Virtual balcony

[buffalogal7]

I am sailing on Oasis of the seas in HC #6149. Do the interior rooms have a virtual balcony like we did on ovation of the seas?

[leaveitallbehind]

I don't believe Oasis has any interior virtual balcony staterooms.  The only Oasis class ships that have them to my knowledge are Harmony and Symphony. And on those ships (or any RCCL class that has them) they are not in every interior stateroom, only select categories.

Edited October 3, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[buffalogal7]

Darn. We were on ovation in August and they had them. Oh well. Great concept though.

[leaveitallbehind]

13 minutes ago, buffalogal7 said:

Darn. We were on ovation in August and they had them. Oh well. Great concept though.

They are an interesting concept.  FYI from the RCCL website here is a list of ships that offer them: Symphony of the Seas®, Harmony of the Seas®, Spectrum of the Seas®, Anthem of the Seas®, Ovation of the Seas®, Quantum of the Seas®, Navigator of the Sea®s, Explorer of the Seas®, and Voyager of the Seas®. 

 

Not sure why they don't offer them on most ships, especially on the new builds since the idea was originated.

Edited October 4, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[Ourusualbeach]

57 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Not sure why they don't offer them on most ships, especially on the new builds since the idea was originated.

Because people were not willing to pay a higher premium for them over a regular inside

[keishashadow]

Booked our first today, seems like such an interesting concept when balcony pricing is out of reach.

[Tatka]

2 hours ago, buffalogal7 said:

Darn. We were on ovation in August and they had them. Oh well. Great concept though.

Great concept! Love it on Anthem.. had multiple times and use them more than real ones. Unfortunately even on Odyssey (Quantum +) has only minimum VBs.

[Tatka]

52 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Because people were not willing to pay a higher premium for them over a regular inside

Almost all insides on Anthem have virtual balconies 

[Ourusualbeach]

7 minutes ago, Tatka said:

Almost all insides on Anthem have virtual balconies 

Yes, she was one of the first ships to have them.  The question was why the new ships do not.  Royal went all in on them for a while even adding them to ships at drydock but subsequently scaled that back.  None on Icon, scaled back on Wonder. Utopia and Odyssey.  Oasis had a $100 + mil drydock and non added to her. 

[Another_Critic]

I turned my inside cabin on Liberty into a virtual forward facing oceanview cabin.  Turned the TV to the bridge cam.  🙂

[buffalogal7]

I guess it doesn't make sense to me.

[buffalogal7]

1 hour ago, keishashadow said:

Booked our first today, seems like such an interesting concept when balcony pricing is out of reach.

I loved our room with the vb

[buffalogal7]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Because people were not willing to pay a higher premium for them over a regular inside

Our room was not more expensive with the vb

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, buffalogal7 said:

Our room was not more expensive with the vb

Exactly my point. 

[TravelBluebird]

8 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

They are an interesting concept.  FYI from the RCCL website here is a list of ships that offer them: Symphony of the Seas®, Harmony of the Seas®, Spectrum of the Seas®, Anthem of the Seas®, Ovation of the Seas®, Quantum of the Seas®, Navigator of the Sea®s, Explorer of the Seas®, and Voyager of the Seas®. 

 

Not sure why they don't offer them on most ships, especially on the new builds since the idea was originated.

 

Wonder of the Seas has them. They were offered when I booked my room, and I know someone on the ship with me right now that got a Royal-Up to one from a regular interior.

[leaveitallbehind]

12 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Because people were not willing to pay a higher premium for them over a regular inside

My question was as to why the category is not offered on more ships as an option - not that all inside staterooms would have them.  To my knowledge most of the ships that currently offer them do not have them in all inside staterooms but as an optional category for certain inside staterooms for those who are willing to pay the premium. 

 

To me it seems the category is a popular one and I am just curios why the option is not included on more ship classes, especially the new builds launched since the virtual balconies were first offered.

