Just back from Central Park balcony on Symphony

Got back last week and had an amazing time on this ship. We only got off for a couple of hours at La Spezia to look around the town, and for the morning to over to Capri on the ferry. We've been many times to the other places on the cruise so our plan was to enjoy the ship (and our free Drinks package!).

Our room was very comfortable and well appointed but I would not ever book a Central Park balcony room again. We were on deck 14 and had to keep our balcony door fully closed every night due to people laughing and drinking to 3 or 4am on the pool deck above us. We like the door open usually to let fresh air in but not on this cruise.

Also, there is no net curtain, just the full drape. People from the cabins across on the other side can see right in and you can see right in their cabin. Our bed was next to the bathroom with the sofa by the balcony door so a little further away from the window, but the cabins opposite had beds right next to the balcony door and I saw some unwelcome sights! So in the evening we always had to have the curtains closed and be very careful going in and out of the bathroom in various states of dress.

The room included a free lunch in either Johnny Rockets or Jamie's Italian. We didn't get to use it as it's valid only on sea days of which we only had one (our last day) and we were sunbathing and swimming on deck. Jamie's shuts at 1.30pm and we didn't want to lose our sunbeds by leaving them to go and ready to go to lunch. Johnny Rocket's is open much later (until 5.30pm) but I would never have eaten dinner if I had a late burger and fries lunch.

I'm glad we tried a Central Park balcony cabin but I now know that it's not for me and will stick with a regular balcony in future.

Thank you so much for the review! I personally enjoy the variety - I’ve stayed in oceanview, Boardwalk, Central Park, Promenade, interior, don’t really have a favorite! On Harmony, I too had a Central Park Balcony on Deck 10 - 10207 to be exact (forward half of CP, port side, 6 cabins from the living wall). We liked this cabin because it was right above the musicians, and being on Deck 10 we were furthest from the pool deck and closest to the park. If you ever do decide to try a CP balcony again, I would definitely recommend Deck 10. We did like the perks that came with it! I hope you enjoyed Symphony, I hope to get onboard over summer 2020 (most likely in an interior cabin due to budget) and all the reviews are holding me over until then! Thanks again for sharing your opinion, and happy future travels!

ETA: we too could see into cabins across the way, on the last night of the cruise I witnessed a pillow fight across in 10607 and that was quite entertaining! [emoji6]

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I saw more than a pillow fight!! :o :o Absolutely loved the Symphony, so much to see and do.

My wife and I are also on deck 14 CP balcony on the 19th August. Not too bothered about closing the window at night as prefer aircon in warmer climates but the lack of a net curtain is a worrying omission. Who wants to have curtains closed ? The lunch at Jamie’s would have been nice but not much use on a sea day when most people will want to be on deck. Our intention is to also spend most of the time on board and we don’t even have a drinks package!

I agree. Hate the boardwalk and Central Park balconies. To me it is like living in an apartment with zero privacy. We always book ocean balcony. I am going on Symphony next year. Just got off Anthem. Nice but not as nice as oasis class.

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Got back last week and had an amazing time on this ship. We only got off for a couple of hours at La Spezia to look around the town, and for the morning to over to Capri on the ferry. We've been many times to the other places on the cruise so our plan was to enjoy the ship (and our free Drinks package!).

 

Our room was very comfortable and well appointed but I would not ever book a Central Park balcony room again. We were on deck 14 and had to keep our balcony door fully closed every night due to people laughing and drinking to 3 or 4am on the pool deck above us. We like the door open usually to let fresh air in but not on this cruise.

 

Also, there is no net curtain, just the full drape. People from the cabins across on the other side can see right in and you can see right in their cabin. Our bed was next to the bathroom with the sofa by the balcony door so a little further away from the window, but the cabins opposite had beds right next to the balcony door and I saw some unwelcome sights! So in the evening we always had to have the curtains closed and be very careful going in and out of the bathroom in various states of dress.

 

The room included a free lunch in either Johnny Rockets or Jamie's Italian. We didn't get to use it as it's valid only on sea days of which we only had one (our last day) and we were sunbathing and swimming on deck. Jamie's shuts at 1.30pm and we didn't want to lose our sunbeds by leaving them to go and ready to go to lunch. Johnny Rocket's is open much later (until 5.30pm) but I would never have eaten dinner if I had a late burger and fries lunch.

 

I'm glad we tried a Central Park balcony cabin but I now know that it's not for me and will stick with a regular balcony in future.

We used our 'free lunch' on the first night- we went to Jamie's shortly after boarding and was told it didn't have to be lunch on a sea day- we could book any night we wanted instead!

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Since the “I hate the CP and BW balcony and always book an OV” posts have already started don’t forget that in many cases you can get a CP or BW balcony for the same price as an inside cabin with a D discount.

Given the choice between an inside and a CP balcony I would take the CP balcony even if it meant keeping the curtains closed all day. Bigger cabin, natural light and fresh air if you want it beats an inside for me any day of the week.

We have sailed in either a BW or CP balcony our last 4 cruises and will continue to book them as they are a great value.

When booking early u can get an ocean view balcony for the same price as CP or BW balcony.

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Mim did you enjoy the Capri trip? Did you do it yourself? It’s funny as the two ports I’m interested in are Naples for Capri and La Spezia. We hope to spend most of the time onboard. Did you go to speciality restaurants or were you happy with the included restaurants?

