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Obsession with private balcony?


NightOne

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Just for fun...

While I certainly see why there would be a desire for a balcony with privacy there almost seems to be an obsession with this topic on the message boards.

Exactly, what is it that people want to do on the balconies that the privacy is so important?

I'm sure we can skip the most obvious 2:

1. Sexual Activity
2. Nude Sunbathing

Seriously, do that many people want to do #1 or #2 or is there something else I am missing?

Time until Sailing
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Yes, they don't want to be observed peeking at your numbers 1 and 2.

One open Princess booking
[B]<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 05/04
Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98
Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
[B]<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 11/04
Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02
Vision o.t. Seas 04/02
Star Princess 12/02[B]<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>[/B]
Ecstacy 09/01
Vision o.t. Seas 10/02
[B]<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 12/97
[B]<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 9/96
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I'm sure we can skip the most obvious 2:

1. Sexual Activity
2. Nude Sunbathing <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Are you crazy????
No way would we skip those cruise "amenities" while having a balcony!

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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Often...you can be sailing by some amazing sights, at times where you're not totally dressed. Being able to hop out to the balcony without worrying about exposing yourself is a plus.
There's also protection during inclement weather and high winds.
I like the private balconies.

Sky Princess 01/1999 Australia and New Zealand
Sky Princess 03/2000 China
Royal Princess 02/2002 South America
Golden Princess 05/2003 Med
Sapphire Princess 03/2005 Sydney to Bangkok


March 2005 - Sydney to Bangkok on the Sapphire
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Privacy would be a nice plus, but it's not essential to me. If I rent a beach house, for example, the decks generally aren't private. I can usually look at the next house and see who's on that deck and what they're doing and vice versa. It doesn't bother me. I'll certainly give up some privacy if it means having a bigger cabin, and if I'm not mistaken large cabins are part of the reason for this particular design.
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The DW and I are around people all the time in our jobs. While we're certainly not anti-social, we like the opportunity to excuse ourselves from the masses and enjoy some quiet time in solitude without distractions and interruptions. A balcony makes this possible, and is a must-have for us on a cruise.

'Vegas Jim
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Well said, Jim. And in my case, those people are kids, about 300 hundred of them. I just want a break from it all.

Diamond Princess 03/04
Sun Princess 12/03
Grand Princess 12/02
Royal Princess 08/02
Ocean Princess 08/01
Pacific Princess 12/00
Carla C. 03/83
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The balcony, for us, is a private refuge to read and/or simply gaze out at the ocean .

I think it's one of the best parts of the cruise to just sit and gaze out at as the ocean passes by. There's just something about being out there, completely surrounded by ocean that is special. Enjoying that scene from our private balcony is better.

My wife will read a dozen books out there. To her, the balcony IS the cruise

To me, it is one of the most important customizable elements of the cruise. I suppose we fell in love with balconies as an alternative to some of the events on deck that we find distasteful. We continue to enjoy it for many of the reasons listed above, especially by Jim. We are with people ALL the time in the real world and find the break renewing and invigorating.


Happy Cruising

Chris

[url="http://www.LifeIsCruising.com"]www.LifeIsCruising.com[/url]

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Carnival Miracle 03/13/05
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Exactly, what is it that people want to do on the balconies that the privacy is so important?

I'm sure we can skip the most obvious 2:

1. Sexual Activity
2. Nude Sunbathing
--------------------------------------------

How about some shelter from the sun. How about being able to go out there in the morning in pajama's without being gawked at.

And, it appears that I will have both these problems on Saphire if I don't get moved from D405. At least that's the way it looks to me from what I can gather from the pictures.

Anyone have any comments on that?
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> And, it appears that I will have both these problems on Saphire if I don't get moved from D405. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> D = Dolphin = mini-suites = exposed balconies. My solution? Open the doors wide and use the sitting area of your stateroom as a "covered balcony" and venture out when appropriate for you.

For me, the issue with the fully exposed balcony wasn't so much what I was doing, but what others were doing. I'm paranoid, I guess...I always felt like there was someone standing behind me or watching me.

