doors on balcony

[cotatica]

I have only been on Carnival and we were able to take a piece of wood and keep the door open as it opened out onto the balcony. We love to sleep with the door open. Can I do this on Sea Princess? I have read conflicting comments. Thanks

[1 HappyCruiser]

I haven't been on the Sea P. but all the other ships have doors that stay open and do not slide shut....but they should. The AC is running at full blast just trying to keep you cool so you can listen to the waves. Did you consider sleeping on the balcony?

[soloracer]

I have only been on Carnival and we were able to take a piece of wood and keep the door open as it opened out onto the balcony. We love to sleep with the door open. Can I do this on Sea Princess? I have read conflicting comments. Thanks

 

The doors do stay open but as others have mentioned your air conditioner stays on.. I have not been able to find a way to turn it off so we could enjoy it.

 

So I just enjoy my coffee in the AM and "happy hour" on my balcony.

[Saruman]

Not the A/C Police; just wondering:

We like the fresh air, too, but have been told that it affects the other staterooms in your section. Several (on other threads) have suggested that leaving the door open makes everyone else's rooms pretty frosty. I don't want to mess things up for other folks, so can someone confirm or deny this "connected A/C" story?

[DonnaK]

I wouldn't mind if your door opened made my cabin frosty, however it makes the AC run less efficiently in that area of the ship, so the surrounding cabins get warmer.

[Toto2Kansas]

I have actually checked with our room steward to see if we could turn the AC off so we could have the door open, both at night and during the day for different reasons. I have been told there is no way to turn the AC off, so with the door open, it will be running constantly.

So as not to affect the AC in the staterooms near us, we don't leave the door open as I would hate to see other passengers rooms too warm for them.

 

Not sure why the crack about the stateroom police, but it is just common courtesy (and supplying truthful information to others) to enjoy your cruise experience without putting others out who have cabins close to yours. Or is this statement brought up only when the 'whatever makes ME happy as it is MY vacation, and to heck with everyone else' takes place? :rolleyes:

[1 HappyCruiser]

Not the A/C Police; just wondering:

We like the fresh air, too, but have been told that it affects the other staterooms in your section. Several (on other threads) have suggested that leaving the door open makes everyone else's rooms pretty frosty. I don't want to mess things up for other folks, so can someone confirm or deny this "connected A/C" story?

 

It doubtful that only one stateroom leaving a balcony door open could cause the entire deck of cabins to overheat but I'm sure if 10 or 15 cabins were to do likewise it would affect the whole side of the ship. (at least on that deck). I believe that Celebrity or Carnival has a cutout switch that turns off the AC when the balcony door is ajar which is a much better solution.

[redlac]

It doubtful that only one stateroom leaving a balcony door open could cause the entire deck of cabins to overheat but I'm sure if 10 or 15 cabins were to do likewise it would affect the whole side of the ship. (at least on that deck). I believe that Celebrity or Carnival has a cutout switch that turns off the AC when the balcony door is ajar which is a much better solution.

 

This topic has been discussed elsewhere, and in particular.... Beware of Balcony where you will find....

 

.....

FYI, when you leave your balcony door open, it can affect the A/C for the cabins near you as your A/C attempts to cool off your cabin and draws from the others. How many times have we seen complaints about the A/C? Lots. My bet is that it's due to someone leaving their balcony door open without turning off the A/C.

 

Here's a photo of the request that's on every balcony door so it's not as if they don't warn you:

 

 

[cotatica]

Sorry if I brought up a bad subject. I have read several threads and get more confused, some for, some against, some effecting others, some not. The bottom line is I have to go on my cruise, poor me, to find out. Thanks for the discussion... 12 more days!

[Toto2Kansas]

It's not that they consider themselves HVAC engineers but that they book a room next to people like yourself who keep their balcony door open at night & can't cool their cabin off because of it. I'm sure you do the same at home, run the AC & open your window at night for fresh air. Enjoy.

 

Sometimes you have to just give up and realize that some are going to do what they want to do, and they don't'care if they disrupt others onboard. I think this is a sign of the times for some new cruisers, remember that me me me syndrome we often talk about here on CC? As long as 'ME' enjoys it, to he** with everyone else, I will never see them again anyway. Thankfully, I have only ran into a couple of these Me Me'rs on cruises and they aren't as abundant as one might think. ;)

[Off2China]

 

Not sure why the crack about the stateroom police, but it is just common courtesy (and supplying truthful information to others) to enjoy your cruise experience without putting others out who have cabins close to yours. Or is this statement brought up only when the 'whatever makes ME happy as it is MY vacation, and to heck with everyone else' takes place? :rolleyes:

 

That is so not me, Toto, and I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. I totally agree with your thinking. We never leave the balcony door open, and I would not be a happy camper if someone in a cabin near mine did. Since this subject has been discussed quite often, I knew the OP was going to get a lot of feedback. BTW, I do have common courtesy and I do use it--even when it's not advantageous to me.

