Balcony neighbor horror stories

[Luvmesomeme]

Okay! We had quite the Experience on our Carnival Splendor Cruise in August of 2011. We always get balcony Staterooms, I spend a lot of time out there. Never had an issue until this cruise. We had the first most forward cabin with a small public balcony area ahead of us. My Husband and I were relaxing in our cabin when I saw a shadow on our balcony, a girl in her early 20s was climbing over the public balcony on to our balcony, she had already dropped her purse onto our balcony. My husband went out and asked her if she was crazy! We were in port so the ship wasn't moving but, if she had fallen, well you all know what the result would have been. He picked up her purse and told her to go back where she came from. We called Security, it turned out she was in the cabin next to ours and was locked out of her cabin. Security took this issue surprisingly very, very seriously. I can't believe that someone would be stupid enough to do something like that. In my opinion I think she had been drinking and had a fight with her boyfriend who she was cruising with. CRAZY!

 

Rhonda

 

Crazy is right! Why not just go to guest services?

[Mimosa09]

As a nonsmoker, the idea of a non smoking side superficially might appeal to me. But it just is not so simple. Sometimes one side of ship is more desirable for that cruise (scenery or sunnier or whatever); do the smokers or nonsmokers get that side? And if the nonsmoking side is full before I book (or those rooms are being held by travel agencies), do I book a balcony on the smoking side, knowing the smoker, and therefore the smoke, are concentrated there? Concentrate the smokers in a quadrant of the ship, for example) and one just concentrates that issue, too. And some cruises (especially theme cruises or ones with large group bookings) might have way more (or fewer) smoker that the next week, making hard for the cruiseline to allocate space. Nice suites are often arranged asymmetrically; would somebody spend big bucks to be in a suite on the side that is wrong for them? I have often happily booked category X (balcony guarantee) in the past; would I still do that? And would a smoker book X? Clearly cruiselines thought of a smoking side, but they probably won't do it because of profit and logistically issues.

 

Finally! Someone pointed out one of the many reasons why designating one side of the ship for non-smoking isn't going to work. We picked out balcony cabins for 2 January 2014 sailings on cruise lines that allows smoking on the balconies. Crossing our fingers we don't have a huge smoking problem, but I have to say if they do, they have every right according to the cruiselines rules and guess what? Maybe they picked that side of the ship for the same reason!

 

And as a non-smoker, why not just cruise Celebrity & Princess? Well, HAL who allows smoking has an itinerary we want. And RCL has the BIG ships we would like to sample at least once. For some people, Celebrity can be a bit spendy & not always have an attractive itinerary that RCL or HAL has.

 

-Rose

[Paul65]

Thanks to those who share their BALCONY stories. I really enjoyed them.Thank you Tim for being a voice of reason. For the others who used this as a way to debate' date=' argue etc.:([/quote']

 

I'm probably guilty of that, but you need to understand that you really can't control what people talk about. And, you asked for "horror stories." It's inevitable that what one person thinks of as a horror story, someone else will think is acceptable, and it'll lead to argument or debate. So, I only half-heartedly apologize. :o

[Paul65]

Finally! Someone pointed out one of the many reasons why designating one side of the ship for non-smoking isn't going to work.

 

That's been pointed out pretty much every time this subject is brought up. However, is it really better to have smoking on both sides of the ship, rather than one? I don't think there's any perfect solution that makes everybody happy.

[CntPAcruiser]

The reasoning is that the nonsmoking side would book up first, leaving those who would have preferred nonsmoking with no choice but to book on the smoking side if they want a balcony. It's similar to the situation with smoking/nonsmoking sections in restaurants, where often there is a wait for nonsmoking but no wait in the smoking section.

 

Extremely off topic but are there actually still places like that? Here in Ga, ALL smoking inside public places has been banned. No more smoking/non smoking sections anywhere.

 

It still was when we moved to PA, though now smoking is only allowed in bars that do not serve more than a certain percentage of food. If whole European countries can ban smoking in public places, I guess smokers have no choice but to go to the high seas.

