Question Re: infinity balcony on edge class ships

[ritraveler]

hi . We’ve been on many celebrity cruises and always choose Aqua Class mostly because we love having Blu as our restaurant.. I’ve never sailed on an edge class ship and I’m looking at one on The Apex right now and I must say don’t understand how these infinite balconies work .. if this large window is open into your cabin , doesn’t that mess with the AC in the cabin? Especially if you are visiting a very warm destination…We like to spend time on our balcony with a drink before dinner but I find myself thinking we might be happier in a sunset veranda with a large aft balcony.. I’ve read reviews and people seem to really like the new balconies but it just doesn’t seem like it would be great for a lot of reasons.. would love to get opinions ..

[BigAl94]

Your assessment is correct, it isn't a balcony, it's a window that opens and cuts off the AC to the entire cabin. SV would be the  answer.

[drakes2]

49 minutes ago, BigAl94 said:

Your assessment is correct, it isn't a balcony, it's a window that opens and cuts off the AC to the entire cabin. SV would be the  answer.

Haven't been on any Edge class ships so no first hand knowledge but from what I've read and 2 very detailed u tube videos its not really a balcony just an extension of the cabin. Also the cabin area gets very warm and takes time to cool down. Its not for me and many others. Splurge on an aft facing real balcony.  You will be glad you did.

[cruisestitch]

As some wag once wrote, “If that’s a balcony, my house has 32 balconies.”  😊
 

 

[basenji56]

Here is all you need to know about the infinite veranda:  In a copycat industry, no other cruise line has copied the infinite veranda.  

[TeeRick]

9 hours ago, ritraveler said:

hi . We’ve been on many celebrity cruises and always choose Aqua Class mostly because we love having Blu as our restaurant.. I’ve never sailed on an edge class ship and I’m looking at one on The Apex right now and I must say don’t understand how these infinite balconies work .. if this large window is open into your cabin , doesn’t that mess with the AC in the cabin? Especially if you are visiting a very warm destination…We like to spend time on our balcony with a drink before dinner but I find myself thinking we might be happier in a sunset veranda with a large aft balcony.. I’ve read reviews and people seem to really like the new balconies but it just doesn’t seem like it would be great for a lot of reasons.. would love to get opinions ..

There are many threads and probably thousands of posts here on the Infinite Veranda.  You have likely started another and all of the same discussion will come up here so stay tuned.  People love them or hate them.  Not much in the middle.  There will not be much in terms of new information to help you decide.  But on the other hand your gut feeling says you would be happier with a real balcony and perhaps a Sunset Veranda.  Go with your gut and avoid being disappointed.  Or if possible for you, the sky suites all have real balconies and you get The Retreat and Luminae.

[lola2013]

You can't beat a Sunset Verandah.  I've done it twice on Edge.  There is room for two chairs, two loungers and a table.  And the view of the wake is the best!

[Mcgeneseo]

18 minutes ago, lola2013 said:

You can't beat a Sunset Verandah.  I've done it twice on Edge.  There is room for two chairs, two loungers and a table.  And the view of the wake is the best!

Do you have problems with soot from the engines exhaust? I've seen comments about that and wondered if it was that bad or not a big issue.

[lola2013]

11 minutes ago, Mcgeneseo said:

Do you have problems with soot from the engines exhaust? I've seen comments about that and wondered if it was that bad or not a big issue.

No soot on either sailing. 

I did have a pot smoker in the stateroom next to mine...loved to light up out on the balcony after a hard day at the beach...but that's another story!!!

[TeeRick]

I have not heard of soot on Edge-Class ships.  The new power plants and controls on these ships perhaps mostly solve the issue.  But just guessing.

[kebrown]

We were just in a sunset veranda on the Edge last month and we had a big problem with black soot falling onto our balcony on deck 12 everyday.  We had to bring towels from the pool to our cabin and place them over the balcony furniture in order to sit on the furniture without getting black stains on our clothes.  We could not fully enjoy the balcony due to this issue.

[LGW59]

11 hours ago, ritraveler said:

hi . We’ve been on many celebrity cruises and always choose Aqua Class mostly because we love having Blu as our restaurant.. I’ve never sailed on an edge class ship and I’m looking at one on The Apex right now and I must say don’t understand how these infinite balconies work .. if this large window is open into your cabin , doesn’t that mess with the AC in the cabin? Especially if you are visiting a very warm destination…We like to spend time on our balcony with a drink before dinner but I find myself thinking we might be happier in a sunset veranda with a large aft balcony.. I’ve read reviews and people seem to really like the new balconies but it just doesn’t seem like it would be great for a lot of reasons.. would love to get opinions ..

