Infinite Balconies

[4Nathan]

If you can travel on Apex March 30 2024 instead of May, there  is a SV available for less than a DPV.  Great chance to try out a sunset verandah for a good price.

[Jeremiah1212]

On 3/27/2023 at 8:29 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

It was touted that IVs save fuel 

 

I've followed Edge class since it was announced and am fairly certain this idea was made up here on Cruise Critic. One of the only substantive search results I can find is the resident CC expert disputing there is likely any fact to this statement.  

 

The same cabin design is now present on many other ships aside from Celebrity and this concept still never surfaces.

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

I've followed Edge class since it was announced and am fairly certain this idea was made up here on Cruise Critic.

This is what we were told on the Celebrity Edge bridge tour.  It is Celebrity making this claim...

Edited March 31, 2023 by NMTraveller

[NMTraveller]

3 hours ago, PH2 said:

This thread has me like...

 

"Infinite Veranda is neither infinite nor a veranda. Discuss amongst yourselves."

 

Kind of like Relaxed Luxury and Magic Carpet.  No bones and all hype.

[NutsAboutGolf]

14 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

This is what we were told on the Celebrity Edge bridge tour.  It is Celebrity making this claim...

 

Thanks for sharing and ditto when I was on the Edge but from the Q&A session

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

I've followed Edge class since it was announced and am fairly certain this idea was made up here on Cruise Critic. One of the only substantive search results I can find is the resident CC expert disputing there is likely any fact to this statement.  

 

The same cabin design is now present on many other ships aside from Celebrity and this concept still never surfaces.

 

I believe the exact statement I heard during the Q&A of an Edge sailing was that they were "more fuel-efficient".  We cannot dispute the more aerodynamic the more fuel can be saved yet we would need an expert to determine how much more aerodynamic an IV would be compared to traditional balconies.  You are correct there are ships other than E-class ships that have a simular concept to the IV as X was not the first to install them.  The "OG" was the "French balcony concept" where two manually sliding doors slide in opposite directions which opens to the outside.  When these were open they did not add depth beyond perhaps a few inches and had a railing for safety.  The first IV version I can find which has an motorized upper and lower section was on Avalon Waterways in 2014.  Also a few other river/expedition ships installed them prior to X

[NMTraveller]

On my Edge sailing they gave an exact number of the fuel efficiency savings.  I do not recall the number.  However I believe it was in the 10 to 20 percent range.  Anyone who has put the Bimini up on a windy day on a power boat will appreciate aerodynamics.

[Torfamm]

On 3/27/2023 at 12:15 PM, Jeremiah1212 said:

A lot of people sleep with them open at night. A hot humid cabin sounds terrible to me, but regardless, I could see some confusion that they would be locked if there was a chance of rain over night. But there is no hard and fast rule that they are locked at a specific time. 

One potential negative that never seems to be mentioned is the cold. On an Alaska or Antarctica cruise for example, many people enjoy bundling up and sitting on their balconies to enjoy the view and watch for wildlife. I have to imagine that the cabin would get really cold, essentially if the heat turns off when the window is open.

[terrydtx]

On 3/27/2023 at 11:26 AM, NutsAboutGolf said:

It should be noted that X had to choice to do whatever they wanted with the suite balconies and they choose to put zero IVs in any of them; they all have traditional balconies

This is why we do not book anything but sky suites on the E Class ships. We spend a lot of our sea days sitting in our OPEN balcony, which is why after doing it once on the Edge never again for an IV cabin. My wife likes to sleep in and I am an early riser, so when I wake up I go out on our traditional balcony and watch the sea go by and do not disturb her. We both enjoy sitting on our OPEN balcony in the evenings before we turn in for the night.

Edited April 1, 2023 by terrydtx

[TMLAalum]

17 hours ago, davekathy said:

Enjoyed our DPV on the Apex on our March cruise. 

Deluxe Porthole Veranda? We just booked one on the Edge selecting it over an IV, which we've sailed in on her "inaugural" December 2018.

Any further input or photos to share?

[TeeRick]

This topic will go on forever.  It started back years ago now when Edge was announced.  And there is no answer except personal preference.  We are long-time cruisers and prefer a traditional balcony.  On E-class our options are suites or sunset verandas.  Or we sail S-Class or M-class ships, or non-Celebrity ships.  Pretty straightforward for us really.  

[terrydtx]

It will be interesting to see what concept Celebrity will go with after the fifth E class ship is launched in 2025. They committed to the IV cabins for 5 E Class ship builds back in 2016 without ever considering if the concept would be loved or hated. Judging from comments on CC it seems that about 40% hate them, 40% love them and 20% have no opinion either way. My best guess and opinion is that they would be wise and financially ahead to abandon the concept. Of the 40% that love them, most would and do still book open traditional balconies when available, of the 40% who hate them, like me, most will never book a non-suite on any E Class ship. Abandon the concept and Celebrity opens up for more booking possibilities from more potential customers.

Edited April 1, 2023 by terrydtx

[TeeRick]

4 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

It will be interesting to see what concept Celebrity will go with after the fifth E class ship is launched in 2025. They committed to the IV cabins for 5 E Class ship builds back in 2016 without ever considering if the concept would be loved or hated. Judging from comments on CC it seems that about 40% hate them, 40% love them and 20% have no opinion either way.

OK but who cares about CC where the experienced cruiser most definitely has a preference for a traditional balcony.  If they are selling out E-Class ships and Infinite Verandas, that is all they care about and all the proof they need.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, TMLAalum said:

Deluxe Porthole Veranda? We just booked one on the Edge selecting it over an IV, which we've sailed in on her "inaugural" December 2018.

Any further input or photos to share?