[Chitoryubt]

On the Liberty a couple of years ago, every single morning, we'd be out on the balcony with coffee and breakfast. Every single morning our neighbors would come out during the same time and use the aerosol sun spray on their two kids and themselves. A good example, but didn't taste so great! Did it ruin our cruise? NO! We're not smokers, but there was so much of the spray I wondered if it would go FOOOF if somebody lit up :eek:

[HB Cruiser]

Okay! We had quite the Experience on our Carnival Splendor Cruise in August of 2011. We always get balcony Staterooms, I spend a lot of time out there. Never had an issue until this cruise. We had the first most forward cabin with a small public balcony area ahead of us. My Husband and I were relaxing in our cabin when I saw a shadow on our balcony, a girl in her early 20s was climbing over the public balcony on to our balcony, she had already dropped her purse onto our balcony. My husband went out and asked her if she was crazy! We were in port so the ship wasn't moving but, if she had fallen, well you all know what the result would have been. He picked up her purse and told her to go back where she came from. We called Security, it turned out she was in the cabin next to ours and was locked out of her cabin. Security took this issue surprisingly very, very seriously. I can't believe that someone would be stupid enough to do something like that. In my opinion I think she had been drinking and had a fight with her boyfriend who she was cruising with. CRAZY!

 

Rhonda

 

Ding, ding, ding, we have a REAL winner here! ;)

 

Tim

[HB Cruiser]

OMG, I forgot one of ours! After all this and now I remember.

 

We were on Freedom OTS in the Solarium. A gentleman entered the area in a very thin, powder blue, bathing suit. He sat in a lounger for a bit and then entered the pool for a cool off, it was pretty hot that day. When he got out my wife asked, "Did you see that?" His attire was sooooooo thin you could see EVERYTHING he had.

 

We were in a Corner aft on deck 7. Corner aft deck 6 sticks out about 4-5 feet farther than deck 7 so it was easy to look down and see the biggest part of the balcony below. Later that night we were out on our balcony standing out against the railing and happen to look down. Well guess what, Mr. powder blue bathing suit is in the cabin right below us.

 

Yes, it gets better, the next night at dinner, guess who is seated two tables from us? Yes, Mr. Blue!

 

Other than these three occasions I'm betting we ran into this guy at least twice a day that cruise. It got to be very funny to my wife and I.

 

Tim

[Wheeljack]

Was on our very first cruise in June this year. (Serenade of the Seas).

 

Of course we went for a balcony, as I've always wanted that if I were to take a cruise. We met and greeted our neighbors the first day, from somewhere in the USA, the guy seemed ok enough, but the woman was abit... well... I guess you could tell she didn't quite have all her marbles intact. There was just something off about her, couldn't really make out what it was.

 

Anyway, the day passed and as it was time for bed, we opened up the balcony door to listen to the ocean while we went to sleep. Always wanted to do that.

Big mistake.

 

The "wonderful" neighbors started to have a heated argument around midnight, which lasted all through the night. We of course shut the door, but could still hear them. They were LOUD. I woke up around 3am, and they were still going at it. We could actually hear them through the door(!).

 

In the days to come, whenever we would go out on the balcony to enjoy a drink and a cigarette, they would be there. Still arguing. Stuff like "YOU'RE F***ING SICK IN THE HEAD!" was very common. Along with "YOU NEED TO GET THE H**L OUT OF MY FACE!" as a good runner-up.

 

It came to the point where we would avoid the balcony, if they weren't arguing, they would be there nevertheless, discussing private details. Even if we are from Norway, we still understand English so even if they didn't have the first clue what my girlfriend and I was talking about, we understood every word they said. It wasn't as if we were eavesdropping either.

I'm pretty sure they've gotten complaints because it kinda calmed down abit after that, but occasionally they would still be at each others throats.

 

Few days later into the cruise, the husband/boyfriend/lover/whatever, actually jumped ship... Literally. He went ashore in Athens and took a plane home. He couldn't afford it, so the woman of his forced him to get a credit-card and fund his return that way.

 

We later learned that the woman had caused mischief on excursions as well. Always wanted to do stuff her way, leaving groups, switching buses and so on. During our last excursion, she of all people were on the same one. Thankfully our paths didn't cross that much.

 

At lunch, we sat down with a lovely couple from Canada and somehow the conversation between the two of them was about "that woman who left group". I let out a sigh going "Our neighbor... " and the guy bursted into laughter. Apparently they'd been sitting next to her on another excursion, and when they noticed that she was on this trip as well, he'd just done his best to avoid eye-contact with her.

[Luvmesomeme]

I decided to come back to visit and saw that there were posts that did not mention the Forbidden words . Yay!:D. Keep them coming.

[nomarfan5]

Very enjoyable posts and several laugh out loud moments. With the exception of two cruises, we've always had balconies and have never had any major issues. We've had smokers next to us but nothing so bad that I couldn't sit outside. We have had the nosy neighbor but he was DH's stepfather (still creepy though). Every time he would hear our balcony door open he would come out and I could never get any peace and quiet out there. Learned our lesson and we now refuse to tell them what cabin we have booked so they can't book the cabin next to us (there are definite boundary issues with them but that's another thread). :) We get a balcony so that I have a place to escape our group when I need to, want to read or just sit outside and listen to the ocean. I'll say hello to the neighbors if they are at the railing but I don't force them into conversation unless they seem willing. Generally I don't usually see anyone again after the first day but maybe like me, they are out there just sitting and enjoying the view. Compared to some of the stories I've read today, we've had very boring neighbors but I'm not complaining!

