harry Peterson]

45 minutes ago, CaribNomad said:

We're experienced cruisers but have never sailed with P&O. We thought we would try the line because of the round trip Southampton option, however the concept of a balcony that does not offer privacy and does not directly overlook the sea is a new one for me! How typical is this on other P&O ships? We're booked on Ventura.

Very unusual. Ventura is fine, but as always position is key. One of the reasons we’ve never been prepared to book without a guaranteed cabin number.  The aft suites on Ventura offer fantastic privacy.

[davecttr]

46 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

At present this is only on Iona and, I assume will be the same on Arvia. No other P&O ships have this odd design.

How diplomatic, in other words revenue increasing design. I suppose they have 'gamed' the passenger response and given the number of passengers who will not know about the problem and reckon they can get away with it especially as a large proportion of the passengers are first time cruisers.

 

What other ships have similar basic designs? do they all have the same problem?

Edited September 20, 2021 by davecttr

[Stokie33]

I didn't get a picture of it but the front 10 or so balcony doors have circular welding around the top corners of the balcony doors it di make us wonder if they were going to be ocean view then got changed but it's really odd

[Cathygh]

We usually book saver, but by specifying a minimum grade we have -so far- managed to avoid the worst positioned cabins. I did see the deck 8 balcony cabins on Iona, but the cabins at the front on deck 8, the so called family suites - extra space, suite prices but not even a balcony, are even worse. I would hate to get one of those. 

 

[sonic]

Our first hand experience and thoughts from our feedback to P&O.

The Conservatory cabin we were unfortunately upgraded to on deck 8 was too warm and 20 degrees is too uncomfortable to sleep in (most communal areas of the ship were also too warm which was clear to see as other passengers were clearly feeling uncomfortable throughout our week long cruise (not helpful to many of us suffering from the menopause).  With regard to the Conservatory cabin, the balcony was not usable for those who like their privacy and most passengers walking by were constantly trying to see in.  The frosting of the balcony glass presumably is to assist with privacy but at the expense of having a view out to the ocean which you could only see if stood up either on the balcony or from within the Conservatory area or cabin.  The Conservatory was unusable once the sun was streaming in and afforded no privacy when stood up and marginal when sitting down.  It also mean’t when not in there (70% of the time in our case as it was too hot), the actual cabin itself was too dark being set further back from the balcony.   

 

There was inadequate lighting above the dressing table and nowhere to store your make up.  The lack of drawers within he cabin, and the lack of space down the side of the bed due to wardrobes encroaching on it, made it difficult to negotiate when getting ready to go out in the mornings and for changing before going out in the evenings.  Both this and the overall lack of drawers shows poor design and a lack of understanding of what a passenger requires.  The TV was also too close to the sofa (and set too high) which made it uncomfortable for viewing purposes which mean’t it wasn’t used much.  Deck 8 is no place for any cabin with a balcony for the majority of passengers who value their privacy.  Having noisy passengers parked directly outside on chairs isn’t conducive towards a pleasant experience using the balcony either.

 

The bathroom was the best laid out of any ship I’ve been on before – shame that wasn’t emulated within the cabin itself. With regards Face Cloths, they are not in your bathroom when you embark the ship. However, if the request them from your steward you will receive fresh ones everyday.  Really don’t understand why they are not there from the get go.

[Caravan 37]

We booked a saver for the 9 Oct Canaries sailing and were concerned that we might get a deck 8 balcony. Tbh the fare was so good for a balcony we decided to take the risk and thankfully have got a balcony forward on deck 5 so we're happy 😊

[zap99]

3 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

At present this is only on Iona and, I assume will be the same on Arvia. No other P&O ships have this odd design.

There is a ship where the cabin doors open onto the promenade deck and they also have a window. We saw it on our Nile cruise. It is called Karnac. TBH, Poirot found handy for popping in to view the crime scene.

[Malcolm142]

And for the perpetrators to pop in and carry out the nasty deed !!