-------------------------
Sun Princess, 03/2004; Pacific Princess, 07/2003; Star Princess, 05/2003; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Sun Princess, 05/2001; Sun Princess, 04/2001; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Regal Princess, 10/1999; Sun Princess, 08/1998; Holiday, 05/1998; Westerdam, 09/1997; Regal Princess, 11/1996; Royal Odyssey, 09/1995; Starward, 11/1993

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Kind of a funny story...

When we were on the Golden a couple of weeks ago, it was early in the morning and we had just woke up when we realized that we were pulling into port. So we were in a state of undress so to speak and we had the balcony door and curtains open. We were still pulling in when I exclaimed that we could see another cruise ship on the other side of the dock. We continued to pull forward and more and more of the other ship (Disney Magic) started to become visible. After a few more moments we started to see that there was a ton of people out on their balconies and on the public areas watching us pull in. Needless to say it was a mad dash for the curtains.

Good thing the glass onthe outside of the balcony was kind of dirty because of sea spray or the poor kids may have been in for a non-Disney experience. hahaha

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Just remember while out on your private, maybe covered, balcony at night, the partition still shows shadows and sillouetts when a soft light or moonlight hits it just right. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24







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Sounds like the voice, er um eyes of experience Sue you old balcony peeker. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]


<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sue d. miller:
Just remember while out on your private, maybe covered, balcony at night, the partition still shows shadows and sillouetts when a soft light or moonlight hits it just right. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24







<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

One open Princess booking
[B]<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
[B]<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02[B]<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>[/B]
Ecstacy 09/01
[B]<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 12/97
[B]<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 9/96
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Guest LI Lady
The thing I enjoy most about having a balcony is having my morning coffee on the balcony while the sun is coming up -- Absolutely heaven!

If we are lucky to have a full moon on our cruise, there is nothing more beautiful than spending some quite time before going to bed watching the night sky. Awesome!!

How about having lunch delivered and watching the scenery as you sail into a Meditterean port from your balcony.

Leaving Venice, Italy was wonderful. We had a glass of wine in hand as we toasted Farewell to Venice while we passed by some of the most famous sights in the world. Happiness and privacy galore on our balcony this day. Had just showered and was in real comfy leisure-wear.

Would recommend a balcony to everyone. The extra dollars are well worth it!!
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A balcony can be a great place to view attractions without fighting for rail space on the open decks. It was the best place to view glaciers in Alaska (with room service and hot chocolate just a phone call away), experience sailing out of New York, or catching early morning pictures when pulling into port. Even with an exposed mini-suite balcony on the Grand Princess, we found that most people respected each others' space and didn't resort to gawking. One person did inquire as to how we had such a great breakfast (ordered off dining room menu) delivered to our cabin.

Just completed:
Caribbean Princess Apr 3/04
Golden Princess Apr 10/04
Coming up:
Tahitian Princess Oct 14/04
Caribbean Princess redux 6/25/05
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It isn't actually the privacy that we are after, but the idea of being able to use our balcony in almost any weather. It lets us use the balcony during the hot afternoon sun or if rain should decide to visit. To us, the best balcony is one that is half exposed, half covered, you get the best of both worlds that way.

Tahitian Princess 10/14/04
RCI-Legend of the Seas 3/27/05 Panama Canal.
One Phantom Booking still open with Princess.
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Haven't experienced the half exposed/half covered balcony. That would be ideal for us as I am a "pale face" and need to be out of the sun during the hottest part of the day, but still want to be outside enjoying the sea air. Sharing a cocktail or a glass of wine on the balcony with hubby is also terrific.
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Our balconies are always really, really private, if only I could find them behind the mirror on the wall. Secret switch?

One open Princess booking
[B]<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
[B]<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>[/B]
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02[B]<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>[/B]
Ecstacy 09/01
[B]<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 12/97
[B]<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>[/B]
Century 9/96
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We like having a balcony because opening the door makes the cabin less claustrophic feeling. We are members of the number 1 club. On our last cruise, our tablemates were in the cabin next door. We did not find out until the third day of our cruise when the husband heard our voices and peaked around the partition.

I think a lot of folks get the wrong impression about the meaning of "private" balcony. Perhaps the cruise lines should start calling them "personal balconies" instead since most of them aren't totally private.
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