Edited October 4, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[Tatka]

28 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

My question was as to why the category is not offered on more ships as an option - not that all inside staterooms would have them.  To my knowledge most of the ships that currently offer them do not have them in all inside staterooms but as an optional category for certain inside staterooms for those who are willing to pay the premium. 

 

To me it seems the category is a popular one and I am just curios why the option is not included on more ship classes, especially the new builds launched since the virtual balconies were first offered.

 

I am not sure it is that popular.

Even we who love them on Anthem did not book them for several upcoming cruises on Odyssey.

Most people who cruise in insides do not spend much time in their rooms. While it is a nice feature - we use it more than real balconies when we have them - I am not sure it adds enough to pay for it.

Edited October 4, 2023 by Tatka

[leaveitallbehind]

15 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

I am not sure it is that popular.

Even we who love them on Anthem did not book them for several upcoming cruises on Odyssey.

Most people who cruise in insides do not spend much time in their rooms. While it is a nice feature 0- we use it more than real balconies when we have them, - I am not sure it adds enough to pay for it.

Agree - they certainly are not for everyone, but they are an attractive option for some.  

 

Attached is an article discussing them from their initial limited offering in 2015 on Navigator.  They have scaled them increasingly on different ships and ship classes with Quantum having them on all interiors except the studios. 

 

Just interesting information IMO.

 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/08/14/royal-caribbean-virtual-balcony-everything-you-wanted-know

Edited October 4, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[Ourusualbeach]

41 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

My question was as to why the category is not offered on more ships as an option - not that all inside staterooms would have them.  To my knowledge most of the ships that currently offer them do not have them in all inside staterooms but as an optional category for certain inside staterooms for those who are willing to pay the premium. 

 

To me it seems the category is a popular one and I am just curios why the option is not included on more ship classes, especially the new builds launched since the virtual balconies were first offered.

Because it is an investment and more costly to do on older ships vs newer ones.  If they can't charge a premium then it won't pay for the investment.  They have them on all the new ships except Icon, just in smaller qtys than they had on the first few and they stopped adding them to existing ships during drydock

[Ourusualbeach]

44 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

To me it seems the category is a popular one

People may like them but they are not willing to pay more for them in most cases

[leaveitallbehind]

57 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Because it is an investment and more costly to do on older ships vs newer ones.  If they can't charge a premium then it won't pay for the investment.  They have them on all the new ships except Icon, just in smaller qtys than they had on the first few and they stopped adding them to existing ships during drydock

I certainly understand the cost v ROI on older ships, but since, as you indicate, they are included on most of the new ships in some quantity, RCCL must feel there is enough interest for bookings at a premium price or they would not include them in the builds.  They must see a positive market for them, even if in limited quantities.

 

Not arguing, just addressing the business case.

[Ourusualbeach]

12 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I certainly understand the cost v ROI on older ships, but since, as you indicate, they are included on most of the new ships in some quantity, RCCL must feel there is enough interest for bookings at a premium price or they would not include them in the builds.  They must see a positive market for them, even if in limited quantities.

 

Not arguing, just addressing the business case.

Yes there is a small market and they have put a few on some of the new ships but it is significantly less than what they put on QN and AN

[leaveitallbehind]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Yes there is a small market and they have put a few on some of the new ships but it is significantly less than what they put on QN and AN

Agree.  Especially as with QN and AN they are in all insides (except studio).  But in those cases there would not be a determinable premium as the increased rate would apply to all LOL.

[compuryan]

15 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Yes, she was one of the first ships to have them.  The question was why the new ships do not.  Royal went all in on them for a while even adding them to ships at drydock but subsequently scaled that back.  None on Icon, scaled back on Wonder. Utopia and Odyssey.  Oasis had a $100 + mil drydock and non added to her. 

I'm guessing they decided they weren't worth the investment.  Those are big expensive panels compared to the typical cabin TV.  Also in a prime location to potentially be damaged by little ones (or others) vs. mounted high up on a wall.