Yes. No photos. Stateroom was nice size. Liked the curved shower door. Made the shower seem a little bigger. Smaller balcony than others we have have had on the M &S class ships. No biggie and wasn't a show stopper for us. We booked the Edge while on the Apex and selected another DPV stateroom. Same exact stateroom number. 7118. 

[TwoBeAtSea]

I have been looking to book my 2024 cruise and I am excluding all ships with IV's.  I want a traditional balcony I can sit on and watch the ocean roll by.  If there are enough people like me the IV's will fade with time, if not there are always "All Inclusive" resorts to go to. 

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, TwoBeAtSea said:

I have been looking to book my 2024 cruise and I am excluding all ships with IV's.  I want a traditional balcony I can sit on and watch the ocean roll by.  If there are enough people like me the IV's will fade with time, if not there are always "All Inclusive" resorts to go to. 

5 Celebrity ships with the IV's so they will be around for decades.  It is interesting that other cruise lines have not adopted the IV concept for their new builds. Yet.

[kwokpot]

4 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

5 Celebrity ships with the IV's so they will be around for decades.  It is interesting that other cruise lines have not adopted the IV concept for their new builds. Yet.

 Not entirely correct. Other cruiselines haven't designed ships utilizing the IV concept to the EXTENT that Celebrity did. Sister cruiseline Royal Caribbean has IV cabins on their newest and largest cruiseship in the world, Icon of the Seas. And MSC has it on their newest ship design the World Europa.

[TeeRick]

3 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

 Not entirely correct. Other cruiselines haven't designed ships utilizing the IV concept to the EXTENT that Celebrity did. Sister cruiseline Royal Caribbean has IV cabins on their newest and largest cruiseship in the world, Icon of the Seas. And MSC has it on their newest ship design the World Europa.

I was under the impression that ICON had a few of these but not the entire ship- which has mostly traditional balconies.  Not sure about World Europa but it seems only a few of these too.  W Europa looks like a homely version of Oasis Class on RCCL.  Only E-Class is pretty much all IV's.

[kwokpot]

3 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I was under the impression that ICON had a few of these but not the entire ship- which has mostly traditional balconies.  Not sure about World Europa but it seems only a few of these too.  W Europa looks like a homely version of Oasis Class on RCCL.  Only E-Class is pretty much all IV's.

If you read my comment I acknowledge that other companies haven't utilized the IV concept to the extent that Celebrity does, but they have these kinds of cabins nonetheless.

Edited April 1, 2023 by kwokpot

[NutsAboutGolf]

7 hours ago, TeeRick said:

This topic will go on forever.  It started back years ago now when Edge was announced.  And there is no answer except personal preference.  We are long-time cruisers and prefer a traditional balcony.  On E-class our options are suites or sunset verandas.  Or we sail S-Class or M-class ships, or non-Celebrity ships.  Pretty straightforward for us really.  

 

So will tipping and rule enforcement

[NutsAboutGolf]

7 hours ago, terrydtx said:

It will be interesting to see what concept Celebrity will go with after the fifth E class ship is launched in 2025. They committed to the IV cabins for 5 E Class ship builds back in 2016 without ever considering if the concept would be loved or hated. Judging from comments on CC it seems that about 40% hate them, 40% love them and 20% have no opinion either way. My best guess and opinion is that they would be wise and financially ahead to abandon the concept. Of the 40% that love them, most would and do still book open traditional balconies when available, of the 40% who hate them, like me, most will never book a non-suite on any E Class ship. Abandon the concept and Celebrity opens up for more booking possibilities from more potential customers.

 

Ditto but have never been in a suite, did the deluxe porthole.  I strongly disagree that equal amounts love and hate the IVs, there are more IV haters than there are IV lovers both on CC and in real life.  If you don't spend much time on a traditional balcony, you'll probably enjoy the more space an IV provides.  I have stated several times if they wanted to evolve, they should find a creative way to make the bi-fold doors weather tight and when closed allow the AC to run.  That would solve the top complaints about them

[kwokpot]

37 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Ditto but have never been in a suite, did the deluxe porthole.  I strongly disagree that equal amounts love and hate the IVs, there are more IV haters than there are IV lovers both on CC and in real life.  If you don't spend much time on a traditional balcony, you'll probably enjoy the more space an IV provides.  I have stated several times if they wanted to evolve, they should find a creative way to make the bi-fold doors weather tight and when closed allow the AC to run.  That would solve the top complaints about them

They will NEVER do that for the sole reason is that you're forgetting that it's all an indoor room. Just because Celebrity wants to call it an outdoor room don't mean it is. What you're proposing is already done; it's your traditional balcony. A traditional balcony has drains and is weatherproofed since it's a separate room that's sealed from the elements and the cabin itself. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 minute ago, kwokpot said:

They will NEVER do that for the sole reason is that you're forgetting that it's all an indoor room. Just because Celebrity wants to call it an outdoor room don't mean it is. What you're proposing is already done; it's your traditional balcony. A traditional balcony has drains and is weatherproofed since it's a separate room that's sealed from the elements and the cabin itself. 

 

100% agree they'll never do that to the existing E-Class; just stating doing so would be far cheaper than the engineering required to convert IVs into traditional balconies.  Hoping the next class has traditional balconies 

[kwokpot]

12 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

100% agree they'll never do that to the existing E-Class; just stating doing so would be far cheaper than the engineering required to convert IVs into traditional balconies.  Hoping the next class has traditional balconies 

A valid discussion is why hasn't their been a change in the mix of cabins between the IV and traditional balcony cabins. Since there's sky suites mixed among IV cabins and even MSC has a mix of cabin types that includes the IV cabin I don't think it's a structural limitation for this ship class. If that's the case then the cabin type mix is soley a business driven decision, not an engineering limitation. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by kwokpot

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

So will tipping and rule enforcement

Don't forget the never ending dress code threads!!🤢