[Pochahontas]

I like it hot, hubby likes it cold, when we leave the cabin the steward equalises the Aircon dial, as it does state to leave it running either way can waste electricity! found that out by reading the literature in the room on the AC and scratching my head as to why the dial was always re set to the middle! :D:D:D

 

I have never thought to leave the door open, I think my hubby would go bonkers if I had suggested that because of the very warm sea air that blows in!

[janina]

I think a little courtesy can go a long way.:):):)

[jagsfan]

one more thing about leaving the balcony door open. the damp air permeates the

bedding and is bad for the furniture in the stateroom.

ok....I lied.....one more word or two.

I was in a hotel on Miami Beach with the balcony door open to hear the ocean, when

I got a knock on the door. security asked me to please close the door. said it was

causing problems with the A/C. I never knew how they knew I had it open, but they sure did!!!

[1 HappyCruiser]

Sometimes you have to just give up and realize that some are going to do what they want to do, and they don't care if they disrupt others onboard. I think this is a sign of the times for some new cruisers, remember that me me me syndrome we often talk about here on CC? As long as 'ME' enjoys it, to he** with everyone else, I will never see them again anyway. Thankfully, I have only ran into a couple of these Me Me'rs on cruises and they aren't as abundant as one might think. ;)

 

Well that pretty much describes me but not when it comes to disrupting others- like getting drunk, loud & obnoxious behavior, smoking on the balcony, hogging seats, cutting in line, bossing around the waiters. We don't need any special treatment other than being left alone by ourselves.

[luvs2travl]

one more thing about leaving the balcony door open. the damp air permeates the

bedding and is bad for the furniture in the stateroom.

ok....I lied.....one more word or two.

I was in a hotel on Miami Beach with the balcony door open to hear the ocean, when

I got a knock on the door. security asked me to please close the door. said it was

causing problems with the A/C. I never knew how they knew I had it open, but they sure did!!!

 

We had a knock on our cabin door on the Tahitian (now the Ocean) Princess in 2008 - same thing. We had the balcony door open for convenience really, as we had 2 other couples in the cabin & folks were going in & out for drinks, restroom use, etc. The cabin steward very nicely asked us to please keep the balcony door closed as it was affecting the A/C in the adjacent cabins.

 

Up until then, we never knew it could create a problem! We apologized & promptly slid the door closed. I guess things were OK afterwards, as we never heard anything more about it.

[cruisinnorth]

On the Emerald this past January, we had a thermostat that could and did effectively turn the A/C off... Just turn the thermostat all the way up to the highest temperature available. The cabin warmed up fast. Unless the outside temp is higher than the highest temp on the thermostat, the air should stay off.

 

Just my two cents...

 

Dave

[Pam in CA]

I was going to post a response but see that someone else posted for me. :) To answer the question, yes, one person keeping their door open does affect those near them. It's your decision whether you care or not that your neighbor has been made uncomfortable. We see complaints posted on CC all the time about the A/C in the cabins.

[Putterdude]

I believe that cabins are in what is known to AC people as "zones" so an open door can or will effect other cabins in the zone. We like the door open as well but woke up one morning on a Panama cruise with the ceiling dripping from the humidity and condensation....busted .... so now we sleep with the door closed...except on cruises where AC is not required.

[cruisinnorth]

I don't believe each cabin has its own air conditioning unit... that would be incredibly expensive in dollars and weight. So, I also believe that there must be zoned A/C systems on board ships. These zones would have a finite amount of A/C resources available for cooling.

 

Therefore I can understand the thinking and agree to the theory that leaving a balcony door open puts a strain on the cooling of other cabins in a "zoned" area. I would agree, that is, IF the cabin with the balcony door open also had the A/C thermostat set in such a way as to have cooled air pumping into the cabin.

 

However, I can't understand how leaving the balcony door open with the A/C thermostat turned to its highest setting, effectively turned off, could bother any other cabin. It would seem logical that if any cabin, in the zone had the A/C effectively turned off the result would be MORE efficient cooling, to other cabins, since the cabin with the balcony door open was not using any of the available cooling resources.

 

I would guess the problem should be defined as a passenger who wants it both ways... they want the cool air blasting into the cabin and they want the balcony door open. The cooling system will continue to try to bring the temperature down to the set point temperature.

