Privacy idea for balcony on GP Dolphin deck

[chasingships]

:D :D Surely out of all the cruiser on the site we could come up with something to create privacy on an open balcony. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them. We are going on the Grand on Jan. the 15th and are giving up our room on the Caribe to get a mini on the Dolphin. Only problem is the open balcony.

 

Happy Thinking!!!

 

Renee

[Bob & Barb]

We were in a pent house suite above the mini suites on the Dolphin deck. Our balconies were half covered and half open but we looked down (as did all of the cabins above us) on all of the dolphin mini suites which were completely open. We had privacy on the inner half of our balcony but no privacy if we were looking over the rail. There was absolutely NO privacy on the Dolphin balconies. In fact we had to laugh at some of the antics of people on those balconies, although we didn't try to "spy" on anyone. As far as I could tell, there is no way that any one could achieve privacy on those balconies. I can't believe that any cruise ship would set up balconies like that. They are like that on the Caribbean, Diamond, and Sapphire Princesses, but I'll bet they won't do it again. I hear many people objecting to this lack of privacy when they spend the extra bucks to have a balcony to enjoy. Who wants to be concerned about every move they make when out on their balcony relaxing? :o Bummer!

 

Bob

[pamwinn]

4 C clamps, rope, and a sunshade. Attach the clamps to the dividers and the sunshade to the clamps. Instant cabana! I think 8X6 would be good enough. :D

[skarletohara]

The exposed Dolphin deck balconies are also onthe Star, Grand and Golden.

 

We've had the CAribe balconies, the Emerald aft balcony and the exposed Dolphin balcony and each had its own special character. The exposed balconies weren't so bad. On our last cruise 3 weeks ago that's what we

had. I was very curious as to how this would work out and it was just fine.

 

I liked being able to wave and say hi to everyone up above. Everyone up above is so friendly, but they are looking down on you for sure.

The drawbacks were: Once we were out there in the evening and we felt

sprinkles and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was the crew washing the pool deck. And one morning I found a Marlboro cigarette butt on our balcony,

so beware of smokers. That was definitely the only drawback.

[roohound]

keep in mind I'm one of the people who like Princess' coffee, so take my words with a grain of salt. ;) I like the Dolphin balconies. we had one on our 2002 Grand cruise and we loved it. Admittedly, we were a little afraid after reading all the negative reviews but we found it suited us perfectly.

 

As far as privacy goes, I found we had to schedule our wild, wanton balcony romps for off hours when no one else was around...I'm kidding! LOL I think we got as freaky as going out in our robes...that's it

[ToplessPony]

Count me as a vote FOR the exposed balconys. I loved being able to sit out in the sun or lay out at night and watch the stars. We've never had a covered balcony but my in laws did and while they loved it (neither of them like being in the sun) I didn't like it much. When ever we visted them it was always way too shaded for my liking.

 

I think a lot of others must like it too....seeing that they now have it on 6 ships and I am guessing it will be the same way when the Caribbean Princess 2 comes out.

 

Scott

[chasingships]

:D Thanks for the reply's. I think I will try the canopy and clips. When I wake up in the morning it is not a pretty sight and I don't want to shock the people above me with my morning hair. Not that I am a raving beauty, but my family is the only one I will let see me this way. I hope it works I thought they would have spent more attention to detail considering how much it costs to build one of these ships and how much they charge for the rooms. :(

 

 

Renee

[mmsoko]

I, too, had read all the negatives before our 2004 Golden cruise, but were happily upgraded to Dolphin minisuite.

We cruised with a group of 5 couples and often had morning coffee on our balconies (steward opened door between balconies for us) in our lounging 'jams.

We never worried about the folks above us. Think about it....you'll most likely never see them again..even on the ship!

Like, Skarletohara we even visited with the "above" cruisers when many were out on their balconies on a beautiful evening. Take "many" lightly..as most of the time never noticed anyone peering down on us.

DH loves the sun and liked the open balcony.

The extra room/bigger bathroom was wonderful in the minisuite.

 

This year we booked the minisuite.

[GloriaF]

I was working on figuring out a way to keep a tarp cover attached to the side dividers, and C-clamps are an excellent idea! Will be much more wind resistant than the old standby duct tape! ;) (For those that are not exposed to the hardware of woodworkers, C-clamps can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowe's type stores; you'll need ones that open wide enough to fit over the dividers, I'd say 3" should do it with room to spare. They are often red with a screw type devise for tightening to the divider.)

[catmand]

There are balcony cabins on Emerald, Dolphin, Caribe, and Aloha. That is 4 decks (unless I forgot one?) and all of them have a little different style. When you look at the design of the new ships with what has been called "wedding cake" as they get more narrow as the "layers" go up, most people marvel at the ships beauty. Take a look at the ships that have the veranda cut into the hulls, privacy but a different look and feel.

 

There should be something for everyone who wants a balcony, if an upgrade is offerend to a mini on Dolphin and you have a standard balcony room on Caribe, well that's going to be a tougher decision but for just a straight booking, pick out the deck that suits you.

 

We have been on Aloha and Caribe. I didn't care for Aloha. The balcony was completly covered by the Lido overhang. It was shaded all day so very little sun. The view horizon to sky was maybe 45 degrees which rendered a lot of the night sky difficult to view. It was however, "private". The Caribe was the best of both, half covered, half open. I did look down on the Emerald and Dolphin decks but I could have cared less about the people below us, aside from a quick "Hi" or a wave, when we were sitting and relaxing, viewing that beautiful ocean we didn't notice nor could we see the folks below.

 

Again, just do a little homework and get what you want. I would think a bigger issue in a hot weather area would be getting a sunburn on the "open" balcony NOT where the people above you are looking. I for one have yet to see anyone below or above me that was worth looking at when we had all that ocean and sky.

[spongerob]

I hate the coffee, but don't have a problem with the Dolphin balconies. I think we had one instance of someone being more curious about we were doing than good manners would allow, so all we did was wave and say hi. That got the offender to move.

[ToplessPony]

Ok...I'm tired from staying up late watching the Red Sox-Yankee game so I'm probably not getting it. I am guessing that the posts re: hanging a tarp are being posted with a wink, right? Kinda like fun threads that get going sometimes re: fishing off your balcony, etc? Hope so! If not I can't imagine how loud a flapping tarp would be in a 20 knot wind!!! I know I sure wouldn't want to have the balcony next door. :) :) :)

 

Scott

[gailc]

We are going on the Golden on 11/7/04. Our cabin is on the Dolphin deck. We have mini for the 1st time. We've wanted to try a mini so decided this was the time to do it. On RCI & Carnival, they have couches in the regular balcony cabins. On Princess, we had to get a mini to have one. Of course, the room is also larger which will be nice. After getting the couch, we always pick a cabin on a higher deck. There are no mini's up there so we are on Deck 9 which is the highest one for a mini. I wasn't too sure about having an open balcony, but we're going to try it. My question is whether it is windier on an open balcony. I've read positive & negative comments about them.

 

Gail

[roohound]

I thought they would have spent more attention to detail considering how much it costs to build one of these ships and how much they charge for the rooms. :(

 

But Renee, just because *you* don't like the covered balconies, there are those of us who pay the same $$ as you, and love them. If you don't want an uncovered balcony, don't book a guarantee or a room that has one..it's that simple. Don't make the broad sweeping statement that Princess isn't paying any attention to detail because they have these uncovered balconies. They are simply offering choices. And I'm glad I'm not alone in my love for the uncovered balconies....they truly are spectacular!

[AmyinGA]

We love the open balconies too. I like being able to get some sun and quiet time reading a book on my own balcony. I will always book an open balcony when I have that option. I have avoided the ships that don't have open balconies because I would miss it too much. That's one reason why I have been staying with Princess rather than trying out RCCL or another line.

[chasingships]

:D Thanks for the reply's!!! What I meant by the structure was they could have built more cabins with a partial covering for picky people like me HAHAHAH. I have these times when I think it's all about me. Thanks for the different view points it gives me a lot to think about. I don't think I will be hanging a plastic tarp. I was thinking more of a shade cloth but only about 4 of the 8 ft of the balcony. So I could get a little shade while enjoying our balcony.

 

Renee

[stoneharborlady]

I dont look terrific at 5:30 in the morning, pillow messed hair, no makeup, and in my jammies. But coming into St. Thomas was a first for us, and I was not going to miss it. Neither did the other passengers in the cabins on either side of us. We did have covered minis on Emerald, but we were all at the rail of our balconies in our jammies to see the ship in to St. Thomas. Nobody cared what we looked like.

[Northender]

Ah, chasingships, it is all about you. And it is all about me. And it is all about anyone who books a cruise. We get a covered balcony as I do not enjoy sitting directly in the sun. (Not good for what ails me). I am not sure I would upgrade to a mini for that reason, but we sit out there mostly in the evening, so I might consider it. :) Now, if I could only be given the choice :D

[cruise182]

The 'tarp Idea' got me thinking.....What if I brought some boards, nails, hammer and a few clamps and extended my covered balcony to make it longer and 1/2 open!! It could also be used for a diving board while in port or maybe we could make unwanted passengers, such as chair hogs, walk the plank while at sea!!

[Colo Cruiser]

Offender??? Tarps????

[regnig]

The 'tarp Idea' got me thinking.....What if I brought some boards, nails, hammer and a few clamps and extended my covered balcony to make it longer and 1/2 open!! It could also be used for a diving board while in port or maybe we could make unwanted passengers, such as chair hogs, walk the plank while at sea!!

 

Boy cruise182 you sure must know how to pack! I couldn't possibly find room for those things along with my coffee pot & 4 lbs of beans and a grinder, my grill for cooking on my balcony, my fishing gear to use off the the aft of the ship, my electric fan for when I got too warm, all my bed pillows and linen (heavens above if I'd use some someone else had), two cases of beer, a case of wine, soda and sparkling water, twice the amount of clothes that we needed and :eek: a p.ss poor attitude. Oh well, guess I'll just have to leave it all at home and only take my 'thank god' I'm on a cruise attitude instead! :D

[ToplessPony]

LMAO right now Larsen!!!!! Classic post! :)

[cruise182]

LMAO right now Larsen!!!!! Classic post! :)

Ditto

[Colo Cruiser]

You forgot the blender. :D

[regnig]

You forgot the blender. :D

 

I honestly couldn't put that on my list since my sister-in-law, one of the 8 folks we always cruise with, actually brings one. She loves her foo foo drinks on the balcony, go figure!