[Chitoryubt]

Serenade, Alaska (Hubbard Glacier), 2007. My family (five of us) were in a Royal Family Suite. We were in Sitka, and we had an early excursion with Captain Davey. I tried to open the door to go to breakfast - Our cabin door. It would not open. I checked the lock. It was unlocked. I tried again. It would not open. I tried the lock in the other position just for fun. It wouldn't work then either. I called Guest Services and said "Our door lock is broken. We can't get out." GS said "Your card won't work?" I said "No, the lock is broken. We can't get OUT." She said "You must come have your card reprogrammed." I said, "NO, we can't get OUT of the cabin. We are INSIDE." About 10 minutes later, our hero in a blue jump suit climbed over the balcony from our neighbors' balcony (DO NOT TRY THIS ON YOUR OWN). He walked up to the door and pulled the handle, like it was gonna open right up. I wish I had had a camera, his face was so shocked when the door wouldn't open. He had to go get his tools (via neighbors' balcony) and take the whole door lock assembly off before we could get out. We still made our excursion, but that was a first for us :rolleyes:

[ticktoneer]

Serenade, Alaska (Hubbard Glacier), 2007. My family (five of us) were in a Royal Family Suite. We were in Sitka, and we had an early excursion with Captain Davey. I tried to open the door to go to breakfast - Our cabin door. It would not open. I checked the lock. It was unlocked. I tried again. It would not open. I tried the lock in the other position just for fun. It wouldn't work then either. I called Guest Services and said "Our door lock is broken. We can't get out." GS said "Your card won't work?" I said "No, the lock is broken. We can't get OUT." She said "You must come have your card reprogrammed." I said, "NO, we can't get OUT of the cabin. We are INSIDE." About 10 minutes later, our hero in a blue jump suit climbed over the balcony from our neighbors' balcony (DO NOT TRY THIS ON YOUR OWN). He walked up to the door and pulled the handle, like it was gonna open right up. I wish I had had a camera, his face was so shocked when the door wouldn't open. He had to go get his tools (via neighbors' balcony) and take the whole door lock assembly off before we could get out. We still made our excursion, but that was a first for us :rolleyes:

Ha ha ha !

 

First thing to do, assume the guest is stupid.

 

When that doesn't work, deal with the real problem. Lol

[webteach]

A few years ago we had two French women on the corner balcony next to us. It was clear from the shadows on the divider that they were not clothed in anything when they sunbathed. The benefits of a corner aft!

[Paul65]

Ha ha ha !

 

First thing to do, assume the guest is stupid.

 

When that doesn't work, deal with the real problem. Lol

 

Of course, the first assumption probably ends up being correct in a majority of the cases. :D

[Paul65]

I decided to come back to visit and saw that there were posts that did not mention the Forbidden words . Yay!:D. Keep them coming.

 

smoke, smoke, smokedy-smoke :eek:

[Starry Eyes]

A few years ago we had two French women on the corner balcony next to us. It was clear from the shadows on the divider that they were not clothed in anything when they sunbathed. The benefits of a corner aft!

So you could tell just from the shadows on the divider that they were not clothed in so much as a thong? If so, the cruiseline may need to frost that divider panel a bit more.

[WetToes]

A few years ago we had two French women on the corner balcony next to us. It was clear from the shadows on the divider that they were not clothed in anything when they sunbathed. The benefits of a corner aft!

 

 

This is a "horror story"?

If so I know MANY who would like to be horrified. :p

[cruisinfreedom09]

Wow! We've had balconies but have never had the excitement some of you have had! My favorite is when we cruise with friends. We have had 3 rooms together and they will open the dividers so we can sit and enjoy our balcony together. Love this!!!:D

 

Oh and to whomever mentioned the balcony lights. I don't think I knew we could turn them off and on either :rolleyes: so if our lights were on.....sorry! I actually don't think they were ever on though. If we were out at night I think I would have noticed and am with you I'd prefer the stars!!

[Erex]

To those complaining on the chain smokers sitting on the balcony all day smoking.

I do not believe that is possible. It takes abot 5-6 minutes to do a cigarette, but for the sake of the argument, lets say 10 minutes. That makes 6 an hour. A person is awake about 16 hours a day. Which will be close to 5 packets a day.

The procentage of the smokers smoking this amount every day is so small that you would probably have more luck winning in lotto.

