Royal Princess Forward Lido Obstructed Balcony

I was wondering if anyone that has sailed in any of those very front facing staterooms can give me any insight/opinions.

We are looking at the Regal Princess from Venice to Barcelona Aug. 30, 2014 and I have put a hold on L101.

It says that it is obstructed (metal railing instead of glass) and I do realize that the balcony doors will be locked while at sea. However the size is impressive - Balcony 91 sq. ft./stateroom 269 sq. ft. for a total of 360 sq. ft.

Of the 12 days of this cruise only 2 are sea days so I am thinking that it shouldn't be too disadvantageous given the increased size of stateroom alone. But wondering what the view would be like from in the room and in fact even from the balcony while standing, due to the front of the ship forward of you.

Thanks for any help/advice you can give. I really appreciate the knowledge that all of you pass on and recently have tried to start trying to give back a little more, given my relatively short cruising experience.

I was wondering if anyone that has sailed in any of those very front facing staterooms can give me any insight/opinions.

We are looking at the Regal Princess from Venice to Barcelona Aug. 30, 2014 and I have put a hold on L101.

It says that it is obstructed (metal railing instead of glass) and I do realize that the balcony doors will be locked while at sea. However the size is impressive - Balcony 91 sq. ft./stateroom 269 sq. ft. for a total of 360 sq. ft.

 

Of the 12 days of this cruise only 2 are sea days so I am thinking that it shouldn't be too disadvantageous given the increased size of stateroom alone. But wondering what the view would be like from in the room and in fact even from the balcony while standing, due to the front of the ship forward of you.

 

Thanks for any help/advice you can give. I really appreciate the knowledge that all of you pass on and recently have tried to start trying to give back a little more, given my relatively short cruising experience.

I can't seem to find it but someone posted photos of these forward cabins (at least one) and they look very nice - huge balconies.

Yes I have seen the photos and they do look really spacious. Just wondering about the specifics of the view. If with both the metal railing and being set back from the front of the ship will make it impossible to see anything but sky when at sea. Would like to make sure we can at least see the water when the balcony door is locked.

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Yes I have seen the photos and they do look really spacious. Just wondering about the specifics of the view. If with both the metal railing and being set back from the front of the ship will make it impossible to see anything but sky when at sea. Would like to make sure we can at least see the water when the balcony door is locked.

 

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I also read, somewhere, that the balcony door, in fact, was NOT locked while at sea.

From the info I have gotten from here and there the mini suites to either side of these balcony staterooms are more protected and do open at sea, but not these unfortunately.

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From the info I have gotten from here and there the mini suites to either side of these balcony staterooms are more protected and do open at sea, but not these unfortunately.

 

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That's correct but I swore I read a review of one of the middle forward cabins where the poster stated that his balcony door was not locked at sea. I wish I could find it.

Well let me know if you find it. That would really make my day - already pretty happy about this stateroom but that would be even better. Thanks for posting.

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I believe they are locked at sea. However have a look we sailed the Royal in E106 the balcony is huge for the 5 cabins on either side. The only obstruction is a metal panel instead of glass. Have rebooked for the Regal the same area. :)

I also read, somewhere, that the balcony door, in fact, was NOT locked while at sea.

I believe that was a review of one of the end mini-suites, L107/L108 and M107/M108. Their balcony doors actually face the side, not forward, and apparently are not locked when underway.

It's possible but I could have sworn I saw something somewhere (maybe on another forum) about the middle forward balcony doors. If I'm able to find it, I'll let everyone know. :)

It's possible but I could have sworn I saw something somewhere (maybe on another forum) about the middle forward balcony doors. If I'm able to find it, I'll let everyone know. :)

Hockeymom, yes I did look long and hard at those staterooms you mentioned. The largest balcony is 90 square feet, which, ( like the L101) is huge, and always useable. What is pulling me toward the L101 though is the interior space. 360 sq ft, including 90 sq ft balcony = 260 sq ft stateroom, versus around 200 sq ft for the forward side balcony rooms on Emerald deck.

We always seem to end up on Emerald deck in an obstructed ocean view, or in another location in a regular balcony if the weather and itinerary warrant. We have never been on a very high deck before. And having our last cruise in a suite, the extra space in L101 sounds so enticing.

And, never seem to know how to figure out port or starboard being best for the views so right in front takes that out of the equation.

Decisions, decisions........

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And back to my original question - has anyone sailed in one of these front obstructed staterooms? Would like an idea of just how obstructed when the door is locked.

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Hockeymom, yes I did look long and hard at those staterooms you mentioned. The largest balcony is 90 square feet, which, ( like the L101) is huge, and always useable. What is pulling me toward the L101 though is the interior space. 360 sq ft, including 90 sq ft balcony = 260 sq ft stateroom, versus around 200 sq ft for the forward side balcony rooms on Emerald deck.

We always seem to end up on Emerald deck in an obstructed ocean view, or in another location in a regular balcony if the weather and itinerary warrant. We have never been on a very high deck before. And having our last cruise in a suite, the extra space in L101 sounds so enticing.

