Just off Apex - infinite balcony cabin

[cruise47]

We love our IV cabin on The Ascent.

[TGfromTX]

4 hours ago, cruise47 said:

We love our IV cabin on The Ascent.

Where abouts are you traveling?  cooler or warmer itinerary?  I'll be in one in the Caribbean soon.  Hoping I'm one of the 'luv it' types. 

[Oceansaway17]

On 5/27/2024 at 6:29 AM, Ergates The Ant said:

We have always booked balcony cabins in the past, but a last minute booking to Norway meant only Infinite Bacony available. 
We loved it! I’d nearly go so far as to say that it could be a deal breaker for us, we found it so much to our taste. 
This is why it appealed so much to us, as your personal requirements will be different. 
We love to hear the sea, and it was lovely to be able to sleep with the window at least partly open without the AC playing up. Loved the privacy of being able to sit right by the edge of the open window, without balcony neighbours being obvious. Hardly knew there was anyone next to us on either side. If I hadn’t seen them going into their rooms, I might have guessed that both were unoccupied. 
The extra space made a huge difference in the cabin too. It would probably have been too cold to sit out for too long in Northern Europe, but we had the window open for hours at a time. Wonderful to see straight down to the sea, too. 
We often leave our curtains open at night anyway, and we only closed the blind once to test how it worked! Perfect for cruising the fjords, when  we passed mountain ranges in the small hours by the light of the moon.
We would book this type of cabin again without hesitation, but appreciate that the climate in the Caribbean would present different challenges. I’ve never visited there, and have no plans to do so, but for cooler climates and scenic cruises, it exceeded my expectations.

thank you and you just agreed to my thoughts that I have had all along.  I think the room style would be enjoyable and less wind, cleaner chairs, more room in the room.  A total win.

 

some folks are hard to please but I think the infinity balcony is a winner and a gem.  agree with you very much.  One day I will book this style of room gladly

[Flafun888]

On 5/28/2024 at 8:13 PM, Shep_Proudfoot said:

I can see IV working well for Norway or Alaska perhaps, but I simply can’t imagine a warm weather sea day in one of these cabins and being happy with it. Far too many compromises.

agreed. I live on the balcony...day and night. My happy place - windy, cold, hot in between - I don't care - I love being outside in my little slice of heaven.

 

Sitting inside by an open window would be a big step down for me, especially since I travel with someone who likes to watch TV a lot and I can close the door and ignore it.

 

I'd never ever book one. But glad others enjoy it....more balcony choices for me! 🙂

Edited May 30 by Flafun888

[mrgabriel]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

some folks are hard to please but I think the infinity balcony is a winner and a gem.  agree with you very much.  One day I will book this style of room gladly

 

Those of us who don't like the IV aren't hard to please - we want a different experience. I like the wind in my hair when the ship is moving, and being able to sit outside and read or listen to nothing but the sound of the sea while my husband watches TV. He likes to sleep in with the room darkened, while I get up early and want to get that first good hour of natural light. 

 

Different strokes ... neither group is hard to please. 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

On 5/29/2024 at 5:01 AM, TMLAalum said:

That's why we are trying a deluxe porthole veranda on the Apex. We have been in an IV and for us, there were other drawbacks to that type of cabin in addition to the AC issue, for example the room darkening shade.

Those are obscured by the round porthole and only available in certain areas of the ship...  

Edited May 31 by NMTraveller

[miched]

On 5/28/2024 at 9:18 PM, Tigerfnan23 said:

We've done IV on two hot weather cruises and while we enjoyed aspects of the room we definitely lost all room cooling within a couple minutes of opening the window and it took quite a while to get the room cooled back off.  Obviously this isn't as much of an issue on cooler weather cruises. 

Experienced the same.  Was in the Caribbean.  My wife was showering and I was sitting in the veranda area, bifold doors closed, and window down.   My wife came out of the shower and started to yell at me because the cabin was like a steam sauna and she couldn’t dry off.  I closed the window.   Showered and it was still impossible to dry off.  We did as best as we could and left the cabin to go to a bar and then dinner.   
 

They may be great for cooler weather cruises but don’t work in the Caribbean.
 
The IV would concept would work  if the bifold doors sealed better and when completely closed with the window down the AC would still work.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited May 31 by miched

[Oceansaway17]

22 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

 

Those of us who don't like the IV aren't hard to please - we want a different experience. I like the wind in my hair when the ship is moving, and being able to sit outside and read or listen to nothing but the sound of the sea while my husband watches TV. He likes to sleep in with the room darkened, while I get up early and want to get that first good hour of natural light. 

 

Different strokes ... neither group is hard to please. 

 

 

well you can go out and go up on deck for an hour.

[Lastdance]

miched, you just painted the worst scenario for me...IV and cruising in the Caribbean.  To me that sounds like the cruise to Hell-o.  Anyway, I will be trying the IV, but it will be in late October, so hopefully a better time and itinerary to see for myself.  Putting so many of these on a ship made the SV’s and suite prices even higher.  I can see them for colder and wetter areas as a choice/category for those who are not that fond of wind and other elements of weather.

[mrgabriel]

31 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

well you can go out and go up on deck for an hour.

 

In my nightgown???

 

I don't see why it has to be one or the other. Celebrity's ship designers can figure out how to have both. 

