Boardwalk vs. City View balcony

[fyree39]

Hello,

I was all set to book our first Princess cruise, but then DH mentioned he'd really, really love to try one of the Oasis class ships. We're interested in either the City View (or is it called Central Park view?) or Boardwalk balcony rooms. What can you tell me about these rooms? Are they extraordinarily noise? Lots of light? Did you miss seeing the ocean?

Any information or experiences would be appreciated.

[Tyler80]

Originally Posted by fyree39

Hello,

I was all set to book our first Princess cruise, but then DH mentioned he'd really, really love to try one of the Oasis class ships. We're interested in either the City View (or is it called Central Park view?) or Boardwalk balcony rooms. What can you tell me about these rooms? Are they extraordinarily noise? Lots of light? Did you miss seeing the ocean?

Any information or experiences would be appreciated.

Balcony Rooms over looking Central Park are called Central Park Balcony Rooms. There are a limited number of rooms with only windows in Central Park and Boardwalk neighborhoods as well.

Central Park Balcony Rooms

• Have no view of the ocean
• Have wonderful day and night views of Central Park
• Privacy can be of a concern since there are rooms directly across from yours
• Noise form the pool deck can be heard in Central Park, which means you'll be able to hear it from your balcony
• During the day bird chirps are heard in Central Park and at night crickets are heard.
• Sometimes live music is played in the center of Central Park (guitar, violin, etc) so if you have a Central Park Balcony you'll be able to watch and or hear that.

Boardwalk Balcony Rooms

• Do have a view of the ocean from the rear of the ship, some rooms have a long limited view depending on how far they are away from the rear of the ship
• You will hear noise from the Boardwalk when on your balcony, noise and or music from Johnny Rockets and other restaurants/shops, the Caroursel and the Aqua Theater.
• If your Boardwalk Balcony Room is toward the end of the Boardwalk you'll have a great view of the Aqua Theater shows and other events that take place there.

[mrsmoku]

We cruised in September in a Boardwalk Balcony suite and loved it! If we had the chance to go again and couldn't get a ocean view room, I wouldn't hesitate to book the Boardwalk Balcony room again.

In addition to all the great points that Tyler80 made, we noticed the the Central Park area was very very windy! Like hold your hat and keep your dress down windy so that may be in issue for you if you like to lay out on the balcony or what not.

Noise-wise, we weren't bothered much in our Boardwalk Balcony. I do agree that during the day you can hear whats going on down below, however, we were not usually in our room during the day but doing stuff or checking out the port. I really really liked being able to see the Boardwalk and people watching while seeing the Aqua Theater shows and practices and most importantly, the ocean. We were on the 12th floor, 4 in, and had a great view (I tried to add a picture but we'll see if it works)

[mrsmoku]

Ill try to attach the images since it didn't work to post them in my reply. After that, I give up! Sorry!

[roe2ship]

Originally Posted by fyree39

Hello,

I was all set to book our first Princess cruise, but then DH mentioned he'd really, really love to try one of the Oasis class ships. We're interested in either the City View (or is it called Central Park view?) or Boardwalk balcony rooms. What can you tell me about these rooms? Are they extraordinarily noise? Lots of light? Did you miss seeing the ocean?

Any information or experiences would be appreciated.

We had a Boardwalk balcony last one aft (12329) as I LOVE to have a view of the wake. We enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate to book another one. Once the door is closed you can hear some muffled noise if there is a show going on.....really not a problem unless you go to bed early.

[fyree39]

What deck is the lowest you can get for those rooms I mentioned? DH is a little leary of heights and the view (looking down) might bother him.

[clarea]

Originally Posted by fyree39

What deck is the lowest you can get for those rooms I mentioned? DH is a little leary of heights and the view (looking down) might bother him.

Boardwalk balconies start on deck 8. Central Park balconies start on deck 10. Each of these is 2 decks above the floor.