And, never seem to know how to figure out port or starboard being best for the views so right in front takes that out of the equation.

Decisions, decisions........

 

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IECalcruiser what do you mean? Are you referring to stated sizes of rooms and balconies? Did you experience that yourself or hear from someone who did? I would be very interested to hear more on this in case I might decide to change staterooms before they start getting filled up.

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IECalcruiser what do you mean? Are you referring to stated sizes of rooms and balconies? Did you experience that yourself or hear from someone who did? I would be very interested to hear more on this in case I might decide to change staterooms before they start getting filled up.

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I have seen photos of the Royal and there are some obvious issues.

The website shows L108 total area as 558 sq. ft. and the balcony at 141 sq. ft. and M108 total area as 386 sq. ft. and the balcony as 145 sq. ft. The M108 balcony is much larger than the L108 balcony and I would bet that the actual cabins are essentially the same size so something is wrong with the website data.

Last year the website showed all aft S2 Owner's suites as 469 sq. ft. interior space with varying size balconies. The balconies do vary significantly in size as verified on photos and from posts on CC. If you check the website now, the total size still varies from 591 to 682 sq. ft. but all balconies are shown as 158 sq. ft. That information is incorrect.

If you have an unusual cabin, the size is probably most suspect. I could give more examples but this should be enough to question the website.

I was wondering if anyone that has sailed in any of those very front facing staterooms can give me any insight/opinions.

We are looking at the Regal Princess from Venice to Barcelona Aug. 30, 2014 and I have put a hold on L101.

It says that it is obstructed (metal railing instead of glass) and I do realize that the balcony doors will be locked while at sea. However the size is impressive - Balcony 91 sq. ft./stateroom 269 sq. ft. for a total of 360 sq. ft.

 

Of the 12 days of this cruise only 2 are sea days so I am thinking that it shouldn't be too disadvantageous given the increased size of stateroom alone. But wondering what the view would be like from in the room and in fact even from the balcony while standing, due to the front of the ship forward of you.

 

Thanks for any help/advice you can give. I really appreciate the knowledge that all of you pass on and recently have tried to start trying to give back a little more, given my relatively short cruising experience.

When we did the 5 day two weeks ago we had L106. It was beautiful. Yes the bottom half is metal not Plexiglas but the view was great, the patio was big and no one ever locked the door so we couldn't get out. In fact I did not see way they could even do that on our door.

And back to my original question - has anyone sailed in one of these front obstructed staterooms? Would like an idea of just how obstructed when the door is locked.

 

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Only you will be locking the door. We had L106 two weeks ago. It was magnificent but from the room all you see is metal wall. You have to go out side and walk up to the railing. That was fine with me.

IEcalcruiser thanks for the comments. I find that really troubling to think that princess would give out such misinformation. Now I am not sure what to do or how to find out for absolute sure. The only reason we chose that stateroom is because of the size of both the stateroom and the balcony. I would be really upset if I had looked forward to that stateroom for a year only to find that it was not as advertised, especially since it means giving up a balcony door that can only be opened in port.

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e2011

I think you were in a mini suite, which does have a door that is able to stay open while at sea as the design is different somehow from the balcony rooms.

Thanks for the information on the 'view' from inside the room.

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e2011

I think you were in a mini suite, which does have a door that is able to stay open while at sea as the design is different somehow from the balcony rooms.

Thanks for the information on the 'view' from inside the room.

 

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Different doors? I've never heard that. They're all forward facing. The doors should be the same, shouldn't they?

I am just trying to remember what the princess rep said to me about the Regal a day or two ago when I questioned that very thing - that the website showed those forward minis had doors that could stay open at sea, yet the forward deluxe balconies had to have the door closed except when in port. She said something along the lines that somehow they were a different design.

That is why I am so glad that you share your personal experiences on this board. The princess reps probably do not have that experience and are just doing there best to answer customer's questions.

I agree now that you have said your door faces forward as well how can it possibly be different for the stateroom I have picked out.

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When we did the 5 day two weeks ago we had L106. It was beautiful. Yes the bottom half is metal not Plexiglas but the view was great, the patio was big and no one ever locked the door so we couldn't get out. In fact I did not see way they could even do that on our door.

Special Notes:

BALC ACCESS LIMITED WHILE SHIP IS AT SEA PART OBSTRUCT VIEW NON-GLASS BALC RAIL

Apparently that might not be correct.

e2011

I think you were in a mini suite, which does have a door that is able to stay open while at sea as the design is different somehow from the balcony rooms.

Thanks for the information on the 'view' from inside the room.

 

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Could be. I never looked in the other balcony rooms. Yes L106 is a premium mini-suite.

The following is on the website for L106:

 

Special Notes:

BALC ACCESS LIMITED WHILE SHIP IS AT SEA PART OBSTRUCT VIEW NON-GLASS BALC RAIL

 

Apparently that might not be correct.

 

It wasn't correct on our cruise LOL!! Lucky for us!