[Ergates The Ant]

It does seem odd that Celebrity have taken the decision to install so many infinite balconies when relatively few of their ships do cooler weather cruises. I’ve never been to the Caribbean, as we are really not fans of very hot weather. I’m sure I’d hate having to stay shut inside with AC on, because of the heat and humidity, and would probably only be able to use the balcony when the ship was moving enough to create a decent breeze. 
I do hope my observations have been helpful, anyway.

[rmalbers]

I had a IV on a Viking Exp ship in the Great Lakes, shoulder season and I was ok with it because it was cooler, especially at night.  I didn't think I would like it but it worked ok for that trip.  One thing is that they had already (it was brand new) were cases where bats flew into the HV/AC vents and they had a heck of time with that.  They might have to put pull down screens on the IV's.  That would really make it strange.  Anyway, I think a big factor in X putting them in is fuel savings.

Edited May 31 by rmalbers

[Stockjock]

On 5/30/2024 at 11:20 AM, Oceansaway17 said:

thank you and you just agreed to my thoughts that I have had all along.  I think the room style would be enjoyable and less wind, cleaner chairs, more room in the room.  A total win.

 

some folks are hard to please but I think the infinity balcony is a winner and a gem.  agree with you very much.  One day I will book this style of room gladly

I am probably nitpicking, but I don't see this as a "harder to please" issue, but rather, "different strokes for different folks."  There are obvious reason why some might not care for this type of cabin and choose to avoid it.

Edited May 31 by Stockjock

[Mr. Click]

5 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I am probably nitpicking, but I don't see this as a "harder to please" issue, but rather, "different strokes for different folks."  There are obvious reason why some might not care for this type of cabin and choose to avoid it.

Because some of us firmly believe that there are two flavors, chocolate and wrong....

[zitsky]

On 5/27/2024 at 7:52 PM, jwlane said:

It seems that most of those that diss the IV have never actually stayed in one.

 

I know what a window is, thank you.

[TGfromTX]

12 minutes ago, rmalbers said:

I had a IV on a Viking Exp ship in the Great Lakes, shoulder season and I was ok with it because it was cooler, especially at night.  I didn't think I would like it but it worked ok for that trip.  One thing is that they had already (it was brand new) were cases where bats flew into the HV/AC vents and they had a heck of time with that.  They might have to put pull down screens on the IV's.  That would really make it strange.  Anyway, I think a big factor in X putting them in is fuel savings.

I hadn't considered bats, but I made a note to be mindful when in ports due to birds and mosquitoes possibly getting into my room if the window and doors were open at same time.  I am doing a solo room on my cruise so I don't think I'll have any of the issues others are identifying - I have much more of a concern of how uncomfortable those veranda chairs look to me.  I hope my steward can find a stool and a chair with a back tall enough to lean my head against.  I like the concept from afar - but I live in the south so I know my body will deal with heat and humidity differently/better than people that live in the north. 

Anytime my aunt (from Maine) visits in summer, she really looks miserable in the Texas heat - almost to the point of passing out. I completely understand how many struggle with the AC shutting down.  Hopefully my impressions are correct and I love the trip. 

[rmalbers]

On 5/27/2024 at 6:52 PM, jwlane said:

It seems that most of those that diss the IV have never actually stayed in one.

Actually, it seem like most people commenting have stayed in one.  Time flies and E class has been around a while now. 

[Nanjen]

We had an IV for a transatlantic this past fall and while it was fine for that sailing mostly, we upgraded to a sky suite for a Scandinavian cruise this summer. Our reasoning is that I like to get up early and sit on the veranda and watch the sail in. This isn’t possible with an IV. 

[Harrisonkid]

They charge you balcony pricing but it's mostly a ocean view. I'm not a fan of the IV.(but I  guess that the ship gets better fuel economy with them ) 

Btw I did have one on our Beyond cruise and have one on an upcoming Apex trip but after that it's back to a Reflection class  cruise ship

[Oceansaway17]

20 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I am probably nitpicking, but I don't see this as a "harder to please" issue, but rather, "different strokes for different folks."  There are obvious reason why some might not care for this type of cabin and choose to avoid it.

they offer both kinds of rooms still.  So pick traditional balcony or NOT.

but more and more folks are growing to like the infinite balcony for the extra room inside, and the clean chairs and not hearing banging doors.

[Emmauk]

I think it depends on how tolerant one is to heat and humidity. My mum and I were in IV room and loved it - extra room and full view without going outside. We both hate cold and tolerate heat well. My husband on the other hand is the polar opposite. So I only booked cruise with him in room with really balcony. 

[TGfromTX]

@Ergates The Ant, Do you know if one of the the main dining rooms is open for lunch on all days or if it was only on sea days?

[Banjo]

We had 3 E-class cruises. 2 Edge & 1 Apex, both after covid. We loved them. Made the room feel bigger.

[NMTraveller]

5 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

they offer both kinds of rooms still.  So pick traditional balcony or NOT.

but more and more folks are growing to like the infinite balcony for the extra room inside, and the clean chairs and not hearing banging doors.

Not really.  On E class the non-suite balconies are in the back and pricier...

[mrgabriel]

8 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

they offer both kinds of rooms still.  So pick traditional balcony or NOT.

but more and more folks are growing to like the infinite balcony for the extra room inside, and the clean chairs and not hearing banging doors.

Don’t know how you quantify ‘more’. I have talked to dozens of people - in real life people, not people I only interact with on forums  -  and not one liked the IV. 
 

I don’t understand why several IV promoters are not in favour of a choice. It doesn’t need to be either/or. As I stated earlier, there are ship designers who could manage to design a ship with both. And not just true balconies for suites. 

Edited June 2 by mrgabriel