Does this matter? (cabin question)

I'll apologise in advance for any annoying questions coming up...

I am in talks with a TA re a forthcoming cruise on Seabourn. We are looking at Sojourn Myanmar & Malaysia (anyone been on that cruise?!) but my question is really about cabins.

I promise faithfully I have searched this forum for answers to my question before posting but after an hour gave up and decided to ask you knowledgeable cruisers !

TA has quoted us for a V1 cabin on deck 5. I see that the veranda has a part metal part glass outlook and that I would have to book V3 to have all glass - my question is, is it worth the extra money to go for V3? I am happy to pay the extra £££ if it's worth it, but if someone tells me that there's not much difference, I won't bother.

Thank you in advance :)

Not annoying at all. Many people question this first time around. As I understand it the metal half-glazing is to withstand water pressure in really high waves (hopefully something that doesn't often happen). The differences it makes are (a) if you like lying in bed and looking out, you won't see very much; (b) if you like sitting on your balcony in the chairs you will be able to see however if on sun lounger you will not see at horizon level; © it all depends on how much you plan to use your balcony.

Personally, we have had both V2 and V5 cabins (booking V1 GTY) and really don't use for much more than watching coming into port early morning (when I tend to stand and lean over the rail) or sitting in afternoon/evening with a glass of wine. There is so much open deck space on the O class ships I personally find a balcony not really a necessity. Hope that helps. You'll hear many different views from many others.

Haapy sailing.

We have had a V2 (midships), and a V3. For us the part metal balcony did not matter at all because both times we had one we were on a transatlantic crossing and it only affects you when you are lying on your bed, when you are standing the view is the same. However on a port intensive cruise we liked the fact that we had a better view of our surroundings, but really it would not matter to us all that much and would very much be price dependant. Personally I would rather be in a better position on the ship i.e midships, than be bothered about a half metal balcony.

Thank you both. That is really useful to know as the price between a V1 and V3 is not small !

The metal part from the veranda deck to its glass is 80 cm. That's not much metal although how much is too much is up to you. Measure and mark 80 cm on a doorframe and decide then.

Happy sailing!

Thank you Markham. I can now visualise what it would be like. :)

Make sure you look at the deck plan. You will notice that the forward cabins on deck 5 have an increasingly smaller balcony from about 510 forward (on both sides). 501 and 502 are seriously diminished. That is a bigger concern to me. I didn't mind the steel part of the balcony at all. We were in 514.

Oh gosh alainciao, that is so helpful, thank you so muich. Our TA is looking to book 516 for us so I am mightily relieved to read this. I have had a look at the deck plan and I see exactly what you mean.

Glad to help, Mausac. I should add for others reading this thread that Seabourn's solution, if you find yourself sitting in 502 with a shrunken balcony, is to offer you an upgrade at the regular price. I was in that situation and the Asst. Hotel Manager on the ship was a sweetheart but could do nothing since corporate ruled the policy. I was lucky, someone else in V1 upgraded and I got cabin 514. By the way, I was on a 41 day cruise. Some on here will certainly say I was careless to take a guarantee for that trip (my first on Seabourn) and I agree. However, I was used to sailing with Regent where all the cabins really are identical and I did not know about the shrinking balconies. Live and learn! Enjoy your cruise! We loved ours.