 

I have been "accused" to chain smoking and ruin my down wind neighbour balcony time.

Of course when they told me that, I started to wonder. I smoke about a package a day, and on ctuise, probably half of that is on my balcony. And to call that fo chain smoking is in my opinion a bit over the top.

But it got me thinking. The ashtray that RCCL provide you with is pretty big.

And I have noticed that it is not emptied every day. And very seldom washed. This creates a very strong smell after a while and is probably noticable many balconies down wind.

 

So I have started to get it emptied every day and also clean it. Either myself or the steward. This has helped a lot on the smell on my balcony and hopefully also on the closest around me.

 

ps. I am not native speaker and I am writing this without spell/grammar checker on my pad

[Aquahound]

I have gone on quite a few cruises but had a balcony only once. After that I never booked another balcony because I felt that I did not spend much time out there. Well for my birthday in January I have treated myself to a GS. I plan to spend quite a bit of time relaxing in my suite and on the balcony. Recently I was reading a post where someone stated that they stopped booking balcony staterooms because of the nosey neighbors. Is this common? What have your experiences been?

 

We were the inadvertent problem last week on the Millennium. We were partying it up one day and decided to crack open our bottle of champagne before dinner. The cork got away from me, bounced off the overhead, went over the balcony partition, and landed on the head of the guy sitting there. Luckily he was cool and after giving him and his wife a glass, we had a pretty good laugh. :D

 

I can see how it might not have gone so well if he wasn't in a good mood though.

[HB Cruiser]

We were the inadvertent problem last week on the Millennium. We were partying it up one day and decided to crack open our bottle of champagne before dinner. The cork got away from me, bounced off the overhead, went over the balcony partition, and landed on the head of the guy sitting there. Luckily he was cool and after giving him and his wife a glass, we had a pretty good laugh. :D

 

I can see how it might not have gone so well if he wasn't in a good mood though.

 

Close call there, could have went either way. I too would have shrugged it off as a pretty funny situation and enjoyed the glass with you!

 

Tim

[Winnigirl]

This isn't a balcony story, but after reading about people having trouble with doors, I remembered this. It was the first night of our cruise - I believe it was a Princess cruise - and the middle of the night. We were fast asleep. All of a sudden we heard the door to our cabin open. We sat up in bed and there was an old man standing at the end of our bed! Truthfully, I was so shocked, it didn't even occur to me to be frightened. My husband sort of yelled at him "what are you doing here - this is the wrong cabin!" - he just stood there and was mumbling, then turned and walked out. We honestly had to look at each other and say "we aren't dreaming, right?". First thing in the morning we tried the door and sure enough - it didn't lock! Anyone outside could open it. We went down to the service desk, explained the situation and for ten minutes had to argue with a service rep. who kept telling us that it was "impossible" that our door opened. We were getting more and more annoyed. Finally, a crew member came back to the cabin with us and you should have seen his face when he turned the door handle and it opened right up! Suddenly it was "so sorry sir! Don't know how this could happen! We'll have it fixed right away sir!" I don't know what ever happened to the old man.

[ticktoneer]

This isn't a balcony story, but after reading about people having trouble with doors, I remembered this. It was the first night of our cruise - I believe it was a Princess cruise - and the middle of the night. We were fast asleep. All of a sudden we heard the door to our cabin open. We sat up in bed and there was an old man standing at the end of our bed! Truthfully, I was so shocked, it didn't even occur to me to be frightened. My husband sort of yelled at him "what are you doing here - this is the wrong cabin!" - he just stood there and was mumbling, then turned and walked out. We honestly had to look at each other and say "we aren't dreaming, right?". First thing in the morning we tried the door and sure enough - it didn't lock! Anyone outside could open it. We went down to the service desk, explained the situation and for ten minutes had to argue with a service rep. who kept telling us that it was "impossible" that our door opened. We were getting more and more annoyed. Finally, a crew member came back to the cabin with us and you should have seen his face when he turned the door handle and it opened right up! Suddenly it was "so sorry sir! Don't know how this could happen! We'll have it fixed right away sir!" I don't know what ever happened to the old man.

That's funny but also scary at the same time :eek:

[ticktoneer]

But it got me thinking. The ashtray that RCCL provide you with is pretty big. And I have noticed that it is not emptied every day. And very seldom washed. This creates a very strong smell after a while and is probably noticable many balconies down wind.

 

So I have started to get it emptied every day and also clean it. Either myself or the steward. This has helped a lot on the smell on my balcony and hopefully also on the closest around me.

 

ps. I am not native speaker and I am writing this without spell/grammar checker on my pad

That's interesting and very helpful. Thanks for being a considerate smoker.

 

:) :) :)