Finally a brand new topic!

[cdn_tbird]

12 hours ago, ritraveler said:

hi . We’ve been on many celebrity cruises and always choose Aqua Class mostly because we love having Blu as our restaurant.. I’ve never sailed on an edge class ship and I’m looking at one on The Apex right now and I must say don’t understand how these infinite balconies work .. if this large window is open into your cabin , doesn’t that mess with the AC in the cabin? Especially if you are visiting a very warm destination…We like to spend time on our balcony with a drink before dinner but I find myself thinking we might be happier in a sunset veranda with a large aft balcony.. I’ve read reviews and people seem to really like the new balconies but it just doesn’t seem like it would be great for a lot of reasons.. would love to get opinions ..

Personally, we love the aft cabins regardless of what ship we're on and those would always be our first choice. When we decided to book our first Edge class cruise, I did a lot of research on the IV cabins since X doesn't really do a good job explaining it. From what I've seen on YouTube, you can either lower the partition like a large window so that your entire cabin is exposed, or there is a partition that can cut-off the balcony area from the rest of the cabin so you have a more traditional veranda setup. The drawback with the 2nd option is that the partition isn't clear glass so you can't enjoy the view from inside your cabin. Hope this helps.

[terrydtx]

I think they are more like a sunroom with a window that opens, when the window opens the AC shuts off in the cabin. If you do not like them, the only ways to get around them is an aft facing cabin, a few porthole verandahs on the most forward part of the upper decks or a Sky Suite and above. We choose a Sky Suite. With so many threads about the Infinity cabins, it seems like way more dislike than like them.

[Reel Love]

12 hours ago, ritraveler said:

We like to spend time on our balcony with a drink before dinner but I find myself thinking we might be happier in a sunset veranda with a large aft balcony.. I’ve read reviews and people seem to really like the new balconies but it just doesn’t seem like it would be great for a lot of reasons.. would love to get opinions ..

Hi ritraveler.  Given the statements you made that I quoted above, my two cents would be that you will likely be happier with a traditional balcony.  We sailed in an Infinite Verandah and we had no regrets giving it a try, however it did help us to confirm that we are "true balcony" folks.

[julia]

So, aside from suites, are the aft SV cabins the ONLY "regular balconies" offered on this class of ship?

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, julia said:

So, aside from suites, are the aft SV cabins the ONLY "regular balconies" offered on this class of ship?

There's P1 and P2 which are porthole verandas. They are on certain decks either all the way forward or aft. They are real outside verandas but are small, narrow spaces with a round cut out. 

[cruisestitch]

For reference —- some comparisons

[Gist Ducky]

We have only sailed once on the Edge, with an aqua class infinity balcony. Once was enough!   I would also say I would not pay for aqua class again on the Edge. Blu was an absolute disappointment.  A view directly into lifeboats,  not to mention mediocre food.

[ritraveler]

Thanks for the input confirming my understanding.. for the life of me I can’t understand what brilliant mind thought that removing balconies was a good idea 

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, ritraveler said:

Thanks for the input confirming my understanding.. for the life of me I can’t understand what brilliant mind thought that removing balconies was a good idea 

Notice how the industry has rushed to copy the idea, not! Celebrity has 2 or 3 more Edge class ships in the works.

[basenji56]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Notice how the industry has rushed to copy the idea, not! Celebrity has 2 or 3 more Edge class ships in the works.

 

Yes, and it is a total copycat industry.

 

[basenji56]

1 hour ago, ritraveler said:

Thanks for the input confirming my understanding.. for the life of me I can’t understand what brilliant mind thought that removing balconies was a good idea 

Making the room marginally larger (hard to even notice without a tape measure) doesn't appear to be worth it.

 

 

[chocolabmom]

Thank you so much for posting about this issue.  I had mistakenly thought the infinite veranda was a traditional "balcony."  I was able to change my cabin to an aft balcony and I am so glad I did.  It would have been a true disappointment if I hadn't seen this thread and thought I had a balcony in the other cabin.  

[lindatoo]

On 11/11/2021 at 9:05 AM, Mcgeneseo said:

Do you have problems with soot from the engines exhaust? I've seen comments about that and wondered if it was that bad or not a big issue.

There was some soot. No problem for me, I knew it in advance, so I went out in the morning with a washcloth and wiped it down. NO PROBLEM at all.