When booking early u can get an ocean view balcony for the same price as CP or BW balcony.

 

 

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Never seen same rates at time of booking. As a matter of fact,

BW are usually priced a bit higher than the CPs.

We were also in a Central Park balcony cabin 27/5-03/06.

We used our 'free lunch' on the first night- we went to Jamie's shortly after boarding and was told it didn't have to be lunch on a sea day- we could book any night we wanted instead!

 

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That's pretty good. You got a dinner that's costs approximately $35 per free. Must have expected very slow traffic for Jamie's.

We were also in a Central Park balcony cabin 27/5-03/06.

We used our 'free lunch' on the first night- we went to Jamie's shortly after boarding and was told it didn't have to be lunch on a sea day- we could book any night we wanted instead!

 

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That's the first time I have heard of being able to use it for dinner

I asked about using the free lunch for dinner instead but was told no. Also, we booked the cruise as soon as the dates where released and the regular sea view balconies were a LOT more expensive than I expected hence booking the CP one.

Jezzie13, yes we did our own thing going to Capri. Look at post 4 of this thread where I outlined what we did: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2643782. If you want any further info, let me know.

When we got off at Last Spezia we took the little noddy train to the heart of the town. You get it right next to where the shuttle bus stops and costs 10€ each for a round trip. It stops at a lovely big square. We got off there and took our time walking back to the port rather than get the noddy train back. It's a lovely walk back past nice shops, cafes, bakeries etc.

We were also in a Central Park balcony cabin 27/5-03/06.

We used our 'free lunch' on the first night- we went to Jamie's shortly after boarding and was told it didn't have to be lunch on a sea day- we could book any night we wanted instead!

 

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That is really interesting to read! My friends have booked the 4n deal that a certain agent had from the UK so they board in Barcelona and get off in Rome - therefore they don't have a 'sea day' to use this perk! I've told them to get it in writing from their TA that they will still be getting ALL the CP perks!

Since the “I hate the CP and BW balcony and always book an OV” posts have already started don’t forget that in many cases you can get a CP or BW balcony for the same price as an inside cabin with a D discount.

 

Given the choice between an inside and a CP balcony I would take the CP balcony even if it meant keeping the curtains closed all day. Bigger cabin, natural light and fresh air if you want it beats an inside for me any day of the week.

 

We have sailed in either a BW or CP balcony our last 4 cruises and will continue to book them as they are a great value.

we did a cp balcony and enjoyed the evening music while getting ready for dinner and haveing a drink... right below our balcony on different nites, were a guitar player, a bagpiper in kilts, a violist , and a keyboard player.. it was really nice

Had a BW balcony last time on Alllure and enjoyed the soda card and free lunch. Never spend much time out there, handy to dry stuff, only seemed to look down or aft at the water so didn’t really notice other cabins nighttime habit lol.

We did have an interior curtain to let some light in but allow for a little privacy . I wouldn’t hesitate to book again if significant cost savings. What I wouldn’t do again is book as far back as possible to get a better view of ocean. Wasn’t out there enough to warrant the walk back to cabin, find it handier to be close to stairs.

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Got back last week and had an amazing time on this ship. We only got off for a couple of hours at La Spezia to look around the town, and for the morning to over to Capri on the ferry. We've been many times to the other places on the cruise so our plan was to enjoy the ship (and our free Drinks package!).

 

Our room was very comfortable and well appointed but I would not ever book a Central Park balcony room again. We were on deck 14 and had to keep our balcony door fully closed every night due to people laughing and drinking to 3 or 4am on the pool deck above us. We like the door open usually to let fresh air in but not on this cruise.

 

Also, there is no net curtain, just the full drape. People from the cabins across on the other side can see right in and you can see right in their cabin. Our bed was next to the bathroom with the sofa by the balcony door so a little further away from the window, but the cabins opposite had beds right next to the balcony door and I saw some unwelcome sights! So in the evening we always had to have the curtains closed and be very careful going in and out of the bathroom in various states of dress.

 

The room included a free lunch in either Johnny Rockets or Jamie's Italian. We didn't get to use it as it's valid only on sea days of which we only had one (our last day) and we were sunbathing and swimming on deck. Jamie's shuts at 1.30pm and we didn't want to lose our sunbeds by leaving them to go and ready to go to lunch. Johnny Rocket's is open much later (until 5.30pm) but I would never have eaten dinner if I had a late burger and fries lunch.

 

I'm glad we tried a Central Park balcony cabin but I now know that it's not for me and will stick with a regular balcony in future.

Ugh....sounds like a motel 6 ghetto style cruise doing those "central park balcony" cabins....for this and other reasons (too many people for starters) we will avoid Oasis ships. Even after Anthem, going to stay on the smaller ships!

we did a cp balcony and enjoyed the evening music while getting ready for dinner and haveing a drink... right below our balcony on different nites, were a guitar player, a bagpiper in kilts, a violist , and a keyboard player.. it was really nice

We usually stay on the 12th deck on both the Oasis & Allure. I enjoy music emanating from the pool area at about 4pm as we are getting ready for dinner and a drink at the Diamond lounge. D lounge is on the 11th deck and easy to get to from the 12th.:D