No blue Matting on some Grand Pr. balconies

[tennisobo]

Since I have two cruises coming up on the Grand I am concerned with recent posts about the fact that some balconies do not have any matting on the floor. I do not think I am getting what I paid for if the balcony is not going to be usable due to a being metal (with rusting, some have reported). This would be very hot when the balcony is in the sun.

 

Would recent Grand cruisers who have sailed in a balcony cabin please report which balconies they saw with and without matting? Thank-you!

[WISH84]

Sailing on the Grand departing 12/03/11.

 

From what I've read, some of the balconies do have matting and some don't. Furthermore, what I've taken from the limited number of posts out there in this regard, the Aft Suite Balconies and maybe the Penthouse Balconies due have wood or matting. The regular balconies do not.

 

We are in a Dolphin Suite which has no covering, no shade. If its not covered by the time we check in, I will make mention of this fact to the Hotel Manager.

 

Don't however, let this ruin your cruise. We sure won't.

 

Happy Sailing.

[RASHOPPER2]

We just came back from the Grand. We were on Caribe deck and there was no matting - just blue paint on the balcony. However, it really did not make difference - except perhaps aesthetically. We were able to sit and walk on our balcony with no problems.

Have a great cruise.

[Plant]

We're also just off the Grand Princess and the balcony floor was painted blue. I actually like it better because the mat's hurt my feet :(! We never found the floor to be "hot".

[shofer]

We are also going on the Grand soon and are on Caribe deck. I don't know what the hold up is for getting all these balconies finished. The dry dock was months ago. If enough people complain, will this get done?

 

I think the idea of walking on bare painted metal is gross. It just seems dirty.

 

Sue

[CRLess]

Just got off the Grand this morning. We had a balcony on the Caribe deck and had no matting. The decks below on the Dolphin were the same. I don't see it as an issue. As stated above, I find the mats to be too painful to walk on barefooted.

[Sailingpeace]

There were many posts on this topic recently. Some mentionned no matting "yet" installed;others said " no more matting" because of a weight issue . My question is : on the Grand ( where there used to be some patterned grid blue thing - looked like plactic or some kind of material like that- ) what are the balconies supposed to have from now on as a finished surface, the one you will walk on, and if it is a temporary situation, when is it expected to be finished ? Also, will it differ for different types of cabins or different decks ?

[Marmaduke]

I personally prefer the matting as makes the balcony appear cleaner (never mind what might be lurking beneath) and probably easier for the steward to clean. As I said when I started the other thread the painted metal was not only dirty (and as other have reported, in some cases rusty) if was far too hot to stand on in bare feet and this was in May on an Iberian (Atlantic) cruise. I certainly wouldn't be happy with no matting in the height of the Summer in the Med or the Caribbean.

 

I have seen reports from others stating "no matting on C and D decks" but what about balcony cabins on A and B Decks ? The suites of course have the wooden type flooring.

[Christo']

If there is no blue matting I think it will be an issue that will quickly fade away. Yea, I wish the matting would be there because that is what I am used to and now I have to learn a new norm. But, I will learn that new norm by god, I will embrace it and protect it and treat it as my own. See you on the Grand...12/24/2011.

[cookok]

Just back from 11/19 sailing of Grand. Had cabin C718 with larger balcony. No matting and that was fine with us, no big deal. Actually it's probably more sanitary and maybe they aren't going to replace the matts. We did not thave a problem with the balcony nor room at all. Balcony floor never hot to us even in full sun. Enjoyed the ship and cruise very much!

[tennisobo]

Just back from 11/19 sailing of Grand. Had cabin C718 with larger balcony. No matting and that was fine with us, no big deal. Actually it's probably more sanitary and maybe they aren't going to replace the matts. We did not thave a problem with the balcony nor room at all. Balcony floor never hot to us even in full sun. Enjoyed the ship and cruise very much!

Good to hear. Our stateroom is very close to C718 on our next cruise.

I liked the blue matting because we never had a problem with it. It didn't look dirty and it didn't hurt my bare feet. If the floor without the matting was rusty and dirty and hot, obviously I would not like it. Time will tell how we like it without matting. :)