How to make an IV feel like a regular balcony

[Cruise till you drop]

30 minutes ago, mauimary said:

We are however waitlisted for the SV.  

How exactly do you get waitlisted on an SV as we were thinking about doing the same thing.  Personally I don’t think one will become available but you never know

[ElmaLee]

3 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

We booked an IV for Jan 2025 on Beyond and will be our first IV.

 

My feeling is that it will seem more like an room with a big window as opposed to a regular balcony.

 

We like being outside on a balcony, feeling the breeze and listening to the waves, having almost a separate area to hang out other than the room, and seeing the endless sea and horizon

 

Question - any advice on how to make an IV feel like a regular balcony so we can better enjoy what we like about outside balconies

 

PS - all the SV’s on our cruise are booked, otherwise that’s what we would have selected.

Drop the top pane of the window down and close the bi-fold doors.  You then have a balcony.  
We liked the IV on Edge.  We had breakfast there some mornings, with window down if appropriate. 
with window closed and bi-fold doors open it adds a lot of space to the room.

 

Air con goes off with window down but IIRC same thing happens when you open balcony door in normal balcony cabin.

[cruisestitch]

19 minutes ago, ElmaLee said:

Drop the top pane of the window down and close the bi-fold doors.  You then have a balcony.  
We liked the IV on Edge.  We had breakfast there some mornings, with window down if appropriate. 
with window closed and bi-fold doors open it adds a lot of space to the room.

 

Air con goes off with window down but IIRC same thing happens when you open balcony door in normal balcony cabin.

No, it doesn’t work that way in a normal balcony stateroom where opening the balcony door does not affect the roomA/C

[keesar]

3 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

We booked an IV for Jan 2025 on Beyond and will be our first IV.

 

My feeling is that it will seem more like an room with a big window as opposed to a regular balcony.

 

We like being outside on a balcony, feeling the breeze and listening to the waves, having almost a separate area to hang out other than the room, and seeing the endless sea and horizon

 

I thought I would not like the IV but decided to give it a chance.  We really liked it.  It made the room seem bigger and by lowering the window, I was able to take great photos.  Also, I did not have the problem of neighbors on either side looking over the balcony into our cabin.  More privacy.  

 

Give it a chance.  

[hcat]

8 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

No, it doesn’t work that way in a normal balcony stateroom where opening the balcony door does not affect the roomA/C

but that creates a loud whistle noise for other rooms along the corridor..hard to block it out or for staff  to trace it

[denby]

We had an IV on the Apex in June to Norway, we loved it. But we also love everything about the Edge class ships. Our next sailing is on the Silhouette in February. So we’ll see how we feel about the difference. We find every class of Celebrity ship has unique features. We really liked the refurbished Summit.

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, ElmaLee said:

Air con goes off with window down but IIRC same thing happens when you open balcony door in normal balcony cabin.

.. with the real balcony you then close the door once outside and air con returns to normal in the cabin ...

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, ElmaLee said:

Drop the top pane of the window down and close the bi-fold doors.  You then have a balcony.

Respectfully no you do not. You have an open window with room dividers that create the illusion of a balcony.  

[mitz18]

4 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

 

My feeling is that it will seem more like an room with a big window as opposed to a regular balcony.

 

Question - any advice on how to make an IV feel like a regular balcony so we can better enjoy what we like about outside balconies

 

.

Your feeling is correct and that's how we felt.

Answer - no.  Others will tell you to close the dividers and you'll feel like your on a balcony.  I disagree and have been in two IVs.  You will feel like you have three walls around you (behind you & each side) and a open glass window in front of you.

Don't take me wrong, you'll still hear the ocean, maybe feel the wind, & if like us you have rain on a sea day, you'll enjoy the extra space in the cabin.  But IMHO it will NEVER feel like a standard balcony because it is not.  Enjoy it for what it is - and infinity view room.   And PS, regardless of what you read on CC, when the window is open the a/c in the room is off - even with the dividers closed.

 

[mitz18]

9 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Respectfully no you do not. You have an open window with room dividers that create the illusion of a balcony.  

with an un-airconditioned room (as we both know)....

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

We have always booked cabins with a balcony but tried a IV on the Edge and liked it.  
We have found that for us the balcony gets used very little during the day when in hot climates.  So maybe 30 minutes for me in the morning with a cup of coffee. Occasionally a glass of wine before going to dinner and that’s about it.

The extra space in the IV was very nice when we had our traveling friends in for a glass of wine before dinner.  

I'm with you on this. I've stayed in an IV cabin on all three Edge Class ships, and will have an IV cabin on the Ascent in February. I LOVE the cabin for the same reasons you do, and understand what the cabin is but also what it isn't. I don't mean to be harsh but those that think it's a balcony cabin only think that because that's how Celebrity is marketing them. As I always say so if you sit by the open window in your bedroom at home do you consider that a balcony? MSC has the same type of cabin but treats it as what it truly is, a deluxe Oceanview with a panoramic window. They don't use furnishings to make believe it's a balcony, they treat it as a room with a window that opens and all the benefits that an OPEN window provides. 