[dmwnc1959]

Deck 10 Central Park balconies (the lowest level of balconies and above the large square windows of the Central Park View staterooms on Deck 9) weren't all that high above the 'ground'. Maybe try and get one towards the front half of the ship so that it will give you the long unobstructed view down the length of the bigger part of the park before you hit the living wall. It was always pretty quiet down on that end as well with only Vintages and the park stores below you. On the other end (towards Chops and 150 Central Park) it was not uncommon to hear some noise coming down from the Kids Zone area during the day. Overall the entire park was very quiet. Also you can see the balconies are in groups of three between the giant white arches with the middle one bulging out a little further than the two on either side of it. It may give you a tiny bit bigger balcony and a better view than the ones that are a tad bit inset.



These balconies are above the park stores. I had a Central Park View stateroom on Deck 9 above the Britto store and was never bothered by any light or noise coming from the park and I am a pretty light sleeper.



These are the balconies above the center courtyard of Central Park and above the Park Cafe. It gives you a better idea of the height of each floor starting with the Deck 10 balconies.

[TravelerThom]

I concur with the info above. Note that while most RCI balconies are approved smoking areas, CP and Boardwalk including balconies are designated no smoking. An advantage if [like me] you wish to avoid smoke from a neighboring balcony; not an advantage if you want to step out to your balcony for a smoke.

Thom

[lyadams]

Great information above. Just got off Oasis and took a number of family/friends with me on this cruise. A number of them had Balcony cabins on deck 11 & 12. Noise was not a problem for them as the sliding doors closed very tight. However, they couldn't really hear any microphone announcements from the Aqua Theater while on their balconies. They were between 11323 & 11301.

Went on the tour of Central Park with their Landscaping director. He talked about the wind at one end of the park (I believe the one towards the aft) because of the design of the space. It was my second time on the ship in 8 months and I hadn't really noticed it, but he's right. There definitely is a windier end, but still my favorite place on the ship!

Have fun on your cruise.

[fyree39]

If we're interested in the Central Park balcony, to avoid the wind, is it better to get a room more toward the forward area or the aft area? I'm a little confused as to locations of the shops and this Living Wall you speak of.

[fyree39]

Also, when do the new itineraries come out?

And THANK YOU to all who have helped us out in making our decision! I'm getting very excited about trying Royal Caribbean. We'll book something for the Fall of 2015. Hurricanes, here we come!

[clarea]

Originally Posted by fyree39

Also, when do the new itineraries come out?...

Typically, Royal starts releasing new itineraries in the spring time frame.

[LAngle]

Originally Posted by roe2ship

We had a Boardwalk balcony last one aft (12329) as I LOVE to have a view of the wake. We enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate to book another one. Once the door is closed you can hear some muffled noise if there is a show going on.....really not a problem unless you go to bed early.

Thanks for posting this, we have this exact cabin in 27 days! I was concerned about noise, but if it's muffled, we can deal with it.

[dmwnc1959]

Originally Posted by fyree39

If we're interested in the Central Park balcony, to avoid the wind, is it better to get a room more toward the forward area or the aft area? I'm a little confused as to locations of the shops and this Living Wall you speak of.

About 2/3 of the way down from the front of Central Park (and directly underneath the giant span that crosses above it at Deck 15) is the Living Wall. It is basically just that, a giant wall covered with living plants which rises from Deck 8/9 and goes up to Deck 12 under that span. You can see it in this picture I took from the aft elevator lobby looking forward into Central Park past the Rising Tide Bar glass enclosure, where you can also see the entrances to Chops and 150 Central Park:



The park shops (there are only three I believe including a gallery) are all located in Central Park on the forward port side, and on the small path opposite from Vintages. In this picture taken from Deck 15 and looking down into Central Park and forward you can see the two paths; the large one one the right passes in front of Vintages, the small one on the left passes in front of the park shops.



CLICK HERE for a panorama I took of Central Park looking aft. It clearly shows the park shops, both paths, Vintages, as well as the living wall.

Central Park shops


As far as 'wind' is concerned, it's not the same stiff wind you get from sticking your head out of the car window at 55mph but most often a gentle warm breeze. I shot a video that shows a slow walk through Central Park at night and we were in a bit of weather. It had just finished raining and the breeze was kicking up but nothing too bad as you can see:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showp...0&postcount=44

There are hundreds of more pictures of Allure of the Seas in a link posted in my signature. If you want take a look through them. That would be nice.

Have a GREAT cruise!