Balcony partitions on Breakaway question!

[sweetgregoryps]

Gonna be on the Breakaway in December! We have a connecting balcony room with my cousin. Are the balcony partitions “hinged” and can the be moved to create an “adjoining balcony with my Cuz “ ? Would be pretty cool “if possible “ !

[ggTexasGal]

17 minutes ago, sweetgregoryps said:

Gonna be on the Breakaway in December! We have a connecting balcony room with my cousin. Are the balcony partitions “hinged” and can the be moved to create an “adjoining balcony with my Cuz “ ? Would be pretty cool “if possible “ !

NCL does NOT allow the opening of the balcony dividers!

Edited August 25 by ggTexasGal
correction

[www3traveler]

Absolutely NOT!!  Against the rules

[sweetgregoryps]

That’s ok,,,, just thought it would be cool ! Seems like they could make some extra cash, charging an upgrade fee for an “extended” balcony. They charge LOTS for those fancy smanchy AFT balconies !! Can’t think of what the “safety issue” would be ?

[turftoe]

Interesting....my family is on the Breakaway in December too. We booked 4 balcony cabins in a row. (2 sets of connecting cabins) NCL agent who booked the trip affirmed that the dividers could be removed. We took a trip 2 years ago on X and they dropped the dividers then. The agent was expressly asked if NCL could do the same and we were told yes and it would not be a problem. Just make sure that the cabin attendant knows if they aren't done when we board.

[www3traveler]

27 minutes ago, turftoe said:

Interesting....my family is on the Breakaway in December too. We booked 4 balcony cabins in a row. (2 sets of connecting cabins) NCL agent who booked the trip affirmed that the dividers could be removed. We took a trip 2 years ago on X and they dropped the dividers then. The agent was expressly asked if NCL could do the same and we were told yes and it would not be a problem. Just make sure that the cabin attendant knows if they aren't done when we board.

NO THE DIVIDERS CAN NOT BE REMOVED.  If you do it, or talk your Room Steward into it, the Room Steward COULD LOSE HIS JOB by the end of that day, sent home at his expense and possibly not hired by any other cruise ship company.  Would that be worth it?

 

Personal Cruise Consultant's have been know to say anything they think you want to hear in order to make a sale whether it is true or not.

[Silver Sweethearts]

14 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

Personal Cruise Consultant's have been known to say anything they think you want to hear in order to make a sale whether it is true or not.

 

Heed these words.

[BirdTravels]

57 minutes ago, sweetgregoryps said:

That’s ok,,,, just thought it would be cool ! Seems like they could make some extra cash, charging an upgrade fee for an “extended” balcony. They charge LOTS for those fancy smanchy AFT balconies !! Can’t think of what the “safety issue” would be ?

Open balcony partitions poses a safety (fire) hazard to the ship are are not allowed to be opened. You will see them opening them while in port to wash down your balcony, so they do work, but not for "extended balcony" purposes.

[Two Wheels Only]

48 minutes ago, sweetgregoryps said:

That’s ok,,,, just thought it would be cool ! Seems like they could make some extra cash, charging an upgrade fee for an “extended” balcony.

 

There are "extended" balconies on other parts of the ship and yes, NCL usually charges more for those. 

 

49 minutes ago, sweetgregoryps said:

Can’t think of what the “safety issue” would be ?

 

The dividers help to lessen the spread of fire from one balcony to the next. The dividers have the ability to open so that firefighters can quickly get from one balcony to the next while fighting a fire. They also open for maintenance purposes.  

 

Does NCL allow guests to open the dividers in order to "double up" on the balcony between neighbors? NO. 

 

Are there some stewards who will do it (and risk losing their job) because of an expectation of a tip? Yes. 

 

Are there some guests who will "MacGyver" the lock on their own even though it violates policy and could potentially put guests at risk? Yes. 

 

47 minutes ago, turftoe said:

NCL agent who booked the trip affirmed that the dividers could be removed.

 

NCL agent wanted to make the sale. If you ask the same agent if you can fish off of the balcony, the agent would probably say that you can. 

 

48 minutes ago, turftoe said:

We took a trip 2 years ago on X and they dropped the dividers then.

 

Different cruise lines take a different level of risk. There are differences in fire suppression equipment, differences in materials, etc. NCL used to allow dividers to be open in certain cases and in certain situations but when other guests were denied, those other guests complained. NCL then went fleetwide with the "not allowed" policy and it's stated in the dailies (usually). 

 

 

 

 

[www3traveler]

1 hour ago, sweetgregoryps said:

Gonna be on the Breakaway in December! We have a connecting balcony room with my cousin. Are the balcony partitions “hinged” and can the be moved to create an “adjoining balcony with my Cuz “ ? Would be pretty cool “if possible “ !

One more thought for you: if it is found that either you or you had your Room Steward open the divider, you and your ENTIRE party could be put off the ship at the next port of call, sent home at your own expense, forfeit what you paid for the cruise and could be put on a NO SAIL LIST (YES, there is one).  Is this worth  the risk????? 

[sweetgregoryps]

3 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

One more thought for you: if it is found that either you or you had your Room Steward open the divider, you and your ENTIRE party could be put off the ship at the next port of call, sent home at your own expense, forfeit what you paid for the cruise and could be put on a NO SAIL LIST (YES, there is one).  Is this worth  the risk????? 

Dramatic much 🫣!

[ggTexasGal]

3 minutes ago, sweetgregoryps said:

Dramatic much 🫣!

You might feel that was a "dramatic" post.  However, @www3traveler and others have been posting results that NCL security teams have utilized.

[sweetgregoryps]

17 minutes ago, ggTexasGal said:

You might feel that was a "dramatic" post.  However, @www3traveler and others have been posting results that NCL security teams have utilized.