 

My most recent IV cabin was last month on the Apex from July 7-19 on a 12 night Iceland and Northern Europe itinerary. It was great having that large window and watching the sailing in to our various Iceland ports of call. We would leave the window down a little bit to get some of the brisk fresh air and then put the window up when we got too chilly, since I had no plans to wear a coat to stay warmer with the window down. Nonetheless it allowed me to sit on the chairs or sofa and just take in the amazing vistas. Photo below is of Akureyri,Iceland taken from my IV cabin with the window down. The photo is something you can do in a real veranda cabin but not an Oceanview, which is why the IV is a hybrid but can never be a true outdoor balcony cabin. 

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by kwokpot

[Alakegirl]

I am trying to figure out what makes this a “balcony”——- is it the flooring?

[mauimary]

1 hour ago, Cruise till you drop said:

How exactly do you get waitlisted on an SV as we were thinking about doing the same thing.  Personally I don’t think one will become available but you never know

When we did our booking we asked to be waitlisted we did an onboard booking.  We are #5 on the list. If it comes through we probably will not know until after final payment.  By then it will no doubt cost a lot more!  Since it is for a New Zealand cruise it would be wonderful. If it does not come through we will still be happy. Plenty of places to be outdoors. 

[kwokpot]

10 minutes ago, Alakegirl said:

I am trying to figure out what makes this a “balcony”——- is it the flooring?

By the same token, is the MSC cabin pictured below, which they call an Infinite Oceanview room, a balcony room or oceanview? It has the same window.

Edited August 27, 2023 by kwokpot

[critic2023]

I sailed in a solo infinite veranda cabin on the Beyond earlier this year. For the price (re: no single supplement), I was quite happy with it. That being said, I would never pay full veranda price for it. I booked a Norwegian fjords cruise on the Apex next year and I chose an oceanview cabin instead of an infinite veranda. It was about $1k less for the oceanview and as much as I'd like to have a veranda for the fjords, I don't feel like an infinite veranda really fits the bill or justifies the price. It would be nice if it were marketed as an intermediary step between an oceanview and a veranda (and priced accordingly). But to me it just feels like a bigger/better window, not a balcony.

 

So all that to say yes, it is just a bigger window and not really a balcony. My best tip would be to avoid them on the 6th floor because the lifeboats obscure the view below and make it feel even less like a balcony.

[WestLakeGirl]

56 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

By the same token, is the MSC cabin pictured below, which they call an Infinite Oceanview room, a balcony room or oceanview? It has the same window.

mSC doesn’t make a bogus claim that it is a verandah.

[Sascol]

Open window, close partition behind you, sit there.  Boom…regular balcony. Done it 2x. Love it. 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Sascol

[KKB]

6 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

 

 

We like being outside on a balcony, feeling the breeze and listening to the waves, having almost a separate area to hang out other than the room, and seeing the endless sea and horizon

 

I was able to feel the breeze, hear the waves, see the endless sea/horizson & hang out in the IV area.

I've had covered balconies & truly find the only difference is that there is a door/wall separating the spaces. (IV does have a divider).

I do seem to be in the minority.

 

We had a porthole balcony booked on Apex but upgraded to IV...the porthole balcony is so narrow that chairs can only sit sideways. Too small for me.

[Cruise till you drop]

Appreciate everyone’s feedback so far.  I am feeling less nervous about the IV but experiencing it first hand is believing 

[hcat]

2 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

I am trying to figure out what makes this a “balcony”——- is it the flooring?

only the language used...pure fiction.

[kwokpot]

3 minutes ago, KKB said:

I was able to feel the breeze, hear the waves, see the endless sea/horizson & hang out in the IV area.

I've had covered balconies & truly find the only difference is that there is a door/wall separating the spaces. (IV does have a divider).

I do seem to be in the minority.

 

We had a porthole balcony booked on Apex but upgraded to IV...the porthole balcony is so narrow that chairs can only sit sideways. Too small for me.

You missed the first part of the OPs statement about 'Being outside on the balcony'.  In an IV cabin it's impossible to be outside. 

[davekathy]

7 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

We booked an IV for Jan 2025 on Beyond and will be our first IV.

 

My feeling is that it will seem more like an room with a big window as opposed to a regular balcony.

 

We like being outside on a balcony, feeling the breeze and listening to the waves, having almost a separate area to hang out other than the room, and seeing the endless sea and horizon

 

Question - any advice on how to make an IV feel like a regular balcony so we can better enjoy what we like about outside balconies

 

PS - all the SV’s on our cruise are booked, otherwise that’s what we would have selected.

If you want a balcony experience, don't book a IV stateroom.

[wineoclock]

12 hours ago, kwokpot said:

By the same token, is the MSC cabin pictured below, which they call an Infinite Oceanview room, a balcony room or oceanview? It has the same window.

MSC aren’t being disingenuous. Celebrity is.

Edited August 28, 2023 by wineoclock

[wineoclock]

11 hours ago, Sascol said:

Open window, close partition behind you, sit there.  Boom…regular balcony. Done it 2x. Love it. 

Well no not really. As you said open window. I don’t open a window when I step out on my balcony, I open doors. Celebrity are being disingenuous by calling it a veranda/balcony. It’s a window plain & simple. 

Edited August 28, 2023 by wineoclock

[hcat]

We understand what it is and that X was not candid.. They should have called it a "winter garden" or something other than balcony..(not sure where the  "infinite"  part came from?)

 

We managed fine with it.. The biggest neg is that it feels narrow and smaller..  Did not measure but it seems like a  real balc cabin would have  about the  same space inside PLUS the balc  space outside..not sure??