[Son of Anarchy]

Many moons ago we used to go to the Soviet Union on one of the old Sov ships - Baltika.  Occasionally we booked one of the top grade cabins.  They were all on the prom deck, no balcony and the days before mirrored glass (well for the Sovs anyway).  No en-suite either.  Those were the days 🤣

[davecttr]

3 hours ago, davecttr said:

How diplomatic, in other words revenue increasing design. I suppose they have 'gamed' the passenger response and given the number of passengers who will not know about the problem and reckon they can get away with it especially as a large proportion of the passengers are first time cruisers.

 

What other ships have similar basic designs? do they all have the same problem?

I checked some deck plans. there appear to 5 Excellence class or sub class

AIDA Nova

Costa Smeralda

Iona

Mardi Gras - Carnival

Carnival Celebration - still building?

 

The first two each have 12 cabins overlooked by the prom deck, 6 each side aft just before the stairs down to the deck 7 bar/terrace

the other 3 have lots of cabins forward and the Celebration has a separate category 'Havana' for all cabin types in this area. Those family suite ocean views on Iona have balconies on Celebration

[Britboys]

29 minutes ago, zap99 said:

There is a ship where the cabin doors open onto the promenade deck and they also have a window. We saw it on our Nile cruise. It is called Karnac. TBH, Poirot found handy for popping in to view the crime scene.

A number of HAL's older ships introduced cabins on the Promenade Deck with sliding doors out on to the Promenade. They called these Lanai Cabins and each one had two dedicated Steamer Chairs allocated. Two of these ships are now with Fred Olsen and are called Terrace Cabins. They are described as having "sliding doors opening onto the walk-around Lower Promenade Deck", so very clear description.

[davecttr]

16 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Many moons ago we used to go to the Soviet Union on one of the old Sov ships - Baltika.  Occasionally we booked one of the top grade cabins.  They were all on the prom deck, no balcony and the days before mirrored glass (well for the Sovs anyway).  No en-suite either.  Those were the days 🤣

Fred's Bolette & Borealis have all the promenade deck cabins facing the deck. Are they Ocean views or do they have doors? There are only 2 decks of 'proper' balconies, one with larger cabins and one with suites? Ex HAL ships - oops too late

 

Marella's old Celebration and Spirit had cabins on the prom deck, at least they had mirror windows? My first cruise was on Celebration and I was hooked. Three bar bar crawls, main bar, horizons (crows nest ) and liberties (game shows, quizzes, entertainment and disco) Three circuits and you were set up for the evening.

Edited September 20, 2021 by davecttr

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, davecttr said:

Fred's Bolette & Borealis have all the promenade deck cabins facing the deck. Are they Ocean views or do they have doors? There are only 2 decks of 'proper' balconies, one with larger cabins and one with suites? Ex HAL ships - oops too late

 

Marella's old Celebration and Spirit had cabins on the prom deck, at least they had mirror windows? My first cruise was on Celebration and I was hooked. Three bar bar crawls, main bar, horizons (crows nest ) and liberties (game shows, quizzes, entertainment and disco) Three circuits and you were set up for the evening.

The Promenade deck cabins on Bolette and Borealis are a mixture of window and sliding door cabins. Both I believe have a mirror film on them so that you cannot see inside during daylight hours. I think occupants are advised to close curtains once daylight fades.

[Adawn47]

14 hours ago, zap99 said:

If you stand on tip toes, you can see right through to the bathroom. The mirror on the wall helps🤣

I won't even ask how you know that.

Avril

[daveoc]

Can i just add that some of the balcony cabins on deck 8 are even worst than you've read. The standard balconies at port and starboard towards the front, roughly 10 or so each side, have a single track prom deck in front which slopes upwards, meaning that as you move forward the balcony rail gets lower so that most of them allow anyone passing to look down directly onto the balcony.

 

But that's not all. Most, if not all, of these cabins are directly over the theatre and are susceptible to noise up to 11.30 at night.

 

I feel that within a year or two, when word about these cabins has spread enough, they will have to recategorize them. I think calling them balcony cabins is wrong, they are more like an obstructed outside.