 

An analogy (and I was guilty of this myself when someone else was paying for the gas) would be the use of the A/C in a car. I love to have the A/C blowing on me at full blast AND having my window open. That is tremendously inefficient... it costs more in fuel, the A/C can't possibly cool as well as it could, but somehow I liked the combination. Needless to say, now that I am buying the gas I don't practice that anymore.

 

Dave

[captainron]

I don't believe each cabin has its own air conditioning unit... that would be incredibly expensive in dollars and weight. So, I also believe that there must be zoned A/C systems on board ships. These zones would have a finite amount of A/C resources available for cooling.

 

Therefore I can understand the thinking and agree to the theory that leaving a balcony door open puts a strain on the cooling of other cabins in a "zoned" area. I would agree, that is, IF the cabin with the balcony door open also had the A/C thermostat set in such a way as to have cooled air pumping into the cabin.

 

However, I can't understand how leaving the balcony door open with the A/C thermostat turned to its highest setting, effectively turned off, could bother any other cabin. It would seem logical that if any cabin, in the zone had the A/C effectively turned off the result would be MORE efficient cooling, to other cabins, since the cabin with the balcony door open was not using any of the available cooling resources.

 

I would guess the problem should be defined as a passenger who wants it both ways... they want the cool air blasting into the cabin and they want the balcony door open. The cooling system will continue to try to bring the temperature down to the set point temperature.

 

An analogy (and I was guilty of this myself when someone else was paying for the gas) would be the use of the A/C in a car. I love to have the A/C blowing on me at full blast AND having my window open. That is tremendously inefficient... it costs more in fuel, the A/C can't possibly cool as well as it could, but somehow I liked the combination. Needless to say, now that I am buying the gas I don't practice that anymore.

 

Dave

 

Dave,

You are in fact correct. On Star coming from SYD/LAX last Nov, there was such a tax on the power system onboard leaving Maui that they were forced to reduce the speed of the ship significantly.

 

As a result, they asked passengers to ensure that their balcony doors were closed and the same was printed in the Patter all the way from Polynesia through Hawaii. The Sr Engineering Officer indicated to a group of us at a CC get together that many balcony doors are left open when pax are not in the cabin and this places a severe tax on the electrical systems onboard the vessel.

 

So folks, don't be so darn inconsiderate for the rest of the pax, the crew, and the cruiseline for its you "keep the doors open at all costs, damn the rest and onward without consideration" folks that cause wear and tear on the ship's systems. That necessitates increased maintenance /costs and inadvertently results in higher cruising costs for all.

 

SO HERE'S WHER I SHOUT

 

Get with the programme and common sense and keep your doors closed. If you want to hear the waves at night, go sleep on your balcony.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Wasn't there another issue too when it concerned keeping the balcony door open? I seem to remember that it could cause a draft so that when someone opens the main cabin door, something happens. Not going to search for it as we never book balconies, but maybe someone else will know what I'm trying to remember.

 

BTW, maybe those who are insisting on keeping their doors open should inquire first at the passenger services desk or of their cabin steward to make sure it's okay to prop open their door. If there isn't a wedge provided by your ship for this purpose, wouldn't that be one sign it may not be okay?

[Colo Cruiser]

Wasn't there another issue too when it concerned keeping the balcony door open? I seem to remember that it could cause a draft so that when someone opens the main cabin door' date=' something happens. Not going to search for it as we never book balconies, but maybe someone else will know what I'm trying to remember.

 

BTW, maybe those who are insisting on keeping their doors open should inquire first at the passenger services desk or of their cabin steward to make sure it's okay to prop open their door. If there isn't a wedge provided by your ship for this purpose, wouldn't that be one sign it may not be okay?[/quote']

 

Some other cruise lines have an AC switch on the balcony door so that when its open the AC shuts off, not so with Princess.

[u2cruiser]

Some other cruise lines have an AC switch on the balcony door so that when its open the AC shuts off, not so with Princess.

 

Not even on the newer ships? Seems like the best idea all round.

[Toto2Kansas]

Some other cruise lines have an AC switch on the balcony door so that when its open the AC shuts off, not so with Princess.

 

 

If Princess would have added this to the balcony doors, I would guess not as many would be left open, especially in the warmer climates. Those staterooms warm up very fast when the temps and humidity are high. And it is also my guess that those that leave the door open, more often than not, leave the AC going as high as possible so they can try to have the best of both worlds. (just a guess on my part but there are always some complaints here on CC that staterooms were way too warm and nothing they did cooled them down). ;)