Cruise Lines with Cove Balconies

[notscb]

On my last cruise (Carnival) we had a Cove Balcony and really loved the experience of being so close to the water, plus the additional privacy that the setup of it allowed for. On searching around (briefly), I noticed most of the threads about the Cove Balcony were about Carnival ships. Are there other lines that have Cove Balconies? I figured that the design of the Carnival ships that have them wouldn't be exclusive to Carnival, but it's harder to figure out than I imagined.

[TheOldBear]

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 has 'sheltered balcony' rooms [our preferred stateroom category] on decks 4,5 & 6. There are discussions about them in the Cunard forum, and you will find several 'room tour' videos over on youTube.

[Essiesmom]

Actually, the in hull balcony was the original balcony design.  Many older ships had them, maybe some of the oldest P&O-AUS ships may have them.  Pacific Explorer.  P&O-UK Aurora.  EM

Edited January 15, 2023 by Essiesmom

[wcook]

In terms of modern ships, the only lines I know that have them are Carnival and some of her sister lines (ie those owned by Carnival Corp.)  Specifically some of Carnival Corp’s European lines that share ship designs with Carnival Cruise Line - AIDA, Costa and P&O (I think, don’t hold me to this.)

[Turtles06]

If you mean hull balconies, NCL’s Jewel-class ships have them. Sometimes called “Privasea” balconies.  Deck 8, and the first few balconies on 9 and 10 I think. 

[davecttr]

13 hours ago, wcook said:

In terms of modern ships, the only lines I know that have them are Carnival and some of her sister lines (ie those owned by Carnival Corp.)  Specifically some of Carnival Corp’s European lines that share ship designs with Carnival Cruise Line - AIDA, Costa and P&O (I think, don’t hold me to this.)

P&O Arvia and Iona have them on deck 5

[notscb]

4 hours ago, davecttr said:

P&O Arvia and Iona have them on deck 5

That's where they are on the Celebration and Mardi Gras as well.

Sounds like the Coves are a Carnival, Corp. exclusive type design (for now). I wonder why others haven't borrowed the idea.

[notscb]

 

15 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

If you mean hull balconies, NCL’s Jewel-class ships have them. Sometimes called “Privasea” balconies.  Deck 8, and the first few balconies on 9 and 10 I think. 

 

Thanks for the tip! So there's only a few of them on these ships, or is it most of the balconies on those decks? This is what they look like- they are built into the hull.  

[notscb]

23 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Actually, the in hull balcony was the original balcony design.  Many older ships had them, maybe some of the oldest P&O-AUS ships may have them.  Pacific Explorer.  P&O-UK Aurora.  EM

 

That's really interesting, and I imagine that a lot of folks would actually prefer this for privacy sake alone. Ships would look a lot different with this design, though.

[GeezerCouple]

9 minutes ago, notscb said:

That's where they are on the Celebration and Mardi Gras as well.

Sounds like the Coves are a Carnival, Corp. exclusive type design (for now). I wonder why others haven't borrowed the idea.

 

I think most people prefer the more open balconies, where there is more possible sunshine, breezes, and better views in general.

Obviously, not everyone prefers them.

 

In some of the older ships, my understanding was that these "hull balconies" were part of the support structure at each end.

 

GC

[Turtles06]

9 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

I think most people prefer the more open balconies, where there is more possible sunshine, breezes, and better views in general.

Obviously, not everyone prefers them.

 

I'm in the camp of wanting an open balcony. 🙂   (It's why I also have no interest in the so-called  "Infinite Verandahs" on Celebrity's new Edge-class ships.)

 

I don't feel some great loss of privacy on a regular balcony.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Turtles06

[Turtles06]

20 minutes ago, notscb said:

Thanks for the tip! So there's only a few of them on these ships, or is it most of the balconies on those decks?

 

There are not that many on those NCL ships.  There's a group of them on deck 8, the first passenger deck you can see in this photo of the NCL Jewel.  And there are just a few forward on decks 9 and 10.  You can see the change from the hull balconies to the open ones on decks 9 and 10.   (This photo is several years old. If any of these interest you, check out the deck plans and talk to NCL to be sure you know what you're getting.)

 

 

(photos by turtles06)