I think I will just go ask the Ships Hotel Director, face to face when I get there on embarkation .  A manager that actually works on the ship will tell me the actual policy without the “Karen” pre-judgement! Thanks for your input 👍

[ChiefMateJRK]

32 minutes ago, sweetgregoryps said:

Dramatic much 🫣!

Doesn't sound dramatic to me.  I certainly wouldn't risk it, and would appreciate that warning that the other poster gave you.  After all, you asked....

[ChiefMateJRK]

18 minutes ago, sweetgregoryps said:

A manager that actually works on the ship will tell me the actual policy without the “Karen” pre-judgement!

Are you of the opinion that the 100% consistent feedback in this thread is not the actual policy?  If you look around, you'll see that this has been echoed by a former NCL chief engineer here on the forum who knows more about this stuff than the rest of us combined.  That said, if you want to waste your valuable cruise time hunting down a manager for the "real" story, knock yourself out.  Here's a thought.  Every cruise has a Q&A with the captain, chief engineer and that officer who oversees the hotel functions.  Why not attend that and report back?  I would certainly like to hear what they tell you.  In fact, I wish I could be there.

[sweetgregoryps]

9 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Are you of the opinion that the 100% consistent feedback in this thread is not the actual policy?  If you look around, you'll see that this has been echoed by a former NCL chief engineer here on the forum who knows more about this stuff than the rest of us combined.  That said, if you want to waste your valuable cruise time hunting down a manager for the "real" story, knock yourself out.  Here's a thought.  Every cruise has a Q&A with the captain, chief engineer and that officer who oversees the hotel functions.  Why not attend that and report back?  I would certainly like to hear what they tell you.  In fact, I wish I could be there.

Great idea ! Thanks ,!

[Mike A]

FWIW…It is allowed on Princess. I’ve done it with no questions. Therefore why does PCL allow the balcony doors open especially since they had the Star Princess fire but they still allow opening of the balcony doors.?

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 minute ago, Mike A said:

Therefore why does PCL allow the balcony doors open especially since they had the Star Princess fire but they still allow opening of the balcony doors.?

Answer:  they use different lawyers.

[Mike A]

@ChiefMateJRK You and I think alike 😄

[Two Wheels Only]

27 minutes ago, Mike A said:

Therefore why does PCL allow the balcony doors open especially since they had the Star Princess fire but they still allow opening of the balcony doors.?

 

Princess does have sprinklers on every balcony on every ship. Not every cruise ship can claim the same. 

 

Last year, there was a balcony fire on P&O Australia's Pacific Adventure....

 

 

...that started shortly after 3am. If the dividers had been open, the fire could have spread more quickly. 

[zqvol]

4 hours ago, turftoe said:

Interesting....my family is on the Breakaway in December too. We booked 4 balcony cabins in a row. (2 sets of connecting cabins) NCL agent who booked the trip affirmed that the dividers could be removed. We took a trip 2 years ago on X and they dropped the dividers then. The agent was expressly asked if NCL could do the same and we were told yes and it would not be a problem. Just make sure that the cabin attendant knows if they aren't done when we board.

You were told incorrectly, they will not open the balcony dividers for you. 

[zqvol]

2 hours ago, sweetgregoryps said:

I think I will just go ask the Ships Hotel Director, face to face when I get there on embarkation .  A manager that actually works on the ship will tell me the actual policy without the “Karen” pre-judgement! Thanks for your input 👍

Don’t waste his time, you’re not getting the dividers opened.  

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, sweetgregoryps said:

I think I will just go ask the Ships Hotel Director, face to face when I get there on embarkation .  A manager that actually works on the ship will tell me the actual policy without the “Karen” pre-judgement! Thanks for your input 👍

I will save you a trip. The policy is that dividers can’t be opened. 

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, Mike A said:

FWIW…It is allowed on Princess. I’ve done it with no questions. Therefore why does PCL allow the balcony doors open especially since they had the Star Princess fire but they still allow opening of the balcony doors.?

FWIW. Why does it matter. Policy is policy. Not for you to debate. 
 

I can bring an extension cord for a cpap onto a NCL ship. I am prohibited from doing it on a Royal ship. Policy. 

Edited August 26 by BirdTravels

[chengkp75]

10 hours ago, sweetgregoryps said:

I think I will just go ask the Ships Hotel Director, face to face when I get there on embarkation .  A manager that actually works on the ship will tell me the actual policy without the “Karen” pre-judgement! Thanks for your input 👍

Non-Karen input from a former senior ship's officer with NCL.  Yes, the policy used to be that opening balcony dividers was at the Captain's discretion, along with the guidance of the classification society's rules for fire safety.  As noted, there were limits on how many total dividers could be opened, and how many in a row, or in any given fire zone, and when more dividers were not allowed, complaints were made.  So, the company went to a "no open dividers" rule to take it out of the Captain's discretion.  So, yes, it is a fire hazard, no, you won't be allowed to do it, and yes, there is a possibility of getting disembarked for doing it (read the ticket contract).  And, the Hotel Director will tell you this face to face.

 

9 hours ago, Mike A said:

FWIW…It is allowed on Princess. I’ve done it with no questions. Therefore why does PCL allow the balcony doors open especially since they had the Star Princess fire but they still allow opening of the balcony doors.?

Different risk tolerances set by different insurance underwriters.  And, the sole reason that dividers can open is not for passenger convenience, it is to prevent another Star Princess, where the firefighters could not proceed from one balcony to the next.  Why do some cruise lines put coffee makers or tea kettles in every cabin, and others don't?  Risk tolerance, and financial decisions regarding whether it is worth the labor cost to inspect and repair those items semi-annually for fire safety, or not.

Edited August 26 by chengkp75