Balcony dividers???

[mammy]

We are on Indy in feb and have 3 cabins booked side by side......I was wondering if the balcony dividers open so that we can have one big open space??? do you have to request it before boarding?? or do you ask someone to open them up for you once on board???? Do they even open??? I have heard that they do but not sure, as the radiance class does not........

[NorbertsNiece]

The balcony dividing doors do open and you can do this yourselves. Makes for a lovely large balcony!!

[mammy]

Thanx for the quick reply, but how can you open them yourself??? Isn't there a lock or something??? If you can open it yourself, then how would this work if you don't have an adjoining cabin???:confused:

[ken_nyc]

Do the doors between the hump balconies on the AOS open? We have cabins next to one another for our August cruise.

[cb at sea]

On Adventure, they do not open--the walls are part of the ship's hull. If you were to open them (which they can't), you'd lose all your privacy! That's part of the "charm" of balconies---the privacy! Being able to dress (or whatever) with your draperies open, and watch the ocean slide by! If you have others on your balcony--bye, bye, privacy!

[MyNameIsGermy]

The head of security on the Grandeur of the Seas told us on our 11/20 cruise that they had received direction from RCI Shoreside OPS that they could no longer allow the dividers between balconies to be opened.

 

-jtslater

[njdevil08]

Mammy- the balcony dividers on freedom class ships can open, though not any dividers on aft balconies.

 

NorbertsNiece-I don't believe you can open the balcony dividers yourself. You need to ask your stateroom attendant who requests permission from the captain to open up the dividers as it could be considered a safety hazard.

 

Also, what CB said is very important. The dividers cannot be opened and closed at will, you have to decide the first day if you want to open them and that's it, so please be aware you'll have very minimal privacy to whoever it is you connected your balcony with, unless you shut the curtains, which does defeat the entire purpose of a balcony.:D

 

Also, just so you know jtslater, the rules vary from ship to ship based on the method of opening the dividers (we were told by very knowledgable stateroom attendant on freedom.) For example, on freedom the dividers slide open, providing less of a safety risk, while on grandeur I believe the dividers swing open, which poses a higher risk. Though ultimately, the decision is up to the captain (at least on freedom.) We were also told some lazy stateroom attendants use the excuse that it isn't allowed so they don't need to go through with the trouble of notifying officials about the request.

[MyNameIsGermy]

Also, just so you know jtslater, the rules vary from ship to ship based on the method of opening the dividers (we were told by very knowledgable stateroom attendant on freedom.) For example, on freedom the dividers slide open, providing less of a safety risk, while on grandeur I believe the dividers swing open, which poses a higher risk. Though ultimately, the decision is up to the captain (at least on freedom.) We were also told some lazy stateroom attendants use the excuse that it isn't allowed so they don't need to go through with the trouble of notifying officials about the request.

 

I understand that, but this wasnt the stateroom attendant, this was the head of security, as well as the hotel manager who both came to our room to talk with us, since we had a large block of Grand Suite's booked together and wanted the dividers opened up. They were very clear that they had just recently received directive from Corporate that this was no longer allowed.

 

If you havent been on a cruise in a few weeks / month, this may have changed since your last sailing.

 

-jtslater

[njdevil08]

I understand that, but this wasnt the stateroom attendant, this was the head of security, as well as the hotel manager who both came to our room to talk with us, since we had a large block of Grand Suite's booked together and wanted the dividers opened up. They were very clear that they had just recently received directive from Corporate that this was no longer allowed.

 

If you havent been on a cruise in a few weeks / month, this may have changed since your last sailing.

 

-jtslater

Oh okay, thanks for the update! I think it is better to have fleetwide rules instead of having them vary from ship-to-ship because it gets so confusing.

[MyNameIsGermy]

Oh okay, thanks for the update! I think it is better to have fleetwide rules instead of having them vary from ship-to-ship because it gets so confusing.

 

I agree, but for the OP's sake, hopefully it hasnt trickled down everywhere. We were pretty disappointed, we really enjoyed having the dividers removed when we were on the Sov of the Seas back in May.

 

-jtslater

[uksimonusa]

I understand that, but this wasnt the stateroom attendant, this was the head of security, as well as the hotel manager who both came to our room to talk with us, since we had a large block of Grand Suite's booked together and wanted the dividers opened up. They were very clear that they had just recently received directive from Corporate that this was no longer allowed.

 

If you havent been on a cruise in a few weeks / month, this may have changed since your last sailing.

 

-jtslater

 

I would hope that the directive from Corporate, would only apply to ships where the dividers can be a safety hazard, swinging around etc. There is no such issue on the Freedom Class as the dividers slide.

 

I asked myself, why would they change the style of divider from the Voyager 2nd series, when they built "ultra Voyager" , Freedom Class. Makeing them safer and more usable seems a viable answer.

[DonnaK]

We were told that the official policy on Mariner is that the dividers will only be opened between connecting (not merely adjacent) cabins.

 

We were also told that requests to have the dividers opened is at the discretion of the Captain, and varies per sailing.

[mammy]

We are travelling with niece and boyfriend and friends, privacy is a non issue for us, we just want to be able to kick back and enjoy some cocktails on our extra large balcony;) our cabins are together on deck 9 on the hump so I thought it would be amazing to sit out there at night and enjoy, as opposed to everyone cramming on one balcony.. I guess i will just have to wait and hope that the Captain is in a good mood when we board:D

 

Thanks all for the info!!! I have